I knew that I had a long way to go to live up to his expectations, but this was a start much better than I could have hoped for. After all, he didn’t throw me out or off the island.
It seemed like I wasn’t the one who was shocked at King’s unexpected words, Reiner and Queen seemed surprised as well. After a few seconds of staring speechlessly at her husband, Queen finally snapped out of her trance by clapping her hands together.
“Well then, shall we start with dinner?” Queen suggested diplomatically.
…
As if he knew what his father had in mind, Reiner did not get up from his seat when dinner was over. Queen quickly came to my side and asked me to follow her. The two of us left the dining room silently, leaving the two men to have their private talk. I took one last glance back at Reiner and I had to admit that I was very worried about him.
“Don’t worry. They’ll just talk…” Queen said as if she could sense my worry.
“I see…” I replied vaguely.
Of course, I had a pretty good sense of what they would be talking about. King probably hadn’t expected for his only son to get married so suddenly and to a woman that wasn’t on his list of potential marriage partners. Reiner casting Rachael aside by breaking up the engagement with her for the second time probably added scandalously to the whole mess.
“Congratulations, Natalia. I can’t say it enough times. I’m just so happy and happy for you two. I thought you would never come back when you left, and my son was acting like such a big fool. I was honestly very depressed for a long while…” Queen confessed followed by a soft laugh.
I followed her along a familiar hallway before she proceeded to lead me up the stairs to the second floor. If I took a turn here, I would be heading to the guest wing where my room used to be. However, just when I was about to make that turn, Queen caught my wrist in her hand.
“Where are you going? You’re no longer a guest here…” Queen said before smiling teasingly at me.
I’m no longer a guest…
I cocked my head to the side as I tried to get used to this new idea in my head.
“You heard King, didn’t you? You’re family to us now…” Queen repeated kindly.
“Sorry, I…” I mumbled as I tried to turn away to hide my tears.
Having been on my own for a while after leaving the Rosenhall family behind, I had been more than a little lonely and insecure at times. Now, it seemed like I have found myself a new family. Although this family clearly wasn’t a normal one, I was looking forward to making the best of my time here. Things would turn out fine as long as I had Reiner by my side.
“Come this way…” Queen said as she dragged me along a hallway that I haven’t entered before.
…
“You should shower and clean up well before bed. I’m sure things have been tough for you with the ceremony and all…” Queen said like she truly understood.
That was probably because she truly understood. After all, according to Kuman, Queen also went through what I did when she married King. I was starting to see Queen in a different light, and I found myself respecting her even more than before.
“Yeah…it wasn’t easy,” I admitted honestly.
“Everything will turn into a pleasant memory. I’m sure Knight did a great job, and the wound won’t leave a scar on you. I definitely don’t have a scar on me from the ceremony,” Queen said as she showed me the flawless skin of her arm as proof.
“I wouldn’t actually mind even if it did leave a scar…” I replied softly.
“Well, I’m sure that Knight would. It’ll probably make him feel a little more than guilty,” Queen said with a laugh.
“Thank you, Queen,” I said as she herded me into a room.
“You can rest here for now and take a relaxing bath. You can call the maid if you need anything by pressing the button there. Let’s catch up tomorrow and you can tell me everything that I’m dying to know. It’s been a long day for you, so I’ll leave you for now,” Queen said before she waved at me.
“Ok…thank you again…” I thanked you as I tried to keep my tears from spilling over.
“Oh, don’t worry. I’ll tell Knight that you’re here. He’ll pick you up when he’s done dealing with his father…” Queen said reassuringly.
“Good night,” I said with a shy smile.
“Good night, Natalia…” she replied before heading out of the room.
…
The warm bath along with the rose-scented bath oil was the perfect experience that I needed after the strenuous activities that I had been through within the past 48 hours. I sighed softly as I closed my eyes and relaxed in the bathtub. The scent of roses filled my nostrils as I took in a deep breath before letting it out. My body felt at peace but the same didn’t quite apply to my mind.
What is taking Reiner so long?
I wondered if everything was going well and smooth with King. Hopefully they were not engaged in a heated conversation, and hopefully, Reiner wouldn’t face any punishment for breaking off his engagement with Rachael for the second time.
I sighed again but this time it was out of worry rather than relief. I haven’t been apart from Reiner for that long since I left dinner, but it already felt quite strange that he wasn’t by my side. It did occur to me a couple of times that I had probably grown too attached to Reiner.
To distract myself from my thoughts, I scooped up some water in the palms of my hand. Just when I had sucked in a long breath to savor the smell of roses, there was a firm knock on the bathroom door.
“It’s me…”
Reiner?
“R? Come in…” I said invitingly when I realized that Reiner was the one at the door.
“You didn’t lock the door?” Reiner asked with slight concern when he came in.
–To be continued…