章 30: "The King's New Maidservant-1"

Ely furrowed her eyebrows and looked at King Maro in disappointment. Although she knew the image he had been portraying to his people, she still hoped that he would be able to be a little considerate of her feelings.

But just as they said, once the trust is gone, everything in a relationship will fall into pieces.

Ely sighed. She narrowed her eyes on him, like practically letting him know of her distressed feeling, "It seems like… you never intended to let me choose, Your Highness," Ely told him, "Why bother asking such a question?"

The King displayed a grin on his face. He knew she was pissed off, yet he found her beautiful. He responded, "You're right. I shouldn't have asked." He turned to Rainier, who had finished setting up his congo drums. "You. Give us lively welcoming beats."

Rainier bowed his head and gave an affirmative look, then he played his drums.

The King took a sip on his wine as he looked at Rainier. In his mind, the man was the one with his beloved Ely when she ran away from the palace, and just the thought of it made his blood boil. Were they very close that the man fell in love with her even though she was disguised as an ugly traveler?

As more wine was poured in the King's wine glass, he glanced at his Queen. 'It's alright. I am going to marry her soon, and this drummer boy can't do anything about it. I've won this battle already.'

He chuckled, and Ely wondered if he was already drunk.

Soon after, more musicians joined Rainier's performance. They were delighted to see the King in a good mood.

But they did not notice the sad look on Ely's face.

Before the celebration ended, Minister Holter announced to the royal performers that there would be a contest on who would perform in the royal wedding of King Maro and Ely, and he mentioned that the performance should be new and not yet seen by anyone. Everyone was excited and anxious at the same time.

Ely overheard her old bandmates talk about it because they were standing behind her seat. Karla said, "What do we do? Bethy's the reason why we're here now. Because her talent in music is exemplary, she was able to arrange several songs, and she could even give each of us a solo part… What should we do?"

"Now that everyone heard our best performance, it would be weird if they heard a worse one…" Nerion added, scratching the back of his head, "If only the Ministry of Culture is not strict, we can play an old one…"

But Vienna got furious, "What are you saying? We can just perform the way we did when she was not yet with us. Karla's good, so she can sing solo! Why are you speaking like Bethy is that important? She was never one of us anyway-"

Rainier suddenly banged his drum, making his bandmates startled, "Bethy is one of us. And she will always be."

His remark made Ely smile, and when the King turned to face her, she quickly frowned.

"Let us rest," King Maro stood up and offered his hand. Ely stood up as well and grabbed his hand, and everyone in the beach subtly bowed their heads and wished them a good night's rest.

Ely's bedroom was transferred to the room beside the King. Even though he wanted her to be forced to stay in the same room as him, he resisted this temptation because he knew that his beloved Queen of Ballad would hate him more if he did that.

Instead, he instructed that a door be placed in between their rooms so he could freely see her anytime he wished.

The servants were dismissed for the day.

"You don't have to put this here. I won't escape," Ely told him as soon as she saw the middle door.

"It is better to be sure. Who knows what disguise you'd use this time?" King Maro sat down on his soft bed, "Please do not even think about stealing a mercenary's armor."

"Thanks for the suggestion, I will consider it, Your Highness," Ely said sarcastically. "Now, if you'd excuse me, I'm very tired right now, so I would like to rest."

"Fine. Have a good night's sleep." He smirked at the annoyed Ely, then she stepped beyond the middle door and shut it.

As she stood leaning on the door, she wondered how she could get herself to really have a good night's sleep. The King had become extra stubborn, maybe three times more stubborn than before, because he was serious about making her his Queen very soon.

Ely knew she promised to be with the King for as long as she could as a friend. She truly cared for him, and the truth was, she almost fell for him. But everything changed since they went to the Ancil Mountains.

Even though not on purpose, King Maro emphasized that his decisions should not be interfered with by a mere foreigner. And she knew he was right. She placed herself into where she should be by trying to follow his wishes, calling him out with his title as King instead of his name.

But as if fate kept playing with them, Ely had to see her real husband Adam, his very own flesh and soul. To keep him safe and sound, she needed to hide him from the King, even if it meant betraying him.

'I'm the worst…' she thought. She stared blankly on the marble floor.

She then shook her head trying to get rid of these thoughts, and decided to focus on the incoming problem. 'Now… how can I help Karla and the others?'

Ely walked towards her closet and looked for some clothes. Unfortunately, her wardrobe was changed into dresses and gowns that were so flashy, as if they were obviously marking her as Queen.

"This won't do…" she muttered to herself. She even rummaged through the big chests but only found silk and velvet clothing, "Nothing good in here…"

She opened her front door very slowly, then peeked outside. When a maidservant passed through, she called her.

The maidservant approached her, "Yes, my Queen? Anything I can do for you?"

"I want you to bring me a maidservant's uniform."

The maidservant didn't dare ask the King's future wife what it was for. She humbly bowed, and when she was about to leave, Ely grabbed her arm and whispered to her, "Do not let anyone know about this… especially the King."