I.Actually.Have.No.Idea

Constantine watched his son laughing happily and holding the hand of the woman beside him, their hair both still damp. The image reminded him of when he, too, was still a young Prince, often strolling on the beach with Margaret—Leo's mother. Constantine smiled sadly; however beautiful the moment was, it would pass. The King called out to Liam. The couple quickly released each other's hands and bowed to Constantine as he approached them. After a few greetings, Constantine paused thoughtfully:

“Lady Sofia, please pardon us, but I’d like to have a moment alone with my son.”

“Of course, Your Highness.” Sofia replied awkwardly, curtsying to Constantine and Liam.

“I'll find you later, Lady Sofia.” Liam nodded to her before she quickly left, and he followed his father along the beach.

“This year's Regatta is quite interesting, isn't it?” Constantine asked Liam. “I see you're more enthusiastic than usual, considering your previous lack of interest in sailing.”

“Yes, Father,” Liam chuckled. “Sometimes, sailing on a sunny day is quite appealing.”

He pretended to turn his head to watch Sofia's figure in her elegant light blue beach dress receding into the distance. His father nodded in agreement.

“Indeed, it's a good idea to have the ladies of the court sail against each other. They can be just as competitive in sports as they are in other fields.”

“Not to mention that this year the public has shown more interest in the Regatta festival and the positive meaning behind it.” Liam added.

Constantine smiled contentedly and gazed out at the sea. Liam would be a good king Cordonia deserved.

“Father, you said earlier that you would tell me the reason behind your abdication to me sooner than expected…” Liam’s voice brought the old king back to reality.

“Liam, this may come as a shock to you. But I fear I don’t have much time left.”

“What do you mean, Father? What has happened to you?” Liam paused and looked at his father anxiously.

“I… I’ve fallen ill. For the past few months I’ve been having more difficulty breathing, and I get exhausted quickly. I thought it was just old age, but the royal physicians advised a general check-up. The result is… stage 3 lung cancer.”

Liam froze. His eyes widened in disbelief.

“Father, is that true?”

“I would gain nothing by lying to you.”

“Father…” Liam swallowed hard. His throat tightened at this painful truth. “I’m sorry. I haven’t paid attention to your health all this time.”

“Now, now. It’s not your fault, Liam. You’ve been so busy preparing for the throne. It’s I who’s been neglecting my own health,” Constantine said gently.

“But they can cure this disease, can’t they? You’re not in the late stages yet, are you?”

“In theory, yes. I can have surgery to remove the damaged areas in my lungs.”

Liam looked down at the ground, trying to suppress the overwhelming emotion and turmoil in his heart. His King, his beloved father, wasn’t an unshakeable monument. Now, his time with him was dwindling so quickly without him realizing it.

“I’m so sorry, Father. I need you so much in my life. And yet I’ve taken your time for granted.” Liam's voice crackled with emotion.

“I will be with you until the very end,” Constantine said. “However, now more than ever, I need you to be strong to prepare for the throne. You will coronate as soon as the social season ends.”

“Yes, Father.” The prince quickly set aside his personal emotions, responding solemnly.

That evening, during dinner, the king also informed his other son, Prince Leo, who had returned from a trip, about his health. Like Liam, Leo received the news with shock and sadness. But the truth could not be changed. The royal family unanimously agreed to keep Constantine's health a secret from the public, at least until Liam had been on the throne for some time, to avoid public panic and to help stabilize the young king's reign.

After dinner, Liam was talking with Leo when the king's secretary informed him that Constantine wanted to see him in the study. Liam followed the secretary to the west wing of the palace—where the king's study was located.

“Father, I'm here.”

“Liam, I just remembered I should talk to you a little more about your ascension to the throne.”Constantine rose from his desk and pointed to the salon set.

Liam walked over and noticed a sack of dossiers on the table.

“What are these?”

“These are what we're going to discuss.” Constantine replied “Liam, you know the tradition is that every king of Cordonia must be married or engaged before ascending the throne, right?”

“Except for Kendra.”

“She's the reason for this rule. And you'll have to choose your bride at the moment you're crowned, otherwise the public will be concerned about the stability of the throne.”

