Iris watched Ingrid perturbed. Ingrid has been sitting by the window for a few hours now, staring at the empty space. When Iris entered her room this morning, she was already there. She didn’t even notice her coming.

“My lady, it’s time for breakfast,” Iris said with great gentleness, worried that she may be reverting to how she was a few days ago.

“Hmm” was her only reply.

This got Iris even more worried. She began recalling what they did yesterday in hopes of finding the cause of her lady’s sudden mood. Last night, Lady Ingrid made them leave early.

Iris shifted her gaze to the bedside table. She noticed that the golden ribbon tied to the pouch was loose. Her eyes darkened. What did Lady Ingrid see inside that made her like this?

“Iris, today is the third day, am I correct?"

Iris bowed her head and replied, “Yes, my lady. His Highness the Crown Prince is probably already on his way here with a parade of delegates at this very moment.”

Ingrid rested her chin on her elbow. “How do you think I should react? Should I act surprised at his return, or should I look like I’ve been expecting him?”

“This...” Iris paused for a moment. She couldn’t tell what was going on in Ingrid’s mind. Although she was asking her a question about the arrival of the crown prince, she could tell her mind wasn’t on it.

“Hmmm?” Ingrid looked at Iris when she took too long to respond.

“Uh, well, given the previous rumors circulating between you and his highness, I think my lady should look like you’ve been expecting his return.”

Ingrid nodded her head in agreement. “Very well, please call the maids. Tell them to pick a dress that makes me look like I’m excited to meet my fiance.”

Iris bowed her head and retreated from the room. But as she closed the door, her worried eyes lingered on Ingrid’s lonely form.

/////\

The entire grand ducal castle was in chaos as they prepared for the arrival of the delegates headed by the crown prince of Aradhya. They were informed two days ago that the Crown Prince was coming, as he had sworn, but two days is barely enough to prepare a welcome for such important guests. On top of that, the grand duke still hasn’t returned from the border.

Everyone was worried. Knowing the character of that fickle Crown Prince who does whatever he wants, what if he takes advantage of the grand duke's absence and harasses their lady? Thinking about it made their blood boil.

They have already informed the grand duke of the crown prince's arrival. Hopefully, he will arrive on time.

The Dahlia Palace also made their preparations. Since they still haven't caught the people behind the attempt on Ingrid's life, it was decided that Ingrid remain in her palace for her safety's sake. This also means that the crown prince can't carelessly harass their lady, as it is her turf.

If only the captains knew that most of the harassment Ingrid experienced happened in her palace and her very bedroom, they wouldn't have made such a decision.

“Why does everyone have a brooding expression?” Ingrid asked curiously when she noticed that the servants seemed to have a uniform expression today. Their expression looked like they were preparing for a funeral and not a celebration.

“That’s because they didn’t want you to marry the crown prince, my lady,” answered Lily.

“Why not? What’s wrong with his highness, the crown prince?” Asked Iris, feeling offended by her animosity against her master.

“Everything! Even though he is handsome, that cannot erase the fact that he is a barbaric prince who kills others without mercy. Some even say that he drinks the blood of his enemies. How can our sweet and beautiful young lady marry such a man?”

“So you’re basing your judgment of his Highness the Crown Prince on baseless rumors.”

“Every rumor is based on truth,” Lily argued.

“And every rumor can be exaggerated to destroy a person’s character!”

"Okay, stop it, you two,” Ingrid intervened. Just listening to them is giving her a headache.

“The grand duke!” A young man came running to the garden with an excited expression. “The grand duke has arrived!”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

A few meters behind her, Grand Duke Rasmus entered with giant strides. The servants around the garden quickly lined up in two rows and bowed.

“Welcome back, Your Highness!”

Ingrid quickly stood up and met her father with a bright smile. It’s been so long since she last saw her father. She missed him very much.

“Papa!” She exclaimed and allowed herself to be swallowed by her father’s wide-open arms.

“My child, my precious jewel, my world, oh how I’ve missed you!”

Ingrid’s ears turned red as she heard her father’s unmanly sobs. She buried herself deeper in his arms out of embarrassment. The servants also bowed their heads lower to restrain their laughter.

“Papa, why did you come here? Aren’t you supposed to be receiving our guest?”

“Tch, who cares about that sly prince!” he said, annoyed. “I already knew that he arrived three days ago. He even single-handedly killed one of the elite giants before vanishing. That scum of a prince! He knew I couldn’t leave the borders yet, so he took the opportunity to see you! I swear, I will destroy him if that is the last thing I do!”

“Papa!”

“But your Highness, you never said I couldn’t see my fiance before the allotted time. You just said I have to return in a month.”

All heads turned to the entrance of the garden. There they saw the crown prince of Aradhya in all his regal form, smiling mischievously.

