Meanwhile, at the Maldura Royal Palace.

Queen Rianna was in a garden having tea with her guests.

"It seems my daughter has made a friend. I hope she makes a good friend out of him," said Countess Alexandria Ingham with a smile.

The Countess and the Marchioness of Berger had invited the Queen for afternoon tea and Rianna agreed to meet them in the palace garden.

Alexandria had short blonde hair and brown eyes. She wore a green dress and was in her mid-thirties.

The Marchioness of Berger was wearing a black and white dress and was a few years older than the Countess.

"Hmm. That's good that she is fairing well in the Royal Tairal Academy. So, Queen Rianna, how has your son been doing? I haven't heard much but I know boys can be quite a handful," Marchioness Isabella said as she took a sip of her tea.

Queen Rianna looked off into the distance as she replied, "It's been surprisingly easy so far. He's quite well-behaved. I didn't know what to expect but I wasn't going to nitpick him if he was a spoiled brat. He seems to be a happy baby and my people love him so far."

"Stop it, my Queen. After everything you have been through. You deserve the perfect child. And if he's the way you're saying. Then there is no doubt that you gave birth to the next greatest king of Fiafyr," Countess Alexandria said as she smiled at the Queen.

Queen Rianna gave the countess a sad look as she recalled the events that had happened to her. All her unborn children that she never had the chance to see or hold. All the hardships, all the whispers behind her back of being a failure of a wife and Queen. It lay heavily on her soul until Quinus was born. Now she gets nothing but praise from the citizens and nobles. She would be lying to herself if she said she didn't enjoy it. But a part of her felt that their kind words came easier from them in order to make themselves feel better after what they had done to her.

She was a foreign Noble that married into the royal family. So, she was considered the 'other'. Especially with all her miscarriages. She knew they thought lesser of her. If they weren't so important to her husband's success. She wouldn't have associated with any of these noble women, to begin with.

"Thank you, Countess. I never thought that I would get this type of reaction from my people or you. Especially when they have always shown me disrespect," The Queen said as she drank her tea.

"That is just a misconception, my Queen. I may have been prickly when we first met. But I assure you that I never meant any disrespect towards you. You were so far ahead of me that it felt like I couldn't hold a candle to you. I apologize if my words or actions have offended you in the past," Marchioness Isabella said with a serious look on her face.

The Countess gave an awkward smile as she didn't want to offend the Queen.

"Yes, Queen Rianna. We have our differences in the past. But we should put them behind us and continue to work together for the good of our country," The Countess said with a nod as she smiled.

"I appreciate your words. But trust is something that is earned over time," Queen Rianna said with a smile on her face as she sipped her tea.

Alexandria and Isabella gave an awkward laugh as they all knew that Queen Rianna was still very distrustful of the Fiafyrian Nobles. And the only person of high rank she trusts is her husband who has always defended her honor and pride.

"We promised to earn your trust, my Queen. I thought the goddess was punishing you but I was wrong. She must have been testing you and she rewarded you for your resilience. I have little doubt that Prince Quinus is nothing less than a Demi-god," Countess Alexandria said with a smile.

Queen Rianna felt uncomfortable with the compliment, "I doubt the Goddess is that cruel. But thank you anyway, Alexandria."

"Well, I'm sure all the surrounding kingdoms will be throwing their daughters at you to get your son to marry them. You're going to need the support of these noble women, my Queen," Marchioness Isabella said with a laugh trying to gain her Majesty's trust.

"Hahaha! That is true, Marchioness. But I will worry about that letter once it arrives. In the meantime. I will enjoy this peaceful time while I can," Queen Rianna said with a smile as she leaned back into her chair as she enjoyed the warmth from the sun and the company of the noble ladies trying to win favor from her.

"Well, I know it might be early to worry about such things but I heard my husband was getting a peace offer from the Alliance of the Divine Three. And all they need is approval for an arranged marriage with a Divine Three Princess and the negotiations will be complete. Then our country would no longer worry about them invading us from the south," Isabella said with a serious expression.

