Chapter 307: That’s the Tea

Chapter 307: That’s the Tea

The familiar sight of Bee's family home loomed in front of her like a dragon guarding a pile of gold. It was a fairly apt comparison, she knew, after seeing Daedalus up close. She walked down the paved path to the front door and raised the knocker. An instant after it fell, the family's butler, Chives, opened the door and welcomed her with a bow.

"Miss Beatrice. Your father is expecting you."

Bee nodded, somehow not surprised, as she stepped in and carefully rubbed the soles of her shoes against the mat. As she cleaned off her feet, she glanced around the entryway. It was different from how she remembered it. She couldn't quite put her finger on why. Has the decor changed? Or was it something else?

Once she was ready, Chives led her deeper into the mansion. As they walked, her gaze roved across the walls and ceiling, taking in the mostly familiar opulent furnishings. They passed the parlor where her father often entertained groups of guests.

Bee stopped in her tracks. The family portrait of her, her mother, and her father had been taken down from over the fireplace. The portrait that had been there for as long as she remembered.

It wasn't just that, either. The more she looked around, the more she realized what had seemed so off: every trace of her mother that she could recall had vanished as if they had been scrubbed from the mansion.

Bee took in a deep breath and wiped her sweating palms on her shirt. Her aunt had insisted that it would be best for her to talk to her father alone, that they may have some things they needed to work out "father to daughter." But every time Bee thought about the competition to come, her mouth went a little dry.

Licking her lips, she shook her head. No, she was Void's high priestess. She answered to a higher power now. It wasn't her father who was going to come in and order her around. She ruled the city. She ruled the country. She shouldn't be scared of one merchant, no matter who he was. Even if he was incredibly powerful and had been a larger-than-life figure throughout her formative years.

Bee took a deep breath and turned to see Chives had waited for her. Moving on, they quickly arrived in front of a door down the hall. Out of sheer habit, The door to the sitting room went and sat down in the little alcove Chives had indicated for her. It was like she had never left.

Chives bowed again. "I will go inform the master that you are here."

Bee drummed her fingers on her knee in thought, trying to suppress any feelings of anxiety or worry as she waited. Only five minutes later, Chives returned with yet another bow. "Your father will see you now. He'll await you in the sitting room for tea."

Bee blinked in surprise and stood up. She had spaced off, staring at the wall as she waited, but it couldn't have been more than five minutes. That was unusual. Normally, it was much longer. Her father had a policy of making anyone wait at least 15 minutes if he was pleased to see them. And if he was upset, sometimes he would be "busy" for an hour or longer.

Bee wasn't sure if he had changed his practices or wanted to get this meeting over just like her. But it, if anything, made her even more anxious, as now she didn't know what to expect.

They walked down a couple of hallways and went into the sitting room where Father always met important people. As they arrived, Bee stopped in the doorway for a beat and stared.

He hadn't changed much. Her father had maybe a little bit more gray in his short beard. But his hair was still neatly trimmed, his face craggy with frown lines and sun exposure. Despite his desk job, his shoulders still looked as wide as any two men put together, and he towered over her as he stood behind his chair. His large forearm muscles were balled up as he held his chair back, looking at her with a completely impassive face. But she thought she might be able to hear the wood creaking underneath his hands.

Quickly, she ran a Scan on him. The results made her blink. How did her father get to level 45? That was nuts. And his lowest stat was Charisma? That didn't make any sense.

"Daughter," he said with a slight incline of her head.

She returned to the incline, matching its angle precisely. "Father,"

"Would you like some tea?" He asked.

Bee nodded without saying anything. Chives pulled out her chair for her, and she sat. As her father seated himself, Chives poured some tea and then went to stand over just outside the door. Not within hearing range of their conversations, but close enough to call for.

"I heard you had some business in the capital." Her father said after a few more awkward moments.

That was perhaps the understatement of the century.

"I hear you have become somewhat important in the new government. It was so important that they sent you as part of the emissary group to consolidate its rule. I'd like to hear about this."

"Uh, what have you heard exactly?"

He waved his hand. "Rumors. Many from people I would normally believe, but these are such outlandish rumors that I couldn't count them as credible. I would have to hear it from you."

So it wasn't that he hadn't heard. He just didn't believe it. Honestly, she wasn't too surprised. She wouldn't believe it either.

"Well," Bee began slowly," my official title is High Priestess of the Church of the Cleansing Void." Bee paused to take in a deep breath, the weight of her responsibility settling on her shoulders along with the old desire to meet her father's expectations. "But I am also in charge of the day-to-day running of the Kingdom."

Her father's eyes twitched slightly.

"Beatrice," he said.

"Yes, father?"

"Did you say you were in charge of running the Kingdom?"

She nodded. "I did, father."

The man froze, going even more still than before. His words came out slowly and strangely. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean that I'm acting regent. So... I'm the queen, I suppose."

"May I get some more detail on how this situation came to be?" he said in the same monotone voice.

Bee nodded. "Certainly, it began with a summoning gone wrong"

She launched into the tale, summarizing much and skipping over many of the more fantastical parts but still hitting all the highlights. It took her a solid fifteen minutes or so to finish, which honestly felt like too short for such a complicated story. But afterward, they sat in silence as her father digested it.

Every couple of minutes, he would ask her a calm, well-thought-out question. Sometimes, she'd have to think to answer. Sometimes, they'd be simple points of clarification. But she didn't press him as they both sat. She even took a couple sips of the tea, though she immediately regretted it each time. Even the little bit of sugar that she had added from the pot in the center hadn't helped it at all. And now it was cold, which made things even worse.

Eventually, though, she was saved from the awkward silence as a familiar dark shape flew into the room.

"Ah!" she said with a smile. 'Master, this is my father. Father, this is Lord Void."