He was the one who sent a woman into Lucas’s bedchamber under the pretense of fulfilling diplomatic obligations to Bern to fast-track Prince Leon’s marriage. He interfered with my marriage in the most vulgar way possible, so how dare he lecture me? Please!
His fists clenched.
“That matter has already been resolved. But now you’re sitting on Prince Lucas’s lap and using his power to threaten me. That’s not how equals treat each other. You are a princess from a friendly nation, so you ought to show me some respect.”
“You’re right. We’re not equals.”
That was exactly what I’d been waiting for him to say, but actually hearing it still pissed me off. I felt the smile vanish from my face.
“Respect and equality are built on mutual trust. And since you never treated me with respect as the princess of Bern, you closed off any chance of fair negotiations from the start. As you yourself said, you’ll agree to my terms because you care what Lucas and Princess Yana think, but that’s the only reason.” I laid it out in blunt terms, and Prince Islan’s eyes widened in shock.
I even heard Yana gasp. Tension filled the whole room.
And as if on cue, Dirk decided to open his big mouth and make matters worse.
“Hmm, after weakening Prince Islan by showing everyone Princess Yana is on your side, now you’re taking the aggressive stance, huh? My little sister-in-law’s sure got some teeth!”
Once again, classic Herbst behavior. He was exceptionally talented at misreading the room.
I silently prayed for someone to shut up my meddling brother-in-law, and sure enough, my capable maid and Lucas’s right-hand man moved immediately in tandem.
“Lord Dirk. No, Deputy Prime Minister. Please remember your position,” Anna said.
“The Hero’s already let your transgressions slide, so I’d keep quiet if I were you. Unless you want to return home in a coffin,” Finn threatened.
They each raised a flat sword to him, one to his lips and the other to his neck, in a cross of blades signaling him to shut up. Dirk broke out into a cold sweat and raised both hands in surrender.
“That’s true, he did forgive my transgressions. Well, I’d rather not die in a foreign country. I’ll be quiet. It looks like my sister-in-law’s got this covered, anyway.”
He winked at me, but I didn’t bother to react. Sorry, buddy.
“Wait, seriously? You’re not putting the swords away? This is so uncomfortable…”
“Master, please just be quiet already.” Niklas had been silently watching from the back, but he stepped in and offered him tea like he was soothing a child.
I’ll let him take care of Dirk.
“Kate,” I called to my maid. She carried over a tall pedestal tray and placed it between me and Prince Islan.
“This is for you,” I said, glancing at Prince Islan. His eyes went wide with surprise again.
“A desert rose?” He stared at it in confusion, and I smiled sweetly.
“I’m giving it back.”
“Giving it back? Are you saying you don’t need it? This was a symbol of my affection!”
“It was only meaningful at the time because Prince Lucas handed it directly to me. But it isn’t something I should keep.” I reached out and gestured for him to go ahead and take it, but then rough fingers interlaced with mine. I almost said, “Are you just here to stop me from speaking, Lukie?”
Prince Islan stared at Lucas’s hand, which was folded over mine. It was clearly a message that we didn’t need this sort of symbol of affection. He hmphed and gave me a mocking smirk.
“Ha. Most women I know are delighted by beautiful gifts. They treasure such tokens gifted by the men they love. I thought that was normal? But I suppose you’re not like that,” the prince said.
Wow, that’s the kind of petty comment I’d expect from someone like Dirk.
I felt Lucas’s grip around me tighten so much that it was like I was being embraced by steel. He was angry, and I was a little afraid that if he squeezed me any harder, I might actually break.
If anyone was in danger right now, it wasn’t Prince Islan, it was me! I had to say something.
“Prince Islan, didn’t this desert rose come from your treasury?”
“Yes, it’s one of the finest gems I possess. It’s the largest and most exquisite among them.”
You really love this rose, don’t you?
I made sure to keep my voice even, to make it clear that I was refusing it for precisely that reason.
“I am the wife of Lucas Theoderic Herbst. I want to treasure the things he gives me, from the heart. Just like he treasures me.”
If Prince Islan hadn’t tried to send a woman to Lucas, I wouldn’t have needed to perform the Sword Dance as his rightful wife to ward off their advances and make our bond clear.
Lucas and I were married, and no matter what anyone said, the idea that I would need some sort of symbol of affection to prove it was ridiculous. He already doted on me more than I could ever deserve.
Besides, the only reason I got that rose from him in the first place was because I’d worked for it. And yet here Prince Islan was, acting all smug, like he was the one who gave it to me, or that he could use it to smooth over this whole ordeal. Who do you think you are?
Maybe now that he knew how it felt to almost lose Yana, he’d learn a little humility.
“Please take it back.”
I was still technically restrained, so I had to settle for nodding toward the desert rose on the pedestal.
Lucas’s grip on me eased, shifting from restraint to something warm and affectionate. He pulled me closer and whispered gently, “I love you so much.”
His sweet, needy voice made me want to smirk so bad. I barely managed to hold it back. Good job, facial muscles!
After all, my knight was a super jealous man. There was no way he’d ever let me keep something another man had chosen for me. If he had that kind of patience, he wouldn’t have shredded that dress like it had personally insulted him. But honestly, even if I did take the desert rose home, it would probably mysteriously go missing anyway.
It was a beautiful crystal, but I didn’t want to bring it back knowing it would just get destroyed. It would be better off given to someone who actually mattered to Prince Islan, like his own wife, Princess Yana. I didn’t want it.
The prince must’ve sensed I wasn’t holding anything back, because I saw his cheek twitching.
“E-Even though it’s protected by powerful magic, how are you so sure Prince Lucas didn’t pour his heart into it?” he asked.
Oh, so now he’s trying to spin it as an affront to Lucas. Well, allow me to educate you.
“Lukie, did you enchant it with anything besides protection magic?”
“Besides protection? No. What else would you even put on something like that?”
“There are plenty of options.”
A quiet jab from Lucas. But yes, usually protection is standard, my dear husband.
Except his amount of love and mana weren’t exactly standard. So it made sense that Prince Islan wouldn’t understand why we’d reject something like this.
When you loved someone so fiercely that you couldn’t hide it, when you had to protect them with everything you had, there was no room left in your heart for anything another man might give them.
With that in mind, I turned my hand so that the ring on my ring finger caught the light.
“As the Hero’s wife and the second princess, I am constantly in danger. So to protect me, Lucas imbued it with offensive spells, defensive magic, and even some remote communications functions.”
I’ll just call it remote communication, because I don’t want him to look at me weird if I told him Lukie’s spying on me…
“Wh-what? You can do that to a ring?!” Prince Islan exclaimed.
I knew he’d be horrified. That’s understandable.
He was just now realizing the extent of what Lucas could set up with his magic, and how easily he could do so. And yeah, it was terrifying.
“But this rose only has protective magic and nothing else. That means he doesn’t want me to have it. Rather, he thinks it’s suspicious.”
“Suspicious?!” Prince Islan’s face twisted into the most amusing expression.
Sorry, but I’m not done explaining yet.
“But most of all, the desert rose is a symbol of affection in Majaar. It would be appropriate for you to give it to someone who you think would be valuable to your reign moving forward.”
“Are you telling me to give the desert rose to Yana? Now that you’ve taken Aram’s power away from me, you’re telling me I need to bring her into my inner circle if I want it back? Bern’s second princess would order me, the future king of Majaar, to give it to her and make her my future queen?!”
He stood up, looking furious, and I couldn’t help but smile sweetly. I was glad we were finally on the same page.