My fair Lady

Chapter ♦ 20

Reuben.

This Girl.

I looked at the petite girl with pale blue eyes who stood before me seeking answers I didn't want to respond to, her soft silky dress was illuminated by the light in the room. It trailed behind her and danced along her legs, growing smoother with every second.

Life with Fake Lizzy, as you call it, was never dreary. Sometimes even bafflingly amusing.

At times, she was an open book, while at other times, she was the most mysterious soul I had ever come across. A part of her mystery was how she was calm in a storm while anxious in the quiet.

At times even, I could never guess her actions. Thinking about how she abused me without a care of the world on the morning of our first night together, or how she fell asleep during the offering regards ceremony. (Chuckle) Personally, I was not really angry. On the contrary, it was very amusing. I'd even say, I found her... oddly adoring when she started snoring midway of the service rite.

Thinking about it now, the seduction dalliance between my little wife and Cordelia under the table really took away the cake(Chuckle).

I was not aware of the happenings under the table until I noticed Cordelia's disgusting look of pure pleasure. I was a bit puzzled at first, but then, I heard my lady's abrupt shriek addressing the shameless princess and I finally understood the undertakings going on around me. I could hardly hold in my laughter when the big picture unfolded before me.

My lady Fake Lizzy, was truly a being to be reckoned with. She could topple any situation from grave urgency to jesting comical. My wife's waggishness knew no bound.

And then, I came to another understanding about her. She could extricate herself from any situation with a very level head. Surprisingly so, she knew about the lines she couldn't cross, she was very clear on when to back down. And I felt as if she could see and understand beyond her standings.

For such a wrecking character like her, I was very astonished to see that she understood the gravity of my existence and her role in all of this travesty. She looked timid, yet so very determined. As though she was both one and the same. As mystifying as she was, this woman was able to compel me to speak of things I was reluctant to.

I couldn't explain how I felt about her. I got irritated and helpless when dealing with her. Alike times like these. Where I was forced to unfold about happenings I wanted to keep buried deep inside of me.

I was driven to face my obsessions, my goals and the memories of that wretched night which left me as barren as the moors on a desolate winter morn.

It had been a long time since I was reminded of her. My mother, Queen Rumina of the fallen Edelburghs. Everything felt like it happened so long ago that I didn't even remember how she looked like. Some nights, I felt I could still see her, sitting in her wicker chair, as always; her soft, loving hands folded in her lap and her auburn tresses spilling down to the hem of her dress. But no matter how hard I try; I cannot fully see her face. Like a ship straining to see the light in a storm, I desperately search for a picture of her face in my memories. None comes. All I remember is the brightness of her sea-green eyes; the details of her face were gone, like her. And at the end of it all, the only remains was the grief and anger I felt when I watched the black letters and the grey background of her headstone blend together. The despair I felt when her light was consumed by death's emptiness, and my so-called father watched her get consumed with the harbinger of her death standing right by his side.

The way fate twisted my joys of life and how I was plunged into sorrowful darkness. All I could remember now was, those desperate nights and my desolate attempts for survival.

I sighed softly as I disclosed the events of the past, feeling as if I was going through them all over again. I was just glad that Lexter was not there when I talked about the past.

Rage, that had been growing inside of me like a vengeful seed of anger since that night, was now coming out as rampant as a mad dragon flame. My hunched form exuded an animosity that was like acid - burning, slicing, potent.

But I didn't expect her to be daring enough to take in my murderous wrath with simple blithe. Either way, she left me speechless.

Then she asked me questions after questions. Events that left her confused, she was like a curious little cat meandering over and digging for explanations about the strange occurrences around her.

But she didn't look very pleased when she found the answers to her questions. She looked like the results of her findings left her more anxious rather than offering her a peace of mind. I could vaguely infer what she was thinking. As per my conjecture, she was more afraid of facing unnecessary nuisances rather than rejoicing in facts like she was unique. In her mind, she didn't want to stand out as she felt it would bring her needless troubles and she would have to exert pointless effort to get out of such quandaries.

