Chapter 21

The Queen walked back to her room, she felt a bit annoyed that she couldn't bring Kira along with her, as she saw Kira was just as curious. However, she saw this as a chance to learn of her husband's cousin who drew erotic paintings! 

'Are you awake?' Arisa opened the door slightly and poked her head in. She saw the stressed king on the bed, he sat on the bed with his knees shaking. She furrowed her brows at this sight. 

'You've come, wife.' The King turned to the Queen and forced a smile. The Queen wasn't a fool, she knew how strange the King was acting but she ignored this. 

'You look pathetic.' The Queen bluntly spoke and sat alongside him on the bed. She lay down and pulled her blanket up. 

Edward followed the Queen and lay next to her. Her back was faced toward him but after a while, she turned to him. 'Why are you so quiet? I don't like asking questions, so answer me quickly.' The Queen bluntly spoke. 

The King's eyes lingered on the Queen's face, this was the first time their faces were so close. His face went immediately red but he didn't move. 'I have a favor to ask.' 

'Are we both having two different conversations? I said answer my question and yet you say something completely different.' 

'I will answer everything you want, but grant me one wish at least.' 

The Queen sighed and nodded her head. 'Fine, what is it?' 

'Is it possible to merge the Regin Kingdom and the Moral Empire?' 

'Probably.' 

'Wait? Really?? You would be considering it?' 

'I mean if that's what you want in exchange for answering my questions, I guess I could talk to the executive about it.' Arisa replied unbothered. She couldn't see why Edward wanted this but it didn't seem like a terrible idea. After all, they were married. 

'Okay, thank you,' Edward sighed in relief and got up a little. 

He massaged his head for a while but opened his mouth to speak. 'My cousin, the one you want to know about, was kicked out of the Regin Kingdom a while back. I suppose the Queen already knows this though. It was such a huge deal for me, having my dear cousin kicked out because of groundless rumors and my mother being the one who framed him!' 

Earlier, The Queen's eyes were resting but hearing this, her eyes widened. 'Your mother??' 

'Yeah, she claimed that he...'

'FINISH THE SENTENCE!' The Queen yelled, she got up and shook him continuously. 

'I ABSOLUTELY HATE IT WHEN YOU PAUSE LIKE THAT!' The Queen thought of someone else, with their curious nature, who would hate it also. 

'THAT HE WAS IN LOVE WITH A MAN!' The King yelled back. 

The Queen let go of the King and yawned while getting back into bed. 

'Is that so?'

'It's not so simple as you make it sound!' Even if the King was getting used to the Queen's open nature, it still didn't feel right to him. 

'That kind of a rumor is disgusting.' 

'You're disgusting.' The Queen snapped back.

The King ignored this and continued, 'This rumor destroyed my cousin's reputation, they even dared to add more to it and said he drew erotic paintings of men!' 

The Queen had pretty much guessed the rest, the only thing that she wondered about was whether it was really a rumor or not. 

'My poor cousin was kicked out and I found it was MY mother who claimed to have seen my cousin with a man. So disgusting and outrageous! My cousin would never do something like this, it's absolutely wrong!! It's always been women and men, not men and men!' The King continued to rant.

The Queen closed her eyes and tried to sleep. If the King was so against men and men loving each other, I wonder how he would feel about me and his concubine... she thought to herself. The sight of his shocked and confused face would be exciting to see but because it wasn't just her who would face the consequences of this, she had a strange feeling about this. The King must never find out! She concluded. 

'As for your question earlier, I have been keeping in contact with my cousin for years and have his address, do you wish to see him together?' 

The Queen nodded her head and fell back to sleep. 

There was so much that was bothering her, was meeting this person going to help her and the concubine's relationship grow? And if it did grow, what would happen next?