Claude decided to take a breather from what happened inside his studies with Tayne. Together with Tseng, they walk across the garden where Claude felt more at peace. This was his favorite place growing up, always playing tag with Mary and climbing the cherry blossom tree, this was the only place he can be himself, not a King.
He appreciates Tseng at times like this for he doesn't butt in and destroys the mood, unlike a certain someone he knows. His conversation with Tayne suddenly comes into mind and he began feeling uncomfortable again. He shakes his head as they walk further inside the garden and he met his mother together with a few servant-maids.
"Oh, Claude, happy seeing you here lately." Queen Cecil showed him a surprise reaction.
Claude tilted his head, confused, "Have I not been coming here, mother?"
"Ahahaha, well ever since Erika left you, you haven't, the two of you could stay here for hours walking and talking" Queen Cecil smiled
The calmness that Claude felt was suddenly replaced into something painful "Now that I think about it, I guess I did come here more when I was in my twenties"
Queen Cecil realized what she had said and signals her servant-maids and Tseng to leave them alone. When they did she grab her son's arms and give him a comforting smile.
"The heart is indeed fragile, it may never forget painful memories that hurt it, but it learns to forgive"
Claude looks at his mother and strokes her wrinkled face, she was still beautiful as he could remember, although her beautiful black hair has turned to ash grey, the way she looks at him with her beautiful pink eyes can still make him vulnerable.
"I've missed you, my dearest Claude"
"You said that as if I left for a long time"
Queen Cecil smiled again, "You are right, silly me" she wraps her hands around Claude's shoulders "Can you walk your mother to that Cherry Blossom Tree you so love?"
Claude nodded and guided her the way. His mother was diagnosed with an untreatable illness and due to her old age and fragile body, operation is impossible. The reason why up until to this day his mother lives was because of the medicine Vincent discovered. He mixed a small percentage of Etheria inside Queen Cecil's daily medicine and was very successful, it cannot cure the illness but it did sustain her to survive every day despite the danger . He owed him for that.
"Mother"
"Hmmm?"
"What would you do if someone you trust betrays you?"
His mother gave him a startled expression, it made him uncomfortable. "N-not that it's related to me or anything"
The queen's eyes turn soft as she stares at her beautiful garden "I don't know but I'm praying it won't happen to me"
They finally reach the Cherry Blossom Tree, still as majestic as ever.
"This sight still amazes me until this day, it's always in full bloom because of Etheria"
"That's right mother, Etheria can change living things mysteriously and because of how our ancestors studied it, our Kingdom flourished through the years. It's all thanks to the System they created to extract and use Etheria ---- the Earth's life force"
"Victoria, was it?" his mother asked
"You named the System Victoria, the daughter of the first Saveria family"
Claude nodded "Don't worry mother, I want to always keep this peace as long as I could to make a better place for you to rest and Mary's daughter to grow up until I can pass it on to my next heir"
"Then find yourself a wife now"
Claude went silent suddenly "Tha-that might be for a while"
"Sigh, if I have known Erika will leave you I should not have agreed for the two of you to be engaged considering both of you were still in your twenties! And now look, it's been ten years and your sister Mary got married ahead of you"
Claude laughs "I have no problem with Mary and Caleb, you know that mother"
Her Majesty laughed as well "Who said I have when in fact your father married me into the family even though I don't know about my parents. Your father was such a daring man I tell you to be able to capture a heart like mine"
"Indeed, my father is one lucky guy"
"How about that Tayne person?"
"Pardon?"
"Oh, don't act as if you didn't notice her, your new head of security, I heard she's a bit wild but cute"
Claude's jaw drop when he heard those words coming from his mother. "No-no"
"What?"
"Why would I get attracted to that shameless woman!? She doesn't even know how to properly address a noble and her superiors, she doesn't listen to me, The King, and she keeps on doing things on her own without my permission and she always, always bothers me at my most precious time!" He vented and the queen was speechless, for this was the first time he lets out a yell in front of her, his mother, Claude was always calm despite being filled with rage or discomfort.
"Ah-- I'm sorry for venting those on you, mother. I-I got to go now, I'll go and get the servant-maids" He gives his mother, still dumbfounded, a peck on the cheek and left. It did not take long her servant-maids came.
"Your Majesty? Is something wrong?"
She paused looking at his son walking out of the garden along with Tseng, based on the way he talks to his bodyguard he was embarrassed about what he did and the Queen laugh so hard that her servant-maids rushes to her aide.
"Your Majesty!" one servant hold her arms and supports her in case she might stumble
"Hahahahaha! I'm fine my dear, thank you so much, I was just so happy"
The servant smiled "You must have a good walk with the King"
"Yes, yes, indeed. I did no expect a little old lady like me can still laugh so much. You know, my son might find someone special very soon"
"R-really your majesty? That's good news!"
"Indeed" they walk to the Cherry Blossom Tree and Queen Cecil caress it like a pet "Good things are starting to come"
---
Inside the Security Office, Tayne was spacing out since she got back from her usual argument with the King. She felt stressed and she had no regrets about what she had been doing since she came here. She believes it was the right thing to do and because the King doesn't like the way she handles the situation, she might lose her job soon.
"How can I keep my promise to his father if he doesn't even trust me?"
She looks at her sword that she placed beside her and grips its hilt just to calm herself and it never failed her. She chuckled at her actions and scan her surroundings, she looks at her table full of documents, guards coming in and out asking for queries and giving their reports, she always felt out of place inside this Kingdom.
