Chapter Sixteen: The Mercenaries
Estelle
The banquet continued with me being surrounded by the ladies of nobility while Adela stayed on my side. I am getting bored. Now, I don't blame Princess Sina for wanting an escape.
To escape the ladies around me, I excused myself that I was already tired and needed a rest. I was surprised when they all chorused and gave me a space to leave.
Are they rehearsing in secret?
I only walked a few steps from them when suddenly, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly went different.
Everybody stops talking, especially the men and all of them are now fixated on the man who's walking from the door. No one dared to move, even I.
His steps are so heavy that even though I can only see his back from where I am right now, I have a feeling that he's someone important. I was not mistaken.
"Brother!" Prince Lorcan greeted the man and hugged him.
So, it's the second prince.
I nod at Adela to signal her that I'll continue my walk since the other nobles already started to move and talk. I just thought that it was my signal, too. I already walked a few steps when I realized that Adela was not behind me so I turned my head to her again.
"Adela, let's go—" I didn't finish what I was about to say when I saw her still looking at the second prince's direction. She slowly raised her hand and pointed it. I followed where she pointed at and I was stunned when I realized who I was looking at.
"Isn't... Isn't that Mr. Mercenary? So he's the... second prince!" Adela said and looked at me. I also looked at her but my gaze didn't last long when in my peripheral view, I could see the two princes walking in our direction. Both of us collected ourselves and gave them a bow as respect.
"We have formally met, Princess."
A familiar voice spoke to me and grabbed my hand and gave it a kiss as a respect. I saw his left eyebrow raised and when our eyes met, I felt like I was frozen to where I was standing.
"Your hands are cold, Princess. Are you perhaps feeling ill?"
I immediately grabbed my hand from his and gently rubbed it. It's been weeks since I have seen Azval and who would've thought that I would see him here?
Mercenary, huh? So that was just a façade. He's someone with a high rank. A prince that is.
"N-No," I answered simply but my eyes were still fixated on him. I can see the confusion in his eyes and gladly, a nudge from Adela on my back brought me back to my senses. "N-Nothing, Your Highness. It is my honor to have formally met you."
"It looks like you have somewhere to go earlier, Princess. Are we holding you?" Prince Lorcan asked.
"I was just about to go rest. I am quite exhausted you see," I said while subtly holding my hand up. I hope that he'll catch me and assume that my hands are cold because I am exhausted. I am holding my breath as he looks at his brother and then gives me a nod.
"Of course, Princess. There's a vacant room in this palace." He turned to Adela. "I am hoping you know it."
"Yes, Your Highness," Adela simply answered and I saw her gaze at Azval whose gaze avoided hers.
"Thank you. If you'll excuse us," I said and started walking away from them both. I keep biting my lower lip as a stride.
That's why Prince Lorcan somehow looked familiar to me. He's Azval's brother!
Of course, it wouldn't cross my mind that they're brothers. Azval disguised himself as a mercenary after all.
"Larnaaz Val de Astorias," Adela murmured behind my back and since we were somehow away from the nobles I stopped and faced her with a worried face. "Larnaaz Val... Azval! Mr. Mercenary's name. Argh. I should've hinted at that already. I'm sorry, Estelle."
"It's not your fault," I said in a low tone.
"Are you alright? I know that both of us are shocked but don't you think that you could use this as an advantage for your debt to him? I know this isn't the time to talk about it but—'
"I don't think he even cared about some rias when he's a prince," I cut her off and looked at her in the face, "he hasn't visited me since the day you left, you see."
What am I even talking about in front of Adela?
I sounded like a lover that was left hanging when in fact, Adela just wants to clear my debts to him and be free already.
"What are you talking about? I should give him a kick," she said and changed her stance into someone who was ready to fight. I chuckled.
"I think that's something you can't do now as he's the Prince and not Mr. Mercenary anymore," I said and she straightened up.
"I should rest now. I'll be okay from here since I know that Mr. Brown is just around, so can you just tell me where the room is?"
Even though I could see in her eyes that she wanted to be with me, Adela respected my decision and gave me directions. She also instructed that if I needed someone, she'd just be in the hall talking with the other ladies to gain back her social reputation.
She's still a lady from a noble status after all. Gaining some support might bring back the status of their house or at best, raise it.
As I bid goodbye to her as she turned around and walked back to the banquet, my smile faded away. As I walked to the directions she gave me, some thoughts came to my mind.
After Adela left at the Inn, Azval didn't once visit me and now that I know that he's the second prince, doubts rose on me. He's the one who recommended Adela to be Princess Sina's personal attendant. He for sure wants to raise Adela's status.
Those times that he visits the Inn, am I really the one whom he wants to see or Adela with whom he would exchange greetings for a moment?
