The king chuckled, and he put down the cup of coffee. "Which fool came up with that lie?" His eyes cleared in realization. "I know, it’s because everyone is watching that rise of lady Blanche. I should meet with the brains behind it so that they can make some changes to what they are showing the people. It is giving the royal family a bad image, when people look at us, it is almost as if they are seeing the TV characters coming to life."
"If you do that, they will talk all the more and assume you have something to hide. It is entertainment, just let the people have their fun.
I heard that the mage estate is about to launch a new type of entertainment called live television. Your highness, you should visit them and see what that is about.
Perhaps you can create Raff TV, or Royal channel...or something like that. You can educate the citizens on the history of Eldoria, the different kings we have heard through the years.
You can promote reading, culture, food and other things. I am very interested and when the opportunity comes, I think I will invest."
The king nodded slowly, soaking in her advice like a sponge, when it came to business and magic, he was always attentive.
"Speaking of mages, have you used your magic lately?" he raised a random question.
Sigrid shook her head in response, "You were very clear when you told female mages not to use their magic. I am a member of the royal family and I must lead by example. Until you make a decision, I will keep my magic to myself."
"Mmmm..." he responded. "What does your family think about your magical abilities? They must be excited to have two mages in the same family."
He sounded a little jealous to Sigrid.
"I am also a member of the royal family, it means you have two mages as well. The odds of my children and Roland’s being born with the gift is very high. As for my parents, they are excited and worried at the same time, until you make a decision, everyone remains on tenterhooks. What do you intend to do?" she returned a question his way.
"What do you think I should do?" he countered with a question as well.
Sigrid shrugged. "I have magic, of course my answer is going to be what you would expect of someone like me. However, personal sentiments aside, I think you should allow women with magic to exist because it’s not going away. The more young girls and women with the gift are oppressed, the more they will come to resent you. Not just you but the royal family."
She gave him her more serious look that she used when she wanted to knock sense into someone. "It takes something very small to spark a rebellion. One unhappy person becomes two, two become three and one day you wake up and three is three thousand people with weapons and torches stomping the royal castle, chanting down with the tyrant.
Also, if they cannot practice magic here, they will move to kingdoms where they are valued, like Medoris. Even Nemoris has apparently changed this law.
The last thing I am going to say on this matter is that there is a saying that one should not throw the baby out with the bath water. Do you want your mages running to another empire or kingdom and developing it?"
King Raff tapped drummed his fingers against the coffee cup, his eyes narrowed as he pondered on her words, she had given him a lot to think about. Later, he would consult Romilda and the queen about the matter.
"Okay, what else are people saying, is there any gossip on the Rosewood family, you were there recently."
They moved from heavy topics to light gossip that made both Sigrid and king laugh. by the time he let her go, it was already a half past noon and her anxious husband was waiting outside the carriage.
As soon as she was within touching distance, Roland pulled her roughly and looked over her from head to toe. He turned her from side to side with ease before grabbing her face and turning it at different angles.
"Are you okay? Please, tell me that you did not piss my father off and earn yourself a beating."
"I am wiser than that Roland." She shrugged his hands away from her face.
His hands took a hold of her shoulders instead and he looked into her eyes, his gaze was still filled with worry despite the lack of injuries to Sigrid’s body and her less than reassuring response which had been filled with sarcasm.
Roland knew his father, their tempers were similar, one wrong word could set them off. It was why he loved sword fighting, he had a place to redirect his anger, tamper his emotions and think sanely.
His father on the other hand, if he was angered, there were consequences, serious ones sometimes.
"Did my father threaten you?" he asked her.
She rolled her eyes, "Why is it that you think your father is a monster of some kind? First you assume he beat me and now you think he threatened me, he is not all bad our king. We just had breakfast together and talked like a normal father and daughter-in-law."
His hands fell from her shoulders, he laughed harshly. "Talk! my father, I don’t know how to break it to you but my father does not talk, he assesses, deducts, questions, lays traps, gives orders, berates, he does not talk Sigrid."
"Well, he did with me." She shrugged. "I am not his son, his expectations of me are not as great as the ones he has for you. If you want to sit down and have a normal conversation with him, I think you should reach out.
I think your father is lonely, in his own way which is why Rina has taken advantage of him as much as she has. In fact, in my opinion, your father is the loneliest man in Eldoria."
She climbed into the carriage and he followed her, "My father is not lonely." he said as he settled down opposite her.
"Roland, the loneliest person in the world is often the most powerful one because everyone that is around them, is there out of duty, need or selfishness." Her body jolted forward as the carriage started to move. This did not stop her from sharing her opinion. "Think about some things from his perspective, he had to marry a woman he did not love in order to secure the throne.
Her family is powerful which makes him paranoid, her first child was a boy one with magic at that which made him afraid that he had become disposable because a new heir to the throne had been born.
If the De Kensington’s joined hands with one of his brothers, uncles, or cousins and some other noble houses, especially when it was just the start of his unstable reign, he would have been done for."
"You are wrong, my mother would not have stood for treason, she loved my father."
"Right." Sigrid responded with sarcasm in her voice and disdain on her face. She finished it off with a snort that she noticed displeased he husband.
Roland punched the side of the carriage, she had succeeded in irking him.