Rebirth: The unfavored Princess is the Tyrant King's favorite-Chapter 42: I can help you

"What a coincidence. Princess Consort also came to the auction house," he said.

Luciana stared at his outstretched hand, feeling a sense of déjà vu. It was just like the first scene in her dream.

~~~

When David saw Luciana hesitating and not taking his hand, he felt a sense of discomfort in his heart, but he didn’t drop his hand and urged.

"My hands are hurting, Princess Consort; save me some face; we are in public." His voice was low and magnetic but loud enough for only Luciana’s ears. She reluctantly placed her hand in his, and he gently helped her down the carriage steps.

She had just placed her foot on the ground when she heard the loud thumping of a horse’s hooves as it neighed loudly, pulling a cart along and running through a crowd of people who were scattering and fleeing in different directions in panic.

The scary part was that the crazy horse was approaching them at full speed. Luciana tensed as her heart thumped rapidly in her chest seeing the approaching horse. What she didn’t expect was for David, who was still holding onto her, to tug her forward and make her fall into his embrace.

In the next moment, his hand went behind her waist, firmly holding her in place, as he leaped into the sky like a martial arts expert. He jumped onto the carriage, using it as a step before jumping again, and they safely landed on the balcony of an opposite restaurant, missing the crazy horse by a hair’s breadth.

Luciana let out a sigh of relief but tensed again seeing how close she and David were. She tried to disentangle herself from his hold, but he held her in place, raised his elbow at the right angle, causing his sleeves to cover half of her face. When David saw those eyes staring back at him as different emotions swirled within them, he was sure more than ever.

"It’s you, it’s really you," he said.

"I thought I was going crazy and that everything was in my head, but here you are, alive and standing before me," he added.

"You don’t know how happy I am, Luciana."

Luciana stared at him as if he were crazy. ’What the hell was he talking about?’ And then her eyes widened as a thought crossed her mind. ’Could it be that, like her, he also remembered his past? Didn’t the woman from her dreams say there was a low probability of David remembering the past? How was this even possible?’

"You... You know?" Luciana asked, her voice trembling.

"I wasn’t sure at first; I just confirmed it was you just now. You don’t know how hard I searched for you all this while," David said, his voice full of relief and happiness. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Luciana stared at him in confusion. ’What is he blabbering about again?’

"Your Highness, can you speak clearly and not stand so close to me while you’re at it? It is uncomfortable, and I don’t understand what you are talking about," Luciana said calmly, trying not to sound rude and ungrateful; he had just saved her life, after all.

David stared into her eyes, tongue-tied; he had forgotten she didn’t remember him. Besides, if she really remembered him, there was no way she was going to admit it.

"Luciana, you... you..." he said, and didn’t know what to say again. He stared at her as countless intense emotions swirled in his eyes.

Luciana stared into his intense gaze and avoided it. There was hurt, anger, denial, and something else Luciana couldn’t quite put her finger on. Maybe she already knew what that emotion was, but she was just afraid to admit it. In fact, she wished she was stupid so that she wouldn’t understand why he was looking at her like that.

She had seen such similar emotions in Nicholas’ eyes on the night of their wedding when he had recognized her for the first time. Luciana tried to push him away from her to create space between them when he pushed her back against the wall.

"What are you doing?" She yelled, looking at him with widened eyes as alarm bells went off in her mind. He ignored her question and held her left hand and raised it, causing the large sleeves of her dress to slip downwards, revealing her fair and slender hand and the flower-like birthmark.

"Are you going to continue acting oblivious, or would you rather admit the truth, Luciana Quinn of Serenevale?" David asked in a low voice, barely restraining himself.

Luciana’s eyes widened, and she looked around in alarm, hoping no one had heard him.

"I don’t know what you are talking about; please respect yourself and not cause a scene in public; I’m a married woman. Please think about my dignity," she said, her voice stern and downright cold.

"Luciana, I’m not your enemy," David said, taking a step back and giving her space. He sighed and tried not to get on her bad side when he was finally getting an opportunity to be this close to her and talk to her after meeting again. He pulled out a scroll from his sleeves and gave it to her.

"Take a look; I have been trying to find you for a long time," he said, and Luciana hesitantly took it and opened it only to see a portrait of herself in Serenevale royal clothes dressed as the princess with her veil covering her face. Only half of her face was showing.

"Why do you have this? Why are you looking for me? What do you want from me?" Luciana asked, staring at him with a guarded expression on her face. Her breath came in short, rapid bursts, her pulse racing like a trapped bird, eyes darting around the perimeter as if seeking an escape from him.

"Don’t look at me like that," he said.

"Like I’m going to hurt you or use your identity to threaten you. Please don’t think so lowly of me," he added.

"I don’t want to, but you leave me no option; why then would you investigate me? Why would you dig into my past?" She asked, endlessly twisting the ring on her finger, her mind was in a mess.

"When I saw you at the entrance of the city gates, I thought you looked familiar. I tried to confirm your identity, but I didn’t want to get you in trouble; I didn’t want my father, the emperor, to realize your true identity. I have been finding the right opportunity to talk to you, and luckily we both met at the auction house today."

"Luciana, your plan is too risky; if my brother and the emperor find out about your true identity, killing you would be them being merciful. You can’t stay with the eldest prince; you must leave the capital as soon as possible," he said, and Luciana looked at him as if he was speaking a foreign language.

’Why was everyone telling her to leave Nicholas?’

"And why should I leave the capital? I have done nothing wrong," Luciana said. Even though Luciana said that she knew the consequences would be dire if her real identity came to light, she had lived through it in her previous life, and if not for Nicholas shielding her and also because she was already with child, then things might have been worse.

"I’m not a fool, Luciana; if you’re here pretending to be someone you’re not, it’s only because of one reason: you married my brother to avenge your parent’s massacre. But it’s dangerous; you must leave before he realizes what you’ve been up to. I can help you escape," he said.

After hearing his words, Luciana felt trapped indeed. It seems he had figured everything out.

"Why do you care about my life and death? Why should I trust you? You know everything about me, but I know nothing. I don’t know what you want and why you investigated me. Why should I blindly listen to your advice?" she asked, not backing down.

"Because it’s me, Talon, the little boy from the palace in Serenevale, your friend. Don’t you remember me?" He asked, and Luciana stared at him in shock.

"You are Talon?"