Identity Exposed

The Queen remained quiet the entire time Duke Kensington narrated the whole incident to her. She closed her eyes when Duke Kensington finished speaking and asked softly, "Is Xavier doing well?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. The doctor said he will be fine by tomorrow morning." Duke Kensington assured her.

"Do you think she did it alone or her family is also in on this?" Queen Serina asked for her nephew's opinion. If the Blackwells were all involved, she would not hesitate to condemn them with treason.

"The Earl might not be the most righteous person but he will not resort to underhanded tactics like this. As for Lord Benjamin, his only flaw is his passion for women. Other than that, his integrity and principles are unquestionable. He's been my nemesis in business for years, we always compete fairly without any problem." Duke Kensington said carefully.

"What a pity. A young woman like her actually did something terrible like this. All because she wants to marry Xavier." Queen Serina shook her head, feeling regretful of Lady Anastasia's contemptuous behaviour.

"Your Majesty, although we know what had happened, we have no definite proof about it." Duke Kensington said.

"So, are you saying we can't do anything to her?" Queen Serina asked, displeasure in her tone.

"It's no use to confront her, she would just deny it. It will be Xavier's words against hers. Since it has come to this, probably it will be best to cut off all possibilities of her marrying into the royal family. I'm sure Earl Blackwell will not protest. He should know very well what his daughter had done and won't pester you with the marriage proposal anymore." The Duke suggested.

The Queen considered what Duke Kensington had said and finally sighed, "So be it. Summon Earl Blackwell to the palace tomorrow."

Duke Kensington nodded his head and seek permission to leave. He went to check on Prince Xavier before fetching Melissa from the main hall.

"Is he still sleeping?" Melissa asked him.

Despite him feeling slightly disturbed over Melissa's concern of the Prince, Duke Kensington still answered her. "Yes, he's completely knocked off. He should be awake in the morning. Let's go home."

"That's good. Luckily nothing happened to him." Melissa was finally relieved that everything was over and she could finally go home.

Duke Kensington didn't say anything and led them to his carriage. Once they were seated, he looked at her stained dress and asked, "Are you uncomfortable?"

Melissa looked down and finally remembered that her dress was still damp from the incident earlier.

"It's okay. I'll take a long bath when I get home." Melissa said as a matter-of-factly. However, the moment she said it, she cursed herself. 'Why did I tell him that??'

Duke Kensington cleared his throat which had suddenly gone dry. He couldn't help but picture her naked when she said that. 'This lady is definitely out to torture me today.' He groaned inwardly.

"So, how did you know Lord Benjamin?" Duke Kensington broke the awkward silence between them.

"Lord Benjamin?" Melissa's brows furrowed, feeling confused.

"Yes, Benjamin Blackwell. You spoke with him earlier at the palace garden." Duke Kensington clarified.

Melissa was silent for a while before she spoke, "He's noble born?"

"Yes, Benjamin Blackwell is the first born son of Earl Samuel Blackwell of Neway." Duke Kensington explained. Suddenly a thought came to his mind. "You didn't know?"

"No, I only recognize some of the noble born ladies. As for men, I only know you besides Prince Xavier outside of my family." Melissa's voice was so soft and barely audible.

Things were getting more and more out of hand for Melissa lately. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes to stay calm. She was so engrossed with her artistic journey in this book world, that she had forgotten to stay vigilant on all other things. Heck, she even forgotten about Lady Anastasia until she stepped foot in the palace today, surrounded by so many people. She felt so hopeless and really felt like crying suddenly. 

Duke Kensington who was studying her saw the change in her expression and was confused. Why did she feel sad upon finding out his real identity? Did she notice something about him already?

Melissa's tears fell and she quickly looked out of the window, refused to let Duke Kensington see her crying. However, the observant man didn't let it go and quickly moved to sit next to her. He pulled her into his embrace and held her close while she cried. 

"Did he do anything to you, Melissa?" Duke Kensington asked gently.

Melissa merely shook her head to deny it and stayed in Duke Kensington's embrace, letting herself to be hugged. Perhaps it was the roughness of the day, or the hectic weeks she had gone through lately, or probably she was overwhelmed upon finding out about Lord Benjamin, Melissa fell asleep in Duke Kensington's arms. 

Duke Kensington looked at the sleeping figure in his embrace and leaned down to kiss her lips gently. Unsatisfied with the soft kiss, he leaned down to kiss her again, this time he kissed harder and the sleeping girl moaned in her sleep. She kissed him back and reached up to hug his neck. Finally satisfied, Duke Kensington released her lips and the girl mumbled in her sleep, "Zachary Kensington..." Listening to her calling his name in her sleep, Duke Kensington felt so surreal and he hugged the girl tightly and remained in such position until they reach her manor. 

When the carriage stopped, Duke Kensington carried Melissa in his arms and stepped out. Lily and Sir Andrew who were waiting at the door, were so shocked at this unusual view that they were speechless. 

"Show me to your Lady's chambers." Duke Kensington instructed Lily.

"But, Your Grace..it's not appropriate." Lily finally replied, aware of the proper decorum and her Mistress's reputation.

"She's sound asleep. You two come along as escort. Don't delay." Duke Kensington spoke sternly, not letting any of them chance to further protest. 

Lily looked at Sir Andrew for confirmation. Sir Andrew nodded to her and both of them walked ahead, leading the Duke to Lady Melissa's room. They met Mrs Shaw on the way to the room and the older woman was about to say something to rebuke the other man's action. However, when she met with the Duke's cold and stern face, Mrs Shaw kept her mouth shut. 

Duke Kensington laid Melissa on her bed and turned to speak to Lily and Mrs Shaw, who at this time had tag along to ensure their Lady's wellbeing. 

"She spilled juice on her dress. You might want to change her out of it." Before the other two women could react, he had already strode off heading towards his carriage. 

On his way back, Duke Kensington pondered upon her reaction about Lord Benjamin Blackwell. It's clear that Lord Benjamin didn't reveal his status to her, but why? He's clearly interested in her, judging from his earlier reaction at the palace the first time. The things that he had done, why the secrecy? This is not like his usual style. Could it be? 

That night, Melissa heard a sorrowful crying next to her bed. The sound was so clear, whoever that was crying, was clearly in distress. Melissa tried to open her eyes to see who it was but she couldn't open her eyes no matter how hard she tried. The more the person cried, Melissa could vividly feel her heart ached as well. 

Suddenly, she woke up and turned her head to see who it was, only to find no one in her room. Melissa felt troubled and couldn't comprehend what's happening to her. This was the second time she faced something similar. Was it just a dream? But it felt so real. What's going on?