In Time And Memories

Chapter Four

A few days after the banquet, I finally decided to visit the Imperial Palace. There was no conversation between me and my father about the future marriage so I think it was a bluff.

Or maybe the prince has not yet consulted it with the emperor...

I shrugged my thoughts and focus on the situation in front of me. Celestia has been staring at me for a while now. It's making me annoyed.

Since she heard that I'm going to the Imperial Palace, she's been like that- Staring with those sparkly eyes of hers.

"The dress is so beautiful, Lady Azelaine! I'm sure that the prince will be pleased!" Rina said enthusiastically; which is pleasing to my ears.

I glanced at the minesoua flower that has been withered but the beauty of it still remains.

"You're meeting the prince, Azelaine?" She finally has the courage to speak. I glanced at her. My eyebrow twitched with the sight of her expression- As if she's expecting something.

I nodded. "The prince invited me and I couldn't reject it, could I?"

Her mouth gaped but there are no words came out of it. She just remained silent until it was time for me to go.

I wonder what would happen in this visit. This is making me nervous but happy at the same time. Besides, it's rare to receive an invitation for a normal visit.

And the fact that the prince is expecting me; it's making me feel special.

Laurenze Family has been one of the major supporters of the Imperial Family. Our family has the biggest contribution in the aspect of politics. It was also my grandfather who hailed the emperor to the throne.

Although, of course- The emperor still has the biggest influence and his orders are still absolute.

Come to think of it, Prince Pierre was not hailed as the crown prince even though a lot of noble families and commoners are cheering for him to inherit the throne.

The crown prince...

There are a lot of nasty rumors about him being the black sheep of the Imperial Family. Even his mother- The late empress was accused of cheating on the emperor because of the crown prince's appearance.

That's also the reason why a lot of noble families are against him to inherit the throne, that includes our family.

But the fact that his title remains, it only means that the emperor ignores those rumors. It was also said that the empress wants her son to be the next emperor before she died.

"The emperor must love the empress dearly," I whispered to myself while staring outside of the window.

Well... I've heard the rumors about the crown prince but I haven't seen him.

Not even a strand of his hair.

The carriage stopped. We're finally here. The coachman knocked on the door. "We've arrived, Lady Laurenze," he announced and then opened the door.

I looked down to fix my dress when a hand appeared in front of me. I accepted it and went down the carriage while holding the skirt of my dress- To avoid myself from tripping.

"I knew you'll come," a gentle and deep voice whispered to my ear.

My eyes went to the hand and slowly went up to its owner's face. The prince smiled widely at me and there's a hint of blush on his cheeks.

"Y-Your Highness!" He's the one who offered his hand to me when I went down from the carriage- Without realizing it. I thought it was the coachman!

There are maids and butlers lined up in front of the main entrance, with their heads bowing to us as the prince escorted me inside of the palace. It is a different palace from the one where the banquet was held.

Is this the prince's palace?

"Welcome to the queen's palace." Oh. Okay.

The prince's hand is still on me while we go deeper inside the palace. It's rather extravagant- With the gold carvings on the ceilings and gemstones on each pillar.

Those furnitures are also no joke and I'm sure that it costs a fortune.

"How are you, My Lady?" The prince asked first.

"I'm doing well, Your Highness. Thank you for your concern," I answered and that's the start of our conversation until we arrived at the sitting room.

At first, I thought it'll be awkward to have a conversation with the prince but it went well and naturally. I don't want to assume but I think it's best since we'll be wed in the future, right?

I gave curtsy to the queen and smiled at her. "Greetings to the magisterial Queen of the Meliean Empire. I am Azelaine of the house Laurenze," I greeted with grace and elegance.

The queen greeted me back with delight and she looks pleased. "Welcome, Lady Azelaine."

The prince guided me to seat in front of the queen and then he sat on the chair beside me. There are a lot of pastries served at our table, along with our cup of tea.

I can't help but glance at the queen while she's sipping on her cup. She's the epitome of grace and elegance- As they say, and here's the proof in front of my eyes. The queen also possessed the beauty that can make every man get swooned.

But there are rumors too. Some said that the queen was supposed to be the empress but it turns out that she became a concubine; later on, became a queen after the late empress died.

It is quite a complicated story.

Both the queen and late empress came from promising noble families. The queen was a countess from the house of Harckion while the late empress was a duchess from the house of Arthoion.

Queen Frizella was supposed to wed the emperor first but the Empress Thiane got pregnant by the emperor before the supposed royal wedding.

In short, there's a love triangle going on between them.

They have no choice but to let the emperor marry Empress Thiane since she carried the first prince in her womb. Queen Frizella ended up being the concubine as the result.

"How about we talk about your future, Lady Azelaine?" I snapped back in my senses after the queen spoke my name.

"My future?" I asked cluelessly.

The queen nodded and shifted her eyes to the prince. "Your future with the prince." The liquid inside my mouth got the wrong pipe and I felt the constrict in my throat.

"W-With the prince?!"

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