I was extremely excited and anxiety was growing in my soul. What did the Admanian Queen mean when she spoke about suppressing unrest? In the south of the continent was located Riliya. Its territories stretched right along the border, washed by the ocean and was a tasty morsel, since there was a trade route that connected different continents directly.

You don’t have to be too smart to understand the mindset of our enemies. Everyone wanted to pinch off a little for themselves, to create unrest from within to make an internal revolution. And even though I was now a runaway princess, or as many people think "kidnapped", I was still loyal to my people and could not let something so terrible happen.

I need to get answers from Raphael, I need to know that he will not invade Riliya, he will not dare to hurt my people. I won’t help him if he has such plans, even if he wants to take my life on the spot. From these disturbing thoughts, my head began to throb painfully.

- I don’t think I should discuss this with you, young lady. This is a matter only between our two kingdoms. - her tone became colder by a couple of tones, showing hostility to my excessive interest.

- Lady Serena, I think then it’s not worth continuing this conversation here and Raphael will be more than happy to discuss everything in private. - Amanda interjected.

- You’re right as always, dear. - Serena smiled and sipped her tea while her eyes followed me closely.

- It’s all right, I understand that this conversation is not for my ears, so with your permission, I’ll leave you. Moreover, I have a little headache, I’m going to rest. – I was fiddling with a napkin in my hands and my words were more addressed to Amanda, hoping that she would help me get out of here quickly.

And my predictions worked well, the princess immediately understood my hints and let me go, advising me to call a doctor. But the edges of her lips twitched fleetingly in a restrained smile. Yeah, I have to keep an eye on her, she’s very perceptive.

With my mind clouded, I ran headlong back to the castle. I was no longer interested in the servants I met on the way, I purposefully passed by without turning around. You could even say that I was too careless, because because of my haste, Tana lost sight of me, falling behind somewhere behind.

I was already approaching the courtyard when my gaze caught the outlines of the king and Giselle ahead, but I didn’t have time to think about anything, because someone abruptly pulled me back by the elbow, hiding me behind one of the tall marble columns.

I turned around quickly, caught off guard. In this castle, I will definitely turn gray ahead of time because of such frequent unexpected appearances from the back. The Duke of Parmont stood next to me, pressing his finger to his lips and urging me to be silent.

I’ve only met him once, but I remember his face clearly. Dark-haired, with piercing gray eyes, thick eyebrows and thin lips. Exceptional aristocratic strict features. Beautiful and elegant.

- Shhh. – he hissed, pressing his finger to his lips and beckoned me away from the walking couple.

Taking a roundabout route, we went through the entire corridor of the first floor unnoticed. We went up to the third floor, and he pushed me into one of the rooms, gloomy and very dark. You need to have amazing eyesight not to stumble in such pitch darkness. But as if he understood my inner grumbling, the duke let me go and opened the double dark curtains that completely hid the sunlight.

- I beg your pardon, Your Highness, the king sometimes rests here and does not like when the sunlight blinds his eyes.

I looked around and realized that we were in some kind of office, which was somewhat similar to my father’s office, but made in a more strict style.

-This is His Majesty’s study. Are you hurt? - He nodded at the hand I was rubbing.

- Oh, no, thank you for your concern, Your Grace. You didn’t hurt me, it’s just from nervous tension. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

I tried to calm down and relax, straightening my shoulders and posture, but inside I was still shaking.

- Sit down, I’ll make you some tea. – he pointed to a chair with his hand.

- Please, not tea, I drank two mugs recently and it seems I’m going to burst soon. - I chuckled lightly.

- Well, then what do you prefer to do to kill time?

- Well, I read books or do needlework. Actually, everything is the same as that of other aristocrats, the list of occupations is small. But why should I kill time? – he could have just let me go to my room.

- His Majesty’s order. - The Duke replied dryly. - I was supposed to bring you here, but who would have known that you would almost get into an unpleasant situation if you caught the eye of Lady Giselle.

- So you were looking for me? - I asked, and he nodded.

- I came back from Riliya a couple of days ago. Are you interested in listening, Princess?

His gray eyes looked at me searchingly, while I fidgeted nervously on the leather chair, not finding a place for myself. Yes, of course, I wanted to know what is happening in my country right now. I needed answers about the popular unrest and all the questions related to my alleged abduction. Although why allegedly, because I was actually kidnapped.

The Duke smiled and his gray eyes flashed with mischief.

- I see you are excited, but we need to wait for the king. He will tell you everything he sees fit. That’s why you’re here and that’s why think about what you want to do while you’re waiting for him. This office is completely at your disposal.

I sat down deeper in the chair, kicked off my shoes and pulled my legs up to me, sitting down more comfortably. I have no desire to explore other people’s offices, especially in front of strangers, so I’ll sit. Seconds turned into minutes, minutes into hours. I periodically changed my position, as my body and butt were numb from constantly sitting in the same position. Is he mocking me? It’s been two hours. How much longer do we have to wait for him to walk around with this woman?

The door handle creaked softly and turned. I held my breath in anticipation and relief, but instead of the king, Count Milos and another man were standing on the threshold. I humbly closed my eyes and sighed heavily. It’s such an obscenity for an unmarried well-bred woman to be left alone with a man, and now with three. Thea, where have you come to?

The men cast a fleeting glance at me and both bowed, greeting not just as a guest or a female outsider, but with honors worthy of a noble person. They must be aware of my background too. Or maybe they also had a hand in my abduction? Although does it matter now?

- Dexter, what’s the emergency? – said another man who introduced himself as Count Richard Garnway.