I slowly opened my eyes…the first thing I saw was a ceiling…I was not in front of the board anymore, but sort of a room…I was lying down on the bed, slowly I got up from laying down..I looked around me..it was neither my room nor my house..When I tried to stand up from the bed, the knob’s door could have been hear. Slowly the door was opened. 

            An unfamiliar face came inside the room. From what she wore, it seemed she was a servant of the house...Our eyes met, and she was surprised…When I wanted to ask her where I was, she immediately left the room..I stood up from the bed, walked around and looked around the room..The room was way smaller than my room in my home, there was neither a window nor a balcony…There was only one wood table and one wood chair in one set…After looking and walking around the room, I sat at the table, while waiting for someone to come.

            A few moments later, I could hear a lot of footsteps from outside…I got up from my seat, to prepare for who would come inside…..The door was opened by the servant before, but I saw her behind, there were five guards..I asked her,

            "What is going on? Perhaps you can tell me?"
            The servant just stayed quiet and silent..

            Yet, someone from the guards stepped in, his military attire was different from other guards in there…I assumed he was the one who commanded them..

            "Lady Aurelia…Her Majesty Queen is waiting for you, she wants an audience with you…"

            "Her majesty wants an audience with me??  

            "Right now, you are under house arrest…"

            "HOUSE ARREST???" So this room was for house arrest, which explained why the room didn’t have any window, "Why am I on house arrest??" 

            "The Queen will tell you the reason for that, and your servant and your escorts were the same as you, they are under arrest...but more harsh than your room.."

            "NO NO NO NO, I WANT TO KNOW FIRST, BEFORE SEE THE QUEEN, AND I WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE OTHERS TOO; SURELY THIS IS A MISUNDERSTANDING.

            "I am so sorry, but I can’t answer all your questions right now, because her majesty is still waiting for you...."

            I couldn’t be panicked and just stayed calm, "Well then, if it’s what it is, you may lead me to the majesty.."
            "You may follow me, and keep staying beside me…"
            … 

            So right now, I was in the palace. He led me, and I followed him, and stayed side by side with him. Behind us were the four guards and the servant before…After we passed the stairs, we were immediately in the hall, and I could see some servants walking back and forth. I realized the house arrest was beneath the palace…We kept walking, and I looked around, there was no difference in ornaments, and decorations between my house and the palace..

            We arrived in front of the big door, and suddenly I remembered the big door from my father's room…The two guards from behind us, walked forward, and opened the door…The view of the throne room could be seen…From a distance, I could see two throne chairs; one was vacant, and on the other, the queen was sitting on it. The queen had long blonde hair. with someone beside her, a man with short red hair…There were six pillars in the room, with red and goldish carpet from the door until in front of the throne…

            While I was walking toward the Queen, I saw Adel, and others beside the carpet…Their hands got cuffed with a wooden cuff…In front of the throne, the guard made a small audience about my arrival with the Queen…After that, I moved forward, I bowed, and showed some attitude toward the Queen.

            Suddenly, the man standing beside her spoke, "Aurelia Aurelius, you are in charge of public disturbance, endangering the public, and damaging public property….." the man kept talking, and I didn’t follow all of his words..

            I didn’t remember who the man was; even in the tutoring session with Lady Octavi, she didn’t tell me anything about him…

            The Queen suddenly said, "Stop it for a second, Cato…It looks like Lady Aurelia doesn't follow your words.."

            The man immediately stopped as the Queen ordered, so his name was Cato…

            The Queen asked me, "Is there something in your mind, Aurelia? That makes you not follow his words.."

            "Forgive me, your majesty…I'm just wondering, who is the man beside you?? I don’t recall anything about it.."
            "Really?? It’s quite shocking to hear it from you.." The Queen turned her gaze to the man and said, "You may introduce yourself to her.."

            "As you wish…" The man took one step forward, and said, "My name is Cato Justina, here, I am the royal regent…I am here because the King is still absent because he is still traveling…"

            Regent, it meant he was in power to govern the kingdom, when the King was absent…... .and his family’s name was Justina, it meant…he was Anna’s father…That was why she could be close with the Crown Prince…But a regent should be someone who has some power or equal power with the king, how could a count could be a regent? Where there was some duke or duchess who had more power than him..

