As the guard informed us, we walked into the grand audience hall. The weight of countless eyes, belonging to ministers and higher authorities, bore down on me, scrutinizing my presence from head to toe. It felt as if I were in a locked cage, and these people were assessing me as if I were a prize at an auction. The sensation made my skin crawl.
"It's okay. I'm here," Alex whispered, his reassuring voice and the comforting grip of his hand providing solace amidst the unsettling atmosphere. I looked at his face, and in that moment, my affection for him deepened, even though ours was just a contract marriage, and I wasn't the one he loved.
"Did I misunderstand him?" I wondered.
"I, the Duke of the North Region, Alexavier Agnes, greet you, Your Majesty," he declared with a graceful bow before the emperor as we approached him.
