Chapter 343: I am like you, mama.
Sienna returned from lunch, thinking of the spontaneous decision to throw Elias a birthday party just to punish the queen mother. Ever since she transmigrated, her meter for pettiness had really gone up a degree. She pushed open the door to her office, expecting quiet. Instead, she froze.
Ali was perched in her chair, chin lifted, voice ringing through the room in perfect mimicry of Sienna’s tone. "This office will not tolerate excuses! The law is the only thing that matters here. Justice must be swift!" she declared, waving a rolled up paper like a decree.
Eli sat opposite her, wrist raised, record the entire performance with his communication bracelet. His expression was one of long-suffering patience., eyes rolling so hard that they caused him some pain. Clearly, he had been coerced into documenting his sister’s theatrics.
Sienna leaned against the door frame, arms crossed watching. Her daughter slammed her palm on the table. "Do not waste my time. Sign these papers imemdiately or else I will make the guards force you." Ali waited for a moment, waiting for the imaginary person she was scolding to sign. Then, she raised her voice. "Guards, remove him! A night in prison ought to clear his foggy brain. From there, straight to exile."
Sienna clapped her hands, though she was wondering when she had sent anyone into exile.
Eli turned around first and he sighed loudly. "Mama, she has been at it for an hour. I am running out of patience and storage space."
Sienna chuckled, stepping forward. "Spare your brother, little Lady Ali. Also, my office is not a stage."
Ali pouted, sliding out of the chair reluctantly. "I am good at being you, mama. Aren’t I? I look like you and talk like you."
Sienna ruffled her hair. "You are too good at being me. If you keep this up, the tribe will start sending cases to you instead of me."
Eli snorted. "Please, no. She would sentence everyone to exile before breakfast. Also, nobody takes a two and half hour lunch mama. Do better."
Sienna laughed, ushering the cubs out of her office. "Go find aunt Cyra, I have real work to do."
Once the kids were gone, she settled into her chair, only to notice a gilded envelope on her desk. She opened it, scanning the ornate script.
It was an invitation: The Lord and Lady Ramsey of the Racoon Beast Tribe cordially invite you to celebrate fifty years of marriage.
Her brows furrowed. She did not know the Ramsey’s but she did know that they had a wayward son Lady Ramsey had given birth at a later stage in her life. He was the racoon dancer Cyra had run away with in her teenage years. The celebration was to be held in St.Vitts city, a place which was famous for its beaches that made it a great destination for taking vacations. It was also as equally famous as it was for its excess. Casinos on every street, brothels that were open all day, wine shops on all corners and surprisingly, many temples for all beast gods. Debauchery was the city’s lifeblood.
Sienna tapped the invitation against the desk, uncertain. Did she truly want to visit that den of revelry? The thought of endless parties and drunken nobles made her stomach twist. She set the envelope aside with a sigh. There were more pressing matters, like her next case.
She called for Mika while reviewing that case. The one who filed it had a name so similar that it made her groan. It was Nya Kravis, a known troublemaker in the fox tribe. Her complaints were endless, her demands louder than reason. She had been to this office for different reasons fifteen times since Sienna took charge. Each of those reasons was related to her son Gabriel, the apple of her eye, and her only child.
As if summoned by Sienna’s thoughts, the door creaked open. Nya Kravis swept in, her old faded red jacket rustling, her chin high. "Lady Sienna," she said. voice dripping with false sweetness. "I am here again, on behalf of my son."
Sienna did not reply--not before everyone else positioned themselves where they should be. She could hear Mija’s groan and see Linera’s desire to fall out of the window to avoid Nya. Sienna gestured for her to sit. "Why are you here this time?"
"My son wants a divorce." Nya answered, settling into a chair opposite Sienna.
"And why are you here and not him? Divorce petitions must be filed by the parties themselves. If not to me, then to the court." Sienna crossed her arms on her chest, very suspicious of Nya’s intentions.
To her shock, Nya sniffed. "He is busy. Too busy to waste time on such matters."
Sienna’s eyes narrowed. "And yet you are not too busy to waste mine."
Mija immediately flung a pen at the court clerk, hissing fiercely. The court clerk dodged it and continued to type. There was only so much she could strike from the record.
Nya ignored the jab completely, launching into her tirade. "My son deserves the best. He was raised like a prince, pampered and adored. I treat him like a treasure. But his wife--oh, his wife, that wretch Qinghe. She makes him do housework! She expects him to sweep the floors, wash dishes, even care for the children. It is humiliating!"
Sienna blinked, incredulous. "Housework? That is your reason?"
Nya nodded vigorously. "Yes! A prince should not scrub pots. He should not change diapers. He should not be burdened by chores. His wife treats him like a servant and I shall not stand for it."
Sienna leaned back, suppressing a laugh. "Nya, marriage is a partnership. Sharing duties is not servitude."
The woman gasped, scandalized. "You cannot mean that! My son’s hands are meant for precious tasks, not laundry!"
Sienna raised a brow. "And what chores does his wife do around the house?" She knocked on the table with her knuckles. "Do not lie to me because I have a full investigative team under me. They will look into your claims."
Nya mumbled, "She does what she is supposed to do. What every woman is supposed to do. She cooks, cleans, tends the children, manages the household. Again, things that women are expected to do after marriage. I did them when I married, so why can’t she? She dares to ask him for help It is outrageous!"
Mija, whose patience was running thin cut in. "Wait a minute. So, your son’s wife works endlessly and you believe asking him to share the load is grounds for divorce?"