“You know”—Nohe’s voice dropped to a whisper—“Empress Koque took a liking to the practice and began to use it on all of her correspondence.”
“She did?” I asked, curious. Very few people talked about the dead empress, and I wondered at that. Was it trying to earn my favor by not bringing up my predecessor? Or was it the simple logic that bringing up the empress meant bringing up her husband, and it wasn’t likely to earn Tallu’s favor, talking about the father he’d killed.
“Yes, it was eminently popular due to her affection for it. We couldn’t get the genuine Krustau rocks here, but courtiers began mimicking her using candle wax.” Nohe began packingeverything away. “At least it was that way until her next fascination. Poetry, I believe.”
I considered the rock for a moment. She was going to put it away, and I wouldn’t know where it was without asking. It wasn’t like I could search cupboards.
If I asked to keep it, there was a chance she’d put together letters from Krustau I planted on Rute and my having the rock and… well, I couldn’tseeher blackmailing me, but it was always possible.
Nohe was waiting, and I realized the rock was the last thing she needed to put away from her treasure trove of foreign writing accoutrements. I handed it over.
Carefully, Nohe packed it, closing the wooden lid and then running a hand along the engravings thoughtfully. She looked at the box as though it contained objects that were precious to her, as though everything in it was made of hope.
She swallowed, clearing her throat. “We should get back to our work, but I wanted to speak to you about Piivu.”
I frowned. The servant had been in my quarters almost every day. I wasn’t sure if Nohe had assigned him the duty or if he had simply taken the initiative, but he was acting as a valet and personal servant. Others from Turtle House came and went, their purpose clear. This one brought food, that one brought water for the bath, but Piivu seemed to make it his mission to meet all of my needs before I expressed them.
“What about him? Has he been making trouble?”
I couldn’t exactly see it. Piivu was quiet and attentive, but I also understood that how he behaved in front of me, his employer, was likely different from how he behaved with his peers.
“No. The opposite. He works until well past midnight, then disappears.” Nohe frowned. “I know he was a servant from Mountain Thrown buildings. And my equivalent in theMountain Thrown buildings says he does not sleep in his own room. When his service was requested, did the word ever get passed to the palace administrator so he could be given a room in Turtle House?”
I could see how careful Nohe was being. I took almost no active part in her retelling of Piivu’s employment. I had not randomly ordered a servant to attend to my personal needs. I had not left some poor boy with only the vaguest of job descriptions and no housing.
I was sure that Nohe had the full story. There had been other servants at the party, other servants who had heard me speak to Piivu. It was impossible that she had failed to find out all the details.
“What can we do to make sure that he is housed with the other Turtle House servants?” I asked.
“I can draw up a letter, if Your Highness would be willing to sign it.” Nohe looked relieved when I nodded. “I understand he is quite attached to you, and you’ve been very patient with all of his errors.”
I hadn’t noticed a single error, but then again, I wasn’t my sister. I had no idea what an error would even look like when it came to the way servants should behave with their masters.
In the Northern Kingdom, we didn’t have servants like this. Sure, my mother employed people from the Silver City to clean and cook. But either they were already members of our clan, or they were hired help, only needed for a few weeks or months.
“He is eager to learn, and if he is new, so am I.” I smiled, feeling the tinge of wryness to it.
“I just worry because he has not gone out a single day. He eats the scraps left behind from your meals. He won’t join us for servants’ meals.” Nohe looked at me, trying to tell me something with her eyes, and I cursed myself for not paying the least bit of attention during Eonaî’s lessons.
“Should I talk to him?”
“If Your Highness has time.” Nohe sounded relieved that I had finally gotten it.
“Of course. I’ll speak with him. And let’s make sure he gets quarters as soon as possible.”
Nohe nodded, disappearing with the box, but I had been forming another plan. Empress Koque had used Krustavian sealing wax. Given the size of the rock Nohe had presented me with, I found it unlikely that the empress had gone through every single one of her stash before she took it into disfavor.
Perhaps they had all been thrown away, but seeing as how Nohe had kept all of these accouterments for years, I doubted any servant of her caliber would simply toss something so valuable that was hard to get.
Which meant I needed to break into the empress’s quarters. It would be good practice for when I needed to break into Rute’s.
Piivu brought my lunch a few hours later as I was considering the parts of the palace that I could see from my window. He looked nervous, as though Nohe had already told him I needed to speak with him.
“Piivu, I had no idea that when I requested your presence, I also needed to request quarters. I’m arranging for you to be housed with the other Turtle House servants.” I looked over his face, seeing the hint of sweat on his upper lip, the careful way he held himself as though ready to take flight. “Your place with me is secure as long as you want it. In the Silver City, servants are not bound to their masters as they are in the Southern Imperium. So, forgive me if I make any mistakes.”
Piivu’s eyes widened, and he bowed immediately as he stuttered through, “Your Highness, I would never… That is… I’m incredibly grateful…”
“No. There may come a time when you no longer wish to be in my service. And I will happily release you. For now, I wantyou to take it as given that you are in my employ. You may leave Turtle House whenever you want. In fact, I encourage you to eat with the other servants. Go out. Nohe will assign you a day off every week, the same as the rest of the servants.”
