His Majesty's Devious Sins

In the outskirts of town, far, far from the prying eyes of people was a small, secluded cafe. It was initially a cottage, but the owners expanded it into a restaurant.

Due to the beautiful forest and the scenic flowers peppering the path there, it had become an attraction to many people; however, the restaurant was too small to cater to that many guests. The restaurant decided it was always a first come first serve basis. They took no reservations, no appointments, and didn't care for how important a guest was.

That is, until Lydia Claymore walked through the doors, brought off everyone waiting in line, and had the whole restaurant to herself, including the staff that came with her. Everyone occupying the seats either worked for Lydia or the Claymores, and there was no exception.

"Addy!" The heiress squealed, shooting out of her chair when she saw a sleek black car stop directly in front of the cafe. 

It was difficult for Lydia to find a place where the cameras couldn't reach them, and no one could disturb them. If they closed off a restaurant in the city, there would be crowds of people waiting outside, but this place was different. It was outside of town and a completely different environment. 

The only people here had left, and none of them would know why. The path leading here was also blocked off, which meant no one could enter and no one could leave without the royal guard's permission.

Adeline had stepped out of the car when she heard a delicate chime of a bell. She turned her head in time to see a small white door swing open, and a woman in chiffon blue stepped out.

"Liddy!" Adeline softly gasped, even though she knew who she was meeting. "Oof," she laughed when Lydia clasped her into a tight embrace.

"You've seen me a few days ago," Adeline teased.

"But I missed you already!" Lydia whined. 

Lydia grabbed her friend's hand and began pulling her into the cafe. In the blink of an eye, men in black surrounded her, guns ablaze. Just then, Lydia's people also raised their guns. 

It was a stand-off that neither woman expected.

"It's fine," Adeline said, holding her hand up to prevent anything. 

Adeline wondered why these guards were so antsy, especially when it was known to almost every one of their close relationships.

"I bet that overprotective husband of yours put them up to this!" Lydia seethed. 

Adeline wryly smiled. "You don't know that, Liddy. Maybe, it's safety procedures."

Lydia rolled her eyes. "Don't defend him in front of me, Addy. I know that man, he's a snake. He's the kind of man to smile as he backstabs you."

Adeline brushed it off with a small laugh. She began walking with Lydia into the cafe, ignoring the bodyguards who glared at each other with disgust and irritation. 

Her eyes glazed over the cute, quaint cafe. The roof was quite cute, made of tilted birch wood, with a small chimney and a faux bird's nest resting beside it.

"I'm serious," Lydia said. "You have to be careful around him. Any man that tries to prevent his women from having any close friends is not a good one…"

"I know, Liddy," Adeline said. "But he hasn't prevented me from meeting you today."

Adeline gestured to herself, "See, I made it here in one piece."

"I don't know…" Lydia trailed off, pulling her friend close. 

Lydia swung the doors shut when the bodyguards tried to enter after them. The bodyguards had to come to a startling halt before they pushed the doors open.

"Leave us be," Lydia snapped at them. 

Lydia pulled her friend to a nice spot in the corner of the cafe there was a window for them to overlook into the scenic forest. A gentle breeze caused the curtains to sway in the wind, reminding them of a pleasant vacation far from the grasp of technology.

"Adeline, there's something you must know." Lydia pulled out the chair for Adeline to sit down. She was slightly envious of how gracefully Adeline moved, like a swan in a pond.

Adeline sat down and quietly tucked her legs in one direction, sitting like a picture-perfect Princess. Lydia took her seat and crossed her legs, her position powerful and assertive.

"What is it?" Adeline mused, her eyes landing on the desserts already awaiting her. 

Quickly, she perked up. There was a three-tier platter of food set before her, starting with small bites and side dishes. The second held a selection of sandwiches and finger food, whilst the last tier held all sorts of tarts and cakes.

"You shouldn't tell him I told you this, though," Lydia said.

She paused for a second, had an afterthought, and then shrugged. "Actually, I hope you tell him I told you this. I want you to tell me a detailed description of his irritated reaction."

Adeline shook her head in amusement and reached for a lemon bar, her mouth watering with anticipation. She bit into the tart and sweet dessert and nearly cried at how delicious it was. The powdered sugar softened the sourness and the vanilla essence enhanced the lemon flavor.

