The King's Queen

Chapter 6

I was still thinking about Princess Gwenivere's words the next day. Beau had told me before that Grace dying was his fault  but he hadn't gone into the details and he'd seemed so heartbroken by the fact so I didn't pry. It was so sad. My heart cried for Jackson too, who must have been utterly devastated after he found out.

I didn't want there to be a repeat of what happened with Grace just because of the royals' massive pride issues. Things would have to change. It was futile to hope for a progressive and prosperous empire without putting in the effort to make it so.

Those thoughts were still whirring around my mind as I made my way to Emperor Caden's office. He'd mentioned that there were a few things he'd like to discuss with me but didn't say much more. Ashton was with Empress Arabella at a function which left me to face his father alone. Emperor Caden still found ways to irritate me but I'd gotten more used to dealing with him.

"Good afternoon, my dear," he greeted me with a cheerful smile as I stepped into the spacious room. "Please." He motioned to the chair across from his desk. "Have a seat."

I moved over to the chair and sat down. My curiosity was bubbling up and could hardly be contained. I couldn't help but wonder if this meeting had something to do with my biological father. Or perhaps it had to do with the fact that Prinarch Cole and Prin Odette, his parents, would be visiting from the Eastern palace soon.

Whenever a monarch was succeeded by their child, they would no longer be the king or queen. Instead, they were given an honorary title of Prinarch, which basically meant preceding monarch in ancient Crysauralian, a language Madame Lucille had scheduled for me to start learning in a few days.

Nobody spoke ancient Crysauralian anymore and it was mostly reserved for important services, like the excerpts the archbishop had read at Ashton's Declaration Ceremony. However, it was expected that I at least learned to write and read it at the basic level. Nothing less was to be expected of the future empress of the Crysauralian Empire.

I had other languages to learn too, namely Spanish, French and Devink- the main language of one of the largest kingdoms. Spanish was a given since I'd promised Raúl that I'd have the Duolingo bird shaking in his boots and I was trying... but that darn bird constantly bullied me. Still, I could at least hold conversations with him in his native language which he was happy about. I was also learning Japanese for Jun. My schedule was already packed and I was on the brink of forgetting English, but I would not fail in the tasks given me. Giving up was not an option.

Emperor Caden smiled, reminding me of the discussion we were about to have. He knew I was wary of him.

"You're probably wondering why I asked to see you this afternoon," he started. "I'll make it quick, seeing as we are both busy, but there are a few things we need to discuss."

"I see. Is it regarding the Prinarch and Prin's trip to the main palace?"

"Not entirely. They should be here by tomorrow. Arabella's parents will also be visiting from Nalway. You will finally get a chance to meet both sides of the family."

I nodded, still a bit nervous by the fact that I'd be meeting more royals. They'd visited the main palace about a year ago, but I was in Cothe at university at the time and didn't get to meet them. I wondered what they'd be like.

"But that's not why I asked you here today," Emperor Caden continued. He rested his chin on his steepled fingers as he talked. His green eyes were as calculating as ever as they bore into mine. "How was your trip to the kingdom of Meryllia? Did you like the country?"

So he was curious about what I'd done in Meryllia. Of course he would be. I'd gone there with the intention of unearthing information about my biological family. It was by some strange twists of events that I'd encountered my aunt and learned more about my parents. I observed Emperor Caden who was waiting patiently for my answer. I knew what he wanted to know—whether I found out anything about my father or not. Yes, I did. But I was not going to share that information with him.