Secret Affection

That day, Melisa returned in low spirits as the words of Alister's expression kept ringing in her mind. As usual, Teresa greeted her in front of the palace when Melisa got out of the carriage. Melisa usually smiled to show that she was fine. But this time, for some reason, Melisa felt she couldn't smile for Teresa.

"Your Highness, did something happen over there?"

Teresa, who noticed Melisa's gloomy expression, immediately asked when they were finally in a safe place from people's eyes. However, Melisa still felt that saying what she felt would burden Teresa's mind too much. In the end, Melisa softly shook her head to answer the question. Melisa immediately looked for a way to keep Teresa from prying about the change in her expression. And the letter now in Melisa's hands seemed to be a good excuse.

"The agreement went smoothly, and this is a copy of the agreement I signed. You can read it to put your mind at ease, Teresa."

Melisa handed over the letter in her hand, and Teresa opened it to read the contents of the agreement despite her earlier hesitation. Teresa's expression was complicated when she finished reading the contents of the agreement. Her gaze then fell on Melisa, who was resting her body by leaning back on the sofa she was sitting on.

"Your Highness, is this alright? Although Crown Prince Alexius promised to allow you to return to the Kingdom of Cyrille after he ascends the throne, I don't think there is any guarantee that it will happen anytime soon."

Teresa's words made Melisa smile bitterly. For some reason, Teresa's words sounded exactly the same as what Alister had said earlier.

"What else can we do in this situation, Teresa? Securing our position in this place is the best I can do now. Without His Highness's strength and affection, being a supporter of his relationship with that woman is the only way this arranged marriage can go on."

Teresa felt sad for Melisa but knew she could not do much with her position as a nobody in the Sigmund Kingdom. Teresa could only vent her frustration by holding the agreement paper tightly. She was silent with her head bowed until Melisa finally broke the silence between them.

"Teresa, just being able to persuade Crown Prince Alexius is already a good thing for us. We can't pressure him too much. At most, we can only pray that the time of peace we both want can be realized soon enough."

Teresa took a deep breath after hearing Melisa's words. Although her heart felt heavy every time Teresa saw Melisa's tired gaze, Teresa would still do whatever Melisa asked without exception.

"I understand, Your Highness."

Teresa knew that Melisa seemed to need some time to herself. Therefore, after Teresa finished helping Melisa to get ready for bed, she quickly left Melisa's room. Melisa, who was finally left alone, let out a long breath when there was no one to accompany her. She roughly wiped away her tears, then lay down to observe the ceiling of her bed.

"It's okay. I'm fine even if I have to bear everything alone."

Melisa muttered to herself, though her eyes felt hotter and hotter as time passed. Melisa's gaze was gradually covered by her tears. It felt like everything had not gone according to plan since she set foot in the Sigmund Kingdom.

"Even if returning to Cyrille takes a long time, things are fine as long as I can return, right?"

Melisa tried to comfort herself with those words. Melisa was silent for a while before she added her words again.

"I'm fine. I have to be okay for the sake of my family and my people."

Melisa wiped her tears roughly, then curled her body like a ball to give herself a feeling of security.

"I'm fine. Because of that, he shouldn't be that concerned about someone like me."

Melisa closed her eyes. Then, after Melisa was tired of fighting with herself, the girl finally fell asleep with the corners of her eyes reddened.

***

After a night filled with emotions, Melisa spent the following days seriously because the day of the party at the main palace was very close. Spending time with nothing but busyness helped Melisa to forget Alister's words and figure on the last day they met. Teresa also refrained from discussing the contents of the agreement Melisa had signed, so the girl could focus on stabilizing herself with the time she had left.

Fortunately, things were easier for Melisa after Alexius regularly invited her to his palace to show people that he cared about her. Although most of the time, Melisa only ended up spending time alone in Alexius' greenhouse, the fake attention shown by Alexius was enough to make people in the palace no longer look down on her status as the princess of a small and weak kingdom.

After some time passed, the day of the party finally arrived. Melisa wore a gorgeous dress to the party. People said Crown Prince Alexius had sent the beautiful dress for her. But deep in Melisa's heart, she knew it wasn't Alexius who chose the dress for her to wear.

Alister had not shown his face in front of Melisa since their last meeting. But all the time, Melisa knew that Alister had been secretly looking after her. Alister was the son of an honorable Marquess and a close friend of the Crown Prince. With his status, he could order someone to look after Melisa while she was in the Sigmund Kingdom.

Aside from the influence of her closeness to Alexius, Melisa realized that over time, the people who were disrespectful to her had been replaced with others. Even Julian had been replaced with someone who treated her with respect. Rather than thinking that it was all Alexius' doing, Melisa believed that Alister was the cause of the peace she had lately.

"Your Highness, you look stunning today."

Teresa could not help but praise sincerely as she watched how her beautiful princess shone in her new dress. The more Teresa looked at Melisa, the more out of her mind she was with Alexius, who dared to reject her princess, who was perfect in her eyes. Melisa was too perfect to lose over a mere commoner, no matter how pretty she was. At least, that was what Teresa thought every time she looked at her master.

"Thank you, Teresa. To be honest, I'm a bit nervous today. Please pray for me so I don't ruin the party."

The party Melisa was about to attend was a party to celebrate Crown Prince Alexius' coming-of-age ceremony. Almost all of the Sigmund Kingdom's nobles were confirmed to be present at the party. Not to mention, diplomats from other kingdoms would also be coming that day. So, Melisa's nervousness grew many times over.

"Don't worry, Your Highness. I can assure you that you will be the brightest girl at the party. But if you're still feeling nervous, you can try thinking about the messenger from Cyrille that was coming today. Although we can't know who will come to Sigmund Kingdom, meeting someone from the Cyrille Kingdom again should make you excited, right?"

That's right. Since the Cyrille Kingdom had signed a peace treaty with the Sigmund Kingdom, someone from Cyrille would come to congratulate Alexius in person. With the limited freedom Melisa had, she couldn't know who would be coming to the Sigmund Kingdom. But knowing that she would meet someone from the Cyrille Kingdom again did make Melisa excited.

Melisa nodded with a smile after she heard Teresa's words. Melisa's nervousness was reduced a lot because of Teresa's words of encouragement. Although Teresa couldn't attend the party due to her status in the Sigmund Kingdom, Melisa thought that Teresa would always be with her thanks to the moral support from the woman.

KNOCK KNOCK!

"Your Highness, it is time for you to depart for the main palace."

Their conversation was interrupted when Desmond, her new chamberlain, knocked on her door to remind Melisa that the time to leave had come. Melisa said her goodbyes to Teresa after that. With renewed courage, Melisa finally went out to attend the party as the future wife of Alexius.