Hours later, a cloud covered the sun outside, the light filtering through the windows washed away the color. Koharu and Li had run out of excuses. They were both dressed. There was nothing urgent calling them away but they couldn’t come up with more reasons to stay. 

Koharu had proved to love indulging in Li’s affections. And he didn’t bat an eye at the hours they’d wasted away, unlike Li, who was suffering from stabs of guilt with every passing half hour. That said, Koharu wasn’t inclined toward excess and Li didn’t push his luck. If Li did feel a lingering hunger, a desire to gorge himself on sweat, dopamine, and physicality… well, that probably had more to do with his own sense of deprivation than with what was actually good for him.

Somewhere in this castle of his, there was a proverb written in stone, “No matter how good the man, how innocent his thirst, he still dies when he drinks of dead waters.” Not sure which room it was in, but it had imprinted upon his brain nonetheless. No matter how much pressure Li might be under, he was careful to avoid all addictions. Except for work. He was terribly addicted to work and it would probably be what killed him.

Li really wished that he could have walked Koharu out the door. It might have been nice to pull on jeans, pretend that time would still slip by without consequence, and watch from the service entrance steps as Koharu disappeared down the hill. But as soon as they made it out as far as the 2nd living room, Li was swarmed. Koharu's eyes went wide, taking a few startled steps back as servants literally came out of the walls.

Li just let it all wash over them. Maids in the most severely formal version of the castle’s black serving suits, a dead giveaway that they had been personally attending his guests. They alerted him of 3 separate invitations from his three separate guests, footmen were fitting him into a suitable jacket, he was asked to pick between 3 ties and 5 pocket squares. At some point, his bed head was combed back- which was lamentable because Li enjoyed having messy hair. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted one his maids counting out some travel money for Koharu, (who also looked combed and like his clothes had been lint rolled- no one could escape the maids) before the maid could finish Li found himself snatching the coin purse from the maid and pressing the whole thing into the palm of Koharu’s hand. Koharu’s eyes wanted to pop out of his skull.

“I wasn’t going to charge you any- ”

“I didn’t think you would, this is just t-”

“I really can’t accept this!”

“Well you missed work to be with me today, didn’t you?”

“Well- yes, but- But I don’t make this much!” Koharu made to give the purse back to the maid.

“Don’t let him give it back.” Commanded Li. The maid had been ready to receive the purse but recoiled at Li’s words. Koharu pushed the purse at her trying to make her take it. But in the end, the maid raised her hands above her head like the purse was a loaded gun in a hold-up. Koharu swore at her. The maid started singing and started to leave the room. Li wanted to stay here and laugh at these two dancing around each other. But time pressed in on him and Li left the colorful world of Koharu’s presence behind.

Maids scurried around him as he walked and room by room, he was transformed. By the time the swarm cleared, Duke Li Kong was in a 3 piece suit, military medals that he had never earned in battle were pinned above his heart, thin gold chains draped over one shoulder. Faithful Lt. Caitlyn Rhitweis was at his side, debriefing him on the seven meetings she had attended in his place or rescheduled for him. His neck and shoulders were experiencing a familiar weight, and he could feel his brain scrambling to kick back in gear. 

“Who's first?”

Lt. Rhitweis fell in step with him, subtly leading they way without ever actually walking in front of him. “Midas is ready for you in the north corner reading room.”

“I would rather talk to him last.”

“He’s had most of his personal staff on the lookout for you at the edges of his rooms. They’re trying to be benign, but it’s setting the whole castle on edge. They’ll know if you went to see any of the others first and undoubtedly tell the king.”

“Tsk, we need a bigger castle.” No matter how far apart you placed guests in this castle, everybody could still find out everybody’s business.

“Do we?” snarked Caitlyn.

“No.” Li emphatically stated. The logistics of handling an even bigger estate was the stuff of Li’s nightmares. Li signed a couple documents on Caitlyn’s tablet as they walked. Just glaring at the digital document when he decided to Veto something, and Caitlyn would mark the documents with wide blue X's and email them back to senders. As they passed doorways that led into the courtyard, he spied Prince Edwin playing football on the grass with some kitchen boys, the skinny prince was somehow in a gardening apron and was spattered in mud. He seemed to be having fun, so at least Li didn’t have to worry about that loose cannon.

Layers of the King's security parted for them, but Li didn’t knock when he reached the reading room, this was his home after all. He strolled right in, though he felt Lt. Rhitweis falter at the doorway before joining him. Midas was snuggled into a wingback armchair, fixated on a worn-out copy of Harry Potter but tossed that on the table when he saw that it was Li. They shook hands, expressed how pleased they were to see each other, and then Midas sliced through any further pretenses by calling his main advisor on speed dial. They got to the heart of the matter in a matter of seconds… and both Duke Li Kong and his Lt. Rhitweis found that they needed to sit down.

“We’re considering allowing you to marry into my family.” Wait. What?

Both Midas and his long-distance advisor were incredibly polite, relaxed, and were not applying an ounce of pressure but at the same time, Li felt the gentle pressure of their intentions against his mind.

This was a backward ask. The baiting of an offer. 'allow you to marry in', like Li had ever asked, as if. And Li had expected something like it, based on what had happened to Orun, but he hadn't imagined This. An under the table marriage proposal to join the royal line of the most influential family outside Li's own. Promising wealth. And accepting such an offer would bring down upon him the wrath of his Patron Queen. Promising violence. Li could feel the entire room watching him, he could feel his expression had frozen on his face. His smile felt fake, so he dropped it.

“Why?” Perhaps that sounded too suspicious, Li didn’t care.

King Midas leaned back in his chair, chuckling. He was wearing significantly less gold and silver today- he actually looked like he could breathe- but he still bounced strands of light in different directions as he moved. “Because you’re a smart man, Li. And I’m going to be in need of smart men.”

“And why will you be in need of smart men, your majesty?” Li narrowed his eyes. That sounded suspiciously like Midas was planning to go to war, which would be bad for business. Bad for Kaipen Nung. Midas waved his small hand as if shooing away the very notion of war. “Don’t look so dark, it's not so heavy. It's simply that I thought you might be interested... I might be coming into some money.”

Caitlyn’s left eyebrow raised nearly up to her hairline. King Midas was the head of the richest family in the world. His land was vast with a bevy of resources, for him to come into any more serious money was to seriously rewrite the balance of global power. He would be graduating from the king of his nation to the king of the world.

“But what I have in mind isn’t going to work- without you.” Li felt himself smile. It was a smug, flattering sort of smile. Yet the way that the smile faded- contorting into a sneer, a baring of teeth, before disappearing entirely... for the tiniest moment, a millisecond, child-King Midas looked intimidated.

“What exactly are you asking me to do?”

“Otta Kong Li,” said the advisor on speakerphone with tender respect, “We simply want you to do a little more of what you have always done. The real question is, what can we do for you?”