Lunch Time

[Portia's POV]

I had never thought that having short hair would be this useful. My head feels lighter than before, as if half of my life problems have also been lifted from my head. Ah, I will ask Diane to fix my hair later, even though she would be surprised and become hysterical about my current condition.

We are driving down a tree-lined street toward the empire palace placed on a hill. I look out the window and find an interesting view. Under the scorching sun, some empire's soldier train on the ground with sweat dripping on their face.

"One!"

"Two!"

"One!"

"Two!"

They swing their wooden stick back and forth with all force. In front of those men, a big man in his training suit stands with his hands on his waist and puts a big smile on his scary-looking yet reliable face.

"Soldier, assemble!" His shout makes all the soldiers gather in front of him within a minute. I can not hear his voice again when talking to them because our carriage moves forwards and leaves this training ground. However, one thing that I know for sure is that man on the podium is the same man who will be killed in Palmerston next winter. Yes, he is Imperial Knight General Alfonso Bureauche.

Moving forward, the setting returns to a normal view with trees and bushes. Feeling bored, I turn from the window and see that Kiel is looking at me from across the seat. He silently looked at me—no, I think he must be looking at my hair now. Without saying a word, I know Kiel feels guilty about what happened before, but I have told him several times that it was nothing. My hair will grow back later, though.

"Ouh, you're not sleeping?" I ask him a random question to break this silence. "You must be tired after that horrible incident. Just sleep for now. I'll wake you up after we arrive later."

"I …," He mutters quietly. "I still don't know your name."

"Oh, you're right."

With a confident smile, I held my hand and spoke loudly, "My name is Portia Palmerston. You can call me Portia or Tia, whatever. I hope we can get along well from now."

He grabs my hand and nods a little. I can see a blush on his cheeks.

Oh? Look at this. Is he feels happy having a new friend until he blushes like that? What a cutie.

Not long after that, we arrived at the palace. The carriage enters the palace gate with a bunch of soldiers guarding it; the number of soldiers increases to prevent another attack.

Judging the situation, I also realize that it is not the right time to enter the palace and eat lunch together. The court is now embroiled in a standoff because of the nobles who tried to shake the King's position using the latest incident. Of course, I do not want to join the whirl of the political affair. It is so complicated and full of dirty tricks. However, I can not turn down the Queen's invitation just because I do not want to come, right?

It will shame Palmerston's name and lead to aggression between Palmerston and the Empire. Ah, political affairs are always giving me a headache, both in the past and current times.

The carriage door is open, and I get down from the carriage using the help of the palace butler assigned to take care of me. He was a little startled when seeing Kiel, who was coming behind me.

"No problem, he's with me. Wash him up and take care of his wound. After that, bring him to the guest room."

"Ah … alright, Lady Portia." I know from his tone that he does not want to bring Kiel inside the palace. But that does not matter to me as long as Kiel gets proper care for his injuries. Then I turn and look at him.

"Kiel, for now, just follows him and clean yourself well. I will meet you again after lunch time. Got it?"

"Will you really come at me again?" He asks with a nervous tone. Kiel also fidgets his thumb finger together to cope with his nervousness.

"Hm? Of course, I will." I furrow my brows and nod clearly. Why would he ask something obvious?

"Lady Portia, this way, please. Your Majesty is already waiting for your presence in her room." Another maid comes to pick me up. I look down and see that my dress is a bit messy after running like a crazy psycho in the slums. I want to change my dress first, but it seems the Queen will not have the patience to wait for me that long so I undo my decision. Luckily, this morning I asked Diane to give me a dark dress so it would not be so obvious if it got dirty.

"Alright, I'll come."

Even though I often went to the palace in the previous life, I am still amazed by how grand and fast this place is. Tamerlaine empire castle consists of five buildings, one of them in the main buildings and the other four high-tower in every corner of the wind.

