The night after Melisa's encounter with Vanessa, Melisa felt she couldn't sleep because of the restless feeling that haunted her. Although Melisa was an outsider, she knew that the warning from Alison's family was not to be taken lightly. Those people only made their move if there was something that was considered a danger to the royal family. Now that one of them had directly warned Melisa, it only meant that the Alison family saw that the actions taken by Melisa could be considered harmful to Sigmund's royal family.
Melisa could only lay on her bed without actually falling asleep when she thought about that. Melisa tried everything to rest herself. But everything failed. In the end, Melisa still ended up spending her night in discomfort because of her thoughts.
CLANG!
"Who's there?!"
It was already late. And when Melisa entered her room, there was no one who dared to approach her room apart from Teresa who had returned to her room a while ago. Melisa looked warily at the window connected to her balcony. Even if it was Teresa who had just arrived, it would be impossible for her to enter through the balcony window.
"Gasp!"
Melisa held her breath as she quietly picked up the small knife Teresa had asked her to hide under her pillow. Her eyes were vigilantly waiting for the movements of the person who had just tried to break into her room. If that person dared to enter Melisa's room, Melisa swore she would stab that person to death to protect herself.
"Melisa, please help me open the window! It's me, Alister!"
"Alister?"
At first, Melisa called Alister's name in a hesitant tone. But when she managed to get a clear view of the figure who had just sneaked onto the balcony of her room, her doubt turned into conviction. Melisa lowered the knife she had been holding. Afterward, Melisa quickly opened the balcony window before anyone could see Alister.
"What are you doing, Alister?! If I had shouted loudly, the palace guards would have come and you would have-"
THUD!
"I missed you, Melisa."
The fear of something dangerous happening to Alister made Melisa visibly angry. Therefore, after Melisa confirmed that Alister was safe in her room, she immediately scolded Alister in a trembling voice. Alister didn't know how upset Melisa felt when she saw him again. Only when Alister hugged her tightly, Melisa could feel her body uncontrollably feel more relaxed than before.
Melisa indeed missed Alister far more than she showed on the surface. But when she remembered Vanessa's words and the people who had been around her, Melisa was forced to let go of the hug even if she did not want it to end.
"No, wait. You shouldn't be here. We're both going to get engaged with someone else. Therefore... you shouldn't have met me like this."
A bitter taste filled Melisa's heart as the girl tried to reject Alister, who had gone to the trouble of coming to see her. Melisa looked away because she was not ready to see Alister's face again. Melisa realized that every time she saw Alister's face, her decision to protect Alister by staying away from him would disappear little by little.
To be honest, being with Alister was Melisa's favorite time. If she could choose, she would also rather be with Alister than be stuck in a vague relationship with Alexius.
"Where did you hear about that, Melisa? No, that's not important. What's important is that you know that the engagement was made against my will. And because of that, I will continue to refuse the engagement until my father understands that I don't want to marry someone who was arranged for me."
Melisa silently clenched her hands into fists. Determined to protect the kingdom and her loved ones, Melisa began to attack Alister once again.
"If you do that, aren't you just doing the same thing Crown Prince Alexius did to me?"
Alister fell silent after he was hit back hard by Melisa. After taking a good look at Melisa's face, Alister finally realized that there was a layer of tears in Melisa's beautiful eyes. Alister's expression changed. He, who was originally speaking with enthusiasm, immediately lowered his tone to speak to Melisa as gently as he could.
"...I don't want to do that. Yes, I'm probably not much different from Crown Prince Alexius. I'm the bastard who broke a woman's heart. But Melisa, I can't imagine how my life would be without you."
Alister's tone slowly sounded desperate, especially when she realized that Melisa still wouldn't look into his eyes.
"I love you too much, Melisa. I love you so much that I can't imagine if I had to marry a girl other than you. Please don't do this to me. Didn't we promise that we would get married after you returned to the Cyrille Kingdom sometime in the future?"
"Sigh...."
Melisa let out a long sigh when she heard Alister's words. Melisa finally looked back at Alister's face. But unlike the shyness or love Melisa usually showed Alister, there was only heartbreak and sadness when she said what was on her mind about what Alister had just said.
"That promise. Until when are you going to wait for that to happen, Alister? You said that there is no certainty whether Crown Prince Alexius can hold full power to liberate the Kingdom of Cyrille, even after he ascends the throne. No one can know when I can be free. It's not impossible that I'll be trapped in this agreement until I'm old. Or until I finally die in this unfamiliar land."
Tears finally fell from Melisa's eyes. Saying the truth was bittersweet. Melisa found it difficult to breathe properly, especially when she saw the pained expression on her beloved's face.
"There will be no future between us, Alister. Until I can return to my kingdom safely, I am merely Crown Prince Alexius' fiancée who cannot have relations with other men."