"What?" Anna exclaid, her eyes widening in shock as she mistakenly believed that the derian Princess was referring to her husband.
She hurriedly stepped forward in a rush of protectiveness, positioning herself between Kyren and Callis’s path, her small hands outstretched as if to shield him.
"You can’t have him! Never! He’s taken!" Anna’s voice rang out, filled with fear and defiance.
The sudden outburst caught everyone’s attention, and even Kyren himself was taken aback by her unexpected act of guarding him.
Observing the situation with furrowed brows, Kiev cast a dissatisfying glance at Anna.
The princess’s realisation dawned upon her amid her passionate defence. She recalled the lingering agreent of a pending duel between the derian Prince and the grand duke for her. Seeing the delicate circumstances, she hesitated before quickly correcting her words to Callis.
"I an... he’s not interested in you. You and him are not suitable," Anna anded her statent. Her outstretched arms returned to her sides.
The derian Princess let out another sigh. With a deliberate gesture, she raised her left hand and pointed her finger, clarifying, "Not the grand duke. Him."
Anna’s sight followed the direction of Callis’ finger, her heart skipping a beat as she saw the actual figure of the derian Princess’s affection.
All of the other eyes also swiftly shifted in the indicated direction, landing upon Rafe, who was discreetly positioned behind Kyren, his head tilted to catch a glimpse of the derian siblings. The sight left the group utterly speechless and astonished.
Breaking the lingering silence, the princess sought confirmation once more.
"You an... Rafe?" she asked in disbelief.
With her gaze fixed on the healer, Callis nodded. Rafe’s reaction to the news reflected the group’s collective surprise. The knights exchanged glances, their expressions indicating their perplexity, before returning their gaze to the derian Princess.
Unable to contain his disbelief, Kiev erupted in protest, "This is absurd! How can you fall in love with a man you’ve only recently t?"
"It’s love at first sight!" Callis exclaid passionately.
She lowered her head, downcasting her eyes before continuing, "I fell for him the mont I laid eyes on him when we arrived at Gerhard’s mansion! You won’t understand!"
Rafe, visibly taken aback, interjected with disbelief, "This... this can’t be! Why would you develop feelings for ? You’re a derian Princess, soone of high status. This must be a mistake!"
"Indeed, it is!" Kiev chid in. "She deserves soone better!"
Callis, however, refused to waver. Her voice brimd with determination as she defended her feelings.
"No one is better than him! He’s intelligent, responsible, and genuinely caring. He treated kindly and sincerely and made happy whenever we talked. When we arrived at Gerhard’s mansion, he was the only one who listened to us instead of assuming we were there to cause trouble. We wouldn’t be here today if he hadn’t acted as our diator and might have resorted to violence, endangering other people’s lives just to reclaim your betrothed," she explained.
A stunned silence again filled the air upon the derian Princess’s reasoning.
"No! I won’t approve of this, Callis! And because of it, he must die!" Kiev’s declaration cut through the silence with a tone full of anger.
"No!" the derian Princess vehently yelled in desperation and defiance.
"Hold on!" Kyren finally interjected, his voice rising above the tension as he assessed the situation. "Why are you so worked up over my healer placing flowers in your sister’s hair to the point of wanting to kill him? Could you please explain what this is all about since we have no idea why it holds so importance for you that you’re reacting this way," he said, aiming to defuse the escalating conflict.
Kiev let out a weary sigh. His anger was barely contained within his chest.
After a mont, he spoke, "That is a ritual that we, the royal derians and Ro’an, perform for our soulmates. When a bride marries the man she loves, she allows him to adorn her hair with flowers. It symbolises her complete surrender of heart, body, and soul to her spouse as she declares him as her soulmate in her heart. It is a serious commitnt, binding her to him for as long as her soulmate lives. That is why she is prohibited from wearing flowers in her hair until she gets married!"
A collective gasp rippled through the crowd as they absorbed the explanation, their eyes widening in surprise again.
"I’ve never heard of this ritual before," Rafe admitted, his voice filled with genuine astonishnt.
"Nor have I," Kyren added, his brows knitted in perplexity.
"Of course, you wouldn’t have," Kiev responded, his tone tinged with a hint of bitterness. "It’s a discreet ritual, known only to the couple involved, much like the intimate monts shared between spouses. The first emperor of Ro’an initiated this custom when he married our clan’s princess. Though not all emperors and derian royals did the sa, the last emperor made the soulmate declaration to his empress. We know this since many of us derian royals were married into the Ro’an Empire."
"So, what is the problem now?" Kyren inquired, seeking clarification.
Kiev’s frustration resurfaced as he replied, "The problem lies in my sister doing it before her marriage! It was supposed to be done after! Now, she won’t be able to marry another until Mr Amares dies! What will beco of her future?"
Noah interjected sceptically, trying to make sense of the situation, "How could such a simple ritual bind people’s lives together forever? If that were the case, anyone could just place a flower in the hair of a derian maiden and declare her as their soulmate."