I didn't know whether I should laugh or cry at her outlook of life. She was either wildly naïve or dangerously shrewd.

"What! You want me to act alongside...." She narrowed her eyes a bit when she looked at Lexter with an appearance of pure disdain, "Prince Alexteris?"

And knowing Lexter, he didn't appreciate her sour expression at all. As such, before long, I found my wife and my brother arguing like cats and dogs, a whiff of dense hostile air wrapping up the atmosphere in an odor of gloom.

These two of my kin looked very much like little annoying children who knew nothing else except bickering to each other in anger. I wanted them to get along as they were my close aides now, but it somehow seemed impossible now that I stood in the side-lines watching them wanting to tear each other apart.

Why did I feel like this pair of cat and dog would bring forth my downfall if I didn't put a leash on them in the early stages?

I was, of course not planning to leave the palace to this rabid pair without supervision. But at the time, I didn't feel it was necessary for me to mention Xavier to them; however, looking at the feral atmosphere around me now, I thought it be wise to let them meet their overseer as soon as possible. I only hoped he could tame these two enough to not make a mess of the palace in my absence.

Xavier Alcove De Elias was one of my most reliable subordinates. This man, also known as the Tamer of Alcovier because he had was a way with people, was a former noble of the fallen fief of Alcovier. His domain was destroyed by the aristocrats during King Erwin's time because he refused to join hands with the Noble faction and chose to remain neutral.

Most specifically, his destruction was brought forth by the very hands of the Queen Dowager. She was a bit, reckless in her youth. And that weakness was what I was aiming to strike her with now. As the saying goes, Enemies of your Enemy is your Friend.

So Xavier, who had lost everything in the hands of Queen Beatrice became my blade against her.

But somehow, I didn't feel confident enough to leave Fake Lizzy under Xavier's supervision when I saw her interact with the man. A strange kind of uncomfortable feeling arose inside of me as I watched her starry eyes directed towards Xavier.

When I said Xavier had a way with people, it was not just mere gab. He really did, and that is how he had been able to stay alive until now. But I didn't think that he would be able to charm an oddball like Lizzy in mere moments after their encounter. It somehow didn't sit well with me.

I stared at the two vivacious chatterers with a look of morbid displeasure, and took upon the role of interrupting their annoying chit-chat when I couldn't tolerate any longer.

"Xavier!" I muttered, "I have some discussions with you. Care to follow along with me?"

"Oh!" He looked at me when his name was called, and swiftly nodded in consent. "Yes Your Majesty."

"You too, Lexter and Gilbert." I signaled them to keep up with me too as I exited the salon.

"Wait!" I heard Fake Lizzy call from behind, and I turned back to look at her with raised brows.

"Yes?"

"What about me?" She bit her lower lips and asked.

"Hmm, how about you go and try to subdue the servant legion from the Queen Dowager. That ought to pass some of your leisure time." I smiled at her.

For a moment, she was expressionless. Almost as if she didn't grasp the underlying meaning of my words. But then, she frowned slightly, though didn't rebut my words and silently left after nodding once. I felt a strange kind of unease when she left but didn't mind it too much and walked away with my aides trailing behind me.

"Are you certain?" I frowned at Xavier.

"Yes My liege. She is on her way through the sea route at the very moment." Xavier nodded.

"Haah!" I signed, helpless at the current turn of events. Princess Lydia de La Avalier of Zeldereth, my childhood friend and supposed fiancée; when I heard she was on her way to Reveldron I could already feel a foreboding headache prancing towards my way.

Lydia was my marriage partner in the verbal sense of an agreement made between my mother and the Queen of Zeldereth empire. At one point in time, even I thought she would be my Sovereign Queen one day and I would unify the two nations as one. But, such thoughts left my mind when fate finally played its hand. Nothing was the same as in the past now, I could no longer fulfil my promise to her.

"Brother! Princess Lydia must be enraged about your marriage with Elizabeth. After all, she is your fiancée." Lexter pointed out the obvious. "What do you plan on doing?"

