Next day, the royal palace,
Mike smiled at Lia, beaming that the maid did not disturb him further when he paid her a lot of gold.
He had realized that she was a greedy woman and he was relieved. As long as he would offer her money, she would keep her distance. It was better until he found a permanent solution for her.
And, he had not received any letter after that. Except for someone claiming that they knew he had spent a night with the maid, the blackmailer did not say anything.
Looks like even the blackmailer was afraid of confronting him. Now, he would use this chance of honeymoon to convince Lia that someone was framing him.
As long as he would convince Lia first, the blackmailer did not stand a chance.
With all his thoughts sorted out, he felt better and gripped Lia's hands tightly. His face is full of love. His eyes beaming with joy and his grin so wide that all his pearly teeth were peeking out of his thin pale lips.
They were walking to the halls of the royal palace. He was here to ask for a five-day leave so that they could leave for their honeymoon.
"I have told you to wait for me in the palace. But now you are here!" He shook his head, "Though I am happy that you love me enough to follow me everywhere, you will be tired of a continuous journey."
He stopped and spoke in front of all the knights while smiling at Lia. his face was filled with joy and contentment while he complained to her with hollow anger.
Lia laughed, knowing well why he did not stop her all this while and why he was putting so much pressure on his voice when he stood up in front of the hall where knights had gathered for their lunch.
He wanted them to gossip later. Since the training grounds will be full of knights and their aristocrats, the rumor would soon spread that the daughter of the marquis was so obsessed with her new commoner husband that she followed him to the training ground.
Had he done that in the past too? And had she entertained such foolish acts? She did not remember how much she had pampered him in the start and she wonders why?
Why was she so naive in her past when she was sure that she had never been innocent?
"The royal palace is on our way to the south. It would only be a waste of time if you return to the palace only to come here again.
More than that, your highness had called to meet me. It would be a waste of the efforts of our staff if we take separate carriages and I wanted to say goodbye to Damien in person." She looked behind Mike.
The man had already stood and was walking towards them. Dami smiled at Lia.
He held her hands tightly and kissed the back of her hands. His eyes had a smoldering look again that disturbed Mike.
He stared at Lia and then at Dami who was behaving like he was her lover. And she did not stop him?
How could she cheat on him that also in front of him? Did she not have any shame?
His jaw clenched and he glared at Dami when Dami let Lia's hands go.
"I will go and meet his highness first. Then I will return and we will talk." Dami nodded at her with a sexy smirk on his face.
He winked at her when she waved her hands and left with a smile. Mike stood there frozen. He had heard the rumors that Dami was chosen for Lia but Lia never paid attention to this man, so he never took them seriously.
But looking at the smirk on the face of Dami, he felt insulted. When Dami gave Mike a cold look and turned to leave, something burst inside Mike's head.
He trembled with rage and held Dami by the back of his collar.
"You!" he called Dami in a cold voice, "stop flirting with my wife."
He gave a cold warning in front of everyone making sure everyone would know what Dami did.
"I know that you have dreamt of her for a long time but she had chosen me? Are you going to behave like a broken lover who could not forget his puppy love?" He laughed coldly and shook his head.
"Even if that is the case, I will not let my wife's name dragged in this mess." he looked at everyone as if making sure that they understood his point only then did he let go of Dami.
But the moment he left the grip on his shirt, he felt a sharp pain on his left cheek and found his ears ringing.
It took him a few seconds to realize that Dami had punched him.
"What the hell." he gritted his teeth and raised his fist to attack Dami, but Dami easily blocked it with one hand and then laughed.
"Micheal, I know that you think of yourself as a strong knight but you must know…" he added more force to his palm and pressed Mike's fist until the man's legs shook.
He started to fall on his knees and struggled hard to stay standing,
"That you are nothing when it comes to me. A kid whose mike teeth had not fallen should not bite tough nuts." Dami chuckled but his eyes were so cold and dark as if all the lights around him were sucked by his eyes.
He looked at Mike as if he was a pesky insect.
"And the girl you are calling your wife, you should first learn to respect her. How dare you associate her name with others so easily. Do you not feel ashamed when false rumors would spread about her? Or that was your aim from the start?"