AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Like everything. First, we need to make an announcement,” I explained. “Or rather, I do. I’ll do that in a bit.”
“Woah, wait a second.” Elix held up a hand, finally voicing her concerns. “First, before anything else, you need to talk to my brother. If Saint finds out about this through someone else, he’ll lose his mind!”
She shuddered at the idea, and I didn’t blame her. I didn’t want Saint to find out that way, either.
“Of course I’ll speak with Saint first,” I said hastily, still unsure how I was going to present this to her brother. “But I’m talking about what comes next.”
She stared at me expectantly. “What comes next?”
“It’s like I said yesterday. We’ll move your suite up here.”
“I still don’t understand why that’s necessary.”
I rolled my eyes. “Because we’re engaged now, Elix,” I reminded her dryly. “It looks better if our rooms are close. It doesn’t make any sense that the king is going to travel down a floor to visit his fiancée.”
To my amusement, her cheeks flushed, and she turned her head away.
“Oh…” she mumbled, finally understanding the implications behind the move. “Right.”
“You want coffee?” I offered, letting her off the hook of her embarrassment.
“Please.”
I moved toward the French press and started making another cup, sneaking a sidelong look at her beautiful but conflicted face.
“What else?” she sighed, rightfully sensing that I hadn’t even started on my list.
“Once you’re all moved in, I’m having a seamstress come and measure you. You’re going to need to start dressing the part, and no offense, but your wardrobe isn’t going to cut it.”
She didn’t like my take on her clothes, but in spite of the sneer, she didn’t comment.
“Fine,” she said coldly. “Anything else?”
I set the water to boil on the mini stove and slid the book of queenly duties toward her. “Yes. You’ll need to read and memorize this.”
At first, she glanced at the binder without any interest. “What is it?”
“It’s your list of duties.”
Elix began to chuckle, but when she realized I wasn’t joking, her smile faded, and she did a double take at the thick book. “My what now?”
“You’ll have duties, Elix, obviously. You will be expected to present yourself in a certain manner and also conduct yourself in a certain way.”
“Uh, no. Not obviously,” she fired back. “How would it be obvious? I’m the daughter of a maid and a handyman. My brother is a construction worker, and I’ve never worked a day in my life. We left the palace when I was fourteen years old. I don’t really know the first thing about royalty,” she retorted. “No offense, but despite your face being plastered all over the kingdom, I don’t really follow your comings and goings. I have no idea what you stand for or what you do exactly.”
“Touché,” I agreed with a grin. “That’s why you can look through this handy guide and get acquainted with what you need to know. It won’t tell you everything, but Cirilla and some of the palace staff can help you along?—”
She shook her head vehemently. “No! No, I’m not…” Without finishing her protest, she snatched up the book and scanned the pages. “Ensure that the staff is properly dressed for their shifts,” she read aloud. “Oversee galas, balls, and charitable events hosted in the palace.”
Her head jerked up, and she scoffed openly. “Are you fucking kidding me right now?”
“You’ll need to work on that mouth of yours,” I growled, eyes narrowing. She glowered back at me. “This isn’t overly complicated,” I told her flatly. “It’s not like you need to attend the Council of Ministers meetings.”
“Youdidn’t even attend the Council of Ministers meetings!” she fired back, and I found myself taken aback that she knew that.
She and Saint did spend a lot of time together. I wonder how much he talked about me to her.
Simultaneously, I was impressed with her quick retorts.
