Chapter 93 - Appointment With A Prince

“It is indeed getting late. Can you do me the favor of accepting the letter in my place and bringing it to me here?” I asked.

“Sure, My Lady. Please…wait for a moment,” the young maid said before bowing politely and leaving the room.

I had been so focused with Ren since he came back from the war that I had completely forgotten the promise that I made to have a meal with Prince Kin. Ren was surely against it, and I knew that. However, I had given my word and it wasn’t like I could back away from Prince Kin’s invitation. Perhaps the best way is to somehow sneak off to meet him without Ren finding out.

I sighed at the limited options available to me. If I told Ren, a fight would break out for sure and there was no way that he would allow me to keep my end of the bargain with Prince Kin. On the other hand, if I sneaked out to see Prince Kin, I would be hiding a secret from Ren…and going directly against his orders.

Come to think of it, could I even leave the inner court to meet Prince Kin? Well, if he wants to meet with me then I guess it’s his problem to figure that out…

“Here is the letter from Prince Kin’s palace, My Lady,” the maid said once she had returned to my room.

“Please wait a moment,” I said as I took the letter from her.

Slowly, I tore the envelop of the letter open to retrieve the letter inside. The content of the letter didn’t come as a surprise to me. As expected, Prince Kin is going to make me keep my end of the bargain and has politely requested for me to have lunch with him at his palace tomorrow.

‘Lady Mimi and I would be delighted to host lunch for you tomorrow at my palace…’

Lady Mimi. If I recalled correctly, she was that gracefully beautiful woman that was with Prince Kin when I first met him. I let out a breath that I had been holding in slight relief. I had always assumed that the lunch would be for just Prince Kin and I. Thankfully, I made the wrong assumption about the situation. Prince Kin clearly intends for Lady Mimi to join us which would make the meeting more acceptable and appropriate.

I took out my brush and ink and began crafting a short but polite response to Prince Kin that I would be joining his lunch session tomorrow. Folding the paper neatly, I inserted it into an envelop and sealed it before handing it to the young maid.

“Please give this letter to the messenger from Prince Kin’s palace. After that, you are excused for the night. Please have a wonderful evening,” I said as I smiled a little at her.

“Yes, My Lady,” the young maid said as she bowed low and took the envelop from my hand.

Well, that was that. I pray that tomorrow’s lunch session with Prince Kin and Lady Mimi would be smooth sailing.

…

I woke up the next morning with a nagging headache and a sense of foreboding. This was probably the result of not being able to get decent sleep for two nights in a row. I stretched and got out of bed just in time for the arrival of the maids to help me bathe and get dressed.

My morning lessons with Jeely started on time as per normal. I met Jeely in the same sitting room where we always had our lessons and she greeted me with a radiantly beautiful smile. It was hard for me to understand how she could look so perfect all the time and she also seemed to be very energetic so early in the morning. Me on the other hand…

“Good morning, Rin!” Jeely greeted me excitedly when I entered the room.

“Good morning…” I replied, trying my best to return her smile. Honestly, I just felt very sleepy and the warm bath in the morning did nothing to help with that.

“Ready for today’s lesson?” Jeely asked.

I wondered if I should tell her about my lunch appointment with Prince Kin. After pondering my thoughts for a while, I decided that I should tell her. I guess she would have figured it out by now because she was there when all the gifts from him came after all. Plus, she would probably be able to give me some advice on how to graciously handle it.

“Yes. Umm…for today, can we end the morning lessons a little early?” I asked.

“Oh…why is that?” Jeely asked curiously as she arched a brow at me.

“Actually…I have a lunch appointment with Prince Kin and Lady Mimi at his palace,” I replied in a small voice.

“Oh…that’s great. Lady Mimi is actually very friendly. I used to teach her how to dance so we are pretty close friends,” Jeely said excitedly as she laughed a little as if recalling some good memories.

“You taught her how to dance too?” I asked, surprised.

“Oh yes, back then I performed a dance for some of the emperor’s guests and Prince Kin was very impressed by my performance. After that he asked me to help teach and train the women in his inner court,” Jeely said as she smiled proudly.

I felt that Jeely was very lucky to have found something that she liked to do. On top of that, she really was a good teacher and instructor. If I couldn’t perform the dance or any other skill, it wasn’t Jeely’s fault but my own lack of talent.

“That’s amazing…wow,” I said, meaning it.

“Anyways, I guess if Lady Mimi is joining too then there should be no issues at all. She is very kind, and Prince Kin truly adores her,” Jeely said reassuringly.

“I see. Thank you for letting me know,” I replied with relief in my voice.

The morning lesson progressed without any event and soon the time for me to leave to see Prince Kin at his palace arrived. As previously arranged, Prince Kin had sent some senior maids and guards to escort me to his palace. Jeely wished me good luck and I felt that everything would go well.

--To be continued…