This chapter had to be one of the hardest I wrote T_T, I've rewritten it so many times.
Anyways warning for slightly suggestive sexual tension (at the end).
By the way, I will soon start with Betrothed so updates from me would be slower from now on. Hope you enjoyed~
Almost a year has passed since Noelle was officially crowned. Despite all that she has accomplished the council is still not satisfied, for the reason that they are demanding an heir from the Queen. What is Asta going to do?
Clack. Clack. Clack.
Throughout the hallway, there was the sound of heavy steps echoing towards the Queen's office. Noelle kicks her office door open, surprising the male on the other side of the room. She was certain she left a dent on the hard wood but couldn't bring herself to care at the moment.
"Uh, how'd it go?" He asks nervously. Earlier she had left to attend a meeting with the council alone. Although majority of the council complied with her in the Queen's position; some remained skeptical. For the council to initiate a meeting seemed like a step towards acceptance. Looking back, she should've known there was a catch especially since they excluded the Wizard King.
"It was horrible! Their audacity is unbelievable! They even wanted my first born to be a boy as if I could even control that? Can you be any more misogynistic?" She continues to spew venomous words as she paces on the floor. Asta watches her stomp with every new colorful insult that escaped her mouth. Judging by the expression on his face, he probably didn't understand anything she said. Eventually, the angry mage looses steam.
"I'm sorry you had to go through all of that. Maybe I should've went with you after all." He pats her on the back while Noelle slumps onto her seat.
"I can handle it. Their demands are just so unnecessary." She moved to open the first of many folders to be read but her coworker closes it shut.
"Let's get out of here." The Wizard King grabs her hand and moves towards the window.
"But what about work?" The male shrugs, not particularly concerned about it. He summons his sword and hops on.
"Let's go out for lunch, my treat. We can return when you relax." He reassures while offering his hand for her to climb aboard. The watermage glances at the mountain of papers waiting to be read. With her current mood, she knows she wouldn't be productive. Claiming surrender she takes his hand and he flies her away.
Noelle recognizes the route they were taking, this was the same place they went on their first date—not that their first and subsequent outings were actual dates. It was just a case of coworkers/friends hanging out after hours; a completely platonic activity. When he challenged her to an unfair race(the same day he asked her to be Queen), he led her to a humble restaurant. Turns out he was unfamiliar with it as well so they gave it a shot. Lo and behold the food was so amazing, it even rivaled Charmy's (don't tell her that though). The building had a rustic homey feel to it, unlike the other fancy establishments near the capital.
It was a little awkward because of other people gawking but that was a price to pay for being public figures. Eventually they caught too much attention so they started to wear disguises. It was actually funny to hang out in odd clothes and act like themselves without the public's critical eyes. They vowed to try every item on the menu, resulting in their regular dinner dates.
Once they obtained disguises, they go in unrecognized. They eat lunch and he offers her to get dessert. Anything laced in sugar is her comfort food. After treating her to all the sweets she wanted, he suggests they walk back instead of flying.
"So, now that you've calmed down. What got you so upset?" She realizes that her rapid rants from earlier probably only confused him, but now that the rage simmered down she could explain her situation better.
"The council wants me to get hitched and have a kid by next year. They want an 'heir' for the throne. I either have to pick from the courtship proposals I receive or directly meet their recommended suitors." She was not looking forward to any of that.
Crack!
She halts from the slight vibration of the ground and turns to her partner. Looking down she noticed slight cracks formed beneath his feet
Was that an earthquake, just now?
She would've liked to confirm it but Asta didn't seem concerned and kept walking. "Why would they want an heir?" He asks and she shrugs.
"They told me it was to solidify my position, which is definitely a lie. Ugh, I bet they never pressured Augustus to marry." Noelle was perfectly aware of the council's obvious bias, but for them to demand a child as if she owed it to them makes her blood boil.
"Hmmm, I think I have an idea." She hears him announce and brings out his communication device.
"Hi, Marx."The memory mage sighs tiringly.
"Where have you been this time?" The watermage was impressed that Marx knew who Asta was even with the disguise.
"Out to lunch, I got you some snacks too. Anyways listen, I'd like a word with the council today. Schedule it in half an hour, we'll be back by then. Thanks." The older male nods and hangs up.
"What are you planning?" She asks. The male sounded like his usual self but something felt a little off.
