The halls of the palace felt hollow and cold as Arthur walked side by side with his wife, the only source of noise being the sound of shoes against the marble floors.

  He could feel the frustration and anger radiate off her person, no doubt she was not pleased with his stunt at the meeting and how it ended.

  They reached their shared chambers and the doors clicked behind them, closing as they fully entered the guest chambers they were given for the duration of their stay.

  The room was sparse clearly showing that it wasn't lived in, but it was decently sized enough for several people to the point Arthur found it unnecessarily big.

  Atop the table flanked by two couches, there was a bottle of what he assumed to be some sort of brandy. There were some glasses as well, so he figured he might pour himself some.

  Arthur couldn't even let out a sigh before the expected outburst, came from his wife.

  “Why did you do that!!”

  She did her best to keep her voice low however her anger got the better of her and it came out as a shout.

  Of course, Arthur had expected this, After all Esme was forced to just stand there and question none of his decisions or words as he and the nobles discussed what to do with the slums.

  “Why did I do what?”

  She huffed in frustration and rubbed her face to calm herself. She couldn't tell if her husband was an idiot or whatever else that would force him to make such decisions.

  Truthfully she couldn't be mad at him too much, the nobles did not care for the slums, not in any capacity, having Arthur oversee the place would be good for a lot of people, she had no doubt he could help prevent people like Darren from resorting to crime, plus with the help of Baron Wolfram and the city guard, it shouldn't be too difficult

  However, unfortunately this all made it so Arthur was now at the mercy of the nobles, or more specifically under her father's influence. As much as he could do good, she wasn't certain it would be worth chaining himself like this.

  “First it was that “blunder” you caused, letting me take a seat was not only disrespectful to the crown but to the Kingdom's customs as well. The fact that his majesty didn't even rebuke you harshly was a miracle… It's likely because you're an Explorer and his majesty has no desire to antagonize you when he gains nothing from it, it is also likely he wants you to have a positive impression of him and make you more easily controlled or directed. I do not doubt that….”

  Arthur watched her with a raised brow, her thoughts trailing off from their original intent as she worked to decipher her father's purposes.

  Luckily her rambling also worked to calm her, the initial anger slowly simmered till it was gone, leaving only vestiges of frustration. That was a first for him, it seemed she got distracted and was now wondering why the king would choose to overlook such a transgression, her anger having been long forgotten.

  “Esme”

  He called out and she jerked back, he attention returning to him and the contemplative look was replaced by a frown.

  “Why did you agree to take charge of the slums? You know it's another way of trying to use you and your power.”

  She placed her hand on her hips as she questioned, crease returning to her brows and giving him the typical look of a disappointed parent.

  “I would have suggested you for the job but I don't think they would have agreed but this way you can contribute and any achievements would be attributed to you.”

  The man shrugged as he gave his answer, in truth he had wanted to suggest that Esme be the one placed in charge however he realized that may have been too much to ask of the nobles.

  So he decided to just take the role and then essentially have Esme be the one to run things and later when asked about how things are going he'd give her credit.

  “What? Why would you do that?”

  Frown had quickly disappeared and utter confusion graced her features.

  “Wouldn't it be better if a woman were credited with the achievement of ridding the slums of poverty and crime?”

  She let out a sound that told she quickly understood his intent, however, despite her understanding, she was still against it.

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  “But I'm a woman, I can't lead, that's a man's duty. My role is to take care of you, make sure you're well rested and fit to do your role.”

  She made her protest, she doubted it would persuade him against the idea but it simply did not make sense to her how a woman would be in a leading role, they just weren't made for it.

  “Why is that? Is there something physically preventing you from doing the same work as any man?”

  “Well, I'm not as strong as a man, certainly not as strong as you”

  Men and Women have physical differences that were simply too obvious to ignore, a woman cannot defeat a man in combat, women were smaller and weaker, while men were bigger and stronger. That was a fact of reality that Esme understood.

  “OK, but that still doesn't mean you can't do the same work as any man, just because you're physically weaker than a man doesn't mean you lack strength. aplus in this case we're not talking about strength, we're talking about being a leader, that doesn't require you to be physically strong or be a man”

  He countered, honestly thinking about this was rather odd, he never would have guessed that a woman would be speaking against something like this.

  He understood the reality of it just as he understood it in his old world, however, he did not believe women couldn't physically do the same work as men.

  “That's just not how things are done, it's not something… I can do”

  That last part of her sentence was spoken with less conviction than the rest. particularly because she realized her argument wasn't convincing enough and yet she couldn't think of anything as a defense.

  “Why do you think you can't do it?”

  Arthur pressed and she was quick to respond, mouth opening out of reflex to counter

  “Because it's…”

  Her response died at her throat, her words would have like been “because that's not how things are done” or “it's not a role for a woman” Fortunately she was quick to realise such a defense was pitiful and circular. She was making the same argument over and over again.

  “Well?”

  He pressed for an answer however she remained silent. Her mind thinking trying to find a workable counter to his argument.

  Esme didn’t like this, she didn't like this at all, an uncomfortable pit of bile settled in her stomach, the same horrible feeling of responsibility she felt when he had left her to make the choice to regarding the protection fee.

  It was like a burden was dropped at her shoulders and should she ever drop it, the terrible consequences would follow her throughout her life. Such a burden wasn't for her, not a woman with no strength to protect herself from the consequences.

  Not a woman ill fit for such a heavy burden, she knew it herself, she wasn't made for that, no woman was made for that, at least that's what she believed.

  If she took the role of managing the slum only to fail, all blame would be on her, all responsibility would be hers to have. She didn't like that, she didn't want that.

  Unfortunately, Arthur waited, his gaze inquiring and waiting for her answer.

  “I don't know, because I don't think a woman can handle something like that”

  Her shoulders slumped, the uncomfortable pit in her stomach still present. She found the couch and took a seat, she felt her legs shake a little and felt a bit hot. Her eyes searched for the windows and found them open, there was a still breeze, not enough to cool her down.

  “Would you like to learn how to handle that?”

  “Huh?”

  “My dear beautiful wife, did I ever tell you about the first time I slew a monster by myself?”

  He questioned her almost remembering the excitement and glee felt when his mentor had told him the guild would finally allow him to be a full-fledged Explorer.

  “No, you've only mentioned when you were with your mentor and some stories about the monster you killed well into your career, but I don't get how that's relevant?”

  “Well let me let you”

  Arthur smiled as he plopped himself right beside her and he poured himself barely a glass of the brandy on the table. Took a sip and began to tell his wife of the first time reality slapped him across the face.

  ...........