"What did you say?" James was surprised that this ever so paying attention emperor was asking him to repeat every word about her majesty. But he could not truly blame him.
Even he was shocked when he saw that meek woman who knew nothing but to cry and throw a tantrum behaved that strongly as if she had finally developed a backbone.
But that did not mean that he trusted her. Her sudden change of heart on how she renovated the palace for the crown prince which was neglected for so long and giving him warmth was all a ruse.
And what she meant was that she wanted to change the knights to increase Lennox's security. Did she even have any idea which knight is good or which is bad. She must have wanted to add her spies into his security.
Every one said that she was not hungry for power since she never tried to interfere in the political matters of the palace or tried to harm the crown prince but diligently completed all her duties. But he was sure it was all a facade that would fall soon.
And though he had to wait for seven years, he was glad that he never stopped keeping an eye on that woman.
When Lennox came to meet his father telling he did not want to change his knights, he was the one who asked William to ask for her and clear the matter.
Did she have any idea how much persuasion did it need to convince him to meet her? But she destroyed all his plans by telling that she did not want to come since she was sick! Ha! He had seen her leisurely drinking tea in her garden while basking in the warmth of the sun.
She dared to lie so openly from his majesty, how could she be of pure hearted.
"James, I say that you are overreacting. If a teacher would have been hitting my son, I would have dismissed that kind of teacher too, no matter how good he is.
I think her majesty did a commendable job there. You should not try to find fault in her every action.`` James pursued his lips but did not back down.
He stared at his master, his majesty. He was sure William would understand his worries and help him in punishing that woman.
"I think Oliver is right. It did not have anything to do with us who would teach her son." her son! What did he mean by her son? He is firstly the prince of the empire than the son of that woman.
"My lord, she is already enjoying absolute power over the palace. Are we giving the right to choose teachers and responsibility of the prince's education to her too?" The tone came a bit loud finally forcing William to raise his head but his gaze was anything but warm.
He was annoyed as to why he was getting annoyed so much over some meager topics when he had so much on his plate already.
"Ha! You are talking like she was a stranger. The prince is her son and she is the empress. She must have the power of the palace. Or do you expect his majesty to do that work too when he did not even have the time to sleep properly.
You are talking like a cruel mother in law James. Do not tell me that you do not have anything else to do!" Oliver chided again as he rolled his eyes.
He decided not to listen anymore to the rubbish his friend was talking about and bring another file for William's signature.
"You are forgetting that she did not have an amicable relationship with the crown prince yet she dismissed Marquis as his teacher. What if she was trying to cut the roots of his power and stability.
Do not forget that he is the uncle of prince Lennox. She must be trying to sow discord there." his voice was surety and he sounded adamant to back down when Oliver shook his head.
He did not know how and why James was so sure that the woman was evil! He had observed her closely. Though she wanted power, it was not greed but to get the attention of her husband.
The foolish women thought that William loved her when he asked for marriage. She is just resentful that her floral dreams did not come true and thought she was cold to the crown prince due to the same resentment. She just avoided him but never tried to harm him in any way.
The servants only listened to her every command because they were afraid of her powers as a mage and the way she handled the court matters and other affairs of the palace diligently from the first day amazed them and they respected her more and more.
He could see the devotion with fear in the eyes of her staff. Such a meticulous ruler! It's a shame that his friend did not have any interest in his wife, or else the pair would have done wonders.
"Why are you silent now? There is no way that you can refute that the lady is dangerous. No one knows what she is hiding? We all know that she is an S level mage but have we ever seen her using her powers. What else is she hiding?" he asked in a taunting voice as he glared at Oliver for his lack of attention when William rubbed his forehead.
He had enough of this squabble!
"Did you forget that the envoys of the grand palace would be here soon. The treaty is an important one for trade from the south before the winter. And you both had chosen this time to irritate me.
If you both did not stop and started working, I will assign the rest of the files to both of you to complete and prepare a report for me." he glared at both of them who instantly turned silent when finally he looked back at the file but the image of Katherine wielding a sword flashed past his eyes.