Raised From The Wild-Chapter 148: Power Struggle
"Grandpa, It must be a power struggle for the throne. No wonder the king split the kingdom into four. What a wise king my great great great great great grandpa was." Amaya blurted her thoughts.
"Now, it is good that in modern times, sons of the kings no longer fight each other for the throne but follow the throne’s succession. Prince Raquim has four brothers and they seemed to have a harmonious relationship." Amaya said tactlessly.
When Amaya said that the sons of the kings no longer fight each other, King Ralden sneered. He has no brother to fight the throne with. He has two younger brothers who were just ten and eight years old. His two older brothers died in an accident when they went hunting with their father. A brother two years younger than him died from an illness.
"Amaya, watch your word. You don’t say such words in front of a king, and you have two kings in front of you." Prince Ibarra reprimanded the First Princess.
Amaya lowered her head. She felt aggrieved. What was wrong with what she said? Wasn’t it the truth?
The royal chef announced that lunch is ready. Everyone followed him to the main dining hall. King Ralden intentionally walked behind Amaya while King Duncan and Prince Ibarra flanked him on both sides. Prince Ibarra and King Ralden were almost the same height while King Duncan was a few centimeters shorter than them. His old age has taken a toll on him. He used to be a little taller than Ibarra but his height was shrinking as his age advanced.
The rest of the Rocas granddaughters can only follow behind. They were glaring at Amaya for not following protocol. Shouldn’t she walk behind the king? Why was she walking in front?
King Ralden admired the confident strides of the First Princess. Her skin color was lighter compared to most Lireyan. A lot of her legs were exposed because they were long and slender and her dress was short. Her legs were like porcelain, clear, smooth, and blemish free. ’Didn’t she grow in the wild? How come she doesn’t have any wound marks at all?’
"Cousin Amaya, come and walk with us." Zanzara cannot take it anymore. She called Amaya.
Amaya stopped and turned around. It was an unexpected action from her. King Ralden did not stop and bumped into her. The huge frame of the king was too much for her that she stepped backward and she almost fell.
Three pairs of hands reached out to her but it was King Ralden who was nearest so his hands were the ones who wrapped around Amaya’s waist to stabilize her. He stood very near her that he could smell the subtle scent of many flowers. It was pleasing to the senses, unlike the strong smell of Zanzara.
Amaya stepped away as if his hands scalded her. King Ralden frowned in displeasure.
"Thank you for saving me and sorry for stopping," Amaya said politely. She stepped aside to let the three men pass first.
"No worries, Princess. It is my pleasure to get the opportunity to save you." the king of Ra-Iya whispered to her when he passed her.
Zanzara pursed her lips. ’Damn! Did I cause that? I made matters worst.’
Amaya’s gaze landed on Zanzara. "Why did you call me? Because of that, I was put into an embarrassing moment."
Zanzara was about to answer but they already reached the dining hall. She hurried to sit beside Ralden. The king sat on the head of the table, while the crown prince and his consort sat to his right. Amaya sat beside her Aunt Nelida while the rest of her cousins sat on the same side as their guest.
Coming from the competition, Amaya was hungry. The moment, the king took the first bite, she did not stand on ceremony and started digging into her food. She ate fast and with big bites.
"Amaya, please slow down, you might choke if you eat that fast." Princess Consort Nelida reminded her.
The First Princess frowned but she obeyed and slowed down. "I am hungry, Aunt Nelida. I participated in the steeplechase and it was really exhausting."
Amaya glanced at her cousins. They ate elegantly taking small bites and pausing in between. Amaya looked down at her plate and all of the food was gone. She was still not full. She took a second serving of the food.
Shanaya looked at her enviously. How can she get away with that? She ate so much and yet she has a very beautiful figure. On the other hand, if she indulged a little bit in food, she would gain weight easily.
King Ralden’s gaze was always on Amaya. He marveled at how could she eat fast and still looked cute and elegant. He frowned when he realized his thoughts were moving in a different direction than his goal.
"This is actually not my first time in Lireya. I was here during Princess Amaya’s first birthday. That was seventeen years ago and I just entered my teen years."
The four young ladies did a mental calculation.
’He is already thirty years old, almost twice my age. Marx is twenty-five, our age is closer.’ Amaya smiled when she realized what she was thinking about.
’He is only thirty and yet he is already a king. He must be very outstanding.’ Zanzara turned to her right to gaze upon the manly beauty of the king. She just turned twenty-two and she thought that she was the best candidate for the marriage proposal.
’He is already thirty. Just how many wives he has?’ Tatiana tried to remember the articles she read about the harem of Ra-Iya. If she could remember right he has ten concubines. How can he have the energy to sleep with all of them?
’In terms of age, I am the most qualified. I am the eldest among my cousins. This is really an opportunity for me. I hope that the king will pick me.’
King Ralden looked at the granddaughters of Duncan. He had mastered in Psychology, and looking at their faces, he could more or less guess what was on their minds.
