For some reason, as opposed to what they had agreed last night, General Cain wasn’t able to visit the princess the next day. She only heard then from Erza that the general was hastily being sent back to the City of Olga again.
She admitted that she had expected him to come to visit her, but the urgency of his mission was a relief for her. At least for now, she wouldn’t have to worry about their awkward relationship and how she would answer his confession.
Weeks had passed uneventfully, but there was not a day when letters of invitation were sent to the mansion in a request for the royals appearance with the princess in special mention. She however declined every invitation amidst being given the freedom by King Garlow to attend.
It was purely a temptation for her, but if the prince would still be the man to accompany her, then she might as well decline.
Being inside the mansion also was truly a difficulty for her.
Every turn in the hallways; every entrance to a room, she has to be vigilant of the prince’s presence. Avoiding him would have been so easy, but sure enough, he was making it hard on her for the necklace was still in her possession.
Though she wanted direly to return it to him, she couldn’t muster up the courage to return it in person.
A week ago, she requested Erza and even Lady Faye to return it, but then the two women only came back bringing a message from the prince which only infuriated her more.
“I am at wit’s end here! How could he play me like this!” she shouted to herself while sitting on her bed.
It was an hour past lunch and Lady Faye had just stepped out of the princess’ room to do some extra duties. Apparently, there was a festival in the main village closest to the mansion, and Lady Faye was asked to be a guest on behalf of the King.
She gazed at the ceiling letting her head rest on the pillows and carefully organized possible ways on how to return the necklace; ways that involved less to zero face-to-face contact with him.
“I will never feel at ease while this necklace is still with me,” she murmured, frowning.
All of the kitchen staff tried to convince her to keep the necklace as it was technically a gift. All of them had different reasons, but to her, there was only one reason why she didn’t want to receive the object, and it was purely because of him.
For her, if she were to keep the necklace, then it would mean that she had surrendered to them, her hatred towards them forgotten, and it would mean that she’ll finally become a willing puppet.
After a few minutes of thinking, her brows furrowed and she bit her lip as she seemed to have finally made a resolve. All women could be bought, but surely not her.
“Sorry, but I will not lose to your petty games,” she uttered to herself, confident, and began to walk towards the door, wearing a robe to cover her long silk dress.
“Where could he be?” she asked herself in confusion.
Surely enough, she didn’t want to be seen by the palace maids standing on the main door of his chamber.
Many would create new rumors with that fact only. So, it was only rational for her to go to his chamber last.
The library however would be a good choice, so she purposely went to the east wing of the mansion and into the library. But when she arrived there, she only felt disappointed upon seeing that he was not inside the room.
“Don’t tell me he is really in his chamber?” she said as she leaned onto the prince’s favorite glass table.
Right on top, she noticed a thick book, opened to a page a quarter more to the end. The lamplight was also turned on directly to the table and the swivel chair turned sideways as the prince had just gone out of the room.
Curious with the book’s unusual appearance, she flipped it to the front and read the title and the name of the author.
“The God’s Emerald Tears by J. M. Felic…” she murmured, then slowly, she examined the outline of the book; the intricately embossed design, and the material used as a hardcover. “Hmmm, lambskin, not bad.”
Like lightning, her eyes rounded as a thought immediately crossed her mind. “J. M. Felic!?”
Hastily, she turned the book back to the front and clarified the author she just read and it was truly the same author that created the book ‘In the Gods Own Hands,’ the book she got from her birthday.
And now, thinking about it, everything seemed clearer.
“He gave me the book!” she said in realization.
A scowl painted her face. She placed the book back on the table with a heavy force and tightly clenched her fist as another awareness dawned on her, “Damn you for toying with me again.”
Oddly enough, a strong gush of wind opened the pages of the book on its own and the page stopped to where it showed a picture of the emerald necklace that used to be the Vhillana heirloom.
She recognized the necklace but before she could read the contents below the picture, the main door of the library opened and Prince Ruen stepped inside the room with his face sullen and cold.
Their eyes met as he saw her standing beside his swivel chair, and without any delay, the memories of three years ago in the same place started to flood his mind.
