Seeing Hamon's expression of loneliness, Ara sensed that it was not yet time to dig into the secrets about him. There was no rush; she would take her time to uncover his mysteries later.
"I don't care what you are, even if you're a monster... I am still willing to marry you," she stated softly.
"Why? Are you that desperate to become queen?" he asked with an expressionless face.
"Yes. If you become king, I can do even more than a queen can do, and I will possess all the power I've ever wanted."
Hamon's facial expression changed subtly, as if her answer was unexpected. He leaned back against the rock and asked, "For example?"
"If you think that I don't deserv—"
"I don't think so," he cut her off.
"What?" she asked, surprised.
"Don't forget this... It was you who came to me first. You can't regret this later on."
"I...!"
Ara felt strange when she heard Hamon's response. He was looking at her as if she were prey, as if the chance of escaping had already disappeared. Silence hung in the air as they faced each other.
Hamon moved closer to her again. He raised his hand, wanting to remove the strands of hair sticking to her face. Suddenly, they heard the sound of horses' hooves gradually getting closer. Someone was coming. Ara quickly pushed herself up from the ground, preparing her sword to face the soldiers who may have followed them.
"Your Highness! Your Highness!"
"Where are you?"
Ara looked toward the direction of the searching voices. She could see a flag flying in the distance, a splendid black flag with a silver star at its center. It was the symbol of the Crown Prince's guards.
Hamon frowned in disapproval at his men's voices, irritated that they had disturbed his time with his future wife.
"Your Highness, what if the enemy is around here somewhere?" she stated warily.
"It doesn't matter now... My men are here."
"But wh—"
"Because of our first meeting, you now think I'm some kind of weakling," he accused, frowning.
Ara winced at his accusation. He was right—she couldn't just let anything happen to him now that he had agreed to marry her. He was her only hope to save her family. But she hadn't thought of him as a weakling; she had witnessed how he fought off the enemies despite being injured.
The Prince casually picked up Ara's helmet. Despite his injuries, he stood up on his feet and said, "The man you chose to be your husband is not a weakling. Don't worry about anything and go back home... If you don't go now, your little secret will be revealed."
"Your Highness, I ca—"
"Just go. I'll be fine. And try to hide your sword-fighting skills for now; it would be better for your own good."
"Okay, I understand."
Ara agreed with his words. She could be in trouble if anyone knew about her fighting skills; it was better to keep it a secret for now. Before Ara mounted her horse, she turned and said, "Your Highness, promise me you won't leave."
Hamon looked at her, confused by what she meant, but he still nodded at her. "I promise. Now go... I'll visit you in fifteen days."
Even though he promised, she still felt uneasy about leaving him. Hamon saw that she was hesitating to leave, so he walked over to her. With ease, he lifted her up and placed her on the horse's back, then took hold of the reins and pressed them into her hands, saying hurriedly, "I'll see you in fifteen days. Go!"
She sat on the horse, frozen for a second. She hadn't expected him to lift her up like that without warning, especially considering his injuries. She quickly came back to her senses when she heard the urgency in his voice. Ara looked at him one last time. He stood completely still, his red eyes gazing at her. Finally, she tugged the reins of her horse and galloped away, leaving him with a warning.
"Beware of Lord Cornell."
Cornell was a treacherous king who conquered the kingdom in the future, but for now, he was a great and caring uncle and brother to the king and his children.
Hamon watched Ara's retreating figure on her horse, then mumbled in a questioning voice, "Beware of my uncle? What matters to me now isn't my uncle." However, the person who could answer the question had already left. Hamon stood motionless until she was completely out of sight.
---
Inside the majestic castle of Findara, a maid walked down a long corridor, carrying a folded letter in her hand. She carefully looked behind her, walking quickly until she reached a beautiful double door. She raised her hand and knocked softly. A voice from inside responded, "Come in." The maid opened the door and walked in.
Inside, a middle-aged woman sat gracefully on a luxuriously decorated sofa, dressed in beautiful clothing. She looked up at the maid and took the letter wordlessly. Slowly, she unfolded it and read the short message. Suddenly, she crumpled the paper in her fist.
"Such losers!" Her displeased voice caused the maid to look up suddenly.
"Is there something wrong, Your Royal Majesty?" the maid asked, concerned.
"Did anyone see you receiving the letter?"
"Nobody saw me, Your Majesty."
"You may leave... and remember, no one should hear of this," the woman warned.
"Yes, Your Royal Majesty." The maid bowed and left the chamber.
The woman was Merona, the wife of the current King Frederick, and Hamon's stepmother.
Merona watched the maid disappear, then placed the edge of the letter into the flame of a nearby candle. The words on the letter gradually darkened and burned.
"You will regret coming back to the kingdom. You will never be king," she mumbled under her breath, an evil smile playing on her lips.
**KNOCK KNOCK**
A soft knock on the door interrupted the queen's malicious thoughts. "Come in," she said. The door opened with a slight noise.
A young lady walked in, a beautiful smile on her lips. The lady wore a gorgeous pink, flowery dress. A portion of her black hair was tied into a bun, while the other half cascaded down her shoulders in slight curls. Her brown eyes looked innocent and cute as she smiled at the queen and hurried over, speaking excitedly.
"Mother, have you heard that Brother Hamon is on his way back?"
The young lady was Hamon's stepsister, Merona's daughter, Princess Eadlin.
Eadlin was only eighteen. She resembled the queen greatly, but the difference was that Eadlin was kind and nice to her stepbrother, while the queen was nothing but evil.
"Oh, is that what has you this happy?" asked the queen, with a displeased look on her face.
The princess's smile quickly faded when she saw her mother's displeased expression. How could she have forgotten that her mother never really liked her brother? Out of excitement, she had run here to tell her. She looked up at her displeased mother and said softly, "Yes, Mother. It has been so long since I last saw him, and he's finally coming ba—"
"Eadlin! Have you forgotten my warnings to you?" the queen asked irritably.
Of course, she still remembered the warnings. "Stay away from that monster." How could she stay away from the only person who understood her? Besides, he had never hurt her before, so she couldn't see the reason to fear him. But her overly paranoid mother didn't know that and only kept nagging her on the same old topic.
"But Mother, he h—"
"Eadlin!" Merona raised her voice.
Eadlin just stood there with teary eyes, not saying anything more. She knew better than to talk back to the queen. Folding her hands in front of her, she said softly, "I want to take a nap... I'll be in my chamber." She turned and left without waiting for the queen's reply. Yes, it was rude, but she didn't care. Right now, she needed to be alone.
Merona opened and closed her mouth like a fish out of water. She couldn't believe her daughter had just walked away without her permission. It was all because of that useless Crown Prince, and she would see to it that he regretted coming back to Findara.
"I will make sure he dies a miserable death, just like his useless mother!"