"Why did you stop coming to the palace?"
Silence.
I unconsciously gulped. Mom suddenly went silent, however, her smile remained intact as if it had frozen in place. I wiped my sweaty palms on my dress. Sob... Mom, your smile is scaring me!
The eerie silence continued on for a while. I kept on wiping my sweaty palms on my dress every minute to the point that I've already had lost count. It was until I gulped down the slightly cooled tea for the nth time that Mother finally made a sound.
Mother placed her teacup back on the saucer with a clack. I released the breath that I didn't know was holding. I flinched when Mother suddenly stood up from her seat. My eyes carefully followed her movements as she stepped out of the patio, the cogs in my brain spinning aggressively.
"Uh...mom?"
I jumped in my seat when she abruptly turned around, her usual warm smile plastered on her face. "I received some seeds from the Pronos Marquisate yesterday, and I'm planning on planting them today. Would you like to join me, Alyn?"
Oh... I see. I stood up from my seat and walked towards her direction, smiling. "Sure, I would love to." Mother nodded and ordered some servants to get the seeds and the gardening tools.
Seeing that mother refused to entertain my question and diverted our topic back to gardening, I took it as a cue to stop pestering her about it. Haa... I should really be careful with my words next time.
After the servants brought the seeds and tools, Mother and I wore our gloves and apron over our clothes with the help of the servants. Mother scanned the whole area, digging up a few inches before grabbing a fistful of soil. She repeated this process until she stopped at a vacant area on the east side of the garden.
"This area should be good," She bobbed her head up and down before shifting her gaze toward me, "Alyn, can you bring the seeds over here?"
I nodded, taking the bag of seeds from the attendant. I placed down the bag between us and crouched down. "Shall we start?"
I gave her a nod and fished out my own shovel from my apron's pocket. "Alyn, just dig approximately 5 centimeters deep."
"Alright, but mom, what kind of seeds are these?" I queried, digging holes that are 10-inch apart. Mother stopped her movements and glanced up at the sky, mulling over my question.
"Hmm..." She glanced at me and smiled, "Well, I don't know. I just told both of your Grandparents to bring me rare seeds that I can plant in my garden, so they sent me these unknown seeds that they won from an auction."
"...so, we don't know whether these seeds are dangerous or illegal?" Mother nodded eagerly, beaming. "Wouldn't that be dangerous, Mom?"
"Hmm, I can't deny that... but isn't that one of the beauties of gardening? Wondering about what plant will sprout from the seeds we sowed."
"Well... I can't refute that. Mystery does bring the beauty out of it." Mother clapped her hands, smiling from ear to ear. "Well said, my darling. Now, let us start putting the seeds in each hole we dug or it will take us all day to finish this one."
"I'd rather not that happen."
Mother leaned in towards me and winked. "Neither do I."
A chuckle left out of my mouth as we started putting a few seeds in the hole and covering it with the soil we dug out earlier. We repeated this whole process until all of the holes were covered, along with casual chatter and banter.
Mother asked the servants to bring a watering pot, which they hurriedly complied. I glanced at her as she accepted the watering pot and gently sprinkled the water on each hole we dug.
"Uh, mom?"
Mother turned towards me and smiled, momentarily stopping from watering the plants. "Yes, Alyn? Do you want to water the plants yourself?"
She stretched out her arms while holding the watering pot. I hurriedly accepted it and smiled. "Oh, uh, yes."
I continued watering the area until all of them are watered. I handed the servant the watering pot with a thank you before turning to my mother again. "Actually, mom, I have a question."
"A question? Ask away, Alyn."
I heaved out a deep breath—an attempt to calm my nerves. "Okay, so, about my engagement–"
Her eyes turned sharp. "Did that prince do something to you?"
"No, no! Well, yes, but–"
She let out a huff. "I knew it, I should have–" She clenched her fists in the air before grabbing her dress and walking towards the entrance. "I need to talk to your–"
"Mom...!" I grabbed her arm before she could take another step. "It's alright, sweetie. I'll just knock some sense—ahem, I mean, talk to your father."
