"Your High-I mean, Emilio, please wait for a moment!"
Alister frantically tried to stop Melisa from leaving, but Melisa had already approached the group of nobles. Melisa put her body between them and the woman. Melisa's gaze was cold as ice as she stared at the group of nobles who dared to bully an ordinary woman.
"Can't you see that this woman is scared because of you? Is it appropriate for nobles like you to intimidate a young woman like this?"
Perhaps because Melisa was confident that her cover would not be exposed, the girl dared to speak confidently in front of the young nobles. Pressuring the weak is one of the things that Melisa hates, especially after she knows how tormented it is to be the one who can't do anything.
"Where did this guy come from? Don't you know who we are?!"
The nobles pointed at Melisa impolitely. But instead of being afraid, Melisa stood straighter than before.
"If you were nobles, you would have been taught manners, right? It's a shame, because I can't see that from you guys."
"This bastard-"
When one of the nobles raised his hand, Melisa was actually ready to block it. After all, she had studied martial arts since she was a child. However, before their fists could get close to Melisa, someone's hand had already caught the fist.
Melisa turned to look at who stopped the blow before it hit her. There, Melisa saw Alister, who had managed to block the nobleman's fist. However, Alister's expression was an expression that Melisa had never seen before. Because Melisa was too used to seeing Alister with a warm or flowery expression, Melisa was shocked when she saw that Alister could also wear a cold expression that looked so piercing.
"Sir Pratt, I don't think it's been that long since we met at the palace because of the trouble you caused for the kingdom. I wonder, are you going to repeat the same mistake today?"
"...Lord Alister."
One of the nobleman, who was called Sir Pratt, immediately stammered when he saw that it was Alister who was holding his hand. The other nobles stepped back slightly when they realized who had just interfered in their quarrel. Alister is a good friend of Alexius. They knew that looking for trouble with him was the same as looking for trouble with the crown prince.
"Also, you too. I'll make sure that I remember your faces in the future."
"We, we are guilty, My Lord!"
Afraid that Alister would report their bad behavior to Alexius, the nobles immediately knelt down in resignation in the middle of the road. These nobles were just low-level nobles who would be destroyed if they provoked Alexius' anger. At first, they were playing around because it was rare for high ranking nobles to visit the festival due to their busy schedules. But it seems, this time, fate is not on their side.
"Get out of my sight."
Even though Alister actually wanted to ask them to apologize to Melisa, with the girl's disguise, he couldn't just ask a noble to kneel to a commoner. Alister could only let them go in the end. Even though his heart became annoyed, Alister was at least lucky he could prevent the fist in time.
"Are you alright?"
Because of his worry, Alister seemed to forget that they were in a public place and began to touch Melisa's cheek carefully. Melisa's heart beat fast when she felt Alister's touch. Her cheeks felt hot again. However, this time, Melisa was better able to control it, so she could immediately give an answer to Alister, who was worried.
"I'm fine."
Melisa could hear Alister breathe a sigh of relief after hearing her answer. Every time Melisa saw how much attention Alister gave her, she became even more confused in her own heart.
The line that separates her heart and her responsibilities seems to disappear the more time Melisa spends with Alister.
"Excuse me...."
Only when Melisa heard the voice of the woman she was helping did she finally realize that they were still in public. Melisa awkwardly stepped back to keep Alister's hand away from her face. Alister also seemed aware of Melisa's discomfort, so he immediately put a safe distance between himself and Melisa.
"You are... Mr. Alister, aren't you?"
"...Yeah."
Even though Alister continued to answer the woman's question, Melisa could feel Alister's discomfort when facing the woman. Melisa looked at the woman and then at Alister alternately. He never thought that Alister would know the person they had just helped.
"Then does Mr. Raoul also-"
"If you want to ask, I suggest you just ask him directly. But one thing is certain, both he and I have reasons why we haven't told you the truth all this time."
Melisa didn't understand what the two of them were talking about or why Alister looked reluctant when he had to talk to the woman. Pity touched Melisa's heart when she saw the woman looking sad because of Alister's words. Even though Melisa didn't understand why the two of them knew each other before, she still wouldn't leave the woman alone when she was sad.
"My name is Emilio. Young Lady, may I know your name?"
Maybe because Melisa showed a gentle, friendly smile, the woman's expression improved a little after seeing Melisa. The woman tried to smile as she introduced herself in a soft voice to Melisa.
"My name is Isabella, Kind Sir. I really thank you for helping me before."
As if time was running slowly, Melisa could slowly see how Alister's expression became complicated after Melisa learned the name of the girl she had just saved. Teresa's words suddenly came back to Melisa's ears. When Melisa saw that the woman was standing in front of a simple flower shop, everything made sense to Melisa.
"That's because after many days I went to follow the crown prince, I found out that he always went out of the palace once every few days. I followed him only to see that he went to a flower shop owned by a woman named Isabella every time he go out. Please forgive me, Your Highness. However, from the testimony of people around, that woman is indeed in a special relationship with Crown Prince Alexius."
That person, Isabella, was Alexius' lover whom Melisa had never seen before.