'This stress is going to kill me. Why doesn't Adam say anything? Is he angry at me? Happy for me? Or, does he find accompanying me on this journey bothersome?'
'And why? Why does he not let me go? Is it important for him to hold me in such an intimate position? I'm starting to feel uncomfortable.'
Elysia's thoughts kept her busy. They kept her busy enough to make her forget her current predicament of being held in the crown prince's lap.
The once shorter boy had grown up rapidly and now he stood far above Elysia in height. Even Eve had grown taller than her and now Elysia was the shortest of the trio.
"Elysia, is something wrong? Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere? You know you can tell me about it, right?"
Someone must have tampered with the crown prince's food otherwise there was no reason for him to behave like this.
While Adam often liked to hug Elysia and drag her on top of him, the behavior was seldomly done in private. It usually happened when Eve was in the vicinity to see it.
And every time it happened, Eve got angry enough to drag Elysia away and curse Adam.
But since Eve was not here right now, there was no reason for Adam to do this to Elysia. It was not like Adam would be able to get Eve jealous when she was not even there.
Maybe he wanted this news to get back to her and make her jealous that way? It was difficult to know what the crown prince was thinking for real.
"Your highness, it would be best to let Lady Elysia retrieve to her seat. The journey is long and keeping such a heavyweight in your person can be detrimental for your help."
Sister Rosa's words were a sharp cut to the tense atmosphere Elysia felt. She was not sure if she felt flattered for the help or if she wanted to curse Sister Rosa for the insult.
"There is no need for that. Elysia is not that heavy anyway. And you should also focus on the journey ahead, Sister Rosa. I should also remind you that it is you who is breaking the social conduct by traveling in the same carriage as a member of the royal family without notice."
The more annoyed Adam sounded, the tighter he held Elysia. His grip was gentle but it was getting annoying.
Even more so since there was one part of Adam's body that was enjoying this trip a lot more than it should.
Had it not been for Sister Rosa and Elysia's mental purity, she would have called Adam out on his obvious physical reaction.
'I know that he's at the age where boys get excited over the smallest of things, but did Adam have to get heard while I am in his lap? His hardness is poking me uncomfortably.'
Every time the carriage bumped, Elysia could feel her bottom come in contact with the crown prince's hardness. It must be painful for the crown prince was well but that bastard was not doing anything but smiling at Elysia.
'He didn't even have the decency to be alarmed or shocked. Does he not feel uncomfortable?'
Elysia was not sure if Sister Rosa knew what was going on with the pair in front of her but Elysia feverishly wished the answer was a solid 'no' in her favor.
Otherwise, Elysia would not be able to look the sister in the eye ever again.
"We're here at last. Everything beyond this point is the property of the Dirac family. You both, wait here while I go and welcome our guide."
Sister Rosa looked relieved as soon as the carriage stopped. Her face showed clear discomfort at being in the same space as the future royal couple.
Adam also relaxed as soon as Sister Rosa left the carriage and he finally let Elysia escape his arms.
Elysia also did not look the gifted horse in the mouth and she sprang toward the other side of the carriage.
She almost expected Adam to follow after her and demand release from her but he did not come after her. Instead, he relaxed his body and laid down on the carriage seat.
"Finally, she took the clue and left us alone. I thought I would have to spell it out for her that I wanted her to leave us alone."
Adam looked far more relaxed now that Sister Rosa was gone. Elysia wanted to ask him about his condition but she was not able to bring up that embarrassing topic.
In the end, all Elysia could do was change the topic to something else.
"Why did you decide to follow me here? You must be busy with your crown ceremony coming up."
Adam looked at her like she was a fool. But this look was nothing new.
He often looked at her this same way so it didn't tell Elysia anything. And Adam realized it pretty quickly as well.
"I just felt like following you."
"You just felt like it?"
"Yes. I had a feeling that I would have regretted it if I did not follow after you. So I decided to listen to my instincts and stalk you. Why, don't you like having a handsome and dashing prince-"
"Stop. Don't speak anymore. Did you follow after me because I am partially blind?"
Elysia quickly covered the crown prince's mouth with her hand to quieten him down. She did not want to listen to him speaking any more than he already had.
