“Have you thought of a name?” Mother’s question is a silly one. Of course I have thought of a name. I have even talked to Michael about names. We have decided that if it is a boy the name will be Gabriel and if it is a girl it will be Gabriella. The rest Michael told me to choose as he was bad at naming. 

He didn’t even change the answer when I mentioned that one of his middle names would be Giovanni if he let me choose. “We have settled upon Gabriel or Gabriella. As for the rest... we have yet to decide.” 

“That is a good name. Did you pick that name?” 

“You caught me. Michael was about to pick a more common name but I told him that only a holy name is befitting of an heir.” Not that the child will be an heir. Only those with the imperial sigil can claim that title. Despite that I have this feeling that the child I am carrying will be an heir. 

Perhaps it is just my base instinct. Maybe it is from God. 

“Excuse me, If I could have but just a moment of your time your majesty.” Matteo says entering the room. Mother looks at him and smiles before leaving. Matteo bows and then makes his way before me. The last time he told me he needed to discuss something with me I was not pleased to hear the answer. 

I guess it isn’t his fault that my father is sick. 

“What is the problem?” My mind begins to worry as Matteo remains silent staring at the ground. He normally doesn’t kneel but he is at this moment and it isn’t a good sign. This means that he is gravely serious at the moment. “Am I talking to a doll? Answer the question.” 

“Well... it is the Yanzhou.” He speaks slowly as if choosing his words in order not to incite my anger. I feel my hands begin to shake. There can only be one reason that he is bringing them up. 

War. 

“Have they begun to attack the border?” 

“Yes. They have currently fallen back to the Arno river.” Then they will most likely not be a problem. A large portion of Arria’s military strength is put inside of Ante. I look at Matteo. He spends a good amount of time with Michael. Surely he has some knowledge of military strategy. 

“Matteo, can you take an army and spearhead an assault into the Yanzhou lands?” 

“If I can convince the court I will leave as soon as possible.” That shouldn’t be a problem. I can simply make a suggestion to father and it won’t be hard to convince the court to agree. Nobody would be willing to say no to a distinguished member of the royal guard leading armies to crush the Yanzhou. 

“Ensure that you burn their palace down to the ground.” I do not want to see Matteo back until I hear of news of the only thing that remains of the Yanzhou capital is ashes. Anything less is unacceptable. 

“Is that an order or a personal request?” 

“If I said it was an order would you listen?” I look at him and he just smiles back. He is not loyal to me. He will not listen to anything I say unless he personally agrees with it. “Do not even bother answering. It is a personal request.” 

“Then I will do so to the best of my ability. Now, if you may excuse me I need to start brainstorming ways to convince the court to allow my excursion.” I doubt that it will be very hard if nobody moves to oppose him. 

“Invite my mother back in when you leave.” Matteo accepts the command and walks out the door. I hear him say a few things to my mother but I am unsure of the exact contents of their talk. 

“He seemed to be in a grim mood. Something wrong, my dear?” 

“I was just hearing news about a war between Arria and Yanzhou.” The door opens as I inform my mother. I look over to see Lady Casttica enter the room. She has been next to me more often than my own personal maid. “Lady Casttica. Have you met my mother?” 

“I am Duchess Rosa De Alle. It is a pleasure to meet you Lady Casttica. Isabella has so few friends, it is always a pleasure to meet one.” I can’t believe that she is telling Francesca this. She is assuming that I need friends. I talk to countless ladies of high society. 

“I am honored that her majesty considers me a friend. Very few people are willing to do so.” Part of me wonders if she is being honest or snide. I am leaning on the honest end of the spectrum. I do not feel that Francesca would be a person who would spend time with somebody that they despised. Openly or behind closed doors. 

“She has talked about you often in her letters to me.” 

“Has she? Has it been good or bad?” 

“Initially it was a rather horrid opinion but it has become more nuanced over time.” Francesca laughs at my mother’s words. The two seem to be getting along amazingly. I stay silent listening to the two of them talk idly. 

Mother begins to inquire about Francesca’s past. I want to say that the information was surprising to me but I quickly come to realize that I know more about her than I initially thought. I didn’t even bother to have her investigated either. 

A/N: You guys know the drill at this point. Busy doing HW so I will keep this nice and short.

As always, thank you for reading.