Sir Jin came face to face with Queen Camilla when he turned to the direction of the nearest exit. If she was at all displeased with the turn of events, it did not show on her face. On the contrary, the queen stood proud and tall in front of the ambassador. Her chin was slightly tilted up as if she was looking down at Sir Jin, who was actually the same height as her in heels. Up close, Sir Jin noticed that what seemed like glitters were actually diamonds sewn into the sheer navy blue fabric of the queen’s dress. It traced the outline of the boat neck and extended to the cape attached at the shoulder of the dress, forming what seemed like an array of dazzling stars that followed the queen wherever she went. 

“I thank you for your aid, Ambassador Jin.” The room fell silent when she spoke, even the music slowly faded. The cameras automatically pointed to her direction, anticipating a juicy coverage. The queen held he ambassador’s gaze as she addressed him, pinning him in place. The look in her eyes was a warning issued to the foreigner, a reminder that he was in her kingdom, her home, and his actions were duly noted. “It is indeed unfortunate that my son has left the ball early, but I assure you that his absence is not without reason. My darling Luke, if I may refresh your memory, ambassador, is a pilot and a field officer. I believe he is a Major, but that doesn’t matter. He left urgently upon my request on a special assignment that I have no business discussing with you.”

The advantage of being a ruling monarch was that nobody would be bold enough to tell her that what she was saying was ridiculous. Yet, it was the best that she could do to control the damage inflicted by her son’s foolish little rebellion. Luke was not always brash, he was in fact a careful and calculating person. It surprised the queen that he would act as he did, although since her son found out about how the accident that killed his father happened, their relationship had not been so great.

“Marcel,” she glanced sideways at his nephew. No further instructions or requests was needed. Immediately, the duke’s son stepped forward and plucked Rhiane from Sir Jin’s arms. “Would you take our princess elect to the infirmary. Make sure that she is treated well, and do not leave until she can walk just fine on her own.”

“Yes, your majesty.” Marcel bowed his head briefly before leaving with the princess elect. Cameras followed them towards the exit, so did Princess Cally. Before the double doors were opened for them, the orchestra started playing again as if nothing happened. 

“I have always wondered what could have gotten in your heads,” Marcel mused. “You and the other contestants. We all know how this is going to end, and for what? The chance, no matter how brief, to belong to the royal family? After tonight, I don’t suppose you feel welcomed at all.” 

“That’s not true,” interrupted a feminine voice. The princess went ahead of them to push the button on the lift, then waited for Marcel to step in before she entered herself. “Allow me to apologize for my brother, Ms. Black. May I call you Rhiane instead? You will find that he is a good person once you get to know him, if you will give him a chance to --” 

What Calista was about to say was interrupted as the door of the lift slid open and she found two men in pristine white uniforms waiting for them. In between the two medics was a wheel chair. Marcel carefully placed Rhian down on the wheel chair then let one of the medics push the chair. As if afraid to disobey a direct order from the queen, he stayed beside Rhiane. Cally did the same.

[b]The morning after[/b]

Luke was inclined to spend the night with Sophia at one of their estates away from Florence, but a message from Calista telling him to urgently head back to Castello di Firenze made him change his mind. Why wouldn’t he after viewing attachment to the message that showed a recording from the live broadcast covering the scene with Sir Jin and Ms. Rhiane Black? 

She did trip after all. Such a clumsy peasant girl. 

It was bound to happen. Place a farmer girl in high heels and the chance of her stumbling would be almost a hundred percent. Yet he did not think that her clumsiness would cause him so much trouble. His disappearance could have gone unnoticed if it weren’t for her lack of balance. It was not his first time to sneak out of his mother’s parties, but it was the first time that he got caught. 

“What are you thinking about?”

Luke was absently toying with a few strands of wavy dark hair of the woman whose head rested on his bare chest. “Nothing much,” he mumbled. Despite having very little rest the night before, he was not at all sleepy. He was still thinking about the incident involving Sir Jin, and how it must have extremely angered his mother. On one hand, it was a win for him to be able to place the queen in a difficult situation, but on the other hand, the queen herself had every power to make his life miserable. The latter seemed inevitable. 

The crown prince got out of bed despite Sophia’s coaxing to stay a bit longer. He bathed and dressed in fitted gray long sleeves, black trousers, then threw on a casual black coat. The summons said 8:00am. It was thirty minutes before the appointed time. He could spend a little more time with Sophia, but the more he stayed in his suite, the more restless he got. Therefore, he left early and went straight to the queen’s private office.