Chapter 9

Elora leaned back on the throne as the last person left the room. "What should she eat for dinner?" She thought, not fully savouring her lunch, especially the fish- it was to die for.

She stood up, stretching her stiff limbs. For a moment, she wanted to teleport but remembered she couldn't. She glanced at the long distance between the throne and the door and let out a depressed Sigh...

'I have to be in the Adept stage to do teleportation magic.' Elora became tempted by the thought, imagining how easily she could move around like the old days. But when she thought of practicing she almost gave up.

Reaching the door, the guard quickly pushed it open for Elora, relieved that she didn't end up walking through it.

The guard patted herself for her swift actions, sighing in great relief. Elora wanted to go back to her room to catch up on her sleep when she saw a female figure heading in her direction.

Rose stopped in front of Elora; she stood in silence, trying to oppress her niece with her magic aura, but was left stunned when Elora passed her by as if she were air.

You can't blame Elora, she honestly didn't recall this person and thought it might be one of the highest guards. Not knowing it was her royal aunt.

It was when she was almost reaching the bend to the stairs that Rose reacted. "Niece, you seem not to have me, your aunt, in your eyes." Her tone was cold stopping Elora in her tracks.

Elora turned to the guard beside her, "Who is this woman?" Her tone was flat, and there was no recognition of Rose's figure in her eyes.

The guard's eyes widened at the queen's question; she was shocked that the queen would ask such a question.

And almost stuttered when giving her answer. Even Rose at their back froze there, feeling dumbfounded. Was it not three days since she last saw this girl? Which stunt is she pulling, it's not funny.

"S-She's Her Highness Rose." As the words left the guard's lips, memories flashed through her mind, and she instantly knew who this person was. Her gaze turned cold but retracted to their indifferent ones.

"Oh, it's Auntie!" Elora said, her voice light with sudden realization as she calmly walked towards Rose.

"I apologize; I had too many things in mind to remember insignificant things. I hope Auntie wouldn't hold it against me." Her tone was so soothing as she apologized, her eyes were clear, and her words ladled with insults.

Elora smiled helplessly at her forgetfulness, ignoring her aunt's dark face and fierce gaze.

Suddenly, her expression turned lively, and she held Rose's hands; Rose felt a bad feeling for no reason; she tried to separate her hands from hers, but it was held firmly.

"Auntie, I'm so grateful for your generous gift of two hundred million mana stones to celebrate my coronation."

"I never..."

Rose was interrupted before she could finish; her eyes widened in shock at the obvious lies and the outrageous amount spilling out of the queen's mouth.

"Aunty, I know it's too small for someone your calibre; I'm not greedy; just add a hundred to it. I know you love me so much." She waved at the guard who was doubting her life at the start of the discussion.

She could only move towards the queen dumbly, "Bring out a paper." Rose panicked, "My lovely niece, it seems you are well. Unfortunately, I have to leave." She said through gritted teeth with a smile on her lips, as she wanted to free herself for Elora'd hold.

Sensing whatever was going to happen next was not going to go in her favour, how this child changed so suddenly, she couldn't keep up with her actions and needed to go back and calmly think about how to follow this new queen.

"Aunty, what's more important than being in the presence of your queen? Don't worry whatever it is, it can wait." Elora said a beautiful smile stretching her face into slits.

She took the note with her free hands and clicked her fingers. Spell words formed on the paper, and what she wanted appeared on the paper in gold letters.

Before Rose could react, Elora pricked her thumb, pressing it onto the page, sealing the contract with her blood. Elora's actions happened so fast before they could blink.

She duplicated the paper and gave the original to her guard to keep and gave Rose the other one. "Royal Aunt, I won't keep you. You can leave." Elora's smile dropped, looking indifferent as if the formal, gentle smile was an illusion.

"Let's go." She summoned her guard and left the stunned woman whose emotions had been thrown into confusion and doubt since the beginning.

Her eyes touched on the words, and she blinked, praying it was a trick of the light. But the bold words written on the paper made her faint.

She collapsed on the ground with the paper in her hands, "Her Highness Rose swears on her daughter's magic chamber that she would pay six hundred billion mana stones to the queen in three days. Failure of this would destroy her daughter Princess Aurora's magic." These words were written on the paper with Rose's fingerprint.

A passing maid alerted the butler, who burst out in wild laughter; he laughed so much his stomach ached.

He instructed the guards to carry her back to her castle. The whole day, Albert was bursting with strength and a big smile and whistling a tone all through the day, making all the maids and guards share gazes.

****

Bang!

Crash!

Rose woke up to see herself back at her castle and destroyed everything in sight, her veins bulging and chest heaving.

The room went through a great storm after she was done with it, "You bitch! let me not get my hands on you!" Her voice echoed out of the room, scaring the passing maids.

When Rose finally calmed down, her gaze fell on the paper and she burst into tears. Crying bitterly, it was as if all she had worked for all through these years had fallen into the queen's treasury.

Her hard-earned money is gone just like that. She regrets bitterly and wishes to turn back time. If she knew this would happen, she wouldn't have gone to the queen today. The pain was too much for her to bear, and she fainted again.