"So, it's not your first time seeing him?! You were cheating on me?!" says Viishaun, squinting his eyes."Don't act as if you were jealous. I would have believed it if it was 'Shaun' and not Viishaun. I know you have no interest in me, but if your attitude and behavior keep changing, the people will find us confusing.""What do you mean?" He seated straight, crossing his legs together, and the same goes with his arm, while his brows raised like alps."Take an example, my maid, the secretary, and marquises. They might think we're only having union problems, but if you keep doing that, they might notice something is wrong with you. Usually, your normal self was..." Aileen was hesitant to mention what he was when under the spell. To cut it short, when he's Shaun and not Viishaun."Let me remind you... That 'Shaun' was not me. Also, you tricked me and made me marry you, and now you are telling me to keep acting like a fool?" Aileen could not constrain her madness with the arrogant King.
He was bust locking himself in his office and refused to see the queen after recollecting fragments of memories when he was Shaun a while ago. "Out of pity, huh? She's pretty blubber-mouthed when she's mad," he murmured to himself as he recalled her saying she wouldn't have married him if he had kept his jerk personality because she didn't ask him to treat her dearly; made Aileen consider marrying him out of pity. It was the last thing he heard before 'Shaun' took over again, and before he knew it, he was already devoted to the queen again."Spell... Schreziel kept telling me I was under 'love-bound' spell but insisting she had nothing to do with the spell," he uttered, talking to himself.The King's head started to ache again, so he stood up. He left his office in the middle of the night to look for the queen at her chamber. While heading to Aileen's chamber, he thought of combining their chamber by converting the empty room; beside his chamber into an extension of their chamber.
"You... Let's have a serious talk, but let's treat that cut on your finger first." The queen silently followed the King's footsteps until they arrived at his chamber. "Sit down," says Viishaun.The queen remotely followed his words and silently waited for what he would do next. He came back with a box of medical kits and sat beside her, on the edge of the bed."I won't kill you, so you don't have to worry about your life," says Viishaun."Pardon?" The queen blinked twice and thought her ears played with her."I said I won't kill you. Do you think I'm crazy enough to kill the queen? Also, I have my word when I exchange vows with the woman I married at the sacred church. Lastly, I pledge I would never kill a woman I shared a night with," he replied while treating Aileen's finger, wrapping it with a bandage.The queen felt her cheeks were burning with the mention of marital duty. She looked at the King and replied, "But... it was Shaun who promised all of those things you mentioned."
"What kind of sh*t is this thing?" says Viishaun while holding a cup of sweetened coffee with melted ice cream. Aileen got mad because he compare her favorite drink to a sh*t. She slapped the surface of the paper and raised her voice, and she said, "S-Sh*t?! Did you just label my favorite drink with that barbaric name?" "Did you just raise your voice at me? Were you disrespecting me perhaps?" The king replied, wearing an annoyed face. Instead of retracting by words, she simply looked away and sipped her drink, but he made another provocative question. "Who would like this disgusting and inelegant drink?" The king lifted his left upper lip in disgust while slightly stirring the cup. "You uncultured swine, this is a Coffee float!" The queen screamed and scooped an ample amount from her cup to force Viishaun to have a taste of it. The king glared at the Queen and wiped his mouth, but he somehow had tasted it. "You're acting cocky, have you forgotten who's seated next to you? You sh
"Have you opened the royal envelope, ma'am?""You mean the tea party invitation of Lady Vermillion?" The queen replied, looking at her reflection in the mirror."Yes, madam. Will you finally go out to the palace to attend to the aristocrats?""... I wanted to ask you, how long have the king and Princess Vermillion known each other?""Madam, are you jealous of their closeness?""J-just curious, Athena.""Uhm... well... the royal family and the Kingdom of Vermillion were business partners before, and as a result, the king and princess were betrothed at a very young age. But when King Viishaun broke off the engagement, the Vermillions moved back to their kingdom.""I-I see... so if I didn't appear out of nowhere, your madam would have been that beauty?""Madam, you sounded like you're blaming yourself for their broken engagement. I heard those two weren't romantically attached at all."Even though the maid cut off her imagination, she can't help but feel guilty for ruining someone else'
There are so many books in the palace's library, which made the queen quite conflicted about where to start. 'This is indeed a royal library where most books were collected by the king himself. I wonder what the empire's library would look like, it must be twice or even thrice bigger and loaded. Maybe, some forbidden books were stored there,' says a tiny voice in her head, while her hands were busy browsing books on the shelves.She wanted to go to the empire's library but was too afraid to face the emperor and empress. Viishaun was already terrifying to deal with sometimes, and meeting her husband's parents was even more terrifying. 'The emperor was his father, yet he always sent him to a fierce battle. Then, the empress was not his biological mother, and I heard they were not close with one another, thus he never stayed in the empire's main palace. I get that he grew to be cold and bloodlust since he spent all his life in battle without anyone to comfort him'— are the thoughts run
