"Your Highness, where are you?" Jenny and the other servants called out, searching for Aria.
She was no longer in her room when Jenny arrived. Her husbands had no idea of her whereabouts. A whole month had passed, and the palace was finally peaceful. Aria was no longer worried about her life being in danger; her only concern was the Crown Prince.
"Your Highness, where are you?"
High above in a tree, Aria could hear the servants repeatedly calling her name. She sat perched on a branch, absorbed in her sketchpad, taking advantage of the perfect weather for drawing.
"What are you doing up there?" Aria was startled by Mikhail's voice.
Speaking of the devil.
"You scared me!" she complained.
"I can hear your servants calling for you, they're disturbing my nap," Mikhail grumbled.
"But I want to draw here; the weather is so nice."
"You can draw under the tree. Why do you have to climb up there? Get down now," he ordered.
She pouted. "Fine!" she threw her sketchpad and pen down first.
She was about to go down when she slipped and fell.
As Aria began her descent, she slipped and fell.
"AAAHHHHH!!!!"
She closed her eyes.
Huh?
Why she didn't feel any pain. Had she really fallen?
Upon opening her eyes, she saw Mikhail, who had caught her, preventing her fall.
Ba-dump!
Her heart raced. Why was her heart beating so fast? His face was far too close...
Mikhail, realizing he'd been staring at her for a bit too long, abruptly looked away. "Tsk. What a clumsy woman," he muttered,
He dropped her.
"Ouch! Why did you do that!" Aria complained, her butt smarting from the fall.
Mikhail picked up her sketchpad. "What did you draw?"
"Don't look at it!" she tried to grab it, but he was fast.
He glanced at her drawings. "Huh? Are these your husbands?" He raised an eyebrow and looked at her.
"Hmph! Don't laugh at my drawings." She finally managed to snatch her sketchpad back. She had drawn them so that she could have memories of them when she left.
"Your drawing is ugly," he remarked.
"What? You're the only one who's called my drawing ugly!" she retorted.
I was an illustrator in my previous world. Hmph!
He stroked his hair. "If you want your drawing to become beautiful, then draw me, no one is as perfect as me."
"Shut up," she said, turning away.
He smirked.
"Aria.."
They both saw Claudius approaching.
"Claudius!" Aria exclaimed, running to him, leaving Mikhail behind.
Mikhail rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.
"I heard your servants calling for you," Claudius said, smiling.
"Hehe yeah, I'm playing hide and seek with them." she explained while smiling.
"Really?" he smiled, patting her head.
He glanced at the Crown Prince. Mikhail ignored him then left.
That bastard!
"Did I disturb your conversation?" Claudius asked.
"No, he just came to pester me. Let's go inside and have tea?" she said.
"Sure." he held her hand and walked together.
.
.
"Huh? Who said you're the most handsome man in this empire? I am the most handsome man here!" Rasheen complained.
"Oh shut up, everyone in the empire knows that I am the most handsome man here." Nikolai retorted.
They glared at each other.
Gawain simply smiled and continued reading his book.
"Both of them are ugly," Napoleon commented as he played chess with Xerxes.
"Lower your voice, or else they will hit you," Xerxes warned.
"Pft. As if they were able to hit me," Napoleon scoffed.
Valentine ignored their banter, sipping his tea. Both he and Napoleon had come to visit today.
Ryu had been silently standing by the window, unnoticed by the bickering men.
"Seems like you guys are having fun, I can hear your voices outside," Aria remarked as she arrived with Claudius.
"Aria!" Rasheen ran to her. "That idiot said that he's more handsome than me! Can you tell him that I am more handsome?"
Aria chuckled and pinched Rasheen's cheeks. "Of course, my husband is handsome."
"See? She said I am more handsome!" Rasheen proclaimed.
"She only said handsome, but she didn't say more handsome," Nikolai countered.
"Uhm, if you are talking about the most handsome man in this empire, it will be the Crown Prince, right?" Aria suggested, causing Valentine to almost spill his tea.
"Are you all right?" Gawain asked.
Valentine nodded, recovering quickly.
"That's unfair, why is the Crown Prince always number one?" Rasheen pouted and took his seat.
Claudius joined them, sitting down as Cedrik poured tea into his cup.
Aria smiled as she watched them. "I badly want to draw them together," she mumbled.
.
.
....
That night, Maximilian received another letter from Orlando. Tomorrow was the day of his planned escape from the palace. Sir William had already been discharged from the hospital and would return to his duty as the Princess' knight. By tomorrow evening, he would be leaving the Princess. He suddenly felt sad.