"No, mom. You do not need to do that. Can you please hear me out first?"
"Oh... My bad. I was incredibly rude just now, isn't it?"
I shook my head. "You did nothing wrong, Mom. I did cause that misunderstanding in the first place."
I glanced at our surroundings, the sun preparing itself to rest. "Shall we continue our conversation in the patio, Mom? I figured it would be quite uncomfortable to talk while standing on our heels."
"Lead the way, my dear."
The two of us made our way to the patio and sat down on our respective seats. We remained quiet as we let the servants prepare the refreshments on the table. Once the table was set, mother ordered the servants to give us some privacy, leaving us two alone in the patio.
"Now, what is your concern regarding your engagement, Alyn?"
"I was just wondering...how my engagement came to be, mom."
Mother scrunched her brows. "Whatever do you mean, Alyn? Didn't you choose him yourself? I remember you were so eager to get engaged to the prince to the point you refused going out of your room."
Damn Amarizi. Do you really have to go that far? "Haha... I-Is that so, mom? Oh gosh, why did I do that? H-Haha..." I averted my gaze as I scratched the side of my face, feeling my face heating up.
"...I also wonder."
My gaze snapped towards her. Did I hear her wrong? No way...! She might have said it in a hushed voice, but there's no way I misheard it.
Before I could ask her about it, she beat me to it and popped another question. "Why did you suddenly ask about it, Alyn? Is the prince giving you a hard time again?"
I waved my hands in front of me. "It's true that his highness might be a handful, but not enough to give me a hard time. I can still handle him."
She let out a small laugh. "That's my girl. Then, what compels you to talk about your engagement?"
I fiddled my fingers around the rim of the teacup. "Well, I was just wondering how it was plausible when I'm the only heir to the duchy. Wouldn't our engagement be void as I'm the only heir who will carry on the legacy of the Ahlefeldt duchy? Wouldn't either of us have to give up our own birthright for this engagement to work?"
Mother took a sip of her tea before letting out a soft sight. "That would be the case–"
My face brightened up. "Then–!"
"However, your engagement to the prince is a special case. You can still be the heir of the Ahlefeldt duchy while also the crown princess."
I jolted out of my seat. "What?! How can that be! That is just not possible! How can I possibly do my duties as an heir apparent to the duchy and a crown princess at the same time, mom? I can't split my body into halves, can I?"
"You're right. You can't—not unless the Ahlefeldt duchy becomes one with the royal family."
My eyes widened, placing my palm over my forehead. "But that would mean the Ahlefeldt duchy and the title of Duke Ahlefeldt will cease to exist... And you're okay with that, Mom? How about Dad?"
"I am not in favor of it, of course. Although there is indeed a way to keep our duchy, I figure you might not favor this option that much."
I let out a sigh. "Let me guess. It is to relinquish my birthright as an heir apparent to the duchy and some male distant relative of mine will take my place," I rolled my eyes, "sounds about right."
"You guessed right, Alyn. Some nobles still do not take kindly to the idea of a woman inheriting a title."
Damn old geezers. "Still, can't I just break off my engagement to the prince? Well, I did manage to just become one of the candidates, but can't I completely remove myself from the candidacy?"
"Well, you can, Alyn. However, it will be quite tough as you are the most eligible candidate to become the crown princess, and we did make a promise with the royal family."
Mother gave me an apologetic smile, enclosing my hand with hers and giving it a gentle squeeze. "Maybe I should not have agreed to the sudden dissolution of your engagement with the first prince..."
"What do you mean, mom? I was engaged to the first prince before?"
Mother narrowed her brows, shock apparent on her face. "What are you talking about, Alyn? Did you forget you were once engaged to the first prince?"
A/N: I feel like this story needs some heavy editing ;; Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter! (;