"What?" I whispered, feeling stunned.

Wait... There's another queen? Hold on... How? I mean what? Did I hear about that before? Did I read that somewhere?

No, I'm pretty sure there's nothing like that. I had read a book about the Royal family but it wasn't complete. There was no mention about the first royals either and the information wasn't that vast.

But I know nothing about a Queen...

"Ah? A queen?" Gwen voiced out. She too sounded surprised.

So it wasn't just me...

I glanced at the others and looked at their expressions. How do I say this, only Gwen ans I are sporting such confusion in our faces, the others seemed more like they are more surprised that she came and not because they don't know her.

.

So they know there's an existing queen? I thought there's only an Empress...

Well, given that the guys are part of the royal knights, of course they would know the hierarchy in the palace. Bea, on the other hand, is a candidate for Ezekiel's future princess. So she must have known that she exists because she have to. That's one of her duties.

"Oh right, Queen Regina... So she came..."

"It's been so long since she last showed her face in public..."

"I had completely forgotten about her, oh no..."

I could hear some of the nobles whispers from where I'm at. Hearing them say that, I got even more confused.

Am I the only one who is living under a rock all this time? Why did I not hear about this?

I focused my attention back to the front just to see the queen that I know nothing about. It wasn't just me who was anticipating it, the rest of the hall too.

So when the queen finally revealed herself, everyone was holding their breath and remained silent.

A beautiful woman with a regal posture walked out of the opened doors. She was wearing an equally lovely gown that showed off her creamy skin. Her long black hair flowed behind her like a veil and atop her head is a glittering crown. It wasn't as extravagant as the Empress's but a crown is still a crown. It speaks power and prestige.

She has this air of elegance and regality in her that belongs to the members of the royals.

As I stared at her more and more, I noticed something or rather, felt something.

She really is beautiful but what is this gut feeling? It's as if I saw her face before. She reminds me of someone but I couldn't pinpoint who it was...

'She looked like someone I know...'

How strange, I wanted to prod my brain further but it's like I'm overlooking something.

You know that feeling you get when you want to remember a word, or a name, but the idea gets stuck on your tongue. The harder you think about it, the less likely you get to remember it.

It's so hella frustrating, I tell you.

"Now that I'm seeing her, it suddenly came to me that I did know about her a long time ago. My grandfather taught me things I have to know when he was still alive..." Gwen then commented after a while, looking thoughtful.

Eh? So it was just only me now then?

This is so embarrasing... Does my brother knows too? Well duh! He's a captain for heaven's sake.

Stupid Nadia.

"Greetings to the suns of the empire. May Luminus be with you," Queen Regina stated as she curtsied in front of the throne.

I looked at Ezekiel who was smiling but the emotions shown in his eyes looked so complicated. Not only him but I could also sense that the royal attendants of the Emperor are feeling troubled.

'Uhhh, why is this awkward? Hmmm...'

The Emperor stared at the Queen for a second.

"Queen Regina, it's been a while," he then said.

I kept going back and forth from the Emperor and Empress then to the Queen, as if I'm waiting for something to happen. What was it, you ask? I have no freaking idea...

Maybe I'm just fond of drama, fufufu~

"Yes, it really is," she replied, still being respectful. Her head then turned towards the Empress, "My Empress," she greeted her with her right hand over her heart.

That gesture showed great respect towards a person. It's a heartfelt one that speaks degrees.

To me though, it was strange. I mean, if there's one person she should be doing that, it should be the Emperor. She's the queen after all.

Let's see, what do I know about Queens? In history books, aside from the Empress, the Emperor could keep multiple queens and concubines.

Of course, the Empress is above all the Emperor's side wives. Concubines are actually not considered a wife, and are only there for one reason, to bear children.

Sometimes, concubines are taken in for political reasons like kingdoms seeking to be under the Empire's rule.

Queens, however, are legal wives. They rule over the harem and they held significant powers within politics. The children they bear will automatically be of legitimate blood. Meaning, they can have the chance on the throne. Aside from assisting the Emperor, they also aid the Empress.

But the title is more than but a decoration if the Queen is not favored. Same goes with the concubines. Sure, they bear princes and princesses, but if the Emperor doesn't dote on you, it's useless.

In Rosenthal, there are no concubines. There were kingdoms who offered their women before, but they are all rejected. Not because they are not wanted but because they aren't needed.

The current Emperor is loyal to the Empress. That is how the rumors go and it's not just a baseless one at that. Everyone could see it especially those nobles.

I had thought that because there are no concubines, there would be no queens either. But oh my, here's one right now. I wonder who she is and why did she only appeared now?

"Queen Regina," Empress Yulia returned her greeting with a smile.

It was a genuine one that made me feel warm. It just shows how true she is.

"Come sit beside us and enjoy the ball," the Empress added.

The royal attendants all got into action, her very own attendant lead her to the one other throne beside the Emperor. I had thought earlier that is was for Ezekiel but I'm completely wrong huh...

'So that was the reason why he remained standing there instead of sitting with them.'

As soon as the queen settled herself on the throne, the tension dissipated.

Now that I realized that there really was tension, I started to get curious. Especially from the way these guys on the table with us looked relieve.

Heyyyyy, what is with that? What is the deal with the royal family?