Future… wife?
My head snapped toward him.
"Is this some kind of joke?" I muttered under my breath.
My supposed mother was shocked. She stood up. "Who let him free?" she asked the guards. "And who are you to make such claims on my daughter?"
As she spoke, he just stood there, calm and quiet.
"You could be beheaded for making such claims and not replying when the queen speaks. Guards, what are you waiting for? Seize him and don't let him go."
But no guard moved.
My supposed mother was getting furious. "I said seize him!"
But the guards remained unmoving and just bowed their heads.
"Who are you?"
Before anyone could say anything, a young guard walked in.
"Your Majesty, it seems they are not quite pleased with your presence. I suppose we return to Aurelis, my king."
Immediately this was said, my supposed mother's expression changed.
She was surprised.
The atmosphere was thick with tension. My supposed mother seemed humble, calm, and careful.
Careful like she was standing before someone dangerous.
I stared at the masked lad. So he is king? Of Aurelis?
The guards were still bowing. Not to my mother,
but to the masked lad.
Slowly, he removed his gloves and stepped forward.
Each step echoed.
Calm. Powerful.
"You seem to have misunderstood something, Your Majesty," he said calmly.
"I was not asking."
She froze, and I also did.
"I was informing you that she's going to be my wife."
The silence was loud. My heart was beating fast, and my supposed mother didn't wear her usual authoritative expression. She looked troubled and tried to hide it.
"She is going to be staying with me now."
My supposed mother clenched her jaw but didn't argue.
After a while, my supposed mother bowed, then turned and walked away, which surprised me.
She… bowed?
I stood there for a moment, unable to understand what I had just witnessed. The queen of Thaloria — bowing to someone else.
While I was lost in my thoughts, I didn't notice that the masked lad had dismissed the guards. One by one, they withdrew quietly, their armour clinking softly as they left the hall.
"You know I am still here?" he said.
His voice pulled me back to reality.
Startled, I lowered my head and bowed out of habit.
"Do not bow," he said calmly. "You are injured."
His tone was steady, almost commanding, yet not unkind. His expression did not change.
"It is fine," I said quietly. "I should not have tried to escape."
"How do you feel?" he asked as he walked closer.
"Why should you care?" I asked.
"I am to be your husband, and you my future wife," he said calmly. "It is only proper that I know how you fare."
A faint smile touched his lips.
I stared at him, unsure whether to feel annoyed or confused. Everything just seemed… rushed, sudden, and unreal. Yet, looking at his expression, I knew he was not joking. A man in his position would not speak carelessly.
I did not know what to do, so I turned and began to walk away.
But his voice stopped me.
"I shall accompany you to your room," he said. "Perhaps you may answer the questions I could not ask earlier."
I just continued walking. I was too tired to keep replying to him.
After a while, I finally reached my quarters and stepped inside. He followed me in — and, to my surprise, locked the door behind him.
"The door cannot be locked," I said.
"Why?" he asked, sitting calmly on my bed.
"It's a rule," I answered.
"Well," he said with a slight smile, "I believe I shall break that rule today.
I just stared at him. He was quite intriguing, and his presence felt familiar — like we had met before. Maybe he should pull his mask off, I thought to myself.
"Do you still wish to remain here?" he asked.
"No," I answered.
"Do you wish to live with me?" he continued.
"No," I answered once more.
Then he stood and looked at me.
"You have only those two choices," he said calmly. "If you stay here, I promise your aunt and your personal maid will never be allowed to see you. Your letters will continue to be hindered, your parents will create more absurd rules, and your movement will be limited to this castle alone."
I stared at him, anger rising inside me.
"If you think I cannot make that happen," he continued, "think about those letters your little maid kept taking."
He smiled slightly, then sat back down on the bed.
"Who are you… really?" I asked.
"It was an offer, not a threat — just so you know," he said, completely ignoring my question. "I would not wish to frighten my future wife."
I clenched my fists.
"You did not answer my question," I said, unable to hide the anger in my voice.
"Be careful, love," he replied softly. "That is not how one addresses a king. The fact that I spared you does not grant you entitlement."
He smiled as he said it.
I wanted to speak — to argue, to defy him — but I did not wish to risk losing my head. Frustration burned within me, yet I swallowed my words.
"If you truly wish to know who I am," he continued, "then you must first make your choice. I shall give you until tomorrow at noon."
He walked toward the door and unlocked it.
"Have a restful night, love," he said, that same faint smile lingering on his lips.
Then he left
I sat by the window after he left, trying to steady my breathing and control my thoughts.
So it was him.
He had hindered my letters. He knew about Aunt Viv and Raya.
The room suddenly felt smaller.
I kept turning his words over in my mind, weighing the choices he had given me — as though I truly had any.
Yet deep down, I already knew what I would choose.
By noon tomorrow I would no longer belong to this Castle.