He answers her with a serious expression.
"I need to test a theory of mine."
They make their move towards the same meeting room she was in earlier that day. The watermage doesn't know what his theory is or how he was planning to test it.
Noelle can't help but feel worried. Earlier today she vehemently fought against their wishes, but ultimately all she managed was that at least she could choose her suitor
"Alright, no matter what you hear don't refute me. Focus on watching the council's reactions instead." He says and she stiffly nods.
The queen feels a reassuring grip on her shoulder. "Don't worry, I won't let them give you away to someone that doesn't deserve you. You can count on me." And he gives her a grin. No matter how many times she saw it, the warm comfort it brings never disappeares. Now prepared, they enter the room.
"Council, thank you for coming at such short notice." The Wizard King greets just to be polite. Some scoffs could be heard in reply.
"Think nothing of it, we expected a follow up meeting after the Queen left and had her tantrum." One of the elders speaks. The condescending tone makes Noelle grip her fists tightly yet she kept her professional composure.
"Excuse my rudeness but your plans are against my will. Why would I continue to speak with people who refuse to listen?" The antimage nods by her side.
"My queen's irritation is justified. You have made some unreasonable requests. Actually, I find it odd that I wasn't included in that previous discussion." Asta indirectly questions.
"This is not a matter of the Kingdom's safeguard, we figured that you're presence was unnecessary." Another member spoke, after.
"As for the request, do not misunderstand. It is simply tradition to expect the queen to eventually marry and give an heir."
"Then why so early?" Noelle asks.
"My queen you are already 28, yet you refuse to accept a single courtship proposal. This age is at the verge for optimal pregnancy, waiting any longer would be risky." They explain and she couldn't deny that fact. Although that would indicate she had a leeway of at least two more years, that still doesn't explain their urgency. Asta speaks before she could comment on it.
"You all shouldn't worry about that." She feels his hand wrap around her shoulders and pull her in a side hug. This makes her look at him questioningly but he brushes it off. He continues to talk with a loud carefree voice. "We will give you an heir eventually, just not now. These things take time you know and we dedicate a lot of it to our careers."
Wh-what? Did he just say WE?!
Several gasps escaped from the council members, she would have heard her own had Asta not hid her flushed face into the crook of his neck.
"Ahh sorry, she gets embarrassed whenever I bring it up. My queen is so adorable~" She feels him cuddle her and she was trying so hard not to fling him away with water. A few moments pass and the council's shock turns to various forms of contempt.
"So the rumors were true! The rulers of Clover are in a relationship with each other."
"How scandalous!"
"Why were we not informed of this?"
"We like to keep our privacy. Is there a problem with that?" He looses the nonchalance and she senses his shoulders tense.
"Nevermind that, a royal cannot be with a peasant." The claim makes his eyebrow raise.
"Even if said peasant is crowned Wizard King? Regardless, I don't recall a single law that prohibits marriage between peasants and royalty. In fact, you lot have deprived plenty of other rights from the common people for no justified reason.
You simply forbid it for convenience then claim it as tradition." Noelle didn't know ki like Asta did but she could tell by sight alone. The Wizard King is brimming with rage. With that, nobody dared to counter and he continues.
"However we are all supposed to be progressive for the benefit of the Kingdom, therefore some traditions are not worth conforming to."He takes her hand.
"Just to make this clear, Queen Noelle will build her family when she chooses to; if it's with me or otherwise." They dismiss the meeting and leave. She holds her outburst till they reach their office, where she confronts him.
"Have you gone mad? Why would you say all of that when we aren't even dating yet?"
"Yet?" He gives her a sly look. She ignores her slip in favor of questioning him.
"Asta. Why. Did. You. Lie?" The teasing smirk transformed into a satisfied smile.
"To confirm my suspicions on the real reason they want you to get married."
"It's because the council is paranoid of losing power." He says with utmost confidence yet his lack of sense caused a migrane in her head.
"How does that relate to my marriage?" She deadpans.
"As you know, most of the Wizard Kings/Queens usually rotate between the Silvamillion family; aside from a few exceptional mages. Whilst the actual monarchy of Clover is always from Kira. That's why most, if not all nobles relied on the King to ensure that their powers are maintained. However our case is different, I'm the first Wizard King that isn't a noble and you are the first Monarch that isn't a Kira. Even worse for them is that we are actively mitigating the oligarchy in Clover.
