The Princess With a Future Set in Stone

Chapter 53: Move On

Lily and Felix quietly watched the development in the palace from the sidelines.

Felix could see the illusion Princess Anthanasia created, and saw how she had made the Emperor believe all the falsehood.

He has to admit, the Emperor seemed to me more lively. Even smiling during his talks with the Princess.

Lily noticed the way how the Princess seemed to smile brighter. But her smile didn't seem all too happy. The smile seemed to falter from time to time. As if the smile felt it difficult to stay on the Princess' face. Beneath the all too bright smile was some sort of complicated emotion.

Lily had raised Princess Anthanasia, so she had mastered reading the Princess' emotions.

Felix noticed the way how the black magician, Lucas, spoke more kindly to people. He noticed the way how he treated everyone more nicely.

Anthanasia had assigned Felix to monitor the territory of every prominent noble. This was to enable them to notice if any noble family was planning to rebel against her power. To the empire, Claude was still dead. They had not made any clear move, but their eyes of distaste glared at Anthanasia during each congress meeting.

For now, they were all quiet.

It was afternoon and Felix had just returned back to the palace and finished reporting his observations to the Princess.

Lily and Felix cautiously met up in their secret meeting place, which was an old room, in one of the unused palaces.

You may wonder, why did the two have such a place?

The moment Felix saw Lily he pulled her into his right embrace. "I missed you a lot"

Lily reciprocated the hug and patted him gently on the back. "I misses you too. But your duty as a knight is very important"

"I know" Felix replied shortly. After some time, the two, broke the hug, then gazed silently into each other's eyes. They both proceeded to sit down in a corner and have a little chat.

Felix shared is observations about outside of the palace, to Lily, while in return, Lily relayed her worries to him.

Felix listened in understanding, all the while holding unto her hand. Not letting go for even a single second. He used his finger to draw circles at the back of her palm as she spoke.

After Lily was done talking, a silence enveloped the room. The two just sat, Felix's gray eyes staring deeply into Lily's blue ones. They remained like that for sometime, neither any if them feeling uncomfortable due to the silence.

Finally, Felix spoke up, breaking the natural silence. "You know, after all of this. After the Empire is back to normal... don't you...em" He took a pause. "Won't you retire from your maid duties? You've been working for the past eighteen years. The Princess would understand. She'd take care of you after retirement"

Lily looked at Felix. She noticed the way how he was hesitant with his words. The way how he seemed to be mulling over his next sentence. She could tell that, wasn't what he had originally wanted to say. But she didn't point that out. They both knew, when the other had noticed something about their words.

"I might. I might not. If I retire from being a maid, what will I do with my life? Live alone in a house?" She asked with a gentle smile.

"You won't live alone. You'll get married and have children. You'll live with a husband" He said.

"How can I live with a husband, who will be away at the palace, every moment, serving the imperial family?"

"I will stay with you everyday! I'll be-

Lily stopped him from talking further as she burst into a fit of laughter. "I was just teasing you. Don't need to be so serious"

Felix's tense face relaxed as he saw Lily laugh genuinely. He couldn't help but watch the scene in awe. The sound of her laughter was like a song. A song which he could listen to over and over again. Since when, did someone's laughter begin to make his heart pound? When did his love for Lily even start?

He tried hard to recall, but could not pinpoint a particular place in time. All he could remember, was one day asking Lily out and confessing his feelings to her. To which, she accepted and went out with him.

Lily made him snap out of his thoughts.  "We can get married and still work in the palace. Our children can grow up here in the palace. Like you said, the Princess will understand"

Felix smiled at the thought if the idea. His love for Lily, which was reciprocated by the woman, made him feel extremely happy all the time. For now, their relationship had not been made known to anyone — not even Princess Anthanasia. They didn't think it was time to reveal such, during these times.

Both, earnestly hoped that the storm was over. Hoped, that the only requirement was for the Emperor to get back on his feet.

They both wanted to move on to the next phase of their lives, together.

>>>>
Rosalina paced back and forth in her room. She felt really anxious. With the way how political power was shifting in the Empire, she was making a lot of losses. She felt very dissatisfied with all her plans falling apart.

'That wench Anthanasia wants to take the throne....
...And that brat Jennette has turned on me! I can't be defeated like this!'

Some people found it easy to move on, while other, like Rosalina, had a very hard time doing so.

It seemed rather unlikely for her to move on from the obsession she had with claiming power and surpassing her deceased sister, Penelope.