Soon, Alicia began to speak less, so the conversation only revolved around Susan, Luciana, and Paulina, whom Luciana was trying to get to tell them more about herself and her hometown, while Susan wanted to know how she had learned to paint.
Williams smiled as he listened to Paulina, who answered their questions timidly as it was flattering for her to find herself amid noble ladies who were interested in having such conversations with her.
But anyone who listened in closely or who knew Paulina well would know that her stories were either made up or partly true, and Alicia could not help but look at her sadly.
She had only had a normal childhood for a while before she was almost sold off and then started serving Amber before she was sent on exile with her, and now she was with Alicia here, and had just managed to narrowly escape death.
As their journey grew longer, Alicia began to feel uncomfortable. She was having terrible motion sickness but didn't want to ask them to stop because of her, especially when it looked like they were in the woods. The bumpy ride was not helping either. She didn't know how these ladies were so comfortable sitting inside the carriage.
Once they got to a very bumpy road beside a small lake, and her motion sickness grew worse.
Thankfully, Harold noticed, "Is something wrong, Princess?" He asked as he looked into the carriage from his horse.
Every one of them was suddenly quiet and faced Harold, whose sole focus was on Alicia. They could never get used to seeing Harold that way. Both the look on his face and his soft tone whenever he spoke to her were something they just couldn't get used to, especially Harvey, Lance, and Williams, who had seen what he did just the previous day. By now, Alvin had already gotten enough, so it was no longer new to him.
Alicia flashed him a smile and nodded, but Harold could see right through her and immediately put his hand up for the ride to be halted.
With one look from Alvin, the carriage riders, stopped the horses, and everyone came to a halt.
"Let's take a rest," Harold said as he climbed down from the horse, while the others looked at him in confusion.
A rest? When they had only been riding for less than two hours?
The girls, however, appreciated it and Susan was the first to open the carriage door and jump out ungracefully, almost straining her ankle before she saw Alvin coming to help them out and realized she had missed a good opportunity.
Alvin didn't give off any reaction when she looked at him. Instead, he went to help Luciana and Paulina get down, while Harold went to help Alicia climb down.
"Why are you never careful?" Williams asked Susan in a scolding voice as he watched her limp to his side before getting down from his horse.
"You should have let me help you come down, my lady," Lance said with a smile as he got down from his horse, while Susan eyed him in displeasure.
He was about to say something else when his eyes landed on Alicia and what she was wearing. Even William was staring too. It was both rare and surprising and fascinating. But none of them could say anything at the moment, especially seeing how Harold was carefully holding her.
It seemed as though they were invading their privacy, so everyone looked away and pretended to be doing something else.
Once they all got down, the carriage riders took the horses to the lake to quench their thirsts, while Alvin found a spot for them to rest and spread a large quilt, which he had packed with other things on the ground so the ladies could sit, while Harvey, Williams, and Lance set down the rest of the snacks, drinks, and roasted meats for them all to eat.
"You really do hate carriages," Harold noted as he led Alicia to the spot where Alvin had spread the quilt.
He remembered how she had been uncomfortable the first time he rode with her to the Moon Kingdom and how she had refused to use a carriage but a horse when they went to the marketplace.
"It's slightly uncomfortable." She confessed honestly.
"How do you feel now? Would you prefer to ride on Bane with me?" He asked, and Alicia bobbed her head.
"I will feel better on the horse," Alicia said before handing him a roasted pork on a skewer which she had reserved for him.
"Are you sure you will be okay on the horse with me? Besides, it would mean you would have to leave them alone in the carriage. I noticed you were enjoying their company earlier," Harold pointed out.
Harold hesitated and bit on the first piece of meat, but almost choked when he noticed all eyes were on them.
He had been so engrossed in his conversation with Alicia that he hadn't realized that they were all still standing there staring at them and listening to their conversation.
The first to let out a loud giggle was Paulina, who as soon as she laughed, became shocked at her audacity to laugh at Prince Harold. Her face reddened immediately and her hand quickly flew to cover her mouth as all eyes turned to her and the action made everyone laugh.
Harold's face was a bit red as he took the skewer which Alicia was still offering. "You should get some rest," he said before walking away from her.
He glared at Alvin, who chuckled as he walked past him to tend to his horse. He could tell that Alvin's laughter was his way of getting back at him for teasing him about Susan earlier.
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter