It didn’t take long for Ruen to reach the music room of the east wing.
He was relieved that such an ordeal with Lady Kathrine was over. Lord Jared would have found something worthwhile for her to dispose of her time while she was at the mansion, so he didn’t have to worry anymore.
Now that he was free, the only thing in his mind was to go back to the grand hall and see to it that Princess Lianne and the general was still in public view.
He was anxious about the fact that even just a simple blink of an eye, Cain could easily manage her out of the dance floor and into a secluded place where…
He shook his thoughts away and cringed. Before anything could happen, he was damn going to make it sure he was there to stop it.
The music room was very spacious amidst the various types of instruments placed on it.
There was no one in sight. No merchant or a royal council bringing with him business matters to attend to. It was after all a ploy both he and Lord Jared had concocted to ward off Lady Kathrine from his side.
He directed himself at a certain door at the edge of the room away from the view of the main door and laboriously scanned the back of a wooden shelf beside the door trying to find something.
The door seemed to have been abandoned for quite some time for the prince had a difficult time opening it when he found the key. When he was able to open it, it showed a generous view of the north fields of Regaleria.
There was a long narrow staircase connected to the door. The width was enough to accommodate a single line of people and for some reason, it was connected to the first balcony of the grand hall.
In haste, he descended down the stairs and reached the first balcony.
A group of maidens who were at the area noticed his presence and immediately did a curtsy in response, giggling at the same time.
He nodded at them and then left, attempting to avoid their curiosity as to why he just came from a suspicious entry. He stood then, composed and stoic, against a column in the first balcony and perused the dance floor for a certain woman.
The grand hall was lively still after he had left it as it was.
The musicians were playing their music, the guests were chatting and laughing, and the dance floor was filled with couples dancing.
He noticed that his father had gone back to the royal table but was now talking to a suspicious-looking man sitting at his left side, murmuring something on his ear.
Garlow was nodding intently at the process of their conversation and when Ruen followed where his father and the man’s gaze had fallen, he was overwrought to see that they were actually looking at the princess who was gliding effortlessly in the hands of the general.
‘What are you planning now father?’ he whispered to himself and began to walk towards the royal table intent on hearing what they were talking about.
***
Lianne made another ill-performed curtsy after the third score of the waltz was over.
It seemed that Cain had made sure no man will approach them and steal a dance from him with the princess.
She would have suggested after the second score of music that she wanted to rest back on her seat at the royal table, but upon seeing that Garlow had situated himself comfortably back there, she decided that she would endure the aching on her feet some more just to be away from him.
She noticed that the prince had not returned in the table also, and it made her all the more surprisingly troubled.
“Would you want to go to the balcony, Princess? You truly need a rest,” Cain invited, smiling handsomely, his white teeth radiating in her midst and then offered his hand to guide her to the middle balcony of the west wing.
It would seem that it was the only balcony without any guests and the perfect place for him to assuage his feelings for her.
Though Lianne did not oppose his idea, she was reluctant to be alone with him again remembering that unlucky night. But he was drunk that time then, and now, he wasn’t.
Maybe, just maybe, considering that he was trying so hard to gain her trust again, it was safe to say that it might do her no harm to rest in the balcony for the time being with him.
“Yes, I’d very much like to rest, my Lord.” Lianne, in the end, yielded.
When they were nearing the balcony, however, she felt his grip tighten on her hand. It produced a feeling of anxiety for her; the same feeling she felt back when they were alone in his study room in the Soulisse Mansion.
The general guided her to the marbled balustrade and they stood there face-to-face, her cheeks beginning to blush when his flaming gaze was apparent.
He still held her hand, and she could feel the warmth on it.
“Lord Cain, you can let go of my hand now,” she muttered softly, averting his gaze at the same time but Cain, in response shook his head.
“Tell me, Lianne,” he said, his voice warm but there was an edge to it. “Tell me if I ever make you feel uneasy.”
Lianne bit the inside of her cheek. If seemed he was reading her body language well.
“Lord Cain, you have always regarded for my well being. How could I feel uneasy with you?” she replied, a clear-cut lie but he not need to know it.
