CHAPTER THIRTY
“Sorry for barging in this way”, Nathaniel apologized with his head bowed.
Liam heaved a massive sigh of relief, while Alyssa sneakily walked out after wearing a fake smile to the servant.
Once she left, Liam gazed at Nathaniel who was looking at him with a face he was not so sure about . It was as though he was asking why he went back to her after they talked about it already. He was right about it, because his next question proved just what his expression carried.
“You went back to her? What happened to the plan of avoiding her?” Nathaniel asked with a massive scowl on his face.
He loved Liam so much. Inasmuch as Liam was his master, he wouldn’t hesitate to give him advises when he thought he was going astray.
“Well…I actually went back to her”, Liam replied, digging his hands into his head and looking away in embarrassment.
He couldn’t believe that Nat walked in on them…It could have been anyone.
“What if it was the queen? Or any other servant who wouldn’t stop the gossip of how they found Alyssa wandering around with a stranger in the palace?” Nathaniel asked and for a minute, Liam kept mute to think of the perfect answer.
He was right to some extent. No one in that palace had an idea that he was the hidden prince they all gossiped about. However, Alyssa stood at risk because if she gets caught with him, it would be passed that she was loose to a stranger.
“The queen can’t actually walk into this room”, Liam said with a small laughter.
He was wondering why the queen would suddenly decide to leave her chambers and settle on roaming around the palace.
“Well, not anymore”, Nathaniel divulged while Liam glared at him shock.
He adjusted his cloth and folded his hands to his chest, ready to understand what Nathaniel meant by the utterance he had just made.Text © by N0ve/lDrama.Org.
“The queen knows about you and Alyssa!” Nathaniel spewed while Liam glared at him as though he have seen a ghost.
Liam broke into a loud laughter that ended up bringing out some tears from his eyes. He thought that Nathaniel was only telling him that because he wanted him to stay away from Alyssa.
He stopped laughing when he saw the seriousness in Nathaniel’s face.
“Are you being real?” He asked and Nathaniel nodded his head in affirmation.
“You need to be careful now. The queen won’t find it funny that you’re having something to go with a maid”, Nathaniel advised after which he bowed and walked out of the room.
Liam was stunned that for the next minutes, he couldn’t utter a word. He had thought that his relationship with Alyssa was very discreet because he tried so hard to come out only at night.
***
Liam paced around his room, with his hands on his chin and his eyes flashing with glints of worry. He thought of how the queen knew about his relationship with Alyssa and unknowingly, his heart pounded in fear.
After spending some moment in his room thinking of the next thing to do, he resorted to paying the queen a visit. He needed to have an idea of what she was thinking about and if Alyssa was still safe or not…
He met his mother in the dining section of her chambers, sipping from a cup of tea and staring into space.
It was clear that she was lost in thoughts about something and details of what it might be bothered Liam greatly.
He sauntered towards her and once he was some foot away, he lowered his his head in respect.
“Hello, mother!” The queen lifted her head and gave a meaningful smile.
“For ages, I’ve waited for you to come”, she said with an aura that was hard to ignore.
“I’m here now”, Liam said, trying so hard to sound calm and relaxed.
“Sit”, his mother ordered and pointed out a chair for him to sink into.
Liam took in a deep breath, after which he sank into the chair and focused his gaze on her.
The atmosphere was tensed and they both knew. Different thoughts swirled around their minds and Liam was certain that it was about Alyssa. Their eyes had a lot to say, but none of them made an effort towards being the first to lead the conversation.
Liam was growing exhausted and the queen was becoming tired too. She wanted him to talk to him about anything that might be going on in his life, including his relationship with the maid. But then, he only glared at her like a fool, this pierced her heart.
“Mother, you appear to have an array of thoughts flowing through your head”, Liam finally summoned up courage to start up the conversation. After all, he was the one who wanted to know what the queen currently had in the deepest part of her heart.
The queen chuckled calmly, after which she dropped her mug of tea on the table.
“Do I?” She asked rhetorically and Liam nodded in affirmation.
“A mother would always have her worries. I mean, which mother would stay out of worries, especially with issues relating to her son?” The queen asked and Liam shrugged.
His mother was always known of moving around topics in circles. However, he could point out that she was about to spill something relating to him. At this, he kept mute and decided to play along.
“Tell me mother, what bothers you about your son? And which of your sons?” Liam asked, gulping down hard and wiping off the sweats that had formed on his forehead.
“You”, the queen said and abruptly, he sat up to listen with rapt attention.
“Tell me about it, mother…”, Liam demanded, peering piercingly into her eyes and searching for answers.
“When would you get a wife and partner?” The queen asked and for a minute, Liam thought that he had heard wrongly.
“What?” He asked with his eyes widened in surprise.
She nodded her head, gesturing for him to go on with giving the answer.
“Mother! You know that I hate having conversations about marriage and yet you keep bringing it up”, he said with clear dissatisfaction in his eyes.
His mother smiled calmly after which she picked up her cup of tea and sipped from.
She dropped it back after a while and glared at him.
“If you are not ready for marriage, why does your recent actions say otherwise?” She asked and for a minute, Liam went blank.
He tried to talk, but the words remained stuck on his throat.
“My recent actions?” He asked, trying so hard to feign ignorance.
He wanted to hear her talk about Alyssa directly, but she was only moving round in circles and that made him more uncomfortable.
“You don’t have to feign ignorance. I’m your mother and can tell when something new is going on in your life”, the queen said with a smile that heightened the tension Liam felt.
“Have you heard a news about me?” Liam asked inquisitively, peering piercingly into her eyes and searching for answers.
He was tired of the games she was playing because from her mere appearance, she knew something was going on between him and Alyssa. She just didn’t want to mention it.
The meeting with his mother ended without getting the actual information he wanted. He had no option other than to return to his duties as well as meetings that awaited him.