Rianna raised a brow as she looked at the Marchioness, "And here I thought you were enjoying my company. Is your loyalty to your King or the Alliance?"

Isabella and Alexandria looked at each other with a nervous look on their faces as they were surprised at how easily Rianna had figured out her true intention.

Isabella was the first to reply as she said, "I'm sorry my Queen. We do enjoy your company and once my husband found out that I was going to see you today he asked me to talk to you about the possibility of an arranged marriage. It was rude of me to bring it up on such short notice. Please forgive me for my impropriety. I was just trying to ease your mind."

"I understand Marchioness. But why doesn't your husband just talk to the King about this? Why does he need your assistance to convince me?" Queen Rianna said with a stern face.

Countess Alexandria and Isabella couldn't help but feel intimidated as the Queen looked at them.

"Well, my Queen. Marquess Duval believes the King would agree to this deal if you were to present it. King Cyndre trusts you over anyone else in the kingdom when it comes to... Well, everything. He never says no to you. Even when he's trying to prove how powerful and all-knowing he is. He allows you to be the face of the country and its people," Marchioness Isabella said with a nervous smile on her face.

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"Hmm. That is true that King Cyndre trusts me and that's because I trust him. I would agree with him that the Alliance can't be trusted. I'm sorry you came here for nothing, Isabella. I hope this doesn't make you lose face," Queen Rianna said with a straight face.

Marchioness Isabella smiled as she took another sip of her tea.

"On the contrary, my Queen. I came here for you. Not my husband. I just said I would ask and I did. If he's supposed to be such a great Prime Minister then he should convince King Cyndre himself. I'll just give him a hint to not bother you anymore," Isabella said with a confident smile on her face.

Queen Rianna couldn't help but laugh.

"I think I'm starting to like you, Isabella. But I'm sure you didn't just come to see me just to ask me about peace negotiations with the Alliance of the Divine Three. You must want to ask me a favor for yourself," Queen Rianna said as she gave the Marchioness a knowing look.

"Yes! My Queen is perceptive. Alexandria and I would love to help you with the party you're throwing for Prince Quinus. He'll be turning six months old and we would love to help plan the party with you," Isabella said as she smiled.

"That's correct my Queen. You gave our country its next heir and we felt it was the least we can do to thank you for all you endured," Countess Alexandria said as she bowed her head.

Queen Rianna sighed before she gave in.

"Very well, my Ladies. We will be hosting a grand party for Prince Quinus to be shown to the rest of the Fiafyrian Nobles. I'll need the ballroom setup and invitations to be sent out to the royal court... I think a month should be enough time to prepare everything," Queen Rianna said as she thought to herself. 'Let's see if they speak the truth and wish to become my ally.'

"That is good news! Then we will make sure everything is set up. You won't be disappointed, my Queen," Marchioness Isabella said with a smile.

"I'll handle the floral display and the food. It's been too long since we've had a large banquet in Tairal," Countess Alexandria said with a confident smile.

"It will be an honor to work with two experienced ladies such as yourself. I hope we can get the chance to know each other better," Queen Rianna said with a smile.

Countess Alexandria and Marchioness Isabella smiled back as the afternoon tea continued.

***

After finishing their time with the Queen, Countess Alexandria Ingham, and Marchioness Isabella Wrightwood took their own private carriages back to their manors located on the outskirts of the city.

Isabella stared forward the whole half-hour trip thinking of the Queen's words as she let her own carriage carry her through the city.

"She is smarter than I gave her credit for... I can see why Cyndre chose her to be his Queen. I need to right the wrongs and not bother her with my husband's schemes," Isabella thought to herself as she continued to stare forward as the buildings passing by the window.

She arrived at her manor just before the sun started to set.

