"They're new, my Lady," Violet told Elaine when they exited the room. "Since my Lady returned after two years, my mother was ordered to hire more staff to serve my Lady."
"Well, they are talented in what they do," Elaine told Violet. "Thank your mother for finding competent maids to serve me, Violet."
"I will, my Lady." Violet smiled. "She will be pleased to be complimented by my Lady."
Violet held onto Elaine's arms as she descended the stairs. She was extra cautious after hearing about her Lady's weak body due to her long slumber. Once Elaine and Violet reached the first floor, they crashed into the Prince by accident.
"Forgive me for my clumsiness, Your Highness." Lady Elaine apologised immediately after regaining her composure. Violet staggered before bowing respectfully in the presence of a Prince.
"I should be the one apologising, Lady Elaine." Prince Lucas responded and scanned his ex-fiancée. "It seems you have been well."
"Yes. I thank Your Highness for the concern." Elaine said. "I apologise for not greeting His Highness yet."
"It's all right." The Prince stopped Elaine from curtsying, then finally took notice of her unique dress. "You look decent tonight."
"Thank you, Your Highness." Lady Elaine smiled at him. "The maids did well in dressing me up for tonight's occasion."
"I have never seen such a dress in the Kingdom." Prince Lucas offered his arm to Elaine, and Elaine took it gladly. It was only a form of courtesy between the two.
"I just saw it today in my wardrobe as well, Your Highness." Elaine looked down at her gown. "The first thought I had when I saw the dress was that I would be at ease wearing it."
Lucas thought it was brazen at first since it looked like sleepwear, but the dress would be convenient if used for balls when he thought more about it. In addition, the female and male counterparts would not be as burdened while dancing compared to a giant ball gown.
Their small talk ended as they reached the dining room in a few seconds. They parted ways when the Prince greeted the Duke and Duchess while Elaine met with her brothers.
"You look beautiful, little sister." Noah smiled.
"Thank you." Elaine beamed at them.
"I have not seen you all day," Gerard told her. "What were you doing, cooped up in your room?"
"I caught up with my studies today," Elaine told them. "It was a weird sensation. The moment I read a few words of a book, I suddenly know of its contents as if I read it in the past. Before I knew it, I have already regained knowledge."
"That is..." Noah dazed. 'Unthinkable.'
"Did you remember the Royal Family's family tree, then?" Gerard questioned.
"No." Elaine shook her head. "I tried looking at the faces of the current Royal Family members to test myself, but nothing came to mind. I memorised their faces already, though."
"You did good, little sister." Noah patted her head as a reward.
The Duke, Duchess and Prince sat down on the dining table, signifying that the servants would serve dinner soon. Next, the siblings sat down in their respective seats and indulged themselves with the appetisers. Then, their main course and dessert came, and Elaine solely focused on her food. They held no conversation and could only hear metal clanking with the plates in the dining room.
The dinner was no less than awkward for the family, but Elaine was not bothered by her ex-fiancé's presence.
"Duke, I was wondering whether Lady Elaine would continue her studies in the Academy." Prince Lucas immediately brought up the reason for his visit as he emptied his plate.
"The Academy?" Elaine questioned. She remembered seeing the word on her exam papers but did not think much about it.
"It has only been a day since our daughter returned." The Duchess placed her utensils down in irritation. "I believe it is too early to speak of this, Your Highness."
"I am simply concerned as the Lady has already missed two weeks of classes," Prince Lucas reasoned. "I understand that the Duke and Duchess wish to delay it due to her condition, but even the Head Master is curious when Lady Elaine would return."
Noah and Gerard could only clench their jaws at His Highness' words. The Gustova family never intended to bring the topic up to Elaine. However, it seems the Prince wanted to destroy their peace, and it was an unwanted interference.
"We have not reached a conclusion, Your Highness." The Duke answered calmly. "However, we believe it is for the best if Elaine limits her visits outside the house."
Elaine blinked in confusion as she heard her father's words and saw her mother's worried expression. Then she took a side glance at her brothers, who were lowering their heads.
"Your Highness," Lady Elaine called out, feeling a slight pain in her chest. She had to stop this talk and take a breath of fresh air. "Would you like to take a walk in the garden with me?"
The Prince frowned at her request at first, but he nodded. Elaine stood from her seat in silence and left the dining room with the Prince. The Gustovas could only sit there, drowning themselves in guilt.
Prince Lucas offered his arm to the Lady, and they walked through the hallway together. Elaine had a conflicted expression plastered on her face during the short walk. However, Prince Lucas pretended he did not notice it and brought her out into the chilling breeze.
"Thank you, Your Highness." Elaine let go of his arm. "For following my act even though Your Highness was not obliged to."
"Was there a need to step out of the dining room?" Prince Lucas asked. "You could have confronted them about it."
