Zylith.

"Alright, quick question! What is the first thing you notice when someone tries to approach me in my sleep?"

"The audacity!"

"Excellent!" I smiled in gratification.

"If you can't 'convince' them, what will you do?'

"Simple! 'Confuse' them Sire." Liana chirped in a fervent tone.

"Yes, very good!" I clapped my hands in satisfaction.

"Okay, next one! What is the shortcut to being wise?"

"Just think of something stupid to say, but then don't say it?"

"Oh My! You've revised your lessons very well Liana." I smiled brightly at her.

"But..."

"Hmm? You have something to say?" I raised my brows and prompted her to continue.

"-W-Well Sire, lately there have been some malicious rumours going around." She bowed her head low in gloom as she informed.

"And?....." I urged her to continue.

"And My Liege..... they are saying the first Queen lacks basic propriety and is an eccentric with odd views." Liana bit down her lip as she mouthed out the later half.

"My Highness, I'm so sorry! It is all my fault." Liana faltered in her visage and abruptly kneeled on the floor. Nowadays, it seemed to me like she was actually quite fond of kneeling on the floor, so I didn't really deny her this favour and let her just do her thing. "I... I... I happened to mindlessly mention your views and lessons in front of a friend of mine. But... But I didn't expect her to be a snitch and tattle about it to other people. It is all due to my misjudgement that your reputation is about to be smeared yet again Sire!" She started weeping woefully as she narrated her sob story. "Please do punish me for my blunder!"

Looking at her sorry state of mind, I couldn't really bring myself to reprimand her at all and could only deeply sigh at her yet-to-be-reformed-naïvety.

"Alright alright, I get it. Now don't cry anymore and listen to me, hmm?" She raised her tearful face to look up at me and I said, "Little Liana, the thing about smart people is, they seem like crazy people to dumb people."

Liana stared at me, dumbfounded for a few seconds, and then imprudently enough, nodded her little head in understanding.

"So don't fret over trifling stuff like that, and just aim to remember all my teachings sincerely, okay?" I said in the demeanour of a learnt adult.

"I shall heed well to your every lesson, My Liege." She bobbed her head in quite enthusiasm, and I was pretty satisfied with her current attitude towards my teachings.

"Alright, to commemorate your successful learning so far, I will teach you another enlightening quote by a very famous personality, repeat after me, 'Opportunities knock on your door only once. But temptation.... that b*tch leans on the damn doorbell.'"

She knitted her brows a bit, as if pondering over my words for a moment, and then mimicked after me, "Opportunities knock on your door only once. But temptation, that b*tch leans on the damn doorbell."

"Good. Do you understand what that phrase mean?" I asked.

"Correct me if I'm wrong Sire, does it mean..."

"Your Highness!" I heard Fredurd's voice addressing me and interrupt Liana halfway.

I turned to the side to look at him as he spoke in his stern voice, "His Majesty is here to see you."

I raised a brow when I heard Alexteris was here to see me. I mean, Alexteris would never willingly come to see me. Maybe send for me, of course. But never to see me.

So I was pretty surprised when such a rarity that only occurs once in a blue moon suddenly transpired today.

Liana and Fred quietly withdrew from my salon while I smilingly addressed the approaching sombre prince. "My! To what do I owe this ostentatious pleasure of your visit, Your Highness?"

Alexteris in turn, scowled in unpleasantness when he heard my sarcastic words.

"Are you insinuating that I have to exclusively get your permission to visit you now, Lady Elizabeth?" His foul scowl got even deeper as he mouthed caustically.

'Ah! If you were gonna be so bitter about it, why hell did you even show up in front of me?' I thought, but I could only stretch out a tight smile to his putrid bitterness.

"Well Your Highness, I never really meant to forbid you from visiting me. I wouldn't want you to read too much into my words, if you get the drift. I was only just curious to know whatever brought you here." I muttered with a shrug.

"Hmm, I wouldn't really be here if it wasn't necessary." He grumbled about it like a five-year-old.

'Duh!' I had a deadpanned face but didn't really say much as I wasn't fond of his company either. He smelled like drama and a headache and I wasn't keen of prolonging his stay.

"Well, I have a message from brother." He said, and my ears stood up like erect stiff antennas. Any message from Reuben could never be a pleasant message.

"He said he has already appointed your next tutor for the historical and political lessons." I widened my eyes to the point where it couldn't be widened anymore when I heard his words. I looked at Alexteris as though he had told me that the earth was actually flat.

Did he just say.... 'Lessons!?' I couldn't stop the profuse sweat droplets that redecorated my temple.

"Wha-What..."

"Oh! He also said that, I quote, 'You're beautiful of course, when I have my eyes closed; Just as you claimed earlier.'" Hearing Alexteris's words, my eyes couldn't help grow even wider than a saucer. Now I knew for sure, that prick was taking revenge on me for calling him an asshole.

