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After seeing all sorts of unexpected sides of Calix--his smile, his tearful embrace, even his warm lips--she'd forgotten why he was called the Dragon Emperor.

The fear that squeezed her chest when she first came face to face with the rumored man had been lost amidst all her turbulent feelings as she spent more time with Calix. Eventually, it ended up being replaced completely by another heart-wrenching emotion.

But even if her feelings toward him had changed, it didn't make the Dragon Emperor any less of a fearsome tyrant.

How could she have forgotten that?

"Their toes.." Kel gagged as she repeated Matty's words.

"I mean, really, Newbie," the boy shook his head as if the event wasn't anything surprising, "it wasn't very nice of you to tattle on them."

"I-" Kel stopped, thinking back to the previous day when she'd seriously considered letting Calix discover her mud-filled boots.

She hadn't gone through with it (and the emperor probably already knew everything anyway) but suddenly she felt as guilty as if she had been the one to reveal it.

"I'm just teasing you," Matty chuckled. "I know you aren't the tattling type."

With furrowed eyebrows meant to mask the grin spreading across his mouth, Matty leaned closer to Kel.

".. so don't tell the emperor to cut off my toes, ok?" he barely choked out before erupting into laughter.

"You idiot!"

A swift bop to his mop-like head forced Matty's laughs to taper off.

"Can't you tell this kid is freaked out enough as it is?" Alaric snorted, dropping his armload of luggage to the ground.

Once Matty had calmed down, Alaric turned to Kel.

"Ah.. now, look here, Kid," he began, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. "I don't know what kind of beef you got going with His Majesty, but don't go dragging any of us into it."

".. beef?" Kel questioned. "Like some kind of fight?"

"Ha. How could any foot soldier like us 'fight' with the emperor," Alaric sighed. "It's just since things have turned out this way.. you being alive and all.. It's clear you must have done something real bad."

"The newbie didn't do something bad!" Matty instantly jumped in, another suspicious smirk lingering underneath his serious expression. "He still has all his toes!"

Alaric rolled his eyes as Matty's chuckles filled the air once again.

"Yeah, exactly. I don't mean bad like a crime," the bigger man clarified. "I mean bad like something personal. Something between the two of you."

Kel flinched as she thought of her list of 'real bad' deeds against the emperor.

At the very least, impersonating the princess and illegally joining the Serin military could definitely be considered crimes. Among the others, there were plenty that fit Alaric's description of personal.

If a juvenile prank was enough to lose one's toes according to the emperor, shouldn't she be missing multiple limbs by now?

"Why do I still have my toes?" Kel scoffed sorely to herself as Matty's helpless giggles echoed in her ears.

As the day's march wore on, she discovered that Alaric wasn't the only one who didn't want anything to do with her and her dubious situation with the emperor.

In a breathtakingly short amount of time, she'd gone from feeling comfortable around the soldiers to being openly scorned and now ignored entirely. Nobody was rude to her, and her squad mates seemed genuinely glad to have her back, but it also seemed like she was being kept at arm's length.

Unbeknownst to her, however, the latest two stages of her treatment among the Serin army were more or less deliberate results carefully formulated by the emperor. It wasn't that he'd only just discovered the hazing surrounding his 'attendant' or suddenly changed his mind to let Kel go back to her post.

Instead, the Dragon Emperor was playing as a scientist--testing a myriad of inputs to finally achieve his desired output.

Unfortunately, Kel had inadvertently thwarted him at every turn. Every move he carefully made, the wild girl haphazardly managed to block.

Trapped in the ongoing battle of wits (well, battle of Calix's wits and Kel's obliviousness) the two were both beginning to grow weary.

By the time the infantry stopped to set up camp, Kel was exhausted.

While her body had been marching at a laborious pace, her mind had raced in even faster circles.

In spite of her fatigue, though, Kel was prepared to complete her duties--something she hadn't done while kept under the emperor's thumb--but not one of her squadmates was willing to allow her a single task. (Most likely out of fear of losing their toes.)

"Why don't you get some rest?" Severin suggested, blocking Kel's attempt to retrieve the skinning knife from Matty.

Matty, with visible tears in his eyes, reluctantly agreed with the squad leader.

"Y-yeah.. Go rest," the boy whimpered, slowly retracting the small knife.

When the time came for Kel to trek back to the emperor's tent, her official sleeping quarters, both she and the emperor had decided to confront the other.

"I can do it," Kel hissed to herself as she approached the door to Calix's tent, lined with an orange glow.

For the first time since meeting him again, she was going to ask the emperor a bold question.

"Why.. did you cut their toes off?" She practiced her demand under her breath just outside the door.

Satisfied with herself, Kel cleared her throat and called out, "Your Majesty. May I enter?"

"..."

After a few seconds of silence, Kel tried again.

"Uh, Your Majesty? Can I come in?"

"..."

Perhaps he isn't here, Kel thought to herself, gingerly sliding her arm through the flap.

"I'm coming in."

Inside the tent, her cot was already set up neatly in the corner. On the desk nearby, a lamp flickered softly next to an ink bottle and neat stack of documents.

Kel nearly gasped as her eyes continued past the desk to the other side of the tent.

"Y-Your Majesty," she stuttered. "I didn't hear you, so I thought…"

From the corner opposite Kel's bed, the emperor sat on his own, glowering at her.

With her head bowed awkwardly, Kel fidgeted just inside the doorway, unsure what to do with Calix's silence glare.

After several minutes, he finally spoke.

"... Come here."