"Was that necessary Your Majesty?" Newton asked pacing around Alexander. He was enjoying a cup of wine amused by Newton’s reaction to the whole marriage thing. And given that it was happening so fast, he had every right to be nervous and confused.

"Everything was necessary," he said lowering the glass to his chest. "Would you have preferred a fat man for Roselyn’s husband or yourself?" He asked making Newton halt in his tracks.

"She should have gotten married to that fat man if I wasn’t here," he pointed.

"But you’re here," Alexander said with shrugged shoulders. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"How is it like," he asked, pausing to look at Alexander, "to be a king?"

"Fun I guess. You only have to trust," he said with a smirk before adding, "No one! Not even your wife or family."

"Don’t you trust Isadora?" Newton raised a brow. They were talking about his queen here!

"I said wife. She is not yet my wife whom I’ll not only trust but cherish forever, just like you’ll do for Roselyn." He said and winked at the same time.

Newton was silent for a while before he raised his eyes to look at Alexander. "Roselyn has gone through a lot, from the moment you rejected her, to her father revoking her princess title and true heir to the Arcadian throne, to his death...." He sighed.

"Spit it out Newt," Alexander said.

"Don’t pressure her to join the empire," he said but the look he got! Even the sigh he was about to heave disappeared into thin air, the temperature suddenly turning chilly.

Alexander placed the glass in his hand on the table before it’d break, and when he rose, a dangerous aura enveloped him that Newton took an instinctive step backwards! He was Crescian but had never experienced such a domineering aura before. He now looked like a fry on the pan, and in two swift steps, Alexander was standing right in front of him.

"Uniting the three kingdoms is not a priority Newton, it’s my destiny! I’ll stop at nothing to see that purpose is fulfilled and whoever stands on my way will be crushed to nothingness!" His voice was soft but dangerous!

And as if it had never happened in the first place, he smiled at Newton, slightly tapping his shoulder to cheer him up. The temperatures got back to normal, and Newton only sighed when Alexander turned to take his drink again only for the glass to break in his hands.

"Oops! I have to get a new one," he said holding the broken glass in his hands. The wine was spilled on the floor, his retreating steps echoing in the distance.

Meanwhile, in the Queen’s chambers, a secretive meeting was being convened. Felista sat on the high table, her thoughts a mess. She couldn’t let what her husband and his forefathers had built go into the hands of foreigners because of her stupid daughter!

"Your Majesty?" Lord Augustus called to pull her attention back to the matters in hand. She leaned forward letting her eyes settle on every council member present.

"Alexander has manipulated our princess into joining the new empire in return for the crown. You all know Roselyn can’t be a good fit for a queen unless she gets a good husband, and a foreigner is out of choice!"

"Your Majesty," Lord Augustus said, garnering the attention. "We forgot to tackle an important matter in the throne hall but I instinctively avoided it due to the respect I have for the crown. He paused to look at the queen but she only stared at him blankly, urging him to continue.

"It’s about Her Highness’s scar, your Majesty," he lowered his eyes at the sharp gaze he got!

"Those are archaic traditions Lord Augustus," Felista pointed.

"Still, most of Arcadian citizens practice it. No one can marry a woman with a scar on their face!"

"Are you trying to say that my daughter cannot get married or become queen for that matter?"

"No, Your Majesty. What I’m saying is you can use this to your advantage in stopping this marriage."

"But that would mean Roselyn would never get married forever!" She pointed.

"I’m sorry but it’s the only way now, unless you have a better plan in mind?"

"Commander Harris, what do you think?" She asked turning to the commander.

"I’m not good in politics but I think that’s a brilliant idea." Brilliant! Felista scoffed inwardly. It was her daughter’s future they were discussing here!

"What about you, Lord Atticus?"

The silent of men in the room raised his eyes to look at the queen, and for some odd reason, she found his stare uncomfortable to look at. "As much as I’d like to go with that option, I’d suggest you think of the future your Majesty. That’s a short term solution that might solve the problem but will affect the kingdom dearly. Choose wisely!"

At least there was someone in her shoes for once! "And what about the foreigners, Your Majesty?" Lord Augustus asked.

"What of them?" Felista asked, leaning back in her seat.

"They are controlling the palace as if they own it. We can’t let them come and control us while we sit and watch!"

"Lord Augustus is speaking the truth your Majesty. King Alexander showed you little to no respect in the throne hall, in your own kingdom! They are our guests and not our rulers!" Lord Atticus pointed.

Felista clenched her fists when she remembered how Alexander had humiliated her today, in front of the Lords of Arcadia and the citizens present. What if Roselyn now gave him power over all Arcadians? He’d crush her even before she knew it, and to survive, she had to crush him before he did it! Now was the perfect opportunity ever since he had a handful of Valorian and Crescian knights with him!

"What do you suggest, Lord Atticus?"

Atticus smiled evilly, his sharp features glowing under the candle light. His moustache covered his smile only to be noticed by someone who looked closely.

"I have a plan!" He said, grinning from ear to ear.