Natalya of the North 《The Remarried Empress》

《12》

Oh biscuits. Did she just intrude a foreign royal's bedroom last night?

Natalya could feel the boy's smile radiating in the room but it brought her no comfort.

"Greetings, princess.."

Oh dear..

My mother is clearly staring at me right now. I am so dead.

~*The Remarried Empress*~

Natalya faked a calm smile, remembering that awkward encounter last night.

The boy, Heinrey, who she found out to be the second prince of the Western Kingdom, was sitting across her side of the dining table. He was grinning ear-to-ear for some reason. But was adorable nonetheless.

The young princess couldn't help but avoid his gaze. She knew how suspicious her mother was of her. It was no doubt that the news that she went missing last night had reached the Empress. There was no escape from her wrath if she ever put the pieces together.

Seeing as she refused to meet his gaze, the young prince tilted his head in confusion. He wondered why the princess was so panicked over the sight of him. He looked over to the edge where the Northern Empress sat, eyes widening slightly as he saw her fearsome look towards the princess.

He immediately looked back to the princess, pretending not to have looked at her direction. He also felt the vying looks from his family, all of them looking at him with intrigue.

Ding! The sound of a golden spoon lightly tapping a wine glass echoed in the wide dining room.

All of them turned to see that it came from the Northern Emperor. He was now lifting his glass, giving his signature unbothered expression.

"I welcome you all to the Northern Empire, dear friends. I, the Emperor of the North, am pleased that you have accepted our invitation this harrowing winter.." He announced, making the esteemed guests return his gesture.

The King of the Western Kingdom smiled at him, lifting his own glass as a sign of allegiance towards the Emperor.

"'Tis an honored invitation from the Empire of the North. How could we ever refuse?"

The Northern Empire and the Western Kingdom have long been allies since the last war in the Wol Continent. Although their empire barely saw other empires and kingdoms as equals, the Western Kingdom was one of the few their empire actually acknowledged. Natalya took note of this during her studies.

It was worth it, she thought. This was another step in building the influence their empire already had.

Natalya looked over to the Queen of the West who remained focused and was listening intently to their conversation. She was exuding a very regal aura to be expected from a royal. A formidable force indeed. She was a very plausible option to begin with. Being allies with her would surely ensure dominance over the Western court.

She felt someone nudge her by her shoulder, making her turn towards them in confusion. It was from none other than her elder brother.

Her elder brother had been looking at her direction for quite some time now, noticing how observant she was towards their visitors.

"You've done something reckless again, haven't you?" He whispered to her, making her slightly flinch in her seat.

His azure eyes were staring right into her soul, making the princess avert her gaze in shame as she nodded silently.

The crown prince sighed, massaging his temples in agitation. He quickly glanced at the Western prince, before looking back at his sister.

"My, your daughter is quite beautiful, Empress.."

This made them all halt and turn towards whoever had said it.

It was from the Western Kingdom's Queen. She was smiling while she said so, making the Empress mother quite amused.

"Flattery can only get you so far, your royal highness.." The Empress replied, smiling a bit at her words.

The Queen simply chuckled at her reply, putting a hand to her cheek as she continued.

"I'm not simply flattering you both, your Imperial majesty. It is a well-known fact. The princess truly is a perfect combination of you and your majesty's beauty.."

"Why, thank you! Your sons are indeed beautiful as well.."

The women's laughter died down as soon as the Queen laid her eyes on Natalya. Her gaze made her curious, wondering why she looked towards her.

"Has the young princess been given her chosen her fiancé yet? She's seven and clearly an eye-catching little girl, surely there have been several marriage invitations coming around.."

The Queen's question made her fall silent as attention was brought towards her.

Her father, who was previously talking to the King, immediately turned towards her, wearing a very unreadable expression on his face. Even her brother, who she assumed to have conversed with the West's crown prince, was now looking intently at her.

"We have not accepted any of them. There have been absolutely no families deserving of her.." Her father, coldly answered, staring deep into the Queen's soul.

The Queen looked surprised as she looked back at her, lightly covering her mouth with her gloved hand.

"My, is that true? Such a pity. I'm sure the princess had already picked someone of her own choosing.."

The Queen was indeed of bold character. Quite impressive how she stood her ground in front of the ruthless Northern Emperor. Maybe that was why her parents respected her.

"If that's not the case, my son Heinrey is always an option! He might cater to the princess' refined tastes!" She exclaimed, musing to her son, who was the exact same age as the princess.

The said prince, Heinrey, looked at his mother wide eyed before he looked at Natalya apologetically. She blinked a few times before giving him a small smile.

"What do you say, Natalya?"

The sudden question from her mother made the princess freeze in her seat. She did not know how to answer that quite so soon.

"I don't suppose the prince himself agrees instantly to the arrangement. So it would be better not to rush this topic, yes?" She refuted, masking her uneasiness with a polite smile.

This made the adults fall silent as the Queen seemed pleased by her answer.

"She is quite a clever young girl. Truly a loss it will be if she marries into the wrong family.."

The King of the West agreed to his wife's statement, giving the Emperor a glad smile.

"Indeed. I suppose she has gained quite a ton of supporters, right, young majesty?" He adds, only to be ignored by the Emperor.

All three of them sweatdropped at him, knowing how he was. The Empress glared at her husband before she cleared her throat, picking up on the question her husband had left ignored.

"Yes. Our daughter has quite established an amount of supporters from the noble daughters of the court..."

"Impressive! She would surely be of great help towards her elder brother in the future!"

All Natalya wanted to go back to her palace. She wanted to rest. All the talk was making her dizzy all of a sudden.

This was surely an eventful day in the Imperial palace. She didn't want more of it. She wanted to go back to her room and do absolutely nothing.

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A/N: It's been such a long time! I've missed this book by a ton! I'll surely update more frequently. I'm so sorry to those readers hwo have been waiting for a long time. I've gotten so busy in quite a short period of time! I hope I make it up to you all!