These parties have always been what I enjoy the most about the court. People forget for a time their schemes and intrigues and have fun, dancing and laughing around. That was also a place where I could find someone to spend the night with, usually a very young and attractive woman unseen to the court until now.

When I saw that person, I was first unable to determine its gender. Was it a boy or a girl? I could see something close to the epitome of beauty but I couldn’t decide what it was. Only that sensual figure and its gorgeous features could be distinctly perceived by my brain. What was that person? Then I realised. His chest was too broad and too flat to be a girl’s and there was an Adam apple on his throat. He was a boy with incredibly thin traits. His eyes were those of a cat, dark and mysterious. And his mouth was plump. He couldn’t be a Moore.  I saw plenty of them on paintings and he was nothing like them.

His eyes diverted from mine and I followed him. He went to a Lord I had seen several times without recognizing him. As I was coming closer, I heard the beautiful creature say something in a language I couldn’t understand and the man turned round and saw me. He bowed immediately. The cat-eyed man on his side mirrored him.

- Your Majesty, that’s an honour! The old man said.

- Please, I answered smiling, my eyes shifting to the cat-eyed man then on him again. I don’t remember being introduced to you, Lord.

- Oh! I’m Lord Sheffield of Aquitaine.

- And who is that person beside you? I asked my eyes on him once again.

- He… unfortunately, as you can see, he is a foreigner and can’t speak our language yet. But I hope he’ll be able to very soon. That Lord Sheffield said.

- Is that so…

My eyes wandered on the young man’s silhouette. He was well-proportioned and his whole being revealed how shy he was.

  - Where does he come from? I asked, curiosity taking over me.

- He comes from Choson, a small Kingdom in Eastern Asia. His French name is Mir.

My eyes never left the cat-eyed beauty as Lord Sheffield was talking.

- May I ask you what his real name is? I said, trying to rip my eyes off Mir.

- Unfortunately, I have been unable to catch it. I can only speak a few words of his language.

- Really? How do you communicate, then?

I was surprised, and truthfully disappointed: how was I supposed to get to know him if even his acquaintance couldn’t communicate with him!

- Um… basically, we don’t really interact. I tell him to follow me and that’ll all, he said a bit embarrassed. But he is a smart young man and seems to understand very quickly the situations he is faced with.

- Do you think he understands I am the King of this Kingdom? I asked cheekily.

Lord Sheffield was embarrassed, I could tell. Truth is, he probably didn’t have a clue of what Mir was thinking as he couldn’t even inform him of the place they were going to or the people they were meeting. Mir probably thought he was some kind of rich Lord, just as Sheffield himself. That thought irritated me a little though. I like people, especially the ones I choose to spend the night with, to know how powerful I am. Call me vain or shallow, but I want to be acknowledged as the ultimate master of my kingdom.

- I know he does, Lord Sheffield stated. He told me you were coming towards us just then and he said the word “king”.

I have to admit I was taken aback. I didn’t expect someone who doesn’t know our language to immediately recognize who I was. While we were talking, Mir was staring at us, a neutral expression on his face. It was impossible for me to tell whether he felt boredom or interest. He just stared at us, as if he were part of the conversation. No one watching us could have told he weren’t speaking French.