The Queen watched with disinterest as we stood before her in silence. At least, this time, the princess and I weren’t the only ones standing before the King and Queen. We were also joined by the prince and the other advisors. It was a good thing that the prince had chosen to stand with us rather than to sit on his throne and question literally everything.

Even now, I was more concerned with the prince’s opinions than anything as Oanez cleared his throat from beside me.

“Your majesty, may we begin?” I watched the Queen nod her head with a few words of sarcasm. “No, let’s all wait a few more hours.” The King was immediately whispering soothing words to her as I tried not to snort at her sarcasm. Unfortunately, the advisors and the prince did not appreciate her reply as much as I did.

The princess, however, turned her head and grinned at me from over her shoulder. Our eyes held each other’s for a while before the Queen’s voice interrupted our moment. “Speak.”

Oanez cleared his throat once more as he began. “For the matter of the Geraldian Queens’ visit to our Kingdom, Elena and I have raked over every solution possible and have come to a consensus.” He glanced over at me, and I nodded my head before facing the Queen, mustering up all my confidence. “We believe that the Queen should think of appointing a representative who will meet with the rulers of other kingdoms and maintain relations with them, in the Queen’s stead.”

The Queen’s eyebrow rose as she stared at me, and I felt the unnerving stare in my soul. She wasn’t like the princess at all, with some of her emotions and sentiments well hidden. Of course, she was a political figure and must be aware of the importance of maintaining one’s expressions in court.

But her eyes inspected me with an intensity which terrified me.

“And we propose the appointment of the princess for this position.” I sighed in relief when the Queen’s stare turned immediately towards Oanez, who wasn’t bothered by the attention. It wasn’t only the Queen who had her undivided attention on him, but it was also the prince and the King.

Both royal men had differing expressions, with one looking contemplatively while the other being visibly discontent.

“What kind of conclusion have you two come to?! The princess as the Queen’s representative? She’s not the heir!” The prince’s whines of displeasure were heard by everyone as the Queen remained indifferent. All expressions were wiped from her face as she looked at Oanez and me, with concentration.

“I would like to hear the reasoning behind this suggestion.”

The prince’s eyes widened as he stared at the Queen in disbelief. But while he was visibly surprised at the Queen even entertaining the idea of the princess as her representative – Oanez spoke up first. “Your Highness, Elena and I believe the princess to be more suitable in creating a bond with the two Queens since she is not related to any political matters of Naja. The princess would also be able to approach the Queens better and to coax them into creating friendly relations between the two Kingdoms.”

I nodded my head as I continued where Oanez left off while the Queen regarded us with a serious expression. “The princess is also good at charming people. I am a witness to how the orphanage children and caretakers regarded her with respect even after she was caught borrowing fruits from the gardens.” On any other occasion, I would have burned with embarrassment because of my unfiltered compliments for the princess, but in front of the Queen, I only desired for her to acknowledge her. Isabella made sure to glance over her shoulder at me, which was probably prompted by my mention of the little incident which brought us together.

The prince’s scoff had been loud enough for the attention to be diverted to him. The Queen looked in his direction before she glanced over to the princess, who was back to bowing her head in complete respect.

“May the royal advisors voice out their opinions as well.”

I watched with wide eyes as the first person to step forward was none other than the only person who was always the last to speak.

“I agree with advisor Oanez and advisor Elena’s suggestion, your Highness. The princess’ temperament and her current apolitical status may grant her favor with the Geraldian Queens quicker.” Ulgrim immediately stepped back with a bow of his head, which didn’t just surprise Oanez and me, but also the other advisors.

Melvin snorted out as he shared a look with Graham, before they also stepped forward to address the Queen. “Graham and I agree with the young ones as well.”

I had expected Melvin to agree with us, but seeing Ulgrim’s approval was odd. He didn’t show any of his emotions or thoughts on his face, which made it more difficult to read him. Now, his siding with Oanez and me, and choosing the princess over the prince could be, both, a troubling matter as well as a victory for the princess.

“Hm. Then I will ask one more person for their opinion.” My father raised his head to look at the Queen as if she alluded to him, since he was the only one amongst the advisors who hadn’t spoken up yet. While on the other hand, the prince believed the Queen would ask for his perspective on the entire matter.

Surprisingly, it was neither of the two.

“Since this matter directly concerns the princess, let us find out what she thinks of it.”

It was as if the throne room had erupted in silent chaos with just one sentence. But no one else had said anything aside from the prince who was furious at how the situation was developing. Even he could tell that the Queen’s decision would be in favor of the princess, and he could not handle it.

“I am the heir, mother! How can she represent you, the throne, when she is just a disgraced princess!”

I felt my anger rise as well from his words but felt a hand grasping my wrist immediately. “Don’t.” I heard Oanez’s voice. Turning to him, I watched him shake his head. He raised his head towards the Queen and King, which was what I did as well, and my anger subsided immediately.

The previously calm and collected Queen, was frowning.

“Silence!” The one word was enough to have the prince bowing his head in submission immediately. And with him, all of us were lowering our heads as well. “I am the Queen of this Kingdom! And my decision does not depend on your sentiments!” The Queen’s expressions showed her rage as the King immediately soothed her with a hand on her arm. “Please, my dear, calm your anger.”

