They Hated Me in My First Life, But Now I Have the Love System

Chapter 501: With Carl involved?

"Bring her a seat. She’ll sit right here beside me."

Now glancing around, Queen White searched for the perfect spot to wedge Nnenna into their planning committee.

Nnenna froze in place as a chair was being dragged beside the Queen, with the weight of royal doom attached to it.

Carl’s role was indispensable, so of course he had to stay.

Who could possibly move?

Her husband, obviously.

As if reading her mind, King White’s face darkened a shade. His eye twitched.

Queen White finally turned to him, not with affection or warmth, but with purpose.

"Move over," her look said. Not a word spoken. Just royal level pressure beaming directly at his soul.

King White blinked. Have I... become an outsider in my own home?! The betrayal!

No. I refuse. I’m the King. She can’t just push me aside like this. I won’t move. I’m making a stand right here

But he didn’t dare meet her eyes.

Instead, he looked away. Maybe if he pretended not to notice her, she would spare him?

She did not spare him.

In fact, her gaze only grew more intense with every passing second, like a silent countdown to doom. One eyebrow arched.

One...

Two...

Three...

BAM

He snapped. The invisible pressure crushed his resistance in an instant.

King White sighed loudly, stood up, and scooted his chair over with the grace of a defeated cat. The servant behind him stepped forward to assist, but the King waved him off with a dramatic flick of his hand. He would move himself, thank you very much.

He sat back down with the grumpy resignation of a man who just lost custody of his own wife, to Carl.

His face was the very picture of royal pitifulness. noveldrama

Meanwhile, Queen White clapped happily as the new seat was placed beside her.

"Perfect!" she said, gesturing for Nnenna to sit down as if she were announcing a royal decree.

Nnenna sat, still stunned by the whirlwind of royal chair politics she had just witnessed.

King White sulked in silence.

He hadn’t just lost his seat. He had lost his throne in his own home.

Everyone at the table, except Queen White, who happily pulled Nnenna down beside her once the king begrudgingly shifted, couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy for King White. Even Arthur, who usually looked like the furniture mattered more than human interactions, gave his father a subtle side glance of pity.

Somto also felt bad for the man. Very bad.

And strangely... he had a sinking feeling this might be his own future one day, especially if he and Nnenna ended up together and had kids. He could already see it: a royal household where Queen Nnenna would rule, and he would be quietly sipping tea, trying not to be noticed.

He glanced sideways at her. She hadn’t said a word to him since walking in.

Instantly, his face took on the same wounded expression as the king.

But unlike the king, Somto didn’t even have the courage to voice his feelings. He had already failed to convince Queen White like he promised her, and if he dared to speak now, she might turn her royal glare on him.

Better to stay quiet and keep drinking his tea.

Nnenna, on the other hand, felt her energy leave her body the moment Queen White reached for a thick, glittering book from the table.

It was a catalogue.

A very thick one.

Filled with every possible shade, cut, and layer of dress design known to womankind.

Wait, didn’t she say a few dresses?

Then why did this book feel like it had volumes?

Nnenna’s shoulders slumped. She barely made it past page one before her soul began to wither. This was going to be a long night.

Desperate, she raised her hand slightly and placed it over her eyes, then began flashing silent SOS glances at Arthur.

Save me, her eyes pleaded.

But Arthur didn’t move. Not even a twitch. He kept calmly eating, eyes fixed on his plate like nothing was happening

But the truth was, he noticed.

He had noticed her cry for help the moment she raised her hand. He had been noticing her since she walked in, in fact, his eyes drifting toward her every few seconds without even realizing it.

He wanted to help.

But he couldn’t.

He had witnessed the earlier takedown firsthand, when his mother, father, sister, and Carl teamed up to crush Somto’s rebellion before it even began.

Four against one.

It was a massacre.

It was also the first time Arthur had seen Somto so thoroughly outstrategized... or maybe, Arthur mused, Somto simply hadn’t given it his all?

He wasn’t sure.

Still, a small part of him wondered, if he had chosen to side with Somto, could they have flipped the table?

...Maybe.

But with Carl involved?

Probably not.

But even thinking it through... Arthur knew he wouldn’t have sided with Somto, even if given another chance.

Why?

Because deep down, he wanted that birthday ball to happen too.

He hadn’t seen Nnenna in a ballroom gown since her Sweet Sixteen at Lionara. That night had been unforgettable, she had looked like a dream, and for one fleeting evening, he felt incredibly close to the person he carried in his heart. Dancing with her had made everything else disappear. Just them. Just that moment.

And so, part of him yearned to experience that again.

He knew Nnenna wasn’t her, not the person from the past who held his heart. But somehow, that longing had begun to shift. Lately, he wasn’t so sure who he truly ached for anymore.

Maybe it was both.

Or maybe it was simply because of the feelings for Nnenna he had been trying, and failing, to suppress for nearly half a year now. Feelings that refused to fade. That only grew stronger with each passing day.

Whatever the reason, whether it was to chase a ghost of the past, or to witness Nnenna shine like the star she was becoming, it all pointed in one direction: