The Grand Duke's Soulmate
Chapter 72: The Unfavoured Princess

Chapter 72: The Unfavoured Princess

Later that night, they all gathered before the campfire and had dinner together. Once finished, they continued to rest while seeping the tea made by Emily.

"Dame Verns, please accept my sincere apologies for the incident during the soldiers’ inspection. I want to assure you that I had no intention of making any jokes about your appearance. It was a spontaneous act," Noah spoke up, breaking the silence.

Clara paused momentarily before responding, "I realise now that I was also at fault for my rash accusations towards you. Please accept my apologies as well."

The knight said, "I was impressed when I first heard about you. It’s not often that you see a woman involved in knighthood. The lady who spoke of you praised your strength and talent, and after meeting you, I can see why."

Clara’s face lit up at the knight’s compliment. It was the first time he had ever said anything positive about her.

"We’re both Lady Raychard’s escorts, and I don’t want us to keep on bad terms," Noah said, holding out his hand to the knightess. "Can we start over and work together in good faith?"

The knightess smiled.

"You’re right. Let’s forget about our past disagreements and focus on safely reaching Her Highness, and please forgive my rudeness."

They shook hands firmly, sealing their agreement to move forward as comrades.

"This is great! I’m so glad to see you two reconciled," Emily said, expressing her gratitude.

"Thank you, Lady Emily, for putting up with us," the knight said, glancing at her as he raised his mug. "Would you mind pouring me some more tea, please?"

Smiling, the young woman obliged and poured the hot tea into his mug.

"You know, you shouldn’t be calling me a lady," she admitted. "Honestly, I don’t come from a noble lineage."

After returning the kettle to its place, she sat again before the campfire.

The knight sought to verify her claim, asking, "Is that so?"

"Yes, it is," she replied. "In fact, I was a maid in the service of a lord in Ardel."

Noah looked down at the girl, observing her. He remembered her tattered dress. Despite its poor condition, he recognised the fabric as a high-quality material worn by affluent nobles and merchants.

"Her lady disguised her as the lord’s daughter, and the family fled the mansion during the raid by Lord Ronan’s army," Clara interrupted, telling the knight of Emily’s tale.

She then informed him how the young woman was then captured by the Bargesians and brought into the barracks.

"So that was how you two met..." Noah nodded lightly, acknowledging the story.

"I should’ve died back then, but this courageous young woman insisted on saving my life in the fire. She pushed the pole with her might and managed to pull me out," said Clara.

Emily let out a wistful smile.

"They burned the mansion where I used to live in. I believe the army didn’t spare anyone. Same as Dame Clara, I also lost the people around me in one night. I cried all day when I was locked in the barracks. It was Her Highness who consoled me and the rest of the women."

"The army might have mistaken you for the noble lady of the mansion. Otherwise, they might have slaughtered you as well," guessed Noah.

"I think so too. They captured and confined all the unmarried noble ladies. I overheard them talking about some ritual that would take place during their ceremonial banquet, but the fire broke out before it could happen," added the young woman.

"She saved me due to her gratitude towards Her Highness," said Clara.

"Her bravery left me mesmerised. Throughout our confinement, she displayed remarkable endurance. It was hard to believe she was a princess," said Emily. "The cells’ conditions were dreadful, and the food was terrible, yet she never shed a tear or complained, unlike the rest of us. She only cried when she refused to leave Dame Clara behind during the raging fire."

"Her Highness is a compassionate person. When I planned to escape and asked her to leave, she first thought of saving all the detained women instead of her own safety," Clara recalled.

A sudden silence filled the air for a moment.

"The incident you mentioned, what was it all about? The one that prevented the lady’s marriage with her betrothed?" asked Noah.

The knightess told the knight about the shipwreck two years ago, which cost the lives of the rest of Ardel’s royal family members.

"I see... and the betrothed never came for her after the funeral?" asked the knight.

"No, he didn’t. Anyway, I find the engagement quite weird," Clara indicated.

"Why is that?" Emily asked with interest. She had never heard of the engagement story, which intrigued her.

"After I became Her Highness’s escort, Nessy, who knew about my skill in controlling eagles, asked me to send letters to a secret location each month," Clara explained. "A few months later, a suitor proposal came for Her Highness, and it was rushed through without a proper engagement ceremony. The suitor representative only sent an engagement ring, but His Majesty the King promptly agreed."

"How strange," commented Noah. "Where were the letters sent to?"

"I don’t know the exact location, but Nessy called it Semeta. Each time the eagle departed, it would fly to the northeast," Clara said.

"Semeta? I’ve never heard of that place before," Noah said, furrowing his brows.

"Me too. I even looked on the map, but there’s no place with such a name," said Clara.

"Did you read the letters to find out?" questioned Emily.

"I did, but I couldn’t understand the content. It was written in a language that I don’t know. I even asked her what it was all about, but Nessy said it was all for Her Highness’s safety and a secret I must keep," replied the knightess.

"And you believe her wholeheartedly?" asked the young woman again.

