I ignored her, focusing very hard on my plate.
The Emperor ignored her too, and smiled warmly at the Duke. "Lucien! Good morning. Those are beautiful flowers."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." The Duke bowed slightly, then turned to me. "They're for Princess Roxanne. I... I wanted to see how she was recovering from the incident."
The incident. Right. The time I almost burned myself to death.
"That's very thoughtful," the Emperor said, beaming like this was the greatest romantic gesture he had ever witnessed. "Roxanne has been doing well. In fact, she starts her mana training today."
"I'm glad to hear it." Lucien's eyes met mine, filled with a warmth I had never imagined possible for a man of his station. "I have no doubt she'll excel."
Arabella made a sound that was somewhere between a scoff and a choke. "Fire mana," she said, her tone dripping with false sweetness. "How.….volatile. I suppose it suits her temperament."
