{Third Person}
A few days passed quietly within the Alpha Prince’s residence.
The weather had grown noticeably colder during that ti. Even the mornings now carried a biting chill that lingered long after sunrise, forcing the servants to light fireplaces earlier than usual.
Amara had just finished arranging so of Ginger’s newly bought things when a knock sounded at her door.
"Co in."
Mrs. Woods stepped inside with a familiar envelope resting neatly on a tray.
The mont Amara saw it, her entire face brightened. "My letter?" she asked imdiately.
Mrs. Woods smiled faintly. "It arrived not long ago."
Amara quickly stood up and walked over to take it, her excitent impossible to hide.
Ginger, noticing the sudden energy in the room, imdiately jumped onto the bed and watched her curiously.
"They replied so quickly this ti," Amara murmured happily.
Mrs. Woods only smiled knowingly before excusing herself quietly, leaving Amara alone.
The mont the door closed, Amara returned to the bed and sat down cross-legged with the envelope in her hands.
But just as she was about to open it, she paused. Her brows furrowed slightly as she observed the envelope.
The edge of the envelope looked odd. Though not badly damaged, it was slightly disturbed, as though the seal had been tampered with and carefully pressed back into place afterwards.
Amara turned it over once more, confused. For a brief mont, suspicion crossed her mind, then she shook it off.
’Perhaps it was simply been handled roughly during delivery,’ she concluded.
Without thinking too deeply about it, she broke the seal completely and pulled the letter out.
The mont she recognized Hazel’s dramatic handwriting near the top, she laughed softly already.
As expected, the letter was chaotic from the very beginning.
The three girls had apparently written it together, and their personalities practically jumped off the page, line after line.
So parts were ssy where they had clearly argued over what to write, while other sections had random additions squeezed into the margins.
Amara could almost picture the three of them crowded around a table, laughing while writing it. The thought alone ward her chest.
Their updates were ridiculous as usual.
Hazel complained endlessly about the social ladder.
Rachel gossiped about people Amara barely rembered.
Davina sohow turned an ordinary café incident into a dramatic story involving spilt coffee and "betrayal."
By the ti Amara reached the middle of the letter, she was already laughing openly.
Then, the teasing began.
Her smile froze instantly. Her eyes widened slightly as she continued reading.
"Oh, these three..." she muttered under her breath, already feeling heat creep into her face.
The more she read, the more unbearable the teasing beca.
By the end of the letter, Amara lowered it slowly and stared ahead in disbelief, her cheeks visibly warm now.
"Unbelievable," she whispered.
Ginger owed curiously from the bed beside her.
Amara imdiately pressed the letter against her chest dramatically. "You’re not allowed to judge either," she told the cat.
Ginger blinked lazily.
Amara let out a long breath before falling backwards onto the bed with the letter still in her hands.
Unfortunately, no matter how hard she tried not to think about it, certain mories kept resurfacing.
Alexander opening the car door for her.
Alexander sitting across from her during dinner.
Alexander looking at her seriously while asking whether she found him more appetizing than the food.
And worst of all, that dream.
Amara instantly buried her burning face deeper into the pillow. "This is all their fault," she mumbled in embarrassnt.
Completely unaware that sowhere else in the residence, the man responsible for the slightly disturbed envelope already knew exactly why she was reacting this way.
---
By evening, the temperature had dropped enough for the cold to settle heavily across the residence grounds.
The lanterns along the courtyard had already been lit, casting a warm golden glow over the stone paths and bare trees swaying lightly beneath the wind.
Inside her room, Amara sat at her desk with her friends’ letter lying open before her.
She had already attempted to write a reply three tis. Each attempt ended the sa way.
Failure.
Every ti she picked up the pen, the shaless teasing from Hazel, Rachel, and Davina replayed in her mind all over again, making her too embarrassed to even know where to begin.
In the end, she dropped the pen with a defeated sigh and rested her forehead briefly against the desk.
"How am I supposed to answer any of that?" she muttered to herself.
Ginger, curled comfortably nearby, blinked at her lazily as if silently judging her situation.
Amara narrowed her eyes slightly at the cat. "You are not helping."
After sitting there for a little while longer, she finally decided to step outside for so air.
She wrapped a light shawl around herself before leaving the room with Ginger trailing quietly behind her.
The mont she stepped into the courtyard, however, she paused. Alexander and Barron were actually outside.
The two n appeared to be preparing to leave the residence together. Barron was speaking about sothing animatedly while Alexander listened with the sa expressionless patience he always wore around his cousin.
At the sound of footsteps, both n turned.
Amara imdiately froze for half a second. Unfortunately, the mory of the letter ca rushing back at the worst possible mont.
Especially because Alexander was standing right there looking at her.
And she suddenly could not stop thinking about the possibility that he might sohow know every ridiculous thing her friends had written.
Amara quickly straightened herself. "Your Highness," she greeted politely.
Alexander gave a small nod in response, his gaze lingering on her just a second longer than usual.
Barron, anwhile, smiled brightly the mont he saw her. He didn’t wait for her to greet him and imdiately said to her casually, "We are about to take a stroll. Would you like to join us?"
Amara almost answered too quickly. "No—"
Just then, she caught herself imdiately and softened her tone. "I an... thank you, but I would rather not disturb you both."
Barron looked unconvinced. "Disturb us? Alexander barely speaks during walks anyway."
At the ntion of his na, Alexander shot him a look, but Barron ignored it effortlessly.
Amara managed a small smile despite herself. "I still think it’s better if you both go without ."
"If you say so," Barron replied easily.
Then, as if suddenly rembering sothing important, his eyes lit up. "Oh, right," he said. "Have you prepared a birthday gift for your husband yet?"
The question hit Amara so unexpectedly that her mind went blank.
Beside Barron, Alexander’s gaze turned instantly colder. It was a clear warning which Barron noticed but chose to ignore and continue anyway.
Amara opened her mouth once, then closed it again.
"I..." she started awkwardly.
Nothing ca out after that. Her thoughts were in complete disarray.
Gift? For Alexander?
She had not even fully processed the banquet itself yet.
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