Holly tiptoed in the grass. She had been waiting alone in the park for an hour. Several maids began to pay attention to her, but none dared to greet her.
Yesterday Felix promised to explain her duties, but he had not appeared since morning. Gilbert was also nowhere to be seen.
Adda said they had an important meeting with royal officials. Holly did see some arrogant-looking old men enter the castle. Maybe Felix had started to get busy with his duties as King.
Holly's doubts about Felix began to recede. It was clear that Felix was indeed respected as King. However, Holly still wondered about Felix's changing behaviour.
[Is he really a good person?]
Suddenly the bushes in front of her moved, Holly spontaneously retreated on alert.
Bugh!
Holly nearly fell to her knees in shock when two small children emerged from the bushes and rolled over in front of her. They didn't notice Holly's presence. Their laughter sounded louder when one of the children tickled the other.
They were too much having fun. Holly couldn't help but smile. It was really nice to see kids playing around and laughing despite what happened to them.
"You should be careful. You can hurt yourself."
The two children immediately fell silent when they realized Holly was in front of them.
They froze for a moment, then quickly prostrated in front of Holly with terrified faces. "Forgive us, Your Highness. Please spare us," pleaded the blonde boy. His voice trembled, showing how scared he was.
Holly didn't mean to scare them. Instead, she wanted to say hello and laugh together. She didn't think the children would be afraid to see her.
"Stand up. I will not punish you." Holly tried to put on a friendly smile so they wouldn't be scared.
The little girl who was wearing a dull dress lifted her face. She looked into Holly's eyes with admiration.
"Your eyes are beautiful," she mumbled accidentally.
The boy glared at her. "Don't be rude," he whispered.
"Forgive my sister, Your Highness. Are you really not going to punish us?" asked the blonde boy once again.
Holly laughed softly. "No. I love seeing you guys laughing like that. So don't be afraid to play here."
The two children still looked doubtful. The little girl sat on the grass, her eyes still on Holly.
"Are you really the Queen?" she asked innocently.
Her brother glared at her again to keep her quiet. Holly couldn't hold back her laughter. The younger boy acted like an adult.
"I am," answered Holly.
"But why do you look different from her," said the little girl.
Holly raised her eyebrows. "Who do you mean?"
"The late Queen," said the little girl.
Holly froze. The late Queen? Her ears suddenly buzzed. An uneasy feeling arose, making her chest feel so tight.
"Was she King Felix's ex-wife?" asked Holly with trembling lips.
"Yes. She would behead us if we laughed in front of her. But you look different from her." Although the little girl smiled, Holly could not be happy with her anymore.
[So Felix has been married before?]
Holly cursed herself. She had forgotten one thing, it was common for the royal family to marry from a young age. Moreover, for a King, he will certainly be married to another noble before he takes the throne.
So why did Holly feel angry about that fact? She didn't understand herself.
"Where is she now?"
The little girl looked at her brother first. Holly wasn't sure if she didn't know or just hesitated to tell.
"She's gone," said a voice behind Holly.
Holly looked up. Felix was already standing behind her with a serious face.
"She's gone, and we have no Queen anymore."
[Is she dead?] Holly wanted to ask. But her lips closed when she saw Felix's eyes. That wasn't the eyes of sorrow but eyes of hatred. Felix definitely didn't want to talk about it any further.
Those kids immediately walked backwards when they saw Felix coming toward them, they slowly started to drift away. Felix's presence must have frightened them.
"Come, I'll take you somewhere."
Felix broke the silence. He walked first left Holly. Holly tried to chase him while lifting the dress.
Many questions still circled around Holly's head. She wanted to know what the late Queen was like, that the children were terrified. Even Felix seemed to hate her.
[Sure, it must be just arranged married. There's no way Felix loves her.] Holly kept coming up with reasons to calm her down.
The fact that Felix didn't look sad when discussing the late Queen pleased her. But why was she happy? Felix's feelings for his ex-wife have nothing to do with Holly.
Holly shook her head. Since then, she had not paid much attention to the road. She stared blankly at the grass and walked carelessly, following Felix's footsteps.
Felix noticed Holly's behaviour, he immediately stopped. He smiled, seeing Holly seriously thinking about something.
Holly, who wasn't paying attention to the road, bumped into Felix's chest. She almost fell if Felix didn't hold her waist.
"What makes you so frustrated?" Felix asked softly.
Holly shuddered. Felix was such a gentleman. But Holly immediately let go of Felix's hand. She tried to do it as politely as possible. Holly wouldn't be rude if Felix was nice like this.
"Do I look frustrated, Your Majesty?"
"You're frowning all the time. You must have a lot in your mind because of your coronation."
[I'm thinking about you.] Holly answered in her mind. But her lips said, "Yes, I'm thinking about tomorrow, Your Majesty."
"There's no need to worry. Your coronation is being held in this small castle. It will happen very quickly."
Holly still wasn't used to Felix's polite attitude. It felt strange to be treated kindly by a creature like him.
Without Holly knowing, they had reached the edge of the village. Felix didn't choose the road in the centre of village, so they won't attract attention.
From their position, Holly could see some villagers getting ready for the evening. Felix also paid attention to those people.
Holly was surprised when she found Felix's eyes looked at them sadly. She was amazed at how Felix's eyes told everything.
Could it be regret for making them cursed too? But for what? They even hate Felix. Once again, Holly could never understand him.
"You will be a Goddess for them," Felix said. He forced a smile that Holly found pathetic.
"I'm not sure they would think of me that way."
"You are their only hope."
Holly came to this place because she was dumped. She should have been beheaded or eaten by a beast.
But she instead became a Queen and a Goddess.
Felix escorted Holly to go deeper into the forest. They passed through the lush trees and toward a lake. Holly hung her mouth in awe. Unexpected, there was a lake here.
The lake was on top of a hill. Across the lake, there was a steep cliff, so they could see the kingdom from there. Capital and the palace were clearly visible in the distance.
"This place used to be a place of worship for Luna. People worshipped her annually here."
Felix pointed at the sky to the moon that had appeared even though the sun had not completely set. From this place, the moon looked bigger and brighter. The light reflected on the lake, so it looked like there were two moons there.
"Is she your ex-wife?" asked Holly quietly. Very quiet that her voice was almost drowned out by the wind.
"No. But my mother. She was the Luna. The late Queen was never accepted as Luna." Felix answered in a very calm voice, as calm as the lake.
"Then will they accept me as Luna?"
"I don't know." Felix turned to Holly.
With warm eyes, he said, "But I will."