Chapter 3

I took the cup and drank it all down.

The strong wine burned down my throat and my vision blurred. My skin was beginning to burn as each breath grew harder than the last. Then everything went black, and I collapsed.

-

When I opened my eyes again, the first thing I saw was Jeffrey's worried expression. "Kat, you could have used something else instead of wine. You didn't have to hurt yourself like this even if you were angry with me."

He must have forgotten that Cecily had once wanted the painting called "Winter's Breath" from my chambers and I had refused. He said nothing, but he did not set foot in Peacock Hall for an entire month after that.

A few days earlier, the Southlands Royal Weavers had sent two bolts of rare satin as offerings to the royal household. The patterns were uncommon, and Cecily had wanted them too.

Jeffrey always looked out for me. But that day, he scolded me in front of a crowd of palace servants. "You're the queen. How can you haggle over something so trivial? Where is your dignity as a queen?!"

Those lowered heads and quietly exchanged glances were prickling me. Humiliation nearly swallowed me whole.

Tears slipped free, blurring my sight.

Jeffrey lowered his head and gently kissed where my tears were, but I avoided him without a word.

Suddenly, hurried footsteps sounded outside the door.

Greta, Cecily's maid, knelt outside. "Your Majesty, Lady Cecily is suffering terrible stomach pains. She begs Your Majesty to go and see her."

Jeffrey's body visibly stiffened, but soon he stood and straightened his robes. "Get some rest. I won't disturb you for now."

With that, he turned and hurried away.

The next day, I forced my heavy body to rise.

Alice, my maid, came in with a bowl of medicine. With a furious tone, she said, "Your Majesty, His Majesty has set out for Thronehold with Lady Cecily before dawn. He even transferred most of the guards from the hunting lodge! This hunting ground is quite remote, and someone even said they saw a bear deep in the woods.

"Now there are only a dozen guards left. What if we run into other wild beasts or bandits on the way back to the castle? How could His Majesty think so little of you?"

I lowered my eyes. My throat still ached faintly after being burned by the wine.

After we returned to Thronehold, news of Cecily's pregnancy spread through the court a few days later.

However, I cared little about the news. After all, Sunny was gone. I searched all of Peacock Hall, but I could not find my beloved Sunny anywhere.

Sunny was the cat I had raised before being brought to this world. After we arrived here, Jeffrey had gone through a lot of trouble finding a kitten exactly like her.

I rushed to Jeffrey's bedchamber in a panic, only to see a gilded cage beside him with Sunny curling up inside. When she saw me, she meowed pitifully.

Jeffrey said, "Cecily is pregnant. Cats are wild by nature, so I'll keep them locked up for a while. We'll discuss this after the child is born."

I then carefully said, "Can you let her out and let me take her back? I'll watch her properly."

Jeffrey said, "Leave her here. If you miss her, you may come see her whenever you like. You may enter my bedchamber as you please."

I came to see her before dawn for several days in a row, and Jeffrey's tone was somewhat accusatory. "You're so heartless. You would never come to me on your own if it isn't because of this cat. You care more about an animal than you care about me now."

I ignored him and stroked Sunny gently through the bars.

Everyone knew that Cecily was the woman Jeffrey cherished the most. Since she was frail and had little appetite, Jeffrey summoned almost a dozen of renowned cooks from outside the castle to cook for her, ordering them to prepare different meals for her three times a day.