Hina turned in the direction where the intense gaze was coming from. She glanced to the soldier beside the crown prince, whose face was covered with his war helmet, unlike the other soldiers. He too rode a white horse side by side the crown prince like an equal. For a second, she thought she had been mistaken but his continuous stare prove otherwise. She could barely make do of his eyes hidden behind his helmet but they were definitely fixated on her. Who was he? Why was he looking at her?
"It's rude to stare" she mouthed at him as she stared back before turning away.
"Isn't that the Empire's beloved soldier next to the prince?" Someone muttered, piquing her interest.
[The favoured soldier? That favoured soldier?!]
"Must be him. Who else would dare to ride beside the crown prince like that?"
"Then again, he is no ordinary man. He is the grand duke of the Empire." Another said in awe.
"I hear he and the crown prince are like brothers and that the emperor dotes on him"
"I've also heard that he is even more handsome than the crown prince!" The whispering went on, this time about his looks.
"That's impossible"
"I've actually heard that too. My cousin once saw him at a palace banquet and said his face was a literal artwork with eyes as precious as any gem. Apparently, that's why he doesn't like showing his face much in public"
"That doesn't make sense. If he was that handsome, shouldn't he show it off?" The other argued on.
"Whatever, let's move to the front to get a better view of the prince!" They all squealed as they urged forward, moving with the crowd that jockeyed towards the prince.
[If that was really the favoured soldier...why was he looking at me?]
The favoured soldier was one of the female lead's love interests. Unlike the second prince and the male lead, the soldier was more like a guardian angel than a love interest. He would help the female lead when she was in need and shield her from danger, but he never confessed his feelings for her. This made a lot of readers develop a second male lead syndrome towards him. Many readers even wished he would end up winning the female lead's heart but that never happened and his character somehow just vanished into the background. Aside from him being described as breathtakingly charming, there was nothing else to go on with; neither his physical appearance nor even his name. In the novel, he was always referred to as 'the favoured soldier' or 'dark-haired soldier'. Even the female lead never called him by a name as she always called him 'Mister soldier'. Now that Hina thought about it, she knew too little about his character than she thought.
"Oh! There's brother Kai!" Tanaka shouted beside Hina, pulling her out of her reverie as she looked up to find Kai among the soldiers.
"You're right" she broke into a smile as she waved at him, watching him lurch his horse as he waved back at her.
As the evening sky gradually settled in, the parade came to end. With the purpose of their outing finally achieved, Hina couldn't wait to get back home. Her feet were killing her in these damn shoes and she longed to just take them off and walk barefooted.
"Ah~that was exciting!" Tanaka squealed beside Hina as they made their way through the scattered crowds.
"It was"
"We should go home now. I hear there will be a grand celebration at the imperial palace for three days, so we will not get to see Kai until it's over" Tanaka said.
With her mind in a daze, trying to figure out if she had any possible connection to the favoured soldier, a figure ran beside Hina, roughly hitting her shoulder as they disappeared with the evening wind. Hina stumbled, almost colliding with the ground but Tanaka quickly held her up as she regained her balance.
"Are you okay?"
"Yes..thank you, Tanny"
"What kind of crazy person runs off like that after hitting someone?!" Tanaka fumed.
Although everything had happened so fast and Hina didn't see who it was, she had caught a glimpse of the luscious pink hair that fluttered in the wind as the figure ran past her. There was only one person that had pink hair in this world and that was Sakura Ito- the female lead of The Knight's First Love. It was simply impossible for any other character to possess that hair colour as it was reserved only for Sakura by the author. A colour befitting her name.
Hina felt something gnawing in her stomach and the realisation that the novel's timeline had finally begun hit her. She had gotten too comfortable over time and it was just dawning on her.
It made no sense but this slithering encounter made her feel like something bad was about to happen, almost like a reminder of the fact that she was the villainess doomed for tragedy.
"You look pale, Hina.." Tanaka shook her hand, still holding on to her.
"I'm fine," she said through a shaky voice, hoping Tanny didn't hear the crack in her tone.
"You don't look fine though. Let's go home, I fear you'll faint at this rate" she whispered, giving Hina's arm a squeeze.
"Okay.."
What was wrong with her? It was just a mere coincidence so why was her body reacting like this? Like as if she was afraid. But of what? Of Sakura?
[I'm probably just nervous]
_____
Epilogue|
He had been waiting for this day. The war was finally over and his men could finally reunite with their families and loved ones.
He on the other hand, only longed to find her- Hina Kudo. He had fleetingly encountered her twice in the past and he thought he would have forgotten about her already but oh was he wrong. Rather than the memories of her to fade away with time, all he had was this strange longing to see her again. Visions of her filled his mind like the clouds in the skies and he didn't like how he was unable to control his thoughts.
He had made up his mind to immediately find her the moment he arrived at the Empire but it seemed like his longing had brought her to him instead.
Amid the cheering wide-eyed city folks that filled the pavements and the streets, his eyes narrowed in recognition and there she was. Unable to look away, he was drawn to her like a moth to a flame. Even in the crowd, it was hard to miss the sight of her; with her glistening golden-brown hair and those golden eyes. Looking uninterested in the cavalcade, she stood out from the crowd like red between whites.
His gaze must have drawn hers for she turned to catch him as he stared at her. She eyed him in return while she mouthed something at him.
'It's rude to stare' he read her lips closely and an amused grin spread on his face underneath his helmet.
"What are you gawking at? Don't tell me that one of the ladies in the crowd has caught the attention of 'the cold grand duke'?" The prince teased through his plastered wide teeth smile.
"None of your business" he ignored him, galloping his horse forward.
"Wow~is that how you treat your only friend?"
"Let's go, we're slowing down the parade" he told the prince, his eyes darting once again to where she stood before riding forward. To think he would immediately see her upon his arrival in the Capital. It was a pleasant surprise.