Chapter 22: Chapter 22

Two hours had passed after Trisya's return in Aston's carriage, and Prince Terry was still cold with his fiancée's cousin. Darian could pick up very obvious signals of hostility between his cousin and his lord. However, here he chose to be a neutral party. He did not want to interfere when it came to matters of the heart.

"It's over, right? Then let's go back to the palace now," said Prince Terry.

Darian just nodded obediently, then quickly got up and walked after the Prince.

"Darian, please give my regards to Trisya!" exclaimed Aston. Darian looked away briefly, then nodded with a smile. He was glad that there were so many people who cared and loved his little brother.

"Your Highness, you are not angry with my sister, right?" asked Darian, when he and Prince Terry were already in the carriage.

Prince Terry turned his head and looked at Darian with a look that was hard to explain. "Next time, take care of your sister!"

"Is there anything Trisya said that still upsets you? As a big brother, I want-"

"I'll forget what happened today. But make sure Trisya doesn't get close to another man after this!"

Darian smiled meaningfully at the Prince. 'Is he jealous? So, he's also starting to have feelings for my sister, right? That way Trisya's feelings will no longer be unrequited like before.'

The Prince's dejection brought Darian back to his senses, and immediately normalized his expression.

"Don't take my orders the wrong way! I'm just reminding you because no matter what Trisya will do, it will affect the reputation of your family and the royal family. You know, right, that it's getting close to the time for the engagement to be announced to all the people. That means Trisya will be in the public spotlight because she is the future crown princess of this country."

"Yes, Your Majesty. I understand," said Darian. Even so, he still believed that Prince Terry said so because he had started to have a crush on Trisya. Darian was not stupid. And as a fellow man, he understood what Prince Terry's behavior today meant. It was obvious that he was very jealous when Trisya stubbornly wanted to be taken home by Aston's carriage. Trisya insisted on hearing her father's explanation. They had a small argument before Aston finally intervened and let Trisya go home in his horse-drawn carriage.

When he saw Prince Terry let out a few frustrated sighs, Darian concluded that Prince Terry was getting tired. In fact, the journey to the palace was still quite long.

"Would Your Royal Highness like to stop by for a short rest?" Darian asked.

"No need. Just continue the way because I want to get to the palace as soon as possible," Prince Terry refused. "Darian, when will I have a completely free day?"

Darian quickly checked his notes. "Five more days, Your Highness. Does Your Highness have any special plans?"

"Send an invitation for Lady Trisya to return to the palace on that day. We haven't kept our promise to show her around the palace, right?"

Darian was silent for a while. His heart cheered up knowing that Prince Terry had invited Trisya back to the palace.

"Ah, no. After all, I'm the one who made our plan today fail. Just keep my plans for next week a secret from Lady Trisya!"

"What does Your Highness mean?"

"We'll come straight there to pick up your sister in five days," Prince Terry replied casually.

Darian was again surprised to hear Prince Terry's words. However, she was grateful because this time, Prince Terry was showing more and more kindness to his beloved sister.

***

"So Trisya doesn't want to have dinner with us?" asked Duchess Amara after hearing Layla's report.

"She refused to have dinner, ma'am. Lady Trisya said she was very tired and wanted to rest right away," Layla explained.

Indeed, since her conversation with her father this afternoon, Trisya's mood had gotten worse by leaps and bounds. She was suddenly stressed out thinking about her irrevocable match with Prince Terry.

"I don't think she doesn't want to have dinner with us. But I think it's because of what we talked about in my office earlier," said Duke Gerald.

"What do you mean?"

Duke Gerald looked at his wife intensely. "Would you believe me if I told you that our daughter has taken a dislike to His Highness the Crown Prince?"

Silence. For a few moments, both of them were silent. However, Duchess Amara chuckled as soon as she imagined what her husband had said.

"Don't joke, honey! We know how fond Trisya is of the Crown Prince. Did she say anything to make you think that she no longer likes him?"

"She seems to be rejecting this arranged marriage. I don't know why, but it seems like she doesn't agree with the match," Duke Gerald replied.

The Duchess fell silent again. "That's impossible. Even if that is true, there must be a great reason behind Trisya's refusal. My Trisya cannot possibly stop loving His Highness."

"Actually, I don't mind if this arranged marriage is canceled. I want to follow whatever Trisya wants. But, how do we convey it to the royal court?" puzzled the Duke.