            "Thanks for the introduction, now I am well aware of him…" I said.

            "About the charge, Aurelia…" The Queen said, "Do you remember what you did yesterday? Or Are you aware of it??"

            "I apologize, but I don’t know what you are talking about?? I don’t remember anything about it, the last I remember, I was reading on the board…After that, I don’t remember anything."

            "You know, that you came in here, to become courtier of the royal right??"

            "Yes I am aware of it.."

            "But how the first thing you came here was like this…you havocked the public board, made a disturbance, endangering the people around…Is this what Aurelius taught you to behave?"

            "Once more, forgive me, your majesty, I don’t remember anything about endangering people around me…but if it was true, I apologize, and may you forgive me about my behavior…"

            "Somehow, for some reason, when I saw your long white hair, and your blue eyes, it made me jealous……"

            "Pardon, your majesty??"

            "Your beauty is the same as your mother, and it bothers me…the difference between you and your mother is just the eyes…you have blue, and your mother has red ... .somehow, it irritated me to see that white hair…"

            "I think your blonde hair is beautiful too, your majesty.."

            "Really???" The Queen immediately touched and stroked her own hair, saying, "But it is not as beautiful as yours……" She slowly looked at Adel and the others and asked, "Is she your personal maid? And the others, their attire and their clothes are not like that of your family."

            "Adel is my personal maid, and the others are just mercenaries I hired for the escorts…"

            "Mercenaries??? It is hilarious, the Aurelius family hired mercenaries for the escorts…"

            "My family did not hire them, but it was myself who hired them…"

            "Heeeeee……" she slowly turned her face to me, "about your charges, I will dismiss it.." The man beside her was shocked, and she continued saying, "But…you will be under surveillance, and I will appoint one person to do that…" 

            I heard footsteps behind me, slowly the footsteps stopped beside me..I looked to my right, it was the guard who led me here..

            "He will be your personal escort, you can make it like that, he will stay around you, whenever, whatever, and wherever you go, starting tomorrow ... .Is that clear, Aurelia??"  The Queen said..

            "Myself understand.."

            I saw her raise her right hand, and immediately two guards walked to Adel and the others. They released their wooden cuffs..

            "All of you, may excuse yourself from here…"

            Before everyone was leaving the room, they showed a small bow, and showed gratitude toward the Queen…Yet there was one question, from myself to the Queen..When everyone was already turned back even the Queen wanted to get up from her chair, so instead I took one step toward the Queen..Seeing me took one step, she got to sit up again, and asked me, 

            "Is there something else you need?"

            "Is your majesty aware of the wind rumor circulating around the crown prince?"

            "Which one? Surely there are some rumors circulating around the royal family.."
            "The rumor where he is in a relationship with another woman.."

            She took a few seconds, and said "Ah!! You mean him with Cato’s daughter…….I am aware of her being close with him.."

            "Is their relationship an intimate relationship??"

            "Intimate?? I saw them not as intimate as you asked, why could you ask like that?"

            "Forgive my sentences and my words, but what I have seen for the past seven years is that the Crown Prince never ever set foot again in Aurelius territory, or even took a peek at me, and to see that he is in a relationship with another lady, surely the royals don’t take the agreement seriously.." 

            "You need to watch your words, Aurelia…we take the agreement between your family and us seriously…but the action of Fabian is by his own.." she showed some smirk expression, saying, "We still tried our best to prevent him; as you could see, he is the crown prince of the kingdom; surely there are a lot of eyes on him.." 

            "How did the royals try their best for these seven years? If the wind rumor keeps getting stronger and circulating among the people…even the people themselves think they're bethroral…If it keeps going like this, surely it breaks the agreement…"

            The Queen and Cato looked at each other for a second. Suddenly her eyes, her smile, and her sound tone became different. It was like she tried to lure me into this…

            Her posture became more arrogant with her head leant to her right hand, and she said "So Aurelia……If you want to break the betrothal and agreement between the Julius family and the Aurelius family, I open wide the door for you to do that. You are already 21 years old, which is the age at which women commonly marry. Surely, I will take your words as seriously as Aurelius  words……Therefore what will you choose??"