The Rightful Queen

Chapter 18 – His Insistence

Samuel kept staring at her. Love, huh? He knew his father, King Harold, loved his mother. When she died, his father grieved for quite a long time. Even now, he still remembers her fondly. Also, he hasn’t replaced her with a new queen, even if he would’ve been able to do so. The prince is thankful for his father’s display of dedication.

When he was told that he would soon be choosing his own queen and consorts, he hasn’t considered much about it. He thought it’s merely one of his many responsibilities.

This time around, he’s curious. Aside from him, there’s no spare as heir to the throne of the kingdom. He doesn’t have any half-brothers or half-sisters from the king’s consorts. His sister died the day she was born, along with his mother.

Was it coincidence? Or was it deliberate? Did his father sleep with all of his consorts or was he faithful to his mother? He suddenly felt embarrassed of his own actions. He took the privilege for granted and thought nothing of it except his own pleasure. In that other life, he certainly visited each of his consorts and spent nights with them. Except Laura, as per Cristina’s request.

Right now, he could agree that he was young, stupid and selfish.

The next time he visits his father, he would certainly ask about it.

He took a deep breath. “Does that mean I need to impress you? What kind of man do you like? I may not be the best candidate for you, but I would like to give it a try.”

He’s really persistent, isn’t he? Laura’s starting to feel helpless. Why is he so adamant about this?

“Can’t you consider other ladies?” She tried making a suggestion.

“I only have eyes for you. I want your heart.” He wasn’t lying. He really does. He’s not sure about his own reason, though. It doesn’t seem personal, but at the same time, it is. He wants her as his queen, for the kingdom’s benefit and because he likes her.

She is beautiful and that’s undoubtedly one of the reasons why he likes her.

Laura took a deep breath to. Even if that is the case…

“But you will have to choose consorts, too. I don’t want to deal with them.”

Samuel took a moment to contemplate.

“What if I promise you that I would not touch any of them? I won’t even visit their residences. I won’t spare them any of my time and be with you whenever I’m out of royal duties.”

Laura gulped but she still shook her head. Why is this prince promising such things?

“Even so, they would come at me. They would assume I’m behind your cold treatment of them. They would surely talk ill of me and try to undermine my position. They would insist that their role is also to give your highness heirs.”

She’s not wrong. Those things could really happen and since his consorts would also come from noble families, it won’t be easy to treat them harshly. Their noble houses back them. He couldn’t simply order them to treat his queen nicely. Well, he could and they would treat her nicely to her face. But again, behind her back, they would attack.

He sighed. This is more complicated than he originally thought. How should he deal with this issue?

“If I settle the problem with the consorts, would you agree to be my queen, then?”

Laura stared at him, doubtful that he would be able to do so. “I think… I would only agree if you don’t have any consorts.”

Well, there’s hope. She said she would agree given her condition. That’s something he could work with. Still, he would have to consult his father and the elders. To do away with consorts… can it be done?

He shook his head. It must be done if his queen is to agree to become his queen. If it isn’t done, she’s saying she won’t agree.

Earlier, he dismissed trying to intimidate her. It’s an option that won’t work. He can’t have her resent him, or hate him. He’s supposed to listen to her words. He’s not supposed to hurt her or make her cry.

Truthfully, her demands aren’t unreasonable to commoners. It’s only because he’s royalty that they’re having this issue.

Shouldn’t consorts be optional? Why are they required?

Because of her, he’s starting to consider the significance of these things.

“Then, I will make that happen. It will take time, though. You already said that you would agree, you can’t take that back.” He smiled at her despite the issue they’re facing. Getting her approval is the most important thing right now.

Laura’s eyes wavered. Why did she say she would agree? She gulped before looking at him again. He’s so insistent about it.

As for him, he feels good enough having a direction. For now. He has steps to follow. One step at a time, right? He kept reminding himself that he shouldn’t rush. Last time was a disaster because he hasn’t considered many things when making decisions. This time, he would surely analyze everything very carefully.

After a few minutes of silence between them, Laura asked if she is dismissed.

“I will come talk to you as soon as I have information to share with you.” His smile seemed very genuine to her. He has a gentle expression, very different from his aura earlier. She’s reminded of the times he looked weary, visiting her gardens.