But the bastard crown prince didn't even allow Elysia to spend her peaceful time.
She could feel something wet and slimy licking between her fingers and she instantly let the crown prince's mouth go.
The golden-eyed youth just smirked back at Elysia with hooded eyes and a lazy smile. Had it not been for saliva still present on Elysia's hand, no one would have been able to tell who the real offender was.
"Y-You! What are you planning to-"
Elysia never got to finish her words. The door to her carriage was yanked open by an irritated Sister Rosa. Her eyes screamed murder and Elysia instantly knew that the news she was about to receive was not a good one.
"Sister Rosa, is something wrong?"
Elysia quickly changed her focus of attention from the crown prince to the eldest. The crown prince did not look happy at this sudden change and lack of attention, but he did not say anything to Elysia.
As far as the black-haired girl knew, this counted as a victory in her book.
"Nothing is wrong. Lady Elysia, your luggage is being transported to the Dirac family carriage which will take you from here. Lord Dirac only permitted you to enter the estate and no one else."
Elysia instantly knew why Sister Rosa was in a bad mood.
Sister Rosa likely wanted to make a good impression on the Duke and get on his good side. He was a powerful chess piece and just being acquainted with him was a big deal.
But whatever Sister Rosa wanted to do did not matter to Elysia. She had not been ordered to take Sister Rosa with her so Elysia was not going to bother with these changes.
"I understand. Then, I will be changing my carriage now."
Elysia quickly got up to change the carriage before she felt someone following behind her. She had a vague idea who it could be but Elysia preyed hard that it was not the case.
"Your highness, where you going? We need to start heading back now," Sister Rosa sounded panicked when she called out to Elysia's shadow.
"Don't want to. I will follow after my fiance so you can go back. I can just ask Lord Dirac to lend me one of his carriages when I need to return. It shouldn't be a problem, right?"
The Dirac guard seemed a little taken aback.
As the crown prince, Adam's word could not be refuted. But Lord Dirac's orders were absolute and could not be challenged in the Dirac estate.
Such a big conflict of interests left a lot of room for misinterpretation and the guard was unfortunate enough to be caught in the middle of this conflict.
In the end, there was only one person who could handle this situation and the guard turned toward his last hope.
"My lady, what is your decision?"
"My decision? I am not qualified to make one in this situation since it involved politics." Elysia did not want to get into this dispute but she could also not ignore Adam's begging look, "However, if the crown prince is here as my fiance, then it should not be a problem inviting him inside, right?"
Elysia's face burned as she admitted that fact. The guard and Sister Rosa looked taken aback at her words. free webnovel.com
Even Adam looked taken aback at her words before his face broke out into a sincere smile and he took Elysia's hand in his own. (Not that she could see that clearly but she could just feel it.)
"I am here as a family so there should be no problem with me coming in, right? I will treat your lady well."
The guard looked as pained as Elysia felt at Adam's actions. But there was nothing else anyone could do.
A single mistake here could lead to a fatal war between the crown and the Dirac family. It was better to indulge the crown prince a little.
"If that is what the lady wants then we shall welcome the crown prince in our estate as well. Kindly step into the carriage we have prepared for my lady. The crown prince must wait here for a few minutes while we prepare another carriage for him."
Elysia almost opened her mouth to purpose sharing the carriage before she remembered where she was and what she had done.
Since she had purposed this visit as a 'fiance' visit rather than a 'friendly' one, sharing the carriage was asking for trouble.
The crown prince seemed to have understood that as well because he did not push his luck. He let Elysia's hand fall out of his own but not before he pulled it up to place a gentle kiss on the back.
"My lady, I shall see you soon."
Elysia looked back one last time to see Adam wave her off before she got on the carriage.
She had a feeling that arranging this meeting between Lord Dirac and the Crown Prince was like courting disaster but Elysia still could not stop her decision.
'I hope everything turns out alright. The fear of the unknown scares me but I must live on. I cannot die. At least not like how I die in those visions.'
Elysia would live and she would also make sure everyone else live as well. That was all the reason she had endured all these years of suffering.
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