Chapter 5: The Sugar Bribe

Empress Karina walked down the hallway feeling like an boss. Sure, her hand was still throbbing slightly from where a tiny five-year-old dragon had literally tried to use her palm as a chew toy, but victory tasted sweet.

Well, hopefully literally sweet, as soon as she found the palace kitchen.

Beside her, little Rynan’s tiny hand was wrapped around two of her fingers. His golden-spotted cheetah ears flicked nervously every time they passed a heavily armed guard, and he kept burying his face into the folds of her dress. Poor baby was shy, but the promise of high-tier sugar was clearly stronger than his stage fright.

"Aldric!" Karina called out, turning her head toward the stoic general trailing behind them. "Where on earth do we get the best sweets in this place? Direct me to the sugar."

General Aldric blinked, his eyes shifting from her face down to Rynan, who was currently clinging to her skirt like a little barnacle. The shock on the poor man’s face was hilarious. If Karina could check his brain right now, it would just be loading screen icons.

"The......central royal kitchens are in the west wing, Your Imperial Majesty," Aldric stammered out, quickly recovering his composure and stepping ahead to guide them. "The pastry chefs prepare the afternoon confectionaries there."

"Lead the way!" Karina chirped, feeling higher than a kite.

As they walked through the sprawling corridors, the reaction from the palace staff was pure art. Servants carrying laundry baskets froze dead in their tracks. Royal guards nearly dropped their spears. Court ladies lowered their heads so fast Karina thought they’d catch whiplash. The gossipy whispers were practically echoing off the walls: Is the Empress walking? Smiling? Holding her child’s hand instead of screaming at a wall? Did a demon possess her?

Ignorance is bliss, my dear court nobles. She was just a woman on a mission to bribe a cheetah cub.

When they finally reached the grand kitchen, the head chef nearly fainted when Karina personally requested a platter of honeyed pastries and spun-sugar berries. She took the golden plate, knelt right there on the floor, and handed a glistening, syrup-coated pastry to Rynan.

The little cub looked at the pastry, then up at her with big, shiny golden eyes. He took a tiny bite.

Then his eyes blew wide open.

Nom, nom, nom.

Small crumbs scattered everywhere as he happily gobbled it down, his tiny cheetah tail wagging quickly behind him. "Yummmmm!" he squeaked, his little cheeks stuffed like a hamster’s.

Awwwww! Karina’s heart melted into a literal puddle. She couldn’t resist, she reached out and gently patted his soft, spiky hair, laughing as he leaned into her hand while licking honey off his sticky fingers. She was officially a mother to the cutest fluffball on the continent.

She glanced up, only to catch General Aldric staring down at her with an expression that screamed ’Did she hit her head on a rock today?’

"Is something on my face, General?" Karina asked, raising a crisp eyebrow.

Aldric cleared his throat loudly, shifting his weight. "No, Your Imperial Majesty. I was simply.....recalled to a matter of state. Your ladies-in-waiting will be arriving back at the palace tomorrow."

"Oh?" Karina stood up, smoothing down her gown while Rynan happily munched on a second berry. "Where were they again?"

"They were on an expedition to the Sarabia desert lands, as per your previous command," Aldric replied, his eyes narrowing slightly as if testing to see if she even remembered her own life.

"Ah, right. Deserts. Sand. Fun times," Karina said smoothly, waving a hand dismissively. "Well, I look forward to meeting them again."

Aldric’s eyes cocked up in a mixture of deep suspicion and profound confusion. "Yes... Your Imperial Majesty."

~

Later that evening, Karina had fully settled in.

She was sitting alone at the head of a ridiculously long mahogany dining table in her private quarters, illuminated by flickering gold chandeliers. A mouth-watering, perfectly seared steak sat on the silver plate before her, smelling like pure heaven.

General Aldric stood a few paces behind her chair, serving as her personal guard for the evening meal while the dining hall servants waited near the doors.

Karina cut off a juicy piece of steak, popped it into her mouth, and let out a soft sigh of pure joy. System perks or not, fantasy world meat is top tier.

"Aldric," Karina said, chewing thoughtfully before dabbing her lips with a silk napkin. "Could I possibly dine with my children from now on?"

Aldric paused behind her. There was a long beat of silence before his deep baritone voice echoed in the quiet room. "I... You are the Empress. You can do as you wish."

"Hmmm. Indeed," Karina murmured with a smirk, cutting into another piece of meat. Being top dog in the palace definitely had its privileges.

"Regarding the matter of the...." Aldric started cautiously, not wanting to alert normal staff to the earlier drama of the day. His voice dropped an octave. "From earlier today with King Leonidas..."

Stab.

Karina drove her silver fork straight into the center of her steak with a loud clink against the porcelain.

"What about it?" she asked coolly, tilting her head back to glance at him over her shoulder.

"Well, I thought....." Aldric began, "perhaps you would wish to draft a formal response to the Council of Beast Kings, or—"

BANG.