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"Your mouth lies, not your heart..."

꧁-꧂

A thin silence fell upon both of them for a moment or two. Only the faint sound of their heavy breathing could be heard. Y/n's senses appeared to be betraying her at that moment. She knew, somewhere, Mary was right but then, why did it seem to be so hard to accept? Y/n wished to say something harsh to Mary but her intellect could not find something appropriate. Perhaps her pride did not find it to be extremely severe because those words came from a woman's mouth. It would not be the same if it was a man to say those words to her.

The rich dark room did not help Mary to see Y/n's face. Getting no response from her except heavy breathing sound, Mary broke the silence a few moments later.

"Will you not ask how do I know so?" Asked Mary snuggling inside the quilt even more.

"No. But I will urge you to stop having these sort of absurd thoughts. You are having them too much lately," Y/n flatly replied.

Instead of replying, Mary let out a light giggle. Y/n frowned slightly, though it could not be seen in the darkness.

"I do not think I said something humorous," Y/n said taking small pauses in between.

"You did not. You have innumerable virtues, Y/n, I must say that. And not being a decent liar is one of them. You, too are aware of that, aren't you?" Mary calmly sighed fronting the extinguished chandelier,"You cannot lie neither can you let your pride down."

"This is possibly the first time I am incapable of comprehending your ambition. Will you stop moving!"

Even though she could not see, Y/n felt Mary getting up from the bedstead and sit down.

"Y/n, you have to listen to whatever I am about to say right now. They might be troublesome to accept. Yet, I want you to hear me out first." Mary said taking a deep breath. A note of urgency could be heard in her voice.

"Make it fast, then," Y/n replied shortly.

"It will not take long. C'mon, get up and sit down. This is not how to talk over significant matters- one is sitting and another is laying."

Y/n groaned and rested her back against the bedpost.

"Listen, Y/n, I am well aware of how much you dislike men. But you cannot deny the things I am going to tell you now. You do seek for his presence, even though you are not aware of that. There certainly have been a lot of modifications in you since you have met him, since he has come to Cressida," Mary spoke placing a hand on Y/n's shoulder.

"No one else might have noticed them, but I have. Answer me, when was the last time you smiled at a man apart from brother Yoongi?"

Y/n's body quivered hearing her question. Yes, she did not have any recollection of having a polite conversation with any man but him...unless you counted Yoongi. Scenes from the evening flooded through her mind. She felt blood rush in her body as every single moment floated in front of her eyes. She felt a faint note of uneasiness not being able to comprehend the reason for her this sort of behaviour.

The thoughts just could not penetrate her brain- her sudden change of conduct towards him, the sudden greediness for his presence...It seemed so wrong yet what else she could do? It was not because she was betrothed to another man. It could not be.

That wedding meant nothing to her- it was not entirely true. The ceremony of trading women from one hell to another named 'Wedding' disgusted her, But that did not mean it was entirely useless. Y/n certainly had great benefits from this presumed betrothal. As much as she despised the truth, the throne still belonged to her father. Unless Francis had consented her the throne through the coronation, Y/n was in no power to claim the throne. Hence, she needed to keep quiet to reach her objective.

Desirous? Yes, she was. She desired her heredity, she desired the crown to be on her head. Was everyone else not? Even a Saint has certain desires. And She was not even a Saint. But the frailty she felt towards the man did not appear right. She felt as though it would turn her vulnerable, that it would draw her away from her main ambition.

"You might think it as your frailty, Y/n, but it's not. who knows? Maybe the thing you think as your weakness will become your biggest strength." Mary spoke breaking her string of thoughts, "I want a beautiful life for you, Y/n. A life that one can only imagine having. You are not aware of how much I love you. This is why I want you to listen to your heart, for once. Rest is up to you. It's your life, you are the one to make choices for it."

For a slash of the moment, Y/n thought as though she had grown mature overnight. She was not the Mary from their very childhood.

"Well, that is all I can say. Good night." Mary sighed and laid down on the bedstead.

