Raised From The Wild-Chapter 301: The Birthday Banquet 2

Princess Danella pouted and she pinched her brother at the side of his waist.

"Ouch! Ella, what is wrong with you?" Donello glared at his twin sister.

Princess Nelida looked at her two children. She was smiling but her expression was telling them to walk properly and to behave.

"What a beautiful family. But don’t you think that the crown prince, the princess consort, and the twins are dressed differently than the rest of the family?" One of the duchesses whispered to a noble lady standing beside her.

"Sshh! Are you not afraid of being heard?" The noble lady almost said in a whisper.

"But you are right. I could guess it is because the princess consort wanted to draw a line and tell everyone that they are the legitimate family. Didn’t you notice? Princess Amaya was not even with them when they entered the banquet hall. It is obvious that she is being isolated." The noble lady was a first-rate gossipmonger. Many rich ladies befriended her just to get some juicy news.

"Princess Amaya is still the eldest princess. She is the firstborn of the crown prince. She is more legitimate compared to the twins of the princess consort." The duchess spoke softly and she used a foldable fan to cover her face.

"I can’t believe you are that naive. Didn’t you get the hint? It was all over the internet when the Princess Amaya was brought home. She was Ibrahim’s daughter with the first Princess Consort. Apparently, the late Princess Consort Danaya was pregnant when she married Prince Ibarra back then." the gossipmonger smirked. She was proud that she knew something that her friend the Duchess did not. So what if she was the Duchess? She was ignorant about political events despite her being a wife to a Duke.

"Oh, I remembered my husband talked about the crown prince’s twin brother. It was quite a sensation a few months ago." The duchess paused as she watched the family pass the two of them. Her gaze lingered on the graceful figure of the princess consort. If not for the underhanded methods she used, how could she be the second wife of the crown prince?

"Hmmm, isn’t our princess consort lovely? She still looked young and beautiful. Look at us. We are the same age as her but we look older. Arrgh! I hate to admit it." The noble lady fretted.

The Duchess smiled cynically. "But look at her. She is living a life of pretense. Didn’t you notice that she is trying to imitate Danaya? Though they have some semblance, her makeup makes the similarity more obvious. The way she walks and carries her dress is the same as Danaya. I am Danaya’s friend so I know."

"Princess Amaya is pitiful. She is being indirectly bullied by her mother’s sister." The gossipmonger sighed.

When Prince Ibarra and his family reached their designated table, the Herald announced the entrance of the King and Queen of Lireya.

Some of the dignitaries who were present were awed to see the king and queen walk the red carpet regally. For some of them, this was the first time they saw their queen appear in public. For some reason, the queen disappeared from the public’s view sixteen years ago. The palace official said that the queen suffered depression because of the death of her first grandchild.

Indeed the queen suffered depression but it was because of the betrayal of her husband and her son.

The royal family had their photos taken before the birthday banquet officially started. During the picture taking, King Ralden’s eyes never left Amaya. She looked stunning with her dress and the little crown on her head. His gaze lingered on her chest where the pendant of her necklace nestled.

"Are you alright, My King?" Zanzara asked when she noticed that the king was looking at Amaya.

"Yeah! The crown and the necklace that your cousin wears tonight are exquisite. I can tell that those are high-grade sapphires and very rare." King Ralden looked at Zanzara and smiled gently at her before reverting his gaze to Amaya.

"Is that jewelry set a gift of your grandparents to her?" King Ralden wanted to know. If indeed it was a gift from the King and Queen of Lireya, then it meant that Princess Amaya was very important to King Duncan and Queen Lucinda.

"I heard from my sister that it was from her Azure Series," Zanzara said with envy. Amaya has gifted her a jewelry set during her wedding but it wasn’t as beautiful as the one that adorned her.

"The gems came from the island where she was raised, right?" King Ralden probed.

"I could only guess. She did not mention it but I also suspect that she brought a lot of precious stones from that island. if not, how could she set up a jewelry store?"

The couple’s discussion was disturbed when the master of ceremonies requested King Duncan to come up the stage to say welcoming remarks and to raise a toast to signal the start of the party.

King Duncan greeted his subjects and he also said a few words about Prince Ibarra, and how he was when he was still a child.

"How time flies. Look at my son, he is already so old." King Duncan paused when the audience cracked into laughter.

The king’s cupbearer passed him the golden goblet that Ibrahim made for him. It was filled with wine that his second son brewed which Amaya brought back.

King Duncan was silent for a moment as he twirled the red wine inside the golden goblet. ’Happy birthday, my son Ibrahim. I can’t remember when was the last time I celebrated your birthday. You were always away. No! I sent you away so you were not around when we celebrated you and Ibarra’s birthday. But I know that you are happy where you are now as you are with your beloved Danaya.’ He silently said in his heart.

The audience started to wonder why the king seemed to be in a daze while studying the goblet in his hand. Could it be that the wine was poisoned? But his cupbearer has tested the wine before passing it to him.

The master of ceremonies coughed softly. King Duncan raised his hand for a toast. He greeted Ibarra with a Happy Birthday and gestured for him to come up the stage.

Before the crown prince could ascend the stairs, an elderly tender voice sounded.

"Ibrahim, my son, you are finally back to celebrate your birthday!"