"Yes. She was the only person who served Her Highness since she was a baby. Despite appearing stern and not openly affectionate, she consistently ensured her safety and well-being. Unlike most royal family members, she never acted in a way that would harm her or display hatred. I believe she was fiercely dedicated to protecting Her Highness to the best of her ability," Clara responded.

"You mean the lady’s family despises her?" asked the knight.

"I believe so, but I don’t know why. Even for the short years of my service, I could see His and Her Majesty disfavouring her very much. Only her brother, Crown Prince Ryan, treated her well," she said.

The knight expressed his disappointment by clicking his tongue and said, "That could have been why they were in a hurry to marry her."

However, Clara disagreed with him, saying, "I don’t think so. If they were eager to get rid of her, why would they keep her hidden in the castle and closely monitor her every move? My job was to keep an eye on her and report everything she did."

"So, all this while, the lady had been kept away from the outside world?" the knight questioned.

"Yes. In fact, she was isolated from everyone except for a handful of maids, healers and her nanny, Nessica, whom we called Nessy. Before me, other escorts had been assigned to monitor Her Highness, but they were replaced after some time."

"That’s weird enough... and you didn’t find out why?" asked Noah with a creased forehead.

Clara shook her head.

"I don’t know exactly what happened, but it felt like they kept a huge secret. This made me question the royal family’s motives, and I became suspicious that something was happening. Eventually, I spoke to Nessy and was able to gain her trust. From there, we started exchanging letters with Semeta."

"I can’t believe that her own parents did that to the lady! They’re disgusting!" Noah grunted.

"Actually, the queen is not the birth mother of Her Highness. Nessy told me His Majesty married Her Highness’s mother first, but she died during labour," said Clara.

"Really? I wouldn’t have known this if you didn’t tell me!" said Noah with surprise. "Was she a noble or a commoner?"

"I am not aware of it. Nessy never shared the details with me. Every time I asked, she would become upset, so I refrained from inquiring further," the knightess responded.

"What occurred after that?" Noah inquired curiously, along with Emily, who was equally interested in the matter.

"The suitor representatives came one day and claimed they originated from the Kingdom of Sabel, and His Majesty rushed the marriage as soon as Her Highness came of age. However, things didn’t go as planned, and the rebellion happened after the shipwreck. Nessy was one of the killed victims," she added with downcast eyes.

Noah speculated, "Sabel is situated in the far east, which doesn’t match the direction of Semeta that you mentioned. Do you think it’s possible that the nanny was involved in planning the engagement?"

"I suspect so. But there was no evidence leading to that. However, one thing bothers me a lot," stated the knightess.

"What is it?" Both Emily and Noah asked in unison.

"The betrothed of Her Highness. I met him once during the funeral. He came to me to say thank you for saving her from the shipwreck," replied Clara.

"I don’t see anything particularly unusual about that. However, it was strange that he didn’t visit Her Highness afterwards. It seemed like he didn’t care about her," commented Emily.

The knightess pursed her lips with a brooding face, recalling when she met him.

"What was bothering you about him?" asked Noah, wanting to figure it out.

"He has this bizarre, majestic aura. I took a glance at him once, and my body froze instantly. He was so intimidating that he instilled fear in the crowd upon his presence," said the knightess.

"Is he handsome?" asked Emily excitedly. Noah’s expression changed a bit at the question.

"I don’t know. He wore a robe and covered himself with the hood. He never showed his face to the others. But I could feel that he was different."

"How different?" asked the knight.

"Hmm... if I want to put it in a word, I can say that he has an otherworldly charisma," said Clara.

"I think you can forget about him once you see my commander. He’s the most gorgeous man in the whole of Cassian. I’ve never seen anyone who can surpass his charming, perfect figure," said the knight proudly.

"Why do you keep calling your lord commander? I thought you said he is the Grand Duke of Gerhard. Why didn’t you address him by his royal title?" asked Clara.

"Because he’s still on duty at the frontier. In Cassian, whenever an army is on duty, we would address him with his military rank instead of a noble title," answered Noah before continuing, "Also, we have a culture of calling unfamiliar women ’Lady’, so that’s why I’ve been calling Miss Emily ’Lady’ before," said Noah, now changing Emily’s title from Lady to Miss.

"Oh, that explains why... I thought you thought of me as a noble," Emily replied embarrassedly.

"I can discern a noble’s behaviour with just a glance, but it took me some time to determine Lady Raychard’s identity as she stood out from the other nobles I had encountered," said Noah.

"She is different. You won’t find any nobles like her," said Clara, staring into the campfire.

"Indeed, she is," added the knight.

The knightess gazed at him curiously and inquired, "The grand duke is a prince, right? How’s his relationship with Her Highness so far? Is he treating her well?"

"Yes, he is the brother of His Majesty, the King of Cassian. As for his relationship with the lady, I cannot say for certain, as they have just recently met and married. However, based on what I heard and observed, it seems that he holds a great fondness and cares for the lady deeply," replied Noah.

Emily’s face brightened as she interjected, "Could it be that Her Highness has finally found a loving husband?"

The knight grinned and responded, "Well, that remains to be seen once we arrive."

The conversation continued into the late hours of the night, and eventually, everyone retired to get some rest. Their journey to Dartrey Forest in Cassian would resume the following day.

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