Chapter 19
Carrissa's smile faltered for a second, but she didn't dwell too much on his statement.
"Tsk, you are no fun."
She pouted, her expression soon turning to concern.
"So how are you doing?" she inquired, pulling closer to check his wounds.
Garran felt his chest heat up at their closeness.
"I'm okay, I'm okay," he repeated, trying to create distance. He pulled his legs to the bed and sat on it, his back supported by a pillow.
Carrissa withdrew with a nod. "It seems it is healing fast."
"I am a High Human, woman," he said smugly, but after a second, his smile froze on his lips and he averted his gaze. "And will always be."
His voice dimmed, and Carrissa could feel the pain in it. She sighed and looked through the bag she brought, bringing out a cake with a lemon topping.
"I thought of you when I saw this." She forced a smile and handed him the cake.
Garran unwrapped the foil around it and smiled. "Thank you."
Carrissa hummed. When she saw Garran begin to eat, she felt her heart flutter and her cheeks warm up. To prevent him from seeing it, she rose to the balcony, opened the doors, and pulled the curtain apart.
"Sometimes you need a breath of fresh air." She returned to her seat and glanced at him.
"There is nothing that does not have a cure. I talked to my father about it, and he said he would speak to his connections in the Northern Continent. Apparently, they were the ones conducting research on it when it surfaced a decade ago."
Garran nodded and took a bite of the cake. "Why are you doing so much for me?" he asked out randomly.
Carrissa didn't think much before she blurted out an answer. "Because you are handsome."
The air in the room suddenly froze, as the two individuals present froze with it.
Garran's astonishment slowly turned into an amused smile as he stared at her.
'You dummy, what have you done?' Carrissa chided herself internally. A flicker of light illuminated her face exposing her reddish hue painting her cheeks.
Before speaking, the image of his beautiful lemon-blonde hair paired with his sapphire eyes was painted in her mind, thus bringing it out through her lips. She averted her gaze when she saw Garran smiling smugly at her.
"Why, thank you. I already knew though."
'What a narcissist,' she thought.
"I didn't mean that, I meant—"
"So are you saying I am not handsome?"
Carrissa's eyes widened and she flailed her hands around dismissively. "No, no, I think you are very handsome, what I—"
Garran burst into laughter, and Carrissa realised what he had done.
"You bully!" she pouted.
"You weren't a bully when you were young, so what changed?" Carrissa asked with mock anger.
"Well, you were also much cuter when you were young, so what happened?"
Carrissa blushed when he said that but quickly regained her composure.
"Are you trying to say I do not look cute anymore?"
"No, what I am trying to say is that you look much more adorable and beautiful now that you've grown."
"You are such a smooth talker," she stated, a blush on her face.
"I never understood why you stopped visiting the palace. I mean, it happened so randomly," Garran inquired.
Carrissa smiled, a look of nostalgia on her countenance.
"Well, I stopped coming because my friend said she didn't want to be friends anymore," she replied.
Her words concealed the pain she felt within, and even after so many years, she had not forgotten them. As the daughter of a wealthy businessman, people only befriended her for their own benefit. But Sera was not like them, so the sudden news broke her heart.
Garran paused, his eyes flashing to a memory from long ago. Even though at that time he said it in a way that meant no harm, he now realised that he might have hurt her.
'So she actually let go of her friends.'
Now, speaking of no harm, he suddenly remembered someone who had overly given her a compliment.
"Can I ask for a favour?"
Carrissa's ears perked up, wanting to hear what it was, since this was the first time Garran was asking her a favour.
"Anything you want."
A crooked smile hung on Garran's lips as his eyes danced with a malicious light.
The sun had crossed the centre of the sky, resting behind a cloud.
Lady Thalebrook pulled out her pocket watch and looked at the time.
"It seems my time is up," she said. "I hope you enjoyed this."
"I did, but I don't understand one thing," Sera said. "Why didn't they choose the zebra? At least she wasn't dangerous."
Thalebrook smiled and shook her head.
"A person of dubious intentions is far more deadlier than a person who readily shows you his fangs," she said, looking into the distance.
Sera nodded.
"Let me ask — what if Your Highness, the Prince, is the zebra in this context? What will you do?"
"I would obviously choose my brother. Garran is sharp and would be capable of leading the kingdom away from predators," Sera replied without hesitation.
Thalebrook smiled knowingly and shook her head.
"Remember that the lion is a prideful creature. He doesn't resort to begging but roars to get what he wants. But he begged to be chosen — and why?"
"Because he loved the zebra," Sera said, her eyes widening as though finally understanding it.
"The zebra would have been assassinated and wouldn't even know. But the zebra is quite a wild animal by himself — so why?"
"Zebras are aggressive and easily stressed, and what better way to use one's strength to kill them?"
Sera fell quiet, pondering over this. She felt this was no longer related to the story she was told.
An aggressive person was mostly a brute, and what happens when a brute uses physical strength in politics? He is backstabbed by a brute with a plan. And what happens when the brute is damaged? His number one strength is taken away, and he becomes open to the enemy's attack.
"What do you mean, Miss Thalebrook?" Sera's voice turned cold. She knew that Thalebrook was only telling the truth, but she wasn't willing to accept it.
Thalebrook bowed her head low.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness, if I crossed my boundaries, but I was merely concerned for His Highness, the Prince."
She raised her head up and a thin smile hung on her face.
"I will take my leave now," she muttered.
Sera didn't hear Thalebrook leave since her mind was currently racing.
Thalebrook was right — her brother was comparable to a zebra now. With his handicap, he would only be mocked in court, which would lead to his ire, and any flicker of aura was enough to send him into pain.
Her eyes hardened at the imagery in her mind. She had to be the lion.
Sera sighed. Initially, she wasn't too comfortable about the marriage and was doing it because she was told to. But she realised that it could become her weapon if she grasped it well.
She would not allow what happened yesternight to repeat itself.
Sera looked outside the window and saw Thalebrook by the fountain waiting for her carriage. At that moment, Thalebrook also looked at her — as though she knew she was being watched.
However, she soon averted her gaze and stared at the Eastern Wing of the palace, hatred burning in her brown eyes.