The holy ruler

Chapter 6 (continued)

Anastasia’s POV

As I walked through the dimly lit gardens, the cool night air brushing against my skin, I couldn’t shake the scene I had just witnessed. Mary, leaning into Prince Adam, their kiss illuminated by the faint glow of the ballroom lights spilling through the grand windows. It was calculated, a move from her well-worn playbook, and yet... why did I care?

I stopped near a marble fountain, its soft trickling sound soothing the storm of thoughts in my mind. My reflection stared back at me in the rippling water, my gown glowing faintly in the moonlight. I couldn’t understand why I felt this way. I didn’t want Adam. I never had. He was arrogant, disinterested, and entirely wrong for me. Yet the sight of Mary, with her ever-perfect timing and manipulative charm, unsettled me more than I wanted to admit.

Why does it bother me? I asked myself. I don’t love him. I don’t even like him. This was a political union, nothing more. A duty to my late mother, Queen Genevieve, to my family, to England. Prince Adam could pine after Mary all he liked—our marriage would be a formality, a piece of paper that bound our kingdoms together.

Still, the memory of their kiss lingered, gnawing at the edges of my thoughts. Was it jealousy? No, it couldn’t be. I had never been jealous of Mary before. Her beauty, her charm, her ability to wrap people around her finger—those were tools, nothing more. Tools she used to manipulate and deceive. But this felt different.

Perhaps it wasn’t Adam I was thinking of at all. Perhaps it was Mary.

She had always been a thorn in my side, constantly vying for attention, undermining me at every turn. And yet, I had always tried to be kind to her, to treat her as my equal, even when she didn’t deserve it. What more did she want from me? Did she truly want Adam, or was this just another way to assert her dominance, to remind me that she could take whatever she wanted—even a crown prince?

I shook my head, exhaling sharply. This is ridiculous. Let her have him if she wants him so badly. I wasn’t here to fight over a man. I was here to fulfill my duty, to secure the alliance, to ensure that my mother’s legacy wasn’t reduced to ashes.

But the thought nagged at me, unrelenting. Why was I letting Mary’s actions affect me? Why did I feel this knot in my stomach every time she succeeded in drawing attention away from me? Was it because I felt like I was failing? That in some twisted way, she was winning?

I clenched my fists, my nails biting into my palms. No. I couldn’t allow myself to be distracted. Mary could play her games, and Adam could fall for her manipulations if he wished. In the end, it wouldn’t matter. I was the one they needed. I was the one who would stand beside Adam as Queen, not her.

And yet, as I turned away from the fountain and made my way deeper into the gardens, I couldn’t stop the quiet whisper in the back of my mind. Why does it feel like I’m losing something I didn’t even want?
As I wandered further into the garden, the soft glow of lanterns barely illuminating the path, my thoughts churned like the restless waters of the fountain I’d left behind. The cold air nipped at my exposed skin, but I welcomed it. It cleared my head, dulled the sharp edge of my swirling emotions.

“Why do you look like the weight of the world is crushing you tonight, Princess?”

The familiar, teasing voice pulled me from my thoughts. I turned to find Kye leaning casually against a stone pillar, his jester’s outfit slightly disheveled and his signature smirk firmly in place. His emerald-green eyes sparkled with mischief, though there was a softness to his gaze that I recognized as concern.

“What are you doing out here, Kye?” I asked, folding my arms. “Shouldn’t you be entertaining the court?”

He shrugged, pushing off the pillar to stand upright. “The court is plenty entertained by itself tonight. Thought I’d come find you instead. You always manage to disappear when things get interesting.”