Kabil paced the small gazebo space like a caged animal, his jaw set tight. After the fourth or fifth lap, he finally snapped, dropping onto a stone stool with a thud that sounded painful. A heavy, dramatic sigh escaped him. The kind specifically designed to demand attention.
The Khatun Dowager didn't look up immediately. She watched the steam curl from her tea, though her hand stilled. Kabil's restlessness was like a buzzing fly she couldn't quite swat away. The huffing, the pacing, the blatant "look at me" energy, was starting to grate on her nerves.
She didn't give him the satisfaction of an outburst. Instead, she tightened her grip on her teacup, clinking it against the saucer with a tiny, sharp snap. It was the only warning he was going to get.
"Mother," he said at last, his voice thick with boredom. "I don't understand. Our plan to irritate the Khan… it's not working. I thought it would be fun, marrying a Hua girl and watching him squirm as I tortured her every day, but now…" He trailed off into a scowl. "It's getting dull."
The Dowager, seated with the same cold grace she always carried, looked up from the cup of tea in her hands. Her sharp eyes narrowed, studying him.
"Boring?" she repeated, tilting her head. "My child, have you forgotten the way the Khan reacts? The way his temper flares every time we toy with that girl? The bride parade alone should have made him boil."
Kabil waved a hand dismissively. "Yes, yes, I've seen it. But that's all it is. Just flaring his nostrils and muttering behind that mask. That's all he ever does," He pouted like a child denied a toy. "He didn't even care when I hit that Hua tramp."
The Dowager listened without much reaction, her expression calm and patient, like a mother who was used to dealing with her spoiled child throwing the same tantrum every day.
"I enjoyed it at first, I admit it… but now it has become dull. Boring. I fall asleep halfway through, and half the time I can't even remember what happened."
The Dowager blinked, "You… sleep through your own amusement?"
Kabil shrugged. "That's how uninteresting it has become."
For a moment, the Dowager stared at him, a mix of disbelief and suspicion. Then she sighed, shaking her head. "Ah, my child… you've always been this way. You grow bored too easily. New toys, new games… concubines changed like seasons. Do you expect me to remember how many concubines you keep in the inner court?"
She glanced at him before continuing, "You lose interest before anyone else even has time to react."
Kabil's scowl softened slightly. "So… what now? We keep trying to annoy him, but he just doesn't seem to care. Maybe that Hua girl is not as important to him as we thought."
Dowager chuckled. "Oh my child, this is why you never win against him. You failed to see the real picture."
Kabil raised his eyebrow, "What do you mean?"
Dowager put the tea cup down. "You think just because he didn't come to rescue her whenever you tormented her, or whenever the whole palace bullied her, he doesn't care?"
Her gaze sharpened. "Then tell me, who do you think has been sending that eunuch to her room after you are done with her each day? Who makes sure she has medicine, that her wounds are treated, that someone stays to watch over her?"
Kabil made a thinking face.
"And that night, before you even married her," she continued, "when your foolish concubines cornered her in a remote place and meant to ruin her," she paused. "Who do you think stepped in and stopped it?"
Kabil knew about that night. He had been the one to give the concubines the order in the first place.
"They were all the Khan's men. He sent them just on time to stop the worst."
He looked at his mother, confusion creeping into his tone.
"Then why didn't he stop me?"
The Dowager smiled, the kind of smile that suggested she already knew every answer.
"Because if he interfered directly," she said calmly, "It would have shown weakness. And he cannot afford weakness."
She paused, then reached for the teapot and poured herself another cup, as if the beverage was the source of her muse.
"But perhaps you are right about one thing," she added lightly. "Maybe the Hua girl alone is not enough."
The Dowager leaned back, a predatory smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "We need a different kind of poison. We need someone who won't just make him angry, someone who will make him vulnerable."
Kabil's eyes narrowed. "What are you thinking?"
"We give him a choice," she murmured. "A new woman. Someone we control, but someone designed to get under that mask of his. We don't want a victim this time, Kabil. We want a distraction he can't ignore. We want him to fall."
Kabil's scowl vanished, replaced by a slow, wicked grin. He rubbed his chin, the boredom finally replaced by the spark of a new cruelty. "A honey trap. To pull him out of the shadows."
"Not just a trap," the Dowager corrected, her eyes glinting with cold triumph. "A challenge. Someone who will tug at his heart in ways the Hua girl never could, and force him to reveal himself."
Kabil rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm… this could be fun," he murmured, already imagining the chaos it might bring. "Finally, something to break the monotony."
The Dowager leaned back, folding her hands in satisfaction. "Precisely. We have seen how the Khan reacts, how carefully he shields that girl. Now, we see how far he will go when someone else enters his world. Watch closely, Kabil. And remember, the game is never over. It only changes."
Kabil chuckled, excitement returning to his eyes. "Oh, I'll watch, Mother. I'll watch… and I'll enjoy every moment."
The Dowager smiled, a sharp, triumphant curve of her lips.