Trisya could only mutter to herself on the way to the palace grounds. How could she not? The man who had said 'no objection' to taking her, now returned to being cold as if he did not consider Trisya's existence. If knew it would be like this, wouldn't it be better if he didn't have to pretend to be nice to Trisya by willing to take her home?
"Is there a problem with your leg? Why are you walking so slowly?" The question made Trisya chuckle, then widened her steps.
"Are you in a hurry, Your Highness? If you were in a hurry, you shouldn't have agreed to take me home," Trisya replied when she reached the cold man.
The man was His Royal Highness Prince Terry, the Crown Prince who was 'said' to be Trisya's future husband - that is if Trisya was not executed at the hands of the man.
"So what you're saying is, you want Prince Avery to escort you?" asked Prince Terry.
Trisya rounded her eyes. "When did I say that? I'm just saying if you don't have to"
"But unfortunately the queen is unlikely to allow you to go home without one of us. So, instead of continuing to argue about the past, you'd better get into the carriage!" interrupted Prince Terry. It was obvious that he didn't want to talk to Trisya for too long. Trisya was the same. She also didn't want to talk to the King's eldest son for too long. Let alone talk, only face to face with him just feels lazy.
Trisya looked at the horse-drawn carriage in front of her. There was a golden horse emblem at the top and several similar colored ornaments around the horse. Unmistakably, it was a special horse for the royal family that could only be ridden by the King's family. Trisya remembered one of the scenes that showed if Lady Rania was the first person outside the royal family to ride it after the crown princess election party.
'But I haven't gotten to that part yet. If I board now, that means I'll be ahead of Lady Rania. Won't that be a problem?' Trisya wondered.
"Lady, do you not intend to speed up my work?" admonished Prince Terry, intending to rouse Trisya to get on the carriage.
"Perhaps the Lady needs your help to get on, Your Highness," whispered one of the prince's bodyguards.
The prince looked at Trisya lazily. It seemed like the man's brain had gone back to thinking badly about Trisya. 'What does he think I want to do? Yikes. I'm not even willing to get on the carriage with his help.'
Prince held out his hand insincerely. And Trisya just looked at him flatly. "Lady, you-"
"If I want to, I can do it myself. You don't need to help me, Your Highness" Trisya ventured to interrupt the Prince.
"Then why don't you go up immediately? You deliberately wanted to spend more time with me?" chided Prince Terry.
"I'm sorry, Prince. I can return in my family carriage. If you wish to escort me, we can go in two different carriages. I-"
"Lady, I'm so sorry." Trisya turned to Layla. After almost half a day of her beloved maid being silent, why was she suddenly apologizing now?
"What's wrong, Layla? Did something happen?" Trisya was confused.
"J- just now... actually..."
"Tell me clearly, Layla!" snapped Trisya. Layla was not like this usually. Ever since Trisya's body was filled with Layla's soul, they had been getting closer and closer, and Layla had never seemed this scared and confused when facing the new Trisya. So, Trisya concluded that the news Layla brought seemed to be quite serious indeed.
"Earlier when you were still with the Queen before we took our leave, the Queen told her maid, and then her maid told me to order your carriage to return first. So-"
"What? So what you're saying is, I was left behind by my carriage? Then how am I supposed to get home, Layla? Do I have to walk all the way home in these formal clothes?" Trisya fumed.
Of course, coming to the palace, let alone to meet the royal core family meant she had to dress formally. The dress she was wearing was very long, and let's don't forget the uncomfortable shoes that were now attached to her feet. Even on the way to the palace, Trisya had to take off her shoes and put them back on when they arrived. It was impossible for Trisya could walk home in these clothes.
Trisya's attention was caught when she heard a deafening sound from a short distance away. She turned her head to find the Crown Prince looking at her with a lopsided smile. Next, Trisya's gaze shifted to the golden horse-drawn carriage in front of her. The girl let out a long sigh. It seemed that she had no other choice.
