King Atticus came near Rithambara and said, " I want to have a word with you, my daughter. " Though Rithambara was deeply hurt with his betrayal , she didn't utter anything and nodded her head. Justus was still in Rithambara's arm and was clinging to her like second skin.

King Atticus looked lovingly at Justus and said, " dear Justus, will you allow your mother to have a talk with me. " Justus felt so nice in Ritha's warm embrace that he didn't want to leave her. His mother also held him in his arms just the way his aunts do to his cousins. He just nodded his head sideways to give his denial .

Augustus hands were itching to hold his son in his arms but at the same time he didn't want his son to turn into brats like his nephews so he said, "Justus! This is not the way to behave with your grandfather. Come here! " he extended his arms at Justus but Justus's eyes immediately wailed up with tears at his father's harsh tone which broke Ritha's heart .

She glared at her husband but her face turned soft when she looked at her son. She lovingly patted his head and said, " dear Justus , I will go and come back very soon. Play with your father for sometime. After that, we both will have our food together. Would you like to eat from your Ma's hand? "

Justus was simply ecstatic just by the thought of his mother feeding him .He knew his uncle Marcus was right who told him to pray to God if he wanted his mother. He enthusiastically nodded at Ritha and immediately went in his father's arm.

Augustus finally felt as if peace has filled his void heart. He missed his son to an extent which could not be measured. At first, he didn't like when Justus called Rithambara his mother and wanted to correct her. This title just belonged to his Valentina but when he saw his nephews mocking him and calling him a disgrace, he knew that it was for the best . His heart melted seeing the glint of happiness in his son's eyes. He remembered Valentina's last word, "give best to our son " and he knew that nothing could be better than Rithambara for their son.

Here, Ritha followed his father in law to his room. He allowed her to come inside and said, " my daughter! I know you are feeling betrayed and hurt . I know, a big part of Augustus's past had not been told to you but trust me you are the only one who could help me. "

Rithambara just nodded and told him to continue because she was at short of words. What could she say. It was her first time talking directly to her father in law. She didn't want to disrespect him as he was the king.

King Atticus continued, " Valentina was Augustus's first wife and Justus's mother. She was the princess of Sicily which is our rival state now. She died unfortunately while giving birth to Justus which made Justus motherless from his birth. That is why at a mere age of two and half, he talks so maturely, even Augustus has never been the same since then. "

"sorry to interrupt you, your highness! But any princess from Italy could have married Prince Augustus. Why me? A girl from completely different land who do not even know properly about this culture. " asked Rithambara.

King Atticus smiled at her and said, "my daughter! Culture varies but not humans . Humans are same everywhere ,greedy, selfish, thirsty for power and wealth. As far as culture is concerned, I truly respect yours and I can say with confidence that you respect mine. I chose you because only you have the strength to overcome the challenge of this palace and bring my Augustus back. I first saw you fighting with three warriors at the same time with full concentration. They tried to create confusion in your mind but were not successful . This is what I want you to do here. Things are not as simple as it seems here as everyone is against everyone for the crown. Only a warrior like you can survive and fight here. Those three woman were wives of Augustus's brothers whom you haven't met yet. I'm sad to say but none of them are deserving enough to rule Florence and in future Rome if we win. Augustus is a deserving person to this throne and so are you. Be with him, stand with him and rule with him. For now, I want you to prepare for your second wedding. Maids will tell you about every ritual and your dress will be prepared. As far as our little Justus is concerned, he already thinks of you as your mother and hopefully you will give him a, mother's love. "

Rithambara automatically had a smile on her lips thinking about Justus. " I assure you, your highness that I will love Justus as my own. He may not be born out of my womb but he is born today from my heart but I don't know about Prince Augustus. He threatened me to break mentally and never give me my rights ."

King Atticus assured her, " Augustus just wanted to scare you so that you deny from this marriage. He is a gentleman who knows how to behave with a woman. He will not do anything to you besides you have me as your father over here. Though he appears to be tough , I know he is lonely . "

Rithambara nodded and said in a determined tine " you have my words , father. I will support him and stand with him on each and every step but in return, I demand his respect. Nothing less , nothing more. "

King Atticus smiled hearing Ritha addressing him as father and told her to not worry. After that Ritha took her leave .

While she was passing the hallway looking at portraits, her eyes halted at a portrait of a woman standing next to King Atticus. Her eyes were of same blue colour of her husband. Possibly, she was Augustus's mother but she never heard anything about her from king Atticus or anyone. She found it a bit strange but decided to think about it some other time as she already have much going on her mind.

Something was very mysterious about this place as she could feel someone's eyes on her. She instantly turned around and saw a movement in flash which disappeared again in the corner. She decided to go in the same direction and when she was about to take a turn, the three irritating ladies came in front of her.

Octavia taunted, " look who is here? Our colourful lady who is dreaming about becoming a queen ."

Rithambara laughed out loud and said in the same taunting tone, "you know, this colourful lady also knows to give very colourful bruises like black, blue and even red. If anyone of you are interested in getting your body coloured, just ask me. "

The mocking smile immediately vanishes from the ladies face. At that moment they knew, she is not at all like Valentina ,she was a tough competitor to them. Octavia regained her composure and said, " you don't even know a thing about me. We will make your life hell over here."

Octavia turned towards Flavia and asked in a very ignorant tone, "what's her name Ri.., Rith..."

"Rithambara and if you have problem in saying my name then you can also address me as Future queen. I will not mind that. " mocked Ritha.

Octavia's anger knew no bound at this point. She was ready to kill Ritha but stopped herself and said, "you have a big mouth, wait till I stitch it ."

" Not only mouth, I also have a big sword. Want to have a look? " teased Ritha and went away near her son leaving behind raging ladies .