CH 13.1

Daniel turned his head from the view and stared at her intensely. She turned her head to meet his. As she looked at his blue eyes, now saddened, she felt her heart pounding strangely, as if it were going to take up wings and fly away. She had never been this… flustered by Anriq. Was it because he was so handsome? Or because the sight of the land beyond the roof in front of her eyes was that beautiful? Daniel smiled softly and spoke.

“Iveca, even now, all you need to do is to be confident. If you have something you want to say, you can do it without looking around.”

Iveca did not speak but did not break eye contact either.

“I will be honest with you,” Daniel continued, “As long as you’re happy next to me, that’s all I need.”

She could not believe the words that she had just heard. Suddenly, he was no longer the king who proposed to marry out of the blue. Iveca was almost afraid to even think of it, but when Daniel had whispered that all she had to do was be happy, she hardly thought she had enough self-esteem to believe in such a fairy-tale ending.

As Daniel gently brushed her black hair away from her face, Iveca turned away and spoke.

“If there’s something I can do for you… I want to achieve it quickly.”

“Why?”

“To be recognized as someone who can achieve something.”

There was silence. Perhaps the King, who had been loved since birth, did not understand her feeling of not being loved no matter what she did. Perhaps he just could not understand it. She would have done anything to become her father’s biological daughter by working hard, if such a thing were possible. If she had the courage or the misfortune to die, disappear from the world; she would not have been a nuisance to her family.

Her mother’s sin, the shame of the family, and being an object of countless backbiting words…. that was not something that could be eliminated by working hard. What her new family wanted, what Daniel wanted from her, was at least something she could do. She did not want to miss out on his kindness, the constant eye contact, and warm hugs. Even though he already had another woman in mind. She was his family now. By marriage and by his declaration.

Iveca lowered her head. Daniel was silent for a moment, then spoke in a strained manner, as though what he had to say was difficult to.

“There is something else you can do for me, Iveca.

The blue eyes that were looking at Iveca were strangely filled with little sadness.

“Yes?”

“Make a law for me.”

Iveca felt shocked and was sure she looked like it too.

“Make… a law?”

“Because you are a member of a royal family, an affiliated bureau officer and was born as a noble, you are the only one who can represent all three of Amethan’s ruling classes.”

Iveca was too surprised to answer. There were so many things that needed to be consulted before a law was enacted. The crown orders, authority of affiliated institutions, the results of the council of the nobles. The law was only used when a problem occurred or as a last resort. Battles for the throne or something like that. Therefore, it was natural that there were fewer people in the Judicial Affair Bureau than other affiliated agencies. Less power to the people.

Iveca shook herself out of her stupor to ask, “A law, why?”

Daniel’s face hardened. “Iveca, have you ever heard of republicanism?”

Iveca nodded. It was a rather heavy word in the kingdom. The inevitable conclusion of the Republican Revolution, should it be left unchecked, was to bring down the King and kill him. Of course, any normal King should have had an antipathy to republicanism. Daniel was no different.

“The world is too complicated to rely on one person’s judgement. Amethan is peaceful now, but the next ten years could change the kingdom more than the past 1,000 years did. And not in a good way.”

The past few months flashed through Iveca’s mind at his words. The family tree of the royal family with five circles on it, Reina’s assessment of Daniel being the most suitable King in this era, and Ewil’s advice that he was afraid because he did not really know what the king’s thoughts were…

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Daniel interrupted her train of thought. “I do not want Amethan to be swept away by the Republican Revolution. I do not want to be a victim of a terrible civil war, nor do I want my kingdom to fall. Republicanism is the idea that there is a law above leadership. I think even a monarchy can put the law first. Which is where you come in, Iveca. I would like you to draft a law that satisfies all the royalty, nobles, and affiliated organizations. To stem the tide of the revolution.”

“Hold on, Your Majesty,” Iveca spoke with nervousness in her voice, “If I do, does it mean that the law I make is above the King’s order?”

Daniel nodded. “As you might have heard from the Bureau of Investigations staff, I brought Ethan Enrich into the palace, and the result was his betrayal. Even the royals cannot make all the decisions wisely.”

“But more than the authority of an affiliated organization? Especially the authority of the Bureau of Investigation…”

Daniel interrupted again. “The Bureau of Investigation failed to assassinate Rihan Kadmin when given the chance. They are not above scrutiny either.”