Trisya's carriage finally stopped, which meant they had arrived at the palace. Trisya let out a long sigh, revealing a lazy face that made Layla grimace in horror.
"Lady, are you okay?" Layla asked.
"Is there still a chance for us to just go home, Layla? I'm not in a good mood to deal with that 'shit guy'," said Trisya.
"Oh my, Lady. Do you mean that-"
"Come down, sister, I've been waiting for you here." The shout managed to interrupt Layla's speech.
Trisya just rolled her eyes lazily. Her hand prepared to open the wooden door in front of her. However, Layla choked her. Throwing Trisya a pleading look. "I beg you to please behave well today in front of His Highness the Crown Prince, Lady!"
"I can't promise," Trisya replied curtly, before she finally opened the door, and was immediately greeted by her brother's warm smile.
"You've finally arrived. I was worried you wouldn't get here before lunchtime," Darian said. Trisya's biological brother immediately extended his hand, intending to help Trisya down. And deftly, Trisya accepted the helping hand.
"So what if I come after lunch, Darian?" asked Trisya when she was already walking with her brother, and who knows where Darian would take her.
"His Majesty invited us to have lunch together. The three of us," Darian replied. Suddenly, Trisya stopped her steps and looked at her brother suspiciously. Why was she feeling so bad all of a sudden?
"H- His Majesty? Who is him?" asked Trisya. She had to make sure that what she feared would not happen.
"His Highness the Crown Prince, of course," Darian replied with a teasing smile at his sister.
"Huh?" Trisya's eyes bugged out. She really couldn't figure it out.
Why would Prince Terry ask her to have lunch with him? Was her brother just bragging? Could it be, right, as far as Darian knew, Trisya liked Prince Terry, so he was desperate to urge Prince Terry to invite him and Trisya to have lunch together. Because it is highly unlikely that this lunch idea came straight from Prince Terry's mouth without any coercion from anyone.
"Trisya, why are you staying there? Come on! The Prince is waiting inside. We can chat for a while while waiting for lunch. After that, we can take a tour of the palace. You've told me that you've always wanted to tour the palace, right? And today, your wish will come true," said Darian.
Trisya chuckled. From what Darian said, it seemed like Trisya's guess was right. This matter of lunch and a walk around the palace with Prince Terry was Darian's plan to make his only sister happy.
Trisya immediately caught up with Darian in a hurry and looked at him sarcastically.
"Darian, this must be your plan, right? Why do you have to do this?" protested the Duke's daughter.
"What plan? I don't understand," Darian was confused.
Trisya let out a long sigh, while still trying to match her brother's pace. However, before Trisya could speak, her brother had already interrupted her. "But you don't look happy, Trisya. Did something happen at home that put you in a bad mood today?"
"No, no. It's not that," Trisya replied.
"Then what? Did something unpleasant happen while you were on your way to the palace?"
"Not that, Darian."
"Then what? Why is my little sister looking so gloomy and lackluster today? I'm taking you to meet His Highness the Crown Prince who should make you feel-"
"Darian, don't you understand? I am no longer Trisya of the past. I'm no longer the Trisya who was willing to beg for a man's love. You don't have to do all this for me! Don't ask the Prince to invite me here because I don't like him anymore! I'm not upset about the state of the house or the journey to the palace. But-"
"Lady..."
"Shut up, Layla! Don't interrupt when I'm talking! I just want to emphasize to my brother that he's not being pretentious anymore by assuming that I'll be happy hanging around the Prince," Trisya scolded Layla who interrupted her.
"And for you, Darian! Stop trying to get me closer to Prince again! The more I'm with him, the more annoyed I get and-"
"I don't know if the Lady doesn't like my invitation," said a voice.
"Layla, I told you not to sneak-" Trisya's pupils widened, as the girl's body instantly froze. Wait a minute! It seemed like that was no longer Layla's voice. Trisya knew her beloved maid's voice by heart. And just now, it was obvious that it was a male voice, so it wasn't Layla.
Trisya swallowed her saliva with difficulty. She looked at her brother who was still silent staring at her, then turned her head, looking straight ahead.
Oh shit! Since when had she entered the Prince's palace?
"P- Prince?" Trisya was shocked.
While the person being gazed at only developed a lopsided smile, as if in disdain. Of course! Trisya had just made a loud speech as if she didn't like or fear the Prince at all. But look at her now! With just one sentence, Trisya's face instantly turned deathly pale.
