The Ruler of Astrana

I walked straight to the Irish draught which shone brilliantly under the moonlight. He was a giant. A fully grown, well-trained, muscular stallion who was pearl black in colour. He was handsome with a bold face, solid constitution and an awe-inspiring height. His brown eyes and shiny black shade suited Victor very much. Also, his gigantic build and height were apt for Victor who had already grown over the heads of others.

This stallion named Darth was the gift I have prepared for Victor.

With hesitation, I raised my hand to touch his strong head. I stroked it twice and slid my hand through its long and thick mane. When I touched his withers, he swung his smooth and shiny tail once.

I turned to Victor who was still standing on the rock staring at me.

"You need to depart," I repeated looking at the stallion. The words that left my lips were not powerful enough to shake Victor. He was still, standing on the rock, now looking at the sea with a frown and hands on his waist, simply protesting. "I don't want to go," the adamant duke objected.

I glowered at him. 'This man-child. He is not even aware what kind of mess he had caused for me to clean up,' I fumed internally. "Nilo, both of you leave Astrana tonight. This is an order. About the rest, I'll send you a messenger," I've shifted my attention to someone who is understanding and gave him the instructions. Before I leave the area, I looked up at the man who was now looking at me with a frown from the rock.

When met with my eyes, he hopped down from the rock and promptly asked, "Do you mind explaining the reason?" as if he was waiting for me to look at him.

I sighed once closing my eyes in distress. I looked straight into his eyes and told him, "Edward saw us."

These three words should be enough to explain the severity of the situation we were in. I expected him to react to my words, but he was nonchalant.

This was not so different from the situations where one alpha male was confronted with another. None of them would be willing to back off. Usually, it often happens between the male lead and second male lead in novels. It would look so cool. But now that I was stuck between these two's egos, I could not help but blame both of them.

What angered me the most was that despite knowing the consequences Victor maintained his nonchalance. He didn't immediately answer. He knitted his brows further. "Your brother, he must've followed you here," he said.

I was confused about what Victor was trying to say. Seeing me perplexed, Victor continued. "He was already dubious."

That made sense. Unless he wanted to spy on me, there was no need for Edward to follow me to the beach. Now that I think of it, I remembered that there was a meeting in the main palace. Despite that, Edward has been following me. I understood what Victor meant by that. Yes, if he is already dubious to the point of following me, there is no point in hiding things. With his power and intelligence, he would eventually find out everything.

At that point, we've only got one option to get away unscathed. That is convincing Edward by explaining things. This might not end well for both of us.

I worriedly looked at Victor. His hazel eyes showed some tenderness for a fraction of a second. They gleamed in affection under the moonlight. He looked like he understood what was going on inside my head. For a second, I believed that Victor understood. He broke the idea with his next words.

"Don't worry. He won't harm you," he said.

I was out of words. In his eyes, I was nothing more than a selfish princess. I let out a sigh of regret.

I knew that Edward will not harm me. Even if he wanted to, that's not that simple. I knew that as a princess, I was in a safe zone. I was not worried about myself then. All my worries were about Victor, his subordinates, and my soldiers.

"Victor, you heard me before, right? Edward saw US," I emphasized again. It was not only about me. It was about all the people who were standing at the beach then.

"I'll handle it," came the nonchalant response.

"How?" I stepped forward. "He is the crown prince of Astrana. You can't handle him as you did with the shaman or James. He is not that simple," I continued. As someone who had read the novel a hundred times, I knew the fact that there can only be one real opponent for Victor. In any circumstances, if Victor decides to go against Edward, Victor will lose. That's the rule. It has always been that way. No matter how good and talented the second male lead is, he should always lose to the male lead. This is why he is always a 'second'. But how can I explain this whole logic to Victor? That's a one-million-dollar question.

However, I had a few rays of hope that Edward would listen to me and understand. I should let Edward know that my heart belonged to Victor. That was the only way to solve the problem without further confusion. For this, I had to talk with Edward without Victor's presence. But no matter what I say Victor was not planning to leave my side anytime soon. So finally, I had to give up forcing him to leave the country.