Kiev responded, exasperation lacing his voice, "It doesn’t apply to everybody! It is a custom reserved for royal derians and Ro’an brides and requires the woman’s consent. She willingly allowed him to perform the ritual on her!"
"But... but... I didn’t know! She never told !" exclaid Rafe.
"Oh, no! This is a serious matter! Without Mr Amares’s permission, how could you proceed with this ritual? Even if you have feelings for him, you ought to have expressed them to him upfront before acting this way," said redith to Callis.
"I know deep down that I shouldn’t have followed through, but I really feel this way with all of my being. The fear of rejection consud due to our circumstances. However, I was unable to shake the constant thoughts of him or ignore the intense feelings that overwheld ," said the derian Princess.
Anna attempted to grasp the profound depths of Callis’s emotions as she asked, "So, you did this because you believe he is your soulmate?"
The derian Princess nodded slowly.
"Yes. I know it may not make sense to many, but the truth is, Mr Amares is the only man who has ever made my heart flutter. When I first laid eyes on him, words cannot adequately describe my feelings for him. Deep within my soul, I knew without a doubt that he was the one, and there could be no other. You may be angry with and lay bla on , but I truly, deeply love him. He has captured my heart with his charm and attentiveness."
Anna’s gaze then shifted to the healer as she posed another question. "And what about you, Rafe? Do you feel the sa connection after the ritual?"
Rafe’s voice was laced with confusion, "No! I didn’t even realise that I had bonded with her! In fact, I didn’t even know it was a sacred ritual!"
"He won’t feel anything, I assure you. Please believe when I say I am not forcing Mr Amares to be with . The effects of the ritual are mine to bear alone, not his burden to carry. The devotion and surrender I offered are a one-sided gift from to him, as he did not wish for the sa when he adorned with the roses," the derian Princess continued.
As the knights and ladies absorbed Callis’s heartfelt confession, their initial annoyance turned into sympathy for the derian Princess. Her sincere gaze and earnest words had touched their hearts, revealing the depth of her love for the healer.
Despite knowing it was unrequited love, the act of declaring Rafe as her soulmate was an extraordinary display of devotion and love from the derian Princess.
Reflecting on recent events, Damon spoke in a thoughtful voice, "Co to think of it, Mr Amares also has shown great attentiveness towards Her Highness. He rushed to her aid when Miss Canton urgently sought his help the other day due to her worsening condition."
Confused, Kiev turned to Elis, seeking answers.
"What is he talking about? You told my sister was uncomfortable with her sling, Elis."
Garin, taken aback by Kiev’s use of the maid’s first na instead of her usual formal title of ’Miss Canton’, observed the exchange with surprise.
Elis quickly bowed respectfully and apologised, "I’m sorry. I thought it wasn’t that important to ntion."
Kiev’s frustration grew, and he raised his voice, demanding an explanation, "Tell what happened!"
Elis inhaled deeply and spoke regretfully as she related what had happened, "Her Highness’s injury grew inflad, and she started to get a fever. I looked everywhere for you and couldn’t find you, so I sought help from Mr Amares! We applied a poultice to her injury and gave her dicine. After that, her fever subsided."
"We? Did the healer touch my sister again?" Kiev asked, his anger evident.
The maid clarified stamringly, "I applied the poultice.... and... and..."
"And?"
"Mr Amares held her in his arms while feeding her the dicine," she continued nervously.
Kiev’s red eyes turned to the healer, and he gritted his teeth.
"You.... How dare you embrace my sister!"
"I was rely fulfilling my role as her healer! She is my patient and required my support that ti!" said Rafe.
"No wonder you willingly took dicine for the first ti in your life and refused my healing! Turns out you already got smitten by him and planned to see him again!" Kiev turned to his sister and scolded her.
"I know you would disapprove if you were aware of my feelings for him. You would never give a chance to pursue my love!" Callis responded.
Kiev vehently declared, "Of course I wouldn’t allow it! How can I blindly let you choose an unknown man as your suitor?"
Kyren voiced out, defending Rafe, "You cannot bla my healer based on this situation. He did not know the ritual and wasn’t inford about it. If he had known, he wouldn’t have even considered it. The responsibility lies with your sister, and she should be held accountable for her actions."
"I know it’s my fault! It doesn’t matter if Mr Amares doesn’t love back or accept ! I’m willing to bear the consequences," the derian Princess declared, her voice quivering with emotion.
Tears shimred in her ruby eyes, reflecting the depth of her anguish.
Kiev’s anger surged, and he forcefully silenced Callis with his sharp words.
"Shut up! You don’t even realise the gravity of what you’ve done! Now, I have to clean up the ss you’ve created!"
With a chilling determination, the derian Prince directed his rage towards the grand duke, demanding, "This soulmate bond must be severed, and for that, either one of them must die! Hand over the healer to !"
Rafe’s face drained of colour as the weight of the situation bore down on him. Fear and shock mingled in his expression, realising the dire consequences.
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