The carriage arrived at the Amareses’ residence and stopped at the main gate, following the healer’s instructions. As the carriage door opened, Rafe and Callis stepped out, both taken aback by the busy scene in the houseyard.
People were busy organising the seating for the banquet and decorating the house. On one side, several individuals were diligently preparing a large assortnt of food under the erected tent. Others had just arrived, bringing cooking appliances, more ingredients, and other items.
"Are they preparing for the banquet?" Callis asked, still bewildered as she observed the nurous people bustling about, engrossed in their tasks.
"I believe so," Rafe replied slowly, trying to make sense of the situation.
"These people... do you know them? I thought father ntioned it would be only friends and imdiate family," the derian Princess turned to her husband and inquired.
The healer surveyed the scene once more. Many of the faces were familiar to him. He recognised the butcher from the market, the florist, the fishmonger, and several others. The entire market community seed to have been summoned to his parents’ house.
"I do know so of them," Rafe admitted, feeling slightly uneasy with the overwhelming number of people present.
"This is exciting! I can’t wait to get to know them," Callis exclaid enthusiastically.
"Let’s go inside first and see father and mother," the healer suggested, hoping to find so answers.
Callis nodded in agreent, and together, she and Rafe walked along the path that led from the main gate. As they approached, the people around them couldn’t help but gaze at the couple, their smiles widening with excitent.
"Hey! Our Rafe is back with his wife!" soone exclaid, and gradually, more and more people began to flock around them.
The crowd’s eyes widened in disbelief when they caught sight of the derian Princess. Sensing the growing interest from so of the n, Rafe instinctively tightened his grip on her hand, a protective gesture.
The attention that Callis garnered due to her stunning beauty was reminiscent of their visit to the jeweller’s shop and the food stalls near the market earlier that morning. As they walked through the town, the townsfolk cast curious gaze their way, with many even trailing behind in hopes of catching a better glimpse of her.
While most of them had heard the news about Rafe’s sudden marriage, thanks to the royal decree that had spread throughout town, they hadn’t anticipated just how breathtakingly beautiful the derian Princess would be.
"I thought Nick was joking, but she truly is beautiful, like an angel!" exclaid a voice from the crowd.
Others looked at Callis in awe, completely srised by her radiant presence.
"Hello, how do you do?" she greeted them with a nod, maintaining her grace and composure.
So of the n wearing hats imdiately removed them and held them against their chests, bowing in a show of respect.
"Greetings, Your Highness!" they chid, acknowledging her royal status.
"Please... call Mrs Amares," Callis gently requested.
The n who had bowed raised their heads and exchanged confused glances.
"Isn’t that the na we use for the lady of this house?" one man asked his friend.
"Her Highness is married to Rafe, which makes her an Amares too, you idi*t!" another man sneered.
"But wouldn’t that be confusing?" voiced another man.
Callis, overhearing their discussion, blushed slightly.
"Forgive ... I completely forgot!" she admitted. "Then, what would be the appropriate title for , Rafe?" she turned to her husband and sought his opinion.
Rafe took a mont, aware of the expectant gazes fixed upon him.
"It’s not wrong for you to be called Mrs Amares. However, you are a princess..." he responded, concern evident in his voice.
"In my clan’s tradition, once a woman is married, she typically adopts the title according to her husband’s last na. Is it the sa here?" Callis inquired.
"Yes, it is," Rafe confird curtly.
The derian Princess smiled.
"Then, they can call Mrs Callis Amares."
"How about Mrs Naver-Amares? We agreed to maintain your family surna, rember?" Rafe suggested.
Callis’s smile grew even brighter, and she nodded enthusiastically.
"That sounds wonderful and avoids confusion."
The onlookers began to converse among themselves, their whispers carrying through the air as they discussed how such a stunning princess willingly relinquished her royal title to be addressed as ’Mrs’, a common title used by married won of the middle class.
"All right, everyone! Get back to work. We still have plenty to do!" a commanding voice interrupted, emanating from a man who appeared to be the leader overseeing their preparations.
Promptly, the gathered crowd around Rafe and Callis dispersed at his order and resud their tasks. The couple then made their way into the house and t with Eva.
Inside, the atmosphere was no less busy than outside, with several workers diligently adorning the hall, arranging flowers, and organising tables and chairs.
"Mother, why are there so many vendors from the market?" Rafe asked Eva curiously.
"Oh, trust , I didn’t plan this. It’s all your brother-in-law’s doing. I’m not sure when he left, but he returned with Arl and brought along these people, saying they’ll help with the banquet preparations. He even paid for everything!" replied the middle-aged woman.