He burned the letter, watching as the flames consumed the words.
.
.
....
"All the mages are now under my monitoring. I've placed spells everywhere, so I can identify if someone is using black magic," Xerxes explained.
"That's great. Those men have been strangely quiet since the death of the Milano family. They haven't made a single move," Mikhail noted.
"But we still can't relax. We don't know when they will strike again," Xerxes cautioned.
Mikhail nodded, then fixed his gaze on Xerxes.
"Tell me, how much do you love Aria?" he asked.
Xerxes smirked. "I love her very much."
"Really?" Mikhail picked up a dagger from his table and began cleaning it. "But what if she has a secret, and one day you discover it? Will you still love her?" He glared at Xerxes.
Xerxes' face turned serious. "Whatever secret she has, I don't care. I love her, and that's all that matters."
Do you think I have no idea about what you're doing with my wife? Xerxes thought.
"Pft..HAHAHAHA!!" Mikhail laughed. "You're funny."
Xerxes remained composed.
"Just make sure you don't eat your words," Mikhail warned, pointing the dagger at him.
Xerxes smirked. "Of course, I won't..." With that, he disappeared right before Mikhail's eyes.
"Let's see who she will choose in the end," Mikhail muttered to himself, then flung the dagger against the wall.
.
.
....
"What's the matter, Your Highness?" Jenny asked.
"Hachi is not eating his food." Aria replied with concern.
"He hasn't eaten his food since yesterday, we should take him to the vet," Cedrik suggested.
"I am so worried about him," she said, cradling the unwell dog. "Please eat, Hachi. Tomorrow, we will visit the doctor."
Hachi remained silent, clearly not feeling well.
.
.
The next day, they headed to the vet. The doctor couldn't find anything unusual in Hachi's body, so he prescribed some medicine and advised Aria to let the dog rest.
On her way to Ruby Palace, she ran into Xerxes.
"Good morning, Aria," he greeted her.
"Good morning," she smiled.
Xerxes glanced at Hachi. "He looks unwell. Something happened to him?"
"He's not eating his food. I went to the vet, but they didn't find anything strange in his body. I'm so worried," she replied.
"Maybe I can help. If you allow me, can you let him stay with me for a few days so I can check on him?"
"Really? Do you think you can treat him?"
He smiled. "I'll try my best."
"Thank you so much, Xerxes!" she said gratefully, handing Hachi over to him.
He held Hachi and examined the dog closely.
.
.
....
"Wow…" Aria found herself drooling while ogling the knights' muscular forms.
"Now I understand why the Princess loves men. She's surrounded by handsome men every day," she whispered to herself.
"What now? Are you turning into the real Aria now?" someone suddenly spoke from behind.
"Waahh!" Aria jolted, startled.
Mikhail had appeared.
"Y-You startled me!"
He crossed his arms. "What are you doing here? This is the training ground, you're not supposed to be here."
"I am bored. That's why I decided to take a walk."
"And fantasizing about my knights?"
"Excuse me? I'm not fantasizing about them."
"Then why are you drooling?"
Ack!
She quickly wiped her mouth.
He held her chin. "If you want to fantasize about someone, you can fantasize about me." he suggested with a smirk.
No way!
"Stop it.." she pushed him away.
"If your husbands heard about this, they'd rally here," Mikhail warned with his poker face.
"I told you I'm not fantasizing about them; I'm just looking at them."
He just shrugged.
Hmph! This guy won't listen to me.
"By the way, where's your dog?"
"Hachi? He's with Xerxes. Why?"
"I'm not talking about your pet, I mean your big dog."
"Big dog? I only have one dog."
"His Highness is talking about your knight, Your Highness." Philip clarified.
He meant Maximilian?
"Wait, Max is not a dog!"
"He looks like a dog to me."
"That's bullying!"
"Oh?" he smiled wickedly.
He enjoyed teasing this woman because it made him feel good.
"Psh..Maximilian isn't feeling well today, so I told him to rest."
"Today is his last day as your knight, Sir William will return tomorrow," Philip informed.
"I'm glad he will no longer be a knight. Seeing his face every day makes me sick," Mikhail remarked.
This bastard!
But Philip was right, William would return tomorrow. That meant Maximilian would be a guest again in her palace. She had wanted to give him a decent job in the palace, but Mikhail always refused.
.
.
....
Maximilian didn't bother packing his belongings. Everything he had belonged to the Princess anyway. His gaze fell on the sword stick that Aria had given him. There was nothing wrong with taking it along.
