The knight cried out in agony as he landed with a hard crash. Adolph’s chest heaved as he looked down at the man who curled up on his side, clutching his left shoulder. “Your left side is weak.”“My apologies, Your Majesty.”Chasel shook his head as he walked onto the training pitch. He had only taken his eye off of Adolph for a few hours. He had expected him to go and sit by Laurel’s bedside as he had been doing, but of course, he hadn’t. He’d have to apologize to the knights later for his oversight.“Your Majesty,” Chasel called. Adolph turned his head stiffly, his eyes narrowed and too alert.They were sleepless and agitated. Chasel had been lucky to reach him so quickly and know exactly where Raven was in the castle. “Lady Raven would like to speak to you,” Chasel said. “She awaits you in the rose parlor.”Adolph was tense, but he nodded stiffly and excused himself from the training pitch. He watched everyone on the pitch let out a solemn breath of relief. “My apologies,” Chas
Lily found a quiet room away from prying eyes and slipped inside. She closed it behind her, put her back to the door, and screamed. She was going to lose her mind if this kept going on. She took the position at Chasel’s request and pleading. He’d promised to make himself available to her. It wouldn’t be fair to blame him for the current state of things, but it certainly wasn’t her fault that the acting luna was an idiot. She closed her eyes, counted to ten, and left the room, bracing for the next catastrophe she would have to deal with as Sarah came down the hall with a sullen expression. Her clothes were wet and stained. She was so deep in her sorrows; she hadn’t noticed Lily in her path until she nearly bumped into her. “Oh, sorry…” Sarah said, her eyes a bit hazy. “I… wasn’t paying attention.”“What happened?” Lily asked.Sarah sighed, “… the prince’s wife.”Lily winced. It had only been a few days since the wedding. Adolph had made a formal announcement regarding Tina’s sentenc
Adolph walked down the corridor towards the dining room. He was exhausted after a long day of listening to Chasel's report about the progress of the lockdown of the city and the preparations for his marriage. He hadn’t been called in, having skipped practice to deal with other matters, he was looking forward to sitting down with the soldiers eating a full meal.Adolph nodded and Sam and Lynn, “It’s good to see you both. How are things?”Sam and Lynn shared a glance as Adolph settled into a seat beside them. It was strange for them. Adolph shared plenty of meals with them on the battlefield, but now that they were back in the castle, they expected him to eat at the noble’s table. “It’s going well enough. How are you, Your Majesty?”Adolph sighed, “I’m hungry.”The men laughed, a light relieved sound he’d heard infrequently while on the front lines. It was a bit of a relief to hear his men somewhat at ease even if he couldn’t be. Adolph scanned the table and frowned at the sight o
Basil walked towards the room, but there were no ministers inside. Chasel was there and several generals he had never bothered to learn the names of were there. The minister of justice was absent, and Adolph sat at the top of the table. Basil sat next to Adolph and looked around the room nervously. He’d never been in a war council meeting while his father was away. It was something that he and Laura had argued about at length. He had no martial training and no interest in following in his father’s footsteps, leading men into battle. That was what lowborn men who joined the army, like the generals, and men of valor and power like his father were meant to do for the kingdom. Not a single man of the Mirabelle line had ever seen battle as their strength lay in the management of the upper class and the people within the kingdom. So, why was he here?“Now that everyone is here we can begin,” Adolph motioned for two general. “General Atkins, what news comes from the border?”The older man
Adolph came to visit every day. It seemed that Laurel was seeing him more since she had woken up than she’d seen him in the days leading up to their wedding. He didn’t stay long as there was still a lot to do regarding the investigation and running the castle, but he was spending all of his free time in her room, sometimes to catch a few moments of rest in the chair beside her bed, sometimes just to hold her hand.The door opened again. The priestess walked into the room with the flutter of her robes. Laurel met the priestess’ gaze as she smiled, “Praise be to the Moon goddess by her light we are saved.”Her eyes twinkled, filled with a secret Laurel wanted to know, but she didn’t ask. There was something about her eyes that was familiar, but she couldn’t place it exactly and she didn’t want to assume that the priestess was also a member of the Raymond family though she certainly seemed to be. She didn’t remember this priestess from when she married Basil in her past life.“You s
Laurel marched from the minister of finance’s office up to Adolph’s office and opened the door. He glanced at her and sighed. She was supposed to be resting, not stomping up to his office. He stood and went to her.“I want to dissolve the ministries as soon as possible,” she said before he could reach her side. He frowned and closed the door before ushering her to the couch near his desk. “But I want to audit them first to charge them appropriately.”A wicked smirk curved his lips turning his handsome features almost devious. Laurel’s heart raced and her face warmed with embarrassment. How could he look more handsome looking so sneaky?“You are meant to be in bed.” Adolph said, “Take a rest for a moment, then we’ll talk so long as you promise to go back to bed.”She pouted, wanting to argue, but she gave him a stiff nod, huffed, and sat on the couch as he directed. Admittedly, she was a bit dizzy and exhausted from her march up the stairs, but this still wasn’t the time for rest. How
Delia walked to the treasury’s office with the page in hand. She didn’t know what was taking so long to approve her increased budget, but she knew it was just a matter of time. The minister of finance was invested in keeping Basil happy. Basil was invested in keeping her happy, and all she wanted was more money to spend as she pleased. She reached the office’s attendant who looked up at her with trepidation as she placed the sheet on the desk.“I’d like it in coinage, like always,” she said as the woman took the page. “Could you make it quick? I have things to do.”“I’m sorry, Lady Delia, but I can’t fulfill this.”Delia grew tense and glared at the woman, “What did you call me?”“Lady Delia,” she said again.“I am the luna and you will address me properly or else! And what do you mean that you can’t fulfill this?” Delia tapped on the seal of the minister of finance. “It’s already been approved!” “R-Royal Beta Chasel has placed a hold on all accounts going forward by order of His Maj
Laurel watched Basil turn paler as she made a note on her parchment about looking further into what Basil’s budget was going towards. She had a feeling that Gavin might be benefiting from his relationship with Basil.“What is the purpose of the gate on the main entrance to the orchard?” Basil blinked, staring at her and not speaking. “Prince Basil, are you listening?”He shook his head, “Y-Yes. I… What?”She pursed her lips, “The gates, Prince Basil. For what reason was the orchard gated?”Basil frowned, “It’s useless.”“What do you mean by it’s useless?”“We don’t need an orchard because we have all the farmland around the city,” Basil lifted his head and met her gaze. “It was a waste of money when you had it planted. The ministry has proposed to uproot it and turn it into a leisure area for the castle.”Delia took in a sharp breath, staring at him in horror. Laurel froze in the middle of editing her plans for the orchard. What? What kind of nonsense was that? She frowned, eyeing hi