Chapter 47: Has The Crown Princess Lost Her Mind?
Grand General Tobias and Royal Chancellor paced nervously in the Drawing Room. They had requested an audience with Crown Princess Laina. People of all backgrounds have arrived at the palace for the competition.
"The Royal Treasury is already in shambles and she wants to host this… this art competition?! Has the princess lost her mind?" Lucinda sighed.
"We should have stopped the plans when we had the chance. Now, we can only hope for an explanation," Tobias remarked.
Laina entered the room. Before the General and Chancellor could get on their knees to pay her their respects, Laina stopped them from doing so.
"Spare the formalities, Tobias, Lucinda. We simply do not have the time. Margaret informed me that you wish to speak to me, hence I am here. Speak quickly, there is much still waiting to be done."
She walked over to take a seat on the sofa. Kol, her new personal bodyguard followed closely behind and stood beside her. He had his eyes on the General and Chancellor, watching their every move.
"We are concerned, your Highness."
"Concerned? Whatever for? Things are going smoothly…"
"But what is it all for, your Highness? Pardon our lack of vision but what our Kingdom is already in a lot of debt, what good will the art competition do?" Lucinda asked.
Tobias backed her up, "Not to mention, the cost of sustaining these people."
Laina stood up from her seat. She turned to the both of them and asked, "So that's what you're concerned about? Do you think I spent days planning just to waste it all away?"
"No… your highness-"
The Crown Princess folded her arms and sighed. She had hoped her subjects would have more faith in her. But it seems, they just saw her as a princess who wanted to play. That is something she will work endlessly to change.
"First of all, the money will come from my personal vault, so don't worry about that. The art competition is an investment I am working on. All I need from the both of you, is your understanding and support," she reached out to them as best she could.
But Laina could see it in their eyes. Without proof that her plans had worked, they would never believe in her vision. They would not trust her to lead. Their lack of faith only spurred her on. She will not give up.
Laina left the Drawing Room without saying anything else. Kol and Margaret followed closely behind in silence. To keep her mind off things, Laina decided to visit the people who have come for the competition.
The ballrooms that once held countless parties had turned into an art gallery. People from all over Kinshearth came to show their talents. Laina went to the Petunia Ballroom, where the painters have been situated.
Not wanting her presence to cause any disturbance, Laina disguised herself. She did not wear her tiara and chose a less regal outfit to wear. Upon entering the Ballroom, she looked like a servant more than a princess.
No one cared to give her a second look. Laina grinned, that was exactly what she wanted. She moved through the different stations, each belonging to an artist.
"Something isn't right," Laina whispered to Margaret as they made their round through the ballroom.
Everyone in the ballroom was dressed in finery, they had the best supplies and even had servants helping them. How was this possible? Even Margaret noticed it was amiss. The competition was for everyone.
Yet all those who were in this ballroom were nobility, rich upper class. Where were the common folk? Had none of them turned up for the competition?
"Can you believe they wanted those peasants to paint here, with us?" one of the nobles haughtily commented as he moved his paintbrush across his canvas.
A noble lady laughed in response, "Exactly! How can they ever compare to us?"
Laina gritted her teeth in anger. Looking at the amount of space available, there was more than enough room for at least another fifty workstations!
"Margaret, where are the other participants?" Laina asked.
"According to my records," she flipped through the materials she had in her hands, "One of the royal courtyards had been cleared to accommodate them."
Laina took in a deep breath. She tried to calm her nerves so that she could deal with the situation calmly. Just then, there was a tap on her shoulder. Laina turned to see the noble lady from before holding a pail of dirty paint water.
"You there, go get me a new clean pail of water," she ordered.
Laina did not move, nor did she reply.
Annoyed, the noble lady asked again, "Are you deaf? I said, go get me a clean pail of water."
"Oh I heard you the first time," Laina snapped back.
Insulted by the way Laina responded to her, the noble lady gritted her teeth in anger. From the side, she could see the nobleman whom she spoke to earlier laughing at her.
"I didn't know servants in the palace could be so ill-mannered! Perhaps this will teach you a lesson."
The noble lady raised the pail of dirty paint water and splashed it in Laina's direction. Everything happened so quickly, they barely had any time to react. Seeing that Laina was being attacked, Kol leaped into action.
He stood guard in front of Laina, blocking her from being splashed with the dirty water. The coloured water splashed all over Kol's body. Everyone gasped in shock by the sudden turn of events.
Even Margaret was not quick enough to stop this from happening. The noble lady threw the pail onto the ground.
"Pick it up, and get me my clean water," she said haughtily before sitting back down to continue painting.
No one else came up to say anything. They witnessed it first hand, but they chose to remain silent. Laina gritted her teeth, she wanted to teach the lady a lesson. But she knew she had to remain calm.
Margaret watched on in anger, she too wanted to react. But she could not, she waited for Laina's command. Kol, on the other hand, stood there blankly. He wanted to take a step forward and confront the noble lady.
The noble lady attempted to humiliate his master, he was not about to let this go so easily. But Laina grabbed onto his wrist. She turned him around and checked on him.
"Kol, are you alright?" she asked. Laina's voice was filled with concern as she checked on him.
Kol nodded, he did not say anything else.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
ValestriaMoon
ValestriaMoon I have been overwhelmed with joy these few days as I see more and more people adding this novel to their libraries. T^T I truly appreciate every single one of you!
I have also been reading all the comments you awesome people have left. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
You have no idea how happy you've made me. T^T Author san will work hard on this novel!
New Book Alert!
Please check out my latest book <The King's Cursed Bride>!