"Is it just me, or does our queen look somehow stupid. How come she walked around the palace and even planned to go outside wearing indecent clothes?" says Ana, one of the chambermaids."We shouldn't talk bad about the queen because we are uttering blasphemy in the royal family. However, I also notice how ignorant she is of our empire's rules. She lacks elegance and dignity. I wonder what our king saw in her," seconded by the other maid– Rosa."She's beautiful and has the body of a goddess. Maybe it's all a physical attribute?" says Rosa."Princess Elvira is a complete package, but he married an estranged woman," says Ana."Maybe she's keeping our king warm in bed. Who knows if her body was the reason why the King kept her? Since she has low dignity, luring men should be easy for her."Athena was displeased with the gossip by her two fellow maids. She yelled, "His excellency is coming!" after losing her patience hearing all those blubber mouths. The two ladies flew in fear of King Vi
“Sh*t! Why does it have to be him?! What is he doing here?! I thought he went to the capital?’’ Aileen murmured, hiding, mixing among the crowd. Then, she peeked a little, and her heart almost dropped to the ground when piercing eyes surprised her. "Oh my gosh! Our eyes met!!" "Lady, what are you doing?" the lady mercenary asked Aileen. The queen placed her finger on her lips and made an 'Shhhh~' sound. Aileen thought, at this rate, that his excellency would notice where she was hiding. So, she crawled and tried to mix in the crowd again. "I need to find Athena and go home. I can't be seen by his excellency, wearing these shabby clothes again." The queen bumped her head into a hard object, and when she looked at the ground, it wasn't a store or a post she bumped into, but someone else's knees. There's a pair of expensive shoes standing in front of her, and she has an idea who wore them. She lifted her gaze and found the man, with arms crossed together and wearing an irritated l
Flame Stephan was staring at the family portrait hung on their wall. He heaved a heavy breath at the thought of remembering how he almost thought of breaking off the marriage a week before their marriage, but his fiancee changed into someone else. "It was as if she's no longer Aileen," he murmured to himself. He recalled how their relationship started rosy just like any other couple but turned static and cold as Aileen prioritized her career over him. For him, their marriage was only for the sake of the years they've been together, but one day the lady became innocently sweet. "Buddy, you may laugh at it, but I think I just fell in love deeper with your mom while hesitating to marry her back then. I thought I had fallen out of love, but it looks like we only needed to start a new journey to find our way back to love," he said to a two-year-old son, their third child. He put his son on the sofa and asked, "Who's that cutie in the picture?" Then the baby simply giggled while starin
The prince returned to the empire to receive his crown, and be hailed as the next in line for the throne. The ceremony took place at the Imperial Palace’s Vinziel’s mansion. The service is conducted by the Pope of the Orthodox Church of Capital. Attended by Nobles, Aristocrats, Royalty, and representatives of the Houses of Parliament. The first ritual is a homage by the Pope and senior peers as part of sacred communion. He was also anointed with holy oil and presented and invested with her regalia before being crowned. Then, followed by the placing of the crown and passing of the orb and scepters done by the emperor. Shortly after, the betrothed consort of the crown prince is proclaimed as crown princess, blessed by the empress. After receiving the orb and scepter, the crowned royalty subscribed an oath to govern the people according to their respective laws and customs. Wearing his regalia, he waved to the thousands of Alandeans who were lucky enough to witness his coronation. Stan
Side story 00 "My Queen, where's our Alena?" King Alfred asked as he entered the carriage and sat beside the queen. "I thought you fetched her already?" Athena asked. "I thought she was with you," Alfred replied. "Wait here. I'll fetch her," says Athena as she descends from the carriage. She knocked at Alena's room and asked, "My dear, what's taking you long?" Alena turned around and glanced at her mother. "She hasn't dressed yet?" Athena asked the nanny assigned to take good care of the heiress of the western region. "I don't know what to wear, mother. What gown do you think would make me attractive?" Athena chuckled and replied, "You still have four years before your coming of age. Should you be concerned with being attractive at the age of fourteen?" "Of course, mother. I can't show up to the imperial family looking unattractive." "Let's head out now. You don't want to make Vinziel wait that long, do you?" The young heiress looked away to hide her blushing cheeks. Sho