"The Mardens were discovered in their estate today."

Adeline paused. "Discovered?"

"As in, their dead bodies were discovered."

The lemon bar fell from Adeline's fingers. It landed on her lap, where Lydia sharply gasped, and a random woman dashed in.

"Your Grace!" Evelyn exclaimed, quickly dropping to her knees to clean up the mess. She wondered why the Queen didn't place the customary napkin onto her lap before eating.

"I-it's fine," Adeline said, brushing off Evelyn. "I'm fine. Please wait near the entrance."

Evelyn worriedly stood up, her lips pulled into a straight line. She wasn't able to hear what had shocked the Queen to this extent. But her white pants were now ruined with a yellow stain, and the people would think she urinated on herself. 

She quickly stepped back and decided to consult one of the other people in the Queen's entourage. Luckily, they had come prepared with multiple wardrobe changes.

"Whenever you're ready, Your Grace, we have a new set of clothes for you to change into," Evelyn said. She headed towards the entrance, where she planned to leave and grab a clean outfit.

"I'm sorry, Addy, I shouldn't have told you when you were eating," Lydia quickly said.

Adeline shook her head. "No, you did the right thing, don't worry." She wiped the lemon bar off of her pants, but it was too late. There was already a bright yellow stain. Regardless, she used a clean napkin to pick up the dirtied dessert from the floor, much to Lydia's exasperation.

"You're a Queen now, Addy. your fingers should be nowhere near the floor!" Lydia grabbed her friend's hand, took the dirtied napkin from Adeline's hand, and held it out.

Without words being said, one of Lydia's people stepped forward, took the dirtied napkin, and disappeared.

"Everyone seems to baby me," Adeline softly laughed, but it sounded strain. She wiped her fingers and pressed her lips together. "First it's Elias, and now it's you."

"We're not babying you, Addy," Lydia said. "We're worried for you because we simply love you too much to let harm come your way."

Instantly, Adeline saw her wrongdoings. She didn't want Lydia to misunderstand her. She was appreciative of everyone's effort towards her. Many have been kind, and it came from good intentions. Now, the tables had turned, and her heart was in the right place, but her mind wasn't.

"I'm sorry," Adeline softly sighed. "I was just distraught by news of the Mardens, I-I wanted to change the subject."

"Don't even apologize," Lydia snorted. "I thought we were past the apologizing stage a long time ago. We tease each other too much to even say sorry."

Adeline laughed. She supposed Lydia was right.

"Anyways, the Marden's death was a suicide, so you shouldn't even have to worry about it," Lydia said. 

"S-suicide…?" Adeline whispered, leaning forward a bit. "But that's impossible! The Viscount is too proud of a man to kill himself, and my aunt—"

"Now that you mention it, the reporting was a bit odd. The autopsy revealed heavy internal and external trauma…" Lydia trailed off.

"The report?" Adeline echoed, wanting to know more of it.

Lydia nodded. "I wish I could show it to you, but the initial report was nowhere to be found! When I sent my private team to check, the researchers that did the autopsy suddenly retired to a different country, and the police team in charge of the investigation was changed!"

Lydia scowled. "I wonder who could've meddled the original report. Now, the new police team views it as a suicide, and the case is closed and buried."

Adeline's blood went cold. Her hands trembled and she tucked them together to prevent Lydia from realizing. Only one person could be capable of such a thing—the most powerful man in this entire country.

Elias.

Elias must've had something to do with their death. Adeline was certain of this.

Her heart skipped a beat. If he was involved, what would Adeline do? Would she take his side, or take their side?

"I assume you know who did it," Lydia said. "You should be careful of him."

Adeline swallowed. The more time she spent with Elias, the more she thought she knew him. Now, she wasn't so sure.

What kind of man was her husband? He teased her, he petted her, he laughed with her, and above all, his touch had always been kind. But beneath his exterior, who was he?

Adeline's heart dropped to her stomach. She finally realized a startling fact. Despite being married to him, despite knowing him in her childhood, despite sleeping under the same roof as him, she did not know the man she shared her bed with.