Now we are walking to Eleanora's room in the north wing, close to the King bedroom. I walk behind the maid that called me before. She does not speak again after that and is just walking fast. It is not like I want her to chit-chat with me, though. I just hate walking in this long corridor with silence enveloped around us that evokes terrible memories from the past.

In my previous life, I always came back home in bad shape whenever I came to this place. Either I cried, or my dress became a mess because of all the bullies I got from others. That horrible memory makes me shiver, and I wrap my body using my arm to calm myself.

"We've arrived, Lady."

"Yes, please announce my arrival."

"Your Majesty, Lady Portia Palmerston, has come."

That maid knocks on the door and takes several steps to give me space to move forward. I stand in front of the door with clenched hands. Even though now I am nervous like hell, I need to face this well and come back soon to Kiel's place.

"Let her in." A soft and tender voice comes out from inside the room. I take a long breath and exhale it slowly.

Calm down, Tia. I know you can do it.

With two hands, I open the door three sizes bigger than me and walk inside.

The Queen's room is well-known for its elegance and beautiful design. No wonder this room is only used for Queen in every generation in Tamerlaine. Just look at every gold ornament placed in every corner of this place. Also, the incredible amount of rare furniture imported from various continents makes this room more like a treasure room than a mere bedroom.

I can not imagine how blinding this room is under the sunlight. It might be that people could be blind when they enter the room. Hmm, I think it is a good idea to keep robbers from here.

"Come here, Tia." Eleanora's voice makes me focus again, and I walk toward her. She sits on the long couch, sipping her tea from the marble cup, while Nath sits beside her with a sulking face and does not want to look at me.

Hey … I know you never like me, but can you stop making it so obvious? You ruin the moment, you know.

"Greetings, Your Majesty." I try to ignore Nath's annoying expression and do a curtsey toward Eleanora.

That woman nods slightly and puts on a satisfied expression. "Your curtsey is perfect, Tia. Where did you learn it? Your teacher must be a great lady."

I flinch. She does not know that inside this thirteen-year-old girl's body is my twenty-one-year-old soul. Of course, my curtsey is perfect since I always practice for it every night so that I will not make a mistake at the ball—even though no one seems to care about my effort and still deposed me.

"I'm embarrassed to say this, but I haven't had any tutor yet, Your Majesty. I only learned it by watching how my mother, Duchess Adeline, did it and practicing by myself. I'm honoured to know that you consider my etiquette good enough." I put on a genuine smile and behaved like a respectable young noble lady. From what I know, Eleanora is Adeline's childhood who upholds the ethical norm so much. She considers that a good reputation is crucial for a woman.

Yup, that's right. We do not have a good relationship in our previous life. More precisely, she did not want to get in contact with me due to all the bad rumors spreading around me.

"Adeline … she raised her daughter well. How is your condition now, Tia?"

I sit on the couch across from Eleanora and nod. "My condition is better than before. Thanks for your concern, Your Majesty."

Eleanora's face turns gloomy. She puts the cup on the table and then looks at me with a guilty face. "Please forgive me, Portia. I know it can not erase my fault, but let me apologize to you for what happened before."

Ah, she must feel guilty because she thinks that the incident happened because of her. In fact, I know that Eleanora is not related to the incident at all—even though she was the one who conducted the banquet. It was another person behind this scheme. However, I will not let this chance pass.

When else could you hear a queen apologize genuinely to you, right?

For now, let's put an innocent act.

"Y-Your Majesty!" I stand up with a surprised face. "Please don't bow your head like that! You're not guilty at all. It is just an unfortunate event that happens to me. Both my mother and I never blame Your Majesty for this. Instead, I'm so grateful for the prince and your safety."

Ahhhh, acting is so easy. Just simply let an adequate amount of tears and use flattering words, swalla! You will tame the most dangerous lion using that.

Eleanora smiles softly at me. "Not only is your etiquette that perfect, but your behavior represented a high-class noble. I am really proud of you, Tia."

