Chapter 5

Mina looked at Commander Jayden, but he was not looking at her. The Commander was busy looking at Rosalyn. Even the wolf lifted his head and looked at Rosalyn. Some emotions flickered in the Commander's eyes, but they were gone fast.

"I would gladly eat with you and the King. And of course, with your wife," the Commander said, looking at Prince Liam.

The Prince smiled, "Perfect! Mina, Hugo, you are also invited."

Even if the Prince wouldn't have invited her, Mina wasn't about to go home while the Commander was still at the Royal Palace. Even if being at the Palace brought her pain, Mina was ready to remain as many days necessary to stop the Commander from talking about his past with Prince Liam.

"I am sure my brother and Mina have other things to do! Right?" Rosalyn asked, looking at her brother.

Mina wasn't sure what game Rosalyn was playing, but Mina was ready to do anything to stop Rosalyn from being alone with Commander Jayden. Who knew what would happen if Rosalyn were to speak with the Commander in private.

Anger flashed in Hugo's eyes, but before he said anything, Mina looked at Prince Liam and smiled. "We will gladly stay for lunch."

"Wonderful!" Prince Liam said. He looked at Rosalyn, "Darling, why don't you take Mina to see Nolan? You know he has been asking for her. I will remain a few more moments here, with Hugo and the Commander talking about the war."

Rosalyn rose. "Of course. See you at lunch." Before leaving, Rosalyn kissed her husband.

Mina wasn't paying any attention to what Rosalyn was doing because she was looking at the Commander. When he gripped the arms of the armchair hard, she tensed but to her relief, the Commander said nothing.

Mina didn't want to leave the Commander alone with the Prince, but she knew Hugo would stop Commander Jayden from saying anything. She looked at Hugo, and he looked back at her. When he gave her a short nod, Mina stood.

As Mina was still looking at her cousin, the Commander turned his head and looked at her with ice blue eyes. Mina knew then she was staring at a dangerous man that would do anything to obtain what he wanted.

But Mina was equally determined to keep her family safe. She held his stare, not wanting to be the first to look away. As her green eyes stared into his blue eyes, for a moment, his eyes turned golden. Mina blinked and looked at his eyes once more–they were back being ice blue. The Commander looked at Mina with eyes filled with burning hatred. Mina felt that hatred wrapping around her heart and trying to pull it out of her chest.

No one had looked at her with so much hatred, and Mina wondered why the Commander hated her so much. After all, they didn't know each other until the moment he came to her uncle's house.

Rosalyn walked over to the door. She opened it and looked over her shoulder, "Come, Mina. Nolan is eager to see you."

Mina rose from the sofa and headed to where Rosalyn was waiting for her. As she walked away from Prince Liam's Study Room, Mina still felt Commander Jayden looking at her.

Once Mina left the Study, she closed the door behind her. She looked at Rosalyn with anger in her eyes and grabbed her by her arm.

"You shall not speak with Commander Jayden!" Mina hissed while she dragged Rosalyn down the hall.

Rosalyn slapped Mina's hand, but Mina didn't let go of her. "Who do you think you are to tell me what to do? And let go of me!"

"I am your cousin! We need to talk about what you did! Let's go to your room!"

"How dare you speak to me like this? I am your future Queen!" Rosalyn said in an angry tone.

Mina rolled her eyes. She was sick of hearing Rosalyn brag about her future title. Mina never cared about money or social rank. All she ever cared about was someone to love her for who she was. Unfortunately, she fell in love with a man that only saw her as a sister. Or a cousin.

Mina dragged Rosalyn all the way to Rosalyn's room. Once inside, Mina locked the door behind her.

Rosalyn went and sat on the bed.

"How dare I? How dare you promise something to that man? Have you lost your mind?"

Rosalyn snorted, "That man has a name-Jayden. And what's wrong with him?"

Mina rubbed her temples, "There's nothing wrong with him! But he is not-not a person that you can promise something as sacred as getting married to him!"

Rosalyn snorted, "Why, because he is a bastard?"

"He can be an Ogre for all I care! But your father would have never approved of him!" Mina snapped. "And because you never meant to keep your promise to him!"

"You would never understand!" Rosalyn said.

Mina looked at Rosalyn, "Understand what? That you gave yourself to a man and then married another? And thank Inoss, Prince Liam never realized you weren't a virgin on your wedding night. Although I don't know how you managed to trick him!"

For a moment, anger flashed on Rosalyn's face, but a sweet smile appeared on her lips as she spoke, "When you will finally have a husband, you will understand. Too bad no one wants to get married to you. You will die a virgin."

Mina rolled her eyes. In Athea, the women from the High Society had to be virgins on their wedding night. Mina never understood why the women had to be pure and innocent while the men were allowed to have experience. She wasn't a virgin because she was waiting for her wedding night, who would probably never come, but she never found a man that mentally attracted her as Prince Liam did. Mina never cared about what a person looked like. She wanted a husband with whom she could talk about many topics. Mina hadn't fallen in love with Prince Liam because he was handsome but because they read the same books and talked about them. They shared passion for art and music also.

