/
There’s a reason why Olivia and Cyrus were spying on Alan and Princess Florencia.
It was 5 days ago. Before Princess Florencia arrived in Brior.
Olivia and Cyrus were summoned to the King’s office.
Though she heard that it is going smoothly, the discussions on the gold smuggling which involved the three countries is not yet concluded so Olivia felt uneasy about the abrupt summon.
‘Perhaps some complications have come up?’ She thought.
Alan has stepped down from his position as a crown prince while Olivia and Cyrus’s engagement is still on hold because they do not want to give the country any more confusion so she’s been given a room at the castle as the would-be fiancee until the matter concerning the gold smuggling is cleared up.
Due to the work that Cyrus and Alan now share, Olivia has been visiting the castle every day to assist them. That’s why she was immediately able to respond to the King’s summon——–still, she was stunned the moment she stepped into the King’s office with Cyrus.
This place is supposed to be an office.
A place where the King takes care of all his state affairs.
Unlike the conference room, this place should be where he mainly takes care of his paperwork.
(…..did I mistakenly enter a sweets store?)
Certainly, there are piles of documents on the King’s desk. The ones that were taken care of were placed on the left while the unsettled ones are on the right. However, as far as she can see, the pile on the left is significantly shorter. It’s only almost noon but that amount is still too few. Or rather, there are only about 5 finished documents. Perhaps someone has already picked up the finished ones before she arrived? No, that still can not explain the huge pile of unfinished documents.
(……..Did His Majesty call us here because he has trouble processing these documents?)
She couldn’t imagine the King asking their help for that. That’s why what was placed on the low table in front of the sofa stood out more to her. It’s a pile of sweets but, what is this about?
Firstly, there are colorful macarons lined up in the three-tier tray at the center. Surrounding it is a box of chocolates, a plate filled with several kinds of cookies, scone cookies, with caramel and other candies.
She doesn’t recall the King to be a sweet tooth.
“Well, have a seat.”
While standing up from behind his desk, the King urged them to sit on the sofa where the sweets are.
He then rang a bell which signaled the maid to bring in a tea set. Two cups of black tea with slices of lemon were served in front of Olivia and Cyrus while the King is having a cup of coffee imported from a far south country through Philarush.
“Well, eat whatever you like.”
“Yes. Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Olivia replied but Cyrus gazed at the pile of sweets as though he was repulsed by it.
“What are you planning this time, Father?”
Olivia, who was reaching for the mint-colored macaron, stopped her hand. [Planning] is quite a disturbing word. Retracting her hand, Olivia sets it back on her lap and stares exploringly at the King. She felt that if she had touched the sweets then she would surely get roped into something extremely troubling.
The King’s expression seems like he was hurt by the words of his son but, it also looked like it was a deliberately made-up one. If he was an actor in a play then he would have been fired immediately. His performance was that stiff.
When Cyrus started to glare at him, the King intentionally cleared his throat.
“Actually, I have a request for you two.”
‘I’m glad I didn’t touch anything’ Olivia immediately thought. Since he tried to mellow her out with sweets, it’s probably some kind of ridiculous [Request].
“No.”
Cyrus immediately answered.
But the King did not give up.
“This one is also concerning you, you know. If things go poorly, your marriage might even—–”
“Let’s hear it.”
Cyrus’s attitude instantly changed.
The King narrowed his eyes at him before clearing his throat again.
Olivia was a little worried to see Cyrus jump on board the King’s pace but it probably isn’t too late to turn the King down after hearing him out first. She doesn’t reach for the sweets because she wants to keep her escape route secured but she decided to listen for the time being.
“Actually, the Third Princess of Levanor is coming to visit us.”
“The Third Princess?”
Cyrus cocked his head. It’s not a rare occurrence. Levanor and Brior have a strong diplomatic tie and their princes and princesses often act as diplomats. However, Levanor’s Third Princess has never visited Brior before, even when Cyrus went over to Levanor, he only recalled having a casual greeting with her. He only remembers her to be a terribly shy and timid princess with the image of a newborn rabbit.
That’s why he felt that it’s strange for that shy princess to make a diplomatic visit. He doesn’t expect their First Princess to come because she’s already been married to another country but their Second Princess should still be available since she is only engaged at the moment.
Seeing his confusion, the King nodded with an awkward expression.
“The thing is, King Otwar wants his Third Princess to marry either Alan or Cyrus……..”
“Please let Aniue marry her by all means.”
Once again, Cyrus gave an immediate reply.
However, the King’s reply was [I can’t do that]. Cyrus’s mood immediately worsened. Olivia gently wrapped her hand around Cyrus’s. Noticing that, he glanced at her and his eyes softened a little.
“Please tell me why.”
Cyrus asked the King with the attitude that indicated that he wouldn’t sit still if it’s some ridiculous reason.
The King sipped on his coffee and perhaps it was too bitter, he slightly frowned and poured milk and sugar into it.
“If a Levanorian Princess marries Alan, the crown prince position will return to him. It would be one thing if you have already established your position as the next king but the King of Levanor’s intention is to make his daughter into a queen. With that being the case, Alan can not step down from his position. With that matter still ongoing, I don’t want to create more international disputes right now. You understand right?”
“Then it’s all good, isn’t it. Aniue can be the Crown Prince. He can have the Levanor’s Princess, and I can marry Olivia. It all fits right.”
“YOU THINK I AM GOING TO JUST LAY DOWN AND ACCEPT MY DEFEAT!”
Cyrus began to take interest in the king position due to various reasons but since he was originally the type of person that doesn’t feel any attachment to power, he did not want to become a king at all. Alan has recently polished himself and grown up as a human being so the King is holding his head at Cyrus who is willing to give up the throne if he can marry Olivia.
“If Alan becomes king then I will lose the bet with the Queen!”
“That again?”
Cyrus replied in a deeply disappointed voice.
“It’s fine already isn’t it. Mother is already 40 you know? It would be physically demanding for her to give birth to another child, isn’t it? Maybe it’s time that you should give up.”
“No way. I don’t want to lose to her in the first place.”
“…….your bets usually end up with your loss though.”
“Shut up.”
Cyrus sighed at the King who started to act like a child.
“Anyway, if it’s about an engagement then please bring it up to Aniue. I already have Olivia so if you suddenly tell me that I can’t engage myself with her I will seriously get angry you know.”
“I’m not saying that.”
“…..no way, you want me to have both?”
“Of course not!”
Olivia was relieved at the King’s immediate reply. In the past, it’s not like there were no kings who had a lover but engaging a foreign princess to a prince who already has a lover is still a really bad idea. Even Olivia herself doesn’t want to be called Cyrus’s lover either. Rather, she doesn’t want to see Cyrus marry another woman.
Cyrus cast a doubtful gaze at the King.
“……what are you planning?”
In the end, the question circled back to the first one.
The King grinned.
“The Princess is only coming here for a face-to-face meeting this time. The engagement has not been decided yet. I want you to get in Alan’s way and make her hate him. Well, it’s awkward for us if we are the one who turns it down but we just have to convince the other side that they don’t want this marriage. Of course, you won’t be doing this for free. If things go well, I’m willing to grant you one wish.”
Hearing that, Olivia and Cyrus were stunned.