The garden of Allandis imperial palace was packed with invited nobles and aristocrats to celebrate the seventh birthday of the prince. Some guests truly wish to greet the prince, but of course, there is an ambitious family who dreamt of settling close ties with his royal highness' son to gain favor. It is undeniable that social gatherings were one of the paths to the social ladder. Hence, it is like a battlefield instead of an ordinary celebration. Thus, the marquises are on high alert to ensure the safety of everyone. Since the empress is fond of flowers, she decided to use her beautiful garden as a venue for her son's birthday which took her a week to finish the interior, with the helping hands of servants. The table clothes are decorated with the usual embroidered sparkling diamonds attached to the hem of each blue cover, and on top of the tables are gold cutleries and dishware. Those with a vulture eye that captures the unspoken wealth displayed had assumed amassed fortune
The ocean side gives off an impression of being alive and happy with the presence of relaxing vegetation. There are evergreen estates both along and inside the ocean side. Pictures of light ocean growth should be visible along the shore. Palms trees stand tall along the ocean side getting into the rhythm of the breeze radiating from the body of the ocean. Moreover, there are hued blossoms close by, magnificent ones that light up at the sparkling of the mid-year sun. "Look how magnificent the ocean is," says Scheriziel while letting the sun kiss her cheeks. The royal family decided to have a one day vacation, free from all responsibility. However, the little one seemed to dislike the place as the prince plastered a disappointed look. Then, he crossed his arms and furrowed his brows while saying, "This beach again? Can't we go somewhere else, mother and father?" "This place is memorable for us that's why we always visit this place once annually. Don't worry, we're going somewhere els
Scheriziel rested her head on the emperor's chest as they soaked in the hot tub. Then she asked her husband, who was silent and staring blankly at the water. She said, "Are you alright?" "Yes. It's just that I'm quite sad about my old man's demise," Viishaun replied. It was not just the emperor; the whole empire had filled with a heavy heart as the former great leader bid goodbye for eternity. After fighting with his age and ailment, Argus XV left the world. The empress embraced her husband. Then she patted his head buried in her plump chest. She dared not utter a word but comforted him through her acts. "I've been mad at him for years because he has never been a good father to my younger self. I only felt reconnected with him after going back in time." "At least you two had lived well in this second life of ours. I'm sure he is happy wherever he is right now." "Right. I'm glad that my choice in this life turned out fine. At least he gets to see and play with his grandkid," he r
"Let me see your smile for a moment before I do my obligation later, my prince. Your father and I had to take turns to watch over you because we had to finish our duties and responsibilities," says Scheriziel while letting a one-year-old prince play with her fingers. Prince Vinziel giggled when the empress lifted and carried him. Scheriziel sighed and uttered, "We probably should spend more time with you because you will not always be this little. Once you grow older, you'll find your own path, and the time you'd spend with us will get shorter as you age." Someone knocked on the door and asked permission to enter the prince's chamber. "Your majesty, the paper for the foundation you asked for yesterday was waiting for your approval." "One moment..." the empress replied as she left the prince's chamber to visit the former emperor's residency. "Come, my sweet Vinziel," says Argus as he faintly sits on the edge of his bed. "I'll be back to fetch this little sweetie pie, father. He
The empire was filled with joy as the commemoration of the six-month-old offspring of the emperor and empress was currently taking place. As part of the tradition, a royal baby can only be baptized and shown to the public once it reaches six months. "How long will it last? I think our little prince will start crying any moment from now," Scheriziel whispered to her husband's ears. "We're almost back to the palace. Give me our little prince so you could rest your arm," says Viishaun as he gently carries the baby into his arms. He chuckled and added, "He's smiling now. It looks like my handsomeness works on him." "I hate to admit it, but it seems our little prince was quite unfair. How can he always be always in a better mood with you than with me? It was me who had him for nine months, yet he still likes you the most." "That's what you get for always picking a fight and making me run errands," he replied, recalling how hard it was for him to get a peaceful sleep before the little
With the curtains slightly opened, the sun is revealed – shining big and bright right back at the couple awaken by its cozy greeting. Scheriziel slightly opened her eyes as the sun kissed her skin, only to get lazy again at the beginning of another day."Rise and Shine, my life. We need to do a little exercise to prepare you for delivery," says Viishaun, reminding her of things they should do early in the morning. Then he kissed his wife's forehead, down to her nose and lips. "Five more minutes," her ladyship replied, still refusing to open her eyes again.Viishaun sighed and thought he wouldn't force her to take a walk and do a little stretching if it won't help her fast delivery. Scheriziel groaned and uttered, "Fine. You don't have to kick my inside, sweetheart."Viishaun chuckled as he helped the empress sit on the edge of the bed. Then, he took a royal robe to cover his wife."Soon, it will be the three of us walking here to greet the sun and clear sky," says Viishaun, holding