Bab 12: End of the Banquet

The Regent Prince frowned as the protests of his ministers principle wives grew louder and louder with every additional person.

"Ignorant fools!" He thought gloomily.

As the Regent Prince of the Great Amayan Empire, who knew better than him the vast distance between the two princes of their empire and the princesses of Jinn. Whether it was status, knowledge, or accomplishments and talent, those two princesses did not possess even a tenth of the princes', and yet he was openly announcing and declaring their marriage.

Did they believe that he will change his mind if they raised their voices in disapproval openly?

He could not help but find their antics funny. However, no matter how funny they were, they could not be so unbridled before him as to question his decision to his face. Neither his status nor his dignity could stand for such provocation.

"Enough!" He roared, the slap of his hand on the table resounding loudly in the boisterous pavilion.

"The Crown Prince and Prince's marriage arrangements are set. Neighboring kingdoms and realms have already been informed and sent invitations. Fifteen days from now, there will be an Empirial wedding in the Amayan Empire. Are all of you here suggesting that I go back on my word and make a joke of the Amayan royal family realm wide? Who gave you such courage?" He raged.

The entire hall fell into a deadly silence the moment the Regent Prince's holler reverberated throughout the building, as the madams protesting earlier all shrunk their necks and lowered their heads in an attempt to cover their presence.

Although they raised their voices in dissent earlier, that was only because they felt that their benefits were being infringed upon. Even if you gave them a thousand courage, they did not dare to offend the Regent. What a joke! If they angered the Regent Prince, not even their husbands would be able to preserve their heads. They still cherished their lives greatly and were not going to willingly seek death for benefits that might not even fall into their hands if the Regent did reconsider his decision. After all, they were not the only ones with daughters in this empire.

"Uuhm! This matter is settled. The princes' will marry the princesses of the Jinn Kingdom fifteen days from now. I do not want to hear any more discussions about breaking the marriage agreement, because this marriage is important for our empire and is going to proceed as planned, no matter what." He firmly declared as his gaze swept over everyone in the hall warningly.

"Now, let's continue the banquet and make our guests feel welcome."

"Princesses, please do not take the madam's words to heart. The announcement of the princes' marriage to princesses from a foreign kingdom was not within their expectations. After the two of you settle down in our empire and interact with the madams more and allow them to get to know you, then they will be more welcoming. After all, by then, you will not be the princesses of Jinn but the princesses of Amaya." The Regents spouse consoled, trying to liven up the tension-filled atmosphere.

She too felt that her son was too good to be matched with a backwater kingdom princess. But as the decision was made by her husband, she did not dare to raise any objections. If there was one thing about him that she had learned from the many years of being together, it was his lack of tolerance for questioning his decisions.

"Yes, your grace. We have not taken offense. We understand that we are lacking in many areas and would be more than happy to receive guidance from the madams, if they would be so kind enough to guide us." Princess Nari politely replied.

"We would be more than willing to do the honors, your highness." One of the ministers' wife, sitting close to the Regent's spouse, replied with a smile.

"You would be more than welcome to our Milia Mansion."

"Yes, you are welcome to our Fianc Mansion as well."

"The doors of the Zoda Mansion will always be open for you."

The madams spoke up one after the other, trying to take this chance to make up for their earlier blunder and improve their image in the minds of the royal family.

With that, the matter was settled. No matter how unwilling or unreconciled the madams and their daughters, or the princesses and their admirers were, the Imperial marriage between Jinn Kingdom and Amayan Empire was fixed.

Princesses Nari and Qamari absentmindedly nibbled on some fruits as they recalled the scene from earlier. It was obvious that the Regent Prince regarded this alliance marriage highly. They wondered to themselves if national treasures were that precious, to the point where even the decision-maker of an empire would be willing to lower its standards and get his son and nephew married to princesses of an insignificant desert kingdom.

Crown Prince Lail, Prince Noore, and Lumos were wondering the same thing. Was the national treasure of a weak desert kingdom so significant that the Regent Prince lost his cool upon the objections of insignificant madams?

The banquet continued late into the night until the stars were twinkling brightly and the moon was glowing alluringly. No one raised any more objections after the Regent Prince lost his cool, but with a single glance, anyone could see that the celebratory mood from earlier was gone.

With the conclusion of the banquet, the news of the Imperial marriage taking place in fifteen days spread throughout the Kingdom, like a wildfire gaining fuel.

"Fifteen days? The princes' marriage is in fifteen days? Is that not a little too rushed?"

"Those foreign princesses are really going to become the princesses of our princes? How can this be?"

"Does this not mean that we will be ruled over by an outsider in the future? How could the Regent Prince not do anything?"

"Shh, don't let such a question reach the ears of his majesty, or else, you will be the doom of your family. I heard that there were a few madams who raised objections to this marriage during the banquet, but were reprimanded by the Regent Prince so severely that they couldn't even raise their heads to eat."

Such remarks and discussions became rampant in the empire.

"Take it away. I do not want to eat anything. Just let me die, at least then, I would not have to witness the Crown Prince becoming someone else's."

On the east side of the Milia mansion, there was a turquoise palace where peach blossoms grew splendidly in the courtyard. Inside the palace, a girl was sprawled out on a magnolia bed as she bawled out her eyes, her hair, and dress in disorder.

Beside the girl, was a woman with a gentle and loving expression on her face, as she patiently tried to persuade the girl to eat. This woman was the one sitting close to the Regent's wife during the banquet, inviting the princesses to visit the Milia Mansion for guidance.

"Dear, how could you say something like that? Do you not love your parents? Is that why you are willing to starve yourself without caring about our feelings? If so, we have definitely raised you in vain." She said with tear-filled eyes.

"Mother, you know that I love you and father very much. But I really cannot live without the Crown Prince. You know that I have been working so hard all these years just so that I could stand out from the other girls and win the Crown Prince's love. But now, everything is over. How will I live from now? The Crown Prince is going to marry some unknown girl while I wash my face in tears." The girl forlornly commented.

"I want him and no one else. If I cannot have him, then what is the point in living? Do you wish to see me agonizing over him, as another woman flaunts her possession over him, for the rest of my life?"

"Dear, you cannot lose hope. Where there is will, there will be a way. The Regent Prince has already announced the princes' marriage. Even the day of the Imperial wedding is set. You can see from this how determined and firm his majesty's decision is. However, the Crown Prince getting married does not necessarily mean that everything is over. As long as we have patience, we can still turn things around." The madam said.

"Turn things around? But how Mother?" The girl sat up and looked inquiringly at her mother with hope-filled eyes.

"How can we turn things around. They will be married and she will become Crown Princess. Even if she is from an insignificant place, after marrying the respect, no one will dare to disrespect or question her." She rapidly fired.

"But what if she is no longer the Crown Princess or you gain the Crown Prince's favor and move into the East Palace?" The madam replied.

"Than I will have the chance to become the Crown Princess! But how?" She excitedly exclaimed.

"You do not have to worry about that. Just leave everything to Mother. Now hurry up and eat before I get angry!" Her mother shouted in false anger.

"Yes, Mother! I was wrong, you do not be angry." The girl acted cute, clinging happily to her mother's arm.

Inside the imperial palace, in the Regent Prince's study, the minister of rites, Moure Ren, was present with the other ministers of the court, discussing the arrangements for the envoys and ambassadors that will be arriving for the imperial wedding.