After having lunch together, Darian left Trisya and Prince Terry in the backyard of the palace, while he had to meet someone. Trisya and Prince Terry stood a short distance away. But both of them seemed reluctant to greet each other and chose to remain silent.
Trisya looked back, signaling Layla to come closer. "Layla, should we just go home?"
"But Lady has yet to tour the palace with His Majesty and Young Master," Layla said.
"My brother seems to be busy," said Trisya, then she paused, and brought her lips to Layla's ear first before her favorite maid nagged her again for what she was going to say after this. "And I don't want to go around with just him," Trisya whispered.
Layla nodded in understanding. Her heart was a little relieved because at least Trisya said it in a whisper so that no one could hear it except her.
"Isn't this a good opportunity for you and the Prince to get to know each other better, Lady? I think-"
"Lady, are you busy?" Layla stopped her speech, as another voice filled her and her lady's senses.
Trisya and Layla both turned to Prince Terry who had just asked. "As you can see, I am not doing anything. So what?" Trisya asked back.
"Shall we start touring the palace?" Prince Terry offered.
"And how my brother? Actually, I came here at his request, so-"
"He can catch up after his business is done," Prince Terry interrupted. Trisya chuckled under her breath.
"I'm so sorry, Your Highness. But I came here at my brother's request, so I will still wait for my brother," Trisya refused in a firmer tone.
"Lady, you should-"
"Layla," Trisya cut in, before Layla agreed to Prince Terry's proposal.
Finally, it was quiet again with Trisya and Prince Terry no longer talking to each other. Trisya was busy looking at the flowers blooming in the garden, while Prince Terry stood stiffly looking straight ahead.
"Lady Trisya!" Trisya turned her head when she heard the call of her name. And she immediately expanded her smile when she saw who was coming.
"Good afternoon, Your Majesty," Trisya greeted as she gave a brief salute to the King's second son who had just approached her.
"I did not know Lady was here. What is Lady doing here? Did you come for Prince Terry's invitation?" asked the Second Prince - Prince Avery.
Trisya shook her head. "I came at the request of my brother, who wanted to show me around the palace with His Royal Highness Prince Terry as both of them are out of work today."
"Trisya!" Trisya turned her head back. She smiled widely at her brother's arrival.
"How is it, Darian? Can we go for a walk or something now? So that I can also get home before dinner time," Trisya asked.
"Ah that's... too bad but it looks like we'll have to postpone that plan," Darian replied, after paying his respects to the two king's sons nearby.
"What do you mean?"
"I'll explain later," Darian replied. After that, Darian turned to Prince Terry. "Your Highness, there are some matters that we seem to need to discuss with Count Morsche. We must go to his residence today."
Trisya sharpened her hearing when she heard a name that sounded familiar. Count Morsche, that meant Lady Rania's father.
"About what? And why so suddenly?" asked Prince Terry.
Darian leaned closer, whispering something into Prince Terry's ear that neither Trisya nor Prince Avery could hear.
Instantly, Trisya's face tightened. She was reminded of her dream last night. At first, glance, what happened this afternoon seemed similar to her dream last night. About their plan to take a walk around the palace had to fail because Prince Terry chose to go to Lady Rania's residence. So, will the dream come true?
Trisya winced in horror at the thought. Of course, the dream wouldn't happen. Trisya wouldn't be willing to chase Prince Terry to Lady Rania's residence, let alone do anything unbecoming to the girl.
Prince Terry seemed to stare at Trisya until their gazes met. Trisya smiled faintly quickly, replacing her disgusted expression when she remembered her dream last night.
'Of course this time things will be different. I'm not as stupid as the real Trisya, and now I'm the one in full control of this body. And for sure, I won't do anything shameful like that,' Trisya thought, as her smile grew wider.
"Trisya, is it okay if we postpone this plan? I promise I'll invite you again and show you around when time permits. Because today we have some sudden business that-"
"Otherwise, just let Lady Trisya be here, Lord Darian!" interrupted Prince Avery.
Trisya turned quickly to the King's second son. Why should she stay? Wouldn't it be better if she went straight home and rested in her cozy room?
"Your Majesty?" asked Darian.
"I can accompany the Lady around the palace in place of Lord Darian and Prince Terry. After all, the Lady has traveled quite a bit to get here. So, as her host, it would be rude of me to let her go home before her original intention of coming here is accomplished. Incidentally, I have nothing to do this afternoon or evening. So I think-"
"Prince Avery is right." Now, it was Prince Terry's turn to interrupt his brother's speech. "It would be rude of me to let your sister go home when we have an appointment with her instead of an impromptu agenda with Count Morsche," Prince Terry explained.
Wait a minute! Prince Terry is not planning to neglect his work to accompany Trisya around the palace, is he?
