The King's Lover-Chapter 495: No Reason To Decline

Rose sat in Lady Delphine’s room after lunch. It was finally time to see her. Her father hadn’t been much help, and she hoped Lady Delphine would make it a little easier for her to make a choice.

They were still at the round table after lunch. The dishes were cleared, but neither left the table as Rose had hinted she had much to discuss. Even without saying anything, Lady Delphine had suspected something was going on, as Rose was at her manor a little too early.

"The King asked me to marry him," Rose blurted as soon as they were alone behind closed doors.

Lady Delphine’s eyes widened in delight, and she clapped. "That’s wonderful. Is that the news you came to tell me?"

Rose was a little surprised at Lady Delphine’s happy tone. "I didn’t agree to get married," she responded.

Lady Delphine leaned back, her face impassive as she watched Rose. "Did you decline his offer?" Her tone was as neutral as her face.

"I told him I needed time to think about it."

"And the King let you?" she asked in amazement.

Rose frowned. It was her choice to marry him, and even if that wasn’t completely true, she intended to make it that way. She wasn’t going to marry him if she didn’t like the idea.

"Yes."

"So, what do you want from me?"

"I’d hope you would give me some advice."

Delphine smiled—it was such a sly smile that accentuated her cheeks and made her squint her eyes. "You know exactly what I would say. You have no reason to refuse."

"I can’t marry the King."

"I never thought a day would come when I would hear that string of words. Why not?"

"Things are too complicated."

Delphine scoffed. "Would you rather remain a mistress for the rest of your life?"

"No."

"You do know the King has no intention of letting you go. His marriage to the Princess made no difference. I’d advise you to accept his marriage proposal. If you’re worried about being a second wife, worry not; it’s more common than you think, and everyone knows you have the favor of the King."

"No," Rose whispered. "He says his marriage to the princess is only a facade."

Lady Delphine nearly fell off her chair. "What? The marriage is a lie?"

If Rose weren’t sure the manor was safe, she would have been worried someone would overhear them. But even if anyone did, she doubted the girls would tell.

"Yes," she whispered, hoping it would alert Lady Delphine that she was raising her voice.

"His Majesty told you this?" Delphine asked, her voice back to normal pitch.

"Yes, he did."

"Then why are you hesitant? You will be the one and only Queen. Frankly, you now have no reason to decline, child."

"I can’t accept the marriage simply because I will be Queen."

Lady Delphine knew her reason for telling Rose to marry the King was simply selfish, but the results were better than she could have ever imagined.

At first, she had been worried the King wanted Rose to stick around as nothing but his kept woman. However, she was wrong, and she felt a little less guilty about giving Rose the wrong medicine.

She hoped the marriage would help hide her betrayal, and when Rose did find out, she could apologize and, hopefully, be forgiven, but she would be able to live with herself knowing she hadn’t caused Rose any harm, even if she wasn’t forgiven.

Her other reason was even more selfish. With Rose as Queen, she would have a better social standing. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"That is more than enough reason to get married, but you’re right," she said with a sigh. "I shouldn’t force you to do something you don’t want to do," Lady Delphine replied. She stretched out her hand to hold Rose’s. "But you’re asking for my advice, child, and I just told you what I would suggest."

"Why would you suggest I do that?" Rose asked.

"My reasons are completely selfish. With you as Queen, I will look much better as the friend of the Queen. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?" she asked with a chuckle.

Rose slowly nodded. For some reason, she wasn’t satisfied. Her father didn’t help, and even though Lady Delphine was telling her what she suspected the Lady would say, it didn’t feel right.

"Why don’t you want to marry the King?" Delphine questioned.

"It can’t be this simple, can it?"

"Whatever do you mean, child?"

Rose pulled her hand from Delphine’s grip and fiddled with her fingers. "I don’t think marrying the King would be the right choice."

"And I don’t think remaining his mistress would be the right choice. I understand your feelings in the matter, but they can’t be more important than your safety. Furthermore, as Queen, you actually have authority. You can change things you don’t like. The King wants you on the same level as he is. Why is that hard to accept?"

"It’s not," Rose replied.

She had considered saying yes from the moment he had offered marriage. It would be stupid on her part not to accept, but she was angry. He couldn’t just slap marriage onto this and expect everything else to be forgotten.

"Is there something you want before you think you can say yes?"

Rose lifted her gaze to look at Delphine. "Yes," she whispered.

"Then ask for it," Delphine stated. "You have to make the most of the situation you have found yourself in. Don’t expect to be given; take. Make your stand!"

"I know that," Rose mumbled. "But it feels as though I have no choice in the matter. I can’t say no, and that means I have to say yes, but I’d prefer to do that on my own terms."

"And you are. Just because you have to say yes doesn’t make it less your choice. Do you want to say no?"

Rose frowned. This was the umpteenth time she would be asked this question, and each time she knew the answer immediately. But why was it so hard to pick it?