The existence of a king and queen is important in a kingdom. Therefore, King Marlon and Queen Agatha's stay was much shorter than Lady Violet's. They planned to return two days after Melisa's engagement party. When Melisa finally came to see them off, the two immediately rushed to hug the girl in turn.
"When you get married, the one coming will most likely be your brother, Melisa. He's sulking because, among us, he's the only one who hasn't had the chance to see you again. He says that even Sir John has already met you again."
Melisa smiled. "Tell him that I'll be waiting for his arrival at the event, Mother," she informed. Queen Agatha nodded in response. The two stared at each other until King Marlon's voice brought them back to their senses.
"Take good care of yourself, Melisa. I love you."
King Marlon had no idea how moved Melisa was when she heard his sincere words. Melisa smiled a little. She tried to bury her sadness as she answered the words in a small voice.
"I love you too, Father."
Melisa looked at her mother, then continued.
"I love you too, Mother. I love my brother, Lady Violet, and all the people of the Kingdom of Cyrille."
Queen Agatha was moved when she heard Melisa's statement. She kissed Melisa's forehead once before she finally boarded her carriage.
"Take good care of yourself, Melisa!"
"I understand."
Melisa waved as the carriage carrying her parents moved forward, even though her heart felt heavy to part from them once again. Melisa waited until her parents were completely out of sight first before she finally crouched down to wipe her tears while no one was around.
"Sigh...."
Melisa let out a long breath. The girl again looked fine as she got up, then walked to reach her carriage by herself.
***
"...Charity event?"
It was another busy day for Melisa. Accompanied by the tutor that the Sigmund Kingdom had prepared for her, Melisa began to perform her duties as a crown princess. She was in the middle of sorting out what activities she should and shouldn't do when her tutor suddenly made a suggestion about which activities Melisa should not miss.
"Yes, Your Highness. In Sigmund's Kingdom, we used to organize charity events to reduce poverty in the kingdom. The charity event is held in a different place every year. But this year, the charity event is planned to be held in Marquess Daedalus' territory, Your Highness."
"Marquess Daedalus...."
Melisa muttered a little. She tried to take everything in first because hearing the name Daedalus reminded Melisa of the bad feeling the girl always had whenever she met that man.
Of all the nobles Melisa had met, Marquess Daedalus was the most petty and arrogant. That man dared to look down on Melisa openly. Although Marquess Daedalus seemed afraid of Alison's family, there was no doubt that he felt powerful because of his great influence over the nobles below the Marquess level in the Sigmund Kingdom.
"Very well. I will attend this event."
Actually, Melisa did not want to attend a charity event held in the territory of someone like Marquess Daedalus. But since it was a must for her to attend at least one charity event, Melisa couldn't help but agree to the invitation.
"Good choice, Your Highness. Since the charity event is being held to help those affected by the war, your presence at the place will surely increase the population's sympathy for your existence."
Melisa simply nodded, not too happy about having to use such an event in order to attract the sympathy of the common people. Melisa's gaze dropped to see how much more time she had to prepare for her departure to Daedalus' territory. Since the time was quite close, Melisa immediately focused on taking care of her departure to the border of the Sigmund Kingdom's territory.
***
On the day of Melisa's departure, everything was carefully prepared, including the people chosen to escort her. Melisa looked at the luxurious carriage that would take her to Marquess Daedalus' territory. For her to go to see the people affected by the war that had not completely stopped in the Sigmund Kingdom, using a luxurious horse-drawn carriage did not seem appropriate.
"I want you to change the carriage. We're going to meet the people who are grieving there. Using this horse-drawn carriage is tantamount to showing that I have no sympathy for those people."
"But, Your Highness...."
"A normal horse-drawn carriage is fine. I don't even mind riding in a freight carriage if you are reluctant to prepare a new one for me."
The men immediately panicked when Melisa turned around to approach the freight train they were using to bring aid to the people in Marquess Daedalus' territory. The few guards who were asked to escort Melisa stared at each other before they finally gave in to Melisa's decision.
"Forgive us, Your Highness. We were too insensitive. Please wait a moment. We'll soon prepare another, simpler carriage for you."
After the departure of the men, Teresa, who had previously stayed behind Melisa, slowly approached her master. Teresa waited until everyone was busy with their own business before she whispered to Melisa.
"This is strange, Your Highness. I guess those people shouldn't be so stupid as to give you the best carriage when you're obviously going to a charity event."
"...What do you think, Teresa?"
Teresa thought for a while before she spoke in a serious tone to Melisa.
"I think there's something wrong with their preparations for your trip this time. I have a bad feeling, Your Highness. I think it would be best if we postponed your trip this time."
"Unfortunately, I can't do that."
Although Melisa also felt that the behavior of those people was a little strange, canceling a trip that had been prepared for days on end was something she could not do. The royal court had also sent an official letter to Marquess Daedalus regarding Melisa's arrival. If Melisa suddenly canceled her arrival, it was certain that her relationship with Marquess Daedalus would be damaged even before they officially met.
"But, Your Highness...."
"I have you by my side, Teresa. With you around, nothing bad should happen to me, right?"
"Your Highness...."
Teresa was completely helpless when Melisa had spoken so. Teresa was still hesitant, but Melisa had made up her mind to continue their journey. The new horse-drawn carriage they would be riding in arrived not long after. Teresa helped Melisa to get on the carriage before she finally got on without anyone's help.
"Don't worry, Teresa. Even if something happens to me, our kingdom will benefit from it. You know that the Sigmund Kingdom should protect me. As such, they will definitely do their best to keep me alive."
When Melisa saw that Teresa was still worried, she said so to comfort her. But the opposite happened. Instead of being comforted, Teresa frowned even more deeply at Melisa's words.
"Please don't talk as if it's okay for you to get hurt if it benefits the Kingdom of Cyrille, Your Highness. Your safety is my priority. I have even promised His and Her Majesty to take good care of you."
Melisa smiled a little as she witnessed Teresa's anger. Having Teresa by her side did help Melisa stay sane when the situation around her kept driving her crazy. Melisa stared outside as their carriage began to move forward. The girl was silent for quite a while until she spoke again in a small voice.
"I'm sorry, Teresa. But really, I don't think I've been able to love myself since I arrived in this kingdom."
Melisa's gaze turned sad, as did Teresa's, who was silently listening to Melisa's words.
"I can only hope that what I'm doing can protect our kingdom for a long time."
Melisa's words grew fainter and fainter until she finally fell completely silent and formed a tense silence in the carriage they were riding in.