"But, Your Highness, this matter is quite urgent and we must discuss it with Count Morsche as soon as possible," said Darian.
Trisya could not remain silent. She also had to find a way to keep Prince Terry from canceling his agenda with Count Morsche, so that Trisya could return to her residence immediately.
"It's okay, Your Highness. You'd better finish your work first. The matter of traveling around the palace, you can do it another time. After all, His Majesty's work is far more important than going around the palace," continued Trisya.
Surprisingly, Prince Terry chuckled at Trisya's words - leaving the girl confused and wondering what was so funny that the Prince could laugh at her.
"I did not intend to cancel the meeting with Count Morsche. I just had to go," said Prince Terry.
"Your Highness, don't worry. Let me accompany Lady Trisya around the palace today," continued Prince Avery. Truly, Trisya had no intention of agreeing to the second prince's good intentions either. She still preferred her original plan to return to her residence immediately.
"No need, Prince Avery. Because I plan to invite Lady Trisya to come with me and also Darian."
"Did I just hear it wrong?" Trisya was again left gaping with Prince Terry's words.
"You can come with us to Count Morsche's residence," Prince Terry replied with a flat look on his face.
Trisya was silent for a moment, before finally chuckling. "Is His Highness trying to play a joke on me? Well, I almost fell for it, but I admit that it was quite funny-"
"I'm not joking or playing a prank on you. I'm inviting you to join in."
Trisya stopped her laughter and looked confused at Prince Terry. "But... why? I mean, what's the point of me being there, while His Highness and my brother will be busy discussing things with Count Morsche?"
"I don't think Your Majesty's idea is bad, Trisya. Come to think of it, the Morsche family has a beautiful flower garden and lake, and I'm sure you'll love it. You don't need to worry, we won't be long. You won't be bored while you wait for us there. Moreover, the Count also has a daughter who is the same age as you. Who knows, you can get acquainted and make friends with her," Darian continued, as if supporting Prince Terry.
Trisya knew exactly who Darian was referring to. Count Morsche's only daughter was Lady Rania. And it seemed, Trisya was still traumatized to be close to that girl because she would look like a real antagonist every time she came in contact with her. So it was better...
"No. I don't want to come. I-"
"Come! Trust me! You'll like it there. After all, His Highness invited you directly. So how could you refuse?" Darian cut in.
"Think of it as compensation for postponing our plan to tour the palace," Prince Terry continued.
Trisya could only remain silent. She didn't know what else to say to refuse this invitation. For a moment, she looked at Prince Avery who was smiling faintly at her. Although his lips were smiling, somehow the handsome prince's gaze looked sad in Trisya's eyes.
"Let's go, Lady!" Prince Terry invited Trisya to walk with him. Wait a minute! Hadn't Trisya even agreed to the invitation?
"I'd like to excuse myself, Your Highness," Darian said to Prince Avery, before taking Trisya's hand. Trisya bowed politely to Prince Avery, bidding him a brief farewell before she finally aligned her steps with her brother.
"Darian, I haven't even agreed to it yet," Trisya whispered to her brother.
"Come along! I still miss you so bad. If we can't tour the palace together today, at least I can still see you on our way to Count Morsche's residence," Darian urged.
Trisya let out a resigned sigh. She did not want to set foot in the residence of the main protagonist in this novel - Lady Rania. However, on the one side, she also did not have the heart to refuse her brother's request. Because she knew how much affection Darian had for the real Trisya, even though the two of them rarely met due to Darian's busy schedule as the Crown Prince's confidant.
'Calm down, Trisya! Even if you come, you can still control this body not to get close to Lady Rania. The events in your dream will not come true. There's no way you'll suddenly go crazy and attack Lady Rania for no apparent reason, and you don't have any reason to deal with her right now,' Trisya reassured herself.
As they arrived at the palace grounds, Prince Terry extended his hand to Trisya, intending to help her into his carriage - Prince Terry's carriage. Trisya turned to her brother for a moment. "You'll also be riding the same carriage as me, right?"
"Of course. You go first! Don't let the Prince wait too long!" said Darian.
Trisya nodded. Then, with a hesitant step, she rushed towards Prince Terry - reaching out for the man's upturned fingers waiting for her. And when their skin touched, Trisya felt nervous again. She felt something was wrong with her heartbeat.
'Tsk. This must be an effect because when I was in my world, I kept a very close distance from men and rarely came into contact with their kind. So it's easy for me now to feel nervous just because of this simple physical touch,' Trisya thought.
Trisya quickly entered the spacious carriage, followed by Prince Terry and Darian. Trisya was grateful that at least her brother was sitting next to her. But in the next few seconds, she quickly realized that it meant she had to deal with Prince Terry who had a flat face.
'If I had known it would be like this, I would have taken my carriage.'