Y/n too leaned her head on the headrest going over whatever Mary just said to her. Could she let go of her stubbornness? Could she let her pride down for a certain individual?

Y/n touched her lips remembering how lively she had felt while being with him. She remembered how she had allotted him her smile that was withheld for any anonymous person.

"Perhaps you had no role in making me smile...perhaps it was Areum. But I can not suppress that you hold something to do to me that no one else does. Perhaps you are in an attempt to fool me, perhaps not. I still do not know if the decency in your eyes is actual or just a veil to cover your shrewdness."

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. But again a sudden thought made her open them.

"But am I just attempting to despise him to suppress the truth? Do I truly feel something for him or is it just I feel compassion for his sickness?"She asked herself again. His sickness left a deep gash in her mind which now seemed hard to erase. Every time she saw his face, she made every feasible attempt not to get lost in those pensive eyes.

She recalled the dance... She had attended countless ball parties throughout her life but had danced with only a few two princes and kings that her brain thought to be needless to keep any recollection. Even if they had any questionable place in her brain, they were left out in the cold with vast ignorance. But the dance she had had tonight was unforgettable.

The blond man who had made her feel as though she had been levitating was unforgettable. She had found her serene self in those deep ocean eyes after such a long time. How peaceful those stares had been when they had been taking over the dance floor.

Y/n felt a little flustered and remorseful. It had not been a few moments that she was attempting to despise the same person by finding drawbacks in him.

Frankly, he did not have any such flaws in him that could make Y/n dislike him. In those 3 weeks, she had barely seen any arrogance or insolence in him. From the very beginning, he just had appeared in the dining hall, had taken his meals and returned straight up to the palace.

Apart from that, she had only seen him pacing around the cascade or standing in front of it; drowned in his own thoughts. He had been often accompanied by Jung Hoseok to have an excursion of Cressida. He had not touched any kind of intoxicants for once. When most of his companions had been occupied boosting their potentials, he just had stayed quiet, smiling and agreeing with their stories.

"Should I give it a risk?"

She sighed and recalled his characteristics that she had memorized by her heart. He had a rectangular smile that she had never seen before, his lips took the form of a heart whenever he smiled. How could she despise that person whose smile resembled his heart? He had a noticeable tiny mole on his nose, curious doe-like eyes. For some incredible reason, his puffy blonde hair had an unusual glimmer in it. How to find flaws in him?

She admitted that she was not entirely accurate, hence it would be hypocritical to find flaws in him. Yet, it was hard for a proud woman like her to shelve her pride.

༺༻

"Are you certain, son?" Francis asked Arthur while having their morning tea.

The entire castle woke up late the next morning. The dining hall was much quieter than it had been lately. Many yawns and lazy conversations crushed the usual conventional routine of everyone. Many were still appearing in the hall with their half-closed eyes, exhaustion visible on their faces.

"Yes, Your Majesty. Antares too should contribute to this marriage. Also, I do want my subjects to be a part of my wedlock; Therefore, I request you to permit me to take the liberty to make arrangements for the final ceremony. The wedlock shall take place in Antares since the betrothal has taken place in Cressida already. Please, I insist," Arthur said to Francis with a grin.

"Alright, then. If you must insist. I am truly glad that I chose you to be my daughter's groom," Francis thought for a moment and spoke with a proud smile, "Such a gentleman you are, son."

"Ah, it's nothing! Your Majesty."

By this time almost everyone had arrived at the enormous table. Francis called the Royal announcer to announce the news among the dwellers of the region.

"Y/n! Here is a piece of pleasant news for you, m'child. Arthur has taken the liberty to design your wedlock in Antares! Isn't it fascinating?" Francis rejoiced to Y/n who had just taken her seat on a vacant chair.

"Truly, I am honoured to hear that," Y/n replied with a hostile voice.

In less than a few hours, The news that the wedlock was going to occur in Antares spread all over Cressida.

꧁-꧂

-pride