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"What\'s taking her so long?" 

"Probably slacking off her royal duties, that\'s what."

​​

"I heard she had not been seen in the castle for weeks now! What in Kinshearth is she doing?"

The Nobles of the High Court were gathered in the Drawing Room. As their group was too large to accommodate in the Drawing Room alone, the entourage they arrived with had been arranged to take their rest elsewhere. 

Lord Ethan, Laina\'s first cousin, was amongst those who were waiting. He sat in the armchair with his leg crossed and arms folded. He watched as the hands of the clock ticked by. He tapped his arm as they continued to wait. 

A few kitchen servants had brought them light refreshments minutes before. However, the tea provided was not up to their standard so they had them bring a change of tea immediately. After the servants left, Ethan poured himself a cup of tea. 

"This will suffice," he muttered as he took a sip. 

"Lord Ethan, I must say, this cousin of yours needs to be taught a lesson! How dare she keep us all waiting like this," the woman dressed in a mint green dress complained. 

"Watch your tone, Lady Fontaine. This is the Crown Princess you\'re talking about," he warned. 

Although he did not believe Laina deserved the position she was in, respect still needed to be upheld. 

"My apologies, my lord. But certainly, you\'ve heard about her disregard for our long-standing culture! Our traditions-" 

Ethan held up his hand and Lady Fontaine immediately sealed her lips shut. 

"She has some interesting ideas, I would give her that. Let\'s just see for ourselves what she is made of," he replied. 

Ever since his formative years, Ethan desired to be King. When his uncle, Laina\'s father, took the throne instead, what was assumed to be a temporary decision became a permanent one. When the will of the King was read, Ethan realized his dreams of becoming King dissipated into a puff of smoke. 

But he was not about to give up so easily. 

He completed his studies at the academy and bided his time. One day, he would become King. Laina was losing the support of the nobility with each passing day which worked well in his favor. 

He had kept up good relations with almost all the Nobles of the High Court and many others. He was certain, they would give him their support should the time come. All he had to do now was to wait for Laina to slip up. 

Just then, the door clicked open. Everyone turned to see who it was, anticipating that their wait was over. But when they realized it was Margaret, all of their expressions turned sour. 

Despite the lackluster reception, Margaret held her head high, respectfully greeting the Nobles of the High Court. She knew they favored tradition above all else, so she kept up as much as she could. 

"Greetings, Nobles of the High Court. Thank you for gracing us with your presence this lovely morning," internally, Margaret took in a deep breath of air before continuing, "I regret to inform you that the Crown Princess is unavailable at the moment. I understand that you\'ve all-"

"What do you mean by she\'s unavailable, Margaret?" Lord Ethan asked in a cool calm tone. 

Out of all the Nobles of the High Court, Margaret disliked Lord Ethan the most. Not only because he was constantly plotting to take over the throne, but also his attitude towards those who were of lower rank than he. 

"Her Highness is still recuperating, so she will not take visitors at this time," Margaret replied carefully. 

This was a white lie. All in an effort to stall for as long as she could. She anticipated the backlash she was about to receive from the nobility. 

-I\'m doing this for you, Laina.- she said to herself as she braced herself for the nobles\' merciless onslaught. 

Much to her surprise, the first to explode was Lady Pennifer. She had remained silent since the very beginning. But it was clear that Margaret\'s reply snapped her last straw. But in true noble fashion, she did not raise her voice to get her point across. 

All she had to do was to sharpen her words. 

"You\'re clearly lying to us. Spit out the truth and be done with it," she snapped as she readjusted her small round glasses that rested on the ridge of her nose. 

She did not so much as give Margaret a glance as she spoke. She did not even address Margaret yet it was clear who she was referring to. The handmaid gritted her teeth. If she was in the Celestial Realm, she would never let anyone speak to her like this. 

Should it have happened there, the offender would have been incinerated by a beam of her radiant light. 

"Have you gone dumb, woman? Lady Pennifer is speaking to you," Lord Ethan spoke out. 

Margaret gathered her senses, having momentarily disconnected as she imagined the potential scenario in her mind. 

She cleared her throat before reiterating, "As I have already mentioned-"

"The audacity you have to speak to us like this! Clearly not only is the Crown Princess an incompetent ruler but also a pea-brained master who can\'t keep her own handmaid in check!" Lady Pennifer spat. 

Margaret gritted her teeth as she clenched her hands tightly into fists. Her entire body was shaking in anger but she had to keep herself still. If she was to so much as to raise her voice at Lady Pennifer, not only would she have disgraced Laina, she would also have to be punished. 

Margaret knelt down on the ground with her head held down low. She was facing the ground as she spoke, "My sincerest apologies, Lady Pennifer. My disrespectful attitude is simply unforgivable. I pray that you would be just and benevolent in your punishment for my behavior."

It would seem Margaret\'s words ignited a fire in the nobles present in the room. Because the next thing she knew, she was dragged out of the Drawing Room by some of the guards the nobles had brought along with them. 

The palace guards were shocked by what was happening, but none of them could do anything. News quickly traveled through the entire palace. Kol found out about it and so did the Queen\'s Order of Knights.