"What can I possibly do at this point in the game?" I shrugged, "I do not plan on taking a Sovereign Queen until I extract our revenge. I also do not want to pull Lydia into the murky waters of court politics."

"So as to say, you do not plan on taking her as your wife till you defeat the Queen Dowager?" Gilbert asked.

"When did I say that?" I looked at Gilbert and he scowled in confusion as in turn.

"Make preparations to terminate the engagement at once." And all three of my personals widened their eyes in disbelief.

"What! Brother, what do you mean by that?" Lexter yelped in surprise.

"It means exactly as the words I speak." I said.

"Your Majesty, the engagement with Princess Lydia was prearranged by the sovereign queen herself. How could you break it off with just one word?" Gilbert followed Lexter's suit.

"My liege think again. This engagement with the princess could be of much use to us in our battle against the Queen dowager. We cannot possibly toss away such a significant piece like that." Xavier agreed with Gilbert and Lexter against the annulment of this engagement too.

"I understand your predicaments, but do you think the princess will be tolerant about such an incident which has utterly disgraced her identity as a royal princess? Do you think she could look pass the incident which had humiliated her self-esteem in front of the entire world?" I think not.

All the three of my peers quieted down when they heard me. It was true that she could be a vital part of our plan, but we lost this piece the moment we decided to pick up the piece called Fake Lizzy of the ground.

"Brother, is it really necessary to annul the engagement? You are the king; you can marry as many wives as you want. Besides, Elizabeth is just a fake consort. She will be gone when her work here is done." Lexter said.

"Lexter, first and foremost, Fake Lizzy might just be a pawn in my conquest of revenge, but do not forget that my marriage with her was not a sham. She is legally my wife and your sister-in-law. Even if you are not fond of her, I ask you to speak of her at the least, with respect. And secondly, the concern is not that I had taken in a wife. The trouble is that I took a wife without the knowledge of Lydia, who is suppose to be my formal fiancée."

Lexter had a bitter expression on when he heard me, but didn't counter my words all the same.

"So, do we really terminate this engagement?" Gilbert asked at last, to which I silently nodded; and then I heard him visibly sigh. "I suppose, this is the best course of action. We can't effort to demean the princess any further than this."

"Well, if this is what His Majesty have decided on, then I shall support your decision without any further questions." Xavier accepted as well.

"Now then, with that subject out of the picture, what is the situation in Galvolner?" I asked. "Can we depart for Galvolner at the soonest tonight?" Galvolner was the buffer state of Reveldron and a border province lining Theodore. Recently, there has been news of Theodore mobilizing troops on the borders of Galvolner, and bandits from beyond the Reveldron frontiers terrorizing the villages of Galvolner.

"Your Majesty, our spies have discovered that some of the lords of Galvolner are involved in this recent attempt of infiltration. But there is no evidence against these lords as of yet. And preparations for departure is already done, we can depart as soon as tonight." Gilbert said.

"Good. Keep searching, and if you still fail to find any conclusive evidence, plant some to make them choke. I want to see what tactics they will use to escape from death at that time." I smiled to myself while Gilbert complied to my commands.

"If that is all." I cued to shelve the meeting, but then remembered something. "Xavier," I called.

"Yes Your Majesty?" Xavier eyed me curiously.

"..... What do you think of Fake Lizzy?" I do not know why I asked such a question, but before I could stop myself the words had already spewed out of my mouth.

"H-Her Highness?" Xavier looked a little confused. Anyhow, I nodded my head to his flustered question. "W-Well, she is a very spirited and bright individual." He said.

I frowned my brows but didn't say anything. All the three men in the room had identical looks of perplexity.

"Erm... Sire, did I say something wrong?" he seemed to somehow sense my discontentment and asked in caution.

I stared at this taut clueless man in displeasure and slurred, ".....Maintain some discretion while conversing with her in the future."

Xavier, "........"

Lexter, "........"

Gilbert, "........"

To be Continued.........