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🕑 Added 2024-04-27 18:05:44 +0000 UTC21: A Figure of Speech
There is a saying in fairy tales that every Evil Queen is a Princess that no savior came in her hour of need.
In different circumstances, if Nadia hadn't transmigrated as Vivian, Princess Charlotte would have come to seek help only to find that Vivian is gone.
With no one to help her, the garden gets to be opened for the Prince and the Heroine only and four of the most precious herbs get taken away.
Moreover, the remaining eight herbs wilt and die soon after. After the engagement between the Prince and the Heroine is sealed, the Garden of Moon Lilies gets handed over to the Heroine and Princess Charlotte loses it forever.
To be so cruel to this child! Vivian's inner conviction of how messed up things are in this royal family was never stronger and an urge inside her was pushing her towards feeling disdain towards this broken family more and more.
"Guards! Come over here." Vivian called a guard of the inner palace. It wasn't the ones standing in front of the Garden's gate, but a different guard patrol.
Normally, Guards of the Royal Palace heed no commands from the noble guests and so Vivan moved beside Princess Charlotte and commanded.
"By the order of her Highness the Princess." She called once again.
The two Guards stopped in their tracks, turned around, and rushed towards the four women.
"Answering to her Highness!" The Guards stopped and hailed the Princess.
Princess Charlotte didn't know what Vivian was doing so she couldn't say a thing other than giving Vivian permission to speak in her name.
"Lady Vivian, you are my spokesperson." Charlotte said putting her trust in Vivian.
"Answer her Highness." Vivian spoke, "Who is the one supervising the Royal Guards in this area?"
"That would be Royal Knight Abraham Talbot, your Highness." One of the two guards answered, addressing the Princess.
"Sir Abraham Talbot is one of the King's men, my lady." The Royal Nanny stated.
"Call him here by the order of the Princess." Vivian rallied another command.
"By your orders, your Highness." The guard replied and rushed off as the second one kept on his position until the Princess dismissed him away.
A few minutes later, a knight was seen walking in the Palace and coming towards the group. He was a middle-aged man in a fancy Knight's suit with a sword by his side and a fancy feathered helmet in his hands.
"Your Highness." He approached and bowed to the Princess before turning to the others, "My Ladies."
"Sir Abraham, I am Vivian of House Moore and I speak for her Highness." Vivian said.
The Knight seemed unsure especially after hearing the name "Vivian Moore" but as the Princess showed a resolute expression, he bowed slightly to Vivian.
"I heed the words of her Highness." He said.
"Then, Sir Abraham, are you aware that the Garden of Moon Lilies was sealed by the command of his Highness Prince Liam and from the individuals that are prohibited from entering was her Highness?" Vivian asked.
"Yes, my Lady." The Knight replied with a tired face implying that this is not the first time the situation came to his attention.
"Does his Highness have the authority to give such a command?"
"... Yes." The Knight lagged a bit recalling the chain of command in his mind just to make sure he didn't fall in any mistake, "Most certainly yes. The Crown Prince can prohibit her Highness from accessing the Garden. I am very sorry to say that, but I am afraid my hands are tied, your Highness."
The Knight bowed to the Princess in apology.
"Let me rephrase the question, Sir." But Vivian was far from over, all the faces turned to her as she seemed to have gotten what she wanted at last, "Can his Highness, without any explanation, strip a member of the Royal Family from their official duties?"
The question was a low blow. The Knight can say neither Yes nor No and Edith starts backwarding the events in her head to see what Vivian is aiming for exactly.
As for the Knight, he was smart enough to avoid the question.
"I am but a Royal Guard, my Lady. I think such logistics are handled by the Palace staff." The Knight said.
Because the right answer is that only the King can do such a thing.
"Logistics, right." Vivian nodded, "But his Highness Prince Liam just ignored the procedures and stripped her Highness of her official duty."
