I have never felt so relieved as I am now, because we chose a name that is very close to her. I will not find it accidentally, let alone forget it completely when she is so close to me.
"Are you kidding?" Ralston shook his head and snickered, with a cheerful expression in his eyes. "The bachelor forever has been conquered? I can't believe it, man! Congratulations!"
He stretched out his hand to shake my hand, he held my hand tightly, I relaxed, and happily pulled me away from Lily, giving me a rough brotherly hug.
"Thank you. Wait a minute... What do you mean by forever bachelor?" Ralston's evaluation of me made me frown. If people think I will never get married, I have obviously been tight-lipped for too long. Hearing such things, I feel a little uneasy. Am I so careless about the stranger that I am labeled a lonely person? Obviously, I did it.
"Hey, I am teasing you. Nice to see you settle down. Nice to meet you, Laila. Let me tell you that tonight there will be a lot of sad ladies. The most suitable Mark Thiel bachelor has left. Market! Congratulations! Don't let me drag you down. I believe your father must really want to see you."
I can feel Lily's penetrating gaze. I nodded, and the desert in my mouth was completely swallowed as soon as I mentioned my father. "Yes. He will be very happy to see us."
I hope my voice is not as dry and malicious as I feel. It's not my fault. My father and I always disagree. My isolated status in the outer domain of the temple is entirely because I violated the strict rules set by my father. This is not an official exile. I am still allowed to return to the palace, but I have been told that I am not welcome. It is impossible to please this person.
"Welcome back!" Ralston walked to the gate clerk on the other side. He nodded, and then opened the huge metal gate.
"Thank you, Ralston. I am also glad to see you again!"
I grabbed Lily's hand and walked forward to clear the door. Lily didn't tell Ralston, I was relieved. The fewer people she associates with, the better.
"Forever bachelor?" She giggled and cleared her throat. ""Let's talk. Oh, and don’t miss any interesting clips about your father. He is eager to see you. "
"Enough," I murmured.
As we continued to move forward, she poked me from the side. Although it was early morning, the streets were already full of people. The bazaar occupies the Zhōng Yāng area of the Palace Square, where merchants and sellers can exchange goods without entering the city center where the imperial palace is located. Where my father lives.
"So I'm a bit famous among ladies. It's not that I'm interested in any of them. It's not easy to be a member of the royal family and find a decent person. Everyone is hypocritical."
Lily thought about it quietly, and after a few minutes of silence, I had to turn to look at her. She looked serious, as if my words caused her to think. Probably from her own life.
When she found out that I was monitoring her, she finally spoke. "I understand what you mean."
"what is it about?"
"About people's hypocrisy."
"Yes, I think, being yourself, you have to face the same thing. Be careful with everyone, really. Everyone has their own secret plan."
"Is that why you don't get married?"
I held her hand tightly and drew her towards me as the traffic drove by. When the traffic was constant, I pressed her against the wall. Her enthusiasm and breath pushed my reasoning far again.
"No. I just haven't met the true emperor yet." I stared into her shiny brown eyes. Their looks are unusual, with some streaks, but they are not easy to notice. In any case, they are tempting.
"If not, how do you know?"
I looked into her eyes. What I want most now is to kiss her, but I put it in my mouth and put it deeper, so that I never thought it would pounce in my head.
"Well, I think technically speaking, I have done it. I met her briefly a few years ago, but..." Lily's questioning look made me want to change the subject desperately. "Come on, this is our chance in the past. We have to go to a friend of mine. He knows where to find the girl who stole your amulet."
Lily followed quietly, never letting go of my hand on our way into the city. I am sorry for not letting her know the truth about us. About our past. Our engagement. I hope she already knew, but what would happen if she knew? Does she think like I do now? I have never been married, never even considered another woman in my entire life, because I am still engaged, in my heart and mind. My parents were not completely separated because they did not return our original amulets, which put us in a difficult position. We are tied together, no matter what others think.
I still feel the same way now.
I reached for my amulet, only to find that my grandfather's unused pendant had a strange feeling. Lily still wears mine, and I am glad she did. For now, it should be there. I can only get it back when she finds her, it was originally mine. I hope there is a difference between our backpacks. I hope this woman is mine and I am hers.
"Here," I whispered. We arrived at the main living quarters of the senior officers of the Jǐng Guard. Although I live here 99% of the time, because of my royal blood, I still have a private residence in the palace. It’s not the suite I grew up in, but it’s much more luxurious than most Jǐngwei’s rooms. Even so, I rarely use it. For me, wandering in the palace has never been an easy and interesting thing in the return of the prodigal son. I try to avoid the palace.
In any case, it feels good to be home.
This entrance is rarely used and we have enough privacy as we walked through the hall to a single entrance. We opened the door, walked in hastily, and then closed the door. I turned on the light to illuminate a spacious living room. This place includes my bedroom on the right and a large bathroom next to it. Although I was partially exiled, as a prince, I still have the right to live a better life than an ordinary soldier.
If I had an ordinary crib, as used by many soldiers in my army, I would feel good, but what right do I have to argue with my father, Alpha, the ruler of the Marktier group? This is meaningless and will only cause me more pain. Regardless of the consequences, I will do it again. My actions not only alienated me from my father, but also saved my brother, Eaton, the heir to the throne. His life was threatened, and the decision I made to save Yitan guaranteed his safety. This was the most important thing to me at the time.
"Wow, the house is great!" Lily put down her handbag, rubbed her shoulders, then walked into the bedroom and took a good look at the bathroom. She seemed to find such accommodation conditions very interesting, but she was also very happy. To say the least, it made her happy. If we are really married, we will spend more time here.
If we have any.
She knew nothing about it.
"Yes, it's very comfortable here, but I don't live here most of the time."
""It's still yours, right? No one will get this place when you are away?"
"No. It's all mine. I don't mind living with other soldiers, two people in a room with a simple little bed, but my father disagrees. Even if he expelled me from the royal residence, he would remove me from everything with the royal family. He would not consider letting his son live in a "slum" when he was expelled from politics-related matters. He thought that this is how soldiers lived."
"His view of things must be biased."
"You can say that. So why am I the only soldier here who lives like a prince."
Lily smiled and looked at the window overlooking the training ground. Dozens of soldiers marched in formation, everything from cleaning stables to training recruits. This is a massive army with impressive internal work, and I can sit there and watch this well-functioning machine all day. It takes so many resources to manage such a large kingdom, which is an admirable achievement.
Lily was sitting on a sofa, rubbing its soft surface with her fingers. She seemed to want to ask me something, but couldn't find a way to express it.
"How is everything?" I asked.
She nodded and lay back on the satin pillow. "Yeah. I just want to know. How did you get expelled from the palace? You are a prince. I know better than anyone that you have to do very bad things to get kicked out."
I scratched the stubble on my chin and realized that I didn't tell her what got me into this predicament. I walked towards her and sat down on the seat next to her. It's time to confess everything. She told me why she was expelled, now it's my turn.
"Well," I sighed, and as the memory passed, I closed my eyes. "My brother Itan and I are very close. We do everything together. We are only ten months apart, so you can guess that we are almost twins."
"Wow... It's so close! My sister Rafaela and I are two years apart." She cleared her throat, looking guilty for interrupting me. "please continue."
"One day, Eaton wants to visit there. I don't want to do that, but as a brother, he is very convincing."
Lily listened intently, her black eyes gleaming in the light through the window. They looked dreamy, like she was imagining the details of my story in her mind. I want to kiss her. No one has ever listened to me so attentively. (To be continued) (End of this chapter)