“An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy of being called an idea at all.” ( from celene tho. let me rest. i dont want to click 4 times to change accounts )
Oscar Wilde sentences | selectively accepting
His private correspondence was placed on his desk in his rooms every day at six and a half in the morning. By seven, he was usually awake and would read the letters just before breakfast. Replies sometimes could wait, sometimes could not.
Radonis perused the little stack of letters waiting for his attention. Three from three different members of his Consiliare, one from the Ambassadoria, one from his brother currently in Neromenian, a note from His Most Holy Divine; and one from Empress Celene. The golden wax seal and the stamped purple ribbon underneath were unmistakable. And what was that, rose-scented paper? Oh, it most definitely was.
He snorted and concluded he would leave that one for last — in cauda venenum, after all.
He read it with his legs crossed, his feet bare, his back lying comfortably against the chair’s cushion, and chewing on mint leaves to freshen his mouth. The fact that this series of missives between Celene Valmont and him wasn’t official allowed for elaborate searing remarks and courteous concessions to happen far from a public sphere which would add uncomfortable, dangerous consequences to whichever games they played. Orlesians liked their games, didn’t they?
But that wasn’t a game, as far as Radonis was concerned. If a man such as he was, who had walked between the spires of the Magisterium for decades, had an early-morning need to sharpen his wits any further, those letters were the perfect excuse.
The paper he always used for his replies was ivory-coloured and, instead of the Ring of the Ferryman, the wax carried the dragon-and-snake heraldry of the Imperium. The ink was dark, with a slight green tint. It came with no frills and no perfume, lest the allusions that came with political banter were mistaken for flirting.
[…] For a woman of your reputation, your Majesty, I would not have expected you to endorse such a fringe-like statement. The best of ideas bring the most benefit, I am certain you agree. Danger is for gamblers, and I would hesitate to consider such a definition a compliment, when one has the honour to sit upon a throne. […]