He quietly closed the door to his room, making sure not to disturb the sleeping servants. His next stop was Aria's room. He gently pushed the door open and found her sleeping soundly.
Kneeling beside her, he caressed her face with tenderness.
"My real intention was to make you fall in love with me and use you as my bait for the Crown Prince. But since Orlando had a better plan for helping me escape from your empire, there's no reason for me to use you. Please take care of yourself, Your Highness," he whispered, his voice laced with regret.
He kissed her on her forehead and silently departed.
Aria's eyes opened after he left.
"I-Is he leaving?
She rushed to the door, but he was already gone. How did he manage to leave so quickly? She hurried outside, calling for him, but found no trace of Maximilian.
She ran to the backyard. He saw a shadow walking into the woods.
"M-Maximilian?" she chased him. "Maximilian, where are you?" she called.
.
.
Maximilian reached the lake. This lake within the imperial palace was connected to the capital. Once they reached the capital, they would pose as merchants and make their way out of the empire.
Maximilian embraced Orlando as soon as they met.
"I'm glad you're fine, Your Highness," Orlando said.
"I'm so happy to see that you're alive," Maximilian replied.
"Did anyone see you?" Orlando asked.
"No, everyone is asleep." he answered.
"Let's go, Your Highness."
"Maximilian!"
Both of them turned at the sound of a female voice.
"I thought no one saw you?" Orlando said.
"Max!" Aria called out to him.
"Wait, don't hurt her," Maximilian stopped Orlando from drawing his sword.
It was Aria, running and crying.
"Aria?" Maximilian rushed to her.
"A-Are you leaving?" she asked through her tears.
Maximilian remained silent.
"I thought you would protect me until your last breath? Did you really lie to me?" she asked, sobbing.
"I'm sorry, but I can't stay here. I need to regain the freedom of my country." he explained.
"Are you planning for a war?" she asked again.
Maximilian wiped her tears. "I'm sorry..."
"But Mikhail is too strong." she said.
"I know and if we meet again in the future, I will make sure to take you with me. Thank you for taking care of me, Aria…" he replied.
She lowered her head. "M-My real name is Kaye.."
Maximilian looked puzzled. "Then the next time we meet, I will call you by that name." He didn't understand why she suddenly called herself a different name, but it didn't matter.
"Please be careful," she said.
"I will. Goodbye," he kissed her on the forehead and then boarded the boat.
She waved as they departed.
She had allowed him to escape because she didn't want him to end up like her, craving for freedom. She wanted him to have his own chance at it.
If what you said is true, then in the future, I will let you take me away..far away here.
.
.
....
"Maximilian escaped?" Mikhail's rage flared, and he drew his sword.
"Order all the guards to close all the gates! Tell the knights to search everywhere, every house, tavern, and store! Find him immediately!!!"
The knights scrambled and hurried off to carry out their orders.
Aria knew there was no point in searching. She believed that Maximilian had already left the empire by now.
Mikhail approached her, his anger palpable. "How did he escape?"
She avoided his gaze. "I...I thought he was just resting in his room, which is why he wasn't showing up..."
"You let him escape?" he grabbed her forearm. "Did you fall in love with him? That's why you let him escape?"
She closed her eyes out of fear that he might hurt him.
"O-Of course not."
"Tsk. I bet he seduced you."
"I already told you, no."
Mikhail pinned her against the wall. "Do you think I will believe you? Now be ready for your punishment."
He forcefully pushed her onto a nearby table.
"Y-Your Highness... we're in your office," she reminded him.
"Who cares? They won't barge in without my permission."
"B-But there are knights outside."
"Then be quiet."
He began undressing her, and despite her attempts to resist, he proved too strong.
.
.
Weeks passed, and there was no sign of Maximilian. He had left the empire. The Crown Prince searched the Firenzan countryside, but Maximilian was nowhere to be found.
.
.
....
"Good morning, Your Highness," Minister Perez greeted with a bow.
They took their seats, and Cedrik poured tea for them. William stood by the door, observing. Aria glanced at him, he smiled.
"What's the reason for your sudden visit?" Aria asked the minister.
"Ehem," Minister Perez cleared his throat. "It's about your marital duties, Your Highness."
"Marital duties?" Aria's confusion was evident.
"It's been quite some time since you were married to your husbands, yet you still have no children."
ACK!!!
Aria felt like she'd turned into a stone.
Both William and Cedrik were equally taken aback.
"Isn't it too early to have children?" she attempted to reason.
"But, Your Highness, having an heir is of utmost importance. Furthermore, I've spoken with your husbands, and they've informed me that you only sleep with them, without making love."