“Look at this insolent child! Disrespecting me, the Queen, in front of my own court!” The prince’s head lowered further as the Queen’s anger remained at its peak. It was the first time that I had seen the Queen furious at the prince who she favored so much.

“He is just a child, my dear.” I wanted to snort at the King’s word since the prince was clearly not just a child. He was a full-grown man, but I clearly wasn’t going to be the one to point that out.

Thankfully, the Queen also didn’t agree with that statement as she shook her head. “He is a man. And he has disturbed my court with his petty whines.”

The King caressed the Queen’s arm and I chose to look away so I wouldn’t face her wrath either at seeing their intimate interaction.

It was obvious for anyone that the Queen was the real regent of the Kingdom and the King was only her supporter. A, somewhat, similar situation with the Geraldian throne. Queen Amelia was the one who made every decision regarding the Geraldian Kingdom while the other Queen was just her partner.  Someone the Geraldian Queen was adamant on keeping as her betrothed for some reason.

This matter had been sensationalized across all the other three kingdoms which also included Naja.

The Queen had found out this information through Pellin Jade’s letters, and she believed it to be a joke on his part. But then it had travelled everywhere. The Geraldian Queen was considered desperate for remaining with a woman, but for me, personally, it was a great news to have travelled over to every Kingdom.

Despite being a loyal Najan, I commended the Geraldian Queen for being courageous and claiming her love in such a manner. It had me respecting her two folds regardless of my loyalty to Naja.  

“What is your opinion, princess, on this matter?” I was brought out of my thoughts as the Queen’s voice travelled into my ears. Raising my head slightly, I saw through her calm question. She was still angered which was subtly evident in the way she was frowning.

The princess was standing with her back to me, and I saw the way her head rose and she said the words which I knew were going to come out of her mouth.

“I will follow through with any of mother’s decisions.”

It was as if her answer had been cool water over the Queen’s burning anger since it had wiped away the Queen’s frown immediately. She looked contemplative now as I watched her subtly glance over to the prince, who still had his head lowered.

It didn’t take the Queen long to decide on the matter as she addressed all of us.

“It is to be recorded on this day, the appointment of a new political position in the Najan royal court. After hearing every suggestion and opinion, I have come to the conclusion of appointing the princess as a representative to the throne regarding relations with Geraldia.” The Queen paused as she looked at the princess carefully. “Since the King of Eresdia and the General of Drinla have already rejected the princess, it will be futile to work on any relations with them.”

The mention of the two Kingdoms in the South brought a distaste to my tongue. But my feelings didn’t matter and I knew of it as I watched the princess bow deeply before addressing the Queen. “As the Queen commands.”

Satisfied with the answer from the princess, the Queen waved her hand dismissively. “Hm, dismissed.”

As soon as the words were out of the Queen’s mouth, the prince was the first one to leave the throne room furiously. It was apparent that he hated the Queen’s decision and was clearly against it, but his opinion and feelings didn’t matter either. Unfortunately for Oanez, he had to follow the prince as he patted my back and followed him out.

I waited for the princess, who turned around slowly and met my eyes for a brief second.

We walked appropriately outside of the throne room, with her being in front and me following along like the perfect pair of royal and her advisor. The other advisors remained in front of the Queen as the princess and I exited.

There was silence between us as the princess remained moving and I could tell that she was walking in the direction of her room.

Our walk was quick and peaceful since there was nothing to worry about as of yet. Our plan had been followed through perfectly and the Queen had made a decision in favor of the princess as well. Everything had happened as we had wanted and anticipated. But as the princess and I reached her room, and she entered quickly – there was not satisfaction on the princess’ face. Rather, it was concern.

I frowned as I closed the door quickly. “Are you not pleased with the outcome?”

The princess looked at me with a frown as she shook her head. “It’s not that.” Her answer calmed me for only a moment, before I was worrying again. “Then what is it?”

Isabella sat down at her bed as she sighed. “I-I feel bad for my brother.” Her words felt like a joke as I frowned but the princess’ serious expression spoke otherwise.

It was strange how she worried about her brother while also being worried for him. Her genuine expression brought me to the conclusion that the princess was, indeed, the best person to make relations better with Geraldia. She was not like the prince and she was certainly not as self-centered or self-serving as the prince.

She was generous and kind, and a genuinely good person. Good enough to empathize with a man who had insulted her once again in front of the Queen, and yet the princess still cared for him.

“You are an angel, Isabella.” The princess’ cheeks darkened as her eyes widened and I realized too late that I had been loud in my compliments. Her bashful expression had stirred some buried emotions once again and I could not remain there to feel embarrassed any longer.

“I-I will go learn all about the Geraldian Queens and their date of arrival from Oanez and share the information with you.” I didn’t wait for the princess to say anything in reply as I bowed my head and rushed out of the room. If I had stayed there any longer, I would have said something else equally implicating and embarrassing.

It was bad enough that I was smitten with the princess, but now I had begun voicing my attraction unconsciously. It was going to be trouble for me. It was already trouble for me.