31 The Queen of Veritas

"On this bright day, the Kingdom of Veritas will crown their future queen who will serve alongside His Majesty King Matthew."

Alger stood under the throne, and his eyes fell on the sovereigns sitting in the front row. They all showed different expressions; some looked doubtful, some looked down on Ruby, and some seemed happy.

"Lady Ruby Harelle, I expect you to enter the palace hall!" Alger exclaimed.

The hall's door opened wide, revealing Ruby's figure, which glistened under the light.

Ruby held her breath for a while before finally walking through the red carpet that stretched to the throne.

Everyone in the hall immediately stood up and locked their gaze on Ruby. As Ruby looked at them, she could see that various colors of emotion were enveloping the bodies of those people.

Among that many colors, there is one color that dominates.

Gray.

The color symbolizes doubts.

They all doubted Ruby, especially Greysen and some of the nobles from the Wridal Kingdom. Among the nobles, Ruby had seen Marquess Barnette there.

Marquess Barnette averted his eyes, seeming reluctant to look at his daughter, who had embarrassed him in front of the King of Veritas.

[They seem to dislike my presence.]

However, Ruby realized that she shouldn't have to pay attention to them.

The only person she had to see in the hall was her husband, Matthew.

When Ruby looked straight at the throne, a bright yellow light covered Matthew's body; even the color almost looked like gold.

He was the only person who was looking forward to having Ruby present there. Matthew had absolutely no doubts about Ruby and trusted her wholeheartedly.

A bright smile appeared on Ruby's face. She felt relieved when she knew that there was one person who believed in her.

For her, one person was more than enough.

When Ruby was standing in front of Matthew, she immediately knelt and bowed deeply before the king.

"Milady, are you willing to devote your life to serving the people of Veritas and the royal family as the Queen of Veritas?" Matthew's voice echoed through the hall, giving off an undeniable grandeur.

Ruby nodded her head while placing her hands in front of her chest as a symbol of her willingness to become the Queen of Veritas.

Matthew took the queen's crown from the hand of the soldier beside him. The crown is encrusted with diamonds and sapphires that can dazzle the eyes of everyone who sees it.

"Then I, the King of Veritas, Matthew Harelle, will crown you, Lady Ruby Harelle, as the Queen of Veritas."

Ruby raised her head and straightened her back as Matthew put the queen's crown on her head.

Ruby suddenly felt a burden alight on her head, the burden of the queen's crown and the responsibilities she had to carry as the Queen of Veritas.

"You may stand, My Queen." Matthew stood up from his throne, then stretched out his hand in front of Ruby to help her get up.

When Ruby stood beside Matthew, she felt safer and no longer cared about the guest that stared at her with judgemental eyes.

In the end, all the hatred they directed towards Ruby would be destroyed by the trust and sincerity given by Matthew.

"Our courtesy to Your Majesty the Queen. May you and your kingdom get blessed by God."

Except for the royal sovereigns and the emperor, all the guests offered a deep bow to respect Ruby.

Regardless of their distaste or distrust toward Ruby, they still had to respect the Queen, mainly because they feared Matthew would be angry if they didn't show honor to their new queen.

"From now on, this kingdom will be yours, My Queen," Matthew whispered beside Rub's ear.

• • •

"Your Majesty, I am happy because you can finally have a queen. Before, I was worried that you would be alone until death." Osborn Harlane—The Emperor of the Raeludin Empire—patted Matthew's shoulder while moving the wine glass in his hand.

The expression on his face showed such sincerity and joy that even the emperor couldn't stop grinning from the start of the coronation ceremony to the celebration banquet.

Unfortunately, mere expressions won't fool Ruby because she could dig into someone's heart by seeing the color of their emotions.

Although the Emperor showed a smile, the color of his feelings was dark with a combination of black and gray, indicating that he was the one who was unhappy when Matthew had a queen and would get an heir someday.

"I was bored when I lived alone these past few years." Matthew replied casually, "Hence, I think it's better to have a family that can accompany me."

In Ruby's view, Matthew didn't seem to like the emperor much neither. He didn't even bother to give a fake smile to flatter the emperor.

But apparently, Matthew didn't like all the nobles from other kingdoms. Although Matthew looked calm and relaxed on the surface, his feeling color was dominated by light purple, indicating he was agitated.

After the queen's coronation ceremony and Xylon's official ceremony as the queen's knight are finished, guests are welcome to enjoy a banquet feast specially made to celebrate Ruby's coronation.

In fact, the celebration party was held to introduce Ruby to the nobles of the various kingdoms. Because of that, whether she liked it or not, Ruby had to welcome the nobles who flocked to her from the start of the party.

"Your Majesty, I heard that you are from the Wridal Kingdom. It must have been hard to adjust yourself in Veritas because the weather is truly different from Wridal, which is always blessed by the sun. For years, Veritas always has a cold temperature and is rarely exposed to the sun."

Victoria Harlane—The Empress—tried to talk to Ruby while her husband was chatting with Matthew. She covered half of her face with a fan, so Ruby couldn't see the expression she was making clearly.

However, the color of her feelings was similar to Osborn's, only more intense.

Ruby passed her notebook to the Empress while lowering her head. After all, Victoria's position in the Raeludin empire was still higher than hers, so Ruby had to behave herself.

"I did have difficulties at first. However, His Majesty the King has always tried to treat me well and ensure my health."

"Because of this, I easily acclimated to Veritas' cold temperature," wrote Ruby.

Victoria finally folded her fan and gave a smile. "He treats you well? I thought he would be rude to you."

Victoria put her lips next to Ruby's ear, then whispered, "Just so you know, rumors about women who commit suicide after being destined to become his mate are true."

Ruby flinched. She had often heard that rumor since she lived in Wridal, but she didn't think all the slanted news was trustworthy.

However, Ruby didn't want a rumor to influence her thoughts toward Matthew. Because Ruby knew Matthew more than anyone else knew the man.

"I beg you pardon, Your Majesty. Even if the rumor is true, it doesn't mean His Majesty is a bad person. They only judge His Majesty from the surface, while I know him very well."

Victoria smiled crookedly; she seemed to feel that Ruby was too stupid to trust someone like Matthew. "For a woman who was once rejected by the alpha of the Wridal Kingdom, you are surprisingly confident."

Ruby immediately sharpened her eyes as she heard the insult. Before this, she had been sure that someone would bring up her disgrace in the past, but Ruby didn't expect the Empress to say it.

"Your Majesty the Empress, you shouldn't bring up that dishonor past." Greysen Hortone suddenly walked up to them and stood before Ruby.

Greysen bent his back; he took Ruby's right hand and kissed the back of her hand. "I was being impulsive back then. Therefore, I would like to apologize for my impoliteness in rejecting you at that time."

"I regretted not marrying you as soon as the moon goddess announced you as my future wife, My Luna."