Graciela did not have time to answer Dexter's question because a scream interrupted her. It was Cyril who looked angry when he saw a man lying on the ground. His mind was even more confused when he found out that Graciela had been with the mysterious man for some time.
"W-who is he?!" Cyril asked while pointing at Brice, who slowly opened his eyes at the noise.
There were two strangers in this prison now. Brice did not know about the man who was pointing at him with a look full of anger. This was the first day they met, and he was sure they had never been in trouble before.
Then why did the man stare at him as if his stare could kill someone?
When Brice rolled his eyes in another direction, he met a man with long blue hair. The man fixed the position of his glasses using his middle finger, making Brice feel like he was being scolded.
"Who are these people?" Brice asked as he moved to touch the hem of Graciela's dress.
However, Dexter instead grabbed Brice's hand with a gloomy face. "Where are your manners? You have no right to touch a crown princess."
At that moment, Graciela wanted to hit Dexter in the head for revealing her true identity to Brice. She was sure that Brice would be shocked to death after knowing this fact.
"I didn't mean to lie to you," Graciela clarified as Brice looked at her with various expressions. She let out a rough breath and spoke again. "I'm just afraid you'll stay away from me if you know my identity."
Graciela's confirmation left Brice's mind blank. He never imagined if the girl was a crown princess. The fact that the crown princess helped him was unbelievable. It provoked a feeling of discomfort and anxiety in his mind.
Brice brought his memories back to some time ago when he and Graciela had a lot of conversation to pass the time. His face turned pale when he discovered that he had been rude to the princess.
At that time, sleepiness attacked Brice and forced him to go to sleep quickly. He could not reject his sleepiness so he left Graciela who still talking. His attitude was completely unforgivable. Even if Graciela was not a crown princess, he should not be behaving like that.
"P-please forgive me, Your Highness!" Brice cried out with his head hung low. "I have been rude to you. Please forgive me for being ignorant."
Now Cyril understood why Brice was sleeping soundly when Graciela was beside him. It turned out that Brice did not know about Graciela's identity.
In this case, Cyril would forgive Brice's rudeness. He would usually torture anyone who looked down on Graciela. His brutal attitude made other nobles unable to insult the crown princess openly.
They did not want to get into trouble with Cyril, the Grand Duke, and Dexter Petandra. It was an open secret that the two people were the major contributors to Graciela's succession. People could not do anything if Cyril and Dexter were still alive.
"I'll forgive you if you write a hundred apologies," Cyril said with a haughty expression.
Graciela, who was messing around with the current situation, did not have the energy to scold Cyril. The most important thing now was not taking care of the Grand Duke, but clearing up the misunderstanding in Brice's mind.
"You didn't do anything wrong because I lied first. Besides, I'm not offended by your attitude. If I was offended, then I would be angry with you from the start," Graciela explained in a soft voice.
Unfortunately, Brice could not accept those words, as he still kept his head down. He was afraid to look at Graciela now. The girl was not the same as the kind-hearted girl who helped him a while ago.
Their statuses were as different as heaven and earth. A slave like Brice had no right to interact with the nobility, especially a crown princess. He felt that her existence could interfere with Graciela's majestic status.
"I can understand your kindness. But I sincerely apologize for not being able to receive such kindness. Please punish me, Your Highness!"
Cyril growled in annoyance at those words. Then he crouched down so he could pat Brice's shoulder. "Didn't I give you a punishment earlier? How dare you ignore a Grand Duke in this kingdom!"
"G-Grand Duke?" Brice's voice trembled as he spoke. "A-are you really a grand duke?" he asked, still in shock.
"Yes, I am. For your information, I'm the youngest grand duke in the history of the Canarium Kingdom. So you must respect me! Do you understand now?"
"I-I understand."
Brice's frightened expression managed to create pleasure for Cyril. He smiled with satisfaction and patted Brice's head. "Good boy! You should address me as Your Highness. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Your Highness!" Brice answered while closing his eyes for fear of seeing Cyril.
Graciela attended to the interaction between Cyril and Brice with a frown. Then she glanced at Dexter, who was looking at her. There was an interesting plot about Dexter Petandra in the novel. Initially, the mage fell in love with a crown princess in his kingdom.
However, those feelings were never confessed because Dexter had great respect for Graciela. He thought he did not deserve to be together with someone who would lead the Canarium Kingdom in the future.
Dexter was the strongest supporter besides Cyril in the novel. That was what made Ashton approach the mage. He had planned the coup because he thought Graciela had no qualifications as a queen. His struggle to get close to Dexter was very difficult.
As people gossiped, Dexter was indeed someone with an indifferent attitude. However, Ashton succeeded in manipulating him after struggling for so long. He spread lies about Graciela's attitude. He even went so far as to hire people to support his lies.
Over time, Dexter was eaten up by the lie. He was increasingly convinced because Graciela often showed a poor attitude in public. Even though he loved the girl, he would not let the Canarium Kingdom be destroyed by an evil queen.
In the end, Dexter teamed up with Ashton and defected from the crown princess. They started to develop special feelings after spending months together. Dexter gave his love to Ashton as his feelings for Graciela faded away.
That was the background of Dexter Petandra in the novel 'His Majesty's Secret Relationship'. The story started with Dexter, who fell in love and betrayed the girl he loved. The plot of the novel made Graciela smile bitterly. If she rejected Dexter's love, then Ashton would move closer to the mage.
Either way, Graciela must finish off all main plot routes and separate Dexter from Ashton.