By the time Oriana returned to the Crown Prince's bedchamber, Arlan was getting ready for the ninth day of the summit conference. Everything seemed normal, as if nothing had happened.
Oriana arranged his accessories without a word. When she caught him staring at her, he averted his gaze from her. A normal reaction. She didn't feel anything different about him.
Up until Arlan left for the conference proper, Oriana was observing him. Was she relieved to see him normal? Oddly, the fact that Arlan never mentioned anything about the incident, and he was acting as if he had no memory of it, only deepened her worries.
Her mind wandered to the thought she had before falling asleep. Here, she thought her priority was telling him about her gender. It appeared that the more important matter was for Arlan to never discover she was a Black Witch.
'I don't want him to hate me.'