Am I just an excuse that he got by any chance?
Come to think of it, there are a lot of other inns around the area but he recommended me to The Elderberry Inn. And earlier, he's not even shocked about seeing me.
Did he know that I resemble Princess Sina already?
Ah, maybe that's why he's so kind to me.
He was reminded about Princess Sina whose fiancee is his brother.
My shoulders dropped down as I opened the door of the room that the Prince and Adela were referring to. W
hat am I even thinking? I should just be worrying about myself right now and how I can go back to my world alive.
The view from my window is not giving at all!
If I looked at it closely, it's still part of the garden. The garden where there are lights from torches makes it magical in my eyes. But the part of the garden where this room is located has no lights at all. There are just tall bushes where I would assume that even flowers would not even dare to bloom.
"This is giving major depression vibes," I said to myself as I sighed, still watching the dark part of the garden. The dark view is not helping at all with the thoughts running on my head.
Later on, I found some entertainment when some guy tied up a horse in a sturdy tree. Just behind the tall bushes.
"Oh, it's the mercenary who brought me here!" I exclaimed when he already reached a part where the torch was placed and his crimson red hair shone.
I saw him flinched and looked in my direction and luckily, I avoided him by staying away from the window just in time.
Woah, that scared me...
We're meters away but he sensed me? Not to say that this is the second floor!
My little heart pounded on my chest so hard that when I calmed down, I let out a chuckle.
Why did I even hide? I am Princess Sina right now. If there's someone who should be hiding, it should be him.
When I gathered the strength, I looked out the window again and this time, I saw someone sneakily walking in the direction the crimson guy was walking earlier. I watched him pass the torch to tell if I knew him and my eyes widened when I saw who that was.
Azval!
No, the second prince. Prince Larnaaz. I should call him that. He approached the horse and started to untie him from the tree while looking around his surroundings. If he's doing that...
So they both knew each other?
That reminded me of the mercenary outfits. Both of them love cosplaying as mercenaries, don't they?
I don't know what had gotten into me but I looked down in the window and see if I could manage to jump from this height. I nodded to myself when I confirmed that this one was much lower than Princess Sina's balcony. Bonus that there's a small bush I can land to.
"Here I come," I whispered to myself as I took a deep breath and jumped out the window. While I was in the air, that's when I just realized about the gown that I was wearing. Ah, the diamonds!
I landed in the small bushes which is lucky but what's not lucky is that I think, Azval heard the moment my body touched the ground. I immediately stood up and composed myself. That's when Azval turned around and our eyes met.
He looked so shocked seeing me there and my body suddenly just moved towards his direction.
"Seems like Your Highness is going somewhere. Perhaps somewhere that we shouldn't know since your horse is placed in this place." Oh Estelle, just shut up.
He looked at me while holding his horse's rein.
"Princess, this is a place where you should not be. It's dark in here. Additionally, where I am going is none of your concern."
"Are you meeting a secret lover?" That question just came out of me and even I was shocked.
Estelle, your mouth!
I heard Azval chuckle while I secretly bit my tongue inside my mind.
Sorry, Princess Sina. I am tainting your image right now. It's just that I have been curious about this person's whereabouts for weeks now but I cannot reveal that I am not the Princess in front of him, as per what I promised the Princess.
"Look here, Princess," Azval said as he walked closer to me with his horse, "I am going back to my palace to do some business regarding the war. Did it not reach your ear that one of the ancient dragons from the Grafgue Forest have woken up?"
I got tongue-tied and just gulped while looking at him.
Now that he's in a princely formal outfit, he looks well respected and scary.
Someone bring back his mercenary outfit, please? He looks like he's about to eat me alive.
Why is he so mean? Or maybe I am just expecting him to visit me in the Inn.
"Perhaps, it didn't reach the Princess' ears also what this specific part of the garden is also known about."
He leaned to my left ear and whispered.
"So, if you do not wish to end up in the papers with me, especially since you are betrothed to my brother, it is best if you should head back now."
I pushed him a little bit because I could feel my cheeks burning up at how close he was to me but I noticed that his stare was just fixated in one direction. I followed his gaze and surely, both of us heard some rustling of leaves, not far from us.
Someone just saw us!
"I-I will. Sorry for taking up your time," I said and left him in a hurry. I even forgot to give him a bow.
Wait, should I bow in front of him? Ah, I don't know anymore!
I took a glance before I proceeded to walk towards the hall and I saw that he already left. I just let out a deep sigh and when I reached a nearby torch, I saw some leaves attached to my gown.
I hope the diamonds in the back of my gown are okay and Azval is not! He's so mean. He's already talking to the Princess, hello?
I enter the banquet again as presentable as I can wearing a smile like nothing happened. So now the question is...
Who was the one who saw us in the garden?
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