"I figured. I have stopped overinterpreting all of your mood shifts. I just - want you to know."

Nodnod. Hug.

"We're going to go get food," he says, and leaves with Mahdi.

Sigh. "They're uncomfortable because you mostly don't criticize the pharaoh like that. Not that I was even criticizing the pharaoh specifically, he doesn't touch his wives."

"I'd think they'd be about as uncomfortable with the palace system as you are? Maybe they figure what's good for people is different if one of the people is an avatar of a god. Doesn't seem like it should be, though."

"No, they know it sounds terrible, but - but that's the thing, right, you aren't supposed to say things about the pharaoh that sound terrible."

"Ah."

"And you can't exactly think I shouldn't say it but then - what are you supposed to do? I mostly don't - talk about with people, because of that."

"That makes sense. - I mean, really it's on the palace to  sound less horrible, if people shouldn't think it sounds horrible, but I guess there's not much you can do about that from here."

"Not really. And I think most people don't think about it very deeply and just think it sounds very different and strange."

"I guess that makes sense."

"Different and strange and maybe nice, instead of all this worrying and worrying you know you're provided for no matter what and you strike up a relationship only if you want it and your child might be a god. Or part of a god."

"I guess so? Weird sort of person who doesn't want any trustworthy relationships, but I guess there must be some. Sounds just this side of impossible to build one, under those circumstances. But then I guess I'm really not the sort of person who would go for this life plan, so."

Snort. "You are really not. I think - some people might not want any trustworthy relationships and some might think they can't have it anyway."

"I guess that's relatable. Sadder that way, though."

"Yeah."

She's not entirely sure whether she thinks she can have any. Doesn't really seem like a good time to say this.

"I guess it's not very certain that getting married like everyone else necessarily gets you one either."

"Yeah. I think - the laws help but they can't actually get you all the way there."

"I - guess the laws would help If you figured people mostly worried about being abandoned, yeah. Which I guess they would, in a society where women can't really support themselves. That makes sense."

" - not just that? Like another thing that matters is, if you're mistreated, will people agree you were mistreated - if you wrong someone, will your friends judge you -"

"Do the laws particularly get you to that?"

"...I think so? Or not the laws all by themselves, if you conquered a place and imposed the laws you wouldn't get it there, but the laws as a reflection of - where society sets the bar for being a decent person."

"I guess I don't actually know what all of your relevant laws are."

"Adultery's illegal. Spousal abandonment is illegal. There's all kinds of things around when you're allowed to remarry - what you have to demonstrate you're ongoingly capable of doing for your current wife and all your children, mostly - 'spousal abandonment' is a kind of funny concept, these days, you can bring a case for it even if your spouse is present if he's neglecting you in some way, so it's expanding to cover - most things you might want a husband to be obliged to do."

"I imagine I might think that was kind of a lot of things if I'd taken a vow of obedience and couldn't leave or support myself. And I think there are probably lots of other ways to mistreat people that you don't actually want to legally forbid."

(And she definitely sounds too close to upset, now, a lot of things would be easier if she could stop having so many feelings all the time - )