False rumors about our relationship only amplified their paranoia. In their perspective, both of us individually already hold too much power. Us together, further diminishes their influence.Therefore the council's only option to regain control, would be through a third party in between us so—"
"They plan to set me up with either a Kira relative or a nobleman they fancy." She finishes for him. The whole situation makes her crave more sweets, sadly there was none left.
"Your 'revelation' earlier, will probably delay their agenda but I doubt they would stop trying. I wouldn't be surprised if they still encouraged nobles to pursue me.
I am not looking forward to those meet ups and creepy courtship proposals."
"You mentioned that before too, what are those things?" It was weird to her how Asta could assess complicated power struggles in politics yet be ignorant of straightforward concepts like courtship proposals. Especially since it's literally in the name. Though she shouldn't blame him for being unfamiliar with it.
"'It's a formal letter asking for permission to court me, it's a noble custom. I've received some ever since I was 18, usually the head of the household handles them but my brother Nozel entrusted that responsibility to me from the start."
"Whoah, that's a decade worth of suitors. And you haven't accepted a single one?" He asks and she answers automatically.
"I want to marry the person I love, not strangers with ulterior motives."
"The person I love?" He repeats to himself but she hears him.
"Hm?"
"You said 'the' not 'a' person I love. Which means—" Noelle cuts him off before he continues.
"Get back to work." Immediately hiding herself behind a folder, she panics in her mind. Thanks to her slip up, now he is aware that she loves someone enough to warrant marriage. The queen could only hope he didn't know who it was.
It was crazy to think of how quickly time passes. Thanks to the council's bothersome demands, she hadn't realized that her Coronation Anniversary was right around the corner. Fortunately, her preparations are being handled for her party.
Just as they predicted, the council insisted with their plans. Now that the nobility is made aware of the queen's "search" for a suitor, Noelle received even more letters.
Thus, every morning she was met with a pile of mail. However some of these might be personal letters from her family/friends. She had to go through all of it in order to identify which were important. Amongst the ridiculous amount of sorting, she finds one with a very familiar seal.
That's odd, why would Asta bother sending me a letter when he's right across the room?
Noelle looks around the office to ask him only to find his chair unoccupied. Staring at the suspicious envelope in her hands, suddenly she feels anxious. With shaky hands, she breaks the seal, flips the paper open and reads its contents.
She gasps.
"Hello, my queen! You got my letter, I see." Her blood runs cold and she swivels her chair around to face Asta.
"Why is this—why does it say—what are you planning now?"
"That piece of paper says it all." The queen looks down at the text once more to ensure her eyes weren't playing tricks on her.
"If this is to sell that we're dating, you don't have to. You shouldn't feel obligated to help me, I can handle it."
"Who said I was obligated?" She looks up to see him with the same serious expression from the other day. It occurs to her that his hands are holding her chair's armrests, effectively trapping her. Even then his piercing gaze would've kept her in place. She questions how he even managed to get so close that their foreheads touched.
He continues to talk with determination yet his quiet and calm demeanor felt uncharacteristic."I said this before, I'm not letting them give you away to someone that doesn't deserve you.
Not when you already love me."
"H-how did you—"
Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump.
She hears her own erratic heartbeats and she swears he moved even closer. Heck, she could even feel their breaths intermingling!
Not able to handle the heated eye contact, she shifts her vision downwards and finds that their lips were only a few inches apart. He follows her gaze and one of his hands reach her chin.
Asta wasn't going to do what she thinks, is he? There was no way!
Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump.
Her chin gets tilted upwards and despite herself, she subconsciously closes her eyes in anticipation. She wonders how it would feel, would he be clumsy, gentle, passionate, aggressive?
Yet all she feels is the disappearance of his warmth.
"Wha—" Her eyes open and sees him opening the door.
"Pardon the intrusion but the other half of the queen's mail was just delivered."
"Oh thanks, have a good day!" Asta accepts it in his hands and bids to the messenger. Just like that, the Wizard King was back to his older self and she can't help but be disoriented. He places them on her desk and she wonders if it was possible that she hallucinated the whole incident.
