Chapter Twenty-One

"Hello, Your Majesty," Lloyd greets me, bowing as I enter the dining hall.

"Hi, Lloyd," I wave and give him a small smile. There were a lot of important-looking people in the room, one was talking—or whispering— to the royal family. I picked up the words 'tell her' and 'truth,' but, as I approach them to hear better, their conversation comes to an abrupt halt and I have no choice but to pretend I was walking over to talk with them.

"You look stunning, dear," Eliane compliments me, beaming.

"Thank you, Eliane" I half curtsy, half bow. Aaron gives me a slight nod, before excusing himself to talk to the important-looking man, and Eliane gave me a knowing smirk, before leaving. Now it was just me and Christophe. He was wearing a black suit with matching black pants, a white undershirt, and a grey tie.

"You look beautiful," he whispers.

"Thank you. You clean up nice too."

"What can I say," he runs a hand through his professionally messy hair. "Looking good is in my blood."

I giggle and roll my eyes.

We sit at the dining table—side by side— and I spot Jesse making kissy faces at Christophe and me from across the table. Christophe flips him off, but he just explodes into a silent fit of laughter. Christophe glares at him, and Jesse gets elbowed by the guy on his right, whicj=h made him laugh harder, silently of course. Then the guy whispered something in Jesse's ear. Whatever he said shut Jesse up and his face turned paperwhite, now Christophe was having a silent giggle fit but stopped when Eliane shot all three of them deadly glares.

Clearing his throat, Aaron stands to speak. "We are gathered here today, trusted members of the royal council, my family, and Ms. Carmen Hernández, to propose a deal. A deal that will hopefully start a new generation of Lacroix's!" Aaron's voice boomed and there was loud applause, from everyone except me. I was getting more and more nervous by the second.

Once the noise died down, Aaron spoke again. "Ms. Hernández, please know that it is completely your choice to sign the contract, and if you refuse, you will be able to leave with no punishment or conditions whatsoever," he looks at me, and my heart thumps. I give a quick nod and he gestures to the important-looking man he was talking to earlier.

The man slides a long piece of parchment and a black pen in front of me. I picked up the parchment with shaking hands and read it. It said that if I signed the contract, I will marry Christophe for one year. After that, if I don't want to be married and make an heir for the throne, I have the choice to leave.

Everyone intensely stares at me as I read it over and over again.

Did I want to do this?

I remember Camila's tear-stained face and immediately think no. But Christophe seems like a great guy, and if I marry him, that might mean a better life for my family.

Hesitantly, I pick up the pen and sign on the dotted line. The room erupts into applause and cheer, Aaron and Eliane look relieved as they clap and welcome into the family.

There was a feast prepared in celebration. As the maids placed the food on the table, I could see their mouths salivating. I remember how Emely, Léa and Camille were served oatmeal while I was served spaghetti and meatballs and I felt terrible. And before I knew it, I did something extremely stupid.

I stood up and said, "I would like the maids to join us."

Everyone looked shocked, but before they could protest, I continued. "This table can fit at least five hundred people and they deserve to sit here as much as I do."

"Very well then, Lidia, " Aaron gestures to one of the maids. "Round up the rest of the maids, and bring chairs, one for each of you," she nods excitedly and runs out of the room. Less than two minutes later, more than a hundred maids pour into the dining room, each carrying a chair. They looked to be between the ages of twelve to sixty.

Luckily, they were able to place their chairs without having to move and were able to get themselves plates, cutlery and glasses for drinking. The members of the royal council looked appalled—but kept quiet. I did a silent prayer of thanks to god before serving myself and digging in. The conversation was light and comfortable, mostly Eliane gushing about how lavish the wedding will be, Aaron and the council discussing imports and exports around the kingdom and the maids thanking me for including them on such a joyous occasion earning an eye roll from a member of the council.

All the while, I'm thinking of my family. It's around 7 p.m so they must be having dinner, and Cami has school—

"I forgot about school!"

"Pardon?" Eliane asks and I realize I said that last sentence out loud.

"Will I be able to continue my education?" I could practically hear everyone confused thoughts.

I saw a slight smile on Christophe's face. The kind of smile you try to hold back, but you slip and it shows for a split second before you hide it again.

"You want to go back to school?" Aaron asks incredulously.

"Of course."

"It's too risky Your Majesty, everyone will recognize you," one of the council members says, she was a tall, dark woman with a tight bun.

"But nobody knows yet, right?" Eliane, hopeful.

"Technically no, Your Highness," she answers begrudgingly.

"Then it is settled then. Carmen shall go to school and we will have the wedding after she graduates," Aaron says and I was about to squeal in joy until he continued, "on one condition, one maid and a guard will come with you, under the alias of teenagers of course."

I groan.

"If you cannot accept my single condition, then you can't go," he shrugs. Ugh, he's just like Papá.

"Fine. Who's coming?" I ask.

"Hmm" he looks around the table, thoughtfully scratching his chin. "Well, Xavier and Christophe are too old for high school. How about Jesse and Emely," he nods confidently.

"Oh come on!" Jesse groans. "I haven't been in high school for three years!"

"Perfect chance for you to get an education," Eliane says, calmly.

Jesse groans. "Can't Mateo go instead?"

"Mateo has not completed his training and is ten times smarter than you. You need school," Aaron's tone hinted that the conversation was over.

Jesse groaned again before muttering something under his breath that sounded like I'm ten times smarter than stupid Mateo.