When the queen entered the room, Lord Brice and his aides rose from their seats and respectfully bowed in her presence.


    Rianna''s cheeks burned as she struggled to suppress the telltale signs of embarrassment.


    "I didn''t do anything differently. Excuse me," Rianna said as she brushed past them, heading determinedly towards the king.


    Lord Brice appeared bewildered as he observed Rianna taking a seat next to the king and reaching out to grasp his hand. Normally, the Queen would be reserved and would have told him off. He couldn''t help but notice the way her hand tightened around the king''s and how she looked at him, which made the old man''s eyebrows rise in surprise.


    Cyndre''s gaze shifted to Rianna, and a warm smile spread across his face.


    didsomething to get out of the dog housenow I need to ask him how he did it. But that will have to be for another time


    Both Rianna and Cyndre cast frustrated glances in the direction of Lord Brice, their expressions clearly conveying their irritation.


    "Lady Rya!" Rianna''s sudden interruption startled everyone in the room. It was highly unusual for her to interject in front of her husband''s council, but she felt an inexplicable need to defend the dark elf.


    Rianna was overcome by an intense surge of anger welling up inside her. She fought to keep it under control, but she needed to get her feelings off of her chest, so she stood up from her chair.


    "You will not hand over Lady Rya to the Alliance! Do you hear me? She''s a guest of the crown and under my protection," Rianna growled as she glared at the Head of Fiafyr.


    Brice had never seen the Queen this animated before. Unsure of what to do, he glanced at his aides for support.


    Cyndre rose from his seat and leaned in close, his voice barely above a whisper, as he spoke into her ear.


    "Rianna, are you okay? I''ve never seen you like this. Is there anything I can do to help?" Cyndre pleaded, and Rianna calmed down after realizing what she had done.


    did heal me from that unknown poison in my body... And my son does love her...


    "I wasn''t a hundred percent sure. But I had a hunch after I informed him about Lady Rya''s race... My main reason for coming here was to see our son, but this was a happy accident," Cyndre explained.


    One of the things that captivated her about Cyndre was his unwavering honesty and his genuine concern for her well-being. She could feel herself being drawn to him once more, and she was so taken by the moment that she would have kissed him if it weren''t for the presence of Lord Brice and his aides in the room.


    "So my good moments are only rare, aye?... It seems I need to work on that," he replied with a self-deprecating tone and smiled.


    Rianna let out a light-hearted giggle and then made her way back to her seat. Cyndre couldn''t help but feel a surge of satisfaction knowing that his wife was starting to open up to him. However, he was also aware that he needed to assert himself when it came to dealing with Duval and his schemes.


    Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    At first, Rianna couldn''t understand the significance of the situation, but as she spent more time in the kingdom, she delved deeper into the lore of the goddess. She discovered that, unlike other gods, the goddess never directly disclosed information to her followers; instead, she seemed to encourage them to seek out the answers for themselves.


    The aide was met with a sea of disbelieving stares from everyone in the room.


    "That''s what everyone said about me when I arrived in the Kingdom, right? What makes you think that she wouldn''t be worthy?" Rianna questioned the aide and pointed out the flaws in his argument.


    "M-My Queen... Do you all believe Goddess Iyomelka would be okay with an outsider performing the Temple of Balance''s ritual for her favor?... I know that our Queen worshiped a different Pantheon, but she is a human like the rest of us. And a Dark Elf is a creature of—"


    Lord Brice and his advisors harbored lingering doubts, but they nodded in agreement nonetheless while Cyndre beamed at his wife''s unwavering assurance.


    Lord Brice was eager to challenge the statement, but he wisely chose to remain silent. He had witnessed the Queen''s behavior on a few occasions in the past, but he couldn''t recall the exact circumstances or reasons behind it.


    rice ... It must be a mother''s love, or maybe it''s something els'' Lord Brice pondered.


    After a moment of silence, Cyndre turned back to Lord Brice and asked, "Any word on how my brother plans to play this? He''s been silent, and it''s putting me on edge."


    "I see," Cyndre mumbled as he tapped his fingers against the table anxiously.


    Rianna found herself contemplating in much the same way as her husband.


    Rianna''s expression twisted into a look of pure revulsion as a vivid memory of her brother-in-law''s despicable actions came rushing back to her. She couldn''t shake the feeling of regret, wishing that Duval hadn''t intervened to stop Cyndre from carrying out the execution of his own brother after the failed assassination attempt of their only son. Now, 19 years later, Alaric was still scheming and plotting, and the bitter taste of missed justice lingered in Rianna''s mind.


    hinking about countering Alaric.


    Ah, yeMy Queen...


    Rianna''s fury flared up again upon hearing the words, but it subsided when Cyndre reached for her hand and clasped it firmly. The tension melted away as she tightly gripped his hand, feeling a sense of comfort wash over her.


    "And if we can prove to the people that she has received Goddess Iyomelka''s favor, then his plan would be ruined. But we need to find out what else he has up his sleeve. I can''t see him giving up the fight so easily," Cyndre stated, and Rianna nodded.


    "We will do that, my Queen," Lord Brice said with a bow.


    Lord Brice smiled and bowed, "As you command, my King. We will speak to Mother Astra about the ritual and make sure everything is in order so Duval can''t weasel his way out of this request like he normally does. And we''ll see if we can find a loophole in the emergency measure to derail whatever he had planned for Lady Rya and the Crown Prince... Anyway, I''ll leave you with your wife, My King," Lord Brice and his aides left the chamber and left the King and Queen alone.


    "You better be right because if you''re not, then you can say goodbye to kisses like this," Rianna whispered once they broke the kiss.


    "Yeah... And it''s your fault for making me burn all that energy last night... That''s why I''m this way," Rianna joked.


    Cyndre chuckled, "I''m sorry, Love... You can punish me later. But let''s get you fed first," Cyndre said as the couple got up.