Married To The Enemy Kingdom's Illegitimate Prince-Chapter 58 — Royal Banquet (5)

- A while ago -

"Your Highness, are you in there?" a manly voice called, knocking on the door.

"Ah! Suyou!" Arisia gasped, covering her mouth to stifle her words, but it was too late. The turquoise-haired man had already entered the terrace.

"Please come. The king has noticed me, and I couldn’t help but—"

"Oh! You’re too loyal to him! You’re working for me!" Arisia sighed, shaking her head.

"Oh! Right, Your Highness. Let’s meet again! I asked Brother Lucian for a visit. Please come soon. It was really nice meeting you," Arisia smiled before exiting the terrace.

Once the door closed, Cynthia placed her hand on her chest, her heart racing.

In her memories, Princess Arisia lay in a coffin, her portrait hanging on the wall. She was nothing but a piece of art she saw hanging on the walls of the palace, yet the person she just encountered was alive. The young lady’s hand Cynthia held earlier was warm, and more than anything, she was breathing and smiling as if nothing of Cynthia’s past life happened; as if Princess Arisia, a name she heard occasionally, never died.

A flashback rushed through her mind. It was the rainy season, the sky was dark and gloomy, and the crowd surrounding the coffin was dressed in long dark coats. The king, queen, and crown prince shed tears, which shocked Cynthia; she never expected those people to be capable of crying. Lucian stood beside her, staring blankly at the coffin as if the woman inside were merely someone he had once known, not his own blood—his sister, even if they were half-siblings. Yet, once the funeral ended, and they had entered the carriage, Lucian wrapped his arms around Cynthia tightly. She was too stunned to make any movements.

"Please, just for today... Can I hold you? And... Please don’t say anything."

Although she couldn’t see his face, she felt her clothes soon soaking wet— and she immediately understood; they were tears.

At that moment, the only thing Cynthia wondered was; so you can cry for your loved ones...

Hearing a few carriages’ wheels rolling on the road, its loud noise snapped Cynthia back to reality. She looked around, and only a few carriages were left. Everyone was already leaving. The sky had turned pitch black, and the violet lights used for teleportation were too dazzling. She realized she was merely remembering her past life and none of it had happened, yet.

But none of her surroundings mattered to Cynthia, nor her past life’s lingering memories. Her mind, which had everything set for her revenge was slowly drifting away due to the unwanted memories she wanted to forget about emerging once again.

"What are you doing here? I have been looking for you everywhere—" Lucian, who noticed the strange complexion on Cynthia`s face, slowly approached her.

Hearing no response from her altogether it was evident she heard him, the dark-haired man sighed.

"Is something bothering you? Did anyone say anything rude to you?"

He halted, realizing it wasn’t something he could stop– someone badmouthing her as if it wasn’t as if they would even listen to him. He, himself, was always the subject of noble gossip after all.

"No. It’s nothing. Let’s go home."

"We can’t."

"Why not? Let’s just use teleportation. I can’t do this anymore. Erion is too far," Cynthia placed her hand on her forehead, exhausted. Everything in her mind was a mess and traveling in this state would only cause her headache to worsen.

"I have reserved a place for the night. We will stay there and then we can return."

"Is that so? And how did your conversation with the king go?"

"Were you staring at me?"

"No. I just happened to see you.

"Well, that went... alright."

Cynthia noticed he was behaving strangely but couldn’t ask. Usually, he wouldn’t even bother to answer yet he did.

"Something must have happened with the demons issue," she assumed.

***

"And this is the place you arranged?"

Cynthia started, stupefied, at the place where she was supposed to spend the night. It was an inn, but it looked more like a bar filled with commoners drinking and making noise.

"Yes. I have to meet with someone. You can go upstairs and I will join you. Ah, I couldn’t reserve another room because this inn is always busy and the person I am meeting with didn’t want to change the meeting place... I hope you can understand."

Cynthia nodded, taking the key Lucian handed over to her along with the room number. It was strange, no matter how much she thought about it. Lucian, who barely ever talked to her, was explaining himself. It was probably the first time he talked so much to her.

"Maybe... he is changing because of the future ..." she halted her thoughts, shaking her head. She couldn’t be shaken by his kindness once again. He was just being respectful towards her, as he always has been.

I shouldn’t put any thought into it. Did he say this place is always busy? Does he come here often?

Climbing the stairs, she looked around the hallway. Couples were kissing, rubbing their bodies against each other. Her cheeks flushed at the sight and she quickly searched for her room. Once saw the number she held in her hand indicated on the door, she unlocked it with the key and entered.

Compared to what it looked like outside, a shabby, old inn, the inside of the room was clean and neat, and seemed no different than a fancy bedroom even if it didn’t reach a palace’s standard, it was no less elegant.

Cynthia lay on her back, on the bed looking at the ceiling. She slowly closed her eyes, wondering who Lucian came to meet in this strange place.

In her past life, she didn’t want to attend any banquet after her reception banquet had failed because of the strange creature that caused chaos. She was too scared to attend any parties, even if they were tea parties organized by noblewomen. And a few months later, the king arranged a banquet as the first banquet arranged for the grand duke and duchess had failed.

It was a banquet that lasted for three days, although Cynthia never appeared in that banquet, causing Selvarians to harbour hatred towards her. They thought she didn’t want to associate herself with them because she still didn’t accept the end of the war and still considered them enemies.

Hence, their behaviour towards Cynthia had turned harsh, and before they knew it, they began tormenting her, harassing her and much more as time progressed. They enjoyed seeing her pained, scared complexion every time they did something to her. The ladies would laugh behind their extravagant fans while the noblemen would simply glance Cynthia’s way, only to avert their gazes, feigning ignorance.

And in this life, the banquet would also go for three days. However, most people were to attend one of the three days— it didn’t matter as long as they showed their face to the king, although attending the first day was mandatory.

"Are you asleep?"

Cynthia heard Lucian’s voice, muffled by the wooden door.

This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