A/N: Where are my readers? I wish I can learn your opinion about my story! But unfortunately, my lazy readers don't leave comments 😞 Positive or negative, I don't care. Just tell me what you feel!!!
Heidith was stunned to hear a girl cry heartbreakingly. He stood up from his spot and went Towards the direction where the sound came from. There he found the person he had been waiting for hours.
Princess Zadhea...
He squinted his eyes but didn't plan to approach her. He saw her horse groan, catching her attention.
Zadhea went up to her horse and hugged his neck, still crying, while hiding her face in the horse's neck.
'Why does she cry so much? By any chance, did that guy break her heart?' This thought made him feel worse. He thought of ignoring her. However, he knew that he couldn't just leave her all alone. Deep down in his heart, he was scared of her safety.
'What if she faces a trouble?'
He racked his brain to think of a way to send her back to the royal castle without meeting her face-to-face. Nevertheless, he couldn't find a suitable method to do so.
"Baby girl," Someone's gentle voice broke the silence in the forest.
Zadhea stopped weeping as she looked up. There she found a hero.
"Father!" She mumbled before running towards him. She hugged him tightly as she hid her face in his chest, her cry became even louder.
Zadhea thought of King Edwin as her real father and oldest best friend. She felt relieved and secured around him. Her heart was about to explode from pain. She could only lean on a shoulder to calm down. King Edwin was the perfect candidate.
"It's alright. Let's go home obediently, okay?" He patted his daughter's back lovingly while talking patiently.
At that moment...
The commander of the army that escorted the king to the forest saw a black horse from afar.
"Your majesty, there's a suspicious looking horse!" He yelled, alarmed. "I think it belongs to an enemy!"
Heidith's body tensed up when he heard that. It was Darcel! If they were able to recognize his horse, then he would be exposed too!
He wasn't ready to meet the princess for the time being.
'Aaah I'm done for!!!'
The king frowned. "Check the matter," He commanded, not releasing his daughter from his embrace.
Zadhea stiffened a bit. 'Does it belong to Dewinn?' However, she kept hiding in her father's arms, not daring to think further.
The commander was about to check the horse when it suddenly flew away like an arrow, vanishing without a trace.
"Damnit! Ehem, Your majesty, it seemed like the horse ran away."
"Nevermind." The king sighed. "It might have gotten lost in the woods. Let's not get bothered."
"Aye, your majesty." The commander officer bowed down to the king respectfully.
Heidith and Zadhea heaved a sigh of relief simultaneously.
After coaxing his daughter for little longer, the king eventually decided to go back.
Heidith, who was still hiding behind a tree, looked at the father-daughter pair's disappearing backs with mixed emotions in his eyes.
When the huge army completely disappeared into the distance, he came out from his hiding place.
"Darcel!" He shouted, a bit anxiously.
"Hihiiin!"
The black horse's excited whinny echoed through the forest as it came running to its master, swishing its tail beautifully.
"Gosh! You scared me to death." Heidith rubbed its head with a smile on his lips. He knew that his horse wouldn't leave him alone in the forest no matter what. However, his belief was confirmed hundred percent because of the way Darcel acted bravely.
"Buddy, you are the best."
The horse neighed again as if it understood his words.
Derek looked at the one and only Nucifera they had. As for other flowers, Heidith used two for Zadhea's cake, three for his companions' cake and six for his mother's cake which was the biggest. As a result, there was only one flower left.
"We haven't tasted a Nucifera in its original form. What about doing it now?" Saying that, he was about to take a bite when he felt someone push him aside while roughly snatching the flower in his hand.
"What the hell..." Derek was about to curse that nasty person only to realize...
"Highness you..??? I-I mean... Loveinger?" 'Why does it sound weird when I spell it?'
Heidith glared at him as if Derek was a criminal. "Hopefully, I'm just in time to stop a fool."
Derek's right eye started twitching when he heard it. "Excuse me, whom did you call a fool? I'm the pri..."
"Prime minister's son I know, I know."
"..."
Others laughed at Derek's miserable state.
Derek felt angry when he saw his enemy laugh too.
"Hey, do you know whom you are laughing at?" He was about to punch Suzamine again.
"Stop it, Derek!" Heidith's voice turned dead serious. "Whom do you think you are to bully one of the prince's most trusted people? Especially a knight! Apologize to him right now!"
Derek couldn't believe what he heard. He looked at Heidith as if he was looking at a total stranger. "Heidith, aren't you my brother? How can you ask me to apologize to someone... Unworthy?"
Heidith squinted his eyes. "I have only one brother and he's still in my mother's womb."
Derek widened his eyes in disbelief. "Hei... I mean your highness, very well." He clapped his hands, his eyes looked painful.
Heidith looked away. "Apologize right now."
Derek shook his head dramatically. Taking a deep breath, he turned to face Suzamine. "Well, I sincerely apologise to you, sir Suzamine."
