The Duke's Masked Wife 2: The Prince's Outcast Bride-Chapter 42: Stirring the pot (1)

Elijah pretended not to hear what the king said as he assumed Rue had done as well. Rue was a special woman, but given that they had duties in two lands far away from each other, they would not be getting married.

Edgar was the first to leave to head inside, followed closely by Rafael.

"Those two still ignore me," Tobias muttered, following the two men so he could bother them.

Rue tilted her head, trying to make sense of the king’s behaviour. "My mother was curious if the king was still like this. I don’t know if she will be pleased or annoyed."

Seeing how the king acted, Rue was still certain that her mother, Annalise Callahan, could take him down if needed.

"My father will always be like this. Let me escort you," Tyrion said, offering his hand to Rue.

Rue stared at Tyrion’s hand. "I know how to walk by myself. Oh, is this one of your customs?" She asked, handing off her sword to the guards she came with. "Here," she placed her hand on Tyrion’s.

"I am trying to be polite and to entertain other women to take the jealousy off of someone else," said Tyrion.

"You mean Penelope," Rue said. "I have received her letters."

"She writes about me? What does she say?" Tyrion asked, curious.

"I don’t know much about your customs, but I do know that a lady never shares too much," Rue replied. "I would have to kill you if you learned what she wrote to me."

Rue noticed the stares she received and the laughter of the women walking out of the palace. She looked down at her armour. "Did I put it on wrong?"

Elijah glanced at the women who found Rue’s attire to be odd. "No, they have never seen a woman wearing armour."

"They have not?" Rue replied, finding it to be strange. "Then, how do they keep themselves protected?"

"Their guards will protect them," Elijah replied.

Rue frowned. "Their guards? What happens when their guards are not around? How do they keep themselves protected?"

"They die," Elijah jokingly replied.

"I see. I should have brought more armour from home," Rue muttered, regretting that she had only brought some for herself.

Elijah looked away to hide his smile. It wouldn’t come as a surprise if Rue tried to find a way to get women here to wear armour.

"How long will you stay for, Rue?" Tyrion asked, reminding the pair of his presence.

"I do not know, but we will not be returning home soon. My older sister is preparing to be a leader, and my mother suggested that I come here with my father to help build better ties to the Castro kingdom. Our home here is being prepared," said Rue.

"That means you will be attending balls with us. I urge you to find a way to avoid them," Tyrion suggested.

"Rue, if you marry Tyrion, he would allow you to kill the palace court," Elijah said, for a moment, noticing a small twinkle in her eyes.

If Tyrion were to marry Rue, Elijah would be free from hearing of Tyrion and his sister.

"He does not need to marry me to get my help. You only need to ask, and I would kill anyone in the court for you. I have heard the things they said about my mother," Rue said, ready to do as Tyrion needed.

"Prince Tyrion!" Amelia called out, holding the sides of her dress as she ran over to Tyrion. She smiled and curtsied to greet Tyrion. "Elijah," she greeted the other bachelor.

When Amelia laid eyes on the woman standing with the two men, she didn’t know what to make of her. She covered her mouth with her hand to hide her laughter.

Was there some kind of strange ball in the palace?

"Stop it," Tyrion said, his displeasure evident in his tone.

Amelia moved her hand to her side and focused on Tyrion. "I have come here with my father since he is doing business. I was hoping to be so lucky as to run into you. Not only have I been so blessed to run into you, but Elijah Collins as well." freeweɓnovel.cѳm

"Your father should be more careful bringing you to the palace like this. It is not a place for you to run around as you like. I’m busy with guests, so I shall take my leave," Tyrion said, wanting to go before Amelia spoke of how much she wanted him again.

Amelia gave the ’guest’ another look. What could Tyrion possibly be doing with a woman dressed in armour?

Amelia couldn’t be happy to see that Tyrion wasn’t with Penelope since the sight of the woman beside him was unpleasant.

Why were the palace guards and the king letting the prince walk around with someone so odd?

"My father is not far away. I chose to walk ahead to go to our carriage, and luckily for me, I stumbled upon you. If I could just have a moment of your time," Amelia said, hopeful this was her chance.

None of her peers were around to steal her moment with Tyrion.

After all the rumours Amelia started to share about Penelope which tainted reputation, the prince should finally wake up and see that there were better women for him around the town.

The perfect woman to marry the crown prince was standing before him, ready to wed tomorrow.

Amelia already had her wedding dress prepared and hung in a room at home. She only needed the prince to act faster to claim her hand before her father gave up and accepted an offer from the men who visited him.

"I adore you, Prince Tyrion. When my hand is sought after by many of the bachelors in town, you must move sooner to court me. It would be quite a shame if we miss out on a good life together, all because we didn’t have time to talk," said Amelia.

Tyrion heard enough of the nonsense Amelia spoke. He held Rue’s hand once again and walked with her to join their fathers.

Amelia was not offended that Tyrion did not accept her offer to talk. What bothered her was seeing the prince holding the strange woman’s hand.

’Who is she?’ Amelia wondered.

Just when she was finally turning her peers against Penelope, there was now another woman around the prince.

Amelia turned around to leave, but collided with someone.

Amelia screamed, stepping away from the two men who stared at her before walking off in the direction the prince went.

Amelia frantically wiped her hand with a handkerchief, trying to get rid of their touch. "Those savages," she cried out, getting the attention of visitors entering and leaving the palace.