Iris was dumbfounded and temporarily unable to think straight. Duke of Jenes, the leader of the rebellion, had personally gotten in touch with her. She had to figure out how to get out of the hall.

She held onto the note tightly and looked around, but her teacher was nowhere to be seen. She thought about ignoring the note but realized that that would be rude of her. If she was honest with herself, she was curious to meet with him and see what he had to say. Deciding to go and investigate, she slowly stood up. The King seemed to be in a serious conversation with the man who’d interrupted them earlier. It was now or never. She didn’t know when she’d get another opportunity to sneak out, since the King was constantly by her side, watching her every move. This was the perfect moment and she limped towards the exit and quickly turned the corner to hide.

She scanned her surroundings, looking for a way to get to the third balcony. She finally made her way there and as she opened the door to the third balcony, a few ladies opened their fans and began to gossip among themselves.

Iris stood still considering what to do in this situation. It was likely that this man was the Queen’s lover and she assumed that they’d met on more than one occasion. And, it was the Queen’s husband, the King of this country, and a swordmaster, who’d broken the door down because of him. Already, the scales of strength and justification were tipped in favor of the King. However, this governor was not letting go of her, as if he were right and his opponent had done something wrong.

***

“Your Highness?” The man addressed the King, sounding dumbfounded.

Iris didn’t understand why he wasn’t letting her go, acting as if he wasn’t doing anything wrong, and she twisted her body.

Sidrain spoke coldly, while she was trying to get away from the man, “My Queen.” There was an illusion that blood was dripping from the voice. It was such a cold-blooded voice.

“Yes.”

“Why are you here? Especially when your legs hurt?” His wife had committed treason by trying to poison him. And now she was going to meet this man and see what happened. His wife was having an affair!

Iris blinked rapidly as her head spun. How on earth did you treat your wife before? She wanted to lash out at the King but the words didn’t leave her mouth, as she seemed to have lost her voice; the King’s presence was that powerful.

“Well, that’s…” Iris was about to cry and couldn’t speak further.

Sidrain had a soft spot for her now. Although Iris was defying him when he’d broken the door down, she was now twisting her body to get away from the man, and it looked like he hated this. Had it not been for that, Sidrain wouldn’t have been able to keep his composure now.

Iris Elaine, his first love, who was so innocent, wouldn’t have known what the note about the balcony had meant. His little bird, trapped in a maze, had just been snatched by a nasty thief.

“Come here, my Queen.” Sidrain smiled affectionately and held out one arm. He had to look good before his first love, he should not forget that. He’d made a mistake that night, by slapping her cheek and dragging her like a sinner, after she’d just died and then come back to life. And the fact that he’d knocked her out, by breaking a wooden door down, meant that the first impression he’d given her remained strong; he’d failed twice. He had to be aware of how he behaved now, and so, he smiled tenderly and didn’t move.

“Go ahead.” Suddenly the man pushed Iris against Sidrain. He was about to cry. He didn’t believe that he’d done anything wrong on his part. After all, he was one of the Queen’s lovers. She had several governors as lovers and he was just one of them playing around with her. Court society was such a place and the King had many governors under his command. It was a place where everyone played together. Of course, some couples didn’t, but that was rarely heard of. Those couples didn’t even touch other people… He wanted to touch them, but that was neither here nor there. He was extremely confused since the King and Queen had never had a relationship, and barely tolerated each other. So why then, was the King now laughing like a serial killer?

“Do not push me!” Sidrain yelled.

Iris looked back at him in surprise. The King was laughing loudly and his smile was foreboding. She was petrified. She didn’t want him to push him herself. Her life was precious to her! It hadn’t been that long since she’d died and come back to life.

“Why are you so tactless?! I’m starting to think that some little man is hitting on my Queen. Am I mistaken? Can’t you see that your King is angry? Leave immediately!” Sidrain ordered, not waiting for a response. The man shut his mouth and shook his head wildly. Then Sidrain’s eyes narrowed, “There’s a man who dares to nod his head at the King?”