"Baroness, do you need any assistance?" one of the royal guards asked.
She shook her head. "Thank you. I am just heading back to the Queen's residence."
"Let me arrange a carriage for you," said the guard. "We cannot let a noble lady walk on her own in the middle of the night."
Esther nodded and soon he brought a carriage for her. Esther climbed inside it and left after thanking the thoughtful guard. On the way back to the Queen's residence, Esther's gaze landed on the evening view of the palace lake. Under the night sky, its crystalline waters looked peaceful, and she needed fresh air to calm her anger.
"Stop the carriage," she instructed the coachman.
The coachman did as he was instructed and stopped the carriage by the lake side. Esther stepped out as she felt suffocated with what that brazen lady said to her. Her insinuating words continued to pester her mind, even after she left the royal ball.
"Baroness, I will wait for you here to return from your walk," the coachman said politely.
"No. You can leave. I will walk the rest of the way," she told the coachman who was hesitant to leave her alone, but since Esther was determined, he had to obey her order and leave.
This part of the palace was so peaceful and quiet, only the sounds of hooves against the ground from the leaving horse-drawn carriage could be heard. After a while, even that sound was gone. Esther walked along the lake until she reached the wooden bridge connecting the lakeside to the gazebo in the middle of the lake.
Her footsteps were slow but steady as she leisurely strolled along the bridge. Upon reaching the gazebo, she stood silently while looking at the inky black water in front of her. The reflection of the night sky could be seen—a blanket of darkness illuminated by an elegant crescent moon and millions of twinkling stars. The slightly chilly evening breeze and the beautiful reflection of the night sky on the lake made her feel somehow better.
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After having one dance with the relative of his father's advisor, Prince Theron excused himself from having another dance with her. His eyes sought for a certain someone who he saw standing near the table holding drinks and refreshments, but she was no longer there now. He politely rejected the dance invitations from others, using his health as an excuse, and no one insisted knowing the Crown Prince has only recovered recently and his body must be feeling tired.
Prince Theron returned to his place at the head table and gestured for his guardian knight to come closer.
"Yes, Your Highness?" Sir Galien said.
In a low voice, Prince Theron asked, "Where is Lady Esther?"
"Your Highness, I have seen Lady Esther leave the banquet hall a while ago," the knight replied.
'Our conversation is not finished. How dare she leave like this?' he thought. He realized something as he recalled their earlier exchange. "Seems like I have scared her again."
Getting out of his thoughts, Prince Theron asked, "Where do you think she went? Perhaps the maze garden? Is she in one of the pavilions outside?"
Sir Galien pulled one of the servants to inquire about something. Afterwards, the knight returned to the prince's side.
"The Baroness left on a carriage. Most probably, she went back to Her Majesty's residence," the knight replied. "Do you want me to fetch her back?"
"No need." The Crown Prince stood up.
"Your Highness, are you leaving already?" the knight asked in surprise. "The King and Queen have both left. If you also leave…"
"This much is enough for the guests' entertainment," he said. In the first place, he was not even a bit interested in such social events. He left the banquet hall through one of the back doors, avoiding the gaze of the crowd.
Prince Theron got a servant to fetch him his horse and rode towards the Queen's palace without his escort knights. For some strange reason, while passing by the lake on the way to his mother's residence, Prince Theron felt an urge to stop and stay by the lakeside. He lowered the speed of his galloping horse to a slow trot, and looked at the gazebo in the middle of the lake.
He found a dainty silhouette standing inside.
'Could it be…?'
Unknown to him, he had turned his horse towards the wooden bridge and he climbed off his ride in a daze. He was too far to be sure, and the only source of light in the darkness came from the moon, but his intuition was telling him that the person in the gazebo was the one he was looking for.
Leaving the horse at the edge of the lake, he slowly made his way towards the gazebo.
'Esther…'
The lovely young lady was standing with her back towards him, looking at the lake in comfortable silence. Under the soft moonlight, her already exquisite appearance seemed to glow, causing the young prince to fall into a daze. Stray tendrils of her honey blond hair moved along with the passing breeze.
She looked like a serene painting, Prince Theron felt like he could stare at her for hours and be perfectly content to simply watch her. He stood silently at the entrance of the gazebo, not willing to disturb the young lady.
Esther felt him approach, however, she continued to gaze at the lake and pretended ignorance of his arrival. She knew who it was even without turning around to check. It wasn't merely intuition to her—her entire body, no, perhaps it was her soul that was strongly reacting to his presence.
'Yes, that must be it. Because I gave him a part of my soul…'
Otherwise, she could not explain why she was acting like this towards a weak human. She closed her eyes as she tried to steady her heart.
'Theron Ivanov, what am I supposed to do with you?'