妻子的秘密

As I entered the throne room, all the nobles that were standing in the room lowered their heads, not daring to make eye contact with me. I do not know if this was out of fear or respect. All I know is that this was much better than them staring daggers into my back.

When I stood before the King, Adel let go of my arm and walked to her father’s side. She now had to take on the role of a princess of the kingdom. King Gravos smiled at me warmly as he gazed upon me. Only one person in this room was having a hard time keeping his emotions in check. And that was the Prime Minister. I could see the anger in his eyes which made me inwardly chuckle. Sadly we have yet to find any kind of evidence against him, so we can not do anything to him directly just yet.

A few seconds later, I was joined by everyone in my team, minus Adel, who was standing with the King. Her role in everything was to be expected as she was the princess. But I am sure she will also have a reward of some kind coming to her.

“Baroness Cyrilia!” The king’s voice brought me back from my inner thoughts. I looked at him as he gazed back at me. “On this day, myself and this entire kingdom must thank you and the people who follow you for your role in wiping out those who wished to rebel. Your actions have been able to bring a new change to this kingdom. A change that will benefit the kingdom as a whole. Not just the nobility but the commoners who are the backbone of our nation.

“Because you were willing to stain your hands in the blood of those who wished evil upon this kingdom, I will say now from the bottom of my heart thank you.” At this, not only did King Gravos bow but Adel and every noble in the room did as well.

When he lifted his head once more, he closed his eyes for a second before opening them once more and looked at me and the others next to me before locking back on to me. “Faith Cyrilia, your actions from this date super exceed anyone of this kingdom. From helping those struggling to survive in the slums, helping those in a dungeon even though they might have seen you as an enemy, even in the face of an army of thousands, you never faltered in helping this kingdom. And now, with this new event, I am not even sure how I am supposed to reward you. While I know you ask for little, I guess I can only offer one thing.”

I watched as the king stepped forward and placed his big hand on my head. “As of this moment, Faith Cyrilia will be known as Princess Cryilia, third in line to the throne!”

“Oi!” I yelled out, smacking the damn man’s hand away, only to see the scheming smile on the king’s face! This bastard! I told him many times that I did not want the damn crown!  “Adel, do something about your stupid old man!”

“Huh? But I think the title princess suits you well!” Adel, you traitor! I cried out in my mind. I looked up at the King, who was smiling away. Then I looked at Adel, who was covering her mouth to hide her laughter. The damn girl really found this amusing. I then looked at Lance, who was not even looking at me. Why the hell is he looking at the ceiling whistling!? But what got me the most was when I looked at the nobles at the side, they were all smiling away. This meant they were all in agreeance with this stupid old man! I could have looked at the Prime Minister, but I did not want his help.

I hung my head. Why didn’t I just go to another kingdom? Why did I stay in this kingdom only to be given things I don’t want? I looked back up to the king, who was standing here teetering back and forth on his heels with a very complicated expression. “Can I give this reward back for a shiny rock?”

“NO!” The king replied flatly! At least think about it!

Actually, now that I think about it. I am probably the only one in this kingdom who would trade the title of princess for a shiny rock. I sighed and looked at the damn man in front of me and asked: “So what do I do with this new title?”

“Nothing. If Lance or Adel give up their rights to the throne, you would take the crown.” The king replied, causing me to sigh.

“What about your other kids!?” I asked. I mean, come on man, you got more than one son here!

“Those idiots!? They gave up their titles a  few weeks ago and are now living in the countryside.” His answer stumped me. They gave up their titles!? I guess the look on my face said it all because the king continued: “They both came to me and said: We want to be free from the political drama, so we denounce our rights to the throne. Give us an allowance to live off of and a plot of land.”

“Those bastards!” I yelled out. “Why are they doing this to me!? I never even met them, and I want to punch them!”

“Faith, you are speaking your mind very loudly!” The king reprimanded. But all he got from me was a humph as I turned and ignored him. But he still continued: “Even if they did not give up their rights, I still would have made you third in line. Faith, you are a treasure any kingdom would want to keep tied to them. But for me, I just want you to have the right to take control if something were to happen to Lance or Adel. I am entrusting my kingdom to you in case something we did not plan for happens.”

I took a deep breath before letting out a long, drawn out sigh. “Fine. But I will be damned if they just give up the throne because they don’t want it.” I narrowed my eyes as I  looked at Adel and Lance as I said: “Lance, Adel, if either of you says I quit, I will kill you!”