Page 15 of Royally Knocked Up
“What did you daydream about when you were that age? What did you think you would be when you grew up? Or did you just always know that you were going to be the prince?”
“Well, no,” Enzo said. “It was different when I was growing up.”
“Different in what way?”
He looked at her. “Do you actually care about this?”
“Sure I do,” she said. “If we’re going to be friends, we need to get to know some things about each other, right?”
“And you meant that. You want the two of us to be friends.”
“Do you not?”
“I guess I thought that you might just be trying to bet close to a prince.”
“But you don’t think that now,” Hailey said.
“No, I have to admit, you don’t seem the type.”
“So what was so different when you were young?”
He stuffed his hands into his pockets and stared off into the distance. “I’m guessing you don’t know a lot about the history of the Monteverdian royal family.”
“Not very much, no.”
“Well, my father only recently became the king. Actually, he isn’t the king at all yet — his coronation is planned for a few months from now, so technically he’s only acting king. When I was growing up, it was my uncle who sat on the throne, and while technically I was a part of the line of succession, I was far enough down that it wasn’t something anyone ever took seriously.”
“So what happened?” Hailey asked.
“My uncle abdicated the throne.”
“Why?”
“My father thinks it’s because he didn’t have any children — I think that’s probably the right answer — and he wanted to have control of who would inherit. If he had died as king, you see, the decision would have been given to Parliament. My father might have inherited, but it might also have been my uncle’s wife. That wouldn’t have been so bad. But then, ifshehad died as queen, the title would have passed out of our bloodline altogether and toherclosest blood relative, and nobody wanted that.”
“Why? Was her family problematic in some way?”
“I don’t know them, to be perfectly honest. I’m sure they were vetted. It’s just that the Mancini family has been on the throne for hundreds of years — since Monteverde gained sovereign statehood, in fact. Having a member of my family on the throne is a thing that means something — not just to us, but to the people of this country.”
“I see,” Hailey said. “Your uncle stepped down so that your father could be appointed king because he has heirs.”
“That’s right. My older brother Giorgio is now the next in line to the throne, and Giorgio has children of his own, so our family line will continue.”
“And what about you?” Hailey asked.
He looked at her. “What about me?”
“What has to happen for you to inherit the throne?”
“Giorgio and his children are all ahead of me in the line of succession, so that isn’t something that’s likely to happen.”
“Oh,” Hailey said. “That’s too bad.”
“No, it isn’t,” Enzo said fervently. “A throne is the last thing I want.”
“You wouldn’t like to be king?”
“I don’t even like that my father is going to be king. It’s so much pressure. I was much happier when my uncle was in charge.” He sighed.
