Chapter 61: The Harkins' House

Elizabella led her family to the dining area. Sure enough, the long table was laid with a feast for them. Her younger cousins came running to greet her enthusiastically.

"Big sis! You finally came back home!" said the youngest, Louis, as he had some cake frosting on his chin, making Elizabella bend down and giggle while wiping the frosting from his chin.

"I see you two were sneaking in here to eat some goodies. Tell me, did you remember to leave some for me?" asked Elizabella playfully as the two younger boys gave her a cheeky grin.

"Of course, there is still some for everyone here, including for your husband," said Nicholaus, the elder of the two, as he saw everyone entering and saw the Crown Prince who looked at them with a kind smile.

"Ah, yes. You guys met Prince Maxen at the wedding. Come and greet him," said Elizabella as she gracefully led the younger boys to Prince Maxen.

"It is an honor to have the Crown Prince in our humble home," said the two boys as they let go of Elizabella's hands to give Prince Maxen a proper bow.

"My two younger brothers-in-law, now that we are family, you do not need to be so formal when we are just visiting. You can relax when we are in your home," said Prince Maxen as he then turned to the adults. "You as well, mother and father, when we are just visiting, you do not need to be so formal. I permit you to be yourselves here."

"Thank you for your grace, your Highness," bowed or curtsied the family, even Elizabella, making him jump back a bit.

"Why are you also thanking me? You are now the Crown Princess. You do not need to bow down to me, your husband," said Prince Maxen as he was not sure what she was implying.

"It is only my thanks on behalf of my family that I am giving you. Besides, this also shows that I do respect you," said Elizabella with a pleasant smile, making Prince Maxen have an intense flashback that gave him a headache.

It went away quickly, but Elizabella noticed his face turn pale and went up to him.

"Are you feeling alright?" asked Elizabella as she grabbed his arm with both hands, prompting everyone in the room to look at him in worry. "Would you like to lie down?"

"No. I am fine. Just that, we came home late last night. I am just a little tired," said Prince Maxen as he took in a deep breath and looking up at everyone with a smile. "Please, let us continue to talk over our meal."

Prince Maxen went and straightened himself before going to sit down in a random chair. Everyone seeing him sitting also followed him to sit down. Elizabella sat next to him while her parents sat at the head of the table. Her younger cousins sat on the opposite of her and Prince Maxen.

Gradually they ate their meal, as Elizabella quickly ate her food without making the others think that she was wolfing down her food mostly because she could keep up with their conversation and even made sure that Prince Maxen was well accommodated.

Prince Maxen tried to keep a friendly demeanor on his face, trying to make sure that he tried to remain from making the others think that there was something wrong with him. He was amazed to see that the younger boys were curious to know everything about living in the Royal Palace. They were not afraid to ask him many questions, though he saw that the parents still seemed a little nervous with them asking so many questions.

One thing that he saw from the family that amazed him was that Princess Aphra was able to talk to her parents to keep them distracted long enough so the younger boys would continue asking their questions to him. He found it interesting that she always seemed to time her conversation with the younger brothers so that her parents did not feel uncomfortable.

She even switched the conversation with the boys when her parents asked him a question.

"…My sis tells us that being a Prince requires one to study a lot. Is that true?" asked Nicholaus as he looked up at Prince Maxen while not forgetting his manners as he was eating.

"Nicky, you should not-, "

"By the way, mother, how has your health been these days? I hope that you take a large-brimmed hat when you go working in the gardens. The sun is starting to become unbearable these days," said Elizabella, cutting off her aunt from scolding her younger cousin.

"Oh. Yes, the servants continually reminding me to take one when going outside," said Lady Ludy, thoroughly distracted by the conversation to pay attention to her young sons, leaving Prince Maxen to answer the boys.

"Yes, I have to study every day. My day usually is full of things for me to do. Most of them are studying or practicing something. Even your older sister has her days full. Sorry that we cannot always come to play with you," said Prince Maxen as the two boys grinned widely.

"I heard from the news that the charity was a big success last night. Congratulations, Prince Maxen," said Sir Richard, making Prince Maxen turn to look at him and smiled at him.

"Thank you, father-in-law," said Prince Maxen. "It is all thanks to Aphra's hard work that we were able to succeed last night, as well as all the donors."

"Have you two been learning anything new recently?" asked Elizabella as she looked at her younger cousins.

"Our tutor says that we should learn more footwork when learning combat skills. But it is really hard," said Louis as he pouted his cheeks and looked at his food. "I get tired easily and hungry a lot, so it is really hard."

"Perhaps you are like me. I cannot function without having a hearty meal. I will ask Yacub to make sure that your food intake is increased for you in the future. Do not give up on your footwork," said Elizabella with an encouraging smile.

**********

After their meal, Elizabella took Prince Maxen to her bedroom, where they will be spending the night together. As they walked, Prince Maxen saw how all the furniture looked relatively new and very sophisticated. He had been prepared since he was aware that Princess Aphra had deeper pockets than her family. Going into her room gave him a different perspective of the term "deep pockets."

Not only was this technically the master bedroom, but it had also been decked out to suit Princess Aphra's taste.

"This room reminds me of her room in the palace…" thought Prince Maxen as he looked around the room.

He started to feel familiar with the room when he thought that it was because it looked like her room in the palace. Then he looked at the familiar empty stand next to a wardrobe. He stared hard when he turned to look at her.

"Why does your room feel so familiar? Like I have seen it somewhere?" asked Prince Maxen as he saw Princess Aphra stand frozen in place while her face turned a deep red.

"…You know that secret that I told my friend that time you thought I was telling her your secret? The secret that I had told her was that my first video was shot in my room. Even the video that was done before our wedding was shot in this very room. The only real difference in both videos was the lighting. The lighting made the same room look like different locations," said Elizabella as she continued to blush, making Prince Maxen stunned to hear her admittance.

"Wait, that was it? I do not think that secret would warrant such a reaction from your friend," said Prince Maxen as he saw her continue to turn redder.

"Ahem! I am sorry that my closet is not so big. I have asked the servants to make some room for your things in there. I hope you do not mind," said Elizabella as she changed the topic, making Prince Maxen wonder what else it was that she was hiding as he turned to look inside the closet.

"I understand that you are switching the topic so that I will not continue to ask…" said Prince Maxen as he saw the massive closet full of her things, leaving him stunned. "…So… you do not have room in your closet, you say? A little corner of your space is all I will need, apparently."

He saw that the closet looked to be at least as half as the master bedroom. How could she not spare him a spot in there? Looking at how well organized all her clothes were, he wondered how anyone could have so many clothes.

"Sorry. Since moving to this house, the closet space was small, especially when I also had to put all my stage costumes in here. When I was in Edalelia, I had a separate closet space for them. I had to install extra standing shelves in the middle of the room for them. Also, my jewelry display case takes up a lot of space. You still get to have your own space here," said Elizabella as she moved inside the closet to their far-right and opened a built-in door to a large wardrobe closet. "See? This is your space. I hope it is large enough for your things."

"…I understand why your parents let you keep the master bedroom for yourself," said Prince Maxen as he had followed her inside to see that his clothes were inside hanging neatly. "All of these are costumes in the middle?"

"Yes. They are costumes that I have made for past productions," said Elizabella as she closed the wardrobe closet.

Prince Maxen, who had never seen so many costumes before, was curious to look through her clothes. There was one that caught his attention because it looked like white clouds.

"You made this one to?" he asked as he touched the hem of the skirt, making Elizabella nearly have a heart attack.

"…Ahem! That one was a gift that was given to me in Edalelia. I had done a few alterations to it to fit the production theme that I had made. Have you seen my past work before? Is that why you picked this one out of the dozens of dresses in here?" asked Elizabella as she tried to curve the topic of this particular dress.

"Sorry, I have not seen anything that Lady Margarette has not been in…" said Prince Maxen a little stiffly as he mentioned Margarette's name. "When I get the chance, I should watch some of your things as well."

"Hmm, you do not have to if you do not want to," said Elizabella as she was glad that he was not asking any more questions over this dress and sighed internally. "Good thing this prince does not know anything about this dress. If anyone knew that this was a handmade 'Carice' dress, the only one of its kind, my identity would be exposed. Anyone who follows trends would know that this is a dress gifted to the Marquess of Edalelia's eldest daughter for performance for the Queen. Maybe I should not have brought it with me when I left my father's house."