"That means I can't see him yet?" She had been looking forward to it so much.
"I'm sorry, but that's the way it is."
Since it was about the wolf's welfare, she couldn't complain. "Then at least promise me that I can
see him as soon as possible." She looked at him with wide expectant eyes. Baridi had no choice but
to consent. "It's really hard to turn down something from you."
Grinning, Lyana stood up and took the valet's arm again. "That's what my cousin always tells me
too."
"May I ask if you are very close to your cousin?"
When she answered, Lyana hesitated a little. "Oh well. We are. We grew up together and are also ...
promised to each other."
"You are engaged?", Baridi exclaimed in surprise. He quickly apologized for his misstep. "Forgive
me, only I didn't expect that you had already been promised."
It wasn't that strange to herself, but since she hadn't mentioned Afram, she wasn't surprised by his
confusion. "My father only had one daughter, so he did what he had to do so I could take the throne
one day. My cousin Afram is my maternal aunt's son and next in line to the throne. We have always
got on well and Afram is a good man. My father saw the opportunity and initiated our engagement."
Baridi was silent for a moment. "Then you had no choice and it is not a love marriage either?"
"I love him. Like a brother," she admitted. She had never spoken about it so openly with anyone
other than Hadia. Her father never doubted that Lyana would love him and he saw in him a man
who would take good care of his daughter. She had kept telling herself that feelings could still arise
later and that it would be a good marriage. But now she wondered if that was really the case and if
she even wanted to marry Afram.
Fortunately, they were back at her room and she didn't have to deal with this topic any further.
"Please don't forget your promise. As soon as the wolf is better, I want to see him."
Baridi nodded. "I'll take you to Alesh as soon as he's okay."
Startled, the princess put a hand over her mouth. "How do you know ..."
"I heard you when you were in the sled and woke him up. You called him Alesh, right?"
Lyana nodded cautiously. The valet patted her hand reassuringly. "Do not worry. The king won't hear about it from me."
"Thank you, Baridi." She said goodbye and then went to her room. Sighing, she leaned against the door and stared at the floor. From outside she could hear Baridis footsteps fading away. At that moment she made up her mind. She would go to the garden again. Tonight! She just had to take that risk. She couldn't get that dream from last night out of her head. At the same time, she just wanted to see him. What was currently only of secondary importance, she told herself.
There was a knock on the door. She quickly opened it and found Alisen in front of it. "Alisen! I'm sorry, but I have a few things to think about. Make the new plan for the servants and study the budget. It will take quite a while."
"Should I come again later?", She asked kindly, but Lyana said no. "It's okay. It could be very late,
I'll change my clothes on my own then."
Since her maid had just been separated from her for a few days, she didn't seem to like it at all. But
something about Lyanas expression told her that the princess wouldn't let herself be talked to here.
So she curtsied and left. Lyana slowly closed the door and sat down at the secretary. She was about
to untie the ribbons from her hair when she paused and looked in the mirror. It was a shame to take
them out. After all, she was currently feeling more comfortable with her appearance and she didn't
have the heart to give that up.
So she initially decided not to change anything. She could still change after she was in the garden.
But until then she had to keep herself busy somehow. She should have at least asked Baridi or Alisen for another book. Now nobody would come and going out alone was not possible as long as there were servants in the corridors. So she decided to just live up to her lie and work on her notes on the servants about. She had paid attention when Nara was leading her through the castle. Since she didn't have much experience with these things, however, she could only try to follow what she knew from home. Baridi still hadn't given her a plan about the finances, but she could at least think about where more funds were needed.
It reassured her to have something to do. In addition, the time passed so much faster. It was almost
midnight by the time she finished. She looked at her documents with satisfaction and sorted them
quickly. She was looking forward to handing everything over to Baridi. But now something else
was more important.