Chapter 3: The King's View

Ever since that confrontation, Shandri becomes busy again with his queen's obligations. One day when the queen went to the king's office she is about to knock on the door when it clicked open.

She takes a step back and waits for the person inside to step out. Princess Elena emerges with a smile on her face without sensing the presence of the queen. When she raised her head to look ahead, she sees Shandri standing.

"G-greetings to her majesty, the queen." She lowered her head.

"Impressive. Even though I already confronted the both of you about the rumors circling the palace you still meet casually." Shandri commented in bafflement.

"That's not it, your majesty," she lowered her head and then smirked. "Do you think that what would I say?" meeting Shandri's gaze with a smug face.

Without hesitation, Shandri raises her hand and slaps the princess with a calm face. Elena is shocked and felt the stinging heat from her cheeks while looking on the other side.

"You dare to act like that in front of me?" Shandri voices out as the queen with a menacing look.

"I didn't know that the King of Theodricus is putting the fate of their country to an immature princess. Don't you think if you make a mess here, it could affect the diplomatic meeting?"

"I didn't do anything wrong..." Elena defended herself.

Shandri slaps her on the other side of her cheek. "How ridiculous. Not listening to my words is already wrong, princess."

"N-Nathan said I shouldn't mind them..." she said timidly and clenched her hands.

"Oh~ you are already calling him like that huh? You moved faster than I thought."

"His majesty is the one who gave me permission to call him by name."

"I see. So, you are telling me as well, it is his majesty, the one calling you here?"

"..."

"Please remember your place, princess. You are not here to seduce the king but to be a bargaining chip for a temporary truce. Behave yourself as a princess of a kingdom and not some woman who after someone else husband."

Princess Elena's felt insulted. She glances at the door behind her. She smirked and raised her hand to slap her.

"Don't insult me. I am still a princess!" she claimed with her face that wanted to cry.

Shandri caught her hand and stopped it in the middle.

"Don't raise your hand at the queen." Throwing back Elena's hand.

Elena acted staggers and bumped into the door lightly. The door opened since it isn't closed properly. Elena immediately fell to the floor inside the king's office. The door is widely opened and Nathan sees Elena on the floor while Shandri is standing across from her.

"What is happening?" Nathan immediately stands up and went to the princess's side. "Queen?" he looks at her.

(I see. You choose to run towards her, to protect her from me.) Shandri thought while looking at Elena on the floor looking pitiful.

(Well, this will help me to get my divorce,) she smirked.

"Princess, are you alright?" Nathan asked and helped the princess stand up.

"I apologize your majesty. I made a fuss inside your office," she phrased timidly.

"No. It is fine. What happened?"

"The queen and I meet in front of your door. She seems quite angry with me, seeing came out from your office," she explained with teary eyes.

"What is this, queen?"

"I told you already about the rumors, your majesty. I didn't know that you will act stubbornly and ignore such rumors."

"It is just rumored, queen!"

"It is not just rumors!" Shandri glared at him raising her voice.

Nathan flinches for the very first time he sees her glaring and raising her voice to him. Shandri realizes that she let her emotions take over for a moment. She sighed and tried to compose herself again.

"The rumors containing that you favored the princess and soon will be your concubine," she disclosed.

"Queen, I told you that nothing happened."

"As the queen, I am already worried for you, your majesty."

"What?"

"Your actions contradict your words. You waited for the princess, you ignored the rumors and now you looked at the princess as if like a damsel in distress. Plus, you are looking at me as if I am the oppressor."

"Queen, she fell on the floor while you are standing across her, what could happen?"

"That I pushed her, made her fall? Do you think that I did that? Just because she told you that I am angry seeing her coming out of your office?"

"That's..." Nathan felt guilt for Shandri hitting it on the spot.

"Haa~" she sighed. "I know that you only see me as the one who could maintain the power while you are on the throne. You are treating me neither cold nor intimate. We are not that close or stranger. We just knew what we are and knew where we stand."

"..."

"We are just being reasonable and sensible on our role to each other. However, you know that I have affection for you. Nonetheless, you are acting as if you don't know. Why is that?" she questioned curiously.

"Queen, I apologized for disregarding your feelings."

"Bullshit..." she said plainly with a straight face.

Nathan and Elena flinch and flabbergast at her.

"Watched your words, queen."

"Then, should I also say watched your actions, your majesty?"

Nathan has been taken aback. Elena who is witnessing everything could feel the flaring conflict between the couple, but could not say anything.

"Your majesty, I already told you to divorce me if you want that woman instead of me. You are ruining our peaceful marriage if you wanted us both."

Nathan fisted his hand.

"You are being indecisive huh? His majesty the king is now conflicted. How interesting," Shandri uttered sarcastically.

"My queen... why, why are you making a fuss about this rumor? You aren't like that." Nathan gazed at her with beseeching eyes.

