“Why? Why didn’t you tell me the truth?” was the first thing that popped out of Lianne’s head. It had always been the question she wanted answered the moment she found out his secret. Her tears continued to stream down her face. Both of her hands balled up tightly as she banged the portal, trying to vent her frustration on the inanimate object instead of the man who was standing behind the door. Though her voice was muffled, Ruen could clearly hear the words she spat on the other side due to the intricately carved holes of the mahogany door. “Please calm down, Lianne,” he requested, genuine concern roped his voice. The latter unfortunately couldn’t calm down. Flashes of the past and the present clashed; each one like a piece of a difficult puzzle ready to be completed. Her sufferings, the smiles and tears, the hatred, the longing, and her

“This hat would make a good choice if you want to protect yourself from the heat of the sun, my dear.” Lady Faye stated matter-of-a-factly as she raised the wide-brimmed yellow hat up with her right hand. It was early eight in the morning and both Erza and Lady Faye were helping Lianne prepare for her much anticipated first-time excursion. Lianne was sitting at a stool cushion in front of her vanity mirror while Erza was finishing a clean sideways hairdo. She was wearing a flesh-colored cocktail dress, the cloth of chiffon type. The length was just below the knee and it had an elegant beaded artwork around the waistline. She paired it with a beige sandal, a simple gemstone bracelet, and stud earrings. Overall, this was an ensemble just right for the occasion. “Ah, thank you, Lady Faye,” Lianne answered and accepted the hat from the governess. “Oh! Ho

When Ruen glanced at Lianne while he was at the bakery shop, he saw her enjoying the lion float that was passing by. He noticed the commotion as the float arrived and saw that the platform flooded immediately with spectators because of it. He saw the little boy sitting highly at the top of his father’s shoulder; however, because of it, he wasn’t able to discern the face of the man that situated himself right at Lianne’s back. After he bought three chocolate muffins though and walked back towards the platform, he noticed her acting rather unusually. The expression on her face became tense and troubled. By the time he realized something wasn’t right, he already saw her being hauled out of the railing by the unknown man. Their eyes met and the alarm in her eyes was enough to instantly tell him she was in danger. He dropped the box of muffins into the ground and immediately took off to the platform like a madman on a ramp

Lianne was standing at the upper deck of the boat when they reached the port of Olga. She was wearing a new dress; a peach-colored off-shoulder peasant dress provided by the captain, all thanks to his many exploits. It was past six in the evening when they arrived and what greeted Lianne when she first laid eyes on the port town was a harrowing sight. There were many buildings that were destroyed. Houses were without roofs, a bridge toward the town square was collapsed, and many beggars were on the streets. It wasn’t what Lianne had expected it to be. Nothing at all. Cain came to stand beside her as she felt aghast by the sight. “Lianne, welcome to the City of Olga,” he said plainly. There was no hint of sympathy in his voice like he was already accustomed to the unwelcoming sight. But of course, this was the place where his father died, and the mission that Garlow had given.

“How is she, Your Majesty?” Lord Jared carefully asked when Ruen finally exited his private cabin. He looked distressed and exhausted, wrinkles and a hard frown marring his handsome face. It had been five hours since they left the port of Olga, sailing back to Regaleria on the royal ship in the middle of the night. Traveling back to Regaleria as soon as possible was the best thing to do for mainly two reasons. One was that it was safer for the princess to be as far away from the cave as possible while the blood moon was still high and second, for the King’s sake, so that he wouldn’t burn the entire city down because of his raging anger.  “She’s still sleeping, ” Ruen answered plainly, but he had a tense look on his face. “Do you need anything, Your Majesty? Coffee perhaps?” Jared offered knowing the King would probably pu