"I'm really honoured to hear that, Your Majesty."

"Please sit again. The food will come in a short time. You must be tired after a long ride from Palmerston to here."

"Not at all, Your Majesty." I sit again and fix my posture. Even though I say I am not tired, I am starving now. Running in the slums and dealing with two drunkards drained my stamina until the last drop of it.

"Huh—what a bothersome."

I glance at Nath with a sharp look and make that boy flinch. He turns his face toward the window and does not want to look at me. Eleanora heaves a sigh. She must have a hard time dealing with her son.

For your information, I still loathe Nathaniel in my previous life and this life.

"Nathaniel, please say thanks to Portia that have been helped you from those assassins. If it's not her, you might get bad injuries."

"Huhhhhh? But I already did that! Why must I repeat thanks to that thing—I mean, her?"

"Ah—do you mean 'already did that' is when you sneak into my room without permission that time?"

Nathaniel's eyes open wide as he hurries to gesture that I need to shut my mouth. But it is late. Eleanora has already listened to my words and turns to Nathaniel with a rage expression on her face. "NATHANIEL!"

He gets up and steps back with a terrified face. "M-Mother, I could explain this!"

But Eleanora has run out of patience and is ready to slap him. "How many times have I told you that you must be polite in front of our guests? Do you forget that Tia sacrifices her safety just to help you out from those assassins? Why do you always act childish? You're fourteen now, Nath! Please put a mature act like your brother!"

Pfft. I am trying to keep my facial expression as normal as possible because right now, I want to laugh when looking at this funny moment. When else can I see Nath—a man that pissed me off the most—getting scolded and can not do anything like this?

Oh, God, you must be so generous to let me see these rare things happen in front of my eyes.

"I NEVER WANT TO GET CAPTURED IN THE FIRST PLACE! NOT AT ALL! WHY MOM ALWAYS COMPARES ME WITH MY BROTHER? IF MOM REALLY LOVES HIM, JUST ERASE MY NAME FROM THE EMPIRE TREE LINES! SO YOUR ONLY CHILD IS KAZECH!"

BOOM!

Nathaniel explodes in anger and instantly runs out of the room with a face almost bursting with tears. Both Eleanora and I were startled when seeing his tantrum act. She heaves a long sigh and massages her temple. Aaaah, I really know the feeling of facing that wicked boy. "Your Majesty, are you okay?"

I put a worried expression on my face and looked at Eleanora with great sympathy. "I'll chase Nathaniel and tell him to come back here."

She waves her hand weakly. "No. No need to do that. Sorry for showing you a horrible scene like this, Tia. I'm so embarrassed. I really want to improve our relationship, but now all things just become more complicated like this. Adeline must hate me for this."

"My mother will never loathe you, Your Majesty. She's a generous woman, the goes same for you."

"You're a really well-behaved and kind daughter, Tia. I'm sorry, but I can't accompany you to lunch today. I'll send the lunch to your room. We'll have dinner together later. How is it?"

"I'm honoured to have another chance to have dinner with you, Your Majesty."

She nods. "You may leave this room."

"May the goddess of sun blessing always upon Tamerlaine."

Without spending another minute, I give her another curtsey before walking out of the Queen's room with a happy face.

I plan to spend the rest of my time with Kiel before I face them again at dinner tonight.

I walk toward the guest room where my things and Kiel are placed. It is not too far from the Queen's chamber. I only need to walk down the stairs and turn to the right, then walk until the end path. The medium room with a huge marble door guarding it is where Kiel waits for me.

"Hm-mmm, people often say that eating lunch with your friend will be so fun," I mutter as I push the door with an excited expression.

"Ezekiel, how is your condition? Are your wound been treated—" I stop the moment when I see something there.

Kazech pointed a 'real' sword toward Kiel's neck, who sat on the couch with new clothes. He looks so terrified.

W-What the hell is happening here!