Crafty Queen

While King Armen was worried for Seren and King Drayce was curious about her; on the other hand, there was someone who didn't have good intentions towards the Third Princess of Abetha.

That same night, Queen Niobe was in her chamber with both of her daughters accompanying her.

The blond, middle-aged woman had fair and radiant skin despite her age. As she sat on a finely crafted wooden chair trying to relax, her poise remained as regal as it was when she was meeting nobility in the throne room. Her expensive off-white gown with a long heavy skirt, designed with silver and gold thread embroidery, was settled nicely around the chair, adding to her imposing aura.

Her amber-colored eyes showed she was currently infuriated.

Her hands rested on the cushioned handrest as she tapped her fingers lightly on it. Her sharp features looked ferocious as she stared at the middle-aged man standing in front of her, who had his head lowered. The man was wearing the light blue-colored silk robe of the high-ranking officials working in the royal court.

"Minister of Trade and Foreign Affairs!" Queen Niobe chuckled coldly, "I think this title no longer suits you, Lord Darus Count."

"Mother looks really angry this time," First Princess Giselle quietly murmured to her younger sister, Second Princess Meira, as they played bystander to the situation.

The two princesses took after their mother. They had the same long blond hair, amber eyes, and fair soft, and radiant skin. With delicate features and petite figures, they looked as pretty as their mother, if not prettier. However, their appearance wasn't the only thing they got from the queen. At the moment, they were visibly enjoying the discomfort of the noble in front of them.

The high-ranking official flinched in fear. "Apologies, Your Majesty. Next time—"

"There won't be a next time," the Queen interrupted him, her tone resentful. "It was a good opportunity to trap that Third Princess and throw her out of the palace, but you couldn't even do such a simple task."

"I will find another way—"

"Another way?" she scoffed. "I gave you two opportunities, and not even one of them was successful."

"We didn't know the King of Megaris would successfully dodge our attack and even recognize that the attackers were not Abethan soldiers." Minister Darus was sweating as he explained.

"Haven't you heard about him being a devil's son? Did you take him so lightly?" the Queen raised her voice.

"He is still here, and we can plan something else," the minister suggested.

However, to this, the Second Princess reacted. "Mother, he is Prince Arlan's friend. How could you?"

Princess Meira didn't look happy about the suggestion as she would be a part of the Royal Family of Griven soon, and the King of Megaris was her future husband's elder brother's best friend. After all, Crown Prince Arlan would be the King of Griven; she surely didn't wish to upset him.

"It's good that he is Prince Arlan's friend, so we got the opportunity to bring him here and get rid of that witch," Queen Niobe responded, not affected by her daughter's displeasure.

"And how is mother planning to do it?" Second Princess Miera asked.

Queen Niobe looked at Lord Darus Count as if instructing him to explain.

The minister turned to the princess. "Your Highness Princess Meira, given the incident at your engagement ceremony, the delegates from Griven would have shown their unhappiness to His Majesty and demand that he resolve the issue by punishing the Third Princess. In addition to the pressure from Griven, there are the people on our side in the royal court fanning the flames."

Realization dawned on Princess Meira's face.

The queen continued to tap her fingers lightly on the hand rest as she asked, "What do you think would have happened if we stirred more trouble during such a delicate time? Trouble such as... angering the King of Megaris by having masked men cause him injuries? It's his first time coming to Abetha, but he was welcomed with aggression by Abethan soldiers."

"Prince Arlan wouldn't be silent if his friend was injured when he was the one to invite him to Abetha," Princess Giselle concluded.

Queen Niobe nodded. "Right."

Lord Darus Count continued, "Adding the threat from the King of Megaris and the Crown Prince of Griven; King Armen would be too busy pacifying them to pay attention to us, giving our people the opportunity to execute more of our schemes against the Third Princess. While His Majesty was busy taking care of the serious matters between the three kingdoms, he wouldn't be able to spare time to protect her."

Queen Niobe then looked at Minister Darus. "Isn't it a shame? If only you had perfectly done the tasks I've assigned to you in the first place, then more of my plans would have been executed already. Either my husband would have thrown her out, or we would have offered her to the devil to calm him."

Minister Darus lowered his head once more because of the admonishment.

"But mother, I'm confused by one thing. How could you make father blame her for it?" the First Princess asked. "Father would have forgiven her like always, saying it was not because of her."

"When the witch is around, only misfortune awaits for you—this is a common saying in the kingdom, so it's easy to blame everything on her, giving it a name of misfortune for the kingdom, even if it's just her mere presence," the Queen answered, but the two princesses didn't seem satisfied with only this much.

Lord Darus Count explained further, "For the people, the easiest solution for any misfortune is to get rid of anything which is wicked, or it will harm everyone in the kingdom. Even if King Armen is against banishing her, with the pressure from our people and the threat from the powerful and merciless King of Megaris, the King won't have time to breathe, much less think about the Third Princess."

However, her daughters still didn't look completely convinced. Princess Meira opened her mouth to protest, "Mother, don't ever let Prince Lenard know your scheme, or else, he might tell his brother…."

"No one will know," Queen Niobe interrupted her naive daughter. She then gestured for the minister to lift his head.

"I heard King Drayce went to that tower," the Queen smiled, looking at Lord Darus Count with renewed interest.

The minister nodded, happy to redirect the topic of conversation. "The King of Megaris is widely known for his interests in the things that are forbidden."

"Then we should show him the best way to know more about his newly found interest," the Queen commented as a sly smile painted on her beautiful face.