Raised From The Wild-Chapter 299: Queen Zanzara Is Back

"Are you alright, Aya? You looked pale." Marx asked her, his voice was full of concern.

"I don’t think I am alright. Something is not right with me earlier. My mind was hazy and I could not think straight." Amaya looked back at the direction that they came from. She shuddered when she saw King Ralden emerge from the hallway. He winked at her and a playful smile appeared on his face.

’What is wrong with him? Is he a pervert? He is such a dangerous person.’ Amaya thought to herself.

Marx led her to the pavilion in the middle of the West Garden.

"Catch your breath before we go to the banquet hall. The party will start in an hour but others might wonder if they did not see you there."

Marx helped Amaya sit on the wooden bench with a backrest. The bench was made from a century-old acacia tree that was uprooted by a storm three years ago. The King decided to use the tree stumps as unique benches and tables to spice up the large pavilion in the west garden.

Marx settled beside Amaya and held her hand.

"Try to stay away from him, Aya. He seemed very dangerous and he is attracted to you." Marx’s voice was laced with worry.

Amaya looked at Marx with wide eyes.

"What do you mean he is attracted to me?"

"He desires you, Aya. I am a man and I recognized the kind of look that he gave you earlier." Marx pursed his lips. He wanted to punch King Ralden earlier but he had to restrain himself. ’He is the king of a country after all.’

"If I keep running away, then wouldn’t that make me a coward and he will be gratified?" She did not wait for Marx to reply and continued. "I need to face it Marx. I have to learn to fight against his mind control games."

"Oh, here you are, cousin! I have been looking all over the place for you." A sweet voice came from the palace door not far away.

Zanzara who was wearing a sleeveless blue mermaid gown walked gracefully from the side door of the palace to where Amaya and Marx were sitting inside the pavilion.

A tall slender woman wearing a black off-shoulder gown with an A-line skirt was walking beside her in measured steps.

Amaya stood up.

"It is nice to have you back, cousin." Amaya greeted her cheerfully.

Zanzara frowned. She was the Queen of Ra-iya. Couldn’t she address her as ’Your Majesty?’

"Though you are her cousin, it is still polite to address her as one should address their queen. She is the queen of Ra-iya after all." The woman spoke politely but Amaya sensed contempt in her words.

Marx glared at the woman and she shrank back.

Amaya simply smiled. "I am not from Ra-Iya and therefore I am not her subject. She is from Lireya and we are now in Lireya. Here, she is my cousin."

Armida was speechless. She could not continue to argue with the Princess.

"Who is this lady beside you, cousin?" Amaya asked keeping her face expressionless.

"Oh, this is Armida. She is my right-hand man, or rather right-hand woman. She will be helping me with the orphanage projects. We haven’t met earlier to discuss it." Zanzara checked the golden watch on her wrist.

"We still have time before the banquet starts. Is it okay with you to discuss this now?" Zanzara sounded domineering. Her tone seemed to tell Amaya that ’I am the queen. You cannot defy my words.’

Amaya’s eyes met Marx’s blue ones for a few seconds before reverting to Zanzara.

"Sure. The light here is a bit dim though."

"It is alright." Zanzara glanced at Marx hesitantly. ’Is he not leaving? How come he could not pick up the hint.’

Zanzara looked at Armida and Armida cleared her throat.

"Sir, I hope you can step out for a while. Some of our discussion will be for women’s ears only."

Marx gritted his teeth and was about to leave when Amaya tugged at his sleeves.

"There is no need for him to leave. Our discussion will be about the orphanage and nothing private. Marx is in contact with a person who is an expert on setting up orphanages so his input would benefit us." Amaya was resolute in her words.

Armida looked at Zanzara and she seemed troubled.

"Alright cousin. We can discuss it with Marx. Armida, can you tell Princess Amaya about our proposal?"

Zanzara was familiar with the palace as she also grew up there. She groped for a switch underneath the wooden table. She flicked it and the pavilion was flooded with warm yellow light.

Armida placed her tablet on top of the table. She showed a blueprint of the orphanage. The more she explained, the more that Princess Amaya frowned.

Amaya unconsciously looked at Marx. They seemed to have a tacit understanding.

"I don’t like the blueprint." Princess Amaya cut Armida’s presentation. She spoke candidly without regard to whether she offended Armida or Zanzara.

"We should provide more space for a garden where children can play. There should also be a learning center where they can study. I agree that the bedrooms can be bigger but we should place more bunk beds to accommodate more children.

Armida looked at Zanzara with a troubled look.

"Princess, we wanted the children to be more comfortable that is why the rooms are made bigger and there are fewer beds," Armida spoke politely but she silently cursed in her heart. The rooms were made bigger so they could save money with fewer partitions and lesser beds.

"We should focus on accommodating more children. I am not saying that we should make them uncomfortable but it is unfair that some children sleep better while the others are left out without a roof over their heads."

Marx looked at Amaya adoringly. He loved her compassion and the way she handled the situation.

Armida looked at Queen Zanzara as if asking for her help. Zanzara regarded Princess Amaya for a few seconds.

"Alright, let us listen to Princess Amaya. She will be the one funding this orphanage after all."

"I’ll have someone send the blueprint to your assistant, cousin. I need to trouble you to contact the construction company that Marx’s friend will recommend."

Zanzara looked at Amaya with narrowed eyes. Was she commanding her? She was a queen!’

"Princess, you don’t have to bother Queen Zanzara for that. I will handle it for you." Armida interjected when she saw the queen’s face turn ugly.

"Amaya, Ra-iya has a bidding process for this kind of project. We cannot directly use our preferred vendors." Zanzara spoke with the arrogance of a queen.

"Pardon me for interjecting, Queen Zanzara. The orphanage will be funded privately and the donor will have a say on who will work on the project." Marx kept his tone polite but it sounded so cold that even Amaya unconsciously looked at him to see if he was angry.

Zanzara’s face reddened from anger. She felt that the two persons in front of her were ganging up on her and did not take her status as a queen seriously.