"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Nothing."
"Tell me. Did he do anything?" His voice was fierce as he observed her expression.
Lyra quickly averted her gaze, chuckling, "No, he didn't do anything. I just don't like him."
A tense silence followed. Dylan gritted his teeth, sensing there was more to the story, but didn't press her. He found himself puzzled by his fear of pushing her too hard. He had always believed he could handle anything, yet when it came to her, he felt afraid. When she stopped sending him letters, his fear was that she might loathe him. Now, he feared she might push him away.
Breaking the silence, Lyra added, "By the way, what do you want to eat? You barely touched your food earlier. You must be starving."
Dylan smirked slyly, "Were you watching me?"
"No," she replied, distractedly preparing utensils. "I saw your plate—it was untouched. Maybe you're not hungry."
Dylan's heart warmed, realizing she had noticed him, something he hadn't expected. "No, I'm starving."
"I thought so," Lyra continued, "My sister bakes. She made pastries this morning. Would you like some, or maybe biscuits? There's more..."
As she spoke, half to him and half to herself, Dylan smiled fondly. He realized how his feelings for her had changed. When they were children, she had been a dear friend, a trusted pen pal. But now, he wanted more—he wanted to be the only one special to her, though he couldn't yet define these feelings. He feared admitting them, afraid she might leave again.
"Are you listening?" Lyra's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "Hello? Earth to Dylan."
Dylan blinked, then spoke firmly, confusing her, "You always call me 'you.' Why don't you call me by my name?"
She hummed, "I do, don't I?"
"No, you don't. Never."
Lyra shrugged, "Well, you never call me by my name either."
"What?" Dylan said, taken aback.
"Nothing," she muttered. "I was just pointing out that you haven't done much to help. You've only rolled up your sleeves. Who said you were great in the kitchen?"
"I never claimed to be," Dylan shrugged, causing Lyra to laugh.
"Well, I still need your help, competent or not."
"I'm at your service," he replied dramatically, bowing, which made Lyra giggle and point to the cabinet.
"Get me that blue box."
Dylan frowned, grumbling, "Why are these cabinets so high if you can barely reach them?"
Lyra chuckled as she followed him. "We have a stool, but it's somewhere else. And I'm too lazy to go look for it. What good are you for?"
Dylan, focusing on the task, retrieved the blue box, but as he pulled it, he knocked over the flour bag. It tumbled, and he quickly caught it mid-air, but the flour spilled all over Lyra.
Lyra stood frozen, her hair and clothes covered in flour, her face blank.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Dylan said, hurriedly brushing flour off her face and hair. But as his fingers brushed her skin, he felt his heart race, suddenly aware of how close he was.
Lyra, shaking her head, started throwing flour back at him. "You're ruining my hair."
Dylan grumbled, "Who puts a box in such a hidden place?"
"I can't help it. This box holds my favorite chamomile tea. I have to hide it from my sister or she'll drink it all."
"Then why are you taking it out now?" Dylan asked.
Lyra paused, avoiding his gaze. "I make it for special guests."
Dylan smirked. "Does that mean I'm a special guest?"
Lyra glanced at the mess and replied, "Not anymore. What kind of special guest makes such a mess?"
"I'll clean it up," Dylan promised.
"Just hand me the brush," Lyra replied, and they began cleaning.
As they worked in silence, Dylan kept stealing glances at her, feeling guilty. Finally, he asked cautiously, "Are you mad?"
Lyra placed her hand on her mouth, trying to suppress her laughter, then burst out, "I'm just ashamed—I can't stop laughing. It was like snowing flour."
"Snowing flour?" Dylan laughed, confused.
She nodded, giggling. "What's worse was the look on your face. You were so concerned, but even after seeing the flour fall on me, you didn't pull your hand away."
"It wasn't intentional," Dylan explained, and they both laughed, the tension fading.
After tidying up, they move to one of the seating areas to enjoy tea and delicious snacks.
"Are you sure you don't want to shower and change before eating? I apologize, but we don't have any male clothing here…"
"It's fine. I'll do that later. Most of the flour's been dusted off. You should change, though. I'll wait for you."
Dylan modestly replied, reluctant to leave as he was enjoying the moment with Lyra.
"Then I'll stay in my current state to support you. I'll change after we eat. Here, Astrid made these biscuits last night."
