Sudden Change

In a beautiful garden, a beautiful woman is looking at the son who is practicing swordsmanship with his sword teacher. On her beautiful face, there was a serious expression as her eyes refused to leave the movements of her son, who was trying his best to keep up with his teacher's lessons. It seemed, the beautiful woman was reluctant to blink because she was afraid that she might pass something when she closed her eyes.

“Your Majesty the Queen.”

Only when her trusted maid called out, the woman slightly avert her eyes. Her face remained as cold as ever, as she stared at the maid without saying anything.

“Duke Andrew came to see His Majesty the King today. No one knows what they were talking about. However today, His Majesty the King has made an announcement that due to Lady Ariana's deteriorating health after the accident, the royal family has decided to end the engagement between Crown Prince Emilio and Lady Ariana.”

“WHAT DID YOU SAY?!”

Due to the woman's sharp scream, even the child who was practicing the sword stopped to stare at the mother, who suddenly stood up from her seat. The boy knew something was wrong with his mother, when he saw the sharp expression on the woman's face. The boy immediately handed his sword to someone else, as he walked over to his mother.

“Other than the Crown Prince and Teresa, everyone else immediately go from this place!”

Before Emilio could say anything else, the woman had given other orders to the people around them. Teresa is his mother's trusted servant. Hearing that order, Emilio knew something big had happened within the palace.

“What's wrong, Mother?”

After the room was filled with only the three of them, Emilio immediately asked his mother. Her mother's face was filled with various emotions, as she turned to look at Emilio's face.

“Duke Andrew came to see your father today. No one knows what they were talking about. But thereafter, your father has issued an announcement about the end of your engagement with Ariana.”

Emilio was clearly more shocked than his mother when he heard the shocking news. Just a few days ago, the two were still playing together as usual. Yes, Emilio did leave Ariana before the girl returned to Alison's territory at that time. But that's because the teacher called to talk about a serious matter. The Ariana he knew usually wouldn't go to such extreme lengths over such a trivial matter.

“Has something happened to her in the past few days, Mother?”

Emilio asked his mother worriedly. From his mother, Emilio only knew that Ariana had accidentally fallen in the pool behind her house after returning from the palace. But Emilio didn't know how serious the accident was that their engagement had to be canceled suddenly like this.

“For now, we only know that Lady Ariana woke up yesterday and didn't do anything suspicious after that. But the royal doctor who examined Lady Ariana did say that there is a high possibility that Lady Ariana had a blow to her brain which caused her to change drastically. She also certainly can't remember what happened before she fell into the pool.”

Hearing his mother's maid's words, Emilio's forehead creased even deeper. “What happened to her before she fell into the pool?” asked Emilio suspiciously.

“Is that the case now? Whether this is just their plan or not, soon everyone will know that we have lost the support of Duke Andrew. Even if we hold the reins in the palace right now, there are still some people who oppose your position as crown prince. Losing Ariana would be a huge loss for us.”

Queen Melisa spoke in annoyance as her son instead focused on the wrong point. To her, all that mattered was the fact that the Alison family had turned against them this time. Their position is almost the same as the power in the palace. Fighting them was as difficult as controlling her stubborn husband for Queen Melisa.

“You really believe she lost her memory?” asked Queen Melisa suspiciously. Teresa, who was asked immediately nodded. "Of course, Your Majesty. Not only that, Lady Ariana also seems to have succeeded in persuading her grandfather to plead with His Majesty the King to allow her to learn swordsmanship. Seeing this drastic change in her attitude, there is no doubt that she did have some problem in one part of her head.”

Even though her loyal servant had tried to calm her anxiety, Queen Melisa still couldn't calm down as she thought about all the possibilities. The woman was thinking so hard that she didn't even notice, that she was back in her old habit of biting her nails when she was restless.

“Mother, can I go visit her? Who knows if I did, she would remember something and not make such a careless decision.”

Seeing his mother looking agitated, Emilio tried to make a suggestion. However, his hopes of making things right, were soon crushed by Teresa's next answer.

“I don't think that's possible, Your Highness. After returning from the palace, Duke Andrew has announced that his residence will focus on taking care of Lady Ariana and will not be receiving guests for the time being. Considering the privilege of the Duke of Alison, not even the king will be able to come, if Duke Andrew not allow him to come.”

“That damn king!”

The other two people were very surprised when Queen Melisa cursed her husband with hatred. They were lucky that they were the only person in the room. Otherwise, Queen Melisa's words alone were enough to get her punished for daring to curse a king.

“How can he not discuss it with me when he's making a big decision like this!? Emilio is my son! Any matter related to my son, he should discuss it with me first before making any decision!”

Queen Melisa's pretty face turned red as she vented her emotions through words. Emilio really couldn't bear to see his mother continue to be angry like that. He held his mother's hand gently, hoping that he could soothe her by doing so.

“Don't be angry, Mother. Even if Duke Andrew shuts down his current residence, we can still invite Ariana in another way, right? Everything will be fine as long as we have the chance to talk to Ariana again. It's my birthday next month, right? Duke Andrew shouldn't have refused right away, if we invited Ariana to come to my birthday party.”

Queen Melisa stared at her son for a long time. Only when her anger had completely dissipated, Melisa finally give a small nod. Emilio's idea wasn't bad. Unless Duke Andrew really wanted to openly go against the royal family, he shouldn't have turned down the invitation.

Gradually, Queen Melisa regained her composure. The woman opened her fan, before using it to cover half of her face.

“I must be crazy for cursing my husband. God, I need my favorite tea to calm myself down right now.”

Emilio smiled a little when he saw that his mother had calmed down. While in the palace, Emilio knew very well that calm was their strength. The slightest shock can make them easily crushed by the enemy. Even if he was confused to why Ariana had suddenly let their engagement end here, Emilio knew he couldn't show his surprise in front of anyone.

“Teresa, please prepare your favorite tea and snacks,” Emilio ordered. “Understood, Your Majesty,” Teresa replied obediently. After Teresa left, Emilio guided his mother to sit down carefully. The child gently hugged his mother, something he usually did to calm his mother's emotions, which often changed suddenly.

“It's okay, Mother. Everything will be fine,” said Emilio in a soft voice. But Queen Melisa still can't let this problem go. When Teresa returned with tea and snacks, the woman immediately gave Teresa another message.

“Tell the king that I will sleep with him tonight,” Queen Melisa informed. Her eyes turned cold, as she took a careful sip of the tea her maid had brought her.

“Disobedient husbands should be taught a lesson, so he's not making another mistake in the future," Queen Melisa muttered after she had finished sipping her tea.