Everyone continued to look at Lance without saying a word, as they tried to figure out why he reasoned and behaved the way he did.
"You do not expect me to dress shabbily, do you?" Lance asked in a calmer tone.
"Do you have friends?" Williams asked him, but Lance waved it off.
"Everyone feels intimidated by me," he informed them.
Paulina sighed in distress for him. What kind of life was that?
"What was that?" Lance looked at her, shooting a brow up.
"Eh?" Paulina looked up at him in fear when he turned his attention to her.
'
"You feel sorry for me?" He asked her in disbelief.
Paulina shook her head immediately. "Uh... no. I don't..."
"You are a servant, right?"
She nodded timidly, and he snorted.
'ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ NovelB(i)n. ᴄᴏᴍ',
"What's that for?" Williams asked Lance, frowning.
"What's what for?" Lance asked back.
"The sound you just made." Susan pointed out in displeasure.
Lance shrugged. "Nothing. I am just amused to find a servant feeling sorry for me," he said, almost sounding disbelieving.
"She is not a servant. She is Princess Amber's handmaiden." Williams corrected.
"There is no difference between a handmaiden and a servant, is there?" Lance asked before gesturing around them.
"Look around us. He isn't only from a noble family, but he is one of the officials," he gestured at Harvey, who was still busy with whatever he was carving before he pointed at Luciana. "Even though things didn't end well for her, she is also from a noble family and was married to a prince."
Luciana glared at him, but he ignored her and looked at the direction Alicia had taken with Harold.
"Princess Amber is a princess and is also married to Prince Harold. You and your sister are from a noble and royal family," he pointed out to all of them.
"These are the kinds of people I move with. Isn't it clear that she and..." He looked toward Alvin's direction, who was approaching them as he said, "...that big guy are out of place--?"
"You must have a death wish!"
"You must fancy dying."
Susan and Williams said at the same time as they glared at him angrily.
"Wow! You two are really twins. You both said the same thing! Say something again," Lance said in fascination, but Susan snapped at him.
"If you have a problem with being in the same place as them, then you should return to the palace. We won't let you belittle anyone here. Unless you have a death wish."
She always seemed to forget that Lance liked it when she spoke like this because as much as he was flustered and confused about why they were getting angry when he had just pointed out the truth, he seemed enthralled as he looked at Susan.
"I am really going to marry you," he said, looking awestruck while every one of them released a sigh, except for Paulina, who was still scared, and Harvey, who was trying not to laugh.
As much as Lance was stupid, he was a fun company.
"We will be moving soon," Alvin informed them as he got closer before looking pointedly at Harvey.
Harvey looked at him closely and could tell Prince Harold wanted to speak with him. Or maybe it wasn't Prince Harold once again.
Alvin turned his attention to Paulina and asked,
"How are your feet?"
"It... it is... fine," Paulina said as she looked down. Ever since she called him names, she dreaded meeting him or speaking with him like this.
"You need to return to the carriage. It's time to rub the balm on your wounds." He said as he took out the small container from his pocket.
Paulina nodded quickly and stood up, wincing slightly. Even though the burn wounds were surprisingly closed up, they still hurt a bit. She never thought it possible to be standing on her feet a few days later after that happened.
Alvin moved to where she was and tried to carry her in his arms like he had done before, but she stepped back in horror and looked around them in embarrassment.
"I... can walk,"
"She walked before. She is fine. Why are you trying to carry her?" Susan asked as she went to stand in between them.
As expected, Alvin ignored them and moved to carry Paulina again, but this time, Susan squeezed herself in between the two of them.
"She can walk! Even if she needs someone to carry her, Williams can do that. Right?" Susan turned to look at her brother, who nodded and stood up immediately.
Paulina's already red face reddened even more, and she shook her head more vigorously this time.
"Why is it okay for Sir Williams to carry her and not me?" Alvin asked as he tried to swallow his displeasure.
"You... you are big. You are going to scare her if you carry her. She... needs someone shorter." Susan said awkwardly, and just like the others, she knew she wasn't making sense.
Williams also wasn't taking it nicely. Maybe Alvin was tall... he wasn't short!
"I... am fine. I... can... w-walk," Paulina said as she snatched the balm from Alvin and hurriedly began to limp towards the carriage without looking back.
Alvin looked at her back with pursued lips before he turned to go get his horse, leaving Susan to stare at his back while Williams was glaring daggers at her.
"Why... do I feel something strange is going on here?" Lance asked in confusion, while Luciana just kept a close eye on all of them before she stood up and began to head toward the carriage.
Luciana thought with amusement that this was such a fun trip and she was glad that she had followed them.
Harvey had taken that distraction as an opportunity to go join the couple, and as soon as Susan saw the three of them, she turned to her brother, ignoring his glare as she asked, "Something is really happening between the three of them. Why are they keeping us out of it?"
"How am I supposed to know that?" He asked back.
"Then I'll find out for us," Susan promised.