Chapter 63 The sullen prince gave an extremely light kiss.
Lucas felt as dizzy as Ashlin, even though he hadn't drunk any alcohol or eaten the Twin Grass. He even suspected that the walls of the maze were spinning.
“That’s hilarious, Miss Witch.”
"I'm not joking."
"Is this a tradition among you River Bend people? Kissing everyone goodnight?"
Ashlin squinted, and the vines tightened. Lucas's wrist ached and itched.
Not everyone.
She was standing way too close.
Lucas's heart was pounding.
That's completely wrong; nothing of it is true.
Ashlin was completely out of her mind, no different from someone who had drunk too much; what she was doing was clearly not what she truly wanted. The right thing to do was to push her away forcefully.
He was a prince, she was a witch, and he hadn't forgotten that. If his father knew... no, it had nothing to do with his father. However, if they lived in a more perfect world, things might be different.
Of course, the biggest problem right now is that you can't push away a powerful forest witch, especially when your wrists are tightly bound by vines.
Yes. He's overthinking it. Ashlyn just wanted a warm goodnight kiss, like a little girl afraid of having nightmares.
Lucas struggled with himself for a moment.
Finally, he closed his eyes, lowered his head, and went all out, forcing his lips to painfully deviate from their intended direction midway, moving upwards.
A very light kiss landed on the girl's slightly flushed forehead. She smelled like a forest after rain, or a field under the sun.
Something was dancing within Lucas, a kind of almost magical power surrounding him.
Suddenly, he vaguely understood something, but before he could fully grasp it, the thought left him again.
The vines finally released him and let go of his hand.
Suddenly, several small blue and yellow flowers sprouted from the cracks in the ground beneath their feet. The flowers multiplied and grew taller, their fresh fragrance masking the damp smell of the maze.
"Do you want to turn the maze into a garden, Ashlin?" Lucas joked.
Ashlin touched her forehead absentmindedly, seemingly confused.
Her next move surprised Lucas.
She leaned closer, almost lying on top of him, and then gave him a smile that only a drunkard or a feverish person would have.
The flowers drew closer to them, even shimmering with a faint blue and gold light, like a wall forged by nature and magic.
He had to retreat until he had nowhere left to retreat.
"Just the forehead?" she asked softly.
Lucas did not respond, mainly because he had suddenly and miraculously lost his voice.
Before Ashlin could say or do anything else she shouldn't, he gently and quickly pushed her away, awkwardly wrapped himself in his blue cloak, and stepped over the blue flowers in the cracks in the rocks.
A few leaves from the vines still clung to his cloak, unnoticed by him.
"Goodnight," he said simply, praying that she would remember nothing tomorrow.
Ashlin shrugged and casually sprawled out on the blanket, lying on her back.
"Haha, goodnight, little kitty!" She waved her hand, and the witch's hat covered her face.
Lucas hurried into the next room, nearly tripping over his own cloak.
“Miss Nova, please switch rooms with me. That witch is getting a little out of control.”
The dwarf and the mouse seemed to be playing with a mechanical watch, and were not surprised to see him, as if they had expected it.
“Prince Lucas,” Zach exclaimed in surprise, “your face is as red as an apple. What are you doing?”
“Flirting in the maze,” Nova said calmly.
Wow! Cool.
Without saying another word, the dwarf left happily.
“You guys remind me of a girl I liked in Dragon Tooth Village,” Zack reminisced. “Sigh, I’ve always had this problem of face blindness, and I always mistook that girl for someone else. I can’t remember anyone’s face at all. But she never laughed at me and liked me a lot… at least at first I thought she really liked me. But then I found out she just liked my body.”
Lucas rolled his eyes at him, barely suppressing the urge to bite him. He just had cat ears and a cat tail; he wasn't a cat.
Are you catching up with me or showing off?
“Squeak, I’m serious! Actually, that girl did nothing wrong. When I was still human, I did look very strong because I grew up doing farm work,” Zack said. “But later I realized that I wasn’t brave at all, and I was actually quite stupid.”
"You discovered it just in time. Next time, I suggest you find it before you steal the map for the dark wizard."
“Sigh, anyway, I’m so envious of you,” Zack said. “I’ve forgotten what it’s like to be human… Will the method you’re talking about for lifting the curse really work?”
"It will work."
"But you said it could only be used once. Is that true?"
"I'm afraid... it's true. Sanova consulted a lot of information before discovering this."
