Chapter 26

"Your Majesty! You didn't come here to escort me personally to the dining room, did you?" The sun

prince was shocked. It was far from usual for the king to accompany you personally. That was the job of the servants.

"It was on the way," the king replied tersely and then handed her his arm. She accepted it hesitantly.

When she touched him, it was like her heart was beating a little bit faster.

"You look good," he complimented her after they started walking.

"Thanks?" She wasn't sure what this all meant. King Ulric didn't need to ingratiate himself with her. After all, she was just a prisoner. Lyana peeked at him slightly. He was surrounded by an almost mystical aura, as if he weren't even human.

They arrived at the dining room and the door was opened for them. King Ulric escorted her to her

seat and, to her great surprise, took a seat next to her. The presence of this powerful man made her

nervous. But she tried not to let it show. If she had survived the sleigh ride, she would be able to make another evening.

Their food was served and Lyana noticed that it smelled even better than usual. As if they had made

a particularly special effort today. "The cooks thank you for the new utensils," the king informed her while he was cutting his meat.

A smile crossed the princess's face. She was happy that her purchases were well received. "That's good to hear."

King Ulric looked at her briefly before he went back to his meal. "Why did you use the money that I gave you for clothes?"

She had expected this question, but were glad it sounded less angry than she thought. "Since I'm

new to taking care of a household, I just didn't know if the budget given to me will be enough for everything, I thought it was a good investment," she said matter-of-factly. "I hope Your Majesty doesn't hold that against me.

The king nodded slowly. "Since you seem to be satisfied with the amount of clothes and jewelry,

there is probably nothing wrong with it. But please believe me that I am wealthy enough to take care of my servants' expenses."

"I apologize, of course." Strange, Lyana couldn't hear either mockery or contempt in his voice. It was almost as if they were having a normal conversation. But if there was one thing she had learned in a short time, then that nothing was as it seemed. Especially not when it came to the man next to her. After that most of the time was spent in silence.

There was still a certain tension in the air, but this time it had to do with Lyana wondering all the

time if there was a plan behind these niceties. After the meal was over, the king rose, pushed her chair back a little, and then offered her his arm again. This time she didn't hesitate and accepted it gratefully.

He escorted her back to her room and bowed slightly before leaving.

Lyana stood in front of her door for a while. She just couldn't understand what had just happened.

When she finally entered her room, Alisen was already waiting for her with a package in her hand.

"I hope you had a pleasant meal with the king, Your Royal Highness. Baridi has just brought this

package over for you."

Lyana accepted the package with interest and opened the loop of the thread. A pair of simple but

pretty slippers emerged from under the brown paper. Now Lyana was completely confused. Why should the king's valet hand give her slippers? And then even packed. He could have just put them in front of her bed.

She picked up the shoes and a card fell on the floor. Before Alisen could pick it up, Lyana had knelt

down and read what it said.

Happy 18th birthday, Your Royal Highness. Hopefully you had a nice day today. I got you a small present as well. The nights are freezing and it's easy to catch a cold.

Baridi

Lyana suddenly became aware that Baridi knew about her nocturnal excursions. But it seemed he

hadn't told the king about it yet. In addition, the gift seemed to convey to her that he would not prevent her from sneaking out of the room again. When she realized this, her heartbeat began to calm down again.

Instead, another thought came to her mind. To be sure, she read the card again. "I hope you had a nice

day today."

That couldn't be true. Should that be the actual reason for today? The trip to the village, the clothes,

even the special treatment of the king at dinner. All of this was intended as a birthday present for her. From King Ulric for her.

Suddenly tears streamed over her face. Alisen looked at her worriedly. "Your Royal Highness, are you all right?"

Lyana nodded and pressed the card to her chest. "Yes, everything is fine." She would never have

thought that King Ulric would be capable of such a lovely deed. However he found out about her

birthday, he had gone to great lengths so that she could still enjoy it. It was paradoxical, but this

gesture of her kidnapper touched her deeply. As soon as she recovered, she got up from the floor.

Alisen had to think she was completely nuts.

In silence she let her undress and comb her hair. Her thoughts still revolved around King Ulric. A warm feeling developed in her stomach area. Even when she was already in bed and Alisen had said goodbye, it didn't go away. Besides, something in her urged to look for him. And she even had a clue where to find him. Unfortunately it was not very late and she feared that there still might be servants outside.