"Maybe I am the one that doesn't want to marry," Mina said.

Before Rosalyn could reply, someone knocked on the door.

"Yes?" Rosalyn said.

Mina unlocked the door, and a maid entered with Nolan. When Mina saw the little boy, her heart filled with joy. She had loved the little boy from the moment she saw him.

"Mia!" Nolan said before running into Mina's opened arms.

Mina picked Nolan in her arms.

"Why did you bring him here?" Rosalyn asked in an irritated tone.

The maid bowed her head, "I am sorry, Princess Rosalyn, but he wanted to see you."

Rosalyn looked at Mina and Nolan. "I doubt he wanted to see me. Mina, take Nolan to his room! I want to prepare for lunch!"

Mina looked into Nolan's blue eyes, "Want to play with me?"

"Play Mia, yes!"

Mina took Nolan to his room. As they played, she thought about Commander Jayden. She understood his anger. If she were in Commander Jayden's place and a woman promised to wait and marry him but then married another, Mina would be furious too.

She spent time with Nolan until lunch was ready, and a maid came to take her to the dining room.

The King was seated at the head of the table while Prince Liam sat to his right. Hugo sat left to King Baswein. Commander Jayden, seated next to the Prince, was talking to the Prince and the King. Rosalyn, wearing a new dress, was sitting next to Hugo.

The Commander's black wolf was lying on the floor next to his master's chair.

Mina sent a prayer to the Fire God, hoping the Commander won't say anything during lunch.

"Mina! We were waiting for you!" Hugo said as soon as he saw her.

Commander Jayden turned his head, and Mina found herself staring into his blue eyes. The amount of hatred she saw in his eyes almost made her stop walking. But Mina was not afraid of the Commander. She smiled sweetly at him as she got closer to the table.

"King Baswein!" Mina greeted before sitting next to Rosalyn.

"Mina! I am so happy that you and Hugo came to visit," the King said. "I assume you already met Commander Jayden."

Mina nodded her head. "I did." She looked back at the Commander. "Him and his wolf."

The King chuckled, "I have to say that I have never had a wolf as a guest before at the Palace."

The Commander picked up a goblet filled with red wine. He swirled the wine a few times before drinking. "I bet this is the first time you have lunch with a bastard also."

Mina looked at the King. She expected him to be furious, but instead, the King started laughing.

"But you are not any bastard. You are the toughest bastard of all Kingdom of Nodor!" the King said. "You defeated the Necromancer!"

"Father, you should not call him that. His name is Jayden," the Prince said.

The Commander sipped more wine, "But the King is right. I am just a bastard after all." He looked at Rosalyn, "And I am not ashamed of my poor upbringing. It has made me who I am today."

While Mina looked at the Commander, she wondered how much he had to suffer while he was still a child. Her thought went to the children she visited each week in the poor part of the Athea. She had seen the good and the bad while being in the poor district. She didn't know anything about the Commander's childhood, but Mina was sure he suffered a lot.

The King looked at Commander Jayden with serious eyes. "Ever since I have learned you won the war, I've pondered a lot. While I can't change your past, I can make your future better. There's a free estate that once belonged to a powerful family. From today onwards, the Ruxmar Manor will belong to you and your descendants."

Everyone in Athea knew about the Ruxman Manor and what happened to the Ruxman family. About fifty years ago, the Ruxman Baroness found her husband in bed with one of the maids. The Baroness loved her husband very much, and seeing him with the maid broke something inside her. She killed her husband and the maid, and before she killed herself, the Baroness set fire to the Manor. Fortunately, the fire was extinguished before it could burn the entire Manor. Only the East Wing of the Manor was destroyed.

The Ruxman Baron was the last of his family, and the title and family name were lost when he died. Since then, the Ruxman estate had been closed.

The Commander looked at the King, "I save the Kingdom from the Necromancer, and all I get is a half-burn house and an estate full of weeds."

"What I am giving you, Commander, is the opportunity to be more than a bastard! I am giving you the chance to be a Baron!" the King said in an angry tone.

The Prince looked at Commander Jayden, "Not only that you will receive the Ruxman Estate, but also the Baron title and money to rebuild the Manor."

Rosalyn looked at Commander Jayden, "As the future Queen, I will make sure to help you rebuild your future home."

The Prince looked at his wife, "I am sure his fiancee will help him."

"You are engaged?" the King asked the Commander.

Mina picked up her goblet of wine and drank.

The Commander looked at her as he spoke, "I am, and she is in the Palace right now."

Mina not only choked on her wine but ended up spitting it on the Commander.

"I am so sorry!" Mina said. She stood, picked up a napkin, and went to the Commander and tried to clean his jacket while she kept saying she was sorry.

The Commander grabbed her hand, "It is fine. I have more jackets."

Rosalyn looked at Mina with angry eyes, "You are an embarrassment to the family!"

Commander Jayden looked at Rosalyn, "Don't speak like that about your cousin!" He looked at Mina then. "You are a wonderful woman. And very beautiful."