[Music Recommendation: Young and Beautiful ~ Lana Del Rey]

Minutes passed with Oriana and Adric holding each other closely. When the room became cold, Oriana sat up on the bed. She craned her neck to see that the wood in the fireplace was almost burning out. She raised her dress, putting on her sleeves. She made sure Adric was well tucked in bed and looked at him one more time.

"I’ll be back. Let me get more wood," Oriana whispered, as if he could hear her. Then she stepped down from the bed, slipped her feet into her shoes, and quietly left the room. She was going to lock the room from the outside but thought against it since she wouldn’t take much time. She closed the door gently and left the passage.

She went straight to the kitchen and found wood that was already cut into smaller logs. She packed as much as her small hands could grab, using her chest to balance it so it wouldn’t fall off. Some maids rushed over to help her.

"Princess, let us do it. Please," one of the maids suggested.

Oriana was going to let them help because she needed more wood to keep the room warm, but with the way Adric’s guard acted, it meant they didn’t want anyone knowing about it. She shook her head.

"Thank you for your good thoughts, but I can do it," she replied. Standing on her feet, she left the kitchen and walked towards the palace. Getting close to the passage, she was about to turn to enter Adric’s room when someone bumped into her, causing all the wood she had packed to fall. Oriana didn’t look at the person’s face. She got down on her knees and started packing the wood again. She didn’t have time to waste, as Adric needed her.

"I’m sorry, let me help," the male voice spoke, kneeling down to help Oriana carry the wood.

Oriana raised her eyes to look at the person. It was Princess Jasmine’s husband. She bowed her head. "Don’t worry, I can do it myself," she muttered, moving back.

Caspar smiled, picking up one piece of wood. "That’s why I like you. You’re so feisty and smart." He tapped the wood in his hands. "You know I have friends in the house of demi-monde, and one of them came for your wedding. They saw you in the palace and recognized you. Being a smart woman, I know you already understand what I mean."

Oriana stared at the man. She looked at the wood he was holding, then at the ones she had packed. "Wait, I know what this is. You’re trying to blackmail me, yes?"

Caspar sucked his teeth. "When you put it like that, it sounds as if you won’t enjoy it too. I know your past life before now. If you don’t want the Crown Prince to know, then make plans with me. I will protect you around here."

"Like you do for your wife?" Oriana asked with a serious look on her face.

"What?" Caspar asked, not understanding what the princess meant. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Oriana waved her hands. "You know what, never mind. You wouldn’t even understand if I tried to spell it out. Your brain would probably hurt," she muttered.

"Did you just insult me?" Caspar’s hand tightened around the wood he was holding; his anger was now seething.

Oriana scoffed, looking at the man puffing his chest out. "Even if I tried, the insult would probably fly over your head. Now give me that before I really set your brain straight with it." Oriana grabbed the wood by force, causing Caspar to almost lose his balance.

"You think you’re really something, right? You will pay dearly for looking down on me," Caspar pointed at her face, then turned to go on his way.

Oriana chuckled. "I can’t believe even the weasels now think I’m a pushover," she shook her head, wondering how that man and Jasmine had children as smart as Walter and Kai. It was sad to know the children had very useless parents. "That’s right, Prince Adric!" Her thoughts were cut short when she remembered she was supposed to be on her way. Oriana ran inside the palace with the wood. She saw the youngest princess of the royal family standing close to Adric’s room.

Oriana sighed. She was really tired of meeting anyone. She bowed slightly to the princess, ready to walk away when she heard her say,

"You should be careful of my brother-in-law," Adelaide said, dusting her hands. She looked at Adric’s door. "And it looks like Brother Adric already has a visitor." Saying this, the princess left the passage.

Oriana’s eyes followed the princess. She didn’t know what she was playing at, but she had learned not to trust anyone in the palace. Adelaide was the first to tell her about Adric’s allergy and had also tried to help her, but before then, the princess always appeared first when there was trouble. And how did she know about her encounter with Caspar? Oriana thought to herself. She looked around the passage. Was she being watched? And what did she mean by Adric already having a visitor?

"This is not the time for this," Oriana muttered. She needed to keep Adric right now. She pushed the door and noticed it was slightly open. Thinking that maybe Rowan was back, she entered the room with a smile on her face. She was happy to stay beside Adric throughout the night. It didn’t matter as long as she took care of him.

Oriana was halfway inside the room when the sight in front of her froze her feet to a spot. There, inside the room, Sophie held a white piece of cloth and dabbed it on Adric’s back while he sat on a couch, shirtless. Both of them turned to look at Oriana when they heard someone walk inside.

"Sister," Sophie waved with a bright smile on her face. "Prince Adric was lucky. I was passing by when I heard a loud crash inside his room. I ran inside and it turns out he missed a step; he only sustained a little injury. I am getting it cleaned," Sophie blabbered. She looked at the logs Oriana was carrying. "What are you doing with those? Don’t tell me you’re still cooking. This is not the kitchen."

Oriana didn’t move her feet from where she was standing. Her eyes were now on Adric. He was fully awake and was also looking back at her. She had so many things she wanted to say to him, but she couldn’t since Sophie was there. And it looked like Sophie didn’t see him in a weaker state or know how affected he was by the food he ate earlier.

Adric didn’t move his eyes away from Oriana. He had woken up earlier after she left the room. When he tried to stand up and get water from the table, with his leg still unstable, he fell and crashed into everything.

The older princess was the one who had rushed inside the room, trying to raise an alarm. Adric had to stop her, because if others heard about his condition, especially his stepmother who knew very well that he wasn’t clumsy enough to crash into tables, everyone would know that the food he ate earlier truly affected him. To do that, he had to get into the head of this princess, making her think she could help him by staying beside him.

"Thank you so much, Princess Sophie. You really helped me today," Adric smiled, now looking at Sophie, who was blushing.

Oriana tightened her grip on the wood she was holding. She felt hurt seeing Adric thank someone else when she was the one who took care of him. "I lost my way. I will now go back to the kitchen and continue cooking."

"You do that, Sister," Sophie waved, happy to be left alone with Adric.

Oriana quietly left the room, where she met Rowan, who was now on his way inside.

"Princess, what about His Highness?" Rowan bowed, looking inside the room. He was clearly worried about Adric.

Oriana smiled. "He’s fine now," she bowed and walked away.

Rowan twitched his lips. The look on the princess’s face wasn’t a pleasant one. He wondered if Adric had bullied his lifesaver. He pushed the door open, ready to scold him, when he saw exactly what had gotten on the princess’s nerves. He cleared his throat and bowed.

Adric exhaled when he saw Rowan. He held Sophie’s hand to stop her. "You can stop now. Remember to keep our little secret. You can do that for me, right?" Adric asked in a soft voice.

Sophie nodded. She was very much excited to have a secret with Adric. She blushed. "I will take it to my grave, Your Highness." She bowed before leaving the room.

Rowan bowed to the princess and followed her when she left the room. He locked the door. "What was she doing here?"

Adric closed his eyes, the smile on his face now disappearing, with his head resting on the couch. "I don’t know either what she was doing there," he shook his head.

"You do know it was Princess Oriana who was beside you through it all. I had a little situation with Princess Jasmine, so I had to leave, but Princess Oriana was smart enough to handle the situation," he reported, just in case the prince didn’t remember. He didn’t want someone else to take undeserving glory, seeing that Princess Oriana’s sister also had her eyes on Adric.

Adric opened his eyes, looking at the fireplace which now looked empty. He remembered the hurtful look in Oriana’s eyes when she saw them. "I do know who was beside me. Trust me Rowan, I know," he muttered.