?

　　“Are you sure you are alright, princess?” Rodrick asked as I was going through a stack of documents.

　　“Don’t bother asking Rodrick, she is too focused to respond to our questions at the moment.” Gideon said, sounding as though he was teasing me.

　　“I’m perfectly fine.” I said, not bothering to look up at them but from the corner of my eyes I could see Gideon shrugging.

　　A week has passed since my debutante party and since the assassination attempt. The guests from faraway have all returned to their respective kingdoms, excluding the few people from the Eastern and Western Kingdom who remained at the palace to serve Isaiah and Cassian. When I had found out that Augustus’ parents did not send anyone to serve him, I decided to see if any of my staff members would help out but even then, Augustus had simply sent them away.

　　Whenever I tried to confront him and ask why he didn't want someone to help him, all he said was that he preferred to do things by himself. I decided to respect his wishes but often told Anne to keep an eye out for him.

　　Today was the day I resumed preparations for my wedding since both Gideon and the doctor insisted I rest longer so my arm wound healed. But after a week of doing nothing, I was starting to get antsy. But I had noticed that the alphas were clearly avoiding me ever since the induced heat incident that happened with Cassian. As for Cassian, he was not even hiding the fact that he was avoiding me just to irritate me.?

　　When I talked to Gideon about Cassian, he had told me that I must have hurt his feelings by claiming that his empathy was just an act but even then I refused to think of it that way. Cassian had no reason to show that side of him. All Cassian was doing was attempting to manipulate me.?

　　I know I was making this issue more complicated than it is but if I starting seeing the alphas in a new light, if I did not tell myself that they were just using my position as future empress for their own gain then I know that things would get messy…my emotions would start to taint my rationality. I truly loathe this side of me, wanting to let myself depend on my heart more than my mind sometimes.?

　　“Princess…” Rodrick called out once more. I glanced over to him. “The ink is bleeding through the parchment.” He announced. His voice made me recoil the pen away but it was too late, the document was ruined.

　　“It would seem that this is a perfect time for you to take a break, princess.” Gideon said.

　　“Why are you two even here?” I asked, hiding my irritation. I had moved my work to my room because I found it more comfortable to do so even though I truly miss the scent of old books and the snugness of the study with tall shelves surrounding the walls.

　　Gideon was seated by the small sitting area in my room, casually sipping tea while Rodrick stood next to him as though he was the old advisor’s personal guard.

　　“We thought you would like to have some company. Is it not lonely to be stuck in your room the entire day with only documents to keep you entertained?”

　　I stared at him with an indifferent look. “Tell me the true reason. You are not the type to enjoy leisure activities and it is quite obvious that Rodrick seemed to be rather restless over there.” I pointed out.

　　Rodrick exchanged glances with Gideon who nodded, giving Rodrick permission to speak about this topic they were hiding from me. “We came here to talk about the incident that happened last week. We managed to find and capture the fake guard who locked you and the Duke in that room. He had come clean about the why but refuses to mention the who.”

　　“So? Why did he do it?”

　　“According to him, he wanted the Duke to…soil your reputation.”

　　“What reputation?” I blurted, knowing that I was not favoured by my subjects due to my second gender.

　　“If word were to go out claiming that you and Cassian had been intimate then the public’s opinion will only get worse. As for now, they know how you were drugged and they know how Cassian had bit onto his own hand to prevent himself from biting you. The public seem to be reacting rather positively.”

　　“…And let me guess, Cassian is getting popular among the citizens because of this minor convenience?”

　　“Yes, it would seem so. He was already popular due to his upbringing and handsome looks.” Gideon nodded.

　　I sighed, leaning back against the chair but did not disagree with Gideon’s words. “This wedding is going to be a hassle to deal with.” I muttered under my breath, not looking forward to the day when my own citizens would be more fond of the three alphas compared to me. “What of the assassin and the fake guard? Where are they now?”

　　“In the dungeons.” Rodrick confirmed.

　　“The next thing we wanted to talk to you about is what shall we do with the two prisoners?” You pondered for a moment but before you could answer, Gideon added. “Traitors and assassins often get the death penalty.”

　　“Right…” I muttered. It was not as though I sympathised with the two of them because they attempted to get me into trouble but was I capable of taking away someone else’s life? Even though I was not the one physically doing it, my decisions and words will lead to two people’s deaths.?

　　“There is no need for you to rush over this topic.” Rodrick firmly said as though he had noticed my reluctance.

　　“No, they conspired against me, a member of the royal family. They deserve the appropriate punishment.” I told him, voice even and steady although my heart was aching.?

　　Rodrick nodded, bowed his head and excused himself out of my room. I was expecting Gideon to follow suit but he remained seated, drinking his tea. “If everything goes smoothly, you will be married soon. How do you feel about that?”

　　“I would be lying if I said I was not nervous.”

　　“Ah naturally, but I see that your relationship with the alphas has not improved.”

　　“Gideon… can we not talk about this right now?” I asked, replacing the ruined document.

　　“I am just worried that things will get worse after the wedding. Even if you are marrying them strictly for mutual benefits, there would be people expecting you to do your duties as a woman as well.”

　　I looked at him, confused by his words. “What are you even talking about?” I asked only to realise what he meant a second later. I felt my face heat up from both embarrassment and frustration. That minor fact had completely slipped my mind. I wanted to tell him that it would not be a big deal since I doubt that the alphas would be interested in bedding me but the ‘people’ Gideon was referring to was obviously Lady Marie as she would do anything to find fault in my decisions.

　　“Did you have to bring this up now?” I complained with a groan as all I could think about was this topic and I was finding it hard to get back to work.

　　“Better now than never. I advise you to go speak with your future husbands, set some boundaries so all of you know what to expect.”

　　Gideon was right but everything seemed to be overwhelming as I was already behind with both my paperwork and the wedding preparations. My head dropped as I mentally tried to figure out what I should focus on first and what could be set aside for later.

　　“There’s no need to panic, Cordelia. You still have plenty of time before the expected date of the wedding. I’m telling you this now to prevent yourself from overthinking.”

　　“Too late.” I grumbled as I pushed myself out of my seat.

　　“Where are you going?”

　　“I won’t be able to focus on work unless I talk to them about this.”

　　“This? Whatever do you mean?”

　　“I’m going to do as you said, I’m going to set boundaries.”? I told him as I went to the door, mind set in gathering the three alphas. It had been so long since I had seen or spoken to any of them and now I was going to gather them to talk about something so—intimate. Just the thought of mentioning it straight to their faces was making my heart beat unnaturally. Somehow, I was confident that this meeting was going to end in some form of hostility.