Alvin kept a safe distance between himself and Alicia as he followed her. Thankfully, she didn't stray too far from her chamber. She stopped along the passageway and turned to him.
"You were with Harold early this morning, am I right?" Alicia asked, and Alvin, who had been trying to come up with all the possible questions she could ask him, almost blinked in surprise since he hadn't been expecting that particular question.
"Yes, my lady," he said with a bow.
"Around what time precisely?" She asked, and this time Alvin was relieved that Harold had told him what to say in case she asked him about it.
"Before dawn. We usually start the first rounds of our training before dawn," Alvin supplied, and Alicia nodded.
"I see. Do you have any idea why he doesn't want anyone to know that..." She stopped when she remembered that he had said she wasn't to tell anyone that they had spent the night together. As far as everyone knew, she was sleeping in there alone.
She wasn't sure if that also included Alvin. She decided to change her question format. That way, she would know just how much he knew.
"Do you know where Harold slept last night and the night before?" She asked, and Alvin blinked at her in confusion.
Didn't the prince spend the night with her? Why was she asking him such a question? Was she testing him? If so, why?
"He slept in his chamber, my lady," Alvin answered simply, and Alicia nodded.
That meant he knew that they had spent the night together since she was aware that everyone in the palace knew that she had been sleeping in Harold's chamber, even though they didn't know that Harold was sleeping there with her.
"Do you have any idea why he doesn't want anyone to know that I'm sharing his chamber with him?" She asked, and Alvin quickly shook his head.
"No, my lady. I have no idea," he said very quickly.
He answered too quickly, as far as Alicia was concerned. He didn't even pretend to be surprised or to think about the question before answering. So this was yet another secret that she had to deal with? She wondered how many more secrets they were keeping from her.
"Alright. Thanks for your time," Alicia said with a bright smile as she walked away from him.
She was going to find a way to make Harold tell her the truth, whether or not he wanted to. Maybe it would be best if she woke up early and followed Harold. Perhaps then she would find out if he was truly training with Alvin that early in the morning, and if that were not the case, then she would get to know where he was always going to. She didn't want him to do anything that was going to get him into trouble. Because if he got into trouble, what would happen to her?
Once she returned to her chamber, she sat on the bed and opened the book. A yawn escaped from her lips when she saw the first boring name. Because this seemed to be very important to Harold, she would do her best to memorize the names, even if it meant she was going to soak her legs in a bowl of water so she wouldn't doze off.
When Alvin rounded a corner, he was surprised to find Harold there with his arms crossed when he was supposed to be reporting to the king. It seemed as though he was waiting for him.
"She questioned you, didn't she?" Harold asked Alvin without beating around the bush.
"Erm... yes, your highness. But... she didn't look convinced by the answers I gave."
Harold nodded. "She is smart. Be wary of her," Harold eyed him. "You may be smart, but she knows how to get information from you if she wants to."
Alvin swallowed nervously and bowed. Of course, he had fallen into her trap before, so he understood why Harold was eyeing him like that.
"I will," Alvin assured him, and Harold turned and walked away.
Away from there, all the families that had arrived settled into their various quarters in the palace, unpacking and arranging their belongings.
Luciana walked into her parents' quarter, and immediately her mother saw her and took in her appearance, a sigh of disappointment escaped from her lips. "You are still not pregnant yet," she observed, and Luciana's steps faltered.
She had been happy that her parents were here and she would at least have someone to talk to, but she was clear that she had thought wrong.
"Father, mother, you are welcome," Luciana said, forcing a smile.
"How have you been?" Her father asked without sparing her a glance.
"I've been well. How are you both doing? And how is everybody at home?" She asked curiously.
"This is your home now. The people back there shouldn't concern you," her mother chided as she embraced her.
Luciana simply stood stiffly as her mother embraced her. Everything just seemed very strange now.
"I got you some herbs to help you bear children for the prince," her mother said once she pulled away and led her to the bed where a wooden box was lying open.
'Children! Children! Children! Don't they talk about other things?!' Luciana cried in her head. When was the last time any of them asked her how she was faring? The only thing they cared about was her bearing children. What if she wasn't the one at fault?
What Princess Amber had told her echoed in her head. Yes, it could also be the fault of her husband. So why was no one bothering him as much as they were bothering her?
"Mother?" Luciana called out to her mother softly.
Her mother, who was already holding the box, turned to look at Luciana, who was still standing where she was.
"What is it?" The older woman asked.
Luciana looked at her mother and then at her father before she looked back at her mother.
"I... was thinking... what if... I am okay?" She stuttered.
"Okay?" Her mother asked in confusion.
"What if I don't need the herbs? What if—"
"Do not be stupid!" Her father said sternly. "If you were okay, you would have given birth to a child a long time ago!" He lectured her.
"I mean, what if it isn't my fault?" Luciana asked.
"If it isn't your fault, then whose fault is it?" Her mother asked, genuinely confused.
Luciana clenched and unclenched her fist as she stuttered. "It... could be... my husband's?"
As soon as the words left her lips, the box in her mother's hands dropped from shock, and her father's head snapped up to look at her like she had lost her mind.
"W-What... treacherous... thing are you... s-saying?" Her mother asked in disbelief.
"Have you lost your mind? How can you utter something like that? How did you even think of that?" Her father asked, equally in disbelief.
"How can your husband be the cause of your not having a child? He is a man! Your lord! You should be grateful to him and worship him for not throwing you out already!"
"Why do I have to be the only one at fault?!"
"Because you are a woman! A wife!" Her father yelled at her.
"When you have thought about what you said and feel remorseful, you can return to greet us. Get out of my sight!" Her father barked in an angry tone.
Luciana blinked rapidly as she tried to stop herself from shedding tears.
"I SAID GET OUT!"
She flinched and quickly looked at her mother, who was looking at her with disapproval.
Seeing the looks on their faces, it occurred to her how unfair women were being treated as compared to men. She wasn't saying she wanted to be equal with men, but can't she have a life on her own? It was even more painful when women treated other women badly because of men!
With tears in her eyes, Luciana turned around and headed for the door. As soon as she opened it, she was startled to find the Queen and Ivan standing there.
Luciana's mother gasped loudly when she saw them, and her father looked uncomfortable as he wondered just how much of their conversation the two people heard.
The queen stepped in, and Ivan followed suit, with his eyes on Luciana. Luciana turned to the side and looked down, avoiding any form of eye contact with anyone there.
"My Queen, you... didn't have to come to greet us. We would have come to you," her father said with a bow, and her mother followed suit immediately.
From the look on both Ivan's face and the queen's face, Luciana could tell that they had come there because of her.
"I had to. Because it is important." The queen said as she went to sit on the chair inside the room before gesturing at the others, "Sit," she said to them.
Luciana's parents looked at each other, already dreading whatever conversation they were going to be having.
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