Standing on the head of a monster he had just slayed, Lucian gazed above at the sky which had turned a peach orange with violet and pink shades.
He let out a soft sigh, closing his eyes.
A moment of peace.
He could not find such peace in the castle the king owned, nor in the large mansion he was gifted due to his marriage for the sole reason his wife— Princess Cynthia also resided there. The sight of her boiled his blood and he feared not being able to control his fury and perhaps, unalive her.
"Your Highness! The grand duchess!.." Glain rushed towards Lucian who stepped off the monster.
"The grand duchess?" Lucian raised an eyebrow.
"I mean, Her Highness, Princess Cynthia has been causing trouble in the mansion. We should head back."
Although she was Lucian's wife, for him, she would forever remain Princess Cynthia of Selvarys. It was his way to make sure he didn't confuse her to be one of his people.
"What about the monsters?"
"Thanks to your assistance, we have wiped out most of them. The remaining ones will be blocked by magic defence."
Lucian nodded, pulling out a white handkerchief from his pocket and wiping his sword clean from the blood dripping from the blade.
Although it was an odd gesture, Glain wasn't bothered. He had witnessed Lucian do so for years through the battlefield. He cherished his sword above everything— even above clean clothes.
The dark-haired young man put his sword back on his sheath and jumped on his horse while a few of his soldiers followed, and another group remained to keep guard.
***
A plate crashed on the floor, startling Elise who headed toward the kitchen.
She quickly turned, her eyes widening.
The grand duchess has once again thrown the plating she had placed on the dining table only a while ago!
"Your Highness, you shouldn't do this! We can't waste this many plates!"
Cynthia raised her eyebrows, looking at the young woman before her.
"Are you... raising your voice at me, perhaps?"
Although she wore a smile, her fury was sensed by Elise who promptly shook her head.
"I-I wouldn't dare. It's just that it's the second time now," the red-haired maid spoke softly although every word that followed were merely complaints.
"What is going on here?" Lucian's voice was heard, catching the attention of the young ladies in the dining hall.
"Oh, my. What brings you here, my dear husband?"
Hearing such a sweet tone, Lucian's eyebrows twitched. What was wrong with this woman?! Surely, they were from enemy kingdoms! Why would she behave so lovingly as if they had known each other for years?
Oddly enough, the contempt he felt towards her didn't grow, nor reduce.
Lucian didn't reply and helped up Elise who was on the ground, picking up the broken pieces of ceramic.
Cynthia's smiling face slowly turned dark as she witnessed her husband being affectionate towards a maid more than toward her.
However, she couldn't even argue about it with him. She was an outsider— whereas Elise was someone who was by my side from a young age. Cynthia didn't know the details but she heard the maids in the palace talk about it in her past life.
"Your Highness," Cynthia rose from her seat and bowed.
Lucian gently gestured for Elise to leave the dining room, his gaze stern toward Cynthia.
He is acting as if I would eat her alive! He surely thinks I'm bullying her. Oh! But I might be.
With a scoff, Cynthia lifted her upper body from the greeting. She didn't expect him to be kind— however, wasn't ignoring her greeting plainly disrespectful?
Rude as always! After all, you only care about your people. And I was never part of it.
The silver-haired young lady clutched her dress. Although she remained nonchalant toward everyone, she couldn't behave in such a way towards Lucian. It's as if she was under a spell and all her inner emotions showed on her face. It had been so in her past life too.
Whenever she was upset, sad, or happy, everything resolved around Lucian. Perhaps it was because he was the only person who remained in her life. Her parents and second elder brother died, whereas her first elder brother, the king, threw her into an enemy kingdom in order to obtain peace.
But what peace? There was no peace in both kingdoms even after the marriage! There were constant arguments between them, and although war never broke out, the enmity hadn't ended rather they held swords at each other's throats.
Even though Cynthia was married, she wasn't accepted as a Selvarian. She was always called Princess Cynthia, not Grand Duchess by the nobles of Selvarys.
"What are you thinking so deeply about? I'm talking to you."
Snapping out of her thoughts, Cynthia found Lucian sitting across from her.
"What... were you saying?"
"Why are you abusing the servants? They did nothing wrong to you. If you have any problem with me, then come see me. Don't take it out on my people."
Although Lucian's voice seemed calm and he seemed composed, the occasional trembling in his voice due to anger was evident.
Inhaling deeply, Cynthia sat in the chair, looking at him closely.
The man before her kept his eyes lowered on the table where there was not even food served.
The silver-haired young woman tapped her fingers on the table, waiting for a response to her disturbing behaviour, yet there was none.
Surely, he hated noise. Why isn't he reacting?
As Cynthia was about to break the silence, a panting Philip rushed towards Lucian.
He whispered words Cynthia couldn't grasp or hear.
Lucian's calm expression turned into a surprised one, his eyes widening but soon he regained his composure.
"Alright. Tell him we will be there."
With a nod, Philip disappeared in the hallway.
"What happened?" Cynthia demanded.
"Well... Crown Prince Valen has come to visit us. We need to go meet him. I hope you are ready."
Having coldly said so, Lucian rose from his seat with a thud and walked away from the dining hall, leaving Cynthia in shock.
"It... today... it happened... today?..." She muttered, her eyes widened.
Cynthia rose from her seat, slammed the chair against the table, and rushed toward her bedroom, mumbling to herself.
The servants who saw her pass by were puzzled and shocked; Cynthia's face had turned pale as if she had seen a ghost.