"Alright. Thank you for conveying the message." I said and the guards bowed.
'We will head to the Imperial Palace, Father." I said and we both headed there.
When we reached the Grand Imperial Entrance, we asked the guards to announce us.
"Father, you must do the talking now." I said and Father nodded.
When we got inside, the whole Palace was quiet. There was a worried look on the face of Imperialists but a smug smirk on the face of Aristocrats.
Seems like something has happened. Something Big.
"Greetings to His Highness, the Sun of the Empire." Father bowed and I followed him. The King just raised his hands to reply.
Even Crown Prince Lindon had a worried look on his face.
Goodness! Why are my negative intuitions always right? Something big has happened.
"Anastasia." I heard a familiar voice and turned.
It was Maylene.
"What is the matter, Maylene?" I asked.
"Don't think badly of me, Anastasia." She said. I have already seen the worst side of you. Can it be any worse?
"I am just providing a lesson for the Empire, that truth is above Friendship." Maylene said and turned to the King.
"May I be given the permission to start speaking, Your Highness?" Maylene asked, very politely.
"You have already started speaking." I said.
That response loosened up the tight faces of Imperialists, gave rise to many muffled coughs and at last, but not the last, gave me a beautiful view of the shameful faces of Maylene and the Aristocrats.
Even the King had to smile, not to mention Crown Prince Lindon.
"Permitted." The King said.
"Your Highness, the Queen had seen His Excellency, Lord Aesther's face, when she woke up from her sleep, a week back, approximately." Maylene said.
"What do you have to say about this, Lord Aesther?" Count Millow asked.
"Your Highness, We have just come back from the south and My Father is extremely tired. May I be given the permission to speak in the stead of my Father?" I asked.
"Permitted. And Lord Aesther may sit down." The King said. Father nodded and sat down.
"Replying to Miss Maylene," I said and turned to her. "Me and my Father travelled to the South for two weeks and only arrived yesterday." I said.
Maylene smiled.
"But Anastasia-" I cut her off.
"When two people are talking, if one addresses the other by their title and the other addresses by name, it shows the difference between castes." I said.
"When I addressed you with Miss, I showed you respect. And I expected it back too. But I didn't think that Miss Maylene would want to humiliate me like this." I said.
She gulped hard.
"I d-didn't m-mean it-t l-like that." She stuttered. She then regained her composure.
"I thought that we were friends-" I cut her off again.
"Ah! I don't actually quite remember the person, but I heard someone telling that truth comes before friendship." I said and looked at her and smiled.
Her whole body started shivering. The whole aristocrats started sweating, hard.
She then bowed. "I humbly apologize for my behavior." She said and I waved my hand. "Whatever. It is not the main issue, so I will let go." I said.
"Thank You." Maylene bowed again.
This girl, seriously! Did the Aristocrats really hire a stupid?
Right now, what I told now can be also said like, I can make your life a real big mess, but just because I am nice, I just won't do it.
But looking at the faces of the Aristocrats, they are not as stupid as her. (Meaning, that they are stupid enough 😉😉)
"Your Highness, Lady Aesther is wasting the time of the Palace." Count Barrel said.
"I am afraid, I am just stating the facts. But since Count Barrel is in a hurry, I suggest that you finish your alibi, Maylene." I said and she looked at me with a mixture of rage, fury and anger.
Ah! The feeling where you can babble anything but the opposing party can't say anything, because in way, I am right, is such an amazing feeling.
"Miss Anastasia," She said through gritted teeth.
This girl. She called me Miss Anastasia. For goodness sake, MISS Anastasia. That literally means that I won't inherit the power from my Father.
And I can't correct her because there has never been a permanent female representative in the Royal Assembly.
And I also can't scold her for that, because what she is saying about me has a 90, no, 99% of coming true in the future.
Ah, the amazing feeling I just experienced right now is being experienced by Maylene.
Well since I have already lost in this conversation, the most I can do is, not giving her the full satisfaction.
I then turned around and waved my hands carelessly, "Whatever. We don't want to waste the time. Because just like Count Barrel, I don't have much time to waste since I have an ailing Father." I said.
Maylene had a look of confusion. And that is a small gain.
"Back to what I was saying, Miss Aesther, the time you planned to go for a vacation and the time that The Queen saw Lord Aesther is too much of a coincidence." She said.
"How can you prove that Father did return from the South and then went back again?" I asked.
"Well, the Queen, The Queen," She didn't get any words.
She thought that if it was the Queen, everyone would believe it.
"Well, Lord Aesther really looks ill." She said pointing to my Father.
I became confused. What is she plan- No way!
It then suddenly hit me.
