The room was silent for a few long seconds as the King slowly got to his feet.
"You impudent wretch, how dare you?"
The King’s voice was soft, but deadly as he stalked down from the throne. However, Thorvald didn’t back down.
"I have made my claim, and I meant every word of it." He insisted, all of the flamboyant buffoon persona stripped away as he squared his shoulders to uphold his tarnished honour.
Duke Saldock simply looked disgusted by the entire situation.
The purity and chastity of a Royal Bride was generally unquestionable. If any such incident had happened in the past, she would have been forced to wed to avoid public shaming, but Thorvald had dared to do something so audacious in public.
Once word got out, the King of Bostoveria wouldn’t bless their union until Thorvald was dead.
But for Duke Saldock, this was nothing more than a political deal. Sealing a trade alliance with Cygnia through the influence granted as a son-in-law. He had no particular interest in the Princess herself, other than for her influence.
But that didn’t mean he was not enraged by Thorvald screwing everything up at the last second.
"We will resolve this in private. The three of you, follow me. The rest of you are dismissed. Enjoy the festivities." The King declared, then dragged Thorvald out of the room by his ear, while the delinquent Nobleman smiled at Princess Josephine.
Who slapped him across the face.
Then smiled back at him.
Alexis grabbed Dominic by the hand and dragged him back down the hall to her suite, with her Royal Guard detachment falling in behind them.
The second that the door was closed and latched, Alexis turned on Dominic.
"Goddess, can you believe it? Thorvald, of all people. THORVALD! Father is going to kill him, then order him resurrected so that he can kill him again." She gushed, waving her hands in excitement.
"That man had better bring healing potions to his own wedding." Dominic agreed.
A knock at the door interrupted their conversation, and Colonel Wilkes stepped into the suite, along with the other nine members of the Royal Guard.
"Your Highness, no gossiping without us." The Colonel joked, then patted the Princess on her armoured shoulder.
"It’s good to see you back home safely. What happened to the Natural Sons’ Regiment?" He asked.
"The Crown Prince asked them to remain in Albroles. The city is informally under occupation, as the Regiment is providing security to the Palace during the transition.
Viscount Boscom is now King Gustave the Ninth, but it is highly likely that there will be a civil war beginning within Dagos before the month is over.
Prince Kaizon has been stirring up trouble, and he’s got the majority of the Northern Lords behind him." Alexis explained.
Colonel Wilkes nodded. "That is understandable. We were instructed to ensure that you both knew that the King intends for you to depart in the morning again, headed for the estate he has granted you.
We will accompany you this time, as we don’t expect to come back to the Palace until you are summoned again.
I believe that there are maids gifted to you in your dowry as well, so be sure that we don’t leave anyone behind when we go. They would be most distraught if they were left at the palace like an unwanted dress when you departed for the estate.
Your marriage has been quite the topic of conversation lately, you know."
Alexis chuckled. "I would imagine so. With the rushed nature, and of course, the circumstances, the gossip mongers must have been going wild."
"You have no idea. It will be good to get away from the Palace for some time. Did you want to pick up anything before we leave? Or would you like to have it all shipped to you later? The staff will pack your clothing and personal effects." Colonel Wilkes asked.
"Is there a particular reason that we’re being hurried out of the Palace so quickly?" Alexis asked, and the Colonel froze, unsure if he should answer that.
"Your hesitation tells me that the answer is yes, so you might as well come out with it." She continued.
The leader of her Royal Guards sighed, then nodded. "Yes, there has been significant instability in the region where your new holdings are. But that’s only a part of it.
The King wants his children all out of the Palace during the negotiations, as he believes that there will be another major attack on the Capital.
Now that you are married and have duties outside the Palace, he has the perfect excuse to send you away.
If it were up to him, there would not have been a stopover here at all, and the airship would have dropped you directly at Wistover. However, there are many foreign Royals and Nobles present, so a formal recognition was needed to ensure that they couldn’t pretend to be unaware of your marriage and title."
"So, the delicate Princess is being sent away to keep her out of politics?" Alexis asked sarcastically.
"Or, so you don’t stab anyone. Your sister already has on more than one occasion, and we are all aware that when the twins are together, the trouble multiplies." The Colonel joked.
There had to be more going on here than she was aware of.
Many of the border barons in that portion of the country had been executed as traitors to the crown, the territory that they were given was essentially barren, abandoned for a decade, and now they were being rushed along out of the palace like unwanted visitors.
Not like family, and certainly not like familiar faces who worked in the palace.
Colonel Wilkes could tell that she wasn’t convinced by his version of events, but he wasn’t privy to all of the details behind the King’s decisions, and with Princess Alexis away, his team only got news from the briefings secondhand from the other Royal Guards.
They didn’t deliberately keep secrets from the other Royal Guards, but it wasn’t the same as having been there yourself.