The Crown's Seduction
Chapter 244: Ursa

Chapter 244: Ursa

After all was said and done, both Mineah and Nikolai eventually had to go back to their respective duties in their kingdom. They’d planned all that there was to plan about already, and all they could do now was wait out the time as things began moving into place.

She really didn’t like doing nothing when she could feel like there could be something else that she could do to be productive, but like her husband said a while ago, all that was left for them to do now was wait until further developments had come to pass.

"You have a scheduled visit to one of the nearby provinces, Your Majesty."

Of course, that also meant that she had to return to her regular schedule of doing visits to all parts of the kingdom, to see the citizens of Valcrez.

Groaning, Mineah got up from bed and let herself be prepared by her shadow maidens. All the while, Niran was all but nagging at her with all of the scheduled activities her friend had prepared for her.

"Today will be your visit to Ursa. They will be expecting you this afternoon," Niran began as she listed out every single detail of her supposed visit. "We’ll be staying the night there before we make our way to the next province on the list, Apus, just north of there."

Mineah nodded in understanding. For some reason, she felt under the weather. She yawned as she tried her best to get up from the bed. It was her husband’s fault that she lately lacked any sleep. Her face blushed at the thought of how she and Nikolai still managed to do their extracurricular duties in bed despite everything.

"I guess we’ll have a long and busy day ahead of us," she murmured with a smile.

"You have to win their hearts, Your Majesty," Niran knowingly chuckled. "Just do what you normally do. I’m sure you already know that."

Mineah sighed even as she got fitted into her dress for that day. Of course, she already knew what to do and she just hoped everything went smoothly like her visit to Rusan.

"Thank you Niran for assisting me," she winked as she stood up, her hair already set up as she walked forward.

The moment Mineah left the doors to their bedchamber, her face immediately transformed into its usual beautiful smile. It was important to the kingdom, and she wouldn’t be caught dead slacking even if some of her subjects currently hated everything she stood for.

"Let’s get going then."

With a small gesture, Mineah and her entourage prepared themselves for the journey ahead. Making their way to their scheduled visit in their usual glass carriages, she prepared herself to be jeered and booed at for this specific province since the province was a solid supporter of the Wagner Clan.

"Remember, Ursa is known for their textile industry. Their exports have fallen recently, but they’re still proud of their craft," Niran reminded her as they neared their destination. "They also don’t approve of your coronation. They’ll need a lot of work if you want to sway them to our side."

"I’ll see what I can do," Mineah smiled as she took a deep breath. "Like you just said, I just have to be myself and see where that leads us."

With her mask of hospitality now fully in place, Mineah raised her head as she turned to greet the people of Ursa who were currently lining up to see her. Sure enough, there was no applause or cheering here as opposed to the earlier provinces she visited. They showed her the due respect befitting her station by bowing, sure, but it was clearly a rehearsed one as they refused to even look at her general direction.

Nevertheless, Mineah pushed on as she smiled and waved at them regardless. She had some supporters, obviously, and they were ecstatic to see her even if they were few and far in between.

[Mine, how are things on your end?] Nikolai suddenly asked. Her dear husband woke up so early that he was already gone the moment she opened her eyes.

[Just smiling and waving,] Mineah casually replied even as she kept up her smile at her reluctant subjects. [The people of Ursa really do not like me, huh.]

[They support me, but one of the former Queen candidates was from that area,] Lai explained despite sounding like he was currently busy with his own work. [They’ll come around if you give it enough time. They’re just biased against you since it was their own that you essentially denied the chance of being queen.]

Mineah blinked at that information. She didn’t even know who it was that she usurped. There were many who wanted to be queen. Perhaps it was some nameless woman who never even got the chance to show up in the palace?

"Usurper!"

The entourage came to a grinding halt as a young voice echoed from right in front of them. Mineah blinked as she spotted a young girl standing right in front of them, tears visible in the kid’s eyes as she blocked their way.

"You... It’s not fair!" the girl shouted, silence blanketing the area as she took the spotlight. "You’re not even supposed to be here!"

"Your Majesty, shall we move her to the side?" one of her many guards quickly asked as they all seemed ready to get rid of the kid.

Pursing her lips, Mineah shook her head. "I’ll handle it," she stated. "Niran, you said something about Ursa’s exports being behind, right?"

"Right," Niran confirmed.

Mineah simply nodded as she stood up and got out of the carriage. Immediately, everyone around her made their way as she approached the girl in question. Kneeling to match her height, she smiled as she tried to soothe her.

"I’m sorry," Mineah sincerely stated, her voice loud enough for all to hear. "I know I might not be what you all expected, but I’m doing my best."

"Y-You haven’t even done anything," the girl sniveled. "We were left to rot here..."

Mineah let out a breath as she stood up. Placing a hand on the girl’s shoulder, she turned to address the people around her as she cleared her throat.

"I can see that the people of Ursa are proud of what they do. Hard times might’ve fallen now, but I can tell that you all will stand back up just as easily," Mineah began. "I’ve heard of this place’s craft, and I think I’ll buy a wardrobe of gowns from here if what I’ve heard about the excellent quality here is true."

The people immediately mumbled to themselves, and Mineah could tell that some were starting to come around just from her offer of buying their products. After all, she was the best advertisement that they could get if she ever wore their products both in and out of Valcrez, and that would effectively boost demand for their wares.

"Truly?"

"I’ll also see to it that trade agreements be put in place to promote your products," Mineah stated. "It’s not good for any one province of the kingdom to be left behind, after all."

She smiled as she felt the tense atmosphere from before starting to lift. It was always good to be aware of the people’s plight, and that was exactly what she did best.