"Tomorrow is your Coronation Day isn't it? I'll explain then." She feels a slight pressure on her cheek, and it takes her a second to realize that he had just kissed her on the cheek."I'll be expecting your approval, my queen." The fondness in his voice when he says it somehow makes her heart go even faster.
'It would be an honor to celebrate your achievement alongside you, as your partner for the night.'
The letter Asta gave was not only for courtship but also a request to be his date for tonight. No wonder he mentioned it out of nowhere yesterday.
Although the party was in the evening, preparations were started from noon. Now in her office she is all prepped and ready to go wearing a flattering long purple dress—the same shade as her eyes and the color of royalty. Lace patterns cover her torso all the way to her sleeves. Her shiny silver hair left to cascade down her back.
"Beautiful as always, my queen." Her officemate greets with a kiss on her hand.
The Wizard King's usually unruly hair is tamed and gelled towards his back. He is wearing a black suit, the lapels designed with dark purple patterns, and his patterned tie was the same shade as her dress.
"Thanks, you don't look too bad yourself." She musters to respond, the natural blush on her cheeks overpowering her make up.
Ever since yesterday she didn't know how to act without making a fool out of herself. She had been dreaming of romantic Asta for so long and now that she was experiencing it, talking normally became harder.
The hand holding hers shifts to intertwine their fingers."Why so tense? I've known how you felt for years. There's no need to be embarrassed." His attempt to relax her only raised her anxiety. The queen doesn't reply and continues to be immersed in her thoughts.
"Even with our matching outfits, I never did get my approval. Did I just misunderstand your feelings for me?" This question breaks her out of her stupor and she clutches the hand threatening to let go.
"Of course I accept! Both your invitation and the courtship letter. I'm just a little confused." She admits.
"You knew for so long but why didn't you say anything?" Part of her felt angry, why would he continue to act clueless despite knowing?
His thumb starts to caress her knuckles absent mindedly."I didn't want to hurt you when I'm still undecided. You are one of my closest friends and I admire how amazing you are. Still, I couldn't tell if my feelings went deeper than that. But from the time I spent without you and the past year I spent alongside you, I became certain." His unoccupied palm goes to her cheek and their eyes lock.
"I love you.
And I'm sorry it took the council attempting to marry you off, for me to finally do something about it." A couple tears form near her eyelids and she hugs him out of happiness.
"You idiot." She mumbles in the embrace and he chuckles.
"Is there anything this idiot could do to make it up to you?" After everything that happened, she could only think of one thing. The woman releases the hug and grabs his cheeks.
"Kiss me."
"Anything for my queen." He wipes away her fallen tears and complies to her request.
She closes her eyes, anticipating the slight pressure on her lips. Strong arms wrap around her waist to pull her closer. On instinct, she brings her arms around his neck and tilts her head to the side for a deeper kiss. One kiss led to more and with each repetition they got more confident.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
They hear from their office door, the person speaks from the other side.
"Wizard King Asta, Queen Noelle, the party will start soon." The two mentioned separate and she takes the opportunity to regain her breath.
"We'll be right there."
As soon as the person leaves, a familiar pair of lips captures her breath once more. This kiss however was different from their previous, it was much more possessive. She gasps when Asta pushes her against the door and he takes it as an opportunity to explore her mouth with his tongue. Noelle is so surprised with this sudden development that she just stands there. He stops from her lack of response and whispers to her ear.
"I have a lot to make up for. Why not stay a little longer?" She shivers from the sheer want from his voice. Perhaps it was from holding back for so long, but she could tell he seemed deprived. However, they were both important attendees for the event.
"As tempting as that is, the others would notice our disappearance." She witnesses the male pout. Noelle fixes her clothes using the mirror and finds that Asta's lips still had residue from her makeup. As hilarious as that would've been to leave it, she takes a handkerchief and starts wiping it for him.
"Fine, but as soon as I have you all to myself don't expect me to hold back." He offers his elbow for her to take as they make their move to the venue.
"Looks like the council doesn't have to wait much longer for an heir, wouldn't you say?" The implications of his words causes an explosive blush on her face.
"W—we aren't even married yet stupid!"
The next time she opens her office door she is greeted by Asta kneeling with a flower on his hand and a ring in his pocket. Right after her Coronation Day, the Kingdom celebrates the queen's Engagement.
Oligarchy: a small group of people having control of a country, organization, or institution.