His Majesty's Devious Sins

Weston raised a brow. "We can just uproot them, Your Grace."

Adeline shook her head. "No, that's exactly what she wants me to do. She wants me to destroy the flowers that symbolize my good friend." 

Weston smiled meaningfully at her words. She had thought in advance of what would happen. Dorothy could've used the uprooting excuse as a way of separating Lydia Claymore from Adeline, but that strategy will likely never work out. It would be impossible to separate childhood friends, especially with Lydia's attachment to the mellow Adeline.

Weston sometimes wondered why Lydia clung onto Adeline. But he glanced at her and had a feeling of why. There was something calming about Adeline's aloof and quiet status, as if she valued nothing in this world, not even herself. It was part of human nature to want something that didn't want you.

The more Adeline didn't cling onto Lydia, the more Lydia clung onto Adeline. It was an interesting relationship that made Weston wonder if it was intentional.

"I will inform the gardener of the plan," Weston stated. "The iris and orchid should be ready by Spring."

Adeline slowly nodded her head. He turned to leave, but she spoke up, "Wait."

Weston paused, letting out a small curse under his breath. He had hoped the Golden Rose was enough of a distraction for him to sneak away. The King's meeting with Kastrem was a heavily clouded secret—one that the Queen must never find out.

"Yes?" Weston said, tilting his head towards her.

"Who is Elias meeting?" 

Damn it. 

"Must the King tell you of his every movement? A man should have his secrets, Your Grace." 

"He knows where I am at all times. He knows when I eat, when I sleep, when I breath, and when I use the bathroom. Is it so wrong to know who my husband is meeting?" Adeline countered. 

Weston slowly nodded his head. He couldn't even blame her for having such thoughts. It was an unbalanced relationship that the Queen wanted to level out, but she had to understand something—she was only Queen for a few days, and Elias had been King for decades. 

"It is a question you must ask the King yourself. I am not his secretary nor yours. I am a friend lending him a helping hand, Your Grace," Weston vaguely said.

"What a convenient title to use. You can easily cleanse your hand of the sins he asks you to commit, for you're not his employee, but a friend."

Weston admitted that did sting. But painful words suited his taste perfectly. She knew the right words to say to draw blood, and the right things to do to heal a wound. What a double-edged sword the King had in his collection… 

"It is just as you say, Your Grace." Weston bowed his head and walked off, feeling the disgruntled stare of the Queen.

Adeline scowled at his broad back, hugged snuggly by his suit. The sun shined for him as well, following after him, casting a looming shadow upon the gardens. The shadow overtook the Golden Roses, briefly, before letting the beautiful flowers shine in all of its glory.

"So many secrets, so little answers…" Adeline muttered to herself, shaking her head with a slight sigh. She bent down and picked up a Golden Rose, her brows raised in surprise. There were no thorns. It had been cut.

Adeline swallowed. Dorothy planned on doing the same, didn't she? Cutting off Lyida's thorns meant limiting her fiery tongue, and turning the confident heiress into nothing but a decorative piece.

Adeline held the rose close to her, her fingers closing tightly around it. She would never let Dorothy have her way with Lydia. Lydia had spent all her life training to become the next CEO of Claymore Conglomerate. Her dream shouldn't be crushed by a meddling senior citizen.

- - - - -

Adeline entered the castle again. When she asked Stella of the King's current status, the secretary said he was still in the important meeting. What was taking so long? An important guest from a foreign place. She wondered who it could be.

Holding back a small sigh, she decided it might be time to resume her schedule. She had tried to skip out of touring the gardens, but didn't realize the importance of it afterwards. Maybe her schedule wasn't meant to restrict her, but more of opening her eyes to the things that happen in the castle.

"What is on my plan for today?" Adeline asked Stella.

Stella was brimming with a large smile, happy that the Queen was going back on track. "It is to tour the castle, Your Grace, and learn of every room there is."

Adeline slowly nodded. "Let's start from the basement to the highest floor."

Stella stiffened. Even Evelyn paused. Evelyn had been talking with photographers that captured pictures of the Queen waving her hand to the people. It would've been a great picture to publish online and onto papers.

"Your Grace," Stella hesitatingly said. "The basement is nothing but storage rooms. We don't have to concern ourselves with such a dusty spot. Let's start from the first floor."

Now, Adeline was even more intrigued of what could be down there. She held out a hand and smiled. "Do you have a map of the palace?"

"May I ask why, Your Grace?"

Adeline raised a brow. They were questioning her words.

Almost as if realizing her mistakes, Stella quickly straightened up. "I apologize, Your Grace. Here is the map."

Stella quickly typed something into her tablet, and then passed it to the Queen. Adeline took it and began to look at the monitor. She zoomed in on one the different floors. 

There were listed rooms, but nothing about what it was used for. She wasn't surprised. It would be dangerous for the map to get into the wrong hands, but then again, who would be stupid enough to sneak into the castle with its impenetrable security? 

At the thought of this, Adeline frowned a bit. Asher would. He was foolish enough to scale the walls of the most dangerous places, and hop the fence of the royal castle.

Where was he? 

He wasn't still mad at her, right? The last time she saw him was at the Ball. Since then, she hadn't seen him, and he hadn't visited her.

"Is something amiss, Your Grace?" Stella asked. 

Adeline let out a small sigh and shook her head. "No."

Adeline passed the black tablet back to Stella. "Let's begin the tour."

Stella perked up a bit. "Right away, Your Grace. If you'd come with us, this is the way up to the first floor."

"I know my way." Adeline walked past Stella, and quickly, her entourage turned around. When she glanced at the tablet, she had seen where all of the staircases were located—even the ones that were not mentioned on the map.

Adeline had a decent memory. She remembered seeing physical staircases, but they weren't listed on the map, and people might've not even noticed that. Hidden in plain sight must've been Elias's strategy. Whatever staircases weren't mentioned on the map were the ones she should be walking down.

Adeline had a good feeling that whatever Elias was hiding in the basement was going to be revealed to her today.