I turned to Victor and continued, "Stay low key until I convince Edward". Seeing him looking at me with displeasure I had to add and emphasize a 'please' at the end of my words.

He looked at me without wavering, with a slight surprise. "I'll do as you say," finally he replied.

I was relieved since Victor agreed. Now I had to run after Edward and stop him from spilling the beans to the queen. I was confident to some extent that Edward would listen to me.

I, Henry and Merlin hurried back to the castle. Finally, far away we saw Edward talking to an old man. His guards were standing a few meters behind him at ease.

When I walked close to them, Edward's sky blue eyes fell on me, followed by a frown. Though his conversation with that old man halted because of my arrival, I waited politely and patiently for him to finish his conversation. But to my surprise, this old man's interest turned to me.

"What little pumpkin doing here?" the old man asked leaving me in shock. 'Who the hell is little pumpkin?'

"Who..." I tried to object but he continued. "You're already engaged. You should not be wandering here and there. Go and take care of your future husband, That's what a girl should do."

This had intrigued me enough to glare at him. I once looked up down the old man's ragged clothes. Judging from his accent, I could say he was Astranian. Then he should be aware of who I am and who Edward is. Despite that, he was degrading me, the princess in front of the crown prince.

'What a mad man?' I thought.

But what bothered me was Edward's indifference. He didn't object at all. Judging from everything, I can only conclude that either Edward is extremely angry or this old man was someone important. Still, I was not sure who he is since I've never come across such a character in the book.

"Sir, does engaged mean being deprived of freedom?" I patiently asked forcing a smile. "Why can I wander around? It's my father's palace," I said with a frown, still as calm as possible.

The old man raised his eyebrows in surprise and looked at Edward once. "Father's palace?" he questioned Edward with a proud smile. "So the princess is now talkative?" he asked me with the same expression. "Finally she is behaving like the way I wanted her to be," he muttered and looked at me again.

"Who... who are you?" the man's sophisticated accent on the contrary to his beggar look puzzled me, not to mention he was witty. This man had dark brown hair and navy blue eyes. He was almost the same height as Edward. I've never read a character with a description with this combination. At last, I had to ask to stop myself from getting into further confusion.

"Do I know you?" I asked.

The two men looked at each other once then turned to me at the same time.

"What an unfilial daughter. You can't even identify your father?" the man questioned me with a warm smile.

"Father," Edward tried to say something but before that, the king of Astrana laughed like a thunderbolt. "My disguise must be that good. I should reward my helpers. Hahaha," he continued to laugh making me gawk at him in awe and surprise.

I have never expected the king of Astrana to wander around the walls in ragged clothes. Also, he was out on a journey to a neighbouring country. He must have arrived that day. His disguise was out of the ordinary so I ended up in awe.

"Pumpkin, come and see me tonight. I've brought you tons of presents," he smiled at me with warm eyes. I awkwardly smiled back at him since I had already made a blunder.

"My boy, let me look around the palace once. Meanwhile, go talk with the prime minister about the things we've discussed a moment ago," the king spoke to his son without exposing the information to me. That's right. Why would they bother to let a girl know about the top secrets? I could only let out a sigh. Before moving out of the gate, the king once stroked my hair with loving eyes and a smile. At that moment, I could say that the princess was his favourite.

He was stern and official towards Edward but with me, he was just a loving father. As usual, I started to ponder how can this be useful for my survival.

I and Edward continued to look at his back till he leave out the wall. Once the king went outside the gates, I turned to Edward, who was already glaring at me.

"Brother, let me explain."

"You are already engaged. What you're doing now can hinder both of our parents' reputations," he said.

"But, you told me that you'll help me annul this engagement." I tried to reason with him but he was not ready to listen to me anymore.

"Where did you hide James?" Edward's question forbade me from speaking the words I have prepared.

"W...What?" I stammered.

"Release him," he said. When I blankly stared at him without words, he continued. "Show him some respect. He is your husband to be," Edward effortlessly stated, leaving me wide-eyed.