Orion was pushing Layla's head down, forcing her to bow before the Queen as they were kneeling before the throne in the castle.
"Introduce and explain yourself, adventurer." The Queen said coldly, her icy silver eyes analyzing him.
Orion raised his head, trying to be as polite and kind as he could. "My name is Orion. I come from Greyhollow District or Slums, depends on how Your Majesty sees it, it's in Fitonwich."
"Now the second part." The Queen said.
"Ahem," Orion adjusted his voice. "I have arrived here, in your outstanding castle, to apologize for Layla running away while being in the middle of a conversation with you, my Queen."
The Queen leaned her cheek on her hand, looking at him with an intrigued look on her face.
Layla's cheeks reddened as she pushed his hand away with her head and looked up at the Queen with tears in her eyes. "I'm really sorry! I didn't mean to do it! Please! Please, don't put us in trouble, Your Majesty!" Layla pleaded.
The Queen completely ignored Layla, focusing more on Orion, even tho the situation had nothing to do with him.
"You seem to be an intelligent person, Orion." The Queen raised a brow. "You have also chosen your words pretty well, I'll give you that."
Orion bowed his head in respect. "I'm glad and thankful to hear your praise, Your Majesty."
As Orion kept holding Layla's head in a bowing position, she felt his hand start to shake even more than before.
The Queen leaned back on the throne. "Raise your head, Layla."
Layla raised her head instantly, confirming that Orion had no real power over her, but she was just listening to him.
"Y-Yes?" She asked, afraid of the woman.
"Your punishment-"
Orion stood up, looking at the Queen with determination. "With all respect, but Layla doesn't deserve punishment. I've been lying to her for her entire life, so if there's anyone that should be punished, then it's me!"
The Queen didn't look even slightly surprised by his sudden confession. "I knew you would say that, young man. That's why I want to talk to you about something." She said coldly.
"I'm listening!" Orion said, looking into her eyes with determination.
"My son has taken a liking to Layla. I've never seen him infatuated with someone to this extent ever before."
"Uhh... What does it have to do with me?" Orion asked even tho he knew what she want.
"Look around, child." The Queen spread her arms, gesturing for him to feel free to do it.
Orion looked around. He admired the crown room, but was slightly scared by all the guards around the room.
Layla didn't say anything, she just looked at him with worry.
"As a mother, I want my children to be happy no matter what it takes." She pointed at her crown. "And as a Queen, I have the power to assure that they are."
Orion looked into her eyes. "You could kill me right here and now. I'm in no place to argue or deny your opinion, so you will tell me to do something irrational."
The Queen smiled smugly, clapping her hands together. "I've been waiting to test my son's capabilities for a long time, but there was never an opportunity to do it as he had no motivation at all."
She looked at Layla. "She's a pretty girl with an outstanding body, too much of a treasure to be left alone, especially when the Prince himself wants her."
Layla gritted her teeth, barely holding herself from bursting out and screaming at the Queen because of how she talks about her.
Orion stood up in anger. He scowled as he glared straight into her eyes. "Layla isn't a thing that can be used to make bets or to trade her!" He screamed.
The guards raised their spears and bows, pointing them at him.
The Queen waved her hand, gesturing for them to settle down their weapons.
"You are smart. You should understand that on a greater scale, Layla is a thing that can be used for political reasons. So I am giving you this choice. Either you participate in a game against my Gareth, fighting to keep Layla, or you die right here, and we take her against her will anyway." She shrugged. "The outcome will remain the same, but not many people are given such an opportunity. Will you play?"
Orion was so furious that he was on the brink of losing his mind. His hand trembled as he fought the urge to grab his dagger and try to kill her right then and there.
Layla had never seen him in such a state, even after the orphanage incident, he had always managed to smile and tell her that it'll be fine, but this time, it didn't seem that he would say that.
She stood up and hugged him tightly. "Play... Please... It will be fine, just like always!" She smiled softly as she buried her face in his shoulder.
The Queen's smug smile remained on her face. She stared at the two of them with both confusion and amusement. "The game is called 'The Fight For The Throne'. It's a five versus five game in which you must either capture all three points, defeat the whole enemy team, or defeat the heir first if you're lucky."
"Each team chooses an heir who is the only one that can capture a tower for his team, but if he is eliminated, then no matter how many of his teammates are still playing, they lose."
She smiled softly. "I am a kind person, so I'm giving you three days to find teammates and prepare for the game." Unlike her soft smile, her voice was cold.
