Married To The Enemy Kingdom's Illegitimate Prince-Chapter 83 — I Can Protect Myself!

Cynthia stood before Arisia’s bedroom, wondering whether to knock or not. She needed to go to the marketplace where she had met that man; however, she needed a good excuse to leave the mansion without drawing too much attention from Lucian.

"What are you doing here?" a deep voice asked, catching her by surprise.

She turned to see a tall, well-built, turquoise-haired young man. His figure was one that couldn’t be ignored and would attract attention no matter where he went. He was the same person she had met on the terrace, the one who had taken Princess Arisia with him.

"You?" She tilted her head to the side. She had heard from her maids that a handsome guard had come with the princess; however, she hadn’t had the chance to meet him officially yet.

"Yes..." The man bowed, greeting the grand duchess.

"So he knows who I am," she mused.

"We haven’t had the chance to introduce ourselves, right?"

"Indeed."

Cynthia chuckled, noticing he wasn’t the type to speak much. The words he said could be counted on her fingers.

"I am Cynthia De—I mean, Von Gwyndor, grand duchess of Erion," she smiled.

"I am Suyou... bodyguard of Princess Arisia." He once again lowered his upper body, bowing to her.

"You—"

Cynthia was interrupted by the sudden creak of the door swinging open. She turned to face Arisia, who stood there with wide eyes, clearly surprised to see the two people standing before her chamber’s entrance.

"What are you two doing here, standing before the door?"

"Well, I came to—" the two spoke in unison, causing Arisia to let out a loud laugh.

"Suyou, let her highness speak first. Would you like to come inside?" Arisia gestured toward the guest room.

"No, I merely wanted to ask if you would like to go down to the marketplace with me. I want to do some shopping."

"Of course!" Arisia exclaimed without a second thought.

"Alright. Get ready, and we shall leave in an hour."

Having said that, Cynthia’s figure soon faded down the hallway.

"Your Highness!" Suyou exclaimed, baffled by the princess’s carelessness.

"Come inside," she sighed, knowing the lecture would take longer this time.

Suyou followed Arisia into the room. She took a seat on the couch, crossing her legs as if waiting for Suyou to start speaking.

The young man paced through the room for a few minutes before parting his lips. "You should be careful when you aren’t in your palace, Your Highness! You... and that woman—"

"Grand duchess, Suyou. Don’t talk about her like that," Arisia narrowed her eyes, displeased with the way her knight was addressing her sister-in-law.

"She is from an enemy kingdom! Should you trust her this easily? What if she is planning something? Have you not heard the rumors?"

Arisia’s head dropped for a moment as she whispered in a low voice, "I appreciate you reminding me about my condition and why I can’t hear about rumors that everyone supposedly knows about..."

"I didn’t mean it that way!" Suyou raised his hands in surrender. "However, the market is far too dangerous for you."

"It will be fine. Who would need magic there? People only go to buy things, right?" Arisia grinned.

She had never been to the marketplace, so she was unaware of its threats to her!

Suyou pursed his lips, trying to find words to convince her not to go.

"There are a lot of demons in Erion," he stated, hoping she would change her mind.

"Do you mean I can see them if I go?"

For some reason Suyou couldn’t understand, he seemed to be peaking her interest in going instead of making her reluctant.

"Do you think the demons will ask you before attacking you? It is far too risky, Your Highness."

"It’s safe," Arisia stated in a low tone.

"Your Highness... please. Stop," Suyou’s voice lowered, almost creaking. His complexion seemed pained.

He knelt before her, gently holding her hands in his, looking into her eyes. "Don’t do this, please."

"And you, don’t do this to me," she shifted her face to the left, unable to look at him. "Please," she whispered.

He was a close friend who had always been by her side since her memories began, and seeing him act like this only increased her pain. Perhaps it was selfish of her, but for once, she wanted to be selfish. No one cared to know about her wishes unless she acted stubborn. They used the excuse of protecting her to keep her locked in the palace, not letting her live a life like an ordinary girl.

The two did not speak for a few moments. Then Suyou let out a deep breath.