"If you lift the curse, will I never be human again?" Zack asked sadly. "I won't be able to be a knight, and I won't be able to see my mother and Lucy again."
Lucas patted the mouse's head.
“No, you will turn back, just like me. I promise you.” He made the promise while feeling extremely hypocritical. “When the spell is cast, we must be together to make sure the magic works on both of us at the same time.”
The mouse nodded and lay down to sleep, quickly drifting off to sleep.
But Lucas couldn't sleep at all now.
He pulled a blue notebook from his bag. It was the notebook he always carried with him, but he almost never used it. Carrying it had become a habit. Staring at the blank pages seemed to help him clear his thoughts.
Okay, not just seemingly. It really does clear his mind.
The notebook was invented by Manet Varian, a sorcerer of the Sun Palace. It can automatically write down a person's thoughts, but then disappears after a while. This particular notebook, however, was unaffected by the labyrinth, probably because Manet's magic was extremely powerful.
"He's lying again," the notebook read. "No one knows whether a spell can be lifted just because the subjects are standing together."
Lucas sighed.
"Zack wants to turn back more than I do," the notebook entries said. "It doesn't matter to me if I don't break the curse. It's just that Ashlin can't be punished for it. We need a backup plan."
However, there were no backup plans. He couldn't guarantee everything would go perfectly; at most, he could leave Ashlin something to try and prevent his father from overthinking things.
Lucas closed his notebook, staring at the ugly, maze-like ceiling, his mind a jumble of thoughts. The thought of the truth he hadn't told Ashley made his stomach churn.
He had unjustly accused Ashlyn of mispronouncing a spell and turning him into a cat. But she was his true savior. She completely healed him and gave him a second chance.
He could no longer deceive himself. But if she knew that if he hadn't acted impulsively, they wouldn't have gone through these life-or-death experiences, wouldn't have suffered so much... would she still treat him this way?
It wasn't her fault from beginning to end.
Ultimately, when they returned to the real world, it was too late. Ashlin was a free forest; he couldn't be so selfish as to pull the sunlight into the shadows.
That's right, that's exactly it.
Lucas numbly counted the number of cracks in the ceiling, counting to over two hundred before being interrupted by his chaotic thoughts, forgetting whether it was two hundred and fifty-six or two hundred and eighty-six.
He wasn't sure if he was asleep, because he couldn't shut down his mind; the voices inside were buzzing like countless flies. Fragments flashed before his eyes—perhaps memories, perhaps dreams, or both.
At fifteen, he stood before the castle mirror. Elaine examined his attire.
"I don't want to see her."
"You have no choice."
“I don’t see the point in this. Sun and Moon Festival should be celebrated by everyone together, and I don’t need to be alone with any one of them.”
“Fiona is a lovely girl,” Elaine said. “You’ll like her.”
“I will complete this task perfectly.” Elaine straightened his cloak, which bore the sun crest of the Deville family. “And don’t say that about Fiona. She’s very interesting!”
"She has a whole dozen boyfriends who are knights. Do you find that funny?"
Elaine shrugged. "She's a bit of a womanizer."
Fiona Morris is the youngest daughter of Lord Morris, the same age as Lucas. She is beautiful, innocent, and always dressed in pink. Perhaps because she has read too many fairy tales, she herself is becoming more and more like a princess in a fairy tale.
Lucas had seen her a few times when he was a child, but most of the time he was just listening to Fiona’s excellent piano playing and pretending to be an adult taking a walk in the garden.
This time, Lucas wanted to stay in the warm house, but he felt his father's gaze pressing down on him. So he reached out to Fiona and led her to the garden again.
The garden was silent, decorated with Sun and Moon Festival ornaments everywhere.
Fiona was still wearing the same light pink dress and cape as before, with a red rose and pearl hair ornament on her head.
She wore a gold chain and an agate ring on her left wrist, but only a simple bracelet on her right, which clashed with her gorgeous pink outfit.
“If you feel a little cold, miss,” Lucas said, “we can always go back to the crowd.”
Fiona gave him a sweet smile and placed her hand on his arm.
“It’s not cold at all today! It’s the perfect temperature for us,” she said happily. “Not to mention, Your Highness, how could I feel cold with you by my side? My mother always said that one’s state of mind can change everything, and seeing you makes me understand that.”