She curtsied to him and bade him good bye. As she was leaving, Samuel watched her go. He realized it won’t be difficult to love her. She’s everything he wants in his queen. And he meant that, everything. He might not have known her long in this life, and though he hasn’t interacted much with her in that other life, it seemed like he knew her well enough.

The things that are currently happening is entirely different from what happened before. This is the beginning, he thought. He heaved a sigh in relief. This should be a good start. He found the right person. He smiled again before leaving the room himself. It felt like he achieved something impossible.

As he went out, the host greeted him, asking if things are well.

“Yes, I will be going back to the palace now.”

“Is the celebration not to your liking, my lord? Are you dissatisfied with anything?” The man looked worried. This celebration was mainly prepared for the prince.

“I have something to discuss with my father. Everyone can continue with the celebration. Don’t stop on my behalf. Thank you for your efforts.”

His words relieved the man and it clearly showed on his face.

“Yes, my lord. We’ll be ready for tomorrow’s celebrations as well.”

“You do that.”

Samuel left in a carriage and his mind was occupied along the way. He should be able to reject having consorts. Even if it’s tradition, he should be able to reason out with them. He started thinking of reasons he could bring up with the elders and the heads of noble houses. This would be the first time he’s going to try and convince them to change something that has been done for ages.

When Laura found her uncle and his family, they were still enraged. Cristina couldn’t help pointing at her hair, but her father stopped her.

“Not here. Wait until we get home.” He gave her a look that she has never seen before. His uncle is not normally bothered by her affairs or activities. It’s her aunt and Cristina who makes her life difficult.

Inside the carriage, the silence was suffocating. Laura still has no idea why they’re angry at her. What did she do?

As soon as they arrived at her uncle’s mansion, Cristina snatched the ribbon from her head.

“You…” Her cousin has no words, but her hands caught Laura’s hair and harshly tugged on them.

“Ah…” She yelled in shock, not expecting such an act from her usually refined cousin. Though she verbally abused her in the past, she never raised her hand on Laura. This is the first time.

She grimaced from the pain being inflicted on her. Cristina was so angry that she also slapped Laura in the face.

How dare she? She was so embarrassed in front of the prince. She was accused of stealing a royal item. And then, said item would be clipped on her hair?

“What did I do?” Laura managed to ask as she was trying to pry Cristina’s hand off her now messy hair. The bun was ruined and her tresses scattered.

Her aunt, who seemed composed in front of other people, also revealed her true nature and took over. She pulled on Laura’s hair, pulling and pushing her around, making her stumble and the occasional slaps on her face.

Laura would let out a grunt or a groan depending on the intensity of their slap and the pull on her hair. Aren’t they going to explain anything to her? What is going on here?

“Aunt, please…” She endured but it has gone on for quite some time. They released all their anger and frustration on her. Even her uncle went ahead and slapped her twice. His was forceful and she was pushed to the ground.

She’s not going to cry. She promised she won’t cry in front of them, no matter how badly they treat her. But the pain was too much. Her head throbs, aching from the attacks she sustained. Tears pooled in her eyes.

Cristina started speaking, hurling insults at her, and vaguely making statements that allowed her to understand the situation. Still, what can she say?

She doesn’t know why the prince would accuse Cristina of stealing. Because of the ribbon? Even so, he wasn’t mad, was he? It was an unproven accusation and he already determined that he in fact gave the ribbon to Laura. It’s not as if the prince ordered a punishment on the house of Thistle. There’s no such thing.

That should be enough for her uncle, right?

“It was a misunderstanding. The prince knows I didn’t steal it. Cristina didn’t steal it…” She trailed off. Well, technically, she did. Though Laura implicitly allowed her to use it. She didn’t think much of it when she saw it on her cousin’s hair.

It was just a ribbon, she thought.

Are they this angry because they lost face to the prince? Their pride and ego were hurt. But it was all cleared now, isn’t it? The prince didn’t speak with them after he dismissed her, so were they not assured?

It’s frustrating to her, too. The fact that they weren’t summoned to the palace or thrown into dungeons is a clear indicator that the prince didn’t really think they were thieves. Can’t they understand that? Or was it really about the hurt ego?

It was something Laura could never fully understand about other people. Prideful to the point of unreasonableness.