“There’s no point in speculating. We can keep on guessing for days without reaching an answer. As I said, the simplest way is to ask them. Plus, I want to see this girl that seemed to have captured the interest of not one but both of my sons,” the king said with an amused smile. “Excuse me, father?” Darius asked with confusion. “Come on now, don’t tell me that you’re not the least bit interested in her,” the king said with a knowing smile. He would have preferred for Leonard to pay more attention to Regina since she has the perfect breeding and has made herself readily available; however, time was of the essence, and he had learnt not to be picky or else he may not get anything that he wants at all. It was unfortunate that after moving to live in the palace, Regina had failed to attract much if any of Leonard’s attention. However, that was a problem that her father, the prime minister had to deal with, as for the king, he would place his bets on any other woman to diversify his risks. “I am not…interested in her…in the way that you seem to think,” Darius replied seriously. “Well, no matter. Get someone to bring the girl over immediately. I want to see her, and I want to talk to her…” the king commanded. “Mila, the maid, must be tired after…dealing with Leonard for the entire night last night. She had just returned to her room this morning. I understand that you want to strike the iron when it is hot, but I believe that it would be better if you meet her in a few days’ time. She probably needs some time to figure out how she feels about what happened…” Darius suggested as he prayed that his father would agree. The king is famous for his fast temper and lack of patience. Making him wait was going to be a challenge and Darius knew that very well; however, there were many risks involved if things were to move too fast. “Fine. I’ll leave this matter in your hands,” the king finally agreed. “Thank you, father,” Darius said. Darius made his way out of the room after saying his polite farewells to his father. Immediately after Darius had left the room, the duchess got up from her seat. “Where are you headed?” the king asked. “Please head back before me, Your Majesty. I would like to have a word with my son…” she said before smiling sweetly at him. “Don’t take too long, Isabella,” the king replied before returning her smile. The duchess leaned in and placed a tender kiss on her lover’s cheek before she turned and headed toward the exit. … “Darius!” Isabella called after the prince. Darius paused in his tracks before letting out a depressing sigh. After putting a smile on his lips, he turned around to greet the duchess. “We need to talk…” Isabella said as she stared up into her son’s beautiful grey eyes. “What about?” he asked. “Please follow me. I prefer that we talk in private…” the duchess replied. She led the way and Darius had no choice but to follow. Isabella led Darius to a meeting room that was unoccupied before gesturing for him to enter. After that, she closed the door firmly and locked it before turning around to face the prince. Darius thought that he had a pretty good guess of what Isabella wanted to talk to him about. “What is it that you wanted to talk about?” Darius asked directly. “What is it that you think that you’re doing?” the duchess asked as she narrowed her eyes at him. “I am not certain what you are referring to…” Darius replied calmly. The duchess took in a deep breath before letting out a loud and long sigh. She made her way to one of the chairs and slumped down onto it. Darius was surprised that her perfect posture was all but gone. What was left was the sight of a tired-looking lady that was trying to look younger than her actual years. “Setting Prince Leonard up with a girl, a maid at that. Making sure that they spend the night together. Reporting it with so much hope to the king. Why would you do such things?” the duchess asked accusingly. “I am doing this for the sake of this kingdom. As you already know, it is of extreme importance that the royal family produces more ultimate alphas to lead this kingdom and the pack. So far there are only four men who meet those requirements which are the king, and his three sons. No other Ultimate Alphas have been born since then,” Darius replied smoothly. “You know very well that that isn’t what I am talking about. Why must you try to promote Leonard over yourself? The prince that produces an Ultimate Alpha heir first will be the one to take over the throne as the next king. So, why are you always trying to give your biggest opponent opportunities to make a head start?” the duchess asked as her anger clearly showed on her facial features. “I don’t want to become king. It’s as simple as that,” Darius stated clearly. “I will not allow that! You will become the next king. How dare you try to support Leonard when I am doing all that I can to earn the king’s favor? Can’t you see how hard I’ve been working for this? Why don’t you cooperate with me?” Isabella asked desperately as she pleaded with Darius with her eyes. “Mother, the king has been kind enough to us. We should not wish to take any more from him. The king adores you and takes care of you well. What more can you possibly want?” Darius asked calmly. “I want my only son to be king. That is all that I want and I’m going to do whatever it takes to make it happen,” Isabella declared passionately. “I don’t wish to be king, and it isn’t my rightful place to do so. The king has given us more than enough. He made you a duchess and he made me a prince,” Darius said humbly. --To be continued…