Suzamine waved his hand nonchalantly. "It's fine."
Actually, he was stunned too. It was the first time Heidith ordered Derek to do something like that which hurt his ego and pride. Normally, he would spoil Derek unconditionally. What happened exactly?
Derek sniffed as he stormed off, stepping on the ground with loud thuds, indicating how angry he was.
Heidith glanced at the flower in his hand before putting it inside his coat pocket with a sigh.
"What happened, Loveinger? You don't look good," Mishila asked with concern. Her brown eyes looked worried.
"Nothing. We should just return to Rodwef as soon as possible."
Heidith was about to leave after saying that but Mishila tightly grabbed his wrist, preventing him from escaping.
"No, no. There's something wrong with you. Why did you snatch the flower away from Derek? It's rude, you know."
"Oooh, shut up!" Heidith snapped at her while shaking his hand from her grip, making her flinch like an innocent deer.
Heidith suddenly felt bad for yelling at her. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. It's just... This flower is the only one left for mother. That's why I became anxious. I didn't think of anything else when I took it from Derek."
"Whaaat?" Mishila couldn't understand. "What did you mean by only flower? Didn't you make a big ass cake for the queen using like five or six?! I-I meant a big cake, a big cake." Mishila said, suddenly feeling embarrassed.
"Zadhea ruined it."
"Yo what???"
Just like that, Heidith found himself telling everything had happened to Mishila. When he finished the story, he felt somehow relieved.
"The princess betrayed you? With another man? No way! I can't believe that." Mishila gasped.
'Why did she have to do that?' She subconsciously glanced at his handsome face. 'He's rich and handsome. What's more, he's a freaking prince! A future king!'
She didn't know how people could be so dumb like that.
Only if she got her chance to be with him...
'No, no, no.' Mishila shook her head in her mind. 'What's happening to me? I absolutely should not think like that!'
"What if it's just a misunderstanding? I guess you need to have a proper conversation with her lest you suffer from the heartache."
Heidith brushed his black hair that reached to the bottom of his neck using his hand, showing his frustration. "I don't know. I can't meet her. I'm afraid..." 'I'm afraid to learn the truth.'
"By the way, what did you mean by heartache? Bullshit! I'm just mad because of the green hat she gave me! Nothing else."
"You don't love her?" Mishila asked, pretending to be casual.
"I was trying to give ourselves a chance. But she isn't buying it. She respects neither me nor our relationship."
"That means you don't 'love' love her?"
"Yeah. But as I said, I'm trying hard to make things work."
His answer made her heart skip a beat. That meant he actually didn't love her with all his heart yet?
'Does it mean I have a chance?'
Mishila wanted to slap herself. 'Why am I keep thinking about ridiculous, impossible things!? I'm crazy!'
Mishila was somehow happy. But she managed to maintain her poker face.
"Okay. You should talk to her when you're ready. As for now, let's repair your friendship with Derek." Mishila held his hand and pulled him outside the cake shop.
"Mmm, Mishi. I have something else to tell you." Heidith's voice hinted a faint hesitation.
Mishila paused in her tracks and looked up at him. "What is it?"
"About Zadhea... Can you keep it as a secret? I don't want others to know about it. Don't tell anyone including my friends. I don't want others to think ill of her without evidence. She's not completely at fault yet."
"As you said to me, I want to listen to her explanation."
"After all, we are gonna be husband and wife soon."
"I want to trust her one last time."
Mishila suddenly felt both sore and happy when she heard that. She had never met such a gentleman like him ever before.
"Oh, that's good and of course, I won't tell anyone, I promise." She smiled sweetly, reassuring him.
'He shared his secret with me. Only me! He didn't even trust his friends more than me. Does it mean, in his heart, I'm a special person?'
Heidith smiled back to her. "Thank you, Mishi," He said from the bottom of his heart.
"Don't be so formal, Loveinger. We are friends. There're no such things as thank you and sorry between friends."
Heidith scratched behind his ear with an awkward smile. "Sorry..."
"Here you go again!"
"Ha ha..."
"Heh heh..."
Derek pouted his lips before looking away, avoiding Heidith's gaze.
"Go away! I don't wanna talk to you right now!"
Heidith raised an eyebrow. "You don't wanna talk to me?"
Derek nodded. He turned around, his back facing Heidith.
"Oh, dude! Don't get angry!" Suzamine spoke as he hugged Derek tightly, squeezing his waist. "Let's all be best friends and live harmoniously."
Derek: "..."
'Aaah, what the heck!'
Heidith also joined the hug. "Sorry, bro. You will always be my brother. It's just I wasn't in my correct mind at that time."
"Only at that time? What about now?" Derek grinned.
Heidith gritted his teeth. "Derek!"
"Anyways..." Derek reluctantly hugged them both back. "I'm sorry too. I was a horrible person."
"I'm glad you finally realized that!" Heidith and Suzamine said in unison.
"Humph! So cruel!"