"I surrender... We will go," he said.

A high-pitched squeal escaped her lips before she gasped and quickly covered her mouth.

"I mean... you can never refuse me," she giggled.

"BUT," he added, his gaze intensifying, causing Arisia to feel shivers run down her spine.

***

Arisia and Cynthia glanced at each other, both finding themselves in an unexpected situation.

Cynthia was dressed in commoners’ clothes—a plain dark green dress with her hair tied in a side bun, with a few strands hanging on each side of her face. Behind her, Lucian walked, wearing a dark coat.

Arisia was dressed in a white dress that Cynthia had borrowed from Anni, as they had similar weight and measurements. Behind her, Suyou followed closely, not allowing even a meter of distance between them.

"STOP IT!" The two ladies shouted, turning to face the two men who paced behind them.

Confused, the two glanced at each other before looking at the two ladies.

"We are just ensuring your safety," Lucian said, looking at Cynthia. He had asked Philip what Cynthia had been up to during his absence last night, as she seemed to be behaving oddly. That was when he learned that she had disappeared for a few hours, separated from her maids, only to return with boxes of shopping. He couldn’t let her disappear with his sister—and much less when commoners might attack Cynthia if they learned about her identity, like back in the forest.

"And I made sure other knights are following us closely as well. I asked a mage to cast a neutralizing spell on you, so you should be safe, Your Highness," he added, glancing at Arisia, who narrowed her eyes, clearly displeased.

Stupefied, Cynthia shook her head. This wasn’t what she wanted at all! She could understand why Suyou followed Arisia—he was her bodyguard, and she had predicted that much. She planned to use an excuse, leaving them both at a shop. Then, she would return to the alley where she had met that man and ask around for him, hoping to find him, as it wasn’t certain he would be there. However, Lucian’s presence and the eyes of other knights on her only made things worse!

"What are you thinking about, Your Highness?" Arisia slowly approached Cynthia, looking up at her.

"Oh... I apologize, Your Highness. I did not expect these men to behave like this," she sighed. "Your brother must cherish you a lot for him to act like this."

"Brother? For me?" Arisia tilted her head, letting out an awkward laugh. "I was thinking it was because of you, Your Highness. Because... Brother Lucian and I haven’t met for the past decade. We met again after a long time at the royal banquet. Is it not because of you that he came all the way here?"

"Is that so?" Cynthia whispered in a low tone, unable to analyze Lucian’s actions. He had become harder to understand as time passed—as if the man she knew in her past life was slowly vanishing.

"No, no. He is the same cold man. Don’t be fooled!" Cynthia clenched her fist, shaking off the possibility of Lucian having changed.

"Which shop did you plan to go to?" Lucian demanded, looking around, seeing only street shops in the alley they walked into.

Meanwhile, Cynthia’s expression brightened—a great idea crossed her mind.

"Your Highness, you are here for Princess Arisia’s safety, right?" she asked, stepping closer to him.

"Yes..." Lucian looked at her, confused.

Cynthia smiled brightly, her lips nearly touching her ears.

"Then... you aren’t here for me, right?"

Lucian nodded, although that was a lie. He did worry for her, as demons’ appearances in markets were no longer rare. Above all, he didn’t want to see her hurt herself again to protect anyone. It was unimaginable for him to worry about Princess Cynthia, but perhaps he had grown to acknowledge her as... grand duchess Cynthia, which shocked him as well.

[You have lost it, Lucian.] Keal sighed.

Before Lucian could speak a word, Cynthia placed her hand on the hilt of his sword, pulled it out, a bright smile on her face.

The dark-haired man frowned, glaring at her.

"What is wrong with you?!" he shouted.

"I can protect myself. Let’s meet before the carriage!" she shouted, rushing toward another smaller alley, her figure soon disappearing into the shadows.

"Your Highness!" Dylan sprang to Lucian. "THAT WOMAN STOLE YOUR SWORD?!"

Lucian was too stunned to answer his subordinate, his eyes widened.

Just... What just happened?!

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