“You know I am truly sorry for what happened in the Soulisse Mansion,” he added in haste, his tone soft now.
“Yes, I know.” Lianne bravely looked at his face, trying to wear a mask of genuine concern, but it was all washed away when he said the words that made her heart frantically beat fast.
“But it was my desire Lianne, and though I know a bottle or two of spirits I have consumed had given me the courage, it is my great intent to be able to hold you in my arms, to embrace you and feel your warmth, to kiss your lips-”
Cain abruptly stopped as he raised her hand and felt the softness of her palm against his cheek. His eyes glowered with intense emotions she had seen similar to that night and this alarmed her.
She tried to pull her hand away from his face, but he held it tightly and then went on, “And to feel inside you.”
Her eyes widened and her lips trembled with fear upon hearing his last statement.
Fear? Why would she even feel that way when Lord Cain was like a brother to her?
A close friend, a skilled tutor, a reliable person, her confidant in her troubles. But… but undeniably a virile man.
It was when she had absorbed the full detail of his last words that she began to feel the cold panic rising on her throat.
Once again, she attempted to withdraw her hand from his grip but Cain pulled her forcefully towards his lean body and then embraced her, imprisoning her around his muscled arms.
Her face flexed to a degree where he could easily posses her lips, but then, to her relief, he did not kiss her. Instead, he whispered words on her ear that send chills down her spine.
“Be with me Lianne, you’ll never regret it. Being here detained in this loathsome mansion is hell taking form. Were you to stay with me by my side, you’ll experience the pleasures any woman desires.”
Lianne’s cheeks reddened at the thought of it. But, was it all? Was it her body that Cain only yearned for?
Her brows frowned in disappointment. What was it that she was looking for? She did not know exactly, but the clear thing was, Cain could never give it to her.
“Lianne, I want you. Come away with me,” the general spoke, his tone soft but more aggressive than the night he was drunk at his mansion.
He started to caress her neck, his lips touching her skin passionately but she felt repulsed by it.
She pushed herself away with little success, so she had to resort to another way. A better way. A painful way she hadn’t planned on using at all. Swiftly, with one hand in motion, she strongly slapped his face.
“Stop it!” she shouted with all her heart and noticed that he had abruptly released her from his grasp. “Cain, of all the people in this kingdom, you should know. The pain that I bear. The sadness inside me. The longing that I have. How could you ask that of me? Please do not take advantage of my plight. For a moment there, you sounded like Garlow, greedy of power… of lust!”
Not waiting for his reply, she walked out of the balcony and into the stream of guests inside the grand hall.
There was only one thing in her mind that time, and it was to seek refuge inside her room.
Cain was left leaning against the balustrade recollecting himself while touching the sore spot where Lianne’s forceful slap had landed. It pained him to let her go but it was for the best, for now.
‘Lianne, I have already tasted you. I would never let you go,’ he whispered to the wind, the decision in his eyes final.
She walked past a large crowd without even a care.
In her mind, she was sure to march out of the grand hall, but suddenly, there was a quick tug on her shoulder when she passed alongside the buffet table.
It made her stop. She turned around to see who caused it and to her surprise, Ruen was the one holding her shoulder.
She definitely didn’t notice him return to the party after such an event with Cain.
They stared at each other for a second, then Ruen began to close the space between them noticing the wet eyes of the princess. He wiped it dry quickly with his own hand to Lianne’s stunned expression.
She jerked to free her shoulder but he did not let go. She only then stepped back to open up a space between them, and then bluntly spoke in a dull voice, “I am not in the mood playing with your petty games right now, Your Highness, so please, if you could just leave me be.”
“I know,” Ruen replied in a gentle voice, “but I don’t want you to sulk in your room crying for whatever reason you have right now.”
She gritted her teeth hearing it.
“It’s not like you would care, so why bother? What is it that I should do in order for you to leave me alone?” she then spoke, her tone commanding but weak.
“Hmmm, a dance would be enough,” he replied, seizing her hand in a flash and then bowed low in her front.