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Foreboding Storm - Chapter 20

Published at 20th of March 2022 05:16:35 PM


Chapter 20: Substitution

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"Oh, look at us. Because of the great commotion, we forgot that you could not leave your room today." The Janah envoy said, as she pointedly looked at Princess Nari, who seemed to have forgotten this tradition, not only leaving her room but also inviting an unrelated man inside her living hall. Thinking to this point, she could not help liking the little girl even more.

"Here is what happened. The thing is, your cousin, Princess Nari, and your husband-to-be, Prince Noore, were found in one bed. The King of Jinn is requesting that the two be married, after all, there is no way to undo what has been done, and Prince Noore taking responsibility is only right. However, Prince Noore is your intended, and making such a decision without your opinion is wrong. The one most wronged in this whole matter is Crown Prince Lail and you. We will do whatever you decide."

On hearing the farce of Princess Nari and Prince Noore, Princess Qamari was stunned. She could not help feeling happy, as now, she had the perfect chance and reason to stay away from Prince Noore. After all, who would dare force a girl betrayed before even her marriage, to marry the betrayer. This not only solved her predicament but also made it so that even after she turned down the marriage, no one will hold it against Jinn or attack the Jinn Kingdom. But on thinking about the man's hypocrisy, she could not help worrying about Princess Nari's future.

Somehow, she felt that this calamity, as accidental as it seemed, was brought upon by human machinations, and Princess Nari's calamity attracting spell might have been the hand that brought about this disaster on her. Secretly looking around the hall, she could not find her cousin's personal guard around. This raised her suspicion even more.

"Qamari dear, think about your cousin's future before you take any decision. Because your final decision will determine your cousin's marital life." The king of Jinn emotionally blackmailed her on hearing her decision will determine his daughter's future.

"King of Jinn, if you pressure Princess Qamari into taking a decision, then I will be forced to step in and decide for her." The Janah envoy rebuked, displeased with the Jinn King's behavior.

"That is right. Princess Qamari, this is a question of your marital life as well. Do not let your emotions and attachment to your cousin get in the way of your happiness." The Regent Prince urged, hoping for Princess Qamari to make the right decision and marry his son.

"First of all, Uncle King, I do not want you to attach Princess Nari's happiness to my decision. My decision will be mine alone and in no way will it have any connection with other people's happiness or sadness. Princess Nari's happiness and future are in her own hands and have nothing to do with me, therefore, my decisions will have nothing to do with her as well. So please, do not attach her future marital life or happiness with me. I will not be able to bear the burden if anything goes wrong later on and my decision is used as a basis to place the responsibility on me." Princess Qamari coldly and articulately said, making her stand clear.

Everyone was stunned once again by this girl's way of handling things. After all, King of Jinn saying such things could really be used against her in the future if her cousin's life was full of unhappiness. Every time something happened, whether it was the right thing to do at this moment would not matter. Princess Nari and her loved ones could just shift the blame onto Princess Qamari as she was the one who took such a decision at such a time, instead of searching for the issue in themselves.

The King of Jinn's face turned dark, not expecting such a response. It was indeed correct for Princess Qamari to point this out, because later in the future, he himself might blame her if something happened to Princess Nari instead of looking at the circumstances in which the decision was made.

The Regent Prince was thrilled by the girl's reply, thinking that she would not choose to forsake her marriage with Prince Noore for the sake of the familial feeling between her and her cousin.

Princess Nari started feeling hopeless as she heard Princess Qamari's answer. She could not understand what her cousin was doing. It was not as if she liked Prince Noore anyway, so what was she doing getting in between the two of them when they had already shared a bed. If she did not marry Prince Noore, then she would be finished. The thought of the bleak, unbearable, and mockery-filled future that awaited her filled her heart with resentment towards her cousin.

"She is forcing me to my death." Princess Nari thought as she looked resentfully at her cousin.

"Does this mean that you are deciding to marry Prince Noore?" King of Jinn asked with gritted teeth.

"Uncle, do you find me so desperate as to marry such a loose and promiscuous man?" Princess Qamari replied in response, her eyes wide with confusion.

The moment this sentence fell, everyone looked at Princess Qamari with a strange look on their faces. Since the time the incident took place, everyone looked at Crown Prince Lail with sympathy, concern, glee, or mockery while they gave Princess Nari disdainful and scornful looks. But no one had once looked at Prince Noore with either, because in their eyes, the fault was with the Princess who was not proper enough or the Crown Prince who could not even keep his woman. However, this Princess Qamari was the first to blame the incident on Prince Noore, questioning his character.

Prince Noore's face turned as dark as the bottom of a pot, his expression murderous.

"Preposterous! How dare you?" The Regent Prince bellowed as he registered the implication behind the meaning of this sentence.

