Alicia threw away the memories of her past and stood up from her seat. She had many times to think over the past month. The one enlightenment she came to was the people who wreaked havoc in her life were no longer, and the Ivan of this present life was a different man.She believed in this truth well.The king and queen walked down hand in hand. Meanwhile, the nobles hurriedly moved aside to create an empty space in the middle.After bowing to one another, they stretched one side of their hand outwards and spun in a circle in the spot. Their eyes did not move a single inch away from each other. While they spun the other direction, their gazes did not falter.Ivan pulled Alicia’s hips closer to him and moved a step forward.He looked at her.She looked at him.Her lips were filled with genuine smiles.He smiled broadly as they danced.No matter who saw them, they saw nothing but a king and queen stripped off their status and was simply a man and woman deeply in love.“…It looks like Hi
However, the moment Mrs. Cessley left the area, another group keeping a close watch on the queen all throughout slowly made their way to her.Alicia looked at them. She recognized the young woman leading the group and immediately, her countenance hardeTed.‘Seraphina.’Seraphina Rissel.In the past, she was one of the leading nobles who mocked and showed her derisive comment behind her back and in secret. She was married then, but for odd reasons, she remained unmarried and without a noble partner in this present life.“Greetings, Your Majesty. I am the eldest daughter of Duke Rissel, Seraphina Rissel from the House of Rissel.”The air changed subtly at that moment.The nobles who could not get enough of the queen and talked in fervent shut their mouth tightly as if there was a lingering unspoken promise.Their eyes drifted towards Alicia and Seraphina back and forth, attempting to read the mood.They lay in wait seeing what would happen next.Alicia’s intuition beckoTed her that some
“I’m actually quite unaware of the situation abroad, thus I needed to bring myself to ask you that question, My Queen. If perhaps you found my comment distasteful and off-putting, forgive me.”Seraphina created an excuse of ignorance as means to escape in the case that she had been in the wrong should Alicia correct her, and should Alicia take offense to her words, Seraphina would merely say she had no intention of offending the queen while making a desperate plea as she cried crocodile tears to further enhance her innocence.Alicia studied Seraphina Rissel carefully and her people. They were daughters of nobles at a ripe age for marriage. Their emotional eyes contaiTed rage and jealousy targeted towards her, not like the noblewomen surrounding her.But why were they angered and jealous?The answer soon fell.It was anger and jealousy that they’d lost their chance of becoming queen.Ivan was a talented young man popular in terms of marriage candidacy among the unmarried women, so much
Gone was the dreadful air. The atmosphere turned cheerful and joyous and the talk of the king’s deep care for the queen as well as regards of consolation for Alicia’s deceased mother.Seraphina, whose sole intent had been to insult the queen had resulted in the nobility sympathizing with her due to her tragically sad past. Her face hardeTed the more the nobility comforted and extended their hearts out to their queen. She bit her lips in anger when a thought formed in her pretty, little head and she immediately smiled smugly.“Your Majesty, is it not a fact that both your parents are buried in that place?” Seraphina asked.Alicia nodded. “Yes. After my father passed away, both laid to rest in that same place. I gave them my heartfelt greetings and plan to do so each visit.”Seraphina’s lips raised slightly. “Then why do you speak of your mother and not your father? Ah, I think I know why. After Her Majesty’s mother passed away, you had chased your father out of his own home. Am I corre
“Hm? A mistake, you say? It did not seem to me that your daughter spoke such things on a slip of the tongue, Duke Rissel,” Alicia said with a slight smile, pointing out that his daughter, Seraphina, had yet to apologize to the queen properly.“Apologize sincerely to Her Majesty now!” Duke Rissel swiftly turned to Seraphina and scolded her strictly.Hearing her father’s orders, Seraphina shut her two eyes tightly and clenched her fist. She knew the only way out of the hole she buried herself in was to offer her sincerest form of apology to the queen, and should the queen accept her apology and forgive her of her unbecoming behavior, the queen, in consideration of her dignity, will not speak to the king of her problematic way.Seraphina kneeled on one knee.Meanwhile, the nobility near her and those watching her from afar with piercing eyes kept quiet and fanTed themselves.Seraphina the noblewoman had been the one to control the rumor mills and social circles to her will and decree, bu
“It was Her Majesty’s turn to list out the books she had read previously,” a noblewoman answered.Marquis Parvad laughed broadly and extended his hands. “Looks like I’ve joined a good time. If it’s alright, may we hear them out as well? We’ve been looking for good books to read as of recent, truth be told.”Alicia pondered for a moment at his subtle request. A title soon came to mind and she answered, “Recently, I’ve been reading the book called ‘The Struggle For Sweetness’ and I found it an enjoyable read and to my liking.”A few of the young bachelors burst out in cheerful laughter.“The title of the book is called The Struggle For Sweetness? Is that right? Goodness, it seems like a book related to desert making.”Before Alicia could reply, Ash Pavard parted his lips open and said, “Hmm… Sir Killian, I think you have some sort of misunderstanding. The book is quite famous and renowTed for its humanities of sorts. It looks like you don’t know of this.”The young men who wore a burst
Hearing the voice’s words, Ash Parvad was shocked but he quickly recovered and composed himself. He had not realized the king had appeared before him and held onto the queen with one hand as if showing that she was his.Ash Parvad was extremely nervous, but once he saw the king’s playful smile, he realized he’d been joking. Ash Parvad calmed down and gave an awkward smile as his face blushed a faint red.“I apologize, Your Majesty. I’d been too focused on this merry conversation I hadn’t had in a while that I ended up overstepping my boundaries.”“It seems everyone is focused on talking rather than dancing in this ballroom. At this rate, won’t a rumor occur that our Queen kept everyone at bay talking for hours on end and refused to let them go? How about you take the lead, Sir Parvad, and dance with the daughters of the affluent nobles?”At the king’s words, the young daughters of the nobility smiled excitedly and fanTed themselves. Ash Parvad was a noble scheduled to inherit the duke
“Please forgive me, My Queen. I did not mean to deceive you nor was it done out of malice. When His Majesty reached the age of eligibility but showed no signs of interest in marriage, the many nobles came together and selected Ms. Seraphina Rissel as queen candidate, however, His Majesty decliTed the request right away. He had never once shown any personal interest to her. As this incident happeTed long ago, I did not care to bring it up to you for I was sure that if you were to learn of it then it may have caused you unnecessary discomfort,” Mrs. Cessley said in disgrace.“I understand and I appreciate that you put my feelings into consideration. However, I wish that you not do this next time. Even if the information were to cause me discomfort, I need to know so I’m able to prepare ahead of time with what I know should I be placed in an awkward situation like today. The duke’s daughter dug the grave herself, but it does not mean that a similar occurrence won’t happen again.”Mrs. Ce