Chapter 228
1155words
I leaned back on my chair, retaining my eyes on Diana and patiently waiting for her to speak as Sapphire was.
She bit her lower lip, seemingly thinking deeply about what she should do next. After a while of hesitation, she took a deep breath of courage and cautiously asked, “Princess, do you happen to still remember Lily?”
Lily… Of course I do. I could still feel the anxiousness radiating in me, which she caused because she couldn’t stop herself from gossiping around. Despite that, though, she’s very responsible in her job, so I didn’t reprimand her.
After all, gossip was the usual way for everyone to pass the time. It’s only unfortunate that Aaden heard them talking.
Nonchalantly, I nodded. “Yes, she’s the one who talked about Aaden being look like…” Something seemed to stick in my throat, giving me a difficult time to continue. “Look like… the alpha of Dark Moon Pack.”
“Are you being uneasy related to her?” I pressed on.
I observed her reactions, and I could see her fidgeting her fingers, nervousness radiating all over her.
She swallowed and cleared her throat. “Lily has always been a hardworking and honest servant of the kingdom for years, but…”
Looking down, she continued in a tone of pity, “Because of that incident… she was severely punished. S-she… she was locked up for three days without meals or water and is abstain from two months of salary.”
“What?” I sat up straight, completely shocked by what I heard.
Who punished her? And that severely? Her mistake wasn’t that serious to undergo such a thing. And most importantly, why haven’t I been notified of this?
Questions kept coming at me and I’m rocking my brain for answers on it.
Brows furrowed to getting, I leaned on my desk and asked promptly, “Who ordered that?”
Pearls of sweat formed on her forehead as she exuded great nervousness. Stammering, she replied, “I-it’s Sir. Albert.”
Hearing her reply, my breathing hitch, not expecting such an answer from her.
Then, she rushed in to add, “Initially, Sir. Albert asked everyone to keep it a secret, but…” Tears formed in the corner of her eyes. “I feel so sorry for Lily. She and I are both omegas, and we’ve been very loyal to the royal family, but…”
She stopped speaking, keeping her head low, which broke my heart. It’s obvious how nervous and in pain she was.
I was aware that Diana was an omega like Lily but she’s always been my friend as well. I could understand what she was feeling.
Despite being close to me, when she heard Lily face such punishment, she probably got scared and worried that she might find herself in the same situation as Lily in the future, especially since there weren’t any kingdom laws that protected the rights of omegas.
Now that I thought about it, it seemed as though I overlooked that one fact. I’ve been in their shoes before. Maybe someday, I could do something about it.
The tears Diana’d been trying to hold finally streamed down her face, bringing more pain in my heart.
Couldn’t hold it any longer, I hastily stood up from my seat and approached her, gently hugging her and letting her feel the warmth of being comforted. Leaning my mouth close to her ears, I ordered to her, “I will have a good talk with Albert about it.”
Then, pulling away a bit, I stared deeply into her eyes, letting her see the sincerity in me as I softly said, “Always remember this, Diana. To me, you are not just a servant. You’re my friend.”\
Moved by my words, her silent tears turned into sobs as she hugged me tightly back, swearing, “I value so much too, Princess. I swear on my life I’ll forever be loyal to you.”
I smiled and pulled away, helping her wipe her eyes dry. “Now, stop crying.”
We laughed a bit at our silliness. Seeing the smile back on her face, I breathed a sigh of relief.
“Thank you, Princess.”
I nodded. “Don’t ever hesitate to talk to me again.”
With that, she left the room, leaving Sapphire and me alone.
Once I got back to my seat, Sapphire stood upright in front of me and asked me with confusion, “Why is Sir. Albert being so harsh to a servant?”
She seemed to think for a while. “According to my research, he’s always been a kind person.”
I sighed before smiling bitterly. As irrational it was, I understand his reason. “Lily… she touched Albert’s bottom line.”
Confusion still lingered in her eyes, but she formally asked, “Do you need me to check what happened in detail? Should I do a background check on Sir. Albert?”
I looked intently at her. “Do you know that Albert is my future husband? He’s my fiancee.”
I narrowed my eyes at her, testing what she would do. It’s known by everyone that Albert would be my husband, hence my other half, who’ll help me govern the kingdom.
Would she really risk being on his bad side by doing a background check on him?
Initially, I thought I’d see a moment of hesitation from her, but she remained calm.
She looked straight into my eyes and asked, “But the only person I need to be loyal to is you, the princess, right?”
Her reply took me for a second. She was so calm and convicted to her reply that my heart wavered a bit. I didn’t know what I was expecting her to say, but that question wasn’t it.
I admiringly stared at her. There, right in front of me, was the beta that everyone was dreaming of having. A beta whose loyalty is only retained by her Alpha and no one else; not even her partner.
“Indeed, you made the right choice peaking her,” Trisha agreed.
Smiling, I nodded. “You’re right. You said it right. You’re proving to me more and more how right and lucky I was to pick you.”
Getting back to the business, I let her sit while I browsed through the staff information that she handed over to me. Once again, my eyes landed on Mr. K’s position.
Everyone else’s information was several pages long, while his was only a few lines. And most of it was already known by everyone.
Seeing the doubts in my eyes, Sapphire explained, “It seems to me that Mr. K is deliberately making efforts to conceal his identity.”
“But…” She pointed at one part of her report. “I found through the banking system that Mr. K’s organization seems to have business dealings with the Dark Moon Pack.”
Hearting that pack’s name instantly brought an ache in my heart. I followed where she pointed out, and my eyes lingered on the words “Dark Moon Pack”. Never in these years did I think I’d hear and see that name again in official business.
