At last, the walls of the royal palace appeared on the horizon.
After such a long journey, the carriages gradually began to slow down until they finally came to a stop in the wide courtyard, where a large number of servants had gathered to welcome the returning family.
The entire royal family was waiting for them.
As soon as the first carriage stopped, Lucas dismounted from his horse. Before he could take more than a few steps, his two sisters, Anita and Violet, rushed toward him, followed closely by their mother.
Anita threw her arms around him first, followed by Violet, and soon the rest of his family surrounded him, asking how he was and making sure he was all right after everything that had happened.
A few minutes later, the door of one of the carriages opened.
Irene appeared at the entrance before stepping down with the help of the maids.
The moment her feet touched the ground, she lifted her eyes toward them.
The first thing she saw was Lucas, surrounded by his family.
She watched him in the arms of his sisters, then saw him receive his mother's embrace.
Without realizing it, a small smile crept onto her lips.
Despite everything...
She had missed seeing them.
Even if she wasn't ready to admit it to herself.
But Violet, who was standing beside Lucas, soon turned around and spotted Irene in the distance.
Her eyes widened before she hurried toward her.
"Irene!"
She approached her and pulled her into a tight embrace, as if she were afraid Irene might disappear again.
"Thank goodness you're safe... I was so worried about you."
She pulled away slightly and began examining Irene with concern.
"Are you all right? Are you still in pain?"
Irene smiled calmly, trying to hide the exhaustion weighing heavily on her body.
"My injuries weren't that serious... They've almost healed."
"Ah... Thank goodness."
Violet let out a relieved breath.
Irene raised her eyes toward the rest of the family again, only to find that everyone had already begun walking toward the palace.
Without anyone looking back at her.
Her gaze remained fixed on them for a few moments.
Strange...
Then she tried to come up with a simple explanation.
Perhaps they didn't even notice that I'm here.
Violet noticed the expression on her face and immediately realized what she was probably thinking.
"You must be exhausted from the journey."
She gently took Irene's arm.
"Let's go inside the palace so you can rest."
Irene walked beside her, but then a familiar voice came from behind them.
"Princess."
Irene stopped and turned around.
Louis was approaching them.
He gave her a friendly smile.
"I hope the journey hasn't exhausted you or made your pain any worse today."
"No, I'm perfectly fine. Thank you for your concern."
"Then I suppose that's thanks to your strong determination. I'm glad to hear it."
His eyes then shifted, almost unconsciously, toward Violet.
And he smiled.
"Hello."
Violet looked at him for a moment before answering with slight shyness.
"Hello... How are you?"
Louis's smile widened.
"Better than ever... now that I've seen you."
Silence fell for a moment.
Irene raised an eyebrow as she looked between the two of them.
Oh...
She didn't need more than that one sentence to realize that something between them had changed completely.
She looked at Violet, then at Louis.
It seemed her presence had suddenly become unnecessary.
"I'll go ahead to the palace."
Irene said it as she turned around.
But Violet quickly caught her arm.
"Wait. I'll help you walk."
Irene looked at her in surprise.
"I'm fine... I can walk on my own."
Then she suddenly remembered the person who had made her walk when she could barely move her body.
Your brother made me walk several kilometers without mercy.
She glanced at Lucas in the distance before looking back at Violet.
How can an angel like you possibly be the sister of that devil?
She almost smiled at the thought.
But instead, she simply said,
"I'm really fine. You go ahead."
Violet hesitated before looking at Louis.
It was obvious from her expression that she didn't want to leave Irene alone.
Irene smiled faintly.
"Don't worry. I'll walk slowly."
Then she gently freed her arm and continued toward the palace.
Louis watched her for a moment before turning his attention back to Violet.
Once Irene was far enough away, he stepped closer to her.
He gently took her hand, lifted it to his lips, and kissed the back of it.
Violet trembled slightly in surprise, her face turning red.
"Louis..."
He smiled, still holding her hand.
