A royal is never wrong ~ A zodiac story

Chapter 19

Versailles

"Your highness, we will reach our first destination before sundown, fortunately." His assistant told him as he read the king's schedule. "You shall then proceed with a quick speech at City Hall. There is also a small village near the region which have been struggling. If time allow it, it should be a great help to your image to bring them back to prosperity."
"Sure." He responded monotonely.
It was crystal clear the king was distracted and Barry, his assistant, noticed. "May I ask what's on your mind, your highness?" He asked the monarch.
Feeling overwhelmed, Aquarius decided to confide in him. "Well, ever since the three kingdom summit, Prince Ophiuchus' behavior has been bothering me." He explained. "The way he would counter every single one of Prince Gemini's words as well as Saggitarius'. He also made it clear that he had no intentions in keeping our alliance alive. That makes him unpredictable and a dangerous man. Of course, I would like to avoid a war, but that might not be an option."
"Your highness. If I may give you an advice, I think you should let it go. You have much on your plate with your recent coronation. It would be better to take care of that issue when we'll get back."
The king sigh. "Very well, Barry. But just in case, please send my general the details of my concerns. Like they say, better safe than sorry."
The rest of the ride stayed quiet as both were occupied. Aquarius was reading through some papers while Barry took care of writing a letter to Cancer.
Soon, it was sundown. The carriage stopped in front of a luxurious estate. In front, stood an old man accompanied by his wife and servants.
As Aquarius stepped out the carriage, everyone bowed, welcoming their new king.
"Welcome, your royal highness. It's our pleasure to have you here with us." The man greeted.
"I could say the same for you, Viscount Dominic." He answered the nobleman before turning to the noblewoman. "I don't think we've met. You must be the Viscountess."
Vicountess Dominic was much younger than her husband, nearly a 30 years age gap. It disgusted Aquarius just the thought of such a marriage. There were no laws in the kingdom's law book forbidding it, but it didn't mean it was morally correct to do so. He wondered if, at his return, he should issue some sort of law to prohibit such a thing.
But this was a problem for another time. Right now, the viscount was his host and being hostile toward him will end in nothing, but misfortune.
They had a quick chat before getting redirected to their room.
Aquarius laid on the bed.
He was exhausted and it was barely the first day. He still had the rest of the territory to tour.

...

3 months later...

It was mid-spring when Aquarius finally finished touring the kingdom.
He was welcomed back by his sister and his betrothed who stood patiently waiting for his return.
As he walked out, Taurus ran towards him.
"Thank goodness you're back! Do you know how busy I was with you gone. How dare you leave me!" She pouted jokingly.
Aquarius let out a light chuckle at his sister's tantrum. It was hard to admit, but he sure missed them.
"Welcome back, Aquarius."
Saggi! He had almost completely forgotten her presence.
"Saggitarius, it's nice of you to welcome me back. I see you've finally decided to adress me by my given name."
"It seems I have. As much as I hate being a buzzkill, the council want you back at work as soon as possible. Prince Gemini also sent you a letter. It didn't seem too important so I decided to wait for your return."
The king sigh. Being a ruler was a drag and the workload was huge. He would've love to take a break, but that didn't seem possible at the moment.
"I'll take a look at it. Also, while we're on the subject of work, you wouldn't happen to have a schedule for my meetings?"
At his surprise, the itinerary wasn't in Saggitarius' hands, but instead in Taurus' possession.
"Actually, I have it." She informed her brother. "I was the one attending them while you were gone. I don't know how you deal with them, but those nobleman are absolute pretentious pricks."
"Well, I should get going now. It seems I have a meeting in 5 minutes. Also, Taurus, please don't curse and insult our council. The royal family does not need more enemy."
As he left, Taurus turned around and whispered something in Saggitarius' ear. "Good luck being married to that guy. And don't think of bringing him back to me, he's your problem."
As much as Saggitarius wanted to laugh, she couldn't. She didn't love this man and she couldn't bring herself to break their engagement.

...

Back in his office, Aqua sat at his desk. He had just gotten out of his previous meeting with the council and was currently staring at the pile of letters and documents which needed his reply or signature.
He took the first document and started reading it. It was the palace's ledger with all their spendings. Usually, this would be the queen's job, but since he hasn't married Saggitarius yet, the work she was allowed to access wad quite limited.
Through out the night, he finished as much as he could. Completely worked out, he thought back to the letter his fiancée mentioned. It was quite easy to spot, after all, it was the first from the pile.
He opened it and took the time to read the letter. Inside the letter, a card fell.
It was a wedding invitation.