The moment my eyes met the ones staring up at me from under the hood of his cloak, I thought my heart might leap out of my chest. “Your Highness?!”
Without missing a beat, the man brought a finger to his lips; it seemed to be a signal to keep quiet. I was so surprised that I could only watch in astonishment as he deftly hopped onto a nearby tree branch and easily made his way across to the balcony. Between the golden hair hidden under his hood, those eyes like a clear blue sky, his well-toned physique, and that presence that couldn’t belong to anyone else, there was no question as to his identity.
“Good evening, Eli.”
“Your Highness...”
As I was struggling to find the question on the tip of my tongue, a cold wind blew past and I sneezed. The man ushered me back inside the room, and I followed his lead.
While I was still reeling, he—Prince Christopher—looked at me with a mischievous twinkle in his blue eyes. “Since I snuck in both unannounced and at my own discretion, I’m fortunate enough to have the sight all to myself...but that’s quite a titillating state of dress, Eli.”
As I snapped out of my reverie, I looked down at what I was wearing—nothing but a cardigan pulled over my nightgown. Blushing so hard and fast it was as if my face had caught fire, I hastily pushed the vase into His Highness’s arms and ran off to throw on a bathrobe.
This was unbelievable. To think I’d encounter the prince, wearing nothing but my sleepwear...and in the middle of the afternoon, no less! Part of me wanted to call for Annie and get changed right away. But then again...
I stole a terribly embarrassed glance at His Highness, only to find him looking around my room with interest. In hindsight, I realized that the only times he had ever visited my home were to escort me to official functions or non-optional social events. I was fairly certain I’d never invited him over for an informal visit. That was, of course, because there was his position as crown prince to consider—and also because my father hadn’t been too keen on the idea.
“Um...Your Highness? What are you doing here?”
Prince Christopher, whose eyes were in full view now that he had lowered his hood, chuckled at the sight of me bundled up in a bathrobe. “I heard you’d been placed on complete bed rest with a strict no-visitors policy, so I had no choice but to sneak in if I wanted to see you. I apologize for the unsolicited nature of the visit.” He was careful to give me a wide berth—a show of restraint as the trespasser in this scenario.
I gave a swift shake of my head. Knowing how obstinate the servants were, it was unlikely we would have been able to see each other at all had he not snuck in like this.
One other matter was still weighing on me, though, so I asked, “Nothing bad has happened to the royal palace or the kingdom as a whole, has it?”
Could it be that, in light of my condition, I had been kept in the dark about anything that might cause me undue stress? Had His Highness snuck in to relay the news? I couldn’t help considering all the possibilities, but His Highness merely blinked before brushing back his hair with a pensive expression.
“Oh, no... Nothing like that. I promise.”
His deep, soft voice carried a note of faith in me. It told me that he trusted me, as the crown prince’s fiancée, to stand by his side and share the responsibility for the kingdom and the royal line for many years to come.
“It’s just...” he went on, his voice dropping, “due to the nature of the issues, there are some matters and status reports that need to remain confidential...and some things I just can’t talk about. I’m sorry.”
There were things he couldn’t tell me. If I had to guess, it had to do with the punishment of the criminals he couldn’t make public. The royal family’s Shadows, for instance, were bound to be disciplined for their role in the catastrophe. Sometimes, the situation would call for him to pass cold-blooded judgment even on those closest to him; the queen’s brother, Duke Odin, was no exception. Nor was the head educator who had overseen the Shadows—not even if he happened to be His Highness’s childhood tutor.
As our king, His Highness had to condemn them. His position forced him to make such calls all the time. There was no need for me to know about most of it either. Nevertheless, this rekindled my desire to be with His Highness in times of sorrow and distress—to stand by his side, support him, and share his struggles.
Just as I resolved myself to take another step forward, His Highness changed the subject, smiling faintly as he looked down at the vase in his hands. “So the flowers I sent you made it. Good. Also...I’m relieved to see you didn’t use them for your medicinal research or anything.”
Goodness! I took a little offense to that remark. I’d never use a gift someone gave me for an experiment. If it piqued my interest, I’d simply arrange to have a similar specimen sent to me. Besides, the servants had taught me better than to disregard a present from the crown prince himself.
As I defiantly lifted my chin, His Highness set the vase down on a nearby table before taking note of the papers strewn across my bed. Before I even had time to panic, he strode over and picked up one of the documents.
“So you have been doing work, Eli,” he said, a dry mirth in his voice.