Act

Ah.

What a familiar look.

Aurora looked at the hostage prince in front of her and slowly walked forward. It was strange enough that this prince was allowed to roam freely, but seeing his gaze, she had the feeling that she knew the reason. 

That dull gaze. 

One that would only appear when one had chosen to follow whatever was ordered to them, not bothering to care about it anymore. 

Just like a marionette.

Being controlled by others and all they could do was to follow the order from them. 

Tep.

Prince Lester noticed Aurora's arrival, but he didn't bother to look in her direction. Instead, he lowered his head and looked down at his own hand. 

"If you truly want to act, you should act from the beginning until the end without showing any trace at all." Aurora looked at the young prince in front of her. 

His acting was good as no one would be able to see his true appearance if they didn't pay close attention to his gaze and eyes. But with his status here, who would bother to pay attention to him?

It would be good enough for them not to bother him at all because it was unnecessary. 

But Aurora was used to pay attention to other people's gaze.

And she might not be the only on. 

This time, Lester raised his head and looked in Aurora's direction. 

Aurora showed a smile. "Only if you truly live your act would you be able to fool everyone around you."

After that, Aurora curtsied and turned around to walk away. 

The two of them had no relationship with each other and Aurora would not waste her time with him either. This two sentences were only given to him because she knew how painful it was to act all the time. 

But if one didn't act, they would only receive pain. 

And Aurora didn't want it. 

Prince Lester looked in the direction where Aurora left and slowly lowered his head, the glint in his eyes disappeared. When he raised his head again, he had returned to the way he used to be. The dull gaze was all people could see from him. 

…

After that short and brief meeting, Aurora reached the palace where her mother was staying.

Duchess Isabella saw Aurora there and nodded. "It'll take some time for the others to arrive for the negotiation. During this period of time, you will start studying about the content of the negotiation."

"Yes, Mother."

"You may go."

Aurora curtsied and then followed the maids to reach her room. There was already a stack of books placed there. 

A proper diplomat had to understand the overall situation and not only the situation of the Yellow Kingdom and the Red Kingdom. 

For this reason, Aurora had to start supplement her knowledge over the other areas and spent her time learning about them. 

"Miss, don't force yourself too hard," Les reminded as she brought a cup of warm milk. 

"I have no other choice," Aurora replied with a faint smile and sat down to start reading. She only had two weeks to completely understand the situation of the four kingdoms. 

This wouldn't be easy. 

There were a lot of information that she has to read, but Aurora stayed calm and started reading, memorizing as much information as possible. 

She didn't like studying.

But she had to study or she would be punished. 

And it was only through having knowledge would it be possible for her to gain power on her own and figure out a way out of her situation. Aurora lowered her eyes, a faint glint flashed and disappeared soon afterwards. 

It was not the time yet. 

Aurora looked at the book in front of her, her gaze had recovered to normal. No matter what she actually thought, she would not let them know her real intention.