Chapter 176 - : A Day Break

"Lady Csille!" Prince Roese smiles widely at me. She then waves her hand enthusiastically. Beside her is Prince Reeve, who is sitting casually beside his sister. He just nods his head at me as an acknowledgement.

I smile at the both of them and bow my head a little. "Prince Roese, Prince Reeve. I'm sorry for being late. I overslept."

Although it's quite embarrassing for a lady to admit that but that's the only plausible excuse I can say to them, I cannot say I got stuck in a traffic jam because clearly, traffic jam here is nonexistent. 

Ladies in this world woke up early. It's like a tradition in here. They were thought that as a lady, one should wake up early as a start.. Waking up early will give a lady enough time to do productive work. Learn a new skill, do some chores, read some books, and do other things. 

Those who woke up late are considered not ladylike, which I find it quite odd. Can a night owl exist?

Princess Roese doesn't seem to mind at all. "That's okay. We should be the one apologizing to you. You just finished all your matches and should be preparing for the final match, and here we are, taking your time."

Prince Reeve gestured his head at the empty seat in front of them. "Please sit, Lady Csille. Don't worry, we understand. I know you are exhausted with all the matches you had. Anyway, I would like to say my congratulations to you. You did so well in the Etiquette category. It is no doubt that you'll get that gold."

I smile shyly at them. The Queens gave the representatives a day off. So they can relax or train more for the finals. Tomorrow we will start the two day matches for the finals. It also means that for the whole today, all the Vrawyth representatives will have a match.

Just by thinking about it makes my head dizzy. I smile at them. "Thank you for trusting me. Although there's still a lot of things that can happen in the final competition. So, I'm not that confident."

Before the competition started, Princess Roese asked me if I could spend a day with her after the competition, which I agreed to. It's a good thing that I can control my body today, or else I don't know how I can explain myself to them. 

"What are you saying? I've seen all your matches, and no one can match your skills in etiquette." Princess Roese responds. She looks like she disagrees with what I just said.

I just smile shyly at her. I looked at the table and found prinsesstårta on it. Did they order it for me because they know I love this?

Princess Roese has probably seen where I am looking. She pushes the plate of prinsesstårta towards me. "You must have rushed here. Here, I know you like prinsesstårta." 

My mouth immediately waters. It's been a week when I last tasted this. The real Csille doesn't like the prinsesstårta, so I had no choice but to just bear with her food preference. 

I look at Princess Roese and smile at her. "Thank you for your kindness." I actually didn't have the chance to eat breakfast since I'm afraid I'll make them wait for too long. 

I am about to take a spoon of prinsesstårta when someone suddenly speaks behind me. "Princess Roese, Prince Reeve and... Lady Csille? I didn't know you'd be here." 

I look back and find Prince Joachim being push by his guard towards us. I almost made a face when I saw him. 

Although our suspicion about the three Kingdom alliance is a hoax only, I still don't feel comfortable around him. Especially after hearing that Prince Fraser is doing an investigation about him.

Prince Reeve immediately stands up when he sees Prince Joachim. "Prince Joachim, you're here."

Prince Joachim nods at Prince Reeve. "Would you mind if I join you? It's been a long time since I had a meal with you, and it's a bonus that Lady Csille is here too." He then stared intently at me, which sent shivers to my spine.

Can this guy not stare at me? It's giving me creeps. Also, can't he see that I feel uncomfortable when I am with him? Why does he still want to be with us? I mind! I mind!

Prince Reeve shakes his head and gestures his hand at the empty seat beside me. "Of course, I wouldn't mind. Here, you can sit beside Lady Csille." Prince Reeve stares at me. "I hope you wouldn't mind, Lady Csille."

I force a smile at Prince Reeve. If it's not rude to refuse to a royalty, I would have refused Prince Reeve. I mind! 

I force a nod. "I wouldn't mind." Not.

Can anyone not notice that I am just forced here? Like, come on, can't they see how force my smile and my nod is? Are they blind?

The meal continues with Prince Reeve talks with Prince Joachim about almost everything. They just ask us, Princess Roese and I, about our opinions on the topic they are talking about.

I almost want to roll my eyes at what is happening. I thought I'd enjoy this day, but why did it turn to be like this? 

Constantly on guard because Prince Joachim is beside me. After what I have heard from Princess Paislee about Prince Joachim, I don't want to get near to him anymore.

"Royal brother, Prince Joachim. Since the two of you are so busy talking. Please, excuse Lady Csille and me. We got bored with the two of you talking about business, politics, and all." Princess Roese probably notices my discomfort. 

Before the two Princes can reply, Princess Roese immediately drags me out of the pastry shop. We even heard the two Princes called us, but Princess Roese continued to drag me throughout the streets of the Saiven Kingdom.

She only stops when we're far away from Prince Reeve and Prince Joachim. She then looked back at me, panting from all the running we just did. "Lady Csille, I'm sorry if I suddenly drag you out. I just noticed you are uncomfortable. I also apologize for my brother's lack of consideration. I know you were only forced to say yes."

I smile at Princess Roese. She's really a nice lady. She drags me out of the pastry shop just because she notices that I don't feel comfortable around Prince Joachim. "Thank you for your consideration, Princess Roese."

