"If you're into actively nonconsenting victims, I can arrange those but they require some special administrative treatment within our system."

"That will not be necessary at this time, thank you."

"I'll have some bodyguards scrounged up for you as quickly as possible.  Meanwhile it'll be some of my personal retinue, which, from your perspective, you can trust around as much as any bodyguards I'd assign.  Do not take sexual advantage of them, my people are allowed to develop their own complex relationship structures and I garden them carefully."

Opalyn appreciates that the Vizier is being explicit, mostly? But this continuing emphasis on whom exactly she is and is not allowed to sexually violate is troubling, both about Healthy-Orphan's history as well as about this culture in general!

Opalyn will try to change the subject.

"Can you direct me to the castle library?"

"At your will."

"And we shall follow."

Oh, fantastic, a culture of book-lovers!

"What kinds of books do you prefer to read, Pilara?"

Stories about maids who get treated much more harshly than this mistress is likely to actually treat her, stories of more interesting historical periods than this one, books of math puzzles that are just barely too difficult for her to solve and make her feel maximally stupid.

"Romance novels, historical novels, sometimes some more educational stuff."

Saying 'math' in front of the Lady might possibly make the Lady herself feel stupid, as is not at all the mission, here.

"Wonderful! Let's find you some of those."

And Opalyn leads her retinue to the library -- or rather, she tries to, until she realizes she doesn't know the way, and then falls in behind the bodyguards.

The library itself is completely satisfactory! Opalyn finds a book called The First 100 Things to Know about Sorcery and borrows it.

After finding that book, Opalyn realizes she's starving. She hasn't eaten since... before leaving to pick up cupcakes for her friend's birthday party, in an entirely different universe!

"How does food work around here? Can something be brought to my rooms?"

"You mean... bring the food to your rooms, am I correct?  We can bring all kinds of things to your rooms, I just need to know what, exactly."

"Yes, food! To eat!" Opalyn is not sure what exactly the disconnect was, there.

"Would it be more typical to eat in company with the court? I'd rather eat alone but I don't want to give offense."

She could have meant to bring a cook to her room, or baking tools!  Pilara has by now learned to notice very carefully what mistresses do and don't say in their requests.

"I have no idea what's typical for Princesses, besides doing whatever they want, whenever they want, to whoever they want.  I don't think anything intrigue-like will happen if the Court realizes you're eating alone."

"One of us should be present, at least, until you are more learned in the sorcerous arts of self-defense."

"Self-defense against... my dinner? Is my dinner likely to attack me?"

Opalyn needs to look more closely at the table of contents of her new book to see if "Dinner Self-Defense" is one of the first hundred things, or if she needs to look for a sequel on the next library visit.

"Assassins, would be the more primary concern."

"Also we could get you the kind of dinner that fights back, if you're into that."

Pilara is so accommodating, in such worrying ways!

"How frequent are assassinations around here?"

"Maybe once every three days?  But those under our protection, rather less often."

That's a lot of assassinations!

"One person dies to assassins every three days? Out of how many people, covering what territory?"

Let's establish some base rates!

"I had meant at the Court of Oldoria itself -- not only assassinations within this very palace, to be clear, but noteworthy political assassinations of those who attend here, even if it was in the dining hall of their home mansion or a courtesan's bed... I admit, I don't know how many people that is, only that I've heard of perhaps ten assassinations deemed noteworthy in the last thirty days or so..."

Pilara has been doing some quick mathematical guesswork in her head.  "I'd guess that's from around three thousand notables in positions worth targeting, some of which experience much faster turnover than others."

That is indeed an alarming level of assassination! Ten people out of three thousand in the last month... that's a 4% chance of being assassinated per annum!

"Sounds like I better learn some self-defense very soon, and I'm glad to have competent bodyguards!"

Opalyn is somewhat less afraid of death than she was this morning. Dying was a little upsetting at first, but her day is actually going pretty well overall. Even so, she'd rather not make a regular practice of it.

"All right, so... Pilara, you'll take care of ordering some food that doesn't fight back?"

"And while I wait... can anyone suggest a better way to immediately learn self defense that's better than reading my basic book of sorcery?"

"I would know who to send you for training if you were an aspiring young guard or perhaps hero, of no more power than a typical countess... I think for you, it is a matter for referring you to the Vizier, who finds you a defense trainer."

"Or I can demonstrate typical attacks at a low power level, somebody else puts up defenses, you watch," adds another one.  "But that's not going to get you to the point of holding your own against serious assassins."