Reiner - A Tour with the Queen

I could tell from the faraway look in her eyes that she was recalling some memories of her own. You didn’t have to be a genius to figure out that she was telling me a story about herself. I wondered why she was telling me a story about herself, so I decided to focus on her words.

“One day, just like in the dramas, she was bullied by some old, rich, and extremely influential men.

Luckily, a man appeared and helped her out. At that moment, she was so scared, and he felt like a hero to her because he saved her. She quickly realized that she had fallen in love with him at first sight.

However, he wasn’t at all interested in her,” Queen continued with her story before pausing to laugh softly to herself.

I knew immediately that that man was probably King. Who else could it be?

“Then what happened?” I asked with genuine interest.

“Well, she couldn’t let him go no matter how coldly he treated her. She decided to give up her life and cut her flourishing career short just for a chance to be with him. However, things didn’t go as she had planned. He just wanted her to go back from wherever she came from. She eventually found out that to be with him, she had to give up more than just her job. She had to give up everything. Her job, her friends and family, her name and even her identity. In the end, that was what she did,” Queen said before turning to look squarely at me.

The passion that burned in her eyes showed me that even after all these years, she probably never once regretted her decision. That was how determined she was.

“She moved with him back to his family estate which is a private island. That was really the start of the real challenge. Life was different and she was a nobody on the island. She had to work hard to find a place and a role for herself. She needed to earn her place. After years of trying, she found her new place in the world under a new name and a new identity. She had an adorable son with the man that she loves and she currently lives her life with no regrets,” Queen said, putting an end to her short story.

“Wow…you’re very brave,” I said in awe.

“What about you? What are you going to do?” Queen asked before smiling kindly at me.

“It doesn’t matter anymore. Reiner doesn’t want me, and he doesn’t want me to stay. He said that he’s sending me back first thing tomorrow morning. I really appreciate your hospitality. Thank you for everything. Thank you for your kind words and for telling me a very inspirational story,” I said as I tried to put up a brave front.

“You don’t have to leave if you don’t want to, you know…” Queen said as she gazed up at the sky.

“But Reiner…” I whispered.

“The one who owns this private island is my husband, not Reiner. Ultimately, it’s King who gets to decide who leaves and who gets to stay. That’s why, strictly speaking, you don’t have to leave. I’ll make sure that King allows you to stay. That is, if you still want to stay,” Queen offered.

“What will I do here? What should I do?” I asked in my desperation.

“Let me take you on a tour of the island tomorrow. It’ll be a new and eye-opening experience for you.

Then, you can decide what you want to do. You can stay or you can go back. It’s all up to you. After all, this is your life and no one else’s,” Queen suggested enthusiastically.

“Why did you decide to stay here? You left so much behind…your career…everything…” I asked in a small voice.

“I love King. I wanted to be his Queen no matter what. For me, that reason alone was more than enough for me to throw away everything…even my own identity,” Queen replied emotionlessly.

So, this is what the old man meant. Queen is brave in every sense of the word.

…

The next morning, I woke up unnaturally early to make it to my appointment with Queen. She was waiting for me in front of the mansion in an SUV. When she saw me, she waved and smiled to me.

Honestly, I was very impressed by how much positive energy she had at her age and so early in the morning.

“Ready for the tour?” Queen asked cheerfully.

“Yes. Thank you for helping me…” I said as I got into the seat next to her.

“Just enjoy it. Treat it as a mini vacation. Let’s go!” Queen said as she began driving out of the mansion’s gate.

At first everything seemed normal. We drove past what Queen told me was the residential area. The beautiful houses and buildings were just homes for people who lived on the island. According to Queen, there were a few residential areas on the island.

“This is the office district. Basically, just a bunch of office buildings where white-collar work is done,”

Queen explained as we drove past a jungle of high skyscrapers.

“What businesses are ran here?” I asked.

“Everything that requires a tax haven. Companies open their headquarters here to save up on tax and all that stuff. They rent out the floors in these buildings for it,” Queen explained.

“Oh…I see…” I replied with my eyes on the various building passing by.

“Yup. Now these buildings are slightly different. I’ll show you once we’re inside,” Queen said.

The car came to a stop in front of a very tall building. It didn’t look different from the rest of the office buildings at all. I followed Queen inside and was quite surprised that the inside resembled any normal office building. A few men in suit walked past us and greeted Queen respectfully.

“Umm…how do I explain this? Well, simply, this is one of the buildings where King’s mercenary business is managed. It’s like managing an agency of sorts. You know, receiving orders from clients and allocating it to men or teams who can best fulfill the mission,” Queen said before winking at me.

--To be continued…