"Your Highness heard their words." Elaine sighed and looked up at the shining moon. "My family planned on locking me up in here indefinitely, without my consultation."
"..." Prince Lucas stared down at his ex-fiancée. He blurted. "I wished to thank you for releasing me from our forced relationship." The Prince was selfish, but he realised that his actions were in the wrong after a whole day passed. It weighed on his mind that Lady Elaine took the liberty to take the blame in his stead.
Elaine was dumbstruck by the Prince's bluntness and couldn't help but laugh. "I did not think that Your Highness would be this straightforward about how you disliked our engagement."
Lady Elaine's harmonious laugh rang in the Prince's ears. He never saw her face filled with joy before, so it caught him off guard.
"Our engagement was torture to Your Highness." The Lady mentioned a fact. "I did not wish to be the shackles that would bound the Prince. That was all."
"And for that, I thank you." Prince Lucas told her. Elaine could only smile at his words.
"Did Your Highness visited the Gustova Duchy under His Majesty's orders?" Elaine asked after a few seconds passed.
"...Yes."
"I see." Elaine smiled at King Kelvion's thoughts. "I do not know what happened between us in the past, but I wish we could start as proper acquaintances this time, Your Highness."
"I will try my best." Prince Lucas answered.
The wind howled deep in the night, and they were engulfed in silence once more. However, the atmosphere was not as awkward, and they both appreciated each other's company this time.
"When do you plan on going back in?" Prince Lucas glanced at Elaine's folded arms, her fingers shivering.
"Ah..." Elaine snapped out of her trance. "I apologise for not being considerate towards Your Highness."
"That is not what I meant." The Prince took off his blazer and draped it over the Lady's shoulder. "You should not have used such thin clothing to go out with your weak body."
Lady Elaine did not expect His Highness' kind gestures, which made her stare at him unintentionally.
"What?"
"I did not know His Highness would be so caring towards me." She did not filter her words.
"...I apologise for my rudeness from before." Prince Lucas said sincerely. "I should not have accused a pa--"
Suddenly, a tear dropped from Lady Elaine's eye. When the tiny droplet reached the ground, a single flower magically grew. The Prince's golden eyes grew in size as he saw the phenomenon, then looked up at the Lady he escorted in surprise.
"I'm sorry." Elaine tilted her head in bewilderment, wiping her cheek. "I-I do not know why..." She felt a burden lifted from her shoulders suddenly, and it made her heart throb for some reason--as if she has been waiting for this moment for a long time.
Lucas blinked and looked down again with a frown. Noticing where he diverted his attention, Elaine was also shocked to see the isolated flower right under her feet. She bent down to take a closer look at it and realised that it was an unusual species. "There are spots of gold on its white petals, Your Highness."
The description of the flower was not like the ones His Highness saw. However, the scene he witnessed before him might have explained the reason why flowers planted in unusual patterns suddenly surrounded an empty training field.
Elaine plucked the flower as it seems lonely and decided to hand it over to the Prince. "It is a gift for you, Your Highness."
"Why?"
"It is a thank you for comforting me." Elaine took his hand and wrapped his fingers around her gift, giving him a gentle smile.
Ba-dump. The Prince's heartbeat was unusually excited. Prince Lucas tilted his head, puzzled by his heart's reaction.
"Your Highness?" Elaine peered into Lucas' face when he did not respond, afraid he felt sick. "Do you feel cold because you have lent me your blazer?"
"No." Prince Lucas shook his head. "I was just wondering how you were going to talk to your family regarding your matter with the Academy."
Elaine sighed, her head throbbing once more. "I do not want to talk to them right now. It seems they do not trust 'me' yet. If Your Highness did not bring the topic up, I doubt they would have told me about it."
"Your mother did not seem to like my interference." Prince Lucas said. "Same goes for the men in your family."
"Regardless, I thank Your Royal Highness for bringing the Academy to my attention." Elaine lowered her head slightly in gratitude.
"Still, you must do something to resolve this issue." Lucas raised his eyebrow. "You do not plan on chatting with me the whole night, do you?"
"Of course not, Your Highness."
"Then?"
"...I do not know." It was a headache to face her family now. She understood that what they decided was for her sake, but to completely disregard her opinion was a line they should not cross.
"I have an idea in mind." The Prince told her, then whispered his suggestion.
Elaine frowned. "That would just confirm the rumours that I am indeed a spoiled child."
"...Right." Prince Lucas squinted his eyes at Elaine. He did not expect such a reaction.
Despite her firm rejection, Elaine felt an adrenaline rush when she thought of breaking the rules. It tempted her very much. "...I will do it." Elaine nodded hesitantly.
Her conscience pricked her, but if she was to ensure an incident like this should never occur again, relying on such extremes were necessary.
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