The Nathanian King's eyes grew wide when he heard his daughter.
Disown me?
Since when did she become so defiant?!
"Are you out of your mind, Athena?!" he snapped with rage. "Have you no respect for me?"
"Do you expect me to be in my right mind, Father?" Athena asked her father in a surprisingly low voice. "Do you even think of what situation I'm in right now?"
"Athena -"
"I lost my husband!" the young Queen snapped. "You don't even come when I was in mourning and only show up when you heard that I will be stepping down! Why are you always so heartless to me, Father? I'm also your child."
"You should -"
"For you, I'm just a tool to help you gain more power. I'll step down and I won't be useful to you anymore. So... you'll turn your back at me as you did to Aunt Lorey?"
"You've really lost your mind, Athena," the King said with anger still written all over his face.
"You're right, Father," Athena simply said. "So let me remind you. I will step down no matter what and from now on, Jerivia and Nathania have nothing to do with each other. The alliance marriage is over."
"You -"
"I don't say that as your daughter. That's my order as the Queen of Jerivia," Athena firmly argued and her firmness stunned her father.
"Do you really think you can do that?" he asked her.
"I already give my word to the Queen of Qalagon. Jerivia and Qalagon will finally have peace but... Nathania is an enemy of Qalagon. You turn your back at them when Arin took over the throne. Do you still remember, Your Majesty?" She took a step closer to her father and said, "You must be careful. I heard that Aryan Tripas also died. You might be next."
"So... you will really cut our ties? Without me and your title as a Queen here, you have nothing. Where will you even go?"
"You don't have to think about that," Athena sharply said. "I can take care of myself."
"You will surely regret," the King warned her but...
"Leave Jerivia," Athena uttered. "Leave before I command the guards to throw you out of the palace. You won't want to suffer such a humiliation."
The King clenched his fists and fixated his piercing gaze on his daughter before he said, "You will surely regret this, Athena." Then he turned around and walked out of the chamber.
With the King gone, Aziel promptly turned to Athena who appeared so weak. "Let me help you," he said and held her. Then he made her sit on the couch.
"Do you think I'm doing the right thing?" the young Queen asked her friend as she looked up at him.
Aziel nodded. "Don't worry, Your Majesty. I will support you no matter what."
Hearing this, Athena narrowed her eyes. "What just happened... it's the reason why I refused to rule," she muttered. "If I rule, my father will try to take advantage of that and one day, Jerivia might even fall into his hands. You know I always struggle to stand against him. After all, he is the one who raised me." She made a deliberate pause and added, "I can't let someone from outside Jerivia control the kingdom. I can't do that to Zaro. So, I must hurry and hold the selection of a new King soon."
The moment she finished talking, Athena heard the sound of knocking on the door and when she responded, Derin walked inside.
When Zaro left for Nardodia, Derin was at Helsia, trying to handle the situation. As the situation there was bad, Derin can't return even when he learned of his King's death! He only returned now but it's been days since the King was buried.
The Captain of the Royal Guards halted a few steps away from the Queen and then got down on his knees. "Greetings, Your Majesty."
ραпdα nᴏνɐ| сom "Derin," Athena muttered and looked at the right-hand man of her late husband. He appeared so dull but she didn't know what to do. "Please rise."
Derin stood up but he never once lifted his head. "I know it will be very hard for you, Your Majesty. That's why I'm so saddened to have to inform you an unfortunate news."
Athena thought about it and judging from where Derin returned, she had an idea of what the bad news was.
"Did we lose Helsia?" she asked the guard.
Derin nodded. "Please forgive me, Your Majesty. The rebellion covered the whole capital and the rebels commanded a huge army. They are too strong for us to handle."
Athena sat still for a while without saying anything. Then she said, "Cedore is behind the rebels and even if they are powerful, it's understandable." She glanced at Derin and added, "Don't blame yourself. I know that you give your all. It's not your fault."
"The whole continent already heard the news of His Majesty's passing, Your Majesty. I'm afraid that some will take this as an advantage and come for us," Derin said to the Queen.
"I thought about that," Athena quickly said. "Don't worry, Derin. A new capable King will be elected soon and that way, I will be able to ensure the safety of Jerivia. That will be my last responsibility as the Queen."
"A new King?" Derin asked with confusion written all over his face. When he slowly understood what the Queen meant, he raised a brow. "You're stepping down?"
"It's for the best," Athena replied in her usual calm voice.
"But, Your Majesty -"
"I already made up my mind, Derin. The election process also start a few days ago," the Queen promptly said, rendering the guard silent. "I hope that once a new King is selected, you can assist him, guide him and protect him like you always did for my husband. He will surely need your service."
Derin narrowed his eyes and stood still.
Serving a new King? That's what he never once imagined. Ever since he was young, he had only served one person and that's Zaro Aventine.
"If His Majesty was to choose his successor, I'm sure that you will be his choice, Your Majesty," he said to the young Queen. "You always give him sincere and wise advice and.... if he listened to all those, I'm sure that things will be different."
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