Page 22 of Throne Off Course

Emilia threw another napkin with more force. Harper cackled, the sound drawing amused glances from the barista behind the counter.

Emilia exhaled sharply, shoulders slumping in defeat. “Fine.Yes. I don’t hate him. He’s… actually kind of fun to work with.” She hesitated before mumbling under her breath, her fingertip tracing a pattern on the wooden tabletop. “And hemightbe charming. In aninfuriatingway.”

Harper’s eyes widened in genuine surprise before the glee took over. “Did you just say—”

“We are not talking about this anymore,” Emilia insisted, sitting up straighter and reaching for her purse as if to leave.

Harper’s grin turned positively feral as she reached out to stop her friend. “Oh, babe.We areabsolutelytalking about this.”

Emilia covered her face with her hands, her fingers pressing against her closed eyelids as if she could make this entire conversation disappear.

Harper gleefully flipped to a fresh page in her notebook, the scratching of her pen audible as she wrote something with a flourish. She turned the page around, revealing what she’d written in large letters: ROYAL WEDDING PLANS.

“So,” she asked with mock seriousness, “tell me, when’s the wedding?”

14

A Lesson in Legacy

Over the next few weeks, they fell into a comfortable pattern, one that was almost… pleasant. Alexander remained insufferable, of course, but he was also quick-witted, intelligent, and as she had already confessed to Harper, actually helpful. For his part, he seemed to enjoy the change in his routine. Emilia wasn’t like the usual staff he dealt with. She challenged him. She argued with him and when he wasn’t being completely unbearable, even laughed with him. Like now.

“I don’t understand how you’re this good at finding things in these ridiculous records,” Emilia muttered one afternoon, flipping through a particularly dense book while Alexander effortlessly located yet another reference she had missed.

He smirked. “A lifetime of tedious royal duties will teach you how to navigate bureaucracy.”

She raised an eyebrow skeptically. “I thought princes spent their time riding horses and brooding on balconies.”

Alexander pretended to consider it. “That is the public image, yes. But unfortunately, I was also expected to read an obscene amount of dull records in preparation for ruling a country.”

Emilia snorted. “I think you just enjoy showing off.”

He grinned. “And I think you secretly enjoy working with me.”

She threw a crumpled note at him. “Absolutely not.”

But as she turned back to her book, a small smile tugged at her lips. And Alexander saw it.

For the first time in a very long time, he realized, he was actually enjoying himself.

* * *

The archives were quiet except for the occasional rustle of paper and the soft scratch of a pen against a notepad. Alexander sat across from Emilia, sorting through yet another set of historical documents. It had been hours, but she worked with the same intensity she had when they first started. He found it oddly impressive, though he’d never admit it out loud.

He glanced up from the papers in front of him. “So, do you always work like this? Completely absorbed, oblivious to the passage of time, slowly merging with the research?”

Emilia didn’t look up. “Yes. It’s called focus, Your Highness. You should try it sometime.”

“Believe it or not, I do. But it’s been hours, and I figured I’d take a break before you start seeing historical figures in the margins.”

She finally glanced up, arching a brow. “I promise you, if I start hallucinating, it’ll be because of the monarchy itself, not my research.”

He chuckled, leaning back in his chair. “You really do love this, don’t you?”

“Of course,” she said easily. “History is all about power. Who has it, who wants it, who rewrites it.”

His expression shifted slightly, something thoughtful flickering behind his gaze. “Speaking of rewriting history,you’re a lecturer aren’t you? What exactly do you teach your students about my family?”

Emilia tilted her head, considering him. “It depends. Last semester, I actually covered your father.”