The interior of the carriage remained silent. While Oriana wondered whether or not the taciturn knight captain had a misunderstanding about what he saw, Arlan continued to remain motionless in his seat.
She snuck a glance at his closed eyes.
’Did he fall asleep on me?’
She narrowed her eyes at him, unimpressed by the steady rise and fall of his chest.
’This prince sure is a spoiled brat. Don’t tell me the snacks were just an excuse to have me play nanny on him? It’s not even night time yet—no, it’s not even noon yet. Does he plan to drag me everywhere, every time to watch over him sleep? I understand he’s haunted by nightmares and his sleep is precious, but so is mine. This cruel guy forgets I need sleep too! When will I sleep when I have to watch over him day and night? Ugh!
’Where is the awe-inspiring Crown Prince I saw in the ceremony earlier? Fake, all fake! I wonder how the nobles would react when they see this childish side of him.’
It would be an insult to Oriana’s intelligence if she had not caught on to the Crown Prince’s intentions by now. She was resigned, albeit reluctantly, to her role in watching him sleep.
’Well, at least, it is not heavy labor,’ was all she could think of to console herself. ’Not to mention, his handsome appearance helps watching him sleep become a bit more tolerable.’
After appreciating the elegant contours of his nose and jaws, Oriana placed her attention elsewhere. She absently stared at the view outside the window, resting her head at the carriage wall while observing the passing scenery without genuine interest.
The cold breeze coming from the open window made her let out a yawn.
’Well, at least, he is sleeping peacefully,’ she thought while observing Arlan.
She straightened her posture in an attempt to wake herself but it did not take long before she let out another yawn. The silence was occasionally punctuated by her soft sigh or a subtle shift in position, yet despite her efforts, she inevitably dozed off.
Arlan slowly opened his eyes and gazed at her sleeping form.
’As expected.’
He knew she would fall asleep if given the chance.
Oriana’s willpower might be strong, but her body had inherent limitations after all. She was yet to recover from the accumulated exhaustion for the past week of traveling, not to mention, even before that, she had little sleep from guarding Arlan at night.
Arlan closed the window and drew the curtains shut so the light and wind wouldn’t disturb her sleep.
This time, it was his turn to observe the other party’s sleeping figure, that delicate frame reclining against the plush cushioned seat of his carriage. The face with a girl’s youthful charm and stubbornness appeared visibly thinner than a week before.
’She sure has an immense level of patience and zeal. Frail body with a strong willpower. She is one remarkable woman.’
An hour later, Arlan noticed her eyelashes fluttering open. While she was rubbing the remnants of sleep off her eyes, the prince pretended to sleep.
Oriana realized she had fallen asleep, and she threw a panicked gaze at her master.
’What the hell? When did I fall asleep?’ She was horrified by her negligence.’The prince didn’t catch me sleeping, right?’
After making sure he was asleep, she let out a relieved sigh.
’Of course not, or else, he would have woken me up and punished me.’
She sat up attentively as if she had never fallen asleep in the first place.
The day passed by with the delegation stopping only for meals and brief rests for the horses, intending to settle in a famous city inn for that night. The journey was perfectly planned and all the stops had been decided beforehand. Sometimes, they arranged the best inns in the area, and whenever they passed a large city, they would be welcomed as guests in the estates of the local territory lords who would be more than happy to welcome the Crown Prince of Griven.
Throughout the day, Oriana had to accompany Arlan inside his carriage. The prince always had a clever reason to keep her, and Oriana had already resigned to fate.
"Your Highness, we have arrived."
Oriana first stepped out of the carriage, with the prince coming out last. It was a grand inn, secured for the royal entourage’s use for the entire night. No outsider was allowed, and everyone was allotted their own rooms to rest.
Arlan was led to the highest floor, and although he only required a single room,the entire floor was booked for his use alone.
Oriana, Neil and Damien followed Arlan to his room. Just as the three were about to enter, Neil stopped Oriana.
"Orian, why don’t you rest first? You can go to your room. Damien and I can take care of His Highness for now. You have been attending to him the entire day."
His colleague’s thoughtfulness moved her. At this point, she didn’t even have an appetite for a meal. All she wanted was to find some small private place for herself and lie down. "But which is my room?"
"That one." Neil pointed. "The one right next to His Highness’s room."
Oriana went to her assigned lodging. It was a grand room meant for nobles. Even rich merchants who could afford it would possibly be denied from renting this kind of room. It was nowhere as luxurious as her room in the royal palace, but she was sure she wouldn’t be able to afford such a room even if she worked in the palace all her life.
’Why am I even surprised? My master is so rich he can probably afford to buy the whole inn a dozen times over.’ She sighed. ’What a waste. I will bet that tonight, here in this inn as well, I have to go put him to sleep. I won’t even get to enjoy this luxury. Such a pity.’
Thinking about it, she quickly freshened up and changed into a fresh set of clothes. She then took a chance to lay in bed.
Knock, knock!