"I am sorry your Majesty. Is there another word that you guys use to refer to a man who sleeps with their future spouse's cousin, future cousin-in-law, the night before their wedding day? I have only recently arrived in the Amayan Empire, and although I have been trying to learn everything I can within such a short period of time, it is impossible to know everything." She sighed regretfully, not at all daunted by the Regent Prince's rage.

That's right. Princess Qamari was not afraid of anything now that the person at fault in this problem was Prince Noore. She has always wanted to hit his hypocritical face ever since meeting him, but due to the bond of the Jinn Kingdom and Amayan Empire through the dowry marriage, she was not able to take any drastic action. After all, the Amayan Empire was a colossus that the tiny Jinn Kingdom could not dare to offend. The repercussions from such an offense would obliterate the entire Jinn Kingdom out of existence without the Empire even dropping a sweat.

It was perfect now. The disgusting bond was broken by the Amayan Empire itself. They had neither the reason nor the cause to attack Jinn. Moreover, she had recently gotten an occupation. Including the fact that she never revealed her face to anyone after her parents' death, other than to Princess Nari in the carriage ride to the Amayan Empire, even her own Uncle did not know what she looked like now. So, if there ever raised a need, she could drop everything at any time and leave the limelight of the royal household, living her life as an ordinary healer in the villages, cities, towns, and even borders of the Amayan realm.

Moreover, there was an envoy from the Janah realm to safeguard her. With such confidence and backing, if she did not take such an amazing opportunity to stomp on Prince Noore thoroughly and break all chances of them ever getting back together today then she would not be called Princess Qamari Ramulas, the daughter of her father.

"For a little girl from a tiny kingdom, you have great courage and big guts." The Regent Prince grimily replied.

"Aye, you are actually wrong, your highness. It is not my courage that is great, but my patience. How else is your son able to stand there perfectly fine after committing such an act. The fact that I have not smashed his head in yet is the proof of my patience." Princess Qamari began with a twinkle in her eyes and laughter in her voice, before ending her speech in a cold tone.

At this point, the people in the hall no longer felt surprised by the cutting remarks and statements of the girl in blue, they had already grown numb to it. No, they were afraid for her instead. As far as they could remember, no one had ever spoken to the Regent Prince in such a tone. Not ever since he took on the role of Regent Prince and butchered every opposition in the Amayan court ruthlessly. They were afraid that she would awaken that Regent Prince and die before she even knew how.

As they worriedly looked at one another, an Amayan court official, stepped forward sweeping his gaze over the crowd and addressing the Janah envoy.

"Your eminence, as you earlier pointed out, the most wronged individuals in this matter are the Crown Prince and Princess Qamari. Since this Empirial wedding was set upon the agreement of getting the two princesses of Jinn married to the two princes of the Amayan Empire, why do we not substitute the brides? We can have Crown Prince Lail marry Princess Qamari, while Prince Noore can marry Princess Nari. This way, not only will the Empirial wedding be held but also everyone involved will not be wronged." The minister suggested.

A thoughtful expression appeared upon the Janah envoy's face as she considered the solution, finding it the best way to conclude the matter.

However, Prince Noore, who was raging at Princess Qamari's insults, felt the suggestion was not only bad but was a disaster. Because all his planning would go to waste if it was carried out. Right from the start, he had no intention of letting Princess Qamari out of his hands. Princess Nari was just a tool for him to use, but Princess Qamari was going to be his future Princess. He would hate or resent her, but would not change his decision to marry her.

Although they did not have much contact, as he was too busy smiting Princess Nari, he was not too worried as they had their whole future ahead of them to learn about one another and spend time together. Moreover, he believed that his father will not get him married to someone that would not brighten his path or bring benefit to him. If Princess Qamari, and not Princess Nari was his choice for him, then there was certainly a good reason.

Even the fact that he slept with Princess Nari and everyone knew about it did not make him feel as bad. After all, two wives was an ordinary matter in the empire. Marrying the two Princesses would interrupt his plans, but if the matter was severe, he did not mind considering the option. So this proposal was the worse he had heard since getting into the main hall.

Many people in the hall looked at one another as they thought about the benefits the Amayan Empire would get from this substitution marriage.

"At the end of the day, the 'golden bird' would still end up in their hands." Many lamented at their bad luck while others only sighed, but all looked towards the Janah envoy, waiting with bated breath for her decision. This envoy had clearly expressed her decision to stand up for Princess Qamari earlier, so no one could dare to voice their objections to the suggestion. They had no right to reject even if she was not here. They could, however, have pressurized the Regent Prince to give them some benefit in that case.

"Princess Qamari of Jinn, your marriage will be fixed with the Crown Prince of Amaya to right the wrong done to the both of you.. Is that acceptable to you?" The envoy asked Princess Qamari gently.




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