Chapter 52

I told Connor everything.

From the beginning, the ball where we talked for the first time. To the tea making, the garden incident, the library… and he sat through it all: Silent as he took it all in.

"Have you told anyone?" He calmly asked, he lifted his hand towards mine. I realised to maybe comfort me, but he froze and placed it back.

"Only Mathias" I answered.

He let out a deep sigh and slumped, face landing in his palms. He straightened almost immediately.

"I'm sorry" he suddenly apologised and I blinked.

"You're sorry?"

"I assumed you actually liked the prince and just didn't want to come clean about it. I hadn't realised… "

"It's fine. No normal person would assume something like this" I let out an ironic chuckle, wondering if everyone thought that. Well eventually rumours will spread that I'm smitten for the prince and then all hell should break loose. "Well" I stood up, my legs feeling like jelly, "I should go back- there's still a party in session".

"Hold- Hold on" Connor once again reached for me and then paused, fingers clenching around his palm, "Do you have any idea on how you can escape?"

"Escape?" I snorted, "from the monarchy?"

"Then what do you suppose you do?"

I bit my lip, wondering if he would stay by side after hearing my answer.

"Fight back".

——————————-

The prince POV

I held a hand to my nose.

I could not smell it, so why was the scent here as well?

I had run off before I could explode further. The inexplicable anger of seeing her with another man made me seethe. Then it was how she defended him like that. It aggravated me so much I didn't fancy the man breathing another second.

I was sure she would never defend me like that. I was sure every part of her wanted nothing to do with me.

I knew it well.

So why did it bother me now? Why was it right when I saw her with him. When she looked relieved to see his face and stood so near him.

I was certain if she had to choose between us she would pick him without a thought. But if I leave her no choice but myself, would she even pick me?

I knew the answer all too well as I noticed one of the palace servants shake in my presence.

That's why I can't play this nice.

I cursed at the fact that I had let my guard down around her. That I had revealed so much in such a little amount of time. Simply because… simply because I wanted to.

Up until now every interaction I had was planned. But with her… it was as if the walls I had plastered over and over again were suddenly gone. And I didn't mind.

"Did you settle on a date?" My grandmother walked into my office without so much as a knock and I could barely stop the glare on my face.

"Two weeks from now. High noon". I bluntly replied, eyes darting to my blood vials that lay openly on my desk. Untouched. Undesired.

"You seem quite fatigued?" She asked, walking closer to me and taking a seat on the sofa nearby. "It wasn't too much trouble was it?" There was a blood vial on the table before her and she grimaced at the sight of it. I pursed my lips.

"What is the point of this competition?" I could feel the frustration of it all finally boiling over in me.

"To find the perfect queen" there was no doubt in her words.

"What if I've found my perfect queen" I threw my head back, looking at the the chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The shards of glass hanging from it were stained with so much blue they were almost black.

"These test will determine if that girl can survive being queen. It may have been about personality gauging before but the true test begins now".

I slammed my hand on the desk, knocking over a few papers as I did.

"I've seen the tests! She could die!"

"There will be measures to avoid that". The dowager nonchalantly replied, taking a sip of the tea her butler brewed for her.

"How can you be so sure?" I looked over the material for the next tasks. Set to commence in a week. They were unfit for a noble lady. In fact, most women would struggle to succeed. "What if no one is to pass?" It was a passing thought with an answer neither of us wanted to ever experience.

"The empire will send someone…" I could see the twitch in the dowagers brow. She wasn't one to get upset over anything, but the way the Empire dangled a noose over us was suffocating to say the least.

They had made the test like this on purpose. They wanted to humiliate the ladies of Grandor, thus ruining our reputation. Then give us a woman of their choice who was likely to extort her control over us.

It would be the beginning of hell.

The dowager cleared her throat.

"I suppose offering a hint to the ladies wouldn't be a terrible plan" she suddenly grinned, "as long as I don't outwardly say it's a hint".

I lifted a brow at my grandmother. The one who was more of a monarch than I could ever hope to be and smirked.

"How noble".