King Ambrose moved his hand to his forehead and sighed in frustration.
Queen Susan frowned. "You can start by dating, your coronation is next week, son."
Elijah glanced at his friend and sighed. It took all his effort not to look at me.
Ethan smirked. "I don't need to date anyone." Then he glanced at Thomas. "He's single and him." He pointed at Elijah, whose face changed immediately.
Queen Susan laughed. "I didn't ask for your opinion on marriage. I just want you to choose someone you can tolerate. Since you don't want to, I'll help you choose." She then turned to the princesses with a big smile. "Elena dear, come here."
"Me?" Elena gasped happily. The room roared with applause.
Her mother wore a proud smile while King Clifford looked bothered. Being a man himself, he immediately understood Ethan.
Elena stood up arrogantly, smiling as the other princesses clapped and watched her with envy.
Seeing Elijah's aloof expression, I chuckled. You have no choice, Prince Ethan.
I saw Elijah lean closer to Thomas. "Hope you haven't slept with her?"
I laughed in amusement. So he knew about Thomas's lustful life?
Thomas smirked. "Don't worry, I'm still with your younger sister, Elle."
Elijah's face changed. "Unless you want to die."
"Look, she's staring at me."
When I followed his gaze, I saw a beautiful, innocent girl dressed in a pink fairy dress looking at them.
Elijah's face turned cold. "I trust her."
"I announce Elena as the future queen of the Giant Silver Kingdom!"
"Whoa!!!" People clapped immediately.
I was about to clap too, but suddenly I felt a chill. I looked at Ethan and saw him glaring at me.
What is it now? Am I not allowed to be happy for him?
He stood and left the throne hall, his guards following right behind.
The queen ignored him and patted Elena's shoulder. "Welcome, my princess."
I chuckled. Of course, Elena is the daughter of the second most powerful family she would choose her.
"Thank you, Your Majesty," Elena bowed to Queen Susan, then turned to King Ambrose. "And Your Highness."
King Ambrose sighed helplessly and nodded.
"Come to the palace often. Your wedding is next week," the queen said.
....
I spent the whole day thinking about Ethan. I was worried about him. I know I'm not in a place to think about him, but the more I tried not to, the harder I fell. "Love game…" I mumbled, staring at the sky in a daze.
"It's a very dangerous game," someone said behind me. I flinched and turned. "Mother…" I sighed.
"What are you doing alone on this balcony?" she asked.
"I'm just tired."
"Like I said, my dear, love games are very dangerous. Especially for commoners like us or if the person you love doesn't love you back. It'll be hard to enjoy the sweetness of marriage."
I sighed. My mom just described me and Elena's situation without realising it. I'm the commoner, and Elena is the one chasing a man who doesn't love her.
"You don't have to pity them," she whispered. "They don't marry for love. They marry for power."
I nodded and smiled faintly, but she didn't know how worried I was about Ethan. My body, my mind, they were craving him. This is insane!
I inhaled deeply, placing a hand on my chest. "Why am I even feeling this way?"
Right now, I just want to see him… bury my face in his chest. "Oh no!" I laughed bitterly. Now I have to accept that I'm in love with him!
But I'm aware of the type of game we are playing…not love…but a losing game. No matter how much he loved me, I can't have him, I will always lose while Elena will win!
I went back to the throne hall, heavy-hearted.
"There's nice tea… Allison, come here," the queen called as soon as I approached her. She was standing before King Clifford and his wife.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Go make them nice tea."
I bowed and unconsciously glanced at King Clifford. Our eyes met. He raised a brow. I quickly looked away and turned.
Am I not allowed to take a look at the second most powerful king?
I rushed to the kitchen and quickly prepared the special tea I learned from an old woman. It is still a miracle as the royal family values it more than anything.
I returned with three cups of tea. Elena was the first to grab one. She sipped and closed her eyes. "Mmmmm." She groaned softly.
Whoa, she liked it! I smiled in satisfaction and let the king and his wife pick theirs.
"I knew you would love it," Queen Susan smiled. "She's the best tea maker among my maids."
The second queen drank and nodded, even the king seemed impressed. Elena suddenly opened her eyes and shot me a cold glare. I was surprised to see jealousy and hatred there.
What's going on? Why would she be jealous of a maid?
"We wish our Elena knew how to make tea too, especially royal tea like this," her mother said.
Ohhh… now I get it. She doesn't know how to make it! What's there to be jealous about? They could just hire a professional teacher.
"There's this famous tea maker who's great at teaching," Queen Susan said. "She had trained other princesses too."
Elena's face changed, but she quickly covered it. Her mom forced a smile. "Ah, she found it boring and stopped us from hiring tutors. We've hired two, but she didn't like them."
I frowned silently. The teaching must be too hard for her. I've been through it and it's difficult! Only intelligent people can get the perfect taste. It took me a year to master it. Maybe she's just lazy.
I sighed as I carried the tray. Any king who marries Elena will have issues. She doesn't want to learn or do anything for the kingdom just to sleep, spend money, and bear the queen title.
Just as I was about to leave, I heard Elena's mother say, "You will be making the tea in front of Elena, so she can see how you do it."
"Mom?!" I heard Elena yell.
My eyes widened. From frying pan to fire! I bowed and left, not even sure if what I did was right or wrong.
I headed to the kitchen, my head full of thoughts. They just want to give her time to bully me!
Elena is the type who doesn't want to help anyone, I could tell from her laziness and attitude. All she wants is to be with Ethan!
I yawned as I entered the kitchen, feeling dizzy and cold. I placed the tray on the cabinet and touched my forehead. "Hot…" I frowned. Since when did I have a fever?
I washed the tray and jug, kept them properly. Maybe I just need rest.
"What's going on?" I muttered as I walked to my room. Everything seemed dizzy, like I was on a Ferris wheel.
Just as I passed the corridor leading to another hall, a hand suddenly grabbed me and pulled me in.
I gasped as my back hit the cold wall. Though the pull wasn't rough, it made my fever worse. I opened my eyes and sighed, it was Prince Thomas.
"Finally, I got you." A seductive smile curved on his handsome face.
"Is there anything I can help you with, Prince Thomas?"
He smirked, brushing my hair with his fingers "Yeah, yeah… we've got a lot to do. I just don't know where to start."
Seeing our inappropriate position, I tried to pull away, but he grabbed my waist. "Where are you going, huh?" He looked around the empty hallway. "Let's get away from here," he smirked.
I struggled to free myself, but the fever made me weak. He rolled his eyes and started kissing my cheek and neck. I felt irritated and burned from the fever. He suddenly stopped and placed the back of his hand on my neck. "Why are you so hot?" he frowned.
As he touched me there, pain shot through me. I hissed and covered the spot with my hand, it was burning! That's when I realised where the fever was coming from.
Thomas frowned, gently removing my hand. "Why is your vein showing purple?" he murmured. "Were you bitten by a vampire?"
He wiped the makeup from my neck, revealing the purple, root-like veins spreading out, it looked terrifying.
I gritted my teeth, enduring the pain of his touch. It wasn't easy.
"What?" he whispered in disbelief.
I blinked in confusion. What did you see?' I wanted to ask, but I couldn't.
"What's your relationship with Ethan?"