A Heavy Burden

Everyone gasped in shock. It took some of them a few moments to realize what had just happened. Margaret covered her mouth in shock. She had expected Laina to give the duke a piece of her mind, but she had not expected her to slap him!

Even the general and chancellor were shocked by Laina's action. The duke was not a weakling either. Anger burned in his eyes, he tried to retaliate. He raised his hand towards Laina but she caught it swiftly.

Titan was growling and barking at the duke. Margaret quickly restrained him to stop him from tearing the duke to shreds. The mastiff already had his claws out, ready to fight.

"What do you think you're doing, Duke Harris?" Laina asked in a cold monotonous tone.

"You attempted to humiliate me at the Ball and now you're trying to slap me in the Throne Room, in my country? Are you seeking death?" Laina threatened.

All the royal guards who lined the Throne room were on high alert. The duke had attempted to slap the crown princess, they had their weapons all pointing at the duke. Realizing the gravity of the situation, a shiver ran down his spine.

His knees began to shake as Laina released his hand. She turned to walk back up the steps to sit on her throne chair. Seeing the expression of fear on the duke's face brought her great joy as she could not help but grin.

"Guards," Laina called out.

All of them stood at attention.

Laina gave her order, "Duke Harris is no longer welcome in Kinshearth from this moment forward. Should he be found within the country, he is to be arrested and brought in for punishment immediately."

All the guards stomped their feet collectively, and replied in unison, "Yes, your highness!"

Two royal guards came forward and grabbed Duke Harris by the arms. Despite his struggles and pleas, no one helped. All the servants he had come with were also ushered out of the Throne room.

Once he was gone, the doors to the Throne Room were closed. Only members of the Kinshearth court were left. Laina could see the shocked and angered expressions on Tobias and Lucinda's faces. It was time for her to give them a piece of her mind.

Laina clapped her hands, "This court session is over. Grand General Tobias and Royal Chancellor, please remain. The rest may leave."

With her order, everyone bowed and took their leave. When everyone else had finally left and the door was closed, Tobias and Lucinda's expression was no longer cordial. Before Laina could even get a word in, the general was the first to speak.

"Princess, would you mind explaining what you were trying to do there?!" His voice rang loud and clear throughout the Throne Room.

Laina was surprised by the general's outburst. She had never seen him so angry before. But she was not about to back down either. She had a bone to pick with the both of them.

"What I was trying to do? What about you? Arranging for me to meet suitors. I never asked for any of this! And seriously you could have picked better candidates instead of the two people who ridiculed me at the Ball!" She fought back.

"Your highness, do you think we want to do this?!" Lucinda asked.

The Royal Chancellor's sudden question surprised Laina. They were keeping something from her. Could they have arranged all of this for another reason? Laina took a step back.

"You just wanted to forge a marriage alliance for me so that when I ascend the throne, there would be a King to hold things together, is that not the truth?" She asked them both.

Tobias and Lucinda looked at each other. Tobias could not help but let out a sigh.

"Indeed, that was one of the reasons…"

"But that was not the only reason," Lucinda continued Tobias's sentence.

"The thing is…" Tobias hesitated to speak up.

Laina crossed her arms as she eagerly waited to hear what was the reason behind all of this. But both Tobias and Lucinda just kept looking at one another, unable to spit out the truth.

"We don't have all day, just spit it out," Laina urged the both of them.

"The Royal Treasury is drying up, your highness," Tobias finally blurted out.

"Drying up?" Laina asked in shock.

Both Tobias and Lucinda nodded as they kept their head low. Laina turned to look at Margaret in a state of shock. Margaret knew the Royal Treasury was running low, but she had not expected it to be that bad.

Laina reasoned and rationalized the situation, "Don't we have revenue streams from our export of gemstones? Agriculture? The taxes from the people?"

"Yes, but the cost of running the country is high, your highness. Even the upkeep of the palace costs money, and the expenses," Lucinda explained.

Tobias continued, "A marriage alliance would have brought in a good amount of wealth to the Royal Treasury. Not to mention paying off the debts we owe…"

Laina could not believe her ears. She did not know the crown was in debt! If she knew, she would never have agreed to go to Everfree in the first place. That cost would have been added to the mounting debt.

She could feel her head splitting in two just thinking about the numbers. Laina turned her back towards them and pacing down the carpetflooring. All this time, she had thought the finances of Kinshearth were in good hands.

"There is no time to point fingers," she muttered to herself.

The gears in Laina's mind turned and worked. She needed a way to get Kinshearth back on track. No more debts. She will refill the Royal Treasury.

Laina turned back to ask, "How many people know of this?"

Tobias and Lucinda looked at one another. After a few whispers and a short discussion with one another, they listed down the people who knew. The princess listened, nodding while she took a mental note of it.

Seeing that Laina seemed to understand the situation they were in, Tobias asked if she would reconsider a marriage alliance.

"Absolutely not," Laina immediately replied.

"But your highness, how else are we-"

Laina cut in before the general could even finish his sentence, "A marriage alliance would do nothing to help the situation. A Royal Wedding is no small fanfare either. That alone would have cost a fortune."

"Then what are we going to do?" Lucinda sighed.

Laina took in a deep breath before replying, "I will take care of it. As the Crown Princess and future Queen of Kinshearth, this duty is mine to bear. I will ensure that our finances would be back to normal. No, better than it has ever been."