"Welcome back, my lady," said the footman that opened the carriage door for her as he helped her down.

"Thank you, Ludov. Please tell my maids to ready my evening wear. I'll be joining my husband for dinner tonight," Marchioness Isabella said with a smile on her face.

Ludov bowed, "As you wish."

Isabella went inside and got ready to meet her husband for dinner.

***

When Isabella reached her room she was greeted by four of her maids as they help her change out of clothes and pulled out one of her favorite evening dresses.

'I hope I can impress Her Majesty with my work. I need her trust and approval,' Isabella thought as she started getting dressed.

***

In the meantime. Marquess Duval was in his study going over some final paperwork on funding approval for fixing the city roads that were in need of repair.

He was a short man with black hair and blue eyes and a slim body. He was the Prime Minister of the Fiafyr Kingdom and he was wearing a white suit and had a red ascot that had a silver pin in it of his Royal Seal.

There came a ringing of the bell at his door.

"Yes? What is it?" Marquess Duval said without looking away from his desk.

One of his maids replied, "It's your wife, My Lord. She has returned from the palace and wishes to have dinner with you."

Duval looks out the window and notices the sun setting on the horizon. As it was just barely over the city wall.

'Hmm. It's already evening? I guess I'll finish this later then. It's been a while since we've had a meal together... I wonder if Isabella got her chance to speak with the Queen about the marriage proposal?' Duval thought to himself as he finished his paperwork and got ready to dine with his wife.

Duval got out of his chair and started heading towards the door.

The maid opened the door and she when inside his study so she could start dusting the room.

"Don't remove any of my paperwork. I'll tell Christian to come in here and deal with it," Duval said to the maid with a sigh as he remembered that he forgot to tell his personal assistant to come by and pick up the documents.

"Yes, My Lord. I'll only do a simple dusting then," the maid said before she resumed her work.

Duval walked out of his room and down the hallway towards the dining room where he and his wife dined in private.

***

Isabella was already seated and waiting for him as she sipped on her wine.

The door opened as Duval walked in to see his wife waiting for him.

"Well, this is an honor. You rarely eat dinner with me," Duval said with a smile as he walked up and kissed his wife's hand.

"It's not that I don't want to eat dinner with you, dear. But you rarely break away from your work. I feel you don't want to speak to me anymore. And that hurts," Isabella said with a frown on her face.

Duval gave an awkward laugh, "My dear, I've just been so busy running the kingdom. And I know you are busy with your own work. So, how was the Queen? Did she give you any hints?"

"She's a tough woman. I think you underestimated her. You'll have to find a different way to convince the King. Plus, I'm not sure this whole marriage arrangement with the Alliance is such a wise idea. I know you're worried about them invading us, but I'm not sure that's the case," Isabella said as she thought to herself.

Duval shook his head and sighed as he took his seat across from her.

"No, Isabella. They wish to invade us. And if this peace treaty through a marriage proposal is true. Then I will support it. Even if I have to send everyone I know to the Royal Court to persuade King Cyndre to accept," Duval said as he poured himself some wine.

"I'm not a politician and I'm not going to force the Queen into this scheme of yours, Duval. If you're such a good Prime Minister, then grow a backbone and convince the King that this is the right move for the kingdom," Isabella said with a serious expression.

Duval smiled, "Of course, my dear. This is why I should have dinner with you more often. You give me the courage that I seem to lack every so often."

Isabella knew her husband was saying that in jest and not out of a genuine desire. She knew he only wanted her for her connections and position as a Marchioness of Fiafyr Kingdom.

But, she was okay with that as long as she was able to keep her high standing in the court while earning the Queen's trust and friendship in order to go higher in the ranks. She just wished she had the foresight to befriend the Queen years ago. Even when everyone was trying to distance themselves from her.

And with that, the servants brought out their meals for the evening and the two nobles ate their meals as they continued to talk about the progress on the road system and future projects to fix the kingdom.