Iria's lips curved into a little smile when she heard the news. However, just when she was about to rise from her seat, Andres quickly walked to her and pushed her back down. Then he turned to the attendant.
"You should go and greet the King. Tell him to come to this pavilion."
Orius and Empress Amina chuckled at the Crown Prince's little game while Iria frowned.
When will they stop playing around with Arin?!
The attendant looked at the Queen, waiting for her instructions. When he finally saw her nodding, he bowed and left.
"You should stop bringing up your little game," Iria bluntly said to her cousin and added, "You make me want to beat you up."
Letting out a laughter, Orius said, "Right. You beat Andres last time. Why don't we have another match? Perhaps, tomorrow?"
"I'm not interested," Andres Francia said with a sigh. "Not everyone can beat the Masked Commander."
Looking up at her cousin with a little yet obviously fake smile, Iria said, "I'm not the Masked Commander anymore. Orius already take charge of the army."
"I only do that because you begged me," Orius Alewine promptly argued. "Now, my hands are tied and I can't even go anywhere freely."
Andres chuckled and patted Orius on the shoulder. "Then you will have to brace yourself, Orius. For the achievement of the Alewine Army last time, my father plans to give you another title. You won't even have time to breathe anymore."
"No way!" Orius exclaimed. "Running the army is hard enough. Is uncle planning to kill me?"
"Your uncle is crazy for young talent," the Empress chimed in. "If he saw any youngsters with good talent, he won't let them out of his grasp."
Orius was so used to being indifferent to power and titles while he lived as the Second Prince. As such, he wasn't a fan of being busy all the time. However, the life he lived so far in Cedore was the complete opposite of that.
He worked hard and the officials and the people also accepted him. Now, after a year, he was a completely different man. He was now a true subject of the Cedore Empire and not the Second Prince of Jerivia, a fugitive in the heart of the Jerivians.
Seeing her brother's defeated and troubled expression, Iria smiled and gently patted him on the hand. "I'm sure that uncle knows what he does. You will do a great job," she calmly said.
Looking at his sister's face, Orius finally nodded. "I have to try."
"What took Arin so long?" Crown Prince Andres suddenly uttered and shifted his gaze to the gate that led to the pavilion where they stayed. Then a small smirk appeared on his lips. "Speaking of the devil," he muttered.
The Qalagon King was finally here and just as the cousins predicted, he was quite in a hurry. In no time, he reached the pavilion where they gathered.
Seeing his wife, Arin Helev leaned down to plant a brief kiss on her lips, making the cousins frowned at him. Ignoring them, Arin stood straight and slightly smiled. "Are you doing fine?" he asked.
Iria Helev nodded. "Did you have a safe journey?"
"Yes," Arin promptly replied and turned to the Empress. "It's been a while, Your Majesty," he greeted with a smile.
Empress Amina sighed but it was soon followed by a chuckle. "I thought that you don't even see me," she jokingly remarked.
"We are also here," Crown Prince Andres chimed in as he glanced down at his friend with displeasure.
Why must he always have eyes only for his wife?! He was always this way!
How selfish!
"I have eyes," Arin Helev simply said.
"Did you know that it's been more than three months since we last met?" Andres Francia snorted.
"You have no right to say that," Arin Helev argued. "Since our marriage, I'm always the one who came here. Our wedding was your last visit to my kingdom," he pointed out.
As Andres struggled for words to say, Orius laughed. "Arin is right this time. Just accept defeat for now." However...
When he looked at Arin Helev, he frowned. "Don't give me that face. I will make sure to come but... it seems like I'm up to more work."
The Qalagon King sighed and ignored the two men. Then he glanced around and asked, "Where is the Emperor?"
"Don't even get me started," Empress Amina quickly said. "He is just a workaholic."
Arin Helev chuckled at the Empress's response. "I think I understand him," he said without even thinking much.
His response reminded the Empress of the response that Iria gave her a while ago. "What a perfect match," she bluntly remarked. "You two are meant for each other."
From her tone, it was obvious that it wasn't a compliment but the couple still chuckled. Shifting her gaze to the gate, Iria said, "He's here, aunty. I think you will finally get to stop complaining."
Empress Amina turned to look at her husband who was making his way to the pavilion. Soon, Kalos Francia sat beside her. "The Duke of Granago have so much to say and it took me longer than expected," he explained.
"It's your birthday," the Empress uttered. "You should just do it tomorrow."
The Emperor smiled at his wife. "I know, Amina. I'm sorry."
When his wife stopped complaining, Emperor Kalos finally turned to Arin. "You arrive earlier than I thought," he remark.
Arin Helev nodded. "I managed to wrap up things earlier than planned. I don't want to miss your birthday party," he jokingly pointed out.
"I don't think that's the case," the Emperor said with a playful smile and looked at Iria. "You just can't wait to see your wife."
"That's also one of my reasons," Arin Helev confessed, making the Emperor laughed.
"Well, no matter what your reason is, I'm grateful that you are willing to travel a long distance to attend the party. I know you're very busy."
"You don't have to say that," Arin Helev promptly said. "We're all family. It's only right for us to support each other."
Kalos Francia nodded in satisfaction. "Then I hope everyone enjoys the party."
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