After Vyriana had dropped that bomb, they spoke for a bit longer in order to keep a casual conversation between mother and daughter. They didn't speak about anything particular, but everyday things in order to help the queen's memories. Hyejin asked her how she knew about her amnesia, to which Vyriana answered that it was Alfrek who had exposed this to her when he met her on his way back.
The more they spoke, the more that Vyriana became more at ease with the queen. There was still an air of unfamiliarity, but at least they didn't seem like two strangers next to each other. In fact, they went from strangers to acquaintances, if not semi-friends?
Throughout the entirety of it, Hyejin couldn't help but ponder about the man Emperor Mesrah. When Vyriana had mentioned the name, it had finally rung a bell in her mind. The emperor, mentioned briefly in a page or two, was solely existing in order to prevent the kingdoms from attacking each other. The imperial family was never actually brought in the novel nor ever mentioned that they had ties with the princess like what she had witnessed earlier.
"Vyriana, how long have you known the emperor?" And how long has the man with the highest authority in the continent easily allowed you to refer to him as an uncle?
"Ever... since I was born?" It was a question that had taken her aback as the princess had never thought about it. Her uncle had naturally existed without reason. She never thought about how such a man had ended up as her uncle.
That means that the queen knew him closely?
The situation was a bit tricky.
Hyejin couldn't make too many assumptions as nothing was documented for her to read. The fact that the queen even knew the emperor in such an intimate manner, for him to adopt the role of an uncle for her daughter, it meant that she really was more than what was written about her—meaning almost nothing. Queen Asielle had many different aspects and many things shrouding her; the more Hyejin uncovered, the more she was forced to dig deeper.
A shuffle could be heard in the background. Hyejin turned around swiftly and saw a ball of white fluff speeding in their direction. Before she could open her mouth or move, it had already stationed itself on her lap.
Now wait a minute!
"What is...?" The little fluff ball was nuzzling at her hand, wanting to be petted.
The little princess giggled. "I guess you forgot about Blanche." The little ball of fluff looked up at hearing its name and two small ears perked in excitement.
"Is this a bunny?" It certainly didn't look like a bunny. The ears were like a bear's, albeit a bit more pointed. However, all the other characteristics belonged to a bunny, including the pink button nose that twitched every so often.
"In a sense?" Vyriana nudged the bunny who sprouted little white wings on its back. "It's a magical one."
Holy shit!?
"Is there a lot of this thing? Like can I go outside and see these fluff balls flying everywhere?" It would be like seeing cotton ball rain.
Vyriana chuckled at her mother's words and shook her head. "No. Magical pets are very rare and expensive. We've had Blanche since she was a kit. She's always stayed in the garden."
Before Hyejin could respond, the ringing of a bell rang loudly across the garden and they were interrupted. She looked at the direction of the noise in confusion until the princess explained what was happening. "I believe someone needs one of us. Most likely you, mother."
"How will we get there in time! It took me forever to walk here and I was even guided by the bugs—ahem, faeries!" Vyriana was shocked that the elusive faeries even bothered to speak with her mother, but as much as she wanted to question her mother about the encounter, the bells were now ringing with more urgency.
Vyriana didn't even the chance to explain as she took her mother's hand in hers and used her other hand to draw an imaginary, oval-shaped door as she mumbled something that Hyejin couldn't understand. The little princess' efforts were not in vain as the door glowed with an exit for the outside of the large garden.
"Wait! I could've done that all this time!" Did the servants trick her?
"No, you can only do it in the garden. It was a spell that was placed a long time ago." Vyriana explained as she opened the door. So the servants didn't trick her because Hyejin entered without any supervision. Hyejin just wished that she knew about it sooner without having to walk so much. The little faeries didn't tell her about it, either!
Seeing Vyriana a bit sad at their time interrupted, Hyejin suggested something she would regret deeply later. "How about you bring the snowball outside and play with it for a bit until I'm finished with my business."
"R-Really? But you've never let it leave the garden." Vyriana's voice filled with hesitation and a bit of concern that Hyejin waved off.
"It's just a bunny? What's the worst that it can do, poop on the castle ground?"
Seeing Vyriana speechless, Hyejin shamelessly and jokingly added, "If it does, I'm too lazy to clean it." She didn't allow for the princess to reply and opened the door.
They both walked in and it disappeared the moment that it closed behind them. The servants were patiently waiting and breathed in relief when they saw their queen. They were a bit surprised at the pet being released for the first time since it was an infant, but none uttered a word.
"Your Majesty, there you are! The guests are here to pay their respect!" Isleila reminded frantically trying to get their queen to greet them. They couldn't afford to be tardy as it could offend the king and the representative. She eyed the bunny but focused on the bigger issue at hand.
