"That was scary..." Eon grumbled as he sighed.

'What is?'

What is so scary about a queen arriving? Now I am more curious than before! I'll make sure my brother would tell me every single detail later.

The buzz from the sudden appearance of the queen wasn't dying. Albeit discreet, one could hear some conversations happening nearby in low voices. They are careful because if they get caught talking shit about the royal family, they die. Plain and simple.

This is why I always have a heart attack every damn time Eon opens his mouth. I just know he will just speak nonsense. Everytime he does, he always takes one step closer to his grave.

This is why I'd rather sew his mouth shut just to keep him alive.. I keep wondering how he gets away with it. Do palace people have poor hearing? I mean, he sometimes yells out, you know. Not that I want them to hear it or anything...

"I didn't know we have a Queen," I honestly stated and looked at them.

It was in a whisper so that no one would hear except them. I don't know if it is an offence so I'd rather be careful. I'm not Eon who blurts out whatever shit he thinks of.

"To be fair, I just only remembered it again," Gwen said.

"At least you know," I rebuked.

Bea covered her mouth with a tissue. It may look like she's wiping it off but she was doing it so no one would see she's actually talking.

"Queen Regina is a sensitive topic even in the palace," she remarked.

Is she?

"Why?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Well, there's this whole backstory about the three monarchs when they were still not sitting on the throne," Conrad mused.

"It was such a big scandal back then too," Eon agreed.

He's talking as if he is already born during those times. This guy...

"I don't think we should be gossiping about it now," Luther interjected.

His face shows that he is worried that something would happen to us if we talk about it right now. After all, we're still on palace grounds. We shouldn't even be engaging on such sensitive topics that involve the royal family.

Fine, fine, fine. But I will research it just because it seemed interesting. And the Empress is a blood relative of mine, I'm just looking after relations... that's all... Oh, and I have to be knowledgeable about our empire, you know. I have no ulterior motives at all, nope! Nothing.

I glanced at the thrones again, stealing a look. Queen Regina looked well, though I could not really tell from how far I am. The Emperor and Empress don't look bothered. Ezekiel was, eh? Where the hell did he go?

The spot where he was at just moments ago is empty. Well, not completely empty, there's still Janus there. It was such a peculiar sight how it looks like there's some kind of circular barrier around him. He's alone, but he doesn't look lonely.

If anything, he looked like he's happy, judging from that pleased smile on his face as he held a glass of wine.

'That's so creepy... I mean... unusual. Ahem.'

How can he afford to not feel bored all this time? If I was in his shoes, I would have been so bored to the point of madness.

His eyes were directed to some younger men not far from him who was minding their own business. I then saw him flick his index finger towards them.

I might be seeing things but I saw a quick flash of light when he did that. On cue, the silent people suddenly looked at each other and what transpired next was a little weird. They just broke out into a heated discussion of whatever it was. They looked like they were ready to throw down!

'What the hell is he doing?'

As I was checking him out, he suddenly turned his head towards me and met my stare head on for the second time this night. His golden eyes seemed to sparkle playfully as he held my gaze.

Janus tilted his head slightly to the right, or that's what I thought he did. He also raised his free index finger, the same one from earlier, and brought it towards his lips, shushing me.

For what feels like an eternity, we were having a staring showdown. I don't even know if one of us blinked or how many minutes had passed by then.

I blinked away the spell and frowned.

'Hmmm? What was I doing just now?'

"Nadia? You alright?" Gwen tapped me on my shoulder.

"I... yeah, I'm fine. I just..." I blabbered and frowned again.

There was an uncomfortable thrumming in my head, as if there's something there that is battling with another something. Ah, to hell with my vocabulary.

I touched my forehead in reflex. It wasn't painful but it was really bothering me.

Bea also turned to me, "Are you still drunk?"

"Maybe you need more fresh air. Let us accompany you Nadia," Kai offered.

I smiled at them amidst my confusion.

"No, no. I can go on my own. I'll just go quickly to the restroom."

"Are you sure? We don't know if it's safe to be wandering alone." That was Gwen.

"Yeah, I'm a knight and a vice-captain. Let me escort you to wherever you want to go." Eon, obviously.

"We are inside the palace hall, what bad thing could happen to me here?" I said while chuckling.

They are worrying for nothing. Anyone can tell that the safest place would be in the presence of the monarchs. Well, actually, it could go either way but I'm just saying that, as long as the monarchs are here, the security would be more than usual.

I'm sure there are secret guards everywhere, blending in with the crowds and in the shadows.

"You must be forgetting that you have extreme admirers, Nadia," Bea pointed out.

"Oh, it's fine! I'll hit them where it hurts the most before they could even get to me," I said and whirled around to leave.

They seemed like they wanted to protest but because I kept rejecting their offer, they just worriedly watched me as I went on my way.

The thrumming in my head was still present like an annoying bee buzzing around inside my head. It makes me really irritated.

If someone truly did approach me with ill intent, I'm pretty sure I would get so annoyed that I would certainly unleash the villainess in me.

The people who were on my way automatically sidestepped to let me through which I'm grateful for. I don't have to fake smile my way then...

My luck could only go that far because what greeted me right after I turned right to the restroom, there were more annoying flies that blocked my path.

Tsk.