I don't want to be loved (Book II)

Chapter 221: Motherly Advice

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Mrs. Cessly wailed and started savagely criticizing Jungkook.

"This is all Your Majesty's fault. It's because you allowed the Queen leave for Chrichton. Why did you do that?"

"All I did was give her a choice."

"A choice?"

"I told her to choose. To stay here, or to leave with the baby."

"Why on earth did you tell her that?!"

"There's a reason behind my marriage to Lalisa. I lied to her and forced her to come here."

"Ah, I remember the Queen told me something like that. That Your Majesty did not wish to marry her, but Princess Jennie. Is it related to that?"

Jungkook nodded.

"Yes. I had no choice. If I had proposed to Lalisa, she would have run away from as fast as she could."

Mrs. Cessly looked at Jungkook intently with a complex look in her eyes. Seeing that Mrs. Cessly's head was spinning top speed to find out what could possibly make Lalisa want to run away from Jungkook, he added in a slow voice.

"She definitely didn't owe me money nor anything like that. I can't tell you the reason, so please don't ask any further."

Mrs. Cessly got angry at him.

"How dare you say that...? Who do you think I am to think those sorts of things? I did not think of that, not even for a second!"

Mrs. Cessly shook her head angrily before speaking again.

"In any case, if what you are saying is true, then it all went according to Your Majesty's plan? You did what you did since you knew that if you directly asked for her hand in marriage, she'd turn you down."

"...yes."

"And when you gave the Queen the freedom to choose to stay or leave, the Queen chose to leave?"

"Yes."

Jungkook nodded.

"I... I actually had a few plans to ensure that Lalisa would never be able to leave. It would have been quite coward of me, but I could have caused enough problems in Chrichton so that she could never go back there anymore. I had countless other methods as well, all readily planned to make sure she'd never leave... but I knew that I mustn't. It was Lalisa's decision, and I wished to respect it."

Mrs. Cessly blinked a few times while she was deep in thought. She didn't know the whole story behind the two of them, but she was sure of one thing. They had both made a grave mistake over something.

"Your Majesty. To begin with, using those sort of methods is not the right thing to do. That's no way to treat someone you love if she decides to leave. Threats, conspiracies? No way, no... absolutely not. There's another way, don't you think?"

"Another way?"

"Did you confess your feelings to the Queen, Your Majesty?"

Jungkook's purple eyes stayed fixed on Mrs. Cessly. Seeing that he did not understand her question, Mrs. Cessly's anger rose again. Taking a deep breath to calm herself down, she asked again.

"I'm asking whether you confessed your love for her before giving her the choice of leaving."

"..."

"I can't believe it. Did you really say nothing at all?"

Jungkook couldn't reply. He was stunned.

Mrs. Cessly was speechless.

"That..."

"Oh, my God. If you were going to let her choose, you should have at least made sure that she knew! You should have assured her that it would be alright to spend the rest of her days beside a man like you! But no! You went ahead and told her she could leave without giving her any reassurance! Don't you know her? Don't you understand her personality? She is a very introvert person! Telling her to choose to leave is no different from telling her to pack her things and leave immediately!"

"But..."

"All this time, have you never ever confessed your love to her correctly, not even once?"

"..."

At this point, Jungkook was left speechless. He still had his tongue, but he felt as though he couldn't say anything at all. Mrs. Cessly silently lamented herself in her head with tears in her eyes.

Oh, my God... this fool! He knows nothing of romance!

"If you don't say it properly, how is the other person supposed to know what you are feeling? Does Your Majesty understand the Queen's feelings? Why does Your Majesty think that the Queen decided to leave in the end?"

"..."

Mrs. Cessly placed a hand on her forehand. It was hard to tell whether the throbbing pain she felt in her head was caused by the alcohol or the King's incompetence when it came to love.

"Excuse my lack of manners, Your Majesty, but if you were my son, I'd kick your ass and tell you to go after your wife immediately."

Seeing that Jungkook remained rooted in his seat with his mouth shut even after telling him that, Mrs. Cessly growled.

"...just go after her now. Tell her you want her to stay by your side, that you love her with all your heart. She might give you a different answer if you do it."

"Do you really think so?"

"Of course! To expect the other person to understand your feelings isn't just inconsiderate, but also a way of avoiding the problem altogether. You are scared of having your pride hurt. Even if your love is rejected, you must make sure that you convey your feelings in all honesty. Only then you'll be left with no regrets."

Mrs. Cessly had plenty of experience when it came to how society worked. She had even been regarded as the "Queen of High Society". After dealing with so many people throughout her life, she didn't only have plenty of experience with love, but one could even say that she'd mastered the art of reading other people's minds.

"It's too late to leave for today, so perhaps tomorrow morning..."

Before she could finish speaking, Jungkook rose from his seat and darted out the room without saying anything.

Seating alone in the room, Mrs. Cessly realized that the Jungkook had gone out to look for Lalisa. She smiled. The whole palace would be plunged in a state of panic upon realizing the King's sudden escape, but Jungkook didn't care and went after his Queen immediately.

"Oh, my God..."

Mrs. Cessly whispered to herself. She noticed a small wooden toy shaped like a ship in the desk. The toy had clear signs of being quite old. It seemed like the King had been staring at this figurine for a while before storming out.

"Hmmm..."

Mrs. Cessly picked up the boat figurine and placed it neatly on the desk. A smiled came up to her lips. For some reason, she had the feeling that everything would be alright.

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