As Melisa guessed, she barely had time to rest after the people appointed by the king to teach her arrived one day later. She had to do all kinds of lessons and activities every day. Melisa couldn't even remember when she was able to sleep and rest peacefully since the lessons started.
Learning new things was not something difficult or troublesome for Melisa. But when Melisa's teachers gave her disappointed looks, the girl unconsciously pushed herself beyond the limits of what she was capable of. There were countless times Teresa warned her to take a break with reddened eyes. But every time it happened, Melisa would just smile before pushing herself for one more time.
Nevertheless, Melisa's hard work did yield positive results over time. Teachers who previously could only let out a long sigh slowly recognized her intelligence. Meanwhile, her etiquette lessons had left Julian speechless.
Melisa's life is slowly getting calmer thanks to her hard work. But amongst it all, there was still one thing that made her unable to stop sighing every time Melisa got a break.
"Teresa, have we still not received a reply letter from the crown prince's palace?"
"...."
Teresa had yet to reply to Melisa's question. But just from the change in her expression, Melisa already knew what kind of answer the woman would give.
"It can't be like this."
Melisa muttered while her brows furrowed as she immediately looked for a way to solve the problem she was currently experiencing. The girl took a deep breath, then told Teresa her decision firmly and straightforwardly after she had thought about it for a while.
"Teresa, can I ask you a favor?"
For the first time in a long time, Melisa was finally back to being a girl filled with energy and confidence. Teresa subconsciously nodded solemnly. Even if Melisa asked her to die, then she would do it right then and there.
"Tell me what I need to do, Your Highness."
In response to Teresa's serious answer, Melisa came forward to hold Teresa's hand tightly.
"I want you to sneak into the crown prince's palace and see what he's been doing all this time that he can't get back at me. Teresa, can you do that for me?"
"Your wish is my command."
Teresa knelt and kissed Melisa's hand solemnly. Sneaking into the crown prince's palace was not difficult for Teresa, who had gotten a lot of training before being sent with Melisa. She was Melisa's only strength in a strange place, someone who was there to protect Melisa from anything that could hurt her.
Teresa got up from her kneeling position not long after. Then, with a confident smile, Teresa left for the mission given to her by her master.
***
Several days had passed since Teresa left to spy on Alexius. But until today, Melisa had not received any good news from the only person she could trust. Teresa said she needed time to confirm what she had to say. So, Melisa kept waiting. She waited until Teresa returned and could tell her what she wanted to say with confidence.
It was late when Melisa finally returned to her room. Alone, as Teresa was busy keeping an eye on the crown prince as usual. Melisa took a deep breath when she was finally able to sit down. Melisa let herself be swallowed up by the silence and darkness that enveloped her room. She enjoyed the silence until the sound of knocking outside the room made her open her eyes again.
"Your Highness, it's me, Teresa."
Melisa's body immediately relaxed again when she heard the familiar voice of her confidant. Melisa straightened her sitting position before she answered Teresa to let her into the same room as her.
"Come in, Teresa."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
The door opened, and Teresa walked in not long after. Her expression this time made Melisa sure that Teresa was ready to say what she had been doubting lately. Melisa looked at Teresa seriously. She was now ready to listen to whatever Teresa wanted to tell her.
"Your Majesty, I think His Highness has another woman outside the palace."
Although it was hard, Teresa delivered the bitter truth without hesitation. Teresa saw how Melisa's expression tried to go blank for a few moments while her hands unconsciously clenched tightly as if she was trying to cover up the emotions that were now churning in her heart.
"Why would you think like that?"
Melisa asked because even though she had found the answer to Alexius' sad expression during their first meeting, she was still trying to deny that fact to lessen the hurt she now felt.
Teresa also knew Melisa was asking because the girl did not want to believe that she had been dumped even before they were officially engaged. But for her master's sake as well, Teresa described what she saw that led her to this painful conclusion.
"It was because, after days of me going to follow the crown prince, I learned that he always went outside the palace once every few days. I followed him only to see that he went to a flower shop owned by a girl named Isabella every time he went out. Please forgive me, Your Highness. But from what people around me say, that girl is indeed in a special relationship with Crown Prince Alexius."
The more Melisa heard, the more bitter she felt. Melisa did not expect Alexius to like her on their first meeting. But since they were destined to marry, Melisa wished Alexius hadn't blatantly disowned her like this.
For Alexius, the failure of their marriage might have been a trivial matter. But to Melisa, the survival of her kingdom depended on her marriage alone.
"Does... that girl know the crown prince's true identity?"
Fortunately, Teresa shook her head this time. Melisa was afraid that the girl would get in her way if she found out who Alexius was. But if she didn't know, Melisa could be a little relieved because it meant that the girl also didn't know that Alexius already had someone to marry.
"To confirm the truth, I pretended to be a buyer to talk directly to the girl. From our conversation, I was able to confirm that she only knew Alexius as one of the palace staff in charge of buying flowers at his shop for the palace. The girl did not appear to be lying when she spoke. Therefore, we can assume that it all started with Crown Prince Alexius himself."
Melisa secretly bit her lip. Melisa did not want to use underhanded means to secure her position in the Sigmund Kingdom. But since Alexius had ignored her first, Melisa finally had no other choice but to do whatever she could to protect her kingdom.
Melisa rushed to her study table, wrote something quickly, and then put it into an envelope, which she handed to Teresa later. Melisa's expression was serious as she spoke to Teresa, who looked saddened by her fate.
"Teresa, I want you to send a letter to the crown prince's palace again. I'm sure he'll reply this time. If my guess is right, we might still have a way to save our kingdom."
When Teresa held the letter from Melisa, she wanted to refuse, to persuade Melisa to stop trying and return to the Kingdom of Cyrille to live as she wished. They might go back to war. Or, the worst-case scenario, lose their kingdom. But Teresa no longer wanted to care about that,if doing so could put a smile back on her princess's face.
However, Melisa seemed to be very stubborn in protecting the kingdom she loved so much. Her determination made Teresa waver once again. With a grim expression, Teresa finally pocketed the letter Melisa had just left for her.
"I understand."
And with that, they now began another survival plan.