Elena is more surprised to see the king's expression. (Tch. I should have acted more pitiful.)

"You say nothing happened between you two. Here you are begging me right now to disregard the rumor? So, you are saying that as a wife I will turn a blind eye when my husband is smitten with another woman?"

Nathan's expression turned dark.

"Your actions are different from what you say. Why are you apologizing yet keep on meeting her casually? Now you are pleading with me to disregard everything for the fact that you are indecisive. It is clear as the sky that you are interested in her, your majesty. Accept that!" Shandri exclaimed.

The room is filled with silence.

(The queen is already pushing the divorce. Everything will proceed as planned.)

(No matter what you do... the story will flow just how it should be. You will fall for the female protagonist. I don't have any plan to change anything other than me exiting the story alive.) Shandri thought seeing Nathan's expression.

(It would be better if he could just slap the divorce paper to my face already! Oh well, in the novel he announces my execution at the banquet for the envoy from the Theodricus kingdom.)

"I will give you until the envoy arrived your majesty. If you couldn't do it then I will help you," Shandri turned around and left the room.

(Well, I think that is enough right? I made a fuss every time I saw her with him just like a jealous villainess. He would not hate me to the point that he wanted to execute me. Right? I didn't know about this but being the captain of the special force helps a lot to act as if I am just commanding and scolding my members hahaha...)

Shandri is walking in the hallway humming and feeling satisfied.

(Two months more and I will exit this story alive for sure! To help him decide to divorce me then let us be more passionate about this role shall we?) she smiles and feels the excitement for the day when she will be free from the novel plot.

*****

Another month has passed and Nathan is hearing a report from his aide that the queen is harassing the princess every time they crossed paths.

"Your majesty, today the queen poured a tea to the princess's face," his aid reported.

(So it was tea...) Nathan sighed. "Is that all?"

"Y-yes..." his aide answered unsurely. "Uhm... is that okay with you, your majesty? I mean she is the princess of the Theodricus. If the king of Theodricus heard about this, the diplomatic meeting might not be successful."

Nathan stops what he is doing and leans on the chair he is seating on. Before he meets the gaze of his aide.

"Though it is problematic and all. Let's just try to get the princess's good side so that she can help us convince the king of Theodricus of our conditions in the meeting. Let the queen do what she wanted I understand why she is doing that."

"Understand?"

"She wanted me to divorce her..." he said feeling distressed.

His aide, Serg gapes in shock. "WHAT? T-that... that you should not, your majesty! I mean even if the queen is giving the princess a hard time it is not enough to divorce her. What I mean is the queen... her majesty is giving a great contribution in managing our country especially when you are not around for three years."

"Haaa~" Nathan stands up near the window before looking outside. "Yes, I understand what you mean. She is reliable and capable to be a queen. Even though she acts like a villainess, how she carried her role as the queen and herself is just amazing. You could never disparage her as the queen of this kingdom. Even the nobles couldn't touch her."

"Yes, especially within those three years. Before, she is at the center of the rumor for her harassment. However, when she started as the queen and the nobles sees how she carried that role, everyone started to respect her. Those three years, helped her influence her to grow as the queen and a fitted person to stand beside you, your majesty."

"The queen... she knows that we are only married for political purposes. She is just too smart and clear on her role in my life and this country," Nathan speaks while looking outside the window. "We are not cold to each other but we are also not that intimate. We are not treating each other as strangers but we aren't treating each other affectionately."

Serg didn't say anything and just listen to his king.

"The fact she knew where she should stand, makes me feel relief and comfort. I do not want a woman who is always looking forward to a banquet and spending her time wanting my affections. I just realized that it is the queen's charm. And, she only harasses people who provoke her."

FLASHBACK

Shandri poured the glass of wine on a lady's head in the gathering. The lady widened her eyes in surprise.

The nobles who attended the gathering gasped. Nathan and Serg were also in the gathering and witnessed everything.

"You dare to provoke me, the daughter of a duke and fiancée of the crown prince?"

"W-what are you doing?" she asked flustered.

"Saying that I who has a bad personality doesn't fit to be the crown prince's fiancée. Is the same saying that the crown prince is not fit to be my betrothed? Are you looking down on his highness, the crown prince?"

"I didn't mean it like that!" raising her voice.

(Well of course I know you did not mean it like that because you are insulting me. However. If I want to harass you with a good reason I should twitch your sentence a little bit right?)

"Then, I am sorry..."

"You are just going to say sorry after embarrassing me like this?" the lady expressed her anger.

"Let me finish..." Shandri glared at her.

The lady flinched and looked away at her glare.

"I apologize because I misunderstand you... But," she emphasized the last word. "I am not apologizing for pouring the wine on your head. You deserved it for insulting me and the crown prince. I am the duke's daughter and the crown prince's fiancee. Insulting me is insulting my father and his highness."

The lady bit her lower lip and ran away while crying.

FLASHBACK END