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“A word, please?” Gunther requested, although it sounded like an order.
By God, I’d had enough of this man.
Raising my chin, I started walking again—straight past him.
“No,” was all I said.
Of course, that wasn’t the end of it. Gunther stepped beside me, following my every step.
“I can request to have your meeting delayed so you and I can talk in private,” Gunther pressed. “I think your irrational female mind is forcing you to act on matters a man would take time to consider, to seek counsel on.”
One of my brows rose. “Irrational female mind?”
Gunther nodded. “Women lack the intelligence and talents of men. Everybody knows this.”
It suddenly dawned on me that this man really thought these things. At times, I was convinced the way he belittled me was all part of his cunning plan to make me seem weak in front of my people. But I was more and more certain that he really believed that, as a woman, I was worth less than a cow. It made sense now how he’d burned women at the stake, claiming they were witches. He really thought he was doing the Lord’s work.
Don’t waste time on this prick.I kept my head up as I continued toward His Holiness’s chambers.
“Your Highness should listen to His Grace,” the monk dared to comment. “There is truth in what His Grace says about the brains of women.”
Gunther seemed encouraged by his supporter. “Remember your mother,” he said. “She knew her place as a lesser being.”
My feet turned leaden the moment he finished the words. Abruptly, I faced him, burning with rage.
“My mother? A lesser being?” I repeated, my eyes narrowing. Gunther opened his mouth, but nothing came out. I stepped closer; he retreated. “A lesser being?” I took another step, and he moved back again until his back hit the wall. Slowly, I inched even closer, my face right in front of his.
“You little, worthless, shit,” I growled and grabbed him by his fancy robe below his neck. A small whimper escaped his lungs. “I’m going to send you to a place where not even your God can find you. And as you rot away in some snake- and bug-infested Amazon village, I want you to remember that out of all the people you stepped on to climb your way to the top, it was a woman who put you in your place, a woman who brought you low, a woman who got the best of yourinferiormind.”
The voices of noblewomen reached me as a group of them entered the hallway. I let go of Gunther and stepped back. Quickly, my lips turned into a smile. The women looked at me curiously and bowed. I smiled at them, then turned back to Gunther.
“Thank you again, Your Grace, for teaching me this invaluable lesson about where we women truly belong. I must say, it was incredibly enjoyable. Especially the last part.”
Gunther looked white as snow.
I passed the group of guests with compliments about their beautiful dresses, which resulted in cheerful giggles, then approached His Holiness’s apartment door. The monk who had led the way was still standing beside Gunther, mouth and eyes wide open. Then he snapped out of it and came running over. With a trembling hand, he knocked at the door.
“Come in,” came the soft voice of His Holiness. Hand on the handle, I was about to open the door and enter, but then briefly paused and sought the monk’s gaze.
“Don’t ever degrade a woman again,” I said to him as I entered. “Or I’ll send you to the same hell as Gunther.”
In the corner of my eyes, I saw the monk’s face turn pale as I stepped in and closed the door behind me.
I knew these apartments, yet it never ceased to amaze me how lavish they were for guest quarters. Everything was of the finest gold and silk. Several rooms stretched from resting quarters with bathrooms to a private tearoom—the very place I found His Holiness. The charming room was filled with small paintings depicting nature and animals, and a cozy fire crackled next to several silken chairs. His Holiness was sitting on a light blue silken chair. I bowed my head and sat across from him.
“I would love to know the painter of these stunning paintings,” His Holiness said as he leaned over the coffee table between us to grab his teacup—the finest Asian porcelain. “I find them very soothing to look at after my morning and evening talks with God.” He raised his cup in a gesture to ask if I wanted tea. Judging by the sweet smell that lingered in the room, the tea he was drinking was Venus leaf, which was harvested from a rare plant in a place so high on a mountain in Asia, its leaves cost thirty times its weight in gold. How he knew we even carried this tea was a mystery.
With a smile, I declined his offer by shaking my head.
“Sadly, the painter of these paintings has long died and those are the only ones he ever painted,” I said.
“How unfortunate.” His Holiness looked at them. “I’m certain they’d fetch a lot of compliments at my new vacation palace.”
Looking at this tiny old man in his priceless white-golden robe, drinking this priceless tea, indicating that he wanted my paintings for his vacation palace of all places, I couldn’t help but feel tired. Tired of these games, tired of people’s greed, tired of men trying to steal from me and take my crown. I still had to beg Rune for a marriage I didn’t want and had just threatened Gunther. I felt as if the room was running out of air to breathe.
“You can have them,” I said, emotionless, almost bored.
His Holiness smiled—fake. “I could never accept—”
