(From Blue's Perspective)
The duchess talked a lot. So, the breakfast was very lively. I saw the duke glancing at the duchess a lot of tis. There was no doubt that he loved her a lot.
"Actually, His Majesty and I are relatives," she said. "My father is His Majesty's grandfather's cousin's son. In that way, I think I am His Majesty's aunt though I don't want to be called that."
"I would not call the duchess that either," Dem grumbled.
"Haha, I know that," she laughed it off. "I was very excited when I heard that Her Majesty is coming here today. I had a feeling that His Majesty did not know our family history properly. So, I wanted to share this fact with Her Majesty."
"That's good. I heard that the duchess and my husband are relatives, but did not know the detail," I said.
"I also want to show Your Majesty a lot of things. There are a lot of things to discuss between won. I hope Your Majesty will spare so of your ti."
"Of course. I would like to spend ti with the duchess as well," I smiled.
Dem did not talk much except if it was important. He was always like this when others were around. His talkative self would reveal only in front of .
"Eat up well," Dem said. "You are always eating less. You are not feeling well these days after all."
"I eat as much as I can," I said, defending myself.
"That's not enough. Even if you don't feel like it, eat a bit more."
"I also think Your Majesty should eat a bit more," the duchess said. "Your Majesty is so thin..."
After breakfast, Dem went to the underground cells of the duchy with the duke. Dem did not take with them since my neck was hurting a bit. I told him it was fine, but he did not notice. Moreover, it seed to that he did not want to take there in the first place and was just looking for an excuse to make stay here since he could not tell 'no' right to my face.
"Your Majesty, do you want to go to the garden room?" the duchess asked.
"The garden room?" I repeated.
"Yes. We have an indoor garden. We can sit and chat there," she said cheerfully.
"Sure. I would love to," I said.
The garden was built inside a huge hall room. There were a variety of flowers, but not as much as in the garden of the Imperial Palace. But sothing about this place made it look more beautiful than all other gardens I had seen.
"It's beautiful...," I said.
"Right? It was designed by the duke's sister, my sister-in-law. She liked flowers. Can Your Majesty see the vacant place in the middle? It's because she liked to dance there. There was a piano here as well, but I got rid of it since it was broken beyond repair.
I have ordered to make another piano, just like the previous one. The piano is a very important part of this place, after all," she said.
"Yes, a piano will suit this place well. It's sotis important to keep the things to bring up mories," I said.
"Your Majesty, actually, I want to be frank about sothing," she said.
"Yes?"
"I want to be friends with Your Majesty."
"..."
I thought it was sothing serious. I had to admit that she surprised with this. Besides, her desire to be friends with the Queen herself was pretty admirable since no one ever asked to be friends with before.
"Did I make Your Majesty uncomfortable? My apologies if that's the case. Actually, I have seen Your Majesty for the first ti in the banquet last month."
I heard that the duke and the duchess had been to the banquet, but I had not t them there since I did not stay for long. It was also because of Dem who did not fail to keep everyone away from .
"And I happened to see the little fight between the Queen of Mazazine and Your Majesty. Your Majesty was very badass, sorry for my rude word. Since then, I wanted to be friends with Your Majesty. I requested a personal visit too, but it was declined by His Majesty three weeks ago."
"I was sick that ti. That's why, the duchess's request was declined," I said.
"I heard it from the duke too," she said. "Because of that, I did not send another request recently. I was going to soon though... But then I heard that Your Majesty will visit the duchy. I was very excited. So, if possible, can Your Majesty and I be friends?
Like real friends?"
There were a few people who Dem said that I could trust and be close to. Among them, there was Evelyn, Ava, Perita, Ruby, Luc, Kenjo, Doctor Dimitri, the duke, and the duchess. There was no reason for to decline this.
"Sure. We can definitely be friends," I said.
"Then, Your Majesty should call by my na. I am Iris. It's my nickna."
"Alright, Iris," I chuckled. "Actually, you can call by my na too."
"But, Your Majesty, how can I..."
"It will be a secret between us," I said.
Even if soone found out that the duchess was calling by my na, it would not be a huge problem. That was why it was fine if she called my na. But it was not the sa for Ruby. She was a maid and even if I thought of her as my friend, she would still be considered a maid. Because of that, I could not tell her to call by my na even if I wanted to.
It was also doubtful if Ruby would call by my na even if I told her to.
"Alright then... Blue, is that okay?"
"Yeah," I grinned.
Iris and I chatted a lot, sitting in the garden room. She was very cheerful and liked to talk a lot. Her face resembled Dem a bit. It must be because they were related.
"By the way, how old are you, Iris?" I asked.
"I am twenty. And you are eighteen, right?" she asked and I nodded. "You are very young. It's very admirable how you are handling the job of a Queen at such a young age, especially when you ca to this world just a few months ago. Everyone is praising your abilities."
It was true that I had been managing so important work, but I never thought that it was sothing to be praised about. Well, Dem praised every single hour of the day. He liked to praise for every little thing even though it was not necessary. I had gotten used to it. But this ti, even others were praising . It was a bit embarrassing to hear soone say it right in front of .
"It's nothing. I have been giving my best to help Dem," I said. "He works too hard. I am worried."
"Blue surely loves His Majesty," she chuckled and I blushed. "It's a good thing if there is love in a marriage."
"You and the duke look like you two are greatly in love with each other as well," I said. "You must be living an amazing marriage life as well."
"Well, our marriage is life is good. We were best friends. We had always been just friends. So, when he got married to the previous duchess, I did not feel bad, rather I cheered for him. But then, he got suspicious and wrote a letter about his suspicions about the previous duchess.
Since I had a friend in the investigation departnt, I told him to secretly investigate this matter and the duke agreed. Then he found clues and sent them to His Majesty, King Detrius, rather than to the duke. He is very loyal to the king and he also works for the Royal Palace.
So, he already had a contract signed with them that he had to report every single detail of every case he had taken, official or unofficial. When His Majesty got involved, he actively helped the duke. With His Majesty's help, it was easier to prove the previous duchess guilty and even her strong family background could not help. Of course, His Majesty did it so the duke will be indebted to him.
I don't bla him since it's the way politics work. After that, the duke needed a wife since he doesn't have an heir and my family was also pestering to get married. He and I went to drink one night and then I joked that perhaps we should just get married. At least, we won't trouble each other and be toxic while we also can overco our problems.
I was just joking, but I did not know he would take it seriously."
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