The carriage comes back for them as soon as it got dark. The coachman arrives to escort them back to the chateau. Gianni is about to stand and leave when Louis bids him wait for a while.“Can I trust you?” the prince suddenly asks. “Can I trust you, Gianni?”“Yes, Your Highness. You can trust me.” Gianni obeys the prince, attentively listening to every detail that is about to come out of his mouth.“I’m in love with Princess Ariane,” Louis outrightly confesses. “All of the poems and songs that I made are all dedicated to her.”Gianni’s shock is unmeasurable. He does not know what his reaction should be to what the prince tells him. Should he be happy? Should he tell the prince that the marriage is already arranged? Should he support him? A lot of questions furiously fill his mind.Louis begs him to keep his confession a secret. Gianni finds it in his heart to keep Louis’

A week after the Harvest Festival, everyone in the palace staff is busy. The wedding between Prince Julien and Princess Ariana is just around the corner. The king and queen are sending invitations to nobles and royals through the continent and across the seas. The wedding shall be at the cathedral in Rimes, three weeks from today’s date.The day marks the arrival of an envoy from Inglatera. They represent the Royal Treasury of Inglatera, which shall take care of half the wedding expenditures. They present themselves in the court, working together with Queen Sophia for the wedding.The queen takes all matters into her own hands. She sends invitations to the best tailors across the continent to present to her the perfect wedding formal for Julien and the wedding dress for Ariana. Queen Sophia keeps a tight hold on the information, making sure that everything remains a surprise on the wedding day. She forbids Julien’s butlers and Ariana’s attendants to d

The night is quiet. The busy hallways turn silent. Everyone in the palace slumbers, except for the patrolling knights and a prince deeply engaged in thought inside his room. Unable to think anymore, Prince Julien calls it a day. He still doesn’t know what to respond to Princess Ariana. The night silently passes as if a thief steals it. Time passes in a blink of an eye and morning comes like the wind of change.Before Gianni and Gabriel come to check on him, Julien leaves his chambers and goes for a morning walk in the palace gardens. The chirps of the birds, the fragrance of the flowers, the relaxing atmosphere, and the sound of flowing water are what the prince needed. He needs some time away from matters and things that remind him of his duty.In the middle of the garden, his ability to think returns to him. He is finally able to think about the big picture with what he wants. He thinks long while staring at a creek. He notices that no matter how many pebbles b

When Prince Louis returns to the palace, he wastes no second as he searches for his brother to tell him what transpired in the café. From his brother’s room to the Grand Library, he searches for him in a hurry. He finds him in the palace gardens having his daily lessons with Lady Adela. He wants to tell him what happened as soon as possible, but he is more afraid of Lady Adela, so he waits and waits until he could wait no more.He approaches Prince Julien and asks Lady Adela for permission if he can take him away for a second. Since Julien is doing remarkably brilliant in his lessons, Adela lets it pass and allows the second prince to talk to his student. Louis grabs his brother outside the pavilion.“Lord Brother,” Prince Louis hyperventilates, “I saw Princess Ariana with a knight.”“A knight? Where? Calm down, Louis.”“They were eating so casually in a restaurant at the western part of the Capital.

As the day comes to an end, the entire palace remains busy. Queen Sophia assumes all the responsibilities of the king, from domestic issues to economic affairs. Prince Julien stays in the Grand Library deep in thought. He refuses any meal brought to him. Gianni and Gabriel continues to care for the king. Together with the queen’s closest aides, they look over the king’s health and safety. Princess Ariana returns to her chambers and begins writing a letter addressed to Leon.She can barely hold the quill that she uses, as she pours all her emotions in what she writes. As the night reaches its climax, each and everyone begins to retire and the entire palace falls into silence. The defeaning silence covers the structure like a blanket. Only the burning blaze of the torches that light the palace grounds are audible.The day thereafter, before the sun can even lift itself from the horizon, Ariana orders a knight loyal to her to do an errand. The knight swears fe