'What an embarrassment! How could the plot turn out like this? Why did my carriage have to be ordered to return first? And why are they willing to do it, even though the order did not come from me? 'Traitors! Who do they work for, anyway?' Trisya muttered to herself. When she was an ordinary human, she was indeed very kind and patient. But, how come after becoming a high-class noble princess like this, she still had to suppress her ego so easily like this?
"I can do it myself, Your Highness," Trisya said. She still stubbornly refused the Crown Prince's helping hand. Actually, she did need a little help to get on the carriage. But, she was too proud. And it was better to try on her own than to accept the man's help.
"Oh shit!" Trisya cursed softly when she realized that the carriage was taller than her family's. If she needed help riding her family's carriage, how about this? Moreover, Trisya's clothes did not allow her to act carelessly.
"Need my help, Lady?" offered the Prince in a half-mocking tone.
Trisya rolled her eyes lazily. "Layla, can you help me a little?" Trisya pleaded.
"But Lady, that's a bit-"
"I just need you to hold me for a moment to keep me from falling," Trisya cut in. She couldn't possibly ask Layla to lift her either. She was not that crazy.
Finally, Layla asked the Prince for permission to help Trisya. Trisya's favorite maid immediately came forward and took one of Trisya's outstretched hands, and tried to hold the young lady as she tried to climb into the carriage.
However... it was not as easy as Trisya thought. The girl's shoes and dress made it even more difficult for her, and she would have fallen had not one of her other arms been immediately grabbed by someone behind her, who then helped Trisya by slightly lifting and pushing her in.
Trisya breathed a sigh of relief as she managed to climb into the carriage. But her eyes rounded when she realized who had just helped her. Trisya reflexively looked back - and to her surprise, she almost collided with Prince Terry who had just caught up with her. Their gazes met at one point, with their faces so close together. Luckily, the carriage doors were quickly closed so no one saw the incident.
"Y- Your Highness," Trisya said nervously, with her heart beating wildly. She immediately moved her face away. However, it turned out that the coachman had just climbed up, making a light movement that made Trisya almost fall because of her unprepared position. As a result, the Prince grabbed both of Trisya's arms and helped the girl from falling.
"Don't be careless! Fix your sitting position!" said the Prince, which made Trisya regain consciousness. She immediately shifted slightly to the center and fixed her position. She tried to turn her gaze elsewhere - anywhere as long as her gaze did not collide with Prince Terry's dark bead. However, hearing the man's small chuckle, Trisya reflexively turned her head while furrowing her eyebrows.
"Anything funny, Your Highness?" asked Triysa.
"Is this how you get my attention?" accused Prince Terry with a dismissive chuckle.
Trisya's pupils widened. "Which is it? You think I deliberately wanted to bring myself to fall?" Trisya grumbled unhappily.
"Maybe you were willing to risk it all, in the hope that I would help you," Prince Terry replied simply.
Trisya didn't accept it. Was she that stupid? She wouldn't put herself in danger for a man. Especially an asshole like the man in front of her. Don't hope!
She was upset but unable to vent her frustration due to the caste difference between her and the man in front of her, Trisya chose to walk away. She was about to get off the carriage when a voice alerted her again.
"So, you chose to go home on foot? Did you forget, that you were left behind by your family's carriage, and now the only one who can take you home is me?"
Trisya thought for a moment. She began to estimate how much time she would need if she had to return to her residence on foot. 'It would probably take almost two hours. Plus with my clothes and shoes like this, I'll probably become a spectacle too. Moreover, the people of this kingdom still look down on Trisya. Ah, and don't forget that I only have two maids and one bodyguard with me now.'
Trisya cursed her bad luck. She finally sighed and returned to her sitting position. Her head was bowed. It felt like she had no more face to show in front of the Prince. After all, Trisya couldn't guarantee that she would be able to keep from hitting the man's face who was certainly now looking at her with an expression that would make Trisya even more annoyed.