29 LIAM AND THE CROWN PRINCE
"How have you been, Lady Felicia? I hope I am not interrupting something." The young Marquis said towards Liam as he kissed her palm, greeting her with courtesy as Felicia did the same by curtsy.
"I was actually about to approach you when my eldest brother stopped me from getting closer to you. But to answer your question, I am fine. How about you, young Marquis?" Felicia asked the same thing with a smile on her face.
"I'm doing well, thanks for asking. If I may ask, you are always free to approach me, I won't mind if I can be with the smartest woman I've ever met in my life." Liam said, winking at him which made Felicia laugh at his jokes.
"You jest! I am not intelligent. But I do have something to ask from you. It's something important." Felicia replied after laughing at his punchline which wasn't effective since it was only a joke after all.
"Ask right away." He said, folding his arms in his chest, with open ears for Felicia's concern. Just when Felicia was about to open her mouth, another hand yanked her out in front of Liam, pulling her closer to someone who made her furrow her brows.
"Bitch, who the fuck—oh. It's the crown prince." Rachelle thought to herself as she smiled at the Crown Prince for his rude behaviour of pulling her harshly. She'd rather hide how she's so annoyed at him right now for doing that to her.
"Your Highness, I greet the second Sun of the Elysium Empire." Marquis Liam said, bowing his head in front of the blue blood of the empire. Meanwhile, Felicia did the same to show respect but the Crown Prince stopped her from doing so.
"You are soon to become the next Empress. You shouldn't if it's just us two." Constantine said as he stopped Rachelle from bowing her head and her curtsy. But wait, soon to become the Empress?
Confusion strikes Felicia's face as she blinks her eyes, demanding an explanation towards Constantine who isn't facing her. He was looking at Liam with eyes intently gazing at the poor man who kept bowing his head.
"So you have no intentions to accept the young Marquis Liam's greeting?" Felicia asked, couldn't keep herself from being sassy. It's his fault for butting in the conversation without even introducing himself.
"Forgive me, I was thinking of something else. Do raise your head, Liam my friend." Constantine replied after he stared long enough at Liam who was still bowing his head. Constantine felt something else as he looked over his fiancee talking with someone else.
Deep inside him, he felt like someone touched and played with his toy and that it was unacceptable for someone to touch his belongings. He stormed out after talking to some priests and nobles, approaching his fiancee who was greatly having fun accompanied by another man.
"How have you been, Your Highness?" Liam asked as he cleared his throat and smiled at Constantine who suddenly wrapped Felicia's arm around his arm, closing their gap to which Rachelle felt very uncomfortable but decided to stay quiet in order not to fool herself.
"I am still in a hectic and busy situation wherein I don't even have time to fool myself. But I am doing good, after all, who wouldn't feel very good during the day of praise?" Constantine replied.
"Couldn't find time, my ass. You fooled with Helena the other day and that's your response? How ironic." Rachelle thought to herself as she shut her mouth, not wanting to speak anything.
"I see. Well then, do you have something for Felicia? You were interrupting her from speaking one of her concerns and I am greatly worried as to why my friend approached me in a hurry." Liam said. What disrespect is the Crown Prince displaying today, not even asking him back if he feels alright?
And yet he considered him as a friend. If it's not for his rank then he would've been feeding him with words filled with thorns but since the lady is here, Liam would rather shut his mouth instead.
"So I was interrupting your conversation earlier? Carry on then, I won't mind." Constantine said, indirectly saying to Liam that he would stay here with his fiancee, guarding her from him which Liam found amusing.
"If it's okay for the lady to have the Crown Prince as the third party then I have no other objections to opposing the idea of letting you stay during our conversation, your Highness." He said with a scoff, trying not to sound rude in his ears.
Rachelle chuckled, seems like he really does oppose the idea of having Constantine listen to their conversation even though it's not that big of a deal. She just wanted to ask where to find the rumoured sword in order to steal it.
"If the Crown Prince won't feel bored then so do I, I have no objections to rejecting his presence," Felicia replied, looking at Liam with a smirk on her face, letting him know that she also added some heinous meaning behind her phrase.
But the crown prince was able to quickly comprehend both of their phrases to which he scoffed and tried to control his expression on his face, not wanting to distort anything that could ruin his mood.
"If I may ask, where can I find the rumour sword of the Goddess buried deep in a big stone?" She asked that they make them look at her with a stupified expression. Did she say something wrong for them to look at her as if she's stupid? She clearly had no idea where to find the sword.
"Ohh. Everyone knows where the sword is placed. At the Garden of Blessings, in the centre part." Liam answered, still confused as to why she was asking such an obvious question but proceeded not to question her since that would be rude.
"You... you're stupid, you don't even know a single thing about this place?" The Crown Prince asked, snickering as he looked at Felicia with a mocking expression on his face. Felicia wanted to slam his head on the ground but she'd rather have her head attached to her body so she just nodded her head, stopping herself from getting mad at him.
"You try being locked for years now, bastard and tell me if you would know something. Even I who came from the real world didn't even know its existence other than the fact that Helena has the sword." Rachelle thought to herself once again.
She's almost close to letting her personality slip through her system.
"Forgive me for my stupidity but as someone who wasn't even treated like a human, I have no idea about this land at all." She replied in a sassy way, rolling her eyes that made the Crown Prince blink at her action, taking a back because of her.
"Oh dear, but why did you ask, my Lady? There's nothing amazing about the artifact. It may be even passable as a fraud displayed by the religion just to make things more amusing from the believers' perspective. But if you want, we could visit it and stroll in the garden. If you'd like." Liam said, offering a stroll to her.
"No," Constantine replied before Felicia could even reject his offer of strolling. She had to do it alone so that she could hide the existence of the sword that would be in her hands later on.
She doesn't want any unwanted attention or anything that could harm and take away her revenge on them. She would rather hide the fact that she is the Saintess to avoid malicious interactions between her and Helena's faction that would result in a dividend of opinions of the believers.
After all, she's all for the benefits and not for the unnecessary attention.
"I was not asking you, your Highness. I am asking for Lady Felicia's opinion of having me as her escort to stroll around the area, letting her familiarise herself with the Holy Land." Liam answered Constantine's opposition.
"As her fiancee and someone who will eventually end up marrying her, I refuse the idea of letting someone other than me accompany her during her walks. It's inappropriate for a lady to be alone with a man, Liam and she is soon to be wed to me." Constantine strongly opposed it.
"What hypocrisy! Truly a bastard! And yet he was alone with my sister the first time we met! What a fool!" Rachelle thought, displaying her displeasure over his words as if it was meant to her that she was becoming unruly of having another man in her company.
It also means that she's cheating on him when he's the one playing with her sister instead.
It's not that she's mad because of his debauchery, rather she despises the idea of making it look like she's the one letting out nasty behaviour in front of the crowds. It's as if accusing her of doing something filthy.
"For your information your Highness, it is nothing but a stroll in a public space with everyone else. It is not you who was asked to have a stroll but me. My decisions and choices aren't yours to decide for myself. I am able to formulate a response and I am able to answer his request. So do not decide on my well-being because I can take care of myself more than anyone else!" She exclaimed.
Liam looks proud as Felicia was able to respond to him and not let him control her life. He had a proud smirk on his face, looking at Constantine whose face darkened because of her answer. Seems like the Crown Prince chose to make her mad today, what a failure.
