It is the season for love and murder in the court of Ravaeryn.
After a chance encounter one winter night, Lady Catarina de Fontaine had fallen hopelessly in love with Julian, the Crown Prince. However, upon discovering his untruthfulness, she immedi...
Whenever the Duke spoke, his voice was loud and domineering, as if he were barking orders at foot soldiers.
Catarina shook her head. The Duke of Devereaux was decidedly not her saviour. The man in the maze was kind, selfless and gentle, not a rough military man.
Unbeknownst to her, her saviour was in that same hall, sitting at the same table, eating food that was cooked in the same pot. He was there in plain sight, but she had not noticed him. It was as if she had been blinded.
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Rafael had not seen his cousin for almost two weeks now, and he had begun to fear for the worst. What if the Princess had her locked up in the dungeons without a way to escape, or forced her to work on the fields in the middle of the afternoon without any break ?
He could not bear to think of it. In the end, he saddled his horse and rode all the way to Kestramore City, anxious to get even one glance of his little sister. Rafael knew that the ladies were not allowed to see their family members, so he used the pretense of wanting to see Julian instead.
The Master Lombardi had even brought his hunting bow with him, as he planned to invite Julian to go hunting. However, instead of finding the Crown Prince, Rafael bumped into his sister instead.
"Greetings, Princess," he addressed smilingly. "Isn't it a very lovely day ?"
Princess Demitria's gaze flickered towards the sad, dreary grey sky right outside the window, and she let out a loud scoff. "You call this lovely ?"
Rafael grinned. "I get to meet you, Princess. Of course it is a lovely day. Although, I am afraid that I might be struck by misfortune soon."
"And why is that ?" Demitria chuckled lightheartedly.
Master Lombardi glanced at her, feigning extreme fear and concern. "I had the great fortune of meeting you today, and I fear that I've used up all the luck I have. I suppose I should just resign to my unlucky fate now."
The Princess laughed heartily until her sides hurt, finding her brother's best friend to be rather adorable. "You speak as if I am some great deity that has never shown herself to anyone in the past thousand years. Now, what brings you here to the palace, Master Lombardi ?"
Rafael stood still in silence, entranced by her cool yet irresistable charms. The Princess's sapphire blue eyes bore into his, her lips still smiling mischievously. "Master Lombardi ?"
"Hunting," he briskly said, holding up the bow for Demitria to see. "I plan to go hunting with the Prince, nothing more than that."
"Nothing more than that ?"
Rafael immediately nodded, trying to appear as calm and serious as possible, but he could not conceal the sweatdrops that were forming on his forehead. "Nothing more than that."
