The Queen turned to look at Sylvia sternly. "Did you perhaps notice that my horse was sick and decided to still continue riding it anyways?"
"Ah… I…" Sylvia stammered, though inwardly she was calm and steady.
She didn't want to answer the Queen just yet. Otherwise, the snakes hiding in the dark wouldn't have a chance to come out and dance.
And just like she had expected… before she could even gather her answer…
Ah! Priscella gasped, suddenly standing up and apologizing to the Queen out of nowhere. "Your highness. Please. You have to forgive me and please forgive Miss Sylvia. This is all my fault."
Anastasia turned to look at the woman in surprise. "What do you mean, Lady Priscella?" She asked, her voice still stern, but also softer as she was addressing the Duke's daughter.
"This… perhaps if I hadn't been so competitive…" Priscella stammered.
"Hmmm?" The Queen raised her brow. She was not satisfied with her apology or her answer.
Fidgeting with her fingers, Priscella nervously continued. "Ummm… Your highness… Miss Sylvia is really not used to handling beasts. She couldn't have possibly known even if there was something wrong with the horse."
"Please forgive us. We really shouldn't have inconvenienced your highness today."
"Hmmm… How about you stop making excuses for her, Lady Priscella?"
"It doesn't take an experienced tamer to know that an animal is weak. So how could she possibly not even have noticed it?"
Just when the Queen was talking and everybody was discussing, footsteps sounded and Mikel arrived along with a couple of guards.
He saw the crowd that had gathered and immediately had a bad feeling. He tried to get here as soon as possible and it looked like he was already late.
"Ah… Your highness…" Priscella immediately bowed as soon as she saw Mikel and hurried over to stand beside him, her head bent down as if she was an obedient wife.
Mikel couldn't be bothered with her acting right now and directly stepped towards the Queen. "Greetings, your highness." He bowed respectfully.
Unlike how the Queen had addressed him as her son, Mikel never addressed her as his mother. This usually made things a bit awkward, but everyone was already used to it.
"Hmmm… You are here." Queen Anastasia nodded.
Mikel looked at Sylvia, worry written all over his face but she nodded at him back, a quick, unnoticeable assuring nod that made him wonder what was going on.
"Your highness, it looks like I have arrived too late. Did I miss something interesting?" Mikel smiled and asked calmly, not showing his nervousness.
The Queen on the other hand didn't look as amused as him. "Your two women have kicked up quite a bit of fuss, son." She shook her head with a sigh.
"Your highness…" Priscella looked up helplessly and then leaned closer to whisper in Mikel's ears, behaving very intimately in front of everyone.
Even though a horse was currently bleeding and neighing in pain in front of their eyes, the women gathered couldn't help but ooh and aah at this interaction which looked very heartwarming.
"Young love." The Queen herself chuckled and shook her head again, which made Priscella blush even more. She gulped and stepped back after explaining everything to Mikel, of course, her version of what happened.
Though she had spun quite a tale, Mikel was able to quickly see through what actually happened.
"Your highness. I personally apologize for everything that has transpired. Please allow me to take care of this and if needed replace the beast with a stallion."
"Hmm… That is not needed, Mikel. We have the best physicians in the court, I am sure they are more than capable of nursing black arrow back."
"What concerns me is the behavior of your new mistress…" Anastasia hummed in deep contemplation.
She was already not very fond of Sylvia, considering that she was a slave and now seeing how cut throat the woman had behaved, she hated her even more.
"It's alright to take as many mistresses as you please. After all, the more children you have, the happier I will be."
"However, it is not prudent of you to select women who lack manners and more importantly kindness."
"Title and status can be gifted and a maid can become a mistress overnight, but that won't help with their upbringing. No matter what, a commoner will be a commoner and try to get ahead using cheap tactics."
"Do you understand what I am trying to tell?" The Queen lifted her tea cup and took a sip from it.
Mikel immediately looked at Sylvia with a stern disapproving look. "I understand, your highness. I will keep that in mind and make some changes."
Priscella had a big smile on her face, as she wasn't able to contain her joy. However, it was hidden as she kept her gaze down.
Everything was going according to her plan and she couldn't have expected better results.
"What are you going to do now, slut? He will never look at you the same ever again. Hmph." She clenched her hands in excitement.
She could clearly see that Mikel was angry. The man who was always calm and gentle was now visibly angry.
"I will see to it that she is punished accordingly." He nodded with a sigh and bowed. "Go back to the room and kneel on the floor until I get back."
"Please excuse us, your highness. I will sort this out immediately." Mikel grabbed Sylvia by hand and pulled her away roughly.
Priscella who had been grinning happily this whole time, suddenly, an uneasiness in her heart. She didn't like how Mikel was still treating her very intimately.
Even though he was brashly shoving her, in her eyes, something looked off.
"Not so fast, son." Anastasia hummed. The person who had created all this mess had not in the least opened her mouth and said anything.
So she wasn't planning to let this matter go just yet.
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