But then, to my absolute shock, she did something I had never expected — something that left me completely speechless.
She opened the door and bowed in front of me. Bowed. She didn't even look me in the eyes.
"What?" I blurted out, utterly confused.
Before I could process anything, Mira's mother rushed over and bowed as well. That was it—I couldn't take it anymore. I stormed inside, with Alice and the two royal guards following right behind me.
In a loud, frustrated voice, I demanded, "What are you both even doing?!"
Mira's mom straightened slightly and said softly, "Your Majesty… you are going to be the queen of the nation now. We commoners cannot face you. You are a royal."
I felt my head spinning. My heart clenched, and before I knew it, my voice trembled as tears welled up in my eyes.
"Why are you guys doing this to me?" I choked out. "Out of everyone, you two are the only ones I can call family. And now, if you start treating me like this… what then? Am I not yours anymore? Please… don't do this!"
Mira glanced at me and then at her mother, sighing. "I told you we shouldn't do this," she muttered. "You nearly made her cry."
"What?!" I screamed, stunned. "So… this was all an act?!"
Both of them immediately straightened.
Mira's mom admitted , "We just wanted to treat you at least once with royal respect… but then you started crying."
I froze, realizing how dramatic I had just been, and felt my cheeks heat up in embarrassment.
Mira smirked, shaking her head. "Alright, drama queen. Come in and explain everything properly, because we have no idea what's going on."
Off to the side, Alice and the two royal guards stood completely dumbfounded, watching our little scene unfold.
We all went into Mira's room.
They both sat up straight in attention and said, "Now, say it!"
I took a deep breath, kept my expression straight, and said, "Well… to put it short and simple, the random boy I fell in love with turned out to be the king."
"It is not that simple!" they both scolded me in unison.
"Yeah, I know," I sighed, "but that's the truth. I didn't even know it myself at first. In fact, Mira found out about him before I did—when he came here with all that royal drama in the area."
Mira's face turned a little serious. "So… now what?"
Keeping my voice steady, I replied, "I'm going to marry him… in five days."
"It. Is. Not. That. Simple!" they screamed at me again, louder this time.
I noticed the royal guards exchanging confused glances, probably wondering if they should rescue their future queen from being scolded.
Mira clutched her head in frustration. "So, you're really going to be the queen… I still can't believe it."
"Well," I said calmly, "you'll believe it when you see me at my wedding."
"We… we'll come?!" they both asked together, almost hesitantly.
"Well, yeah, of course you'll come!" I exclaimed. "It's my wedding, and you're my only family. You have to be there—it's not even optional."
They looked at each other, panic instantly washing over their faces.
"Oh my god," Mira whispered. "How are we even going to enter the royal palace?"
"And what will we wear?!" her mom gasped. "And what are we supposed to do there?!"
I rolled my eyes and chuckled, trying to calm them down. "Relax. I'll buy everything for you—dresses, accessories, everything! The royal palace has tons of money lying around anyway. We'll go shopping today itself."
They both finally nodded in agreement, still whispering nervously to each other.
But then Mira's mom suddenly froze, as if a realization had struck her.
"Wait… if you're going to be the queen," she said slowly, "and we're like your family, then that means we're connected to the royals now. The whole neighborhood must know it by now, which means… our sales will skyrocket!"
I burst into laughter and said, "Yes, yes! And if you want, I can personally come to promote your shop and help you expand!"
She laughed along, pleased with the idea, and then headed to the kitchen, saying she'd grab some snacks for us.
That's when I suddenly remembered something. "Oh! I completely forgot. Mira, this is Alice." I pointed at her. "By title, she's my servant, but honestly, she's more like a new friend of mine."
Alice bowed her head politely to greet Mira.
"Ohhh," Mira said with a mischievous smirk. "So, you work there, huh? I hope Zera has already asked you a million questions!"
"What questions?" I asked, confused.
Mira rolled her eyes dramatically. "Obviously! You should've asked how Rayan was before meeting you, what kind of drama happened when he told everyone about you, all the juicy gossips between the palace workers… There's so much to know!"
My face went completely blank, and I muttered, "I… completely forgot about that."
"WHAT?!" Mira screamed, almost falling off the bed.