Charlotte entered her bedroom and found Édouard staring at her marriage portrait. She cleared her throat, and Édouard looked in her direction.
"Prince Édouard shall leave my bedroom. It is inappropriate for him to stay here," Charlotte said.
However, Édouard was lost in her beauty. She had worn a simple white gown with a high neck and full sleeves, yet she looked pretty. The golden work could be seen on its borders, especially the sleeve ends, neck ends, and at the waist. Her hair hung loose while a few curls covered the right portion of her forehead.
He was 17 when he first saw her in the Royal Escana Palace, and the moment she looked at him, he knew that it was her whom he would marry one day. However, because of some unfavorable circumstances, he could never tell her how much he loved her.
Charlotte felt insecure under his gaze and wondered if she should have worn a veiled hat too. She was lost in her thoughts so that she didn't realize he had approached her.
Shocked, she took a step back when Édouard pulled her up by wrapping his left arm around her slender waist.
"We will marry the day after tomorrow," Édouard whispered against her lips. Her hand rested on his forearm as she glared into his eyes.
"I have not yet decided," She said before averting her gaze from him.
"Then, decide now." She heard him say. "I believe you have no option left, Charlotte. It is not difficult to say 'yes,'" he stated.
Charlotte shot a glare at him again. "Unlike Prince Édouard, I have someone whom I love. It is easy for everyone to tell me to marry you. However, only I know how difficult it is!" She stated.
"Everyone wants your good. You are not supposed to live alone and look at Mathieu every time. Have you ever taken a look at yourself after Mathieu's demise? The face has become dull and so have these eyes. Where did the cheerful, joyous Charlotte get lost? I am unable to understand the love you carry for Mathieu. It has only weakened you and snatched your happiness away."
Édouard's words were absolutely right. But how could he be so accurate about her?
"Your life doesn't end here, Charlotte. If you had died today, people who always cared for you, loved you, would have died too," he softly said. When he saw her pulse stop, it felt to him that his soul would also leave his body soon. How should he make her understand that her life was very precious to him.
"Fine. I will marry Prince Édouard," Charlotte agreed to him. "If my second marriage can give happiness to my father and my family, then I will do it. However, I want one thing from Prince Édouard in return," she stated.
Édouard was extremely delighted to hear her decision. However, he was dubious about the condition that she would soon put forward.
"If you want me to stay away from you after marriage, then it is not possible," Édouard already clarified to her.
"Why?" Charlotte was startled to hear him. What she wanted the most from him, he refused to give her.
"You are not allowed to put forward any conditions, especially the condition of staying away from each other in the bedroom and acting like a loving couple in front of the people," Édouard stated.
Charlotte glanced at her wedding portrait. She curled her fingers and returned her gaze at Édouard.
"You said that you want the territory of Beromont. Now, you want me to be your wife in the bedroom too. Prince Édouard is confusing me," she remarked. "I don't have any choice, so I will surely marry Prince Édouard." She yanked his hand off her waist and stood straight.
She went towards the table and looked for the note that she had left, but it wasn't there. "Did Prince Édouard pick up the note that I've kept here!?" Charlotte asked as she tilted her head slightly.
"I had to throw it away before anyone could read it," Édouard said, and turned to her again. They both heard a knock on the bedroom door. Charlotte found the chief server at the door.
"Your Royal Highness, this is the royal chief server in the palace. The breakfast for you both is ready. Shall I serve breakfast here or in the outside room?" He humbly asked.
"Outside," Charlotte answered and stepped up. "Also, show Prince Édouard another room," she stated. "Did you see Miss Batley? She hasn't come to see me until now. Is she good?"
Before the chief server could answer that he had no knowledge about it, Édouard spoke, "I have removed most of the servants. I don't allow slackers to work around me," Édouard stated and shifted his focus to the chief server, "set the breakfast table."
The chief server bowed and gradually moved back onto his feet while keeping his head low.
Charlotte glared in his direction. Before she could question him, she heard him say, "It's the cost they must pay not to look after you." He didn't look at her and walked out of the bedroom.
As they silently sat around the breakfast table, Édouard asked Charlotte to start. She was surprised to find the dishes in the morning meals, which were her favorite. She had been hungry since yesterday.
She picked up the first loaf of bread and took a small bite of it. Édouard was happy that she finally ate. She looked at the fresh milk in the glass and picked it up. Taking a sip, she put it down and continued to eat the white bread.
Édouard had also begun to eat. He reminded himself to be gentle on Charlotte. While eating, he kept stealing glances at her to make sure that she would eat properly.
The entire breakfast ended in silence. Charlotte found out that Édouard would not leave her alone, not even for a second. It was infuriating for her, but she had no strength left to argue with him.
She remained seated around the round table when Édouard placed a glass of water before her and forwarded his palm. "Take this pill," Édouard told her.
"What's this?" she asked.
"Medicine," Édouard said.
Charlotte took it with the water and asked him to leave her sight.
"I cannot," Édouard stated.
"Does the Prince have no work? He is busy all the time. I never saw him ditch his work," Charlotte confusedly said.
"It is also a part of work. Many unprofessional things came to my notice," Édouard affirmed and put his hands behind his back.
"Again, Prince Édouard is trying to say that my husband never worked. He always humiliates him." She didn't like the way Édouard fired the servants and took authority over everything.
"Truth is always bitter. If Mathieu had worked, Beromont would have been a better place. I didn't have to take a headache to bring it to a good position," Édouard didn't hesitate to blame Mathieu again. "Let's not bring the dead into our conversation," he said, and walked out of the room.