"How did I manage to accept this kind of job when I should be going out, taking on adventures," she said to herself.
*Knock* *Knock*
"Miss Tayne?" A young guard comes in, Tayne lets go of her sword "Oh, hi. Can I help you?"
"My name is Allen Miss, Sir Caleb sent me to give this to you" he hands her a piece of paper
"What is this?"
"It's a to-do list the Security will do this upcoming weekend"
"What's the occasion?"
"It's her highness, Princess Mary's birthday and the Royal family planned to give her a birthday party, of course, every noble in the entire Kingdom is invited"
"Huh, how extravagant can they be just to celebrate a birthday"
Allen looks at her surprised.
"What?"
"Nothing Miss! Sir Caleb said to make sure security is tight, make sure no foreign individual tries to come in"
"Foreign?" she asked
The young soldier nodded "T-then, I'll take my leave!"
[Ah, Sir Caleb must be telling me to be careful of the man who escaped from the Church] Tayne thought.
"All the nobles, huh, then that Duke Doctor will surely come" she pounds her left hand on her right palm "Might as well get to know him" she smiles determined.
---
Over the weekdays the Kingdom was in a frenzy preparing for Mary's birthday party. Claude who almost forgot about it thanked Caleb's immediate action and bought her sister the most expensive jewelry he could find in the entire Kingdom.
On the day of Mary's birthday, Claude was inside his room with his servants preparing for the party.
"Tseng"
"Yes, your majesty?"
"How's security doing?"
Tseng raised his brows by the sudden question, so far as Tseng could remember the last time the King and Tayne met was inside the King's studies when Tayne brought an heirloom brooch from the Ainsworth's.
"Sir Caleb gave her tons of work for today's celebration your majesty, maybe that's why we have not seen her for a while"
"I see, that's good then"
Claude was relieved to hear that, for the past few days his mother kept mentioning her and how she wanted to have tea with her and he got annoyed by it. He didn't understand what his mother was thinking but maybe it's her just teasing.
The party was held inside a huge banquet hall, the biggest of all the rooms inside the palace and everyone was already present. Claude wanted Mary to enter together with her but she wasn't that type of person especially that now she's married to Caleb. He respected that decision, Mary was already greeting her guests downstairs.
"Your Majesty, it's time you must go down"
Claude goes out from the curtains on the second floor and every person present bows their heads. When he descended Mary greeted him with a kiss on the cheek.
"Brother! Finally, you're here!"
"Happy Birthday dearest sister, Tseng" he reached out his hand and Tseng gave him a small box.
"For you", he hands the item to Mary
"Oh, c'mon, I'm already old for presents"
"But it's not just for you though, please open it"
Mary got curious and opens Claud's present and there, inside the box are two beautiful bracelets with a single jewel of blue topaz.
"This is..."
"For both of you, to you and to my future niece"
"It's wonderful! Thank you so much!" she hugs Claude tight and went back to Caleb "I forgive you for almost forgetting my birthday" she teases
"Huh? H-how---" he looks at Caleb avoiding his gaze "Ah, I see.."
"Hahahaha, don't worry, don't worry, now please brother enjoy the party and please do greet the other nobles"
Claude followed his sister's request and had been talking with their guests for quite some time, mostly he had difficulty for talking consistently due to multiple women approaching him and asking him to dance.
When they were at the veranda outside to get some fresh air, Claude got the chance to observe how the security team works, and he can see all the areas inside the palace were all heavily guarded.
"Hmmm.. I guess she did well tonight" he said
---
This was Tayne's first party she ever attended for her twenty-six years of existence and was amazed by how grand it was. To think it was only for a birthday party for a princess how much more if its the King's birthday, she thought.
Caleb helped her memorized all the noble's faces and trained her to greet them properly, it was very exhausting but so far since the party started she did do her job well considering there was no ruckus in the vicinity.
She saw Claude descended from the second floor and how he hands her sister a gift, it made her thought, they were a happy family indeed. As she was watching the siblings she decided to patrol the hall once more before taking a break and that was until someone bumped into her.
"I told you we'll meet again"
Her eyes grew large by the shock she received and turns her back right away, to her dismay she didn't see someone behind her. She tried roaming every inch of the area hoping he might find him but she couldn't.
"Hahahaha, c'mon Claude, dance with me!"
She saw a group of girls around Claude and sees how uncomfortable the lad was. She chuckled a little and thought she must be tired and start to hallucinate things. Caleb did a ton on her for this preparation, never left her side every single day, she understands though, it is his wife's birthday.
"Claude! Claude! Hahaaha!"
The ladies around the King were starting to become crowded, she looks around to find Tseng but the bodyguard was experiencing the same as well.
"Huh, I guess, that's normal to handsome guys huh? Women throwing themselves at them, they must like the attention"
"I'm afraid Claude doesn't feel that way" someone approached her, it was no other than Duke Vincent Ainsworth "Hello, Miss Tayne"
"Your Grace" she bows
"Hahaha, I guess Caleb really taught you well, I have been observing you from afar and saw how you greeted your guests, you're a fast learner, hahaha" he teases her
Tayne was surprised to find the man she least expected to see, but she felt a bit guilty if she tried to interrogate him first and not the King himself so she decides to leave him.
"Well, that's what you expect from the head of security, hahaha, I got to go, your grace, see you around" when she starts to walk away from him, Vincent grabs her hand, it alarmed her.
"Your Grace?"
"Can we talk for a bit?" the Duke gave her a cunning smile.
---- End Of The Chapter.