As they ate contentedly, Dylan respectfully asked,
"Why don't you have more maids?"
"They can't be trusted."
She replied promptly, taking a sip of fragrant tea. Dylan was about to ask more, but Lyra explained before he could.
"I had more before, but they turned out to be spies sent by Hubris. Now, I only have Delilah and Mary, both daughters of the nanny we had when we were younger."
"Are you talking about Nanny Hannah? I remember her."
"Yes!"
"Where is she now?"
"Aunt Medea dismissed her when she came. She's been living in her hometown since."
"Dismissed?"
"She had a fierce argument with Aunt Medea. Fortunately, Aunt Medea doesn't recognize Delilah and Mary as her daughters, or they would have been dismissed too."
"...."
Noticing Dylan's silence, she asked politely,
"What's wrong?"
"Forgive me if I'm out of line, but I'm amazed you're telling me all this in such detail. I thought you'd keep things from me."
Shrugging, Lyra replied,
"I have nothing to hide. It's no harm to tell the truth. Besides, it's just you. Even if you were planning to betray me, I doubt the things I'm telling you would make a difference."
"No. I will never betray you. I can't. I won't. I promise."
Dylan said firmly, trying to assure her. Lyra smiled gently, as if expecting this response.
"Of course, I know that."
"About Hubris…" Dylan hesitated, unsure whether to ask.
"Go ahead. I know you have a lot of questions. I also know you did a background check on everyone before coming."
"How do you know that?"
"I'd do the same."
"What's the deal with him? There were no official records of him in the royal family, not even in the archive that deals with extended family."
"That's probably because he's not actually our blood relative."
"What?"
Dylan's eyes widened. He waited for Lyra to continue.
"It's somewhat of an open secret. After Medea's younger sister and her husband were jailed for fraud and embezzlement, Medea took him in as a child when he was only two months old."
"So, he's not your cousin?"
"No. What's even sadder is that his mother refused to take him back when she got out of jail."
"I have another question."
"Yes?"
"How come they're allowed to violate royal codes, like calling without using a title?"
"I tried to stop them, but they did it every time. It got exhausting correcting them all the time, so I gave up."
"That's unacceptable. They should respect you."
"It's their choice. Anyway, enough about them. How's your family?"
"They're doing well. They even sent presents for you two. I'll give them to you soon. They miss you both and think about you often."
"I miss them too and am grateful for their kindness. The last time I saw King Aaron was a few years ago when he visited Anemoi. It was then I learned you even went to war."
"War would be an exaggeration. The Kingdom of Fovea was causing trouble at the border. We had no choice but to fight back."
"It must have been tough."
"Rather than saying it was tough, war is just... gruesome. I don't know how else to explain it."
"Well, I'm glad you came back safely."
Lyra smiled warmly, making Dylan smile in return, though a thought crossed his mind.
"Were you informed about something before I came here?"
Dylan asked cautiously.
"Something? Like what?"
"A proposal."
"Oh."
Her brief response made him realize she knew exactly what he was talking about.
Before it was decided that he would visit Anemoi, tensions between Anemoi and Helios had been rising, mainly because King Aaron didn't get along with Duke Nabal. The conflict had escalated to the point where war was considered. However, both nations wanted peace, so a marriage proposal was suggested as a peace treaty. Since his older brother, Alexander, refused such a union, it fell to him. He chose Lyra, not because he was eager to marry, but because of his curiosity about her. There was another aspect to the peace treaty, but he wouldn't have agreed to it if not for her. His father decided that if Lyra accepted and became queen, he would live at Anemoi. If she refused, she would live in Helios, which would always be her home.
However, the proposal barely lasted a day. Anemoi rejected it, and they settled on a written peace treaty through trade. This joint trade project is the first after the treaty.
"So you knew..."
Although Dylan wasn't particularly eager to marry, he had been slightly looking forward to meeting her, so her outright rejection had left him feeling a bit dejected.
"I…"
He tried to find the right words.
"I didn't mean any harm. It's not that I disliked it. They told me about the proposal, but I wasn't ready for marriage. Also... I don't mean to hurt your brother... I just don't see him that way."
Dylan, who had been clenching his fist, was stunned when she mentioned his brother.
"My brother?"
"My brother?"
Dylan asked, still surprised, as Lyra continued.