Princess Roese just smiled at me. She then clings to my arms like she always did. I am three inches taller than her, and she is a year younger than me. And as far as I know, her brother, Prince Reeve, is two years older than me, a year younger than Rufus. Prince Joachim is the same age as Prince Reeve. While Prince Wischard is the same age as Rufus.

"Lady Csille, don't thank me. You're my friend, so of course, I will do something to make you comfortable. And I'm tired of hearing my brother have this kind of conversation. I also don't feel comfortable when I am with Prince Joachim. I don't know why but I don't think I can trust them. Even that Prince Wischard."

I look at her. I didn't know that even she doesn't feel okay when she is around Prince Joachim. Is he really a person not to be trusted?

I smile at Princess Roese. Being a Crown Princess isn't an easy thing. It's actually good that I become Csille. At least I don't have much responsibility compared to the Crown Princess or the Crown Prince of a Kingdom.

"But what are we going to do now? Do you want to go somewhere, Princess Roese?" I tried to look around, but there are only shops here. 

I already brought a lot of things from the shops here. I don't think it can fit the carriage if I continue to buy more. 

Princess Roese smiles widely at me. "I know a place. I'm sure you will like it for sure." She then winks at me.

Princess Roese drags me again to somewhere. I just let her be. Since I'm already tired of strolling around the busy street of the Saiven Kingdom, she grew up in the Saiven Kingdom, so I'm sure she knows a great place to relax.

After a couple of minutes of walking and a little bit of trekking, we stopped in front of a huge tree. We're on a cliff, and at the end of it, there's a huge tree. You can see the whole Saiven Kingdom in here. There are two swings attached to its thickest branch. In front of us is the view of the Saiven Kingdom from the top.

It's so beautiful. It's like those places you can see in Korean dramas. It's so relaxing. Minus the modern buildings and whatnots.

Princess Roese looks back at me and smiles. "What do you think, Lady Csille? Do you like it?" 

I look at the surrounding in front of us. The cliff is untouched, and you can still see how healthy the trees and the flowers are here. Even the grass is healthy. Which is quite an odd thing since the Saiven Kingdom is known for having unhealthy soil.

I look in awe at the blooming flowers everywhere before I nod my head. Only those people who have pollen allergies will hate this. "This is beautiful." I look at Princess Roese. "How..."

She just smiled at me and sat on one of the swings. She then gestured her hand on the other swing. I immediately sit on it and start to swing myself. 

"I'm glad you like it, Lady Csille. It's one of my favorite spots in our Kingdom because only in here you can find flowers blooming."

I heard Princess Roese said while I continue to swing myself. I don't even remember when was the last time I played on the swing. I used to love swings in the orphanage before, but when my friends got adopted one by one, I started to hate it because it reminded me that I was alone then.

I stop swinging and look at Princess Roese. I love the surroundings, but I don't understand one thing. "How come there's a flower blooming in the Saiven Kingdom? I thought the soil here is not suitable for flowers to live?"

Princess Roese shakes her head. "Even us, don't know why. We were just informed one day that there's a cliff that is full of flowers and when we arrived here we were all shocked when we saw this. My Father, the King, already made an investigation about it. However, even after months of investigation, they still find the answer. They don't know why the land here seems different."

I look around. This is really unexpected. I thought the Saiven Kingdom was just barren land. But the flowers on this cliff look healthy. 

I frowned when I realized something. "Does the people know about this? The flowers on the cliff look untouched. It only means one thing. Only a few people know about its existence."

Princess Roese nods her head. "You're right. Only the official of the monarch knows this place, and it's actually forbidden to pick flowers here."

I nod my head. That explains why the surroundings look untouched. It's a good thing the rulers of the Saiven Kingdom think of it thoroughly, or else the flowers in this cliff will definitely die.

Princess Roese and I were silent for a couple of minutes before she broke it. "Lady Csille, can I ask you a question?"

I stop swinging and look at her. "Sure, what do you want to ask?"

She starts to play with her fingers anxiously. "Lady Csille, do you think Prince Rufus will like me? I took the initiative to ask him to dance at the banquet, but he refused me. Am I ugly?"

My eyes widened when I heard what she said. She asked Rufus to dance in the banquet, and Rufus declined? Why didn't I know about this? 

Oh, I remember now. The real Csille drank an alcoholic drink that night. She's probably lightheaded already when Princess Roese asked Rufus. 

Is it the plan she told me the last time? Asking Rufus at the traditional dance of the banquet?

"Csille?"

I blink a couple of times before I look at her. I was too shocked by what I heard that I was in a trance for a couple of seconds.

Do I think Prince Rufus will like her? Only I know the answer. I look at Princess Roese with a complicated expression. Should I tell him the truth? Princess Roese doesn't deserve to fall for someone who cannot reciprocate her love.

"I'll be honest with you, Princess Roese. Rufus is not what you think he is. Although he seems like a happy go lucky person and is easy to get along with, the truth is he is a closed person. He doesn't like to open himself to anyone. He was traumatized. He was often bullied when we were young, so he ends up guarding himself from anyone else. I actually doubt if he will ever love someone. So, as a friend, I suggest you find someone else. I don't think he can give you what you want."

I heard Princess Roese sigh. "Okay, I understand." Her voice breaks while saying those words.

I feel sorry for her. Even if I want to do something but Rufus' existence is important for the plot of the novel. I cannot let Rufus falls in love with someone else besides Princess Paislee.

I'm sorry, Princess Roese. Please, like someone else.