“Thanks?” Kiem said.

Hren sat down on the chair opposite the couch and pushed up his shirtsleeves.

“So you haven’t memorized your press statement.”

“I have a press statement?”

“I’m afraid we’ve only just received it from your department,” Bel said coolly. “I was coming now to inform his highness.”

“Get it on his damned wristband, then,” Hren said. “Five minutes ago. We’ve talked about this. First thing you do in any event is—”

“I know, get the lines to take, I know.” Kiem hated being given press statements. You weren’t only supposed to use them with the press but with everyone who asked you a related question, and it made him feel like a robot.

But crossing Hren never went well. “Go on, Bel, what are they?”

“There are two pages of various statements,” Bel said. “Here it would be that you accept congratulations and are proud to continue the alliance in memory of your revered cousin Prince Taam.”

“What about Jainan? Shouldn’t it mention Jainan?” said Kiem. “Some kind of compliment, maybe?”

“Kiem,” Hren said patiently. “He’s a diplomatic representative, not one of your groupies.”

“I just thought—”

“Listen, Jainan knows this is a political arrangement and isn’t going to expect flattery. I’ve talked to him.”

Kiem winced at political arrangement. He probably shouldn’t be visualizing

his oncoming marriage as a hostile council meeting, but once he had the image, it was hard to get it out of his head. “Right.”

“Your persona needs to change now that you’re married, you understand?”

“I’m reformed,” Kiem protested. “It’s not a persona thing.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard that before,” Hren said. “Heard it when you and your friends flooded your school with the ice machine.”

“I was fifteen,” Kiem said defensively.

“Then again when you lost six months’ allowance betting you could climb the dome on the shrine, and your friend told the press.”

“I was seventeen, ” Kiem said, but realized it wasn’t helping his case. “I didn’t really understand money yet.” That sounded even worse. He’d been properly hauled over the coals for that one, both by the media and by the Emperor, which had been somehow more painful than his fractured ankle. “Look, I know I’ve screwed up, but those were all years ago.”

“Then you auditioned for that game show while you were at the College, and we had to force the media house to wipe the footage.”

Kiem didn’t have a defense for that. Hren jabbed his thumb in Kiem’s direction to emphasize his point. “No more tell-alls. No more blow-by-blows of your latest hangover. You’ve got just under a month to sell the public on this marriage before Unification Day. The bloody Resolution takes public sentiment into account when they audit the treaty. And on the same topic, you’re going to have to start taking more care over the charity groups you work with, understand? No politics.”

“That’s charity fundraising. Not politics.”

“I’ll tell you what it’s not, it’s not smiling at the bloody camera, ” Hren said.