"If Lady Vivian is referring to the Garden of Moon Lilies as the official duty of her Highness the Princess, then please provide evidence for that. Even more, provide evidence that holds enough power that the Crown Prince commands can't overwrite it." The Knight replied to Vivian, somewhat annoyed by her pestering.
It was then when Edith's eyes widened.
"No way!" She blurted.
"The Will of the late Queen Mother." Vivian said those words.
The Knight frowned, the Nanny tilted her head, the Princess was taken aback, and Edith was looking at Vivian in bewilderment.
Princess Charlotte just told them a minute ago about the last conversation she had with the Queen Mother on her deathbed. If Edith wasn't mistaken, these moments get recorded by the royal scribes in order to not pass a word that can be used as a form of Will.
A Royal Will isn't anything to be missed with, it is a very serious business.
"If the Will of the late Queen Mother had such a thing. If so, it would have been announced and I, of all people, should be aware." The Knight said in firmness.
"Not the Direct Will, the Recorded Will from the Queen's last moments." It wasn't Vivian who said that, but Edith.
Hearing that, the Knight took a deep breath and thought for a few seconds before nodding.
"We will have to confirm this with the Lord Chamberlain." He said, "This way, your Highness, my Ladies."
***
And they walked into the Royal Palace, the grandest building in the entire kingdom.
Edith has only visited this place once with her father when she was 10 and it has its own pressure.
Each chamber, each hallway, each hall, it was all a grand display of the power Elgard has as an imperialist Empire.
Under the great dome of the palace was a large hall that was the busiest in the palace as many knights and official scribes were coming and going as they managed the Empire's affairs.
"This way, your Highness."
Yet the voice of Sir Abraham Talbot broke the noise as he spearheaded a small entourage centered around Princess Charlotte. On her left was Lady Edith Black, behind her was Dame Olivia Marfont, and on her right was a face that was unexpected by all, the villainess Vivian Moore.
As the Princess walked, many of the men of the state started bowing and murmuring between themselves. Most of their words were directed against Vivian whom they assumed that she found her way back into the palace hy being on the Princess' heel.
Edith noted the words and the amount of disdain directed towards Vivian and kept mental notes in her head about all those people. Of course she isn't Vivian's friend and the interrogation is far from over but this amount of sidetracking should at least be fruitful to the investigation.
But the more she heard, the less she understood. Vivian is not popular indeed but no one can agree on how to hate her. The words that circulated around the palace were either pure slanderous, utterly unbelievable, or completely biased.
It didn't feel right that this is the atmosphere of a royal palace.
"We have arrived." The Knight said as he opened a large door on the first floor after ascending the wide stairway.
There, the group entered a large office in which the Knight ordered the stationed assistant to summon the Lord Chamberlain in the name of her Highness the Princess.
And the wait began.
Unlike how immediately Knight Abraham was summoned, the Lord Chamberlain is not just some simple Officer, he is the King's feet so to speak.
An hour passed until he finally appeared in front of the entourage. Once he entered, he didn't even spare a glance to anyone including the Princess until he reached the desk in his office.
"Your Highness." He spoke with a slight bow.
"Lord Chamberlain." The Princess nodded.
"Lord Chamberlain." Vivian', Edith, and Dame Olivia offered an official greeting to the man in return.
Nivell Musgrave, the Chamberlain of the Royal Palace and a Count of the same position as Lord Julian Moore. The man was a force to be reckoned inside this palace.
"You have 5 minutes." He said, "Do you even realize that the League of Nation's grand assembly will be held here in Elgard this year? Of all the times, you come to cause me trouble now?"
"We most sincerely apologize." Vivian spoke ahead of the five people present in front of the Chamberlain.
"And you are?" The Chamberlain asked.
"Vivian Moore, speaking for her Highness." Vivian replied.
"Vivian Moore?" The man narrowed his eyes fully recognizing the name.
Just a few days ago, he was the one who signed the annulment of the engagement between the Prince and his ex-Fiancée.
