The Aloof Crown Prince

In the Qalagon Royal Palace, one young man dressed as a soldier was hurriedly walking towards a certain chamber. When he reached a door, he halted and knocked.

"Come in."

When he heard the response, he quickly walked inside and kneeled before the blonde-haired young man who was sitting, with some scrolls in his hand.

"Your Highness, I just received a report saying that the Princess of Jerivia will enter the city before the afternoon."

Hearing this, the Crown Prince of Qalagon remained still before he shifted his gaze to Antony, his right-hand man. "Do you make sure that no one plays a trick on their way here?"

"Yes, Your Highness. As you ordered, I had soldiers secretly watched them over the moment they landed a foot on our Kingdom." Antony respectfully replied.

Crown Prince Arin rose from his seat. "Then let's go." He quickly puts on his cape which was hanged next to him.

"May I ask where?"

"The Princess of Jerivia sacrifice herself for her people and that's admirable. We should at least show some sincerity. Let's welcomed her at the city gate." Arin Helev said. His face was devoid of any expression the whole time.

"I understand, Your Highness." Antony quickly stood up and left the palace with the Crown Prince.

* * *

Iria Alewine pulled the curtains of the carriage to the side and glanced at the front. Standing tall just before them was the main fort of the Qalagon Kingdom which was their main defence.

Despite being neighbouring kingdoms, she had never been to Qalagon due to the rivalry between the two kingdoms which started even before she was born. She had no knowledge of this foreign kingdom.

When they reached the gate of the fort, Minister Gerin who went with her, was about to announce the Princess's arrival to the guards until...

The gate was suddenly opened and three men appeared, making their way to them. Iria Alewine took a peek at them and noticed that one of them dressed up as a Minister while the other two seemed to be young.

The middle-aged man stood before Minister Gerin and bowed towards the carriage to show respect to the Princess. "I am Casar Mareyi, the Prime Minister of Qalagon. Greetings to the Princess of Jerivia, the envoy and other delegates."

Prime Minister? She didn't expect this. It would be enough even if an average Minister came to escort her inside the city!

Minister Gerin also bowed to the Prime Minister to showed his respect. "Greetings to the Prime Minister of Qalagon."

Prime Minister Casar Mareyi nodded but he briefly glanced behind and make way for the young man. "This is His Royal Highness Crown Prince Arin Helev. He is here to personally welcome his bride-to-be."

The name and title instantly triggered the Commander's curiosity. Even if it was just a cover, the Crown Prince would still be her husband in the name for the next few months. However, when she observed the young man cautiously, her eyes flickered.

Crown Prince Arin briefly glanced at the carriage and then turned to Minister Gerin. "You must be tired due to the long journey. Let's enter the city first."

Riding his horse, the Crown Prince leads the carriage inside the city. In every street, people would stare at them with curiosity but the moment they noticed their Crown Prince, they would bow and understood that the alliance marriage was finally taking place. The cycle repeated again and again until they reached the palace gate.

When Iria stepped out of the carriage, she was standing on the ground of one magnificent place inside the palace. However, she somehow felt uneasy. The Crown Prince looked so familiar but... she can't recall why. Then for the first time, she finds herself standing before him. Then she slightly bowed.

Crown Prince Arin Helev was famous because of two main things. Firstly, he was powerful enough. Maybe it was because of his intelligence, even his father the King never ignored his opinion in every matter. The next is his aloofness. He never talked much.

By this time, Iria had already removed her veil and the Crown Prince glanced at her but it was just for a split second.

"This is Aprilia Palace, Your Highness. As you know, the marriage will take place the day after tomorrow. Until then, you can stay here." It was the Prime Minister who took the initiative to explain to her.

"Thank you for your kindness, Prime Minister," Iria said and briefly glanced around. With many beautiful flowers blooming, it might be well suited for the Princess but... she wasn't a great fan of flowers. She deemed it useless.

Prime Minister Casar slightly smiled. "I don't do anything to receive that. Everything is prepared by the Crown Prince."

Iria turned to the Crown Prince but she didn't say anything. She was still wary because she couldn't recall when she had seen him before.

"You can inform the maids if you need anything. Tonight, there will be a feast to introduce you to the rest of the royal family and other ministers." The Prime Minister spoke up again.

"I understand," Iria said and slightly bowed before she was about to turn around but...

"I will come to take you to the feast. The maids are already informed, so they will arrange everything for you, Princess." The Crown Prince talked to her for the first time. However, he left right away before she could respond. Prime Minister and Antony immediately followed him out too.

The moment they were out of her sight, Commander Iria quickly turned to Minister Gerin. "You must be tired, Minister Gerin. Have a rest now."

The King of Jerivia issued an order to show Iria the same respect as the Princess, so the Minister bowed. "You should rest too, Your Highness." Then he walked inside the chamber on the left.

"Follow me." She said to Rion and they quickly entered the huge chamber prepared for her.

"The Crown Prince... he is too familiar." She promptly muttered.

Rion raised a brow. "Commander, don't you remember him? He is that mysterious Commander who once fought against us in a war with Qalagon. It was a year ago. I only realized today that he is the Crown Prince."

Iria Alewine recalled the war. It was the hardest one she ever fought in her life! After fighting for two whole weeks, both sides decided to withdraw due to heavy casualties and lack of reinforcements. It turned out the Crown Prince was the mastermind of the opposing side!

At that war, she wore a mask like always but... her eyes grew wide when a possibility crossed her mind. "What if he remembers my voice? We negotiate at that time!"