Sara had passed the gift to Alice, and she put it next to her. Unlike the other ones that she gave to one of the helpers to take away. The different treatments were clearly visible from the way she treated the gifts. The celebration continued, and the princess returned back to her coldish responses to the nobles and hurried the formalities to finish.

The most notable change was visible in the face of the Duke White's son who had tried to impress the princess many times, only to get a cold shoulder from her. He had a hateful glare at both Aile and Sara.

Soon the traditional greetings finished.

Then came up a head-guard bowed and said, "As tradition dictates, good things shall be celebrated together. I would like to inform your majesty that we have gotten news that the expedition was a success to our kingdom and our heroes returned triumphantly!"

Then there were sounds of cheers, clapping, and applause.

Another guard captain stood up and said, "Your majesty congratulations we have cleared the southwestern sea docks of all pirates. Our rise in seafront shall arise from this moment onwards."

Then there was another celebratory cheer.

A third guard was going to give another news worth celebrating. When a middle-ranked noble rose up and smile to the king, "Your majesty, I apologize that I disturb the processions. But I think the princess would prefer an emotional celebratory to this wonderful occasion. Something more passionate would diversify the celebrations, and it would bless her in other aspects of life."

He then had a giddy smile resembling a merchant that has gotten away with selling fake items.

"Oh, do proceed!" The king smiled, allowing him to continue. His tone was not encouraging, nor was it displeased.

"Today me and my son had a wonderful time meeting the future generation of our kingdom. To create another happy occasion in the honour of princess Alice, I would like to propose marriage. There is nothing better for the future of our empire than creating alliances, and nothing is better to stay united. Therefore, I would like to propose marriage to Miss Sara White. My son Jace has fallen for her at first sight. I would like your highness to bless this union."

Sara started to cry as soon as she heard what was said. She held Aile's hand as tears streamed out of her eyes one after another. Next to the shameless noble stood a round ball of fat. It took him a few too many seconds to get his bearings.

He was the worst dressed noble. He had no sense of colours, and his clothing was stretched out very unpleasantly by his flailing fat. Currently, he was chewing on something, as he resembled a cow. His hygiene was quite terrible as his dirty brown hand was being wiped on his pants. It was very questionable if he had washed in the past few days. A little bit of snot was playing hide and seek with you as you looked at his face.

Sara had already grieved about the situation of being forced to be married to someone she did not like. This creature had really disturbed her, and her fear was coming to reality, only the intensity was much harsher than she had thought. Her tears started to flow more intensely as she looked at him as he chew, chew and chewed.

Aile had his mouth wide open in surprise. This was a level of shamelessness that he had not experienced in this life or in his inherited memories. He felt that it was humorous in the beginning, but it seemed to not be a comedic act.

The nobles were awestruck. They all had an I cannot believe I did not think of that expression. They were appreciative of the noble's brazen behaviour and disappointment that they had not thought of it.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

The younger nobles started to laugh and chuckle as they watch the show unfold.

Hahaha.

Hahaha, hahaha...

Some tried to mask their laughter, and others held their mouth to not act disrespectfully.

Hazel immediately protested, "That is shameless! Asking his majesty to bless a one-sided union."

The king finally replied with a bit of an amused tone, "Oh, is this one-sided?"

The noble nodded, "I was just hoping to form a union in the honour of the princess. Pardon me, your majesty I hope the pieces of news could include one that has an emotional element to personalize her birthday. It would make it memorable, unique and bless her majesty."

The king then looked at Hazel, "I would like there to be more diverse celebrations for Alice's birthday. Although the approach of Mr Pine was too spontaneous. So, I will give you two choices, magistrate Hazel. One, we have a happy occasion, and I will reward you by fulfilling one of your wishes, I have heard you needed my audience. Two, we can forget about this little blunder and continue with the celebration. What say you, magistrate Hazel?"

This put Hazel in a tough position. If she agrees then the problem of pirates and bandits will be solved. Her people will be saved, and she would have done her best to protect the town. However, Sara would be miserable.

If she rejects anything that happens in Port Kiar would be tied to her. Based on how the nobles acted, she would be removed from her position, and without the official backing, there is no telling what kind of life she will have with Sara. As a magistrate, her primary job is to prioritize the concern of her people. If her blunder of prioritizing her family over her citizens are mentioned. She could be immediately imprisoned, and Sara's fate would be worst without her support.

Hazel looked at the fat blob then looked at Sara. As her eyes started to water. She was about to talk when there came a loud voice.

"What is going on? Who is making my friend cry on my birthday?" The princess angrily said.

"Your majesty it is traditional to..."

"You be quiet, I do not like you. No one is going to marry Sara." Princess Alice said while looking at the noble that propose the marriage to Sara.

The noble immediately had a surprising understanding nod, "I apologize, your majesty, I understand my blunder. If there is any proposal here, it should obviously be to you, your highness! Only I do not think anyone is worthy of you."

Princess Alice was fuming, "I told you to shut up. As a matter of fact, do not ever talk when I am around. I will repeat myself: I, nor my friend Sara, will marry. Have I made myself clear?"

The nobleman nodded. He had a miffed and scared expression and sat back down voluntarily. Everyone knew that princess Alice was the king's favourite, and her word could not be taken lightly. So, he closed his mouth, not expecting to open it again anytime soon. The worst part was he could not even apologize to her without talking.

The king had lost the playful smile on his face but was not angry, he simply shrugged as if an insignificant game of his was interrupted.

Another noble stepped forward, "Princess Alice is very protective of her friend that is an admirable regal character."

This complement brought a little smile on her face.

The noble continued, "Although it is tradition to have 3 good news after a royal celebration. The king was in favour of an emotional celebration to honour her majesty. So, I propose to make a union between my daughters Laila and Leia to Aile White. This will be grander with two happy occasions and something to the liking of magistrate Hazel."

He then smiled at Hazel and the king showcasing his crusty yellow teeth. He was a short chubby man that was middle-aged but had an ancient aura about him. If one looked at him, they could immediately see a person with a lot of history and secrets. His face, character and demeanour said something mysterious about him.

His eyes darted through the crowd giving a look to Aile, which gave him a sense of unease.

He then gave a look to Duke White and Hazel with his distinct smile.

Hazel looked at Aile, wanting to see his reaction.

Aile had been in a trance, He was immediately surprised after the shameless declaration of the first noble. Then he had his anger boil seeing Sara's tears.

He was even planning to take Sara away with him as they leave the kingdom all together with Emily and the others. However, he became grateful to the princess once she saved Sara from her predicament. Then came the reversal and all of a sudden, he was now in the hot seat. He was put in a situation that he could not reject. Who would stand up for him? It seemed he was going to be used as a simple trade between the nobles. He did not like that. His emotions were in a rollercoaster changing constantly. All of this for what? Because the princess and prince talked to him. Granted that this marriage will not disturb Aile's plans, it still did not feel right.