Chapter 028: Showdown
Esther, who had planned not to attend the party, immediately gave up when she was visited by Lucius' secretary every half hour and reminded him of the exhausting party.
Now Esther and Arthur were ready to go to a party that was also no different from the battlefield. As they were about to walk out of the Marigold palace, they saw a very luxurious horse carriage that seemed to be waiting for the two of them.
The coachman of the horse-drawn carriage walked up to the two of them. The coachman bowed halfway to salute Esther and Arthur, who were taller than him.
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and His Royal Highness Consort Beatrice, I was ordered directly by His Majesty the King to take you to the King's palace," said the coachman.
"All right. Let's get on this horse-drawn carriage quickly, Mother." Arthur took Esther's hand and helped her into the carriage.
Then, Arthur sat right next to Esther. It only took a few minutes to get to the King's palace. Arriving there, Esther and Arthur were immediately directed to a room. When the door to the room was opened, they both saw Lucius who was getting dressed and helped by several maids.
Seeing that Esther and Arthur had arrived, Lucius ordered all the maids to get out of his room. "I can dress myself. You are come out! I want to speak to my wife and the Crown Prince."
The maids flocked out of Lucius' room. Now in the room, only Esther, Lucius, and Arthur were left.
"Please sit as comfortable as you are!" said Lucius, inviting the two people to sit down.
Arthur chose to sit on the sofa while Esther chose to sit on Lucius's soft and large bed.
"Wow, you just sat on my bed of honor without asking my permission!" quipped Lucius.
Esther stared intently at Lucius. "Your couch is so hard, that's why I chose to sit on your bed. Then I was disgusted to hear you claiming to be your wife."
"By the way, what business do you have to tell us to invite us to come to your room in that luxurious horse-drawn carriage? I think you must have something bad to say now," Esther added.
"You really never once thought good things about me, did you?"
"Of course, never. Anything that has to do with you is bound to never end well. So, just briefly say what you want now. I don't have much time for you today," Esther replied.
Lucius sighed and could only resign himself to facing an Esther. "I want you two to accompany me to the party later."
"WHAT?" shouted Esther and Arthur at the same time in shock.
"Damn it! You want us both to be targeted again by your bastard queen. Recently we've just had a feeling of calm and now you want to destroy it all," Esther cursed.
"You know? It's also useful to strengthen Arthur's power as crown prince," Lucius explained.
"But can't you order women who normally always have sex with you?" Esther looked at Arthur who was sitting on the sofa. "Eh, that means the woman who has a special relationship with you is to accompany you."
Lucius ruffled his hair in frustration while talking to Esther. "Godness, Esther! Em... I mean Beatrice. I've brought my other concubines to parties many times. So please stop arguing with me. You really want to make me die of anger."
Lucius tried everything to persuade Esther to want to be his partner at his birthday party. Finally, Esther could only surrender to the situation. Now Esther was right in front of the entrance of the banquet hall with Lucius and Arthur.
The guards guarding the entrance shouted loudly. "His Majesty the King, Her Royal Highness Consort Beatrice, and His Highness the Crown Prince entered the banquet hall."
Everyone bowed half their bodies to greet the three of them. Then, Lucius sat on his throne, Esther sat right on his right, while Arthur sat on Lucius' left. Before starting the party, Lucius held a glass of wine and gave a greeting to the guests.
"I'd like to thank everyone who attended my birthday party. I hope you all enjoy the party well."
The party finally started. In the Nightingale Kingdom, usually the party organized by the Kingdom opens with a dance performed by the King or the Crown Prince. However, this time the King was not in the mood to dance with anyone.
So, Arthur, as the crown prince, must invite a noble lady to dance, especially today is the first time he debuts as a Crown Prince. It is said, if the first girl the Crown Prince invites when he first debuts, will become his Queen when he ascends the throne.
Now all the nobles there began to wait for who the lucky lady would be invited to dance by Arthur. Now Arthur rise from his seat. He began to cast his eyes around the place as he walked leisurely. Arthur's footsteps stopped right in front of Esther.
Arthur fell to his knees before Esther. "Would you like to dance with me, Lady?"
Esther laughed amusedly then held out her right hand to Arthur as a sign of approval. Esther rose from her throne and began dancing with Arthur in the center of the banquet hall.
As the two of them danced, the other nobles also danced with them. Music accompanies their every move. After they finished dancing, Arthur and Esther returned to their respective thrones while watching the other nobles dancing and eating dessert while chatting with Lucius.
Suddenly Averia came over to Lucius and bowed half her body. "Your Majesty the King, I would like to suggest something to cheer you up on this happy day."
Lucius, who had been yawning from boredom, immediately looked excited. "Say it."
"I heard that the Crown Prince is very good at fighting. What if we see the Crown Prince and Arnold, my son to fight. Of course with the prize whoever wins will be given the title of Crown Prince," said Queen Averia.
Without thinking and only thinking about his pleasure, Lucius immediately agreed to the idea despite Esther's protests. Arthur couldn't help but have to fight his half-brother.
Now Arthur and Arnold were getting ready in the middle of the party room while holding their respective swords. On the other hand, Esther looked worried. She was afraid that her nightmare yesterday would become a bitter reality.
"START!!" shouted Lucius.
The sound of swords colliding could be heard loudly. Arthur and Arnold tried hard to bring each other down. Esther who was sitting on the throne could only watch while grinding her teeth in worry.
"If I succeed in defeating you, then I will become a King in the future. After becoming a king, I will make your mother my prostitute. I will sleep with her every day," said Ronald while smiling his sly smile.
"Damn it! You two are no different from your mother," Arthur cursed, whose emotions had been ignited.
After a few minutes of clashing swords, Arnold quickly stabbed Arthur in the stomach with his sword. With such a large wound, Arthur immediately lost consciousness. Esther while crying quickly ran over to Arthur who was lying on the floor.