The Alliance Marriage Went Wrong

Aryan Tripas.

Just thinking of the name made the former Commander boiled in rage!

Still sitting inside the carriage, she clenched her fists when the late Princess Iria crossed her mind.

No matter what happened between their fathers, the late Princess was still her good friend. The one whom she used to call a family yet she was poisoned to death by the monster who was just a step away from her carriage.

"Your Majesty, you don't have to come out," Elian said to her. "We will deal with them."

"No," she uttered and opened the door to the carriage. Then she gets off, looking at Aryan Tripas for the first time since she realized what a monster he was.

Of course, she still didn't forget that she was also poisoned by him once..

"What do you want, Aryan Tripas?" she asked as she stood before her guards.

Hearing the name, everyone raised their guards even higher!

Aryan Tripas as in the King of Nardodia?

Why was he here?!

Zire recalled the poisoning incident and how Jolene was convinced to walk down that path by this man. His hand ached as he couldn't wait to strike him down!

"Your Majesty, this is dangerous," Elian promptly spoke up. "Please let us deal with them!"

Iria turned a blind eye to everything and instead, her eyes that were filled with rage were focused on him.

Ending him with her own hands was one of her wishes but as she promised, she wasn't reckless or impatient anymore.

"Don't worry, Elian," she finally uttered. With her gaze meeting Aryan Tripas's gaze, she added, "He is not brave enough to touch me, let alone kill me."

Her daring words drew a little smile from the Nardodian King's lips. "You're still daring as ever, Commander Iria. Oh! It's Queen now, right?" His smile grew wider and he resembled a psychopath.

"But I'll give you that. If I recklessly make a move, your husband will turn crazy. You also know that," he said yet there was still a smile on his face.

The smile that disgusted her.

Touching her was the same as provoking Qalagon and Cedore. He wasn't foolish enough to not know that.

"You know, I was meeting the King of Azamet here in his kingdom. When I heard about the marriage, I know that you will have to pass this forest to attend it. That's why I was waiting for you here," Aryan Tripas explained. "Seems like it paid off."

"If you know that I'm on my way to attend my cousin's wedding, then you should move out of my way. I don't have time for you," she said, making a mental note to track down and eliminate all the Nardodian spies in Qalagon.

If it's not for the spies, Aryan Tripas won't be able to know that she will be passing the Merith Forest at that hour.

"I have something to discuss -"

"I might not be the Masked Commander anymore but I'm still fit enough to take you down," Iria Helev uttered, sternly. "After everything that you have done, do you think I will tolerate this intrusion?

"If you want to meet me, then come to Qalagon rather than making this low move," she added in a sarcastic tone, making her hatred known to him more than ever.

"Did you really cut all your ties with Jerivia?" Aryan Tripas asked, ignoring what she just said. "You know, the young King of Jerivia is quite stubborn. You know him well, right? After all, he's your former friend."

Was he trying to provoke her?

It seemed like it and Iria told herself to not be affected by whatever he said.

"I don't have anything to do with Jerivia now," she declared in a cold tone. "And I'm not interested in talking to you either."

"It's a pity that you choose Arin Helev," Aryan Tripas muttered and clicked his tongue, unfazed by whatever Iria said. "Why don't you reconsider it one more time? I think I should give you one more chance to come to Nardodia. No matter what our past was, I'll be glad to accept you as my niece-in-law."

He wanted her for Emor Tripas?

How funny.

"I think it's a relief that your nephew didn't take after you," she scoffed. "Once you died, Nardodia will finally have a King who is in his right mind."

Finally, her words seemed to get to his head as his smile faded. "I'm here to give you one last chance to be on my side but it seems like it won't work," he stated. His voice hinted at a suppressed rage which she didn't fail to notice.

Did he really think that he will be able to convince her after all those incidents? He won't be that crazy!

"Goodbye then," Aryan Tripas said, flashing that so fake of a smile. Then he left with his soldiers.

"Should we just let them go?" the Master Enaerion promptly asked the Queen who watched the disappearing form of the Nardodian King.

"Yes, for now," the Queen replied and thought of what Aryan Tripas just said. "Disgusting," she muttered and walked back to the carriage. "Let's move."

* * *

In Cedore, it was time for the arrival of Princess Ophelia Arille. Though they expect only the Princess for now and the Crown Prince and the Emperor later, they heard that the Crown Prince will be the one who escorts his sister to Cedore. This made Andres Francia realized that the rumors about the Aederin royals were mostly true.

The Princess was really the treasure of the two powerful men and he learned that he will need to put in much more effort to make the alliance marriage work.

When he was informed that the Princess and the Crown Prince will be arriving in no time, he went to the main door of the palace with his mother and father. Orius and Lady Valerie were also there to greet the lady who will become his wife.

They didn't have to wait for long as the troops from Aederin shortly arrived. Riding a horse, Crown Prince Augustus Arille was leading the troops and the Princess was on the carriage.

Crown Prince Andres was instructed by his father to greet the Crown Prince and the Princess and he greeted Augustus first. By this time, the Princess was out of the carriage now but... she was wearing a veil.

Finally, Princess Ophelia took a few steps towards him and... removed her veil.

Once his gaze landed on the familiar face, Andres's eyes grew wide in shock!

What was this?!