Only when it was past midnight did the horse-drawn carriage carrying Melisa and Alister return to Melisa's palace. Alister went down first. Then after that, he reached out his hand to help Melisa carefully.
After getting off the horse-drawn carriage, Alister did not immediately rush back but instead looked at Melisa with a look of regret. The gaze from Aliater couldn't fail to make Melisa embarrassed. The girl blushed before gently pushing Alister to immediately return to his residence.
"Go back. I'm afraid there will be trouble if you stay here any longer."
"I know. Even so, please allow me to hug you one more time, Melisa."
Melisa didn't understand why Alister was always so clingy to her. But unlike before, this time, Melisa did not refuse Alister's request. Melisa spread her arms, then pulled Alister into her warm embrace.
"There. Are you satisfied?"
"Yes. Thank you, Melisa."
Melisa smiled as she watched Alister, with a heavy heart, finally get back into the carriage. The two of them waved at each other. Then, when Melisa could no longer see Alister in her line of sight, the girl turned around to see that Teresa had been waiting for her return from quite a distance.
"Have you had a pleasant trip, Your Highness?"
Melisa approached Teresa. Then nodded with a big smile. That short answer alone was enough to make Teresa smile broadly. Even though Teresa knew everything from the start because she kept following Melisa, hearing everything directly from her master was more reassuring for Teresa.
"Let's go in, Your Highness. The midnight air is not good for your body."
Even though Teresa was busy all day following Melisa and Alister, before they went home, Teresa was more alert and asked someone to prepare hot water for her master. Teresa helped Melisa shower and carefully change her clothes. Then, when it was time for Melisa to fall asleep, the girl held Teresa's hand so that her servant wouldn't immediately leave her side.
"Teresa, I have decided that I will marry Alister after we return to the Cyrille Kingdom."
Melisa thought Teresa would be surprised or even angry because of her decision. But in reality, Teresa smiled gently. The woman gently rubbed Melisa's forehead before answering Melisa in a voice that was no less gentle.
"I hope that can happen soon, Your Highness. I'm sure your family will also be happy because you found someone you really like in this place."
Melissa smiled. Judging from the nature of her family, Melisa knew they would still support her even if Alexius failed to return her to the Cyrille Kingdom with his power.
"Yes. I also hope that it can happen quickly."
Melisa prayed hard because, like her brother, Melisa wanted her marriage to be with someone she truly loved. The sensation of Alister's kiss came back to Melisa's mind when she imagined her marriage to Alister. That hot kiss made Melisa's heart beat fast every time she thought about it.
"Very well, Your Highness. No matter what will happen in the future, the most important thing now is to get enough rest first. It's already past your bedtime. You should sleep quickly, or you might have trouble waking up for the ball in the palace tomorrow."
"Ah, yes. Tomorrow, I have to go to the palace for the banquet, right?"
Because Melisa was too busy thinking about Alister, she forgot that the hunting festival would only really end after the royal family and nobles of the Sigmund Kingdom attended a banquet in the main palace the day after the big festival was held in the capital. As usual, Melisa will get dressed up early in the morning to attend the banquet. Teresa was right. Melisa had to go to sleep immediately if she didn't want to wake up late the next morning.
"Then good night, Teresa."
Teresa saw how light returned to her master's eyes and couldn't help but smile once again.
"Good night, Your Highness. May you have sweet dreams."
The candle was extinguished, and Teresa came out of Melisa's bedroom after that.
***
Maybe because the banquet wasn't Melisa's first, the girl was quite relaxed when she attended her second banquet in the main palace. Her meeting with King Dillion went smoothly. As Alister had promised, King Dillion did not suspect that Melisa had gone out with Alister the day before the party.
The only problem now was Alexius. Since their last meeting, Melisa no longer saw Alexius until they finally met at the main palace. From the beginning to the end, there were so many pairs of eyes watching them. So, until the last moment, Alexius had not had the opportunity to talk alone with Melisa about what happened in the capital yesterday.
"...We have to dance, Melisa."
"... I understand."
Only when it was time for them to dance did Alexius finally speak, and Melisa answered him briefly. The two of them smiled sweetly in front of the people watching them. They started their dance in front of everyone, even though both of their hearts did not reflect the smiles and gentle gazes they had given each other since the dance music started.
"Melisa, I shouldn't have done that to you when you were just trying to save her. What happened yesterday was completely my fault. I'm really embarrassed that I humiliated you like that in public."
Because there were only the two of them on the dance floor, while Alexius was still able to maintain a gentle gaze and a smile on his face, no one could have guessed that the man was whispering sorry when he danced with Melisa. Melisa also played her role very well. The girl kept smiling and dancing flawlessly as she replied to Alexius' words calmly.
"I don't think about that anymore, Your Highness. Besides, I know that sometimes we can't control our emotions when it comes to the people we love."
Alexius smiled bitterly. "You're right," he said sheepishly. Alexius is basically a gentle, loving man. Like what Melisa said, he just couldn't control himself about things that concerned his lover.
"But, Your Highness, I wonder if Lord Alister usually skips these balls?"
Melisa was too busy being with Alister, so she forgot to ask whether Aliater would attend the dance the next day. This carelessness left Melisa with no answer when she realized that she had not seen Alister at this ball since she arrived at the palace.
"Hm... Usually, he doesn't miss it like now. Yesterday you were together. Didn't he say anything about today?"
Melissa shook her head slowly. This made Alexius take a deep breath because he could feel the worry in Melisa's words and actions when talking about Alister.
"You don't need to worry too much. I will try to contact him after this party. If I get any news about Lord Alister, I will definitely contact you about it."
"...Let's just say this is a form of regret for what I did to you yesterday."
Melissa nodded. "Thank you, Your Highness," she said with relief. Alexius nodded after that. When the dance music finally stopped, the two finally stopped dancing, accompanied by loud applause from the people who saw their performance.