Married To The Enemy Kingdom's Illegitimate Prince-Chapter 97 — Her and I?

Night had already fallen and Alistair hadn’t visited Cynthia and Lucian yet.

Seated at the dining table, Cynthia looked up at the middle-aged lady standing beside her.

"Cassandra. Where is His Majesty?" She demanded, her gaze shifting back to her plate, unbothered to keep eye contact with the person she was talking to, her gaze once again focused on her plate.

"He went to visit the temple. The wedding will be held there tomorrow so I fear you will only meet him once you attend the wedding. He is busy—"

"Alright," Cynthia cut her mid way, not wanting to hear any more of her words.

The occasional glances Lucian gave her way only to avert his gaze once she caught him started to irritate Cynthia. He was the one who rejected her confession, although fake. If he wanted, he could have pretended to believe her and keep peace in their relationship. That was something Lucian from the past would have done without a second thought because nothing mattered whenever it involved her. He merely never wanted to bother having a discussion with her about anything unlike the Lucian who sat before her, always trying to ’fix’ things between them in a strange way.

She couldn’t understand him no matter how much she tried. He had started to behave beyond her expectations and that alone could be a hinder to her plans.

"Is there something you wish to tell?" Cynthia smiled brightly, swinging around the glass of wine, moving it around before taking a sip of it.

"You should not drink. We need to wake up early tomorrow to attend the wedding ceremony," Lucian stood up from his seat and took away the glass from Cynthia’s hand, his voice calm unlike the tone which lashed out at her earlier.

"You shouldn’t do that," Cassandra frowned, seeing how Lucian had taken away the glass from Cynthia without her permission. She watched the princess grow before her eyes through the few years she stayed at the palace and she hated it whenever someone touched her belongings or even her, without her consent.

"Cassandra, we are done," Cynthia rose from her chair, wrapping her arms around Lucian’s. "Take care of the cleaning," she ordered, turning her heels towards the exit, followed by Lucian.

"Have a pleasant night, Your Highness," Cassandra bowed, followed by the other servants who were standing there to make sure they could get whatever the Princess might ask for.

Even if some were newly hired, the gossip about the Princess and vile acts were endless.

"She didn’t create a ruckus about her food this time..." the headmaid mumbled, surprised by the young lady’s calm behaviour. She was unsure if she had begun to change after her marriage or if it was the calm before the storm. Cassandra pursed her lips, a sense of unease overwhelming her.

Once reached the entrance of her new room, Cynthia let go of Lucian’s arm, opening the door.

She did not speak a word as they walked through the hallway, making Lucian oddly nervous— a feeling he experienced the first time he was on the battlefield. She always tried to make conversation but for some reason, her silence just did not feel right, making him feel strange.

Is it because of the sudden attack in her room? Perhaps she is still in shock.

Lucian mused, lost in thoughts, standing in front of the room without entering it.

"Your Highness, come inside or else I suggest you head back to your quarters. I am tired from the journey and wish to rest," is the only thing he heard from her before she went completely silent again.

He wasn’t sure what to do or say. Shutting down his thoughts, he decided to step inside the hall. He couldn’t let her be alone tonight. Not after knowing she was nearly killed just a while ago.

Once inside, he looked around, finding no sign of her. His heartbeat dropped for a second, a feeling of anxiety creeping in.

"Why do you have such an expression on your face?" Cynthia spoke, pulling a curtain and stepping out. It seemed to be a dressing room because she was now wearing a long pastel blue nightgown. Her hair was let loose, reaching her waist.

"Oh... You weren’t inside when I entered..."

Why do I have this strange feeling that I’m doing something wrong?

He thought for a second. He took a deep breath before continuing. "We should talk." These were the only three words he managed to let out, despite all the questions clouding his mind now.

Cynthia gave him a neutral nod, making him feel once again confused.

"About what?" She asked, as if she was completely clueless about the matter he might want to talk about.

"About earlier... Does it happen to you often? You don’t seem bothered by it at all," he said, slightly annoyed by her indifference as if it was part of her nature.

"I’m sure you have been subjected to a lot of assassination attempts. One more stripe on the tiger won’t hurt, right?"

Her answer left him speechless. She was too calm no matter how he saw it. Even when she fought the demon, she didn’t tremble like the noble ladies he had met so far. However, the women he met on the battlefield were strong and didn’t waver before such small events after they faced them a few times.

But she’s never been to war. So how can she act like that? And what is wrong with her attitude?

Lucian wondered, unable to question her further. The words caught in his throat, leaving him feeling overwhelmed by confusion and frustration.

"Exactly what I thought." Cynthia continued, taking his silence as his agreement to her prior statement.

And there she went again, completely silent, making him feel even more perplexed.

Why do I even care about her behavior? She is the one who started behaving weirdly by lying to me about loving me and trying to hide who knows what truths.

He looked at her as she lay on the bed, not a single word was spoken in minutes. He usually wished she kept quiet, but now her silence left him feeling oddly hollow. He wasn’t accommodated to her quietness.

"Should I lay on the couch?"

A scoff escaped Cynthia.

"If you hate me so much, put a pillow between us but do sleep on the bed. You might not know, but it is easy to catch a cold in Eldoria in this season."

Lucian parted his lips to correct her, but closed them soon after, seeing she had already closed her eyes.

It wasn’t that he hated her. He simply did not feel comfortable laying beside her after what happened between them. He did not ruin things more than they already were.

A small gasp escaped him, his eyes widened at his own thoughts.

I... don’t want to ruin things between us? Her and I?

He slowly settled onto the bed, lying down with his back turned to hers.

[Lucian. Don’t tell me you still want to make this marriage work. She brainwashed you, didn’t she?]

No.

[Stop thinking about her so often. It repulses me, having to hear your thoughts so often. Mostly when it’s filled with things related to her.]

Lucian did not reply to Keal, shutting his eyes as tight as he could. He simply wanted to drift off to a deep slumber and no longer ponder. His head could burst any moment due to his overthinking that wouldn’t stop.

His thoughts kept flowing, and slowly, his mind went blank as he began to drift off to sleep.

***

"I love you," Cynthia’s voice spoke in a low tone.

Lucian stood before her, looking at her in a daze.

He could tell it was a dream because the setting was different. She was standing in the center of a banquet hall. Every nobles’ gazes were focused on them but the lady before him did not seem to care one bit about the whispers echoing around her.

"What are—"

Lucian tried to speak but those weren’t the words that came out of his mouth.

"Stop your nonsense," a voice seeming to be his spoke in a cold tone.

"Why? Why do you hate me so much?" Tears began to flow from Cynthia’s eyes, her eyelashes trembling.

Lucian remained silent, almost shocked. He hadn’t seen her cry. Surely, he knew at some point she cried but it was the first time he witnessed it.

I must be crazy, dreaming about her crying now...

"Don’t use crocodile tears with me, Princess Cynthia," Lucian’s voice echoed in the room.

Why am I calling her Princess Cynthia? I haven’t called her that name for a long time now...

Cynthia’s soft and teary gaze began to intensify, glaring at him— a gaze almost filled with contempt. A stare he was too used to, to not recognize.

Just as he was about to speak, he jolted awake, his eyes wide open. He looked around at the unfamiliar pieces of furniture and the shining golden portrait frames containing pictures of people he never knew, barely able to recall where he was.

"So you have woken up," an unfamiliar voice said.

The most uptodate nove𝙡s are published on fr(e)𝒆webnov(e)l.com