"The Duke and Lady Rosalind have arrived!" The Herald announced when Duke Lucas and Rosalind stepped out of the portal and into the gardens of the palace where everyone was waiting.
The hunting event was done, and while there were people who returned wounded, no one's life was taken.
"Lady Rosalind, what about the Prince?" A man wearing the same clothing as the prince approached her and the Duke. It was the second Prince, Piers Goosebourne and standing next to him was the third prince Giles Goosebourne.
"Your Highness," Rosalind bowed. The second prince should be the same age as her, while Giles was about a year younger. She faked a smile. She could feel everyone's gaze on her and it was probably because she walked out of the portal with clean clothing and an appearance that looked like she was visiting a beautiful place instead of going into the forest to hunt.
"Where is my brother, Lady Rosalind?" Giles asked.
"As much as I like to answer your question, I cannot. The Eldest Prince and I got separated a few hours after we left."
"Separated?" the second Prince frowned.
"Yes. I am lucky enough to have stumbled onto the Duke and Princess Isabel," Rosalind said naively. "Without them, I would have died a gruesome death."
"So you did not see the Prince again?"
Rosalind turned and was surprise to see her own father. The coldness in his gaze was enough to freeze an entire kingdom. Was he disappointed to see her alive?
"No, we did not see the Prince again," it was the Duke who answered. The man didn't leave her side since they stepped out of that portal. He wasn't exactly standing so close, yet he was close enough for her to notice his warm presence.
Rosalind didn't know why the Duke would do such a thing. This was not the jungle!
The best way to protect her from all those people was to maintain his distance to avoid creating a false impression of her importance in his life. Rosalind didn't want to create a target on her back.
She didn't want anyone to think that she was important to him and that her death would somehow affect him. However, it seemed that the Duke had decided to irritate her even without saying a word.
Last night, the two of them created an elaborate scheme to target the crown prince. While he didn't exactly tell her what his plan was, she knew that it had something to do with the successor of the Emperor.
Her only mistake was thinking that the man would watch the show from the shadows. Instead, he attracted all attention by standing next to her since they arrive!
"It seems that the Duke has gotten closer to my daughter " Martin Lux narrowed his eyes towards Rosalind as if trying to tell her to move farther away from the man. Obviously, Rosalind just responded with a naive smile before she avoided her father's look and focused on the Duke instead.
To complete the scene, she forced herself to blush.
As someone who was once married, she could easily think of something that she had learned in the past and blush at will. It was a very convenient way to show how naive she was.
"That is a fact," the Duke smiled, sarcasm laced his tone. "While inside, Lady Rosalind told me everything that happened in the last five years where she lived on the side of the mountains with only one servant, no guards, and monthly rations."
"Your Grace, I think that is none of your business."
"What do you mean, your Blessedness?" Duke Lucas asked. "Am I not allowed to ask questions about my fiance's life?"
Just as expected, Martin's face turned ugly. He narrowed at the Duke but he couldn't say another word. Martin Lux cared about his reputation and the reputation of his family, hearing a Duke say something like that so bluntly was disrespectful to the Lux Family.
How could someone that was not even from the Empire casually inquire about the Lux Family's affairs?
But he couldn't do anything about it.
"I am glad that you have taken a liking to the life of Lady Rosalind," Federico Lux joined the conversation after he got himself a glass of wine from the attendant that had been walking around providing drinks for everyone. "But isn't it too early for you to call her a fiance when you just met her a few days ago?"
The Duke looked at Federico and chuckled. "YourBlessedness, you must be jesting. I fight at the borders every single day, how could I have the time to court a lady? Are you trying to tell me that courting someone from the Lux Family is more important than the lives that I am protecting?"
His words were clear and simple, but were also something that came as an insult to Federico and Martin. The Duke was fighting monsters every day, risking his life for the Empire and everyone else. Why would he waste his time courting a woman that he likes?
"I prefer to marry a woman that I like and spend the rest of my life courting her," the Duke looked at Rosalind gently. "What do you think, your Blessedness?" Duke Lucas once again looked at Federico, who still managed to maintain a smile on his face.
"Gentlemen instead of talking about marriage, why don't we talk about my brother instead?" Prince Giles interjected in dismay. "The Prince is not yet here. Shouldn't we send some soldiers to retrieve him?" This time, Giles looked at Rosalind.
"My brother is a top hunter. He is good with both swords and spears. I refuse to believe that he would be late! Something must have happened," Giles added.
Rosalind held the Prince's gaze as long as she could.
"I am certain that the Prince will arrive sometime soon," Rosalind comforted. "Isn't that right, your Blessedness?" Rosalind looked at Federico.
"Why would someone like you ask me that question?" Federico hissed. "We have sent knights to make sure that the jungle is safe for everyone. We also have knights outside of the forest. There is no need to worry about the Prince, he is going to be fine. Of course, if the Prince will return with some problems, the Emperor and I will deal with it." His left eye twitched as he met Rosalind's eyes. "Quickly."