Chapter 10 Lead The Way

• *Rafe*
• King Axel is quite chatty tonight. He pauses in his description of the house he plans to move to in a few months to take another sip from his goblet. I nod and do the same. Every night this week, he’s gone into elaborate detail about his plans once he retires. While I don’t mind hearing them, there are only so many times I can tell him I’m ecstatic that he’s going to have more time to work in his gardens.
• His two daughters sit on either side of us with me across from him. We’re having an intimate dinner tonight, as we do several times a week. No advisors. No other nobles. Just the four of us. “The Royal Four,” as King Axel likes to call us. He is obviously the leader with the two princesses and I as the other ranking nobles. Sometimes I wonder why he chose me all those years ago to be his next in line. All he’s ever said is that he saw something in me, whatever that means.