Chapter 56 – The Audacious Queen (1) In the end, Leah decided to keep the dress and not send it back. Since she couldn’t just wear it anywhere, she only ordered it to be kept safe until she could decide when it could be appropriately used. With that decision, the maids of the royal palace were able to see and enjoy the purple silk of the Kurkans firsthand. It seemed that by now, Ishakan knew how to play her, make her do as he pleased. He now knew what her weakness was, so she was left without a choice but to bear with it. Even though he had a devious disposition, she couldn’t help but feel a strange emotion that she couldn’t begin to describe. Leah decided she needn’t bother delving into an emotion that she could not clearly define. It was a waste of time. But also because she had a gut feeling that discovering it now wasn’t the right time just yet. Even in the beginning, she couldn’t divulge her emotions easily. Although everyone knew that she was resting, her busy schedule was still making her keel over from time to time. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮 It was finally the day of the luncheon. They were all busy since the first light of day. Since the stop-entry-order in the palace had been lifted, she had to take care of all the work that had been postponed since her accident. Later in the evening, she would arrange a meeting with Finance Minister Laurent and Count Valtein. Despite the preparations for the luncheon having started early, she took her sweet time preparing for it, contrasting the hustle and bustle for the luncheon the maids were doing. Since they will eat in the garden, her hair was styled with fresh flowers and accented with jewels. The dress she wore was a soft-colored dress embroidered with a thread of the same color as the fabric. The design was simple, yet nonetheless elegant. It was Baroness Cinael’s suggestion. It suited her well that all the ladies and gentlemen of the palace admired how she looked perfectly. Even Countess Melissa gave her a beautiful compliment with just a single remark. “If Count Valtein sees you today in your outfit, he will surely be amazed!” In the middle of all the unending compliments being cast to her, Leah put on the finishing touch, her white-laced gloves. With that, she then left early. However, no carriage was available in front of the Princess’s palace. The flustered horseman was only standing and waiting outside. She did not need to ask what happened. “It’s been a while, Princess.” A man pretending to be polite, but was perpetuating an unbelievably rude act, was waiting for Leah. Leah can hear the maids who were following her, as they loudly gasped at the sight of the man, before stopping a few paces behind her. Either way, Ishakan smiled at Leah. His golden eyes were brilliantly sparkling as the sunlight reflected on it. Almost like his eyes was the sun itself Leah blinked owlishly at him, as she observed him carefully. It seemed that he came alone. Though there was no escort knight around to accompany them, she did not rule out the possibility there is someone who has been hiding nearby and following him, just like last time. He had been staring at her for while now, deliberately not taking his eyes off her. Leah only spoke in a confident tone, after making sure he had no tricks up his sleeves. “Your Highness, how did you come to this place? The luncheon place is not here.” she pointed out, feigning curiosity. Ishakan merely brushed off the threatening undertone in her voice. It was just as he expected from her. “I heard that there is an etiquette in the continent that men must accompany a woman of prestige.” He was referring to an escort. However, this time, it was only a luncheon where only a few people will be gathered, and thus needing an escort would be irrelevant. This is especially true for officials like the King of Kurkans and the Princess of Estia. He probably did not know that the complicated and difficult etiquette should be applied depending on the situation at hand. No... The more she thought of it, the more Ishakan seemed like the type of person who would be stubborn enough to do as he pleased, regardless of whether he fully understood the customs of the place. He did so, because he could. So instead of pointing out his mistake, Leah decided to bring up another topic. “I wanted to return the dress to you.” she admitted, and Ishakan’s lips curled up into a smug grin. “But you can’t.” Ishakan kept a gracious smile on his face while looking down at her. “Are you doing this because you want to fully enjoy the luncheon without me, princess?” Leah thought that she felt a little bit nauseous. Her heart also thumped a little faster. The black tea she had in the morning was so strong, so she thought it was the reason behind this. Ignoring the stirring sensation, she retorted words in a cool manner. “Are you trying to appease me like how you did with Count Valtein?” she asked, narrowing her gaze at him. The maids of the royal palace stood still, watching nervously back and forth between the two of them as they held their breath and gulped. Baroness Cinael only fumbled with the handkerchief that she held in her hand. Ishakan burst into laughter in front of all the ladies. “Winning over the princess through a mere silk dress... Isn’t that too cheap?” he grinned coquettishly, and Leah fought the urge to scoff. His head had been tilted downwards. Since their height difference was one head apart, he could only whisper to her ears by tucking his head and stooping low. “I only gave that to replace the destroyed dress you had, Leah.” Suddenly a memory came over her, she could still vividly remember how her dress was ripped off and laid on the bed of tuberoses. Heat rose on her cheeks. He stared at Leah’s ghastly white face that was slowly flushing red. It was an amusing sight, witnessing the princess’ cheeks change color. “Will you wear it for me? I carefully chose that dress thinking it will suit you well.” his voice dropped, as he spoke to her in a husky tone.