Konrad pursed his lips in dissatisfaction as he crossed his arms, staring at the person seated across from him.

"I did promise that I'd get you out without your brothers knowing but…" He said slowly as he turned to look at me. "Why is this guy coming with us?"

I looked away, embarrassed. "Well, I can't really go without a bodyguard…"

"What's the point of running away with me if you're dragging an extra person?"

"Who said I'm running away with you? Where in this kingdom could we actually hide from our families?"

"I've prepared a few places, if you're interested to go there right now."

"No thank you."

"Don't be like that, darling…"

Kieran only sat there, watching us with a disgusted look.

The three of us were in the crown prince's comfortable carriage that was sent over by his sister to pick him up, the curtains pulled tightly close.

Konrad had used invisibility magic on me and Kieran an hour before we left and had us wait in the carriage first.

It was uncomfortable to be left alone with Kieran, who was probably silently judging me, and I couldn't believe myself that I was happy to see Konrad embark the carriage.

"I don't understand why the Holy Maiden must sneak out of her own home." Kieran finally asked.

"She was blind for a few years and has recently regained her eyesight." Konrad told him with a stoic expression. "The men in her family are overprotective, you've seen it for yourself, so she didn't really have the luxury of going out."

"Allen will make a lot of excuses to keep me locked up at home." I added with a slight smile. "If I don't take the initiative, I'll never get out at all."

Kieran hummed at that, his frown going deeper. "I see. That explains a lot why you were alone back then…but how did you even get that far if you had to rely on your fiancé to get out this time?"

I coughed, looking out of the window.

I can't tell him that the previous Aine used her connection to nature and knowledge of Darius's security schedule to get out.

She's a lot more cunning in using her sweet and innocent face to cover up the mischievousness than I do.

I probably placed that trait subconsciously into her because I really didn't want her to be too much of a goody-two-shoes, useless damsel.

Konrad smiled at Kieran, stretching out one arm and placed it around me.

"Why wouldn't she rely on me? I'm the next king and her childhood love. Isn't it a natural thing to do?"

I suppressed a groan at his antics.

I'm thankful that he's covering for me and diverting the topic, but I wish he wouldn't link it to our "love and history" every single time.

It's embarrassing to have someone proclaim such things out loud.

More importantly, how long did they say the travel from our home to the Capital again?

☆☆☆

Konrad gently shifted in his seat as he gently pulled on Aine to rest against the crook of his neck, struggling a little on pulling his cloak to cover her like a blanket.

Kieran only watched all of this happen. It had been a few hours since they had departed for the Capital and thankfully, none of the guards had peeked into the carriage to check on the prince.

"It's been bothering me for a while now." Kieran said. "You have been engaged for a long time yet you still haven't set the wedding date. Her family is hostile towards you, and I could sometimes see how she's uncomfortable with you…are you pressuring her family to keep the engagement?"

Konrad chuckled at that, amused, as he turned his eyes to Kieran. Despite his friendly chuckle and smile that meant no ill, the coldness in his eyes says otherwise.

"The Carran Duchy is the sole reason why I'm even in this position as Crown Prince. I don't know how things are done in your place, but without the Carrans, I am nothing. For them to keep supporting me despite everything that had happened…I am forever in their debt."

Kieran raised an eyebrow at that, doubting that a mere Duchy has the power to control who would be King for their kingdom.

"I wanted us to be wed three years ago." Konrad continued, looking back down at the sleeping Aine, his expression softening. "However, a thief stole an important item for our wedding and I have been busy tracking them down since then."

"...item?"

"You surely have heard her scream at me before." Konrad chuckled at the memory. "I thought she wasn't upset but I guess she was holding it in all these years."

Kieran blinked, trying to remember the incident Konrad was talking about.

He then remembered when he was walking with Allen and heard bits and pieces of screaming when they went looking for their siblings. 

The situation that brought them all together was Aine sensing the carbuncle, like that time Kieran had to save her from her certain death months ago.

"You mean…the carbuncle…?"

What on earth…?

Who would use a divine beast like some item in a wedding?

The carriage gradually came to a halt, surprising the two of them.

Kieran quickly locked the door on the other side while Konrad tried to shift quickly from his position, trying to reach for the lock on the door at his side without jostling the sleeping Aine too much.

However, that proved to be a fatal mistake as the door had started opening and he couldn't cast invisibility magic fast enough on his guests.

His white haired knight appeared by the door. "Your Highness, we're about to leave the borders of the Carran Duchy soon, and I wanted to ask—"

Fion stopped talking when he saw Konrad and Kieran frozen in place, his eyes zoning onto the sleeping Aine.

A refreshing and benign smile appeared on his lips.

"Your Highness, I'd like an explanation."

Konrad wanted to run for his life for the first time.