I never thought, not even in my wildest dreams, that I would be having tea with a Crown Prince in my entire life. If you had told me, Dahlia the office lackey, that this was going to happen, I would've laughed myself to death. There was just no way someone as insignificant as me would meet someone as important as a nation's leader, let alone the next in line to that same leader. But here I am, sitting across one in this luxurious sofa set in his study.
The Crown Prince has a powerful presence, even as he simply sits in silence on the long sofa right in front of me, a coffee table placed between us. He moves gracefully and every time it's like time itself paused to behold his elegance. When he settles down, it's hard to tell if he's a live being. There's no extra movement at all, not even a way to tell if he's breathing. Now I understand what I watched only in movies, when characters suddenly move in slow motion, and if I were to describe the Crown Prince to a friend back home (as if I even have any) the image in my head would be just like this: Him, sitting motionless like a statue, sunlight through the windows hitting his elegant body and making the golden accessories on his clothes glint and his hair shine like the sun itself. I can tell he draws attention wherever he goes, whatever he wears.
I do my best to avoid looking at the eyes of the Crown Prince. I examine the expensive furniture, the neat bookshelf behind him, the specks of dust dancing in the air, even the shiny medals on his chest. I look at literally everything but his eyes. There's just this inkling in my head that if I dare look at his eyes, I will be swept away like how seawater takes and devours with its waves.
Every minute spent in this room feels like a year. A while ago, he dismissed his guard and so I did the same to the handmaids I brought, thinking that was only appropriate since even the Crown Prince did it. I shouldn't have cared about formalities, now it's just the two of us in this room and I have never been this self-conscious in my entire life! Not even during job interviews!
I plan to sit in silence until he dismisses me too. However, a servant suddenly enters bringing a tray of a teapot and two teacups. From experience, when someone orders for refreshments during a sit-down, it means there will be a long upcoming conversation. This is new for me though, not being the one who has to make the coffee.
The smell of newly brewed tea wafts in the air. The servant sets down the tray, picks up the two teacups, and places each in front of me and the Crown Prince (I almost did it myself! My lackey instincts are almost summoned). She then pours tea into the cups. When she finishes, she stands up straight and bows to the Crown Prince. I did not think she'd bow to me too so when she does, I thank her for the tea.
Everything else blurs, my only goal now is to drink that tea, hoping it can ease the stress I am currently experiencing. I take the cup, blow on it to cool the tea down, and have a sip. I feel the warmth spread from my stomach to the rest of my body but it does little to calm my nerves. Advertisements are a lie!
"You worry me, Crown Princess." I almost choke on my tea when the Crown Prince suddenly speaks.
I stammer, "Your Highness?"
"What were you doing outside the palace? With no other escort at that." The Crown Prince comments, worry is plastered on his face. I make the mistake of finally looking into his eyes and all I see there is genuine concern.
I can't imagine what Krista would do if she were to hear the Crown Prince. Would she grovel again? Beg the Crown Prince to execute her?
I gather my thoughts and try not to stutter as I speak, "the palace has been stuffy lately, Your Highness. I only wanted to take a walk. For worrying you, I apologize."
I almost gag at how pretentious I sound.
The Crown Prince sighs and leans back on the sofa as he says, "you should have said so. I could have arranged an entourage to escort you outside."
Do you want to secure the Crown Princess's safety or is it actually to keep an eye on her?
"I went out to escape the life in the palace, even if only for a while. Bringing an entourage would have defeated the purpose, Your Highness." These are my own words. I didn't find the reason why the Crown Princess went out that day, her journal didn't speak of that little trip. Actually, there was no entry on the night before that incident which is suspicious because she never missed a day. What set that night apart?
The Crown Prince sighs in defeat and says, "then, one guard. The next time you wish to go outside, tell me and I will send one of my guards with you."
"Thank you for your offer but the Emerald Palace has guards too, Your Highness. I will make sure to bring one the next time. Please don't worry too much. I don't want to add to your burdens. After all, you're a busy man," I say, and to completely change the topic, I did the unthinkable. I mention his trip to Ataleania, "which reminds me, how was your visit to Ataleania?"
The Crown Prince studies me with the same worried eyes. I give him a small smile. He then shuts his eyes for a moment, and when he opens them again, that look is gone. He starts, "surprising. Father was worried the new Atalean King is too young and inexperienced. He thought Ataleania, instead of being a valuable ally, could hinder Rovia's growth in the future. So father sent me to assess the new Atalean King."
"And what are Your Highness' conclusions?"
"It is too early to conclude anything, my Crown Princess. That is always the case with international matters. What I have are observations for now." The Crown Prince seems to relax as he starts talking about work. He unbuttons his cufflinks and detaches the fur and his cape altogether. He sets it aside.
