How to Catch a Queen (Runaway Royals #1) - Alyssa Cole Page 0,83
Sanyu.
“A snack for you, Your Highness. It’s good to give your brain fuel.”
“Thank you,” Sanyu whispered, taking the bowl. “No need to worry about me. I don’t want to be a bother.”
Yes, he was a king, but the rules of the library had always seemed to be outside of palace jurisdiction to him.
“You are never a bother,” she said before turning slowly and leaving him to his work. He’d found it odd that the woman had apparently been rude to Shanti. She was always sweet to him.
His phone suddenly rang loudly, startling a peanut out of his hand. His gaze darted to Josiane, who waved her hand as if giving him permission to pick up.
VIDEO CALL FROM Johan von Braustein
A video call? The man was truly insufferable.
Sanyu answered it, a scowl on his face.
“What is it?” he asked in a low voice. “I don’t have time to give you recipes or music recommendations right now.”
He expected Johan to be playfully annoying, as he usually was, but his expression was surprisingly serious.
“I would have texted but I’d rather keep work out of the group chat,” Johan said. It was always strange for Sanyu to speak with a Liechtienbourger and hear traces of the accent that now inflected Njazan. “I want to know why you pulled out of the land mine charity after telling me that was how I could be of assistance to Njaza. We’re just starting to get things set up on my end, and while I understand perhaps you didn’t like the initial proposals and thought things would move faster—”
“What do you mean?” Sanyu’s voice boomed from the sudden influx of stress, and he lowered it even though no one shushed him. “What do you mean? I haven’t received any initial proposals, and apart from the funds sent to supplement our current efforts, I wasn’t aware that things had progressed—or stalled for that matter.”
“Hmm.” Johan brushed his hair back out of his eyes. “This is why I called. While I know you don’t particularly love me—yet—the letter you sent seemed too harsh and much too wordy to actually be you. You would have been more to the point.”
“You know me so well?” Sanyu asked, raising a brow. He wasn’t sure admitting that he hadn’t sent the letter was smart.
“I don’t know you, but I know how you want others to see you—and I know what you want for your people. This letter didn’t fit with either of those.” Johan shrugged. “Things can get interesting in a kingdom when change is in the works, so I thought I’d check with you directly.”
Sanyu wasn’t supposed to speak of Njazan business with outsiders, especially not Liechtienbourgers. It was . . . weak? That was what he’d been told, but it didn’t make sense anymore—a country occasionally had to discuss its flaws in order to fix them. Liechtienbourg had only recently held a referendum to address dissatisfaction with their own monarchy, and it seemed to have come out of it stronger. Their people had laid out their grievances, but in the end decided of their own accord to keep their royal family. What would’ve happened if Liechtienbourg had undermined that referendum? Resentment would have grown instead of shrank.
“I’m hoping there was some misunderstanding that led to this letter, but I assure you that I want to continue this project and grow it.” Sanyu sighed. “I . . . was in a somewhat dark place after my father . . . I—I’m just starting to address things that probably should have been addressed immediately.”
Johan nodded. “You know I understand that. It’s difficult, losing someone who was so important to you but also important to a kingdom. It’s been ten years for me and I’m just starting to understand how much it affected me. And you also got married and became king, all in one swoop. That’s like advanced-level blade juggling. Nya just moved to Liechtienbourg and I’m the happiest I’ve been in ages, but it’s also overwhelming.”
Sanyu wanted to dismiss what Johan had said, to say that he was fine—after all, what did this man know about him? Except, everything he said resonated. It didn’t matter if the words came from an annoying colonizer—they were true.
“No, meng ami. Counselor like a therapist. I just started a couple of weeks ago and while it’s not fun, I can already see how it’s helping with things I hadn’t processed about my mother’s passing.