"He did that? But... why?" the healer questioned, his confusion evident.
"I’m not entirely sure! Your father wanted to decline, but the people started working imdiately, and we didn’t have a chance to refuse. Regardless, we’re grateful for his generosity," Eva explained.
Rafe and Callis exchanged glances, intrigued by this unexpected turn of events.
"Where is Kiev now?" he inquired.
"I believe he’s in his room with Lady Elisabeth. She hasn’t co out since this morning after helping in the kitchen. Perhaps she’s still feeling unwell. I wanted to ask, but I didn’t want to be rude, so I let her rest and had breakfast brought to her in bed," Eva responded.
"I see..." Rafe’s expression reflected his concern.
"How was your trip to the jeweller’s shop? Did you find the ring?" Eva asked excitedly.
"Yes, we did, mother!" Callis replied, a hint of happiness in her voice.
She revealed a small velvet box in a beautiful shade of blue.
"Oh, you haven’t worn it yet?" Eva inquired.
"I thought it would be more aningful to exchange the ring during the banquet in front of the family," Callis explained.
"Ahh... that’s so thoughtful of you! Yes, yes, I agree with that. If you don’t mind, may I see it?" Eva asked, her excitent evident.
The derian Princess nodded happily and handed the velvet box to her mother-in-law. Eva eagerly opened it, and her surprise was apparent when she saw the contents. Inside were a pair of simple rings—a modestly carved one for the man and a matching one adorned with a cushion-cut red ruby for the woman.
"This..." Eva furrowed her brow as she continued, "How could you buy sothing so simple for Callis, Rafe?"
Her gaze shifted towards her son.
"I chose it, mother! The red ruby... it matches my eyes," Callis explained.
"Oh, honey! You should have gotten sothing more valuable than this! A diamond ring would suit you much better!" said Eva.
"But I really like it! I truly do," Callis insisted earnestly.
"We looked at other options, but she had her heart set on that one. So, I had to agree," Rafe explained.
The couple had visited the jeweller’s shop early in the morning, following Eva’s suggestion from the previous day. They had breakfast ahead of everyone else, wanting to have so ti to explore the town and other places before the jeweller’s shop opened.
Knowing how much Callis enjoyed shopping, Rafe had prepared to spend a substantial amount of money from his carefully saved funds. However, to his surprise, the derian Princess showed no interest in the extravagantly designed and expensive rings. Instead, she chose a pair of simple ones for their wedding bands.
"You’re not angry with my choice, are you, mother?" Callis asked, her eyes pleading with Eva.
The middle-aged woman smiled after a sigh, placing her hand on her cheek.
"I’m not angry with you. I just feel that you deserve more than this, sothing befitting your status as a princess. I don’t want to be seen as a bad mother-in-law for not providing the best for you."
"Oh, no, mother! You have already given the best, and that is Rafe, of course! I couldn’t be happier than this," Callis reassured her.
"Very well, then. If it makes you happy, keep it. I should go now and oversee the workers. Your father must be busy in the back," Eva decided.
"All right, mother," Rafe acknowledged, and the middle-aged woman swiftly departed.
"Let’s go and find Kiev," the healer said, his expression turning serious.
"What’s wrong, Rafe?" Callis inquired, noticing the change in her husband’s deanour.
"He and Elis have been upstairs for quite a while. I can’t allow them to be alone together like that. You know it’s inappropriate for them to be in a closed room," he whispered.
"Ah, yes," Callis acknowledged. "Then, let’s go."
***
"You need to co out. People will start talking if you continue to stay cooped up in this room," Kiev urged the maid again, but Elis shook her head in fear.
"I can’t! I can’t do this! I’m scared! I nearly got caught this morning!" she exclaid.
As the first rays of the morning sun appeared, Elis returned to her room only to find that Kiev had left. Seizing the opportunity, she freshened up and changed into a day dress.
When she went downstairs to the kitchen, she saw Eva kneading dough to bake buns for breakfast. Despite having her own maid, the middle-aged woman had decided to cook for the house’s guests.
Eager to help, the maid offered to help Eva. She was focused on her task in the kitchen when Eva’s maid noticed the scars on her arm as she pulled up her sleeves while preparing the food.
Concerned, the maid inquired about them. Feeling insecure, Elis quickly covered her arms and withdrew, claiming to be tired.
"They’re just scars. No one will say anything," Kiev tried to persuade her again, speaking gently instead of his usual adamant manner, aware of Elis’s sensitivity regarding her condition.
