Chapter 003: The First Time We Meet

Today was Esther's second day at Nightingale's palace as Beatrice. It was placed by King Lucius II in the Marigold Palace, the second most luxurious palace after the Queen's palace. This morning, Esther woke up early so she could visit Rose's palace, Queen Caroline's palace. In that strange place there was no one known to him except the queen and the king.

"Lady, where are you going today? It's really hard for you to wake up early," said Anne, who had memorized Esther's habits all this time.

"Today I will go to the Queen's palace," replied Esther with great enthusiasm.

"The queen's palace? Why did you go there? Wouldn't there be a chance the queen would suspect your disguise," said Anne, who looked worried.

"It doesn't matter, Anne. Do you remember that woman named Caroline I used to meet a lot back then?"

"Yes, I remember very well. What does that child have to do with the queen?"

"In fact she is a queen. So actually my true identity has been known since yesterday by the king and queen," explained Esther casually.

"It seems that Goddess Agnes has been very protective of you since you were born so that the people you already consider as brothers and sisters become kings and queens in this kingdom. At least you don't have to bother playing an act and carrying out your original role as the king's concubine."

"Yes, you're absolutely right, Anne. Then I'll go first. See you later, Anne." Esther got up from her dressing chair and quickly walked out of her room. Behind him is Helena who continues to chase him.

Esther was wearing a moss green long sleeved dress and a brown wig in a bun. The wig was deliberately worn so that no one would suspect her to be Beatrice. He ran cheerfully towards Rose's palace. When she arrived at the door of Rose's palace, Esther was intercepted by the guard knights who were tasked with guarding the entrance of the palace. Not wanting to cause too much trouble, Esther immediately showed a small moon-shaped plaque indicating that she was the king's concubine to the guard knight.

After seeing the plaque that Esther showed, the guards immediately bowed in half and apologized to her for holding back. Of course Esther immediately accepted their apology. Then without being hindered again, Esther immediately stepped into Rose's palace.

The Rose Palace was truly very luxurious. According to the stories she had heard, Rose's palace was the palace that the first king gave to the woman he loved very much. Because it was given to a woman who was very loved, this palace was deliberately built with great luxury and even said to build this palace the king did not hesitate to spend half of the royal treasury.

All the doors, walls, until the items in this palace are covered with pure gold. Inwardly, Esther was very surprised by the short thought of the first king. How could it be just for the people he loves, he was willing to spend half of the royal treasury. In addition to all the items that are plated with gold, there is another thing that is characteristic of this Rose palace, namely the red rose garden which is very wide and beautiful. According to the story, the first king proposed to the woman he loved in this garden. Therefore, it has become a tradition for the kings of the Nightingale kingdom to propose to their woman he loved in this garden.

When Esther was walking in the palace corridor while observing the things around her she suddenly felt that she had bumped into someone. Esther raised her head to look at the person she had bumped into now. It turned out to be Queen Caroline. Seeing this, Esther reflexively hugged the woman tightly.

"Sister..."

Queen Caroline also returned the hug. "Esther, did you come here to visit me?"

"Yes, I came here to visit my beloved sister," replied Esther spoiled.

"Wow, I'm very happy to hear that! It seems as long as you are here I will not feel lonely here anymore," said Queen Caroline.

Esther giggled. "Of course. As long as I'm here, I can guarantee that you won't even feel bored or lonely."

Queen Caroline let go of the hug then grabbed Esther's right hand and pulled her somewhere. "Before I forget it was fun chatting with you. There's someone I'd really like to introduce to you."

Esther who was being pulled out showed a confused expression. "Who?"

"You'll see when we get there."

After a few minutes of walking, they arrived at someone's door. Queen Caroline let go of Esther's hand and began to knock on the door and then slowly opened the door. From a small gap Esther could see a boy reading a book inside. After the door was opened by the queen, they two entered the room.

Queen Caroline sat on the same sofa as the boy, while Esther purposely sat on another. Esther began to observe the boy who was focused on reading. The boy had dark black hair and blood red irises. The boy had pale white skin. If you look at the boy, he is very handsome.

"Let me guess this tiny must be your son. Am I right?" Esther said with a smile.

"Sorry, lady. I'm not a tiny you should call me a kid," said the child.

Hearing her son's rebuke, Queen Caroline smiled awkwardly and looked at Esther. "Yes, you are right. He is indeed my son."

"Come on, Arthur! Introduce yourself," said the Queen to her son.

The boy got up from the sofa and put his right hand on his left chest and bent half of his body. "My name is Arthur Harison de Nightingale. I am the Crown Prince of this kingdom. Nice to meet you, Lady."

Esther began to burst out laughing. "Gosh! Without you introducing your position in the palace I already knew, tiny. Do you want to show off your position to me? Besides, I don't think it's appropriate for the Crown Prince to call me lady because I am your father's concubine. I think you should call me madam."

Arthur's face immediately turned pale. He seemed surprised when he heard Esther's words. Seeing the boy's pale face made Esther laugh even more. It felt like the boy's pride as a Crown prince immediately vanished when he faced Esther.

"Your son is very smart. How old is he?" Esther asked.

"He's only five years younger than you," replied Queen Caroline.

"It's only five years old. Hey, tiny. My name is Beatrice Valentina de Nightingale. May Goddess Nightingale continue to bless you," said Esther with a charming smile.

Arthur, who had been irritated by Esther's words, was now blushing red like a boiled crab. It seemed that the boy had now become entangled with Esther's mysterious charm. As soon as Esther finished introducing herself, Arthur immediately came out of his room.

"I thought you would introduce yourself to my son by your real name," said Queen Caroline.

"Even though he's your son still I can't entrust my identity to him. I hope you don't tell your son my true identity either."

"Of course not."

The conversation between the two women continued until the sky darkened. Many things were discussed by them from their childhood memories, the Queen's experience with other concubines, to the bed affair between the king and queen. Indeed, if the two women met, there would be something they could discuss.