Chapter 56 --56
Elara studied her servant’s face, trying to understand the emotional calculus. "You valued being seen more than you valued safety."
"Yes."
"That seems illogical."
"Probably. But emotions aren’t logical, Your Highness." Lisa met her eyes. "Which you already know, I think. Because you don’t really have them, do you?"
The observation was direct enough to be almost confrontational. Elara considered deflecting, then decided against it. Lisa had been honest. "Not in the way others do. No."
"I thought so. Everyone’s noticed, actually, though no one says it directly. Dimitri and Mira whisper about it sometimes. The beast knights watch you differently than they watch others. Even the merchant crew has commented that you’re ’an odd one.’"
"That’s probably accurate."
"It doesn’t make you cruel, though." Lisa pushed off from the barrel slightly, testing her balance on the rocking deck. "It makes you... clear. Honest. When you say thank you, it’s because the action genuinely warranted thanks, not because you’re performing politeness. When you give orders, they’re straightforward because that’s efficient, not wrapped in fake sweetness that everyone knows is manipulation. I can work with honest."
"You sound like the fox knight."
"He said something similar?"
"Essentially. Last night. He found my ’clarity’ tactically advantageous."
"Well, he’s right." Lisa managed a more genuine smile now. "The palace is full of royals who smile and praise and make you feel valued—all fake, all manipulation, all designed to extract maximum service for minimum cost. They perform emotions they don’t feel to control people. You just... don’t perform at all. No pretending. No games. Just honest interaction. It was strange at first. But real."