"S-since when has His Highness been there?" asked Trisya. It sounded ridiculous to anyone who heard it.
"Did you forget where you are right now?" quipped Prince Terry.
"Maybe my sister just doesn't know, Your Highness. Because after all, she has never actually been in your palace," Darian defended her brother. "And I apologize if anything my sister said offended you. She-"
"Forget it, I'll forget what she just said too. So, can we go to the dining room now?" interrupted Prince Terry.
"You still want to continue this lunch plan even though I've already-"
"Lady..." Again, Layla interrupted her lady's speech. She was worried that Trisya would again say what she shouldn't.
"You've already arrived here. So, I still have to respect your coming, right? Moreover, the purpose of your visit today is indeed my palace. So, please, Lady!"
Trisya rolled her eyes lazily. However, Darian immediately grabbed his sister to follow Prince Terry's lead. Then, the three of them stopped at the outdoor dining room in the prince's palace.
Trisya swept her eyes around the place. Trisya just found out that inside Prince Terry's palace, there was a separate dining room with an outdoor theme like this.
"Please have a seat, My Lady," Prince Terry said.
Trisya was stunned. She almost jumped out of her skin when she realized that Prince Terry was already nearby and was pulling out a chair for her.
'Why am I suddenly nervous like this?'
"Lady," Prince Terry called again, breaking Trisya's reverie.
"Y- yes. Thank you," Trisya said. She immediately sat down at the place Prince Terry had prepared for her.
'Why did he have to pull out a chair for me? What a lack of work. What does he think I don't have hands?' Trisya was suddenly grumpy herself. Trying to instill in her heart that Prince Terry was such an incompetent person that he shouldn't have to pull a chair for her, which only made her heart beat faster.
"Do you have something to say? You seem to be thinking about a lot of things in this place," Prince Terry asked, seeing Trisya too busy observing the outdoor dining room.
"Not at all. I'm just amazed by this place," Trisya replied simply. There was no way, was she saying that she was distracting herself so that her eyes wouldn't meet those of the man who was now sitting directly across from her?
'Anyway, why is he suddenly talking to me this formally? How ridiculous.'
"Trisya, you must like this place, right?" asked Darian, breaking the silence.
"It's a nice place. You must be happy to see this place often," Trisya replied.
Darian smiled. He was happy when his sister was happy. "So, would you like to visit your brother here once in a while?"
Trisya let out a long sigh. Actually, she would if she didn't remember who owned this place.
"Actually, I'm a little bored if I have to see your face too often," Trisya said.
Darian threw her a look of protest. If they weren't in the presence of Prince Terry, Darian would have already scolded his loud-mouthed sister.
Didn't Trisya know that Darian often longed for the only sister he had? If he could, Darian wanted to be able to go home and meet his sister every day like before. But unfortunately, more and more, Prince Terry's work is getting more and more. And indirectly it makes Darian's workload here also increase rapidly.
"But if you come here often, it means you will see His Majesty more often. You will like that, right?" Darian chose to counterattack Trisya by bringing the Prince along. Meanwhile, the Prince, whose name was starting to be brought up, chose to only listen to the siblings' conversation.
"Who said that? It's the same thing. If I see someone's face too often I will get bored," Trisya replied lightly.
Layla who was standing behind the girl started looking at Trisya and Prince Terry in turn with a worried look on her face. Not to mention, the Prince's maids and bodyguards who looked shocked at Trisya's words. Layla was really worried that the lady would get into trouble after this.
Prince Terry cleared his throat, making Layla clutch her own hands even tighter. 'Is His Highness taking offense to what she said? Gosh, what should I do? I can't let Lady get into trouble.'
"Ah, I'm sorry. I should have made room for Your Highness to chat with Trisya as well," Darian said. And Trisya's hand immediately pinched her brother strongly, making Darian grimace.
"No problem. Besides, it seems that Lady Trisya is not comfortable talking to me," Prince Terry replied to Darian's words.
Soon, some servants came to serve the dishes at the dining table. Their conversation was suddenly interrupted.
"You may leave," Prince Terry said, giving the code to the maids and bodyguards to leave the three of them at the table. "Please enjoy the meal!" he continued while looking at Trisya and Darian in turn.
The three of them immediately ate the dishes that had been served in silence. The atmosphere of lunch that day was very quiet. Only the sound of the cutlery rubbing against each other entered Trisya's sense of hearing as she enjoyed the food in front of her.