Queen Zena observed the face of the young prince without answering him immediately.
The look of determination on his face made her sigh as it meant that he would not let this matter go without gaining any proper answers.
Therefore, she decided to place her thoughts before him in the best way that she could.
"Have you ever had people place their expectations on you?" She questioned and smiled when she saw his confused appearance.
Of course, he would not know much about it since his elder brother, the King, had never burdened him with too many responsibilities.
All the King wanted from his younger brother was that he would live a happy and safe life.
Even the noblemen had not much information about this prince's current whereabouts so how could they possibly have any expectations of him?
"The people of my fief have their hopes on me to lead them in the future." Prince Draco revealed what he felt could answer her query.
At this statement, Queen Zena recalled having this conversation with her husband.
The King was worried about his brother who insisted on moving to the Roschester fief in the future after his coming-of-age ceremony.
While this would further strengthen Fritzen's position as the Crown Prince with no opposition from any other royal family members, she also understood that it must be a difficult decision for Draco to make.
He would be away from the only family he had known all his life but the Queen said nothing to dissuade him from what he was determined to do.
"So how would you feel if you failed them?" She questioned again, sitting with her back straight as she had been taught that way since she was a mere child.
Prince Draco frowned and that was enough to display how he felt about such a scenario taking place in the future.
"If you are already annoyed with this outcome then how would you react when you learn that you had no part to play in your failure?" She added which further confused him about what she was trying to say.
Prince Draco thought about everything she had spoken until now then reached a conclusion once he was done sorting out the information she had disclosed during their conversation.
"The expectations placed on Sister-in-law were destroyed and it was due to someone else's interference." He muttered what he understood from their exchange.
Before the Queen could nod in approval of his words, Prince Draco narrowed his eyes while looking right at her.
"And you think that Felly is that 'someone'?" His question made her purse her lips but she did nothing to deny his claims.
He could not decipher how that little girl could have done anything to ruin things for her mother.
From her birth, the Queen had been displeased with her which made him wonder if there was a deeper mystery which he was not yet aware of.
He had come over to have a talk about this matter after what he had heard from his subordinates.
Sigma and Horace had been in the Palace since it was a part of their duty as the joint heads of the Black Shadow Knights to ensure the King's safety.
The two men knew of their Master's fondness for his niece and would let him know if something crucial took place in her life.
Thus he had learned about what had happened a couple of weeks ago, on the Princess's birthday.
Both he and Prince Fritzen had been away and from what he had heard, the King was also busy that morning.
Though the King had wished his daughter early in the morning, he could not spend the day with her like he usually would.
Therefore, the Princess hoped that she could have a pleasant breakfast and spend a short while with her mother before her playmates could arrive at the Palace.
There was a small birthday celebration that would commence once they were here but Princess Felicia was more excited about being able to stay with her mother before they arrived.
However, contrary to what everyone expected, the Queen had only shown her face for a second at the breakfast table and left soon after passing the present she had prepared for the Princess.
The Princess was shocked to see the Queen leaving and could only stare at the empty seats around her before she left as well.
Sigma had revealed that the Princess was sad that she was alone and even when her mother had nothing better to do on that day, she chose to return to her room rather than stay with the birthday girl.
The King was busy and could only return before lunch but by that time, the playmates had arrived at the Rose Palace which seemed to have salvaged the situation.
On one side was his wife and the other was his beloved daughter.
King Ophire did not know what to do and could only accompany his daughter for evening tea and met again for dinner.
Thanks to his efforts, Felicia's dull eyes regained some light but he knew that she was deeply hurt by what had taken place in the morning.
"How could Felicia sabotage you, Sister-in-law?" Prince Draco questioned, indignant at what his niece had endured.
No matter what issue the Queen might have with her, she was just a child who wanted some company on her special day.
What was so wrong with staying with her for a few hours before her friends could arrive?
The Prince's voice contained irritation which made the Queen narrow her eyes as well.
"Hah!" She scoffed and clenched her fists at the young man who knew nothing but was still running his mouth before her.
The surprise on Prince Draco's face was unmistakable as he had never seen her scoff at anyone ever before.
"Everyone cares about Felicia but what about me?" She uttered through gritted teeth which indicated that she was not having a good time during this conversation.
The Prince wished to inquire what she was talking about but lost his chance when he saw the dismayed look on her face.
"She might have been born on that day but I almost lost my life… So tell me, should I rejoice each time I think about the day I almost died?" She interrogated while glaring at him but he knew that she wasn't truly looking for answers.
She was pouring out the dissatisfactions that had been buried deep in her heart and he could only sit in silence while letting her discard all the negativity that she had been harboring all along.
Noticing his lack of response, Queen Zena rubbed her forehead before disclosing something that she had never revealed to anyone else.
"I wanted nothing more than having the pleasure of being the mother of my husband's child." She spoke in a soft voice, reminiscing the events of the past.
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When Queen Zena first married into the Rosenhyde Royal family, her father-in-law had a word with her in private.
Through him, she learned that her husband had lived a lonely life despite having so many people around him.
His mother was often in a feud with the King's concubine which led to all sorts of troubles for their family.
While the King was also guilty for causing this mess, he could not turn back time to how things had been in the past.
He loved both his wives and was guilty towards them both.
However, Ophire was innocent and all he wanted was a sibling and when Draco was born, he was the happiest of them all.
Therefore, her father-in-law had requested her to give Ophire the joy of having a big family which he did not have during his childhood.
She had also witnessed how much he loved Draco which proved that the old man was speaking the truth.
When the Crown Prince ascended to the Throne and became the King, Fritzen had already been born.
However, for another year or so there was no good news which made the noblemen urge the King to have more children.
King Ophire had also revealed to her that he would like more children and being the love of her life, she was willing to do that for him.
When she conceived her second child, Queen Zena was exuberant as another symbol of love between her and her husband would be born into this world.
She nurtured her unborn child and did everything she could to keep it healthy and safe.
She did not care if the child was a boy or a girl and only hoped that it would be healthy once it entered this world.
On a sultry night, nine months later, she had gone into labor way before the date that the physicians had speculated.
The entire Palace was in a state of chaos as they had to rush everything to prepare for the Queen who was about to give birth.
Prince Draco had been there that night, waiting outside with his brother who was troubled about the safety of his wife.
The little baby Fritzen was too young to understand anything and was left undisturbed while the rest were fretting about the Queen and her second child.
Prince Draco too had been dozing off next to his brother whose eyes never left the door behind which his wife was struggling.
Her screams were muffled but he could still hear them which caused his heart to clench in pain for her.
"The Gods listened to my prayers and Felicia was born healthy.." Queen Zena smiled bitterly and choked while staring at her lap to hide the tears forming in her eyes.
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