"A lady shouldn’t have scars. They’re hideous! How can a prince’s wife have so many scars? It’s not fitting for soone in that position to have such flaws! The maid was already staring at ," Elis lanted, her voice on the verge of tears.
"Elis..." Kiev approached her, attempting to calm his ’wife.’
Suddenly, a knock ca at the door, and Callis’s voice was heard. The derian Princess was granted permission to co in, with Rafe following closely behind as they entered the room.
"What’s going on here? What did you do to her?" the healer stepped forward and demanded an explanation when he saw Elis with a scared expression.
Kiev placed his index finger on his lips, gazing at the open door. He then glanced at Callis, his eyes silently instructing her to close it before they continued their conversation. Understanding the gesture, his sister swiftly turned around, shut the door, and locked it.
"I didn’t do anything. I was rely persuading her to leave the room," Kiev explained.
"Is this true?" Rafe asked Elis.
The maid nodded in affirmation.
"Then, why won’t you? What happened?" asked the healer.
Elis hesitated montarily before recounting the morning’s events while the derian Prince listened with his arms crossed over his broad chest.
"She’s afraid of people seeing her scars," Kiev stated.
Rafe let out a sigh.
"Honestly, you’ve put Elis in a delicate state by introducing her as your wife. I understand you want to avoid attention from other won, but don’t you think this is too selfish? You only think about yourself without considering how it affects her!" The healer’s voice was filled with anger. "I’ve disagreed with this from the start! Now look at what she has gone through!"
"She agreed to it! It’s not like I’m forcing her!" Kiev retorted, firm in his stance.
"Oh, yes, you do! I told you that Elis is not comfortable around n! And on top of that, you and her spending ti in close confinent like this is highly inappropriate! You’re not even married to her!" Rafe argued.
"That’s why I urged her to leave the room so she wouldn’t be in here with !" Kiev defended himself.
"Why can’t you just leave then instead of her?" Rafe sneered at Kiev.
"I went out to the market at the crack of dawn and ca back to clean up and rest. Is it wrong for to freshen up and take a break in my assigned room? I can’t even do that because she won’t leave! Here... you can sll if you want!" Kiev said as he approached Rafe.
As the derian Prince ca close, the healer caught a whiff of an unpleasant odour emanating from his attire. Rafe recoiled, placing the back of his hand over his nose.
"Brother, you sll terrible! Why did you go to the market? Did you personally arrange for the vendors to prepare for the banquet tonight?" Callis, standing beside Rafe, asked while also covering her nose due to the stench.
"What do you think? If I hadn’t negotiated with them directly, how would they co?" Kiev replied.
"Still, you slled like you worked there as a butcher!" exclaid Callis.
The derian Prince realised that his sll was causing discomfort to others and took a step back.
"So you took Arl with you for that?" Callis inquired again.
"That boy knows the way. Of course, I needed him as my guide," Kiev answered.
"Last night, you were eager to pay the dowry, and today, you arranged and paid for everything for tonight’s banquet. Brother, let ask you... Have you accepted Rafe and given your consent for our marriage?" Callis questioned.
"I never said so," Kiev replied tersely.
"Then why are you doing all of this?" the derian Princess asked, confused.
"Because I dislike owing people. Our visit is supposed to be as natural as any other in-law’s eting, and discussing the dowry is customary during the first encounter. Rafe’s father refused the dowry I offered, and I felt indebted because of it," said Kiev.
"Oh, brother! You shouldn’t be! We talked about this!" urged Callis.
"I can’t let it go. Since he was adamant about his decision, I had to find a way to repay him. So, arranging and preparing for the banquet seed like an appropriate way to do so. I had thought of making it a grand celebration, but ti constraints prevented that, so this is the best I can do for now," he explained.
"So, you still haven’t accepted us," Callis concluded.
"I need to observe more..."
The derian Princess let out a sigh, her anticipation fading away after hearing his explanation.
"Co, Elis. Let’s go to my room. You can stay there until you feel better," Callis offered, approaching the maid and taking hold of her arm.
"It’s all right, Callis. You don’t have to hold ," Elis responded.
"People downstairs already think that you’re unwell. So, just play along with it for now. We don’t have much choice, anyway. My brother started this drama, and we still have today and tomorrow to pretend. So, please hang on," Callis advised.
The maid nodded, and they left the room. Rafe’s eyes followed them with a concerned look.
"God, please ensure that no trouble arises from this," he prayed in a low voice.
"Everything is going to be fine! There’s nothing to worry about!" Kiev declared confidently, oblivious to the consequences that would soon arise.
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