Alexteris had a nasty smirk plastered on his face as he quoted his brother's words, and his smirk got even nastier when he witnessed me turning into something that of a swamp creature with a bad temper with each passing second.

Oh how I wished this damn fake mummy was not the prince of a country right now! I had to let out my frustrations over Reuben somewhere and he was the perfect target for my personal vendetta, only his damn title stood in my way of castrating him.

While I was planning a perfect plan of castration, I heard the door of my salon creak open and firm steady footsteps walking into the room. I turned towards the new addition to my personal salon, and came eye to eye with a very handsome lord Xavier.

Suddenly, all of my frustrations just melted away like fitful vapor, and my eyes shined like diamonds. It had been a while since I had last seen lord Xavier. I heard he was out and about to the capital as he had some errands to run, and ever since then, I hadn't caught but a single glimpse of the lord. However, now that I saw him standing before me in a handsome white golden reamed militaria uniform in all his glory, I couldn't help but be smitten.

"Lord Xavier! When did you return?" I exclaimed and he curtsied a gentle bow in response.

"Your Highnesses! I have just arrived and then rushed to report of my return as soon as I set foot into the castle. I hope both of you are doing well. I am deeply apologetic for my extended absence from the castle."

"Oh! Now please, you don't need to be so prim and proper in front of us my lord. Both of us are doing better than well if you must know, and it was no trouble at all, really. I hope you had a safe travel?" I uttered in a venerated sweet tone.

I saw Alexteris wrinkling his bushy brows at me while eyeing me strangely from the corner of my eyes, but I was not at all bothered and just shrugged him off as if he was air.

"Thanks for your concern, My Liege. I had a pleasant travel without any hitches." He smiled back at me and oh! I think I had my heart pierced by the arrow of cupid right at that moment. Before I knew it, I was grinning at him from ear to ear. His hot spectacular view really bedazzled me enough to loose my cool.

"Alright! I do not know what is going on in that head of yours, but your beaming grin is really getting dodgier by the passing second." Alexteris's rude comment brought me back to my senses and I looked at him with some hidden distastefulness.

This jerk was really the kid brother of Reuben. He knew where to hit the hammer to smash my beautiful dreams.

The fake mummy chose to ignore my irate glares and said to Lord Xavier, "I'm glad you are back safely Lord Xavier. Did you get any message from my brother recently?"

"Ah yes, it was said that His Majesty is on his way to Calavaria from Galvolner at this very moment." Lord Xavier answered.

"Really? So fast? The matters in Galvolner seems to have been solved in an extreme rush?" Alexteris muttered in a thoughtful tone.

"Oh about that, His Majesty mentioned that the issues in Galvolner might be closely related with that of Calavaria, and that is why they are currently headed to Calavaria straight away." Lord Xavier said.

"Hmm, is that so?" Alexteris seemed to be brooding over the matter in deep, however, all that they were discussing had just went over my head leaving me utterly puzzled.

I knitted my brows and thought, 'What the hell is going on? Is it something that I should be made aware of? If so, why was I excluded from the team all over again? Should I ask what is going on? What if they refuse to let me in on this secret? But from the looks of it, since Reuben took off towards the northern borders, it must be related to that hostile nation Theodore.'

"Is there a problem during His Majesty's travels?" I asked cautiously, as if testing the waters.

"Ah yes! About that... nothing much of importance Your Highness." Lord Xavier looked a bit uncomfortable as he spoke, "If you are really worried for His Majesty, you can always write a letter to him and this vassal will make sure to deliver it safely."

"Really? I can write to him?" I raised a brow. Now that's news.

"...... Didn't brother suggest you write to him if ever there is anything of significance before he left for Galvolner?" Alexteris frowned.

"Hah!? He did?" I, in turn, frowned back, trying to recall my prior conversations with the said man, but unfortunately so, nothing really came to mind.

"(Sigh!) I can't believe you have the nerve to be distracted enough to brush off my brother's words just like that. I'm unsure as to if I should applaud you for your galls or punish you for your audacity." Alexteris groaned in lament, whereas I was still left as clueless as a man trying to buy his wife's underwear.

"(Chuckle) It is alright Your Highness, I do not think His Majesty would be offended with Her Highness because of such trivial antics. You can send His Majesty any number of letters as you want, Your Highness. I'm sure he would be rather glad to receive letters from you." Lord Xavier smiled like the angel that he was. Even though I doubted Reuben would be delighted if I were to send him letters filled with my witty sarcasms, I didn't want to shatter Lord Xavier's beautiful fantasies about his demon boss. As such, I could only smile wordlessly at his florid words.

............ On the bright side, at least I'm not addicted to cocaine. So let's just ignore the slight details and look at the bright side.

To be Continued.........