The Dragon Queen and her mates.
Chapter 249: The reaction

Chapter 249: The reaction

"You—"

Bree didn’t know what to say to the man in front of her. It would be a lie to say that she was not touched by his actions. Though Dion had already put down his seal as the heir of his family, he was nothing but a small assistant and aide in the eyes of the officials.

But if Yakov, who was the son of a high-ranking official and the first consort, was to put down his position on the line, then the matter of introducing the examination system would become even smoother.

But Bree still eyed Yakov and asked, "Are you sure?"

"Do you not trust me, your majesty? Do you think that I will fail the exams?" Yakov asked Bree instead of answering the question.

"That’s not what I meant to say," Bree muttered, feeling a bit uncomfortable when stared at by Yakov.

"You don’t need to worry about it, Your Majesty," Yakov stated with a firm edge in his tone. "Even if I fail, I will not blame your majesty. The fact that I failed to retain my title only means that I was not capable enough and let down my father and you as well. Someone who is not capable enough does not have the right to sit in my position."

Though Yakov said that, he had the confidence to regain his title that he was betting to win the heart and trust of the woman in front of him. If he couldn’t pass the exams set by Bree, then Yakov knew that no one else could pass those exams either.

Bree looked at his confident expression and felt a bit unsettled. "It’s not about —"

"I know," Yakov suddenly smiled at her and not in the professional manner in which he smiled at everyone but in a sweet and gentle manner. He stepped towards her and came to a halt when he was three steps away from her. He said, "I know that you are nervous, because no matter how confident I am in the end, I am gambling with my title. If the decision of your majesty turned out to be then the entire empire will be affected because of this. It can even fall through, giving our enemies a chance to take over."

A myriad of emotions flashed in Bree’s eyes and she said, "And you still want to do this even after knowing all the risks?"

"Because I know that even though there are many risks, the rewards waiting for us are just as big and grand," stated Yakov thoughtfully. "The reason our nation has fallen to the current state is because the late emperors hardly cared about the condition and the lives of the commoners. If they had taken steps half as daring as you, your majesty, then we wouldn’t be fearing the rise of the dark mages."

"The reason Lord Semel is feared is because the officials know that they are too old and weak to fight him but at the same time they refuse to leave their positions. Thus, they are rejecting the very idea of that man’s coming to power because they know that they cannot face him."

He paused and then leaned close to Bree.

Seeing him coming close, Bree instinctively wanted to pull back but then stopped and let the man touch her cheek.

Yakov cupped her cheek and then said to her, "And with you backing me, I don’t think I need to worry about failure."

"Your father wouldn’t be too happy if he heard these words," Bree chuckled upon hearing his careless words.

Yakov shrugged before stating, "With your majesty by my side, who would dare to harm me?"

His eyes darkened as he leaned down, his lips inches away from Bree’s. He said to her, "But don’t make me wait for long, your majesty." His fingers caught hold of her dark inky locks, which he brought to his lips and kissed the end of. "Because there are some matters that I cannot be patient about."

Once he finished speaking, he straightened up and looked at Bree, whose face was still filled with a hint of shock. He reached out and used the tips of his fingers to close her mouth before saying to her, "Your majesty, be careful, or else I will take it as an invitation from your side."

Hearing his response, Bree closed her mouth at once, causing Yakov to chuckle. He turned on his feet and walked out; since he had decided to take the exams, he needed to prepare for them as well. Even if he was confident he would win, he was not going to foolishly believe that he was better than the rest.

Bree watched him walk out of the office; her gaze fell on the brooch that Yakov had left behind and she couldn’t help but sigh. "This is the classic example of using a sword when a needle could have been used."

However, since Yakov had decided to show his trust in her actions, Bree also needed to make sure that nothing would go wrong.

She raised the quill sitting on the table and, with a determined look on her face, continued to scribble down on the scroll.

Three days passed by in the blink of an eye and when the new decree was passed down to the officials, as expected, a bunch of objections were raised in the court almost immediately.

"Your majesty, how can such a preposterous thing be allowed?"

"Your majesty, these titles were gained by our ancestors; you cannot just take them away from us!"

"This is our lineage and heredity right!"

"Your majesty, I am against this decree. My grandfather won this title after putting his life on the line; the late emperor also agreed to this so why do I have to let go of it?"

Bree listened to the yells of the officials, and even though they looked like they were about to lose their temper with her and were on the verge of rebelling, she did not even flinch. She let them make as much noise as they wanted and once they were done, she raised her hand and said to them,

"Are you done? Shall I speak now?"