Prince Noah and David were dumbfounded in disbelief. Their jaws dropped as well as their eyes popped out.
"You … are … Lady Clara?" David asked, stuttered. "Are you kidding?"
The low-rank knight—now known as a knightess chuckled a little and said, "No, I am not. Why should I do that to you? And to Your Highness Prince Noah?"
The men tried to embrace themselves and then managed to put their graceful masks on their faces again. After controlling the situation, Prince Noah said, "I am very sorry for the short notice. But I hope you would like to spend your time on me, Lady Clara."
With a knowing look, Lady Clara then invited her high-born visitor and his knight inside the mansion. She also asked the maids to serve the guests the best snacks and tea.
After giving them some time to enjoy the refreshments, Lady Clara then asked what they wanted from her.
"I don't want to beat around the bush, I come here to inform you that you will officially become my wife within a couple of weeks." Prince Noah was known as a person who always talked less. That's why he didn't want to prolong this awkward situation.
"Wait! Did I hear you wrong?" Lady Clara was frowning. She did have a hunch that was the prince's intention, yet she was still shocked.
Prince Noah threw her a stern look. It meant that what he just said was true and clear.
"Impossible! I have been known as your brother's fiancee forever. How could everything change so suddenly like this? Is this a joke?" Lady Clara was still in denial. She didn't want to believe the situation.
"I understand that you will get shocked by the news, but it is already official. His Majesty is now in the meeting with His Grace, informing him about the groom swap. I will be your husband instead of my brother." Again, Prince Noah explained in a bland voice, as if this was never a big deal—of course, he was a good actor. A royal family member was taught to always put on a poker face whenever and wherever they were. That was a must-have skill that every member should have mastered well.
"Ridiculous. I never accept that," Lady Clara murmured. "It was His Majesty himself who betrothed me to the second prince, Prince Nicolas. How could he change his mind so easily?"
"Lady Clara! It was rude to talk like that about His Majesty King Ethan! It could be considered treason," David snapped. He could speak as high as Lady Clara since David was not merely a knight. He was the son of Duke Watson. Although the wealth of the Watson family and Brentwood family weren't comparable, still the two families stood as high and proud. Even David still looked down on Lady Clara since she was only an adopted daughter. Let alone the rumor saying that she was a bastard. That's why David never felt sorry for raising his voice against Lady Clara.
"But, what is this? Why do I have to change my fiance suddenly? You owe me a good explanation, don't you?" Lady Clara didn't care about the threat that David told her. She dared to throw a similar stern look at the prince and his knight.
David stood on behalf of the royal family he served. He almost drew his sword, but Prince Noah quickly reached his knight's hand. "Don't do that. She is my fiancee now. Give her the same respect as you give to me."
David said some apologetic excuses and bowed down in deep respect. Lucky him, Prince Noah forgave him with no conditions.
The prince now stared back at Lady Clara and said, "My Lady, maybe you misheard my words. I didn't come here to ask for your opinion. I told you that you are soon to be my wife. This is an order from His Majesty. You will be my bride no matter what. Like it or not, this is the current situation."
Lady Clara didn't say a word to oppose the order. She knew that fate had changed. The ship went in the other direction.
"How about Prince Nicolas? And … how about Lady … Uhm, I don't know the name, but you do have a fiancee, don't you?"
"Lady Violett, the daughter of Duke Griffin. She is no longer my fiancee. You also don't have to worry about Prince Nicolas. A messenger already sent to inform him about the groom swap." Prince Noah said in a stern voice. He stared at Lady Clara without even blinking an eye to making the situation under control.
Lady Clara inhaled deeply. She didn't like the current situation. In the past, she agreed to marry Prince Nicolas because the second prince offered something important to her. But now, when she betrothed to the first prince, the one who likely would be the crown prince of the Barsalon Kingdom, would he give her what she wanted?
Lady Clara eyed the prince, wondering if it was safe or not to ask something so confidential. That blonde-haired lady then asked, "Could you please wait outside, Sir Watson?"
David stared blankly at the lady. "I am afraid I can't, my lady! I need to keep the prince—"
"David, it's okay! You can leave."
"But she has her sword. It seems like she knows how to play with that dangerous toy," David whispered to the prince's ear. The corner of his eyes studied Lady Clara's expression, wondering that an evil plan existed in her little blonde head.
"What do you take me for? A loser? Do you think that I can't handle a little rabbit like her?" Prince Noah replied in a low voice. He didn't expect that his voice could reach Lady Clara's ears. Anyway, her hearing was quite sharp; she was said to have dog-like ears.
Before long, David left the room and stole a glance at Lady Clara. Luckily, he didn't find any suspicious look crossing her beautiful face. He could rest assured, that the prince's safety wasn't at high stake.
"Okay, I think, I can voice my mind since there are only the two of us," Lady Clara said sternly as if it was a business meeting.
"Mention it," Prince Noah was wondering what was it that existed in her cunning brain. "What do you want? I have a hunch that you have conditions."
Lady Clara smirked. "Wow, you are indeed the prince everybody talks about."
The tension inside the room escalated from zero to hundreds. They both were staring in silence, keeping their mouths shut, preventing even a word escape from their pretty pink lips.
"I will agree to marry you if you give me the thing that Prince Nicolas had promised me," Lady Clara said blatantly.
"What is it?" The Prince wondered. In his head, he guessed that the lady wanted a large sum of wealth.
"A freedom."
"What? What freedom?"
"A divorce."