Distracted, I say, "and what are those observations?"
"First, that the new King is no coward. I bring a proposal from him to my father. He wants to establish a new trade between the two kingdoms. He is quite bold to leverage the one thing every kingdom desires from his domain, not even ten years into his reign."
"A new trade?"
He smiles and says, "Ataleania may be a small country but its resources are the richest in the whole Soltera continent. And its oil reserves, Crown Princess, are deemed endless. We are the first kingdom to receive this proposal in hundreds of years."
Oil, even in this world, is the most valuable of all. I get why the Crown Prince seems hopeful. If this proposal pushes through and the Crown Prince is put in charge, imagine the power he will gain.
I suddenly have the urge to tell him what I know but I don't open my mouth. I won't be here forever and I want to have as little influence on these people's lives as I can.
"Then I have high hopes for this proposal, Your Highness."
No matter how comfortable the bed of the Crown Princess is, I can't seem to sleep well here. Maybe it's because even my body knows I don't belong here. I've been tossing and turning for who knows how long until I completely give up.
I sit up, fix the pillows to incline my back, and fish out the journal I keep hidden close to me at all times. I slide the lamp placed on the bedside closer to the edge and underneath the warm light, I leaf through the pages of the journal.
I know I shouldn't give this journal much of my time and effort since I'm going back home anyways but still, I can't stop. Since I'm already here, I want to know more about the Crown Princess through her own words. I've been her one and only fan, after all. When everyone else who read the novel celebrated her execution in the comments section, I replied to at least ten of them all and defended her. I want to know if my words were meaningful at all, now that I know there's a whole new world with alive beings inside novels that other readers don't know exist.
I find an entry that catches my attention. The Crown Princess penned this on the night of her father's birthday:
I just arrived at the Emerald Palace from the banquet held for my father's birthday. He did not come this year, too.
My aunts and uncles always made a big deal out of my father's birthday and so it was customary for me, his daughter, to attend a banquet held in his name, even more now that I am the Crown Princess. I know that is the point and I am sure everyone else in this kingdom thinks that too. My family does not care if my father appears or not, as long as they can display the Crown Princess. I think it is quite funny. Holding a banquet for a celebrant who will never come. My family is making a big joke out of themselves.
Back when I was just a child, my father was always away. I never understood the reason, I was just always told that as a Duke he had a lot of matters to attend to. Once, I forced myself to ask, "matters more important than his one and only daughter?" Nobody dared answer. But even though nobody affirmed my statement, I knew it was the truth.
Especially during my birthdays, it seemed like my father was always the busiest. Hence, I never celebrated my birthday with him. Up until I was ten years old, it was just me and my uncle in his manor down in Avondale. But every year, like a fool, silently, I still wished my father would appear even to just pass me his present personally.
Days like this make me wonder. Does my father, like the young Nelfera who wished to celebrate her birthday with her father even just once, ever long to celebrate his birthday with me?
I close the journal as soon as I finish reading. I set it underneath the covers and slip in myself to try to fall asleep.
The Crown Princess's father, Duke Theofred Marvalov of Aderthon, is a favorite among the novel's readers. Unlike his cousins, he earned his dukedom at the age of 25, when he went to war with King Hadrianus I. It's not at all surprising that his cousins just inherited their titles but his being a reward is a first for a Marvalov in so many years. This alone set him apart from everybody else.
At the beginning of the novel, the Duke of Aderthon bluntly expressed his opposition to the ploys of the other Marvalovs. He actively supported the Crown Prince separately from his family. This means he also butt heads with his daughter when the Crown Princess started participating in the family affairs. He tried to make his daughter stop, even went as far as telling her to divorce the Crown Prince and come live with him, but he failed. When his daughter died, he gave up his dukedom to live a solitary life. He then died three years later.
Readers liked him, particularly because he was not like the other Marvalov characters who are mostly villains in the story, and also because he was very instrumental to the successful ascension to the throne of the Crown Prince. They all thought of him as the father figure to the Crown Prince.
Personally, I liked him as a character. He was well-written, he had really bulletproof principles and it was executed really well. Though as a person, I don't like how he neglected this woman in her younger years. He should've done better as her father.
Now I wonder, if he had tried to get close to her when she was young and if he personally raised her, would the Crown Princess have had different views in life? I'm not blaming Duke Delaney in any way, I think he did a great job. I just believe a father would have a greater influence on his child than an uncle who had to let go of his niece at the age of ten.
With these thoughts swimming in my head, I close my eyes.
Comments (0)
See all