"Three days? We can't do that! The escort job continues in three days!" Orion said, confused.
Layla's eyes widened as she understood what the Queen meant by that. "Your Highness..." She gasped.
The Queen stood up from the throne and walked up to them. Each step she took was full of pride and grace. She looked into Orion's eyes. "I have already discussed everything with Duke Caer. The escort mission will begin as soon as the game ends. That means that if you lose, which you certainly will, I, The Queen, will officially remove Layla from Summoner's party, forcing the two of you to leave Alisford, leaving the girl here, in the castle, and never seeing her again."
Layla fell to the ground in terror. She covered her eyes with her hands and cried into them. "N-No... This is unfair... Why me?! WHY ME?! I have finally gotten what I have always craved... Orion... and they're trying to separate us?!" She looked up at the Queen with hatred, a wicked smirk creeping onto her face. "I WILL KILL YOU!" She screamed as countless portals started appearing around the Queen.
All the guards were immediately alarmed, pointing their weapons at Layla, but they couldn't shoot yet because she could end the Queen any moment now.
The Queen looked at the portals, sighing deeply. She wasn't even slightly afraid.
Orion smacked Layla's head. "Calm down, you idiot! Don't get us into even more trouble than we're already in!"
The portals disappeared as Layla looked up at him in confusion, tears rolling down her cheeks. "H-Huh? Orion... we need... to... run away!" She yelled weakly.
Orion smirked and looked into the Queen's eyes, taking a step closer towards her. "Fine, I will play that so-called game, Queen Igraine Pendragon." He said calmly, offering her his hand.
The Queen gasped. Seeing him so confident after being forced to play a game he couldn't win was the last thing she had been betting on.
The Queen smiled softly and shook his hand. "Then we have a deal, Orion."
"You... Asshole!" Layla pulled his ear with tears in her eyes.
The Queen sighed. "You can leave. See you in two days." She waved her hand as she walked towards the throne.
"Idiot! Asshole! Dumbass! Bastard!" Layla threw insults at him as they were walking down the hallway, passing many maids and other people serving the caste.
"Calm down, Layla! Just like you said, it's gonna be fine!" He groaned as they left the castle.
"Let's just take Ellie and run away and never come back! I know a Noble who's probably a foreigner! She would help us!" Layla huffed, tugging his sleeve.
"That's a horrible idea, Layla. All the gates to the city are closed. Igraine had obviously planned it all along." Orion sighed.
"W-Wait!" Elaine yelled, running after them.
They both turned around and looked at her. "Elaine?" Layla raised a brow.
Elaine hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! It's all my fault! I should've never brought you to the castle!" She said, tearing up.
Orion scowled, not feeling even the slightest amount of compassion. "You're damn right, Elaine! It's all your fucking fault! I said that Layla cannot be left without anyone looking after her, and a week and a half later, I am the one who gets in trouble for everything despite being the one who warned you!"
Layla frowned and smacked his nose, feeling slightly bad as she hugged Elaine back. "It's okay! It will be alright! It's not your fault, Elaine! Many good things happened thanks to you! I finally got myself to confess... and I wasn't rejected! I'm very sad about the latest announcements, but I'm also very happy that thanks to you, I was finally able to break the ice!" She said softly, trying to reassure her.
Elaine pulled away and wiped her tears. She looked at Orion, but was too ashamed of herself to look him in the eyes. "I'm sorry..."
Orion sighed and flicked her forehead softly. "Just go away. I will think about forgiving you on our way back to Fitonwich."
Elaine instantly understood what he meant, and she smiled widely. "I hope that you win the game, Orion. As much as I like Gareth, I can assure you that he is not a good person for Layla."
Layla patted her shoulder. "Don't you worry, Elaine. As much of a scumbag move it was, he managed to keep me away from the truth and find excuses to avoid my love for ten years!" She smiled awkwardly. "I mean... I am scared... But seeing how this idiot of mine smiled, I can tell you that he'll find a way! But in the worst case, I will just kill myself to never be separated from him and I'll follow him as a ghost~!" She laughed playfully.
Orion smacked her head and pulled her ear in frustration. "Don't say things like that ever again, you idiot. I didn't cook that disgusting curry every day just to lose you to some royal family."
Layla smiled softly and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Awh~! That's sweet, you idiot!" She leaned in closer. "I almost forgot that I am your princess~!"
Elaine couldn't help but smile when she saw how affectionate Layla was. It was the total opposite of how she was acting back when they first met.
"Wait! Elaine! You can actually do something for us!" Orion called.