Lucas gave a forced laugh, fully understanding what she was trying to say. Lord Maurice must have had a good talk with her as well.
"Oh my god, you stole my lines."
“A winter garden, a princess and a prince…we’re like the protagonists in a fairy tale, aren’t we?” Fiona’s hand tightened a little. “The only difference is that these two people in reality…are not so close. But I think time will make everything fall into place.”
Lucas was highly skeptical of Miss Fiona's sense of distance, considering they were actually quite close. But he still politely said, "Perhaps."
"I heard you've recently been studying the history of the northern trade routes? My father often praises your foresight, saying that with your assistance, the Deville family will surely usher in a more solid alliance and prosperity."
“Lord Maurice, you flatter me, Miss. I was merely fulfilling my duty.”
“Duty…” Fiona repeated the word as if it were filled with romance, which sent a chill down Lucas’s spine. “To fulfill one’s duty so well is the true mark of a king. I envy those who can always be by your side and witness your hard work for the future of the kingdom.”
“Elaine has the true demeanor of a king,” Lucas replied with a smile, “not me.”
They walked to the wishing well in the center of the garden.
"Do you have any wishes for the New Year?" Lucas pulled out a silver coin. "Now is a good time to make a wish."
“I haven’t decided yet,” Fiona said, looking at him with wide eyes. “What about you?”
Lucas was silent for a moment, looked around to make sure no one was there, and then said in a low voice, "I want to leave the palace."
Fiona laughed in surprise. "Leave? Where to?"
“…Anywhere.” He tossed the silver coin into the pool, gesturing to Fiona, “It’s your turn.”
Fiona slowly took out her silver coins.
“Your Highness, do you know? When I first visited here as a child, I made a wish here. Today, I will make the exact same wish again.” She lowered her eyelashes. “Unlike you, I hope to truly enter the palace, not as a guest, but as… a part of it.”
Lucas then looked at her properly and felt a pang of sadness.
“You don’t have to do this, Fiona,” he said softly. “They’re not here.”
Fiona frowned gracefully. "I don't understand what you mean."
Lucas picked up her hand and touched the bracelet on her wrist.
"Excuse my intrusion, but who gave you this?"
Fiona's eyes darted away. "A knight."
“I doubt this knight would want you to enter the palace and leave him,” Lucas raised an eyebrow. “Is that what you want?”
Fiona withdrew her hand.
“This has nothing to do with whether I want it or not.” Her tone turned colder. “You know that very well.”
Just as Lucas was about to speak, the dream changed.
He arrived in the summer of his sixteenth year, the night he discovered the key to Duke Ranriet's room.
It was also the night before the engagement ceremony.
Of course, the ceremony didn't take place. Miss Fiona wasted an entire day, and it took Nicholas II and Elaine a great deal of persuasion to ease tensions between them and the Maurice family.
He fled, into the forest, and wandered aimlessly, doing nothing.
For this, he was thrown into the dungeon, and his wrists were branded and bled from the shackles.
“I tried everything I could to persuade him,” Elaine said from outside the railing, “but he still won’t let you out. He asked me to tell you…”
She took a deep breath and reluctantly said what she was about to say.
“Unless you find a way to escape the duties of a prince, like gaining some kind of superpower… well, he'll accept that,” Elaine said. “But as long as you remain the prince of Helian, you must do as he says. You must insist on the marriage with Fiona, insist on studying politics, insist on…”
Lucas waited. But he knew what she was going to say.
"To become the crown prince," she said bitterly.
Lucas jerked the chains. "He's blind."
“Anyone with eyes can see that you are more suited to be the crown prince!” Lucas said. “Why does he still think that way?”
Elaine gripped the railing, her eyes reddening.
“I’ve tried, Lucas. I’ve been trying. I’ve studied tirelessly, until I’m dizzy, to get what I want, but he still won’t even glance at me,” she said. “I enjoy power, I enjoy all the things of the court, and I study hard to actually possess them, but I can never reach his standard. What does he want from me?”
She sighed. "No, I shouldn't have said that. You're the one locked up now. I'm sorry."
“It’s alright,” Lucas said. “I understand what you mean.”
“I will…keep trying to persuade him,” she assured him. “You can pretend to agree to his conditions first, okay? Don’t do anything stupid, swear to me.”
“I swear,” he lied.
"Get up, Tom and Jerry." The next day, Nova's voice rang out above him. "I've discovered a library where you can read normally."
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