..."Your Highness , Lady Bellafleur is—"
Before he even finished speaking, the door was suddenly flung open. Sir Dilton was more surprised than I was.
I stared at Xavier, who had been the one to open the door before Sir Dilton finished speaking. His shiny silver Crown Prince hair was disheveled and his generally light eyes looked sunken. Something had definitely happened. It frustrated me right now not knowing what it was.
"... Lady Bellafleur is here," Sir Dilton finished calmly after taking a moment to compose himself.
Chapter 80 - I Was madly Searching For You
Xavier glanced at Sir Dilton.
Then, the Crown Prince's eyes, which resembled the deep sea, turned to look at me.
I always appreciated his eyes, but somehow they looked different today, darker somehow. It was different from what I knew, and I was puzzled inside.
"... Where did you find her?"
Xavier asked Sir Dilton in a low voice, and the butler also answered in a low voice.
"She was at the entrance to the Thurman Palace."
"Is she hurt her somewhere?" Xavier continued.
Sir Dilton shook his head.
"No external injuries , as you can see."
"... Very good. Don't let anyone in here unless you have my order."
"As you wish, your Majesty."
After some cold exchanges, Sir Dilton left and I was left alone with Xavier.
I carefully studied the Crown Prince's face, but unfortunately his eyes showed no signs of change.
Ah, something was definitely wrong, especially after he said 'Where did you find her?'
"Please come in," he told me, and I followed him into the room.
As I was the last to enter, I closed the door behind me.
It was just Xavier and I in the room now. With that thought in mind, I began to wonder how to resolve this uncomfortable tension, when I suddenly felt warmth surround my body.
"Ah ..."
"Your Highn.."
I protested , but he spoke first.
"I was worried," he said.
Those were the only words he gave me, but underneath it all, I could hear his concern, his frustration, his anxiety.
that rang vividly in my ears and I was speechless.
"Really," he said.
"..." I could hear a ringing in my ears.
Thu-thump, thu-thump, thu-thump, thu-thump. I was confused if the heartbeat I was hearing was his or mine.
Thu-thump, thu-thump, thu-thump, over and over again.
"... I'm sorry to have worried you, Your Highness," I sympathized.
That was all I could say as I stood still in his arms. I lowered my trembling eyelids and Xavier continued to hold me tightly even after I gave my apology.
It wasn't after I felt like time had dragged on that I called him. Only then did Xavier relax and drop his arms from me. But his eyes were still the same dark colour he had seen before.
Why did he look like this?
"Are you angry?" I asked, suddenly wondering.
"Yes,"
he replied.
"I'm sorry. I think there was a mistake. His Majesty the Emperor ..."
"No," he said.
He seldom interrupted me like this.
"It's not you that I'm angry with."
"then ..."
"I'm mad at myself."
I looked up at him. At some point, his body had started to tremble slightly.
"It was my responsibility, Lady Maristella."
"What are you—" I asked, confused.
"It was my duty to bring you safely here. I did not fulfill that duty,"
he replied, embarrassment evident in his voice.
"... I arrived earlier than usual. It's not your fault."
"Thanks for saying that."
He silently clasped my hands with his, and I was once again embarrassed by the sudden skinship.
"You are still my responsibility, of course. Thank you for returning safely."
"It's just the Imperial Palace," I said, ignoring the tremor in his voice.
"I have the protection of the Emperor. What are you worried about?"
"It doesn't reach every corner. There is no place as bloody and dangerous as this," Xavier said quietly.
I blinked in surprise. This was coming from a man who would be the next palace lord.
Something strange and out of place. I didn't say anything, but Xavier changed his expression to a warm smile this time.
"Please sit down. I went too far and she must have been very surprised."
"Not at all, your' Highness."
Then Xavier asked the servants outside for refreshments.
After several minutes, rose tea and macaroons were brought and served.
"That's amazing," I said.
"What do you mean?" Xavier asked.
"I had the same in the Central Palace," I replied without thinking. As soon as I said that, I heard a click when Xavier put down his cup of tea. But he was far from settling down naturally. There was a note of sharpness and anger in the gesture. Before he could question him, he spoke first.
"So ... you were in the Central Palace?" He said she slowly.
"Yes,"
I replied, but Xavier's expression was strange. Once again I was taken aback by his behaviour, and this time I chose my words more carefully.
"The Emperor said that he would send a message to Thurman Palace. It was difficult to reject him. I thought you already knew ..."
"... I didn't know," he replied stiffly.
"Because the message didn't get through."
"But the Emperor must have sent it ...!"
"My father sometimes likes to make jokes. It seems that today I was tricked once again." Xavier's voice was still cold as steel, but not as cold as before.
I still had a hard time getting rid of my surprise. Why did the Emperor hide it?
"Why would his Majesty do that?"
I asked.
"I don't know. I have never understood the Emperor's mind from my birth until now ... In fact, I really don't want to understand."
An undertone of contempt ran through his voice.
"Sir Dilton always waited for you at the same time and in the same place, but today there was a carriage but no lady. I asked the driver of the carriage and he told me that you had already gone to Thurman Palace ... But as you know, there is only one path from the palace gate to here. So ... "
" You thought I was lost, "I finished for him.
"That's what I was forced to think."
After hearing his story, his concern made sense to me.
"Why did this happened?" I murmured with a grim face.
"I don't know. Anyway, I was madly looking for you everywhere."
"I'm sorry I caused such a commotion. You must have been upset,"
I said in a sincere apology, but Xavier shook his head.
"You don't need to apologize. You didn't do anything wrong. I'll accept an apology from someone else."
I didn't say anything, because it was easy to guess who he was talking about.
Even in the original story, Xavier's relationship with his father had been strained - oddly enough, the author never mentioned the reason, but it still seemed to be the case here as well.
"It all ended well, so don't worry too much, Your Highness," I said carefully.
"Don't worry about me," he said with a smile, but he still looked anxious. To be honest, he was still worried.
"What you have there ..."
Xavier began.
"Oh this."
I quickly spread the gift box in my arms. Really, I've been through a lot just to give this.
"It is a gift, Your Highness."
"A gift?"
"Yes. Actually, I visited you just to give you this."
I smiled and handed him the gift box, and he looked back and forth between me and the gift before slowly accepting it. He looked puzzled.
"Thank you. I can't believe you carried something so heavy here," he said.
I corrected him.
"Actually, Florinda did."
"Yes. Still, thanks for your effort." He gave me a smile.
"Do you mind if I open it?"
"Not at all. I brought it here for you to do it."
"What could it be...?" With an expression of anticipation, he began to undo the tape. After a moment, the tape was completely untied and he carefully opened the lid of the box.
"This is ..."
he muttered in amazement as he looked at the glass jar containing the preserves.
"It's fruit cheong," I said shyly.
"I'm thinking of opening a store soon. So while I was doing it, I decided to make some for you too. But I don't know if you will like it."
"I like it. I really like it," he said emphatically.
"But do you even know what it is?"
"No," he said with a soft laugh.
"But it seems bittersweet."
"Oh, but you said you didn't like sweet things the other time," I said, remembering a conversation we had earlier. Xavier had a strange smile on his face.
"Since then, little by little I start to like it."
"Really?"
"Yes ."
"That's surprising. It's not easy to change taste buds."
"I see. I thought you two would have the same taste since the Emperor likes a light taste too."
"..."