Liam nodded. He knew the rule well. Previously, kings were required to have an heir before ascending the throne. But times had changed, and with his father's abduction happening sooner than expected, he was fortunate enough to only need to be engaged.

“These are the files on the candidates for your bride – your suitors during this social season.”Liam looked down and saw that each dossier contained the name of a young lady, along with a photograph. He picked up the one on the top and looked at it: Lady Aurelie Chapenoire.

“The royal family has collected everything about them. Their personal details, family history, lineage, health, education, occupation… Even what you call it? Romantic history?”

“Father,” Liam put the file down, frowning, “this really shouldn’t be done. It’s an invasion of privacy and personal information for those ladies.”

“I’m afraid it’s the opposite. All those who pursue you know exactly what to expect when pursuing the future king of a country.”

Liam sighed.

“I can’t read this. They’re not criminals or anything.”

“Liam, you should feel fortunate that you have the privilege to choose your bride, not a political marriage. For the sake of national interests, you must do what needs to be done. That is, choose the most suitable person from these.”

Faced with his father’s insistence, Liam reluctantly looked at the files. There must have been about 20 of them. He gently flipped through them until he found the one he most wanted to read, but which also seemed to be the thinnest.

Constantine was clasping his hands together, calmly looking out the window.

“Take your time studying these files, Liam. If it were me, I would probably have already selected a few of the most suitable candidates at this stage.”

“Yes, I would too.” Liam replied. He glanced quickly at the dossier in his hand:

Romantic history: 1 high school romance with Scott Earving, 2 years, ended. The rest: unknown.

Liam breathed a sigh of relief.

“That’s right,” Constantine nodded. “Perhaps your mother would agree with me that Madeleine would be a top candidate with her political experience and aristocratic upbringing.”

“Father, may I take the files I find interesting to my room to study?”

“Of course. They’re here for you.”

Liam wished Constantine goodnight, bowed to his father, and left the room.

A while later, the king’s secretary returned, asking Constantine’s permission to clear the remaining files from the coffee table.

“How many are left?” Constantine asked, suddenly curious about the young ladies Liam had taken an interest in.

“Your Majesty, it seems that His Highness only took one. There are 19 dossiers left here.”

“Who was chosen by him?”

After a brief verification, the secretary looked up at the king and replied:

“Liam, we really should—”

“Not now!”

Madeleine’s eyes narrowed as she watched him swoop in on Lady Beaumont. She could, and would, make Riley’s life a living hell. It was bad enough that she tolerated Penelope under her roof.

Liam had certainly made the most of his social season, wooing and bedding most of the suitors. Penelope had been the only one dumb enough, or smart enough if you asked the queen, to get herself pregnant. Not a week after the engagement announcement, Penelope had announced her pregnancy. Being neither able, nor particularly willing to break a council approved and legally contracted marriage agreement, he had done the only sensible thing and made her the official royal mistress.

Penelope was one thing. But damned if she was going to tolerate a second mistress. She turned with a huff and made her way through the crowd. She needed a plan.

Liam was oblivious to his wife’s machinations as he swooped in to stake his claim. His hand landed on her shoulder then slid down her back possessively. “Riley, what are you doing, love?”

Riley stiffened in annoyance and frustration. She liked Liam, and they had a lot of fun together. Parties, dinners, dances, trips to Paris. He was funny, smart and amazing in bed. But he was a little too intense, a little too possessive. She and Max had opened their marriage to experience new things and different people. Not to immediately hop into a second committed relationship, which is what her situationship with the king was starting to feel like.

She had already experienced Liam. Now she wanted to experience the adorably shy adonis standing in front of her, but Liam was making that difficult. He had both a wife and mistress, so she had not anticipated his jealousy.

She forced a smile to her lips and replied, “I was just making a new friend.”

“Hm.” Liam’s eyes flicked over to Rashad and back again. “Well, if you’re done with that, I was hoping that we could—”

“Sorry,” she demurred as she pretended to read a message on her phone, “My husband just texted me that it’s time to go. We have a family thing that we need to attend to. But you can text me later.”

“Oh, well, I…”