Novel Square
Chapter 139
Chapter 139
On Saturday morning, Lucianne woke up to Xandar pulling her back into bed the moment she tried to get out. After two minutes of persistent whining of needing to use the bathroom, Xandar finally released her. They went for their usual run and spent some time in the shower together before having breakfast.
Xandar then drove them to the government headquarters. Upon entering through the high metal gates, Lucianne saw that the headquarters was a large estate on its own, and the endless rows of empty parking lots showed the numerous employees working in the white and grey building. If it weren’t for it being the weekend, those lots would’ve been filled with vehicles.
After Xandar parked in his reserved lot, they got out of the car and hand-in-hand, Xandar led Lucianne to the entrance. The large automatic glass doors slid open when they were four steps away. Xandar couldn’t take his eyes off his mate, who never failed to look like an adorable curious cat whenever she was in a new place.
As they walked along the corridor, Lucianne’s bright eyes scanned the large portraits of past Kings and Queens hung in frames against the beige walls. Her feet stopped when she reached the portrait of the late King Lucas and Queen Vera. Lucianne couldn’t help but feel a negative energy from King Lucas’s eyes, despite its lilac shade. And with Queen Vera, she couldn’t feel anything. The Queen was smiling but the smile carried no happiness, like her lips simply curled up for the sake of the painting.
A pair of strong arms snuck around her waist, and Lucianne felt her mate’s warm breath tickling her ear a she whispered, “We’ll do better than them, Lucy. We’re already doing better than them.” He then pecked a sweet kiss on her cheek before taking in her scent from her neck.
When Lucianne heard the approaching footsteps of the cleaners, she immediately tore her eyes away from the portrait and made Xandar release his intimate hold on her. He groaned at Lucianne’s need for
them to behave’ in public before gluing his hand on the small of her back as they continued walking down the corridor.
When they came to the very centre of the building, she looked at the statues of revolutionary Kings, heroes and heroines placed near the walls right before the entrance of each hallway. The features of the statues were highlighted not only by the outstanding craftsmanship but also the glowing lights from the chandelier that hung from the high ceiling.
When Lucianne had finished studying the hall, Xandar pressed the side of her body against his as he whispered with a smile filled with pride, “Soon, they’d have to make room for a statue of you in this hall. The first Queen standing among the Kings, heroes and heroines.”
“No pressure at all, my King.” Lucianne muttered sarcastically.
Xandar lifted her chin up and uttered in full confidence, “There shouldn’t be any for you, Lucy. What you’ve been doing for the wolves all these years already makes you revolutionary. You just have to keep being…you…preferably a you who believes that she’s the most beautiful and outstanding creature in this Kingdom.”
Lucianne shook her head with a shy smile before standing on her toes to peck a kiss on his cheek. They got lost in each other’s eyes for a brief second before they heard, “Morning, cuz. My Queen.” They turned to see Christian and Annie walking up to them.
As Annie embraced Lucianne and Xandar, Christian looked around the hall like he was there for the first time when that clearly wasn’t the case before he commented, “Up until I saw how you two just looked at
each other, I really couldn’t see how this place is capable of being romantic. But I guess with the chandelier and quiet surroundings, it does make for a good place to make out.”
Despite her flustering cheeks, Lucianne suggested, “You and Annie should give it a go, Christian, for confirmation purposes.” Xandar was swallowing a chuckle with much difficulty.
Christian looked at his mate coyly as he whispered, “Hm. Maybe we should.”
Before he could get any nearer to Annie, the Duchess’s hand rested on his chest as she said, “Hold your horses, your Grace. This is neither the time nor the place.”
Christian tried to reason with her with a coquettish smirk, “Come now, my Duchess. If the King and Queen could do what they did here, something has to be right about it.”
Lucianne noticed Annie was losing. So, with a chirpy voice, the Queen said, “Well, would you look at the time! We’d better hurry if we don’t want to be late. The others are probably already there waiting for us.”
It was the first time Christian threw Lucianne an annoyed look while Annie and Xandar laughed at the Duke’s reaction. “You offered me a romantic moment with my mate, and now you’re taking it away from m e, my Queen?”
“Yes, that’s what I did. C’mon. Let’s go.”
It was Christian’s turn to mutter in mock annoyance, “Over-responsible, a*s-kicking, hearts-crushing Queen-to-be.”
Christian’s words made Xandar’s heart swell with pride, making him peck a kiss on his mate’s hand as the four of them entered through the doors of the meeting room after Xandar scanned his thumbprint and retina. Lucianne was right. Every minister who was not in police custody or suspended for ethical concems (like Caunterberg) was already seated at the round table waiting for the arrival of the royal family members.
The nine ministers remaining immediately stood and bowed as the four of them entered. After returning the gesture and taking their seats, Xandar kickstarted the meeting.
“Thank you for attending this moming’s meeting despite it being the weekend, everyone. The agenda of today’s meeting requires little explanation, if any. With four ministers in prison facing corruption charges and one minister suspended for ethical concerns, we must now decide on our next step.”
“The Ministries of Finance, Defence and Welfare are no doubt important to the proper functioning of our
govemment. With their leaders now absent, we need to come up with the best course of action, a temporary one if a permanent one cannot be decided by the end of this meeting. As usual, let’s go around the table and hear what everyone has to say on the matter. Barrington, you may start us off.”
This was Xandar’s style in conducting a meeting. He would let everyone speak first before giving his own opinion at the end. His late father was the complete opposite. King Lucas always spoke first. His voice and words overpowered any other opposing argument that existed.
When Xandar shadowed him as the Crowned Prince, he realized that his father’s methods produced outcomes which were half-baked at best, and disastrous at worst. Xandar didn’t want his ministers to be his robots or servants. He wanted them as team players. He wanted their perspectives, their thoughts, their reasonings. Only then could he see the full picture of any given issue.
Barrington, the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, adjusted his blue bow tie as he cleared his throat and peered through his thick glasses when he said, “In my opinion, your Highness, replacements must be made. Delegating ministerial responsibilities amongst those of us left here in the absence of one minister i
s doable; two ministers is tolerable; three, and it becomes hectic. Any more than that and I’ll have to suggest that the government pay for the psychiatric treatment that comes with the increased stress from having to bite off more than we can chew.”
There were soft chuckles at the last part of Barrington’s recommendation. Even Xandar smiled as he nodded in understanding and said, “Thank you, Barrington. Vanessa, you’re up.”
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The Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology smiled as she began, “Your Highnesses, Your Graces. I’m of the view that not only do we need replacements. We need more ministers than we currently have. Meaning to say, excluding the royal family, we need more than fourteen people seated around this table.”
This was an interesting point of view, and everyone’s human and animal ears perked up in anticipation of what they were going to hear from Vanessa next.