Amaya feared his questions.

"You see, your affair with Henrik is not the first thing people think about when they say your name. I think it's not even the fifth." He looked at her, then clarified, "Your reputation may just be unsalvageable, from even before arriving in Leront."

"It won't be easy," she knew.

"I need to know what exactly happened and how are we going to cover it. So that I can help."

Amaya braced herself, "What do you want to know?"

"There are rumors about an affair with the Darces Count. Anton Davill?"

That old story kept annoying her, getting bigger every day.

"My uncle had lost a part of Moaran's lands and resources, playing cards with him, or by simply making bad decisions, in my country's detriment. And in Count Davill's favor. The Count was a frequent visitor in Sunnah, and he was always inviting me to stay with him for a few months. There was no doubt about what he wanted - a young virgin to entertain him."

Amaya pondered whether she should continue in her honesty, or if she should start producing some strategic tears. Unfortunately for her, her acting talent was not so great as to express regret over decisions she had taken a long time ago.

"When I turned sixteen, I decided to take his offer. He was a pig, but a charming one, who knew how to make a young woman feel special. We had some fun, attended some parties - hidden under masks, so there will be no witnesses," she hurried over the most sensitive parts. "I seduced him and turned him against my uncle. It wasn't that difficult, the cracks in their friendship were already there. I only had to show them."

She concluded, "The Count returned everything to Moaran. We parted on good terms. He will never speak of it, or confirm it, to anyone. The official story is that I visited one of my father's dearest friends, the Count's father, for advice on how to properly rule, before becoming Queen."

He was impressed, but she could not tell if by her directness, or by her scheming.

It was both, Amaya realized when he said, "It sounds like a good deal you made, trading your virginity. I did not get anything for mine."

"The Count was unaware I was already having an affair, with one of my guards," Amaya was annoyed by his penchant to speak uninformed. "We were both young and ridiculous, and he wouldn't wait for me to come back from Darces." She remembered poor, beautiful Radi and how he couldn't understand her at all. "He's married now, and a good man, he will never say a word."

"Perhaps he'll change his mind. When he learns that he's been erased from your life... entirely."

"He's happily married and a father of two. His heart was broken a long time ago. If he wanted to hurt me, he would've done so by now," Amaya was certain.

"Where is your uncle now?" was not the question she was expecting, but it was the one he asked her. "I assume he knows the truth."

Even without their honesty pact, Amaya's answer would have been the same.

"He is an enemy of The Queen of Moaran and has been removed from the court. Some nights, when I feel sad, I think about him starving, somewhere, and I immediately feel better."

It was a warning, but not a very effective one because he was not impressed. The Queen did not have the power to sentence a citizen to death, in Moaran. And she could not imprison him without a trial that would've exposed her much more than him. Even if they foiled her revenge against her uncle, she was at peace with the laws as they were.

She decided to not let the night get any longer. "All the scandals have been handled, except for the one at the Leront court. Help me with it, and you'll have a proper wife."

"And Charles, and Henrik? What happened with them?"

"Even with his infatuation with me, Charles was useless to my plans to Leront's throne. I decided to improve them, with the King. The problem with him was that I had nothing to use to keep him in line."

Studying her face, her demeanor, he was intentionally making her uncomfortable, Amaya thought.

"And how are you going to keep me, in line?" he asked, finally.

If they weren't in the middle of an important discussion, she would have shown him exactly how.

"I won't have to if we both keep our word."

He looked down, at the paper-covered desk. "Is there anything else I could help you with?"

There was.