Portrait of Queen Berta

I accidentally got pregnant with His Majesty's child

Chapter 15: The Royal Office

A great tour of inspection of the southwest territory of the country was arranged.

Harold had commissioned his second wife, Berta Kasha, to accompany him on this tour.
Therefore, the young prince, who had just celebrated his first birthday, would accompany him too, always carried in his birth mother's arms.

Berta Kasha's accompaniment was, of course, not a decision made for Harold's personal reasons.

The Southwest region has a not so good relationship with the royalty of the capital, because they belong to the aristocracy from the northern part of the continent, who they originally come from, the Gentile dynasty.

That was fine until his grandfather and father's generation, but Harold realized that the power of the local people, who had gained strength through trade, could not be underestimated anymore.

They aren't submissive to the royal family, but their emotional side can help to fix things up.

Quite simply, if they saw the Second Queen, being treated accordingly to her position, that will make the local Lords feel at ease and will make they open their pockets a little more.

Although not she isn't recognized by many as Harold's legitimate wife, Berta Kasha, is the first person to enter the royal family with Petranian origins, and is very popular between her people.
And moreover, she became the birth mother of the current king's only son.

Her power is so great that even the aristocracy faction that hates her, can only coil like snakes but can't simply ignore her power.

"Here's a document that outlines the itinerary and cities where this inspection will take place."

The reason why Harold himself is bothering to make this kind of business contact is because those who are overly concerned about the Second Queen's political meddling, are too strictly wary these days of any contact between the Petranian lords and anyone from the foreign countries.

"Can I read it here?"

After receiving the documents, Queen Kasha seemed to confirm the contents on the spot.

Although in the same royal palace, there is a short distance between the office of the front royal palace and the palace where she resides.
It would be troublesome to come and go many times, specially for the narrow corridor.

"You can take a seat."

"Thank you."

She sat down in a sofa a little away of his desk, perfectly poised and unflappable, and began to scrutinize the contents of the documents more carefully than Harold expected.

"What's bothering you?"

"Louis celebrated his first birthday recently. Traveling with an infant is fraught with unforeseen challenges. I am concerned that it might disrupt the schedule and affect his Majesty's plans for the visit."

She was almost ten years younger than he was, but somehow Harold remembered his old tutor.
And at the same time, it was strangely refreshing to be in contact with the eloquent Lady Kasha.

Since Louis was born, the only times he saw her was when they all were in public.
On such occasions, she is always reserved and behaves with modesty, always keeping her words to the bare minimum.

"That is of course in our minds as well. We try to avoid traveling long distances as much as possible, and if necessary, we are considering splitting up the group."

Queen Kasha thought in silence for a moment, then lifted her gaze from the paper.

"If you are considering splitting the group, would you mind if I add a couple of my maidservants to it? If possible, I like to have a Petranian maid at Louis' side at all times as well while we're traveling."

"I'm fine with that."

Whether she was calm or in a bad mood, she will always speak so unconcerned, that Harold can't tell at this moment how is she feeling.

The entire visit would take nearly two months.
During that time, he would be presenting her as his queen, so perhaps Queen Kasha and him will have to ride the same carriage sometimes.
The thought of it was awkward and daunting.

It was a little strange for Harold to see her dark irises, hidden in her chiseled eye sockets, following the letters of the paper.

Harold is so cautious of Queen Kasha because he saw her once in a rage.

(The more calm a person normally is, when she gets angry, the more frightening it is.)

He's right, there is something that makes her angry today, and Harold is partly at fault, but he doesn't see it yet.

"Your Majesty"

"What?"

"The food in the south is often more heavily seasoned than in this area. I suggest you inform your soldiers in advance, or inform the kitchen staff, so they prepare everything in advance."

Queen Kasha repeated her detailed advice, as if she were unconcerned.
This caused Harold's dismay, not because he doesn't know about it, his chamberlain already informed him of that.

"I see. I'll inform the Kitchen Secretary who will accompany us. But you must eat as you please, and I would like to try the southern diet too."

Queen Kasha smiled for the first time in a long time.
It was only an affectionate smile, though.

"Then the food of Meseta will be fine. All the ingredients you can find here are available there too."

Harold thought that when she smiles, her eyes looks clearer, and she seems less cold.
The reunion time was over, and Queen Kasha was about to leave, doing the same curtsy as when she came in.

Seeing it, Harold remembered one thing he had forgotten to ask.

"Queen Kasha, it's been a long time since you saw your home for the last time. Do you have any other places you'd like to visit during our travel?"

Queen Kasha opened wide her eyes in surprise, Harold's question was unexpected, but she quickly regained her composure.

"There is no special place that I consider home. All of Kasha's territory is home to me, and the ancient city of Meseta, where I was born and raised, has been on the list of destinations to visit from the start."

The ancient city of Meseta. It is known as one of the largest trading centers in the continent and the headquarters of the Kasha clan, which is influential over a wide area in the south of the country.

(One of the main purposes of this trip was to see the city of Meseta with my own eyes.)

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