“What are you doing here? Didn’t I tell Diem to lead you to the receiving hall?”

Just as the grand duke said, Diem appeared behind the crown prince. Seeing the amount of sweat he was releasing, he must’ve run all the way here from the grand duke’s palace.

“Forgive me, Your Highness the Grand Duke! I swear, I just looked away for a second, and he was already gone!”

"Tch, what am I going to do in your palace? My fiancée isn’t there. And aren’t you here too?”

“Ehem!” Grand Duke Rasmus faked a cough. “So what if I am here? Do I have to seek permission to see my daughter? Also, will you stop calling my daughter your fiancée? It’s making my ears hurt.”

Crown Prince Aleric leaned on the arc that leads to the garden and waved his finger as though he were casting a magic spell. “But my fiancée is my fiancée. You said you would give Lady Ingrid to me as my wife if I returned in a month, and I did. That means she is now my fiancee. So what’s wrong with calling her my fiancée?”

“You...” Grand Duke Rasmus’ face and neck turned completely red from anger.

Ingrid decided to intervene before they made a mess out of her beautiful garden. “Why don’t we continue our conversation in the dining hall? I’m sure the both of you are hungry from the journey.”

She gave Aleric a warning look, to which the crown prince only responded with a shrug.

It seems that Crown Prince Aleric has an odd hobby of pissing people, and his current target is the grand duke. Throughout the meal, he did not forget to anger the grand duke to the point that he almost drew his sword. If Ingrid wasn't, they might’ve ended up fighting all out.

“Was it fun teasing my father?” Ingrid asked when there were only the two of them.

“Not as fun as teasing you,” Aleric retorted with a grin.

Ingrid rolled her eyes at him.

An emergency message came from the border saying that the giants were preparing for a new wave of attack. This time, the scale was bigger than before. The grand duke announced the deaths of the members of the purple squad on purpose to make trouble for the court. It was his way of retaliating against the empress, who had a hand in the deaths of his soldiers and the attempt on his daughter’s life, regardless of whether it was indirect.

That was why he did not show his face the first time the giants attacked and simply commanded his men in the shadows. He wanted to prolong the court's suffering, although Elias advised him against it.

But the message this time contained very horrible news. They had already had their first casualty. The news shook the grand duke to the core that he didn’t bid his farewell to Ingrid and left hurriedly.

“Will Papa be fine?” Asked Ingrid worriedly.

“Don’t worry, I’ve already sent Vernon and the Sun Knights to assist them. However, I don't think their help would be necessary. Those simple-minded giants would surely pay for their arrogance."

Now that he mentioned it, she no longer found Vernon, who was following behind them. Or did she just assume that he was following behind, as he always does? Wait, come to think of it, she knew how Aleric could vanish and appear out of thin air. But how does Vernon do it?

“It seems that you have something to ask,” Aleric commented, noticing the curiosity in Ingrid’s eyes. “Rather than keep it to yourself, why not ask away?”

“Well, I was wondering what Vernon’s power is, your highness.”

Aleric opened the door to Ingrid’s bedroom for her. Normally they would have already said their farewells there (not that a young man is allowed to escort a young lady to her room, and alone at that). But Aleric followed her inside.

“His power is light,” he answered.

“Oh, light and darkness,” she murmured. “I’ve never heard of such powers before. If I hadn’t seen it, I wouldn’t even believe that they existed.”

“That’s because our powers didn’t come from this continent," he replied. "Would you believe me if I told you that Vernon and I originally didn’t have any magical powers?”

Ingrid studied Aleric for a while, looking for any trace of lies on his face. But she didn’t find any.

“That’s impossible. All magicians manifest their powers before the age of ten. Once that age has passed, the chance of magic ever manifesting is zero.”

Aleric nodded his head in agreement and sat in his favorite seat. “That is true. But what if I tell you that there is a way to forcefully awaken someone’s magic who has already passed the supposed age?”

It took a while for Ingrid to process what she heard. A way to awaken someone’s magic. Is that even possible? She looked at Aleric with complicated eyes. If what he said was true, then is his magic caused by forced awakening?

“Unfortunately, it’s knowledge I can only share with my wife. If you want to know, you’ll have to marry me first.”

“You...” Ingrid glared at Aleric. He really can’t last a day without teasing her.

Aleric chuckled, amused by her reaction. “So what is it that you want to talk about?”

Ingrid frowned. “What do you mean?”

“My lady, you’ve been staring at me since lunch as though you can’t wait to pull me aside. I’d like to flatter myself and think that it’s because you have fallen for my charm. But I assume that isn’t the case. Or is it?”

“Of course not!” She said it faster than she expected. “It's... I'd like you to accompany me somewhere.”