The Queen felt like she had just experienced social death.
Because of the fire, not only was there soot on her face, but even her hair had frizzled from the fire and was draped on her head in a mess. Yet she had gone to meet King with her face in this exact state and even asked him, "Who is more beautiful, me or Nora Smith?"
The moment she thought about it, she felt so embarrassed that she wished she could bury herself in a hole...
The Queen quickly changed into another set of clothes. By the time she stepped out, she had regained her composure. The aide observed the Queen’s expression warily and asked, "Your Majesty, are you alright?"
Although the Queen felt terribly embarrassed deep down, she remained calm on the outside.
She answered, "It seems King has quite a big request for me this time."
Otherwise, given that ridiculous appearance of hers, would King be able to bring himself to compliment her?
The aide also found it puzzling. She asked, "What could he possibly have to ask of you? After all, he is..."
She swallowed the rest of her words, however.
The Queen glanced at Barbarian and Black Cat and then gave the aide a look.
It was forbidden to reveal King’s identity to outsiders. Even after so many years, the aide was the only one the Queen had told the truth. Although Barbarian was her trusted bodyguard, it was still better to keep some things secret if possible.
Nora, who was following them at the back, was observing Barbarian at the moment.
The man had shed his fierce and savage aura. He was as docile as a wolfhound when he was by the Queen’s side, which felt rather novel to her.
With each of them harboring their own thoughts, the four entered the restaurant.
King was already seated on the sofa.
The Queen put on a dignified smile and walked over as though she hadn’t just made a fool of herself. With a smile, she said in English, "I’ve kept you waiting."
King paused and glanced at Black Cat before he replied in Welsh, "It’s my honor to wait for you."
All these things King was saying were all just a gentlemanly way of speech in the UK.
Not a single word was suggestive or ambiguous.
But because King had always been stern with women, the chivalry he was displaying at the moment shocked and flattered the Queen.
She just didn’t know why King had switched to Welsh again. Wasn’t it alright even if they communicated in English?
The Queen smiled and sat opposite King. While ordering food, King went along with her food preferences the whole time. Additionally, he also spoke in Welsh the whole time.
After ordering food, the Queen started to discuss work matters with King. She said, "Alright, you’ve been very courteous to me the whole evening. Tell me, what exactly do you want to ask of me?"
King didn’t beat about the bush; after all, it was better if he could leave after finishing his business here. He hated wasting time the most.
He said unhurriedly, "I will be going to the UK sometime in the near future."
Her eyes lit up. "We have guest residences in the palace. You are welcome to stay there any time."
King coughed and said, "I intend to bring a few friends."
The Queen smiled. "These are all trivial matters, there is no problem at all. When have I ever rejected you during all your past visits?"
King thought to himself, ... I’ve never stayed at the palace before!... Even though the Queen invites me over with great enthusiasm each time... Besides, I’ve only been to the UK thrice! She makes it sound like I go there all the time!
Fortunately, a certain somebody did not understand Welsh.
King breathed a sigh of relief and didn’t refute her. He coughed and said, "There will be... quite a few people coming this time."
The Queen laughed again. "Other people’s homes may not be able to house too many guests, but what’s ’quite a few’ people to the palace? How many people will you be bringing? I’ll get things ready for you in advance."
"Not that many, actually. Just a hundred or so, I suppose," replied King.
Even her smile had frozen a little.
One hundred outsiders in Buckingham Palace? Should they be up to no good, with that number, they could stage a revolution in there!
It was no problem at all if King was just bringing four or five people there, but a hundred was too many.
No wonder he was being so amicable today!
The Queen was a little displeased. She asked, "What are you bringing so many people with you for? Surely it can’t be because you’re getting married, right?"
"No, that’s not the plan," replied King.
The Queen then asked, "Is your fiancée coming?"
King raised his brows.
The Queen said meaningfully, "You know, the mother of your children."
King’s identity was not to be revealed to the public, so the Queen would never directly mention Nora’s name.
King answered, "No, she won’t be coming."
Only then did the Queen breathe a sigh of relief, but she soon said with a smile, "Speaking of her, your fiancée and I have met a few times before. I’ve also personally received her before when she visited the palace in the past."
King nodded but didn’t pay much attention to what she said. Just then, the food was served. After he took a couple of bites from his salad, he suddenly realized that something wasn’t right. He looked up abruptly and asked, "Did you say that she has been to the palace?"
The Queen nodded. "Yes, that’s right."
A foreboding feeling suddenly welled up in King’s heart. He asked, "Did the two of you communicate in English?"
The Queen replied, "Of course not. She speaks fluent Welsh."
Chills suddenly ran down his spine.
Didn’t someone say that they didn’t speak Welsh?!