What a wonderful thing to hold her again like that, but he knew she will once again protest. So, just like a professional actor, his expression changed and he quickly gave out a smug smile.
“You don’t really have to look so surprised, Lianne,” he said and with that remark, the princess began to groan in irritation.
She didn’t reply and instead hastily walked towards the main door to exit, dismissing the purpose she was in the library in the first place. It seemed that his presence was too much for her to bear than what she had expected.
However, Prince Ruen was quick to notice her intention and immediately walked back to the main door and closed it, locking the doorknob at the same time.
“Huh?!” Lianne displayed a quick surprised face but only for a moment.
“You open that door immediately!” she ordered without hesitation.
“You haven’t told me why you are here, and what you were doing on my table,” Ruen answered as he stood with arms crossed to his chest near the main door.
“Really, you are so unbelievable!” Lianne groaned, then turned to walk towards the table, taking the chandelier necklace out of her coat’s pocket.
“Here, I am returning this to you,” she said as she placed the necklace on the table.
“You said that you wouldn’t receive it if I am not the one returning it, so here!”
Lianne waited for his reply, but surprisingly, he said no words.
He only stared at the shining necklace for a minute and then slowly moved towards the table to pick it up.
Lianne somehow felt frozen by his eerie silence. Even though he really does irritate her; somehow, for some reason, his sudden change of mood confused her.
Her gaze snapped when he finally spoke, and the way he looked at her was like fire burning with an intensity that cannot be doused. “Yes, thank you, now leave.”
She was taken aback by his statement. A few moments ago, he was mocking and teasing her, trying his best to lock her inside the library, but now, he changed into such a different person; a person who could not wait for her to leave the library.
Either way, she was pleased to see that he didn’t give her such a hard time returning the necklace. He didn’t even ask something from her in return, so she was satisfied with it.
She began to exit the library, not saying any more words and not even looking back at him who was now sitting on his chair with his stare still fixed on her.
Feeling that she had won a battle that was even nonexistent, a contented smile crossed her lips, but as she stepped out of the main door, she felt unhappy. With the issue of the books and the author still in her mind, she decided not to pursue another conflict with him.
“It’s best to remain as it is for today,” she murmured and walked out of the main hall.
Prince Ruen gave out a long sigh as the princess fully exited the room. He leaned back against the chair, his head hitting the headboard whilst he looked at the picture in the book with a blank stare. Heaving a breath, he clenched his jaw tightly and closed his eyes shut. Memories of long ago surfaced in his mind then.
***
Darkness filled all of his surroundings and there was emptiness everywhere. A sound of an older woman’s agonized shriek was heard on the background and metal swords clashing each other followed. Then, blood oozed quickly down a younger woman’s cheeks as she tightly embraced a fragile but tearless boy on her bosom.
The younger woman was thrown out of the boy’s reach, weak and slowly dying. She uttered words that were her last and it made the boy shed a tear.
“Prince Ruen, run!”
A gaudy, buffed man then picked the prince up to face him, eye to eye, and as the prince stared at the ruthless man who just killed the Queen and the princess, the man grinned with excitement.
“I like the way you look at me with no emotion in your face amidst the fact that I just slew your mother and sister. You feel no remorse at all. Good. You will be useful to me.”
***
“Lianne, if only you knew,” Ruen uttered to himself with regret filling his heart.
If only she knew indeed, then she wouldn’t be hating him.
At the princess’ chamber, Lianne stared at the book, ‘In the Gods Own Hands’, lying perfectly still on the foot of her bed.
Now that she knew who the giver was, she couldn’t take it upon herself to pick up the book and read, although there were still a few more pages left until the end.
What bothered her more was the way he behaved.
If he was playing tricks on her again, she surely was trapped by it. But, he looked too genuinely disturbed when he walked inside the library at that time.
What has happened to him to act like that?
And what was the meaning of that book that he was reading?
Why does it have a picture of her heirloom?
If only she could ask those questions to him, then it would certainly calm her down, but she would have to muster up greater courage to do so to face him again.