"I missed you."
Violet lowered her eyes.
"I missed you too..."
Then she looked back up at him.
"I thought about you every day."
His smile was sincere this time, free of any teasing.
"Every day, I wondered when I would finally be able to see you again."
Violet's smile grew shyly.
"I was so worried about you, but I'm happy that you're all right... and that everyone returned safely."
Then she pulled her hand away when she noticed a few servants passing nearby.
"Louis... people are looking at us."
He chuckled softly.
"Why do you still insist on keeping this a secret from everyone?"
"Louis!"
Her face grew even redder, making him smile as he enjoyed her embarrassment.
But that smile soon disappeared when he noticed the change in her expression.
Violet lowered her head.
"I'm scared."
Louis's expression immediately changed.
"Scared?"
"Of everything that's going to happen..."
She raised her eyes to him, the worry clearly visible in them.
"I tried talking to Mother, but it was useless. She won't listen to me, and neither will anyone else."
She paused and swallowed hard.
"I don't even know what's true anymore and what's not."
Her voice trembled.
"But there's one thing I can't believe... There's no way Irene could have done something like that."
She said it firmly, as if she were trying to convince herself before convincing him.
Louis sighed.
"I don't want to believe it either."
He lowered his eyes for a moment.
"But the problem is that this is no longer just a rumor or something we can simply ignore, especially now that the Crown Prince is involved... And so far, His Majesty has chosen to remain silent and not respond, despite how widespread the rumors have become."
Violet frowned.
"But why? According to protocol, any insult against the royal family is considered treason. Why is the main palace allowing these rumors to continue without even issuing a single statement?"
Louis fell silent for a moment, thinking before he answered.
"I'm not entirely sure, but it's likely that remaining silent is the best decision for now. Since this matter no longer concerns the Kingdom of Valerian alone, even the smallest action that displeases the other side could lead to serious consequences."
He paused before continuing.
"That's why the King chose to remain reserved and take a neutral stance, ignoring all those rumors in the hope that they will eventually be forgotten, in order to protect the kingdom and preserve the treaty that was established between the two kingdoms."
Then he added quietly,
"I don't know whether that's the main reason or if there's something else we don't know, but that's the only explanation I could think of."
Silence settled between them for a few moments.
Violet hesitated before asking,
"What about my brother? Did you tell him about the rumors?"
Louis shook his head.
"Unfortunately, I never got the chance to say anything. King Richard ordered us not to tell him anything, and Lucas was in very bad condition after the accident. If he had found out what was happening at the time, I'm afraid he would have acted without thinking about the consequences."
Violet didn't answer.
Tears began to gather in her eyes.
"Ah... So my brother doesn't know either."
Her voice came out weak.
"I felt a little relieved when I saw him smiling earlier... Is it because he doesn't know anything?"
A tear slipped down her cheek.
"What's happening? Why is all of this happening...?"
She tried to wipe away the tear, but another quickly replaced it.
"I'm so scared, Louie."
The words came out in a trembling voice.
"You know my brother well... how reckless he can be, and how he's never afraid of anything."
She lowered her head, trying to hold back her tears.
"What if he finds out? What if he does something reckless and things escalate into an even bigger problem that can't be solved?"
Louis couldn't bear to see her cry any longer.
He opened his arms and pulled her into an embrace.
Violet buried her face against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her, trying to calm her.
"Please, don't cry."
His voice was soft.
"I'll do everything I can."
He tightened his arms around her slightly.
"I won't let things go that far."
But even as he said those words, he felt something entirely different inside.
Helplessness.
He was angry with himself.
Angry because he didn't know the whole truth.
And angry because he had no power to stop any of this.
Louis felt weak.
He couldn't bear continuing to watch the people he loved suffer without being able to do anything about it.
And all the words he had just said to Violet felt like nothing more than promises he wasn't even sure he could keep.
And yet...
There was nothing else he could do but hold on to her.
To be continued.....