Thrown Into A New World: Let The Punishment Begin!

The Queen was not used to expressing her emotions freely, especially to this child in particular.

Therefore, her tone from earlier had also been awkward and stiff.

Even before she had realized it, she had reprimanded the child about maintaining the proper etiquettes expected from a princess.

After vowing to herself that she would bridge the chasm she had created between them, Queen Zena was trying to make up for the damages and this also included the one she had caused just a while ago.

As an adult, she had to correct the child’s mistakes but at the same time, she felt that she had been too harsh on her.

In order that she might rectify this mistake, she had calmed herself and used a much gentler tone the second time she had spoken up.

.....

However, it appeared that her words of concern had brought up confusion as the burdensome expression on Felicia’s face was quite evident for everyone to see.

This was also what had caused her anxiety to spike up but her husband’s touch which landed on her palm had managed to calm her stiff nerves a little.

Thus she now looked at this child of hers whom she had neglected for so many years now.

She would have to work hard but considering how great her regrets were, Queen Zena was willing to put in the effort that was needed to make up for the mistakes she had made in the past.

“I shall get some new dresses made for you.” She uttered, breaking the long silence that had filled the Dining hall.

Since the child had tripped on her long dress, the Queen had decided to get new ones made to prevent such incidents from happening in the future.

Though she did not state her true purpose and simply declared what she had decided to do.

The Princess was confused at first after witnessing the sudden change in her mother’s attitude towards her which had always been cold or indifferent.

However, now that she was facing this new side of her, Felicia did not know how to react.

Thus she acted on instinct with her gaze turning towards the one she trusted the most in this world.

King Ophire did not expect her to look his way but he smiled while giving her an encouraging nod, signaling that she should accept this offer without hesitation.

Only when the Princess had gained his reply did she turn towards her mother and nod stiffly.

“I would be grateful, Mother.” She muttered, her voice as soft as a little bird’s, worried that she might offend the Queen by speaking in a higher volume.

Queen Zena hummed in response before averting her gaze, unwilling to let the others see the bitter smile which had now formed on her lips after witnessing the silent exchange that had taken place between the father and daughter earlier.

She had no one else to blame but herself for the lack of trust and expectations her daughter had from her.

The simple act of accepting the dresses prepared by the Queen for her was not something that she could decide on right away.

This was enough to assess the level of trust and affinity between the two of them.

When King Ophire noticed the silence that once again filled the room, he glanced at his aide, the Royal Steward, who then ordered the servants to bring in the food.

After the servants placed their plates before them and left, the children had begun eating but the Queen did not have the heart to touch her food.

“You need your energy to pick the best clothes for our Felly.” The King whispered teasingly in an attempt to bring her wandering attention back to the breakfast placed before her.

When Princess Felicia heard the soft murmurs which were loud enough to reach her, with vigilant eyes she glanced at the Queen as she waited to see how her mother would react.

There had never been an incident where something like this had taken place before.

Therefore, she wished to see whether her mother would brush off the King’s words and ignore the mention of her name before she could begin eating or walk away like she had done a few times in the past.

Felicia was both curious and nervous at how her mother would react, wondering if things would ever vary from these patterns that had happened too many times to become normal occurrences for her now.

While she was waiting, Queen Zena did something which she had not expected in the least bit.

At the King’s reminder, the Queen chuckled, though elegantly, before she nodded and focused on her meal.

This time, not just the Princess but the two boys seated on either side of her were also astonished at this result.

They were expecting to witness one of the two scenarios that Felicia’s mind had come up with but what had taken place was out of the ordinary for them.

Even the few servants, who remained in the room and were standing at a distance to give the family their space to dine with each other, were stunned at what they had witnessed this morning.

However, they had done an excellent job of not letting their bafflement appear on their faces as that was exactly what was expected of them.

Though at the same time, they were trying to figure out what had caused this change.

After all, it was a known fact that the Queen wouldn’t smile or react in a pleasant way in matters connected to the Princess.

However, it seemed that either they had just hallucinated or the sun had risen from the west this morning as they were seeing things that were out of the ordinary in broad daylight.

The three children glanced at the King and Queen but neither of them paid any attention to them, instead, they were busy eating up what was on their plates.

While Prince Draco now had a faint idea as to what could have caused this change and was even excited for how things would turn out in the future, Prince Fritzen and Princess Felicia were drowning in curiosity.

Sadly, those who knew what was causing these changes said nothing so they could only lower their heads and stare at their plates.

Since Prince Fritzen had worked hard during his morning training, he was soon seen gobbling up his breakfast that had been made according to his preferences.

Meanwhile, the Princess blankly stared at her food but the subtle smile forming on her lips proved that she wasn’t entirely upset with this outcome.

It had been years since she had seen her mother smile for something that was related to her.

Though she wasn’t yet sure what had caused this change, a tiny ray of hope had been ignited in her heart.

‘Will she truly prepare new dresses for me?’ Princess Felicia bit her lip in anticipation and nervousness at the offer made by the Queen.

It was to be noted that until now, the only times the Queen had ever given her anything was on her birthdays.

On other days, it would be surprising if they could greet each other so receiving gifts was already out of the question.

Though the little girl was quick to suppress the expectations rising within her heart.

Whether those words were said in the heat of the moment or the Queen truly meant them would be revealed in time.

Therefore, until then, Felicia decided to not hope for anything as events of the past had taught her that yearning for more would only lead to heartbreak and sadness.

Experiencing enough disappointments after harboring unnecessary expectations had helped her learn this lesson.

None of the others present in this room were aware of the thoughts going through the Princess’s mind that were too mature and wise for someone her age to understand.

However, there was not much they could do as the only person who could change the Princess’s mind would have to work hard in order to erase the scars that had already formed on that little girl’s heart.

Years of indifference and lack of affection would turn anyone’s heart cold but there was still hope for the child’s tender heart.

Now all that was needed was for the Queen to put in enough effort to never break that heart ever again while also mending their strained relationship.