SWNOVELXO Chapter 9: To live or to die
Prince David's words carried a hidden message; he wanted Prince Nicholas to know he had found something he could use against him.
However, Prince Nicholas stood firm, his demeanor unyielding. The air around him seemed to thicken with tension as he directed a piercing, ice-cold glare at the 2nd Prince, a look that radiated an unmistakable aura of menace. His voice, low and laced with a chilling intensity, cut through the silence like a blade.
"I'll eagerly await those who would dare to lay a hand on what belongs to me," he declared, each word dripping with a simmering threat that sent a shiver down the spines of those nearby.
After he said his piece, he naturally held Luciana's hand and guided her to the carriage.
Luciana knew Prince Nicholas and Prince David were not on good terms, but she had never witnessed a blatant display of their dislike for each other like this. 'Did these changes that occurred today have something to do with her rebirth?' She thought.
"You don't look surprised that my 2nd brother and I are not on good terms," Prince Nicholas asked when they were alone in the carriage, his gaze full of suspicion.
"Both of you are suitable candidates for the crown; it would be a miracle if you were friends," Luciana said simply. She knew Nicholas could decipher the meaning in her words.
"What do you think of the 2nd Prince?" He asked another question.
'Does it matter? Why must her opinion of the 2nd Prince be discussed at this point?'
"I have no opinions about the 2nd Prince," she said, her tone nonchalant.
"Really? Or maybe I should rephrase my question: What was the second prince doing in the summer palace?" Prince Nicholas asked, his oppressive gaze boring into hers.
Luciana's heart skipped a beat; she had totally forgotten about that. The Summer Palace was where she had been made to stay when she first arrived in Gloryland. When she and her entourage had arrived at the city that fateful day, there was a long queue, and the officials were doing their work at a leisurely pace, inspecting all the carriages one by one.
Luciana, whose body was feeling sore and tired from the long journey, couldn't sit still seeing how slow the queue was moving. She had descended from her carriage and asked to speak with the officials to enable her to enter faster so that she could rest. The officials, however, refused and asked her to follow the queue and await her turn; that was the day she met the 2nd Prince, who helped her with the officials and enabled her to gain entry into the city.
That night, he had paid her a visit in the summer palace, bringing along her missing pendant. Luciana didn't even know when she lost it and had been very worried when she couldn't find it.
She had been very grateful to the 2nd Prince, but when he told her he had made sure none of the guards and maids saw him entering, she had also tacitly agreed and acted as if she didn't know the 2nd Prince during their first meeting since it would be bad if people found out an unmarried princess had received a male visitor in her courtyard.
'Could it be that Nicholas knew about this even in her previous life?' she thought, not knowing what to do with this information. In her previous life, she knew Nicholas had been suspicious of her, but she had thought it was because she attempted to kill him, and she had always made him know she hated him.
'Had his lack of trust come from the 2nd Prince visiting her manor? She had also not known and had been on such good terms with the noble consort Margaret in her previous life. Most times, the 2nd Prince would also pay the noble consort a visit when she was with him. How foolish had she been?'
"You wouldn't believe me when I tell you. Besides, you already have your own ideas about me," she replied to his question.
Prince Nicholas quietly observed her. She was right; he already had his own ideas about them. He didn't trust her; her actions had been too suspicious. But wasn't she worried about his misunderstanding? Shouldn't she at least explain herself and try to make him understand? Looking at the nonchalant woman, his anger couldn't help but rise; he planned to uncover all her secrets himself.
"Since you are so wise, it depends on you whether you choose to live or to die," he told her coldly. 'I only know one thing, Luciana: you are mine, and even death can't take you away from me!' he added in his mind.
Luciana's heart sank; indeed, he didn't trust her; it seemed there was a long way to go for him to treat her as an ally. She wouldn't force it, though; she would take one step at a time.
~~~
When they arrived at the prince's manor, Nicholas descended from the carriage first, and because he was angry, he didn't even help Luciana down and left with Peter, his right-hand man. Dora came forward to help Luciana descend from the steps of her carriage when another carriage came to a stop behind theirs.
Lady Evelyn got down from the carriage, and her group of maids came forward to aid her. Her large entourage of maids could make others wonder about her identity.
Well, even though Evelyn's mother was a court lady turned concubine, her father, the king of Tahlia, doted on her.
Evelyn's mother became a noble lady when she birthed a son for the king of Tahlia, and one could imagine the love she received from the king after she birthed his first male heir. This allowed Evelyn to enjoy lots of privileges because of her brother.
She had seen Prince Nicholas when he had visited their country for peace negotiations and had fallen in love with him. When Prince Nicholas was in their country, she tried everything to win his affection, but it always failed.
She had been a willing volunteer when the kingdom of Tahlia needed a female candidate to marry a prince of Gloryland, but what she didn't expect was for the prince to be still indifferent when she became his concubine. She had been worried seeing how Nicholas was paying attention to the new princess, but it seemed it was just a public display of affection.
Luciana had just taken a few steps in the direction of her courtyard when she heard Evelyn's voice behind her.
"Your Highness, I'm sorry for my impudence, but can we sisters have a talk?" Evelyn said.
Luciana turned and saw Lady Evelyn approaching her with a warm smile on her face; her movements were graceful, showing poise and gentleness like a fairy.
She embodied the essence of the saying "damsel in distress," effortlessly stirring an instinctive protective urge in the hearts of men. Her whole demeanor showed delicate beauty that needed to be cherished and held in your hands so that she would not break.
And the looks from the guards who were sneaking glances at her but kept their composure so as not to ogle and blatantly stare at her, and a few who were failing at keeping their composure, you can tell she was achieving just that.
'How I wish she would trip and fall on her face!' Luciana thought in her mind, but her eyes grew wide with shock as Lady Evelyn's leg caught in the flowing fabric of her dress. In a frantic attempt to regain her balance, she flailed her arms, desperately reaching out for support. Her graceful movement was nowhere in sight as she tumbled forward, teetering on the brink of a face-first fall.
'She was really falling!'