"There's no way Trisya already dislikes the Crown Prince. Maybe she's just upset or something. We should not be rash enough to cancel this arranged marriage! Don't let us regret it later when Trisya realizes that she still loves His Highness," said the Duchess.

The Duke nodded in agreement. It seemed like it was too hasty to immediately convey Trisya's words to the royal family. It was better to wait until the right time while finding out what happened to his daughter.

"It's a pity I can't bring you to my daughter, Adriana. But I'll introduce you tomorrow morning. She'll like you right away," the Duchess said so gently to the woman she had just appointed as Trisya's personal maid.

"That's all right, Ma'am. Lady Trisya's health is more important than anything else," replied the woman named Adriana.

"That's what makes me like you so much. In the future, please take good care of Trisya!"

"Of course, Ma'am," he replied.

Actually, Trisya wasn't really sleeping in her room. She just wanted to be alone, thinking about her fate. She deliberately refused to have dinner with her parents. She wasn't ready to meet anyone other than Layla, who was now the only person she gave access to in and out of her room.

"Lady, this is the honey tea you ordered. Would you need something else? I'm very worried about your condition if you don't eat anything," Layla offered after she placed a cup of honey tea on Trisya's table.

"I have no appetite, Layla. If you want, you can rest now! You must be very tired too, right? I'm not going anywhere tonight," Trisya said.

"I'll be here until you fall asleep," Layla broke off. She knew her lady was not well. And she wouldn't be comfortable leaving Trisya alone until the girl had a good night's sleep.

"Layla, what do you think if the engagement is announced at my debut party? What might happen to my life after that?" asked Trisya.

Layla didn't answer immediately, so Trisya immediately turned her head to see what her Lady's reaction would be. However, Layla just looked down so Trisya couldn't see clearly what her expression was like at the moment.

"Lady is a very good person after all. Sooner or later, the bad news outside will disappear soon. So, you don't need to worry too much!" Layla replied.

Trisya let out a long sigh. "That's not the answer I want to hear, Layla. As for how people will see me, maybe I'll get used to it someday."

And the truth was that Trisya would never be able to explain to Layla what she was most afraid of. The plot of the novel. Trisya was so afraid that everything would end up the same.

"Then, what do you mean, Lady?" Layla was confused.

"Never mind. Basically, I feel that my life would be better if I didn't get involved with Prince Terry. And besides, isn't Count Morsche's daughter very beautiful? She also has more of a crown princess aura compared to me. Moreover, she's known the Prince for a long time too. Why don't the royal family just set them up as a match?"

"Lady, so you're jealous given His Highness the Prince's closeness to Lady Rania?" teased Layla.

Trisya's eyes widened. She quickly dismissed Layla's accusation. "No, no. It's not like that, Layla. I just feel that she is more worthy than me to be the crown princess."

"Of course not. In this country, you are the best candidate to become the crown princess. Anyway, I will always support you until the end," Layla said, leaving Trisya shaking her head.

Trisya sipped her honey tea, which had now become warm. Then, she remembered something. She turned her head back towards Layla. "Layla, do you know who Viscount Evan is?"

"You mean the nobleman who visited the Duke's study earlier?" asked Layla.

It seemed like Layla knew about that mysterious figure. A figure that Trisya was quite curious about - not only because his looks were too handsome, but also because his figure was never described in the novel at all. She felt the need to find out about him.

"Right. So, you must know something, right?"

"I only know that he is the King's nephew, Lady. He's the son of the king's youngest sister. Supposedly, Lord Viscount should not have been knighted. But because of his intelligence and extensive contacts, His Majesty gave him the title of Viscount and assigned him to maintain the security of the capital," Layla explained.

"Woah, so he lives in the capital?"

"Of course, Lady. Viscount Evan still lives with his parents. Princess Alice and a wealthy merchant named Mr. Josh after his lover died last year," Layla explained.

"His lover? So, he had planned to get married before? And do you know what the cause of his lover's death was, Layla?"

Layla furrowed her brows. She felt like something was wrong with Trisya. "I'm sorry, Lady. But why are you curious about the Viscount's personal story? Is there something bothering you?"

Trisya shook her head - a lie. "I'm just curious. Because I feel, he is quite a mysterious person."

"I agree with your assessment of the Viscount, Lady. But hopefully, that mysterious side he's hiding isn't something dangerous that will cause you trouble in the future," Layla said.

Trisya nodded in agreement. In essence, now she had to try to be casual, but vigilant. Trisya didn't know the true character of the people in this novel. She didn't know who was truly sincere, and who only cared about wealth and caste.