Chapter 48: Carry On
"Hey, are you all deaf?! Did you not hear me?" the noble lady shouted at them more annoyed than before.
Laina ignored her completely. After making sure Kol was alright, she turned to leave so that they could get him a new set of clothes. Being ignored, the noble lady flew in a fit of rage. She threw the paintbrush in her hand towards them, to get their attention.
Margaret caught it in her fingers swiftly and snapped it into two.
"How dare you! Guards! Arrest these insolent servants at once! I will report all of you to the Crown Princess herself!" she screamed at them.
The other nobles sniggered and laughed at the scene before them as if they were watching a comedy play. None of the guards in the ballroom moved. All of them knew who Margaret, Kol, and Laina were.
They were not about to follow the others of the noble lady over the orders of the Crown Princess herself. Laina continued walking out towards the doors.
"Guards! Are all of you deaf?!" the noble lady screamed again. She had completely lost her composure at this point.
By the time Laina walked to the door and stopped at the entrance. Both of the soldiers who were standing guard immediately got onto their knees.
"Your highness, what are your orders?" they asked in unison.
Everyone in the ballroom gasped in shock. Thinking it was all a prank, the noble lady left her workstation and walked towards them.
"Are all of you empty in the skull? She's not wearing the crown, she isn't even dressed in the royal garments. How could she possibly be…"
Laina could no longer remain silent. She looked over to the noble lady and snapped, "It is not the clothes or the jewelry that makes a crown princess. The same goes for the nobility."
The noble lady was speechless.
"I have no orders, my good men, Please carry on your duties. I will return later," Laina said to the guards before leaving the ballroom.
Laina instructed Margaret to bring Kol to get his clothes changed. She alone will proceed to the royal courtyard to see the other participants. Despite Margaret's protests, Laina insisted.
"Very well, Your Highness," Margaret sighed, "We will be back as soon as possible."
When she guided Kol to move off in their separate ways, Kol refused to move away from Laina. He wanted to continue following her around.
'Kol, where are you going?" Margaret called out.
Laina turned back around to see the hybrid vampire tailing behind her. His face was covered in paint water and his shirt was badly stained. But he did not care about any of that. He only cared about her.
"Kol, go follow Margaret so that you can get changed. You can come and look me once you're done."
Kol lifted his right hand and pointed at Laina. He said his first words.
"Protect… master"
Laina smiled, this bodyguard of hers was a special one.
"You can come back and protect me after you've changed. Your shirt is all dirty right now," she reminded him as she pointed to his shirt.
Kol looked down at his shirt and realized what Laina was saying. He immediately began to unbutton his shirt to remove it. Laina took a few steps back, surprised by Kol's action. They were in a public space and her bodyguard was taking off his shirt right here, right now!
Seeing the situation unfold, Margaret rushed forward and smacked Kol on the back of the head.
"What on earth do you think you're doing! This is a public space! Put your shirt back on. I am so sorry princess, I will bring him to change and get him out of your hair." Margaret apologized profusely as she dragged Kol away.
Laina watched as they went in the other direction, uncertain of how to process what she had just seen. The moment Kol tried to take his shirt off, she could see the healed scars that covered his chest.
Laina slapped herself on the cheeks as she chided herself, "Now is not the time to think of these things! Back to work Laina, back to work!"
After giving herself a short pep talk, she continued on her way towards the royal courtyard. When Laina arrived, she was pleasantly surprised to see all the participants mingling and happily conversing with one another.
Some of the painters were happily communicating with one another, admiring each other's works. Laina silently walked amongst them, admiring the different works that were being produced.
Though they did not have the expensive well-made tools like the nobility did, or the high-quality paints, their work was still as exquisite, if not better. A certain painting captured Laina's attention. She silently watched the painter at work from behind.
It was of a pair of lovers in embrace under the night sky. The faces of the lovers in the portrait were well-drawn and carefully painted. It came to life through the skills of the painter. Someone came over to admire the painting next to Laina.
"It's a work of art, is it not?" the man commented.
"Indeed. Very realistic and moving," Laina added.
The man smiled as he moved forward to give the painter a pat on the back, "You've got some talent, Manetti,"
The painter looked up with a smile, "You flatter me too much, Jo, your work is amazing too."
Laina could not help but smile at the exchange. As she continued to look through the other painters' works, she did not once hear any complaints from anyone. They worked hard. Just then, servants from the Royal Kitchen came by with food for everyone.
Although it was just a simple meal of soup and bread, everyone was grateful. Some of them wolfed down the meal quickly and asked for a second helping. Jo was one of them. Manetti came up to him from behind and offered his bread to him.
"What… I can't take yours, Manetti. You need it too," Jo refused his gesture.
"Nonsense, Jo. Here, have it. Leave the rest of the soup for the others. I am sure they have more to feed." Manetti replied.
Laina wanted to tell them that they need not ration. There was more than enough food to go around for everyone. She made sure of it. But what she heard next, broke her heart even more.
She overheard some of them talking about how the recent droughts and natural disasters greatly affected parts of Kinshearth.
The people were going hungry and she did not know. This was also one of the reasons why some of them had made the trip here. Not only were they looking for work, but they also hoped to bring back money or rations to help their families and villages through tough times.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
ValestriaMoon
ValestriaMoon
Damn, the difference between the nobility and the common folk is huge! I would much rather hang out with the regular folk if you ask me!
By the way, just a heads up~ <The Dragon King's Heart> will have locked chapters from 27th May (GMT+8) onwards~ Do not worry! It will only be locked from Chapter 56 onwards~ I also have a mass release planned so there will be more chapters for all to read~
New Book Alert!
Please check out my latest book <The King's Cursed Bride>!
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