"It looks like you did some extra activities." Maylene said and my eyes went wide.
The falling faces of the Aristocrats suddenly brightened up.
This time it was me, having a mixture of anger and fury.
Ana, you have to hold it in- But she did that Father. But still, if you let your anger out, how can you prove his innocence? But still... No But still. You have to think ways of saving your Father first.
"You just came to know that my Father is very tired only recently. But this message came to our Household even earlier. You can't just blatantly point out a person as a criminal, mainly if it is a Noble." I said.
She was quiet.
She had run out of cards.
"You could have simply bribed the people." Maylene said.
"What evidence do you have to prove it?" I asked.
"You could have simply done it." She said, smiling innocently.
"And I may not have." I said and turned to the other side.
"I might have, and I might not have. Father might have come, and Father might not have come." I said and turned to her and smiled in the same innocent smile she gave me.
"Miss Aesther," Maylene said, smiling. "Whose side are you on?" She asked.
"It was not about sides, dear." I said and she became confused.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"I was talking about the importance of evidences. You see, Miss Maylene, you can't just ramble and expect the court to believe it." I said.
"You-you don't need to criticize me that much." She said.
"After all," I said and smiled. "Truth comes before friendship, right?" I asked.
"But it was the Queen's words." Maylene said. I smiled. I was just waiting for it.
Her Final card. The Trump Card.
"Miss Maylene, we are leaving in a country, where even the King bows before the Justice. I am afraid then, the matter of the Queen needn't be negotiated." I said.
"Miss Aesther. You can't degrade our King like that." Count Viscount said.
"Degrade? I as a fellow citizen, was always proud of the fact that even the King values just and lawfulness." I said.
"I can relate." The King said. I smiled.
"Then, there is only one solution." I said and turned to the King. 'What may it be, Fair Child?" He asked.
"We can ask the Queen again." I said. "That is, when she is completely fine and can think properly." I said.
"Your Highness, Miss Aesther is degrading the Queen. She is purposely telling that the Queen can't think properly because of factional differences." Count Millow said.
"Oh My, I never meant it like that. Seeing a person who looks like my Father in the middle of a night, might have scared her a bit. I was just expressing my concern." I said.
"And about factional differences," I said and turned to Count Millow. "It was you who brought that up, Count Millow. Not me." I said.
He then sat down.
"So, it seems like this matter needs to be postponed." The King said.
"And I am afraid, the Queen must have only very few to no guests during that time." I said.
"Miss Aesther, are you stopping the people who want to be a well-wisher?" Count Barrel asked.
"Again, I never thought of that. I just wanted to give the Queen, a solitude environment, where she can only focus on recovering her health." I said, smiling.
Count Barrel sat down.
"Alright then. The health of the Queen is very important to the Kingdom. Therefore, all the guests that shall meet her, can only do so, if they get my permission." The King said and turned to Sir Lin.
"Copy that down and pass the verdict." King Adelouis said. "As you wish, Your Highness." Sir Lin bowed.
Suddenly the gates flew open.
To everyone's surprise, it was the Queen who made her entry.
The King got up from his seat. "Empress, what is the matter?" The King asked. The Queen was looking very worried after all.
"Due to the solidarity, I didn't know the extent of my actions." The Queen said and turned to my Father.
"I deeply apologize to Lord Aesther for making him worry and bringing him to such a state." She said and bowed.
"Oh no." Father said and got up. He then went to her and made her stand erect.
"You are the Empress of this Nation. You have to be wary to whom you bow." Father said.
"Nonsense. Just before I entered, I heard your precious daughter speaking. She, the daughter of the great Lord Aesther, portrayed herself as a fellow citizen." She said and smiled at me.
"I couldn't help but be a bit like Lady Aesther." The Empress said.
I bowed. "I am very grateful that the Empress finds a model in me, even though I am not quite sure of that." I said.
"Oh, do not degrade yourself to that level." The Empress made me stand erect.
"And looking at you, I have seen how much you have matured within these past days. I can't just wait to make my daughter-in-law." She said, smiling.
I was quite shocked when I heard that. "Mother-" Louis stood up to protest, but the Empress didn't allow him to.
"Son, to rule a vast nation, you need to have a strong Empress." She said.
"Empress, I can't help but feel that you are over-praising me." I said, trying to keep my smile intact.
"Nonsense. You are such a string woman with amazing determination." She said.
"So, Your Highness, may I ask a favor? I want my son and Lady Aesther to marry as soon as possible." The Queen said.
"That, My Empress..." The King couldn't openly disagree with it.
"It will not happen." I loud voice rang though the hallway.
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Last updated on 5-9-2020