"If you are here to beg, go find his Highness." The man dismissed her in a second, "You're even bringing her Highness into this matter? Haven't Count Julian taught you any better?"
The last bit of his words were spoken loudly with his hand slapping the desk.
"Truly?" Vivian said, "I'll keep that in mind once I consider begging."
The calm reply smoothly implied that there is no begging happening tonight.
"If so then let the Princess speak for herself. Don't waste our time, girl." The Lord Chamberlain didn't even acknowledge Vivian and sided her from the conversation.
"We are here for Grandmother's Will." The Princess immediately took over.
"Why is that?" The man asked back.
"We believe that the Recorded Will contains a direct command… for me." The Princess replied as she hesitantly looked at Vivian.
"There was no such a thing." The Chamberlain said, "If there was any and we missed it… hmph! I don't think it is possible."
"That is an order." Princess Charlotte channeled her courage and demanded.
"I am afraid I can't help." He said, "Especially with the existence of strangers inside the House. Who knows what aims they want us to provide the means to?!"
Again with his attitude, the man displayed his distrust towards Vivian and refused the demands of the Princess.
"It was a figure of speech."
But then a voice came out and it was Edith. The moment she spoke, all eyes landed on her again causing her to shiver.
This situation is completely out of her comfort zone.
"I thought you were a man." The chamberlain said, eyeing Edith's short hair and unwomanly clothing, "Who are you?"
"From the Great House Black, my name is Edith, daughter of Marquis Lucius." She said.
The man seemed dejected since he insulted Edith. Her position is not simple and her presence is troublesome.
"And what is that you just said?" He asked.
"We believe that the late Queen Mother used a figure of speech to rally a command to her Highness. That's why we request clarification on the matter." Edith said.
The chamberlain grunted and decided to leave his chair. He surely can't miss a direct command from the Queen Mother's Will but as if it was a figure of speech, a lot of clarification will be needed.
At least this shouldn't be a waste of time if the Blacks were also involved.
He walked out through a door in his office for a few minutes and said he will return shortly.
"You look stunning by the way." Vivian said, directing her words to Edith.
"…" Edith furrowed her brows and turned slowly to Vivian who wasn't looking back, "Thank you."
This was clearly for what the chamberlain said about Edith's appearance just a while ago.
"It wasn't a wise thing to say, though." Vivian continued.
"What was that?" Edith asked.
"A figure of speech." Vivian pointed out, "It is troublesome to say such words. You were right, but let me help you out with this one."
Vivian's words were cryptic but they worried Edith all of a sudden. A figure of speech was the only excuse to move the chamberlain's ass off his seat, but judging by the words they heard from the Princess, it sounded like a figure of speech to Edith.
But it is a dangerous thing to consider now that she thinks about it.
Vivian is right, she shouldn't have said that. But then again, wasn't Vivian the one who urged her to help out with the Princess' ordeal since Vivian herself is disadvantaged as a High Society outcast.
Why is this getting so complicated?
After two minutes, the chamberlain returned with a large book that was sealed with a mechanism. He used his master key and opened it, only looking at its content by himself since the conversation is a national secret.
"Which part?" He asked.
"The part regarding the Garden of Moon Lilies." The Princess said.
He turned the page and looked again and again.
"Grandmother said that she raised the family like she raised the flowers in her garden. Only that she forgot that some of the roses carry thorns and poison. She told me to keep the poison off the garden and raise useful herbs and powerful trees." The Princess repeated the will that she remembered.
"It is not a figure of speech." Vivian said, "Isn't that right, Lady Edith?"
"Yes, I must have misheard it for the first time." Edith followed up, saving her own hide from the situation.
If it is truly a figure of speech, things would get very ugly. There is no way the Queen Mother uses such a figure of speech, an implication that there is poison in the Royal Family.
But in truth, it was a figure of speech. Edith was so scared to think of such a thing.
"Of course it is not." The chamberlain said, "So, what does her Highness demand?"