Her face turned beet red.
How can she do that with them!?
"That's because.." she felt like her soul had suddenly left her body.
"Your Highness, marital duties are very important." Minister Perez' face was so serious. Please meet your husbands' needs. If the people find out about this, your husbands will be the laughingstock of the empire."
Sighed.
She has no idea what to do. The only person who could help her in this situation was Mikhail.
MIKHAIL HELP ME!!!
.
.
Mikhail was in the midst of training with his knights when Aria arrived, shouting.
"Your Highness!" she rushed over to him.
Mikhail and the knights halted their activities.
"Why are you yelling?" he asked, sounding irritated.
"Waaahhh, help me!" she cried, clinging to his leg.
He gave her a stern look. "Quit that. Everyone is watching."
"But I need your help," she pleaded.
"What do you want from me? I'm busy with my training."
"It's about Minister Perez, he came earlier."
"And so?"
Aria glanced at the knights who were curiously watching. She whispered to him. "He wants me to engage in marital intercourse with my husbands to have children."
"I'm done here," Mikhail declared, tossing his sword aside and taking her hand. They departed the training ground together.
The knights, including Philip, were left confused.
"Since when did they become so close?" one of the knights inquired.
Philip shrugged.
.
.
The Emperor was on his way to his office when he witnessed Mikhail and Aria walking together.
"Is this a miracle?" he gasped.
They were holding hands while strolling, and in his eyes, they appeared to be happily walking together. (Different from reality)
At last! They've finally reconciled!
"I must instruct the royal chef to prepare a grand feast for lunch. This calls for celebration!" the Emperor proclaimed.
His knight and secretary exchanged bewildered glances.
.
.
In Mikhail's office...
"So you're telling me that they told the Minister you're not... doing that with them?" Mikhail asked, seeking clarification.
Aria blushed and replied, "Yes, I already said that. Don't make me repeat it!"
He sighed. "Then do it. You already have experience, right?"
Aria was taken aback. "What? Your Highness, are you insane?"
Mikhail laughed, "Ahahaha. Why? Ah, right, you only want to do it with me, am I right? I'm flattered."
"This is serious."
"Well, you have no choice. They are your husbands, so you have to fulfill your marital duties with them."
She was hurt by Mikhail's words. She had thought he wouldn't allow another man to touch her, but it seemed like he didn't really care for her.
"I don't have the power to stop them from sleeping with you."
"Fine, I am their wife after all. I will do that with them," Aria said as she turned to leave, but Mikhail grabbed her hand.
"Do you think I also want to share you with them?" he said in a serious tone.
Aria looked away. "It's fine, Your Highness. I will try my best to avoid them." She then left his office.
Mikhail sighed.
.
.
....
Days passed, and Aria continued hiding from her husbands.
"I can't do this anymore! I am tired of hiding! Waahhh."
She felt guilty. If she had known that this would happen, she should have told them the truth from the start.
She sighed.
"Your Highness?"
"Waahh!" she was startled.
"Y-Your Highness, it's me!" Cedrik said.
"Hehe, I'm sorry." She scratched her head.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
Oh right, she's hiding in the bushes.
"Hehe it feels so nice to sit here." She replied, forcing a smile.
"Are you still hiding from your husbands?" he asked.
You're right!!! Huhuhu
He sat beside her. "Your Highness, even if you don't want it, it's still your responsibility. I heard from Minister Perez that if the people of the empire knew about this, they would laugh at them for being incompetent."
"But Ced..I really can't."
He stared at her. "To be honest, I don't really want you to do that thing with them either, but you are their wife. I guess…you don't have a choice, Your Highness." he said, looking away.
She really didn't have a choice!
.
.
"Your Highness!" Aria burst into Mikhail's office.
Mikhail, in the midst of cleaning his sword, raised an eyebrow and glanced at her. "What is it?"
She walked towards him. "I've made up my mind, I'm going to tell them the truth."
"What? Are you out of your mind?" he exclaimed, slamming his hand on the table.
"If they know that I am not their real wife, there's a chance that they won't sleep with me."
He sighed. "Do whatever you want. But the Emperor must not discover it."
"Then you must help me."
"Fine, I'll ensure that your secret remains between us... you, your husbands, and me. Anyone who dares reveal this to the Emperor... I will deal with them."
Aria gulped. "All right, I will place all my trust in you."
"And be prepared for their reactions. It might hurt you," he warned, locking eyes with her.
She looked away. "I know... I've already prepared for this."