Raised From The Wild-Chapter 171: A Success

"Father, Hubby, I think King Ralden has a point. Amaya after all is a Rocas. We need to take care of Amaya so she will learn to fully trust us. When she trusts us, she can share her burden with us." Nelida said in a gentle tone.

Both King Duncan and King Ralden glanced at Nelida, each with their own thoughts.

King Duncan was trying to gauge the sincerity of his daughter-in-law. When she took advantage of Ibarra’s vulnerability at the time of Danaya’s death, he scorned her. If not for the fact that she has gotten pregnant with the twins, he should have never agreed to her marrying Ibarra. He still remembered the scandal that her actions has brought to the Asteria Palace. How shameful it was for the Crown Prince to marry the sister of his wife just a year after her passing. Fortunately, people’s memory was short-lived and that shameful interlude in Ibarra’s life was long forgotten.

King Ralden apprised Nelida under his hooded eyes. Though she was considered a beauty, she was not as beautiful as the dead Princess Danaya. He saw her different portraits in the museum and when he looked her up on the internet. He can see the ambition and greed in Nelida’s eyes. The corner of his lips curled up.

The auction has ended. Princess Amaya went up the stage to thank all the guests who came and she urged them to enjoy the food and wine. The guests stayed to mingle with those who were well-known in the business world. They tried to close business deals or get prospects.

Marx was pulled by the higher-ups from K Corporation. Prince Raquim saw his opportunity. He waited for Amaya at the foot of the stairs and escorted her to a nearby tall table. He took a cocktail from the passing waiter and pass it to her.

"Congratulations on a successful auction, Princess. Your designs are very beautiful." Prince Raquim’s eyes were full of admiration.

"Amaya, I finally got hold of you." Tamara joined at the table. She was holding a wine glass with a purple liquid in it. "Congratulations. That was a blast. Did you do all those designs?" Tamara was wide-eyed when she asked her.

"Yes. I had a lot of free time when I was back in Miraga, so I drew quite a lot." Amaya took a sip of the cocktail.

"I envy you, Amaya. I hope I have a talent like yours."

Amaya turned at her. "You can learn. I believe everyone can draw. I also got help from a famous jeweler, Flint Stone. He pointed out some of my mistakes and taught me some techniques."

Tamara laughed. "Not everyone can draw. If you see my drawing, you would think that it was drawn by a preschool."

Prince Raquim frowned. He wanted to spend time with Amaya but his sister ruined his plan. He shot her a fierce glare but she ignored him.

"Indeed! Your drawings are very ugly. They looked like chicken claw marks." Prince Raquim vented his disappointment by criticizing his sister’s work.

Amaya smiled. "Well, everyone has their own strength."

"How is Lyra?" Prince Raquim asked seriously.

Amaya’s eyebrows furrowed. "Who?" She tried to think if she has a classmate by the name of Lyra but she can’t remember anyone with that name.

Prince Raquim smiled when she saw her confusion. "Lyra is the guitar I gave you during your birthday."

Amaya’s mouth formed a big O. So it was the guitar. "I have been busy in the past week I haven’t played with it for some time now." She said honestly.

"Don’t you know that Lyra is very important to my brother? it is more important to my brother’s heart as compared to a girlfriend. Her last girlfriend broke up with him because she cannot hold a candle to a mere guitar."

"Tamara!" Prince Raquim said in a stern voice. "Don’t listen to her Amaaya. She is spouting nonsense." The prince admonished her.

"By the way, Amaya, please come to my engagement party. It will be a week after next." There was a pang in Tamara’s voice.

"Are you getting engaged? But you are only eighteen! Aren’t you too young to be engaged?" Amaya asked. But then she remembered that her cousin was just a few years older than her and would be married soon.

Tamara was in a bad mood. It was obvious that she also did not want to be engaged.

"I don’t know why there is that stupid tradition where parents decide on the marriage of the children. What era are we now? We are the only country where parents decide on whom their daughters get married." Tamara paused and looked at her brother in the eyes.

"Brother, I hope that when you become the king you will abolish that stupid law." Tamara absentmindedly twirled the wine in her glass before gulping it in one go.

Amaya looked at her with concern. She seemed to be not in the right frame of mind.

"Is she drunk? Amaya reached out to support her when her body swayed a little.

"I think so. Her alcohol tolerance is very low and she drank a few glasses tonight." Prince Raquim has his eyes on Amaya.

"I like your designs, Princess and I am interested to collaborate with you. Do you want to consider opening a branch of Simply Jewel in Albania?" Prince Raquim stepped closer to Amaya and when he spoke to her, his face was just a few centimeters away.

"I am interested, but let me think about it and I have to discuss with Marx first."

Raquim’s grip on the wineglass tightened. His face darkened for a fleeting moment. But when he looked at her again, he has a gentle smile on his face.

"I’ll wait for your good news then Princess." He smiled with an expectant look in his eyes.

Amaya was momentarily dazed. She just noticed that Prince Raquim has two cute dimples near each corner of his mouth. She turned to study the man beside her. His raven black hair has grown a little longer and now reached his shoulder. Half of his hair was tied back by a black hair band exposing his heart-shaped face. They have the same shape as Marx but the half-heart in Raquim’s forehead was more pronounced. His eyes were a dark shade of brown but as not as deep and dark as that of King Ralden.

Prince Raquim noticed that Amaya had her full attention on him and was taking in his looks. He was in a good mood and therefore exuded a very amiable aura.

"How come I did not notice that you have dimples before? They looked very cute." Amaya asked innocently.

Prince Raquim almost choked on the wine that he was sipping. He coughed a few times before he calmed down.

Tamara chuckled. "It is because my brother does not know how to smile. He always wears a long face like people owe him billions of money."

"Huh?" Amaya glanced at Prince Raquim. "Hasn’t he been always smiling?"

"He! He only smiles at you and no one else." Tamara snorted.

Prince Raquim was about to retort his sister when a tall bulky man joined them at their table. His thick eyebrows, high forehead, and deep-set eyes made him look more manly. He stood beside Tamara and he towered above her. He looked domineering and aloof. He glanced at Amaya and their eyes locked for a second before Amaya shifted her gaze to her friend who looked flustered.

"Princess, this is Leonardo Carpio. He is the firstborn of our Minister of Defense." Prince Raquim introduced the man when Tamara did not make any effort to make an introduction.

"You are the one who won the bid for my ruby design ’Aphrodite!’" Amaya blurted out.

The man nodded, then he extended his hand to Amaya for a handshake. Amaya accepted his hand and he found it to be very big. "Nice meeting you, Princess Amaya. I finally get the chance to meet the famous First Princess of Lireya." He said politely and let go of Amaya’s hand. He then looked down at Tamara whose head was just a little above his chest. He took an exquisite black box and placed it in front of her.

Amaya recognized the box. She guessed the identity of the man beside Tamara. She turned to Prince Raquim and asked softly. "Is he the man that Tamara will be engaged to?"

Prince Raquim nodded.

"I don’t want it. Take it back." Tamara’s loud voice attracted the attention of people at the nearby tables. Amaya gestured that everything was fine. Only then did they get back to what they were doing.

Leonardo pursed his lips. His gaze darkened and when he spoke, his voice was cold. "I had already given it to you. You can do whatever you want with that. If you like, you can even throw it away." He slightly nodded at Prince Raquim and Amaya, then he turned around and left without looking at Tamara.

Tamara clutched the black box. She lifted it as if she wanted to throw it away.

"What are doing?"