Chapter 67 - Marry~

Esme was not used to be so informal to the Royals. Having been raised as a Princess, the rules were well instilled in her mind. Her Uncle was the King and she was only allowed to address him as 'Royal Uncle' in private. 

But in Visteria, everything seemed different. The royal family was very welcoming towards her and she felt warm.

And as they say, blood sure runs thicker than water. Their nephew won't let her address him formally and they are on the same path.

''Uncle, Aunt,'' She was a little guilty of lying to them but as things were, she had to keep up the pretense, ''I don't see His Majesty...'' She said, taking a seat gracefully when Duchess Flora pointed her hand at the chair, an amicable smile was settled on the lady's face that replicated her husband's.

They looked happy when she complied with their wishes.

Duke Maverick waved his hand and a maid immediately came to serve the food. 

Esme noticed the shriveled skin of his palm as his robe tilted. During the dinner last night, she noticed that while sitting beside the King, Duke Maverick appeared much older than his elder brother. 

She averted her gaze back to the food, not letting her thoughts to be reflected on her face.

''Elder Brother is having a good discussion with my willful nephew,'' Duke Maverick passed the pastries to the Little Lady. 

''I have troubled him,'' she appeared regretful. Esme smiled a little cunningly in her heart. I will see if you still come to provoke me after getting an earful from your father. With that thought, she took a bite of the pastry, savoring the sweetness that filled her mouth.

Duchess Flora smiled, ''There is no trouble in this. It is time for our Prince to learn how to treat his wife properly.''

''Cough..'' Esme choked on the food as she coughed profusely, barely managing to swallow it. 

Duchess Flora stood up from the chair as she patted her back, ''Be careful.'' 

Duke Maverick passed her the glass of water, ''Here, take this.''

Esme smiled at them gratefully, a little uneasiness remained in her heart. When they come to know that she was fooling them with their nephew, they would not try to choke her with that glass of water. She convinced herself.

On the other side of the Castle, inside the King's grand chamber, Alexander glanced at his son sternly. 

If Esme was there, she would have noticed that the King's room paled in comparison to Aleister's despite being magnificent.

Aleister, who was sitting on the King's bed, with a laid-back expression on his face tilted his hand and waved his finger, pointing it at a certain corner. 

The maid who was standing at the corner walked forward and placed the basket of grapes beside the Prince before she retreated. 

Alexander's lips twitched as he glanced at his son who started eating grapes, without paying much attention to him.

He waved his hand and the servants left the room. ''You are not asking why I summoned you?"

Aleister held a grape between his teeth for a moment before putting it inside his mouth with the tip of his tongue, ''It has been a little time since I last saw you. Old man, you have gotten older.''

Alexander frowned, ''Having a son like you, it would not be too much if you wake up to find me in the coffin one day,'' He scoffed. 

Aleister licked the sweetness of the grape off his lips as he leaned back, crossing one leg above the other, his ice-blue eyes looked uninterested in everything.

''What's the use of having that amorous face when you can not treat your wife well?" Alexander no longer looked like the mighty King. He instead resembled a Father who was at his wits' end around his son. 

''When did she become my wife?" Aleister was amused, the corner of his lips tugged up. 

One could almost see the fume coming from the King's head, ''You want to discard her after....?'' He did not complete his words but one could understand what he meant to say when the mild-tempered man had turned red in anger.

I am afraid she will be the one to discard me. Aleister's lips twitched. 

Seeing that he remained silent, Alexander exploded, ''Apologize to her and coax her. Your mother had passed away years ago but even if she was alive, she would not have made it had she known how frivolous her son is,'' There was a sense of unmistakable sadness in his voice at the mention of that person, ''Tell me more about the girl's family. I will talk to them. You are marrying her.''

Aleister pushed himself to his feet as he grabbed a few grapes from the basket. 

''Where do you think are you going?" 

''Didn't you ask me to apologize to her?" It seems like that naughty little thing had incited this old man against him to a good extent.

''How could you think of...What did you say?" Alexander's eyes widened briefly as he looked at him in contemplation, ''You will apologize to her?"

Aleister nodded. 

''Go,'' Alexander masked the shock in his heart as he waved his hand. He is willing to apologize to someone?

Knowing what he was thinking about, Aleister dropped another grape in his mouth as he walked out. His footsteps halted when he reached the doorway. 

His eyes narrowed looking at the man who was standing beside the guards. 

''My Lord,'' Aiden had a gentle smile on his face as he bowed. 

''Oh, blind man...'' As the smile on his face disappeared, Aleister's lips curved up, ''Don't be offended. You usually walk with your eyes closed and bump into 'my' people. I assumed you were blind.''

The man named Aiden smiled as he tilted his face to the side, his silver hair fell in front of his face, "I seemed to have offended My Lord. That day, Lady Esme was absent-minded when she bumped into me," He briefly said before bowing at him as he stepped inside the King's room. 

You will be absent-minded when I cut that tongue off.. Aleister narrowed his eyes, but the smile on his face did not falter.