"Yes. I mean, even back then, we never really interacted much, so the thought of being married to him felt extremely weird. I sincerely hope you don't mind."
"Married to him?"
Dylan's scowl deepened, still puzzled.
"Yes..."
As Lyra observed his expression, she realized she had misunderstood something.
"You were referring to the marriage proposal from your brother, right? A few months ago, the proposal came from the Kingdom of Helios, which was from your brother."
To ensure they were on the same page, she repeated the same thing twice.
Dylan quickly blurted out,
"The proposal was from me, though..."
"What... why..."
Lyra's eyes widened in shock, her mouth slightly ajar. Her hands froze mid-air in the same gestures she had while talking.
"I was the one who sent the proposal," Dylan clarified.
"Oh..."
Silence fell between them as they both stared at each other, unable to comprehend what to say.
"Oh my god!"
Lyra's face flushed red as she recalled a fleeting thought she had when she first heard about the proposal. She had wondered how nice it would have been if the proposal had come from Dylan. She had assumed it was from Crown Prince Alexander since, traditionally, the oldest royal gets married first. To think it was actually from Dylan left her feeling foolish.
"They told me a proposal came from the Kingdom of Helios, and I just assumed it was from your brother. How rude of me! I apologize."
Dylan bit his lip, feeling a pang in his chest.
So she didn't even consider that it might be from me? He never crossed her mind?
For some reason, he couldn't shake the overwhelming sense of jealousy toward his brother, coupled with a deep, painful feeling.
"Ah, about the meeting we have tomorrow regarding the trade. I was thinking that if we get permission from the Kingdom of Gaia, we could construct a bridge connecting our two Kingdoms from that side. It would be safer than going through the tough mountains."
Despite his disheartened feelings, Dylan was astonished that she had come to the same conclusion.
"I was thinking the same thing. I even mentioned it to King Derek earlier."
"Oh wow, thank goodness we agree on this. Let's discuss the details tomorrow. This bridge will connect the two mining areas."
"Right. I'm looking forward to it."
The awkwardness from earlier still lingered, as both Lyra and Dylan felt shy for reasons they couldn't fully understand. Was it the seven years apart? Or was there something more?
Their silence was interrupted by Astrid's return from her walk.
"Oh my! You guys are having tea without me?"
She sat down, noticing everything on the table.
"Oh! What's this? You finally used the chamomile tea, Lyra."
Lyra averted her gaze, her cheeks reddening at Astrid's remark. Astrid continued to explain to Dylan,
"She got this special tea as a gift from the Kingdom of Gaia and has been keeping it hidden for when a guest visits. But since no one ever comes, I've been requesting her to use it. She wouldn't allow me. Bless you, Dylan, for coming. Now I can finally enjoy it. Where's my tea cup?"
"I'll get you one."
Lyra abruptly stood up, not wanting to sit through any more of Astrid's teasing.
Giggling, Astrid inquired,
"What's with all the flour?"
"We had a little accident."
"You two never change. Still the same."
She chuckled as she reminisced about the past. After a smile faded, she softly added,
"I'm really glad you're here. It's been lonely. Since Aunt Medea ordered the royal mailman to burn our letters, Lyra and I haven't been able to communicate with anyone."
"She ordered the letters to be burnt?"
"Yes, that's what we discovered during the investigation yesterday."
"Um, I may be overstepping my boundaries, but why don't you both fight for your rights?"
"I don't know about Lyra's reasons, but for me, I'm done. I'm done with royalty. The useless title of being a princess, the politics, and the drama. I don't want anything to do with it. I'd rather live like Aunt Katherine."
"....Lyra mentioned something similar."
"That's surprising."
"How so?"
"I thought she really wanted to be Queen, but it seems I misjudged."
"I thought so too."
"Her actions seem to..."
Before Astrid could continue, Lyra entered,
"Here you go. Also, Xavier is outside. He's calling you."
Her last sentence was directed at Dylan, who thanked them for the lovely time and left.
Outside, Xavier notified him about the scholars wanting to meet.
After a meeting with the scholars, Dylan was in his room when Wily came and politely invited him for dinner.
"Father is waiting for you at dinner."
"Alright, I'll be there."
Wily gave a courteous smile and a slight bow before leaving. Dylan watched him, his mind racing.
He seems like the most sensible and calm one out of them all, aside from Duke Nabal. But Lyra said he's the worst. What happened between them?