"Lead the way!" Hyejin turned to the princess. "Vyriana, let's talk more when I finish and don't tell anyone about that." The little princess' eyes shined with excitement at the first part of what Hyejin said and she slowly nodded at the second part. The princess was clever enough to understand what her mother meant. It was obviously in regards to her amnesia. With the escorting of another servant, she left in the opposite direction with Blanche in her arms as Hyejin was guided by other servants, including Isleila.
How do I entertain a royal?
Hyejin wasn't the original queen. She had no memories of the original queen, either. One slip from her in front of Regent King Levih could lead to an offense and a declaration of war!
Maybe not that dramatic, but her brain was frazzled either way.
"Isleila..." Hyejin's sentence faltered as she couldn't think of what to say. Her amnesia had been decided to be kept a secret, even if she didn't consent to it, so she couldn't ask the servant about anything. "Never mind."
She would wing it. Thanks to her lazy tendencies, it usually succeeded. This time, it would too.
What's the worst that could happen?
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"My deepest apologies!"
Hyejin was ready to bow in embarrassment in front of the older man, Regent King Levih. It was fortunate that the older man, seemingly in his late forties, was pretty lenient and found the situation very humorous.
Everything started like this: Hyejin walked inside where the regent king was waiting, expecting the representative from the other kingdom to be there too. When she saw an old man, she immediately labeled him as the regent king. However, she also saw a young man that couldn't be older than his mid teens standing there as well. Both dressed in extravagant black, once again to solidify their respect for the deceased king.
Of course, once again, King Redian wasn't deceased, but under a curse that eventually takes his life. Since the king was blessed with magic, he was capable of protecting his body and aging like normal, just like a true sleeping beauty in a deep slumber. Unfortunately, unlike sleeping beauty who awoke after a century with full vitality, the king aged and withered simultaneously. It was truly the worst tragedy to befall Aucainad since the death of the previous king.
As Hyejin saw the younger man, she immediately labeled him as the representative as well.
She smiled brightly, shocking the old man who had never seen the stoic queen make such an expression.
Seeing the shock on his face, she quickly dropped her smile and pursed her lips in embarrassment.
I'm supposed to be a grieving queen. Not smiling like I'm meeting someone famous!
"Thank you for coming." Fortunately, the regent king pretended like he hadn't seen her earlier expression and nodded.
"My condolences, Asielle. None of us expected for the curse to impact Redian so soon." His voice was deeper than she expected.
Ah, so we are on a first name basis. Good to know so I don't fuck up.
"Indeed. Reality is quite cruel." Just talking like she was an old lady made Hyejin cringe but she kept a straight face. She had to mentally remind herself that this world was practically a medieval times ripoff with some magic.
"How are you faring, Your Majesty?" The young man behind Regent King Levih bowed as he tried to make small talk.
"Well..." Hyejin couldn't say exactly what she was feeling. Her emotions were like a rollercoaster with everything happening at once. Her death, her transmigration, her impending death... it was all surreal. "I appreciate you asking. For a representative, I appreciate the thoughts."
"...Representative?" The young man looked lost and so did the regent king.
"Yes, of course! Do tell Queen Kenesha that I hope for her speedy recovery." Hyejin felt quite accomplished for remembering such a small detail that the servant had said earlier. Now, she will seem like a grieving widow who also didn't forget to be polite and considerate of others.
"Asielle," she turned her attention back to the regent king whose lips were twitching with the inclination of a smile. "I don't believe you've met my nephew Yuriel for a while."
Nephew?
And it was at that moment that it all clicked. The similarities between the regent king and the young man were so much that she applauded her stupidity for not realizing it sooner. While the older regent king had grey hair and the younger man had black hair, their grey eyes were like two peas in a pod; impeccably sharp and similar. If she were to picture the regent king as a bit younger, he would easily be the young man's father, although a bit different in appearance. Hyejin guessed that's where the uncle and nephew relationship came in place.
Which also meant that she had just called the nephew a representative... A nephew that the original queen had met before!
"I-I..." She was stuck on what to say. And thus, her thoughts were back to the present. It was lucky that the regent king wasn't easily offended by these silly things, otherwise her earlier delusions of war wouldn't be too far off.
"I assume that it is due to the current events that have caused you to be a bit absentminded. Do not fret, I'm sure Yuriel doesn't mind either." The regent king turned to his nephew who nodded with a polite smile. Even though the young man smiled, she couldn't see anything genuine about his smile. For someone of his young age, he seemed to be too cold.
Yuriel?
The name was oddly familiar. It gave Hyejin a sense of foreboding.
She pushed her brain to remember the details of the novel and suddenly, like an electric zap, it hit her.
Yuriel, the crown prince of the Heavaln, was one of the six total love interests for the little princess that roamed around the castle, Vyriana, in the future!
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Happy Saturday! Also, thank you so much for 1K! See you tomorrow for another update.