The first time I met her was when I was 7-year-old.

*****

In the Year 102, the Royal Palace’s banquet hall in the middle of June was bustling with chatter and laughter. All nobility and influential people within the Kingdom had been invited to the joyous occasion where the King, my father, was getting remarried. The nobles whom I had met that day had nothing but congratulations and wide smiles. In a sharp contrast, a tiny girl of similar age carried an extremely tiresome face as she was introduced to me.

Hiding behind the skirt of her mother, Liliana Gracia Remington, the only daughter of Lord Remington, peeked out with a frown between her brows.

I was not foreign to the name of ‘Remington’ as they were a fairly well-known and established Marquis family. Their land was at the border of the country next to a dangerous stretch of forest, and they have for centuries protected the country from the invasion of dangerous beasts.  Father would often talk fondly of Lord Remington so I understood him to be a person of good character as well.

Even then, I was also aware of rumours surrounding the Remington family, or to be more precise, about their daughter, Liliana.

Lady Liliana was said to be a sickly child so she hardly appeared in public. However, there was no stop of rumours saying that she was spoiled, selfish and vicious. These rumours seemed to stem from what happened during a tea party she attended when she was 4-year-old. It was common for the children of nobles to attend children tea parties starting from the age of 4, and the tea party in question happened to be Lady Liliana’s first time attending one. During the tea party, it was said that Lady Liliana had gotten angry and hurt a fellow attendee. Although details were suppressed, injuring a fellow noble daughter was a serious thing, and if badly managed could lead to the downfall of the family. Surprisingly, the victim’s family left the case to rest without much protest, but for some time, there were rumours about blackmail and bribery...

Lady Liliana’s attendance at the wedding celebration was a surprise to many, and the amount of eyes turned to her as she walked between her parents was enough to intimidate anyone.

I did not manage to speak to her after the initial greeting, and had the event ended peacefully just like that, what a blessing it would have been.

“Don’t touch me!” a hysteric high pitched voice cried out.

The scream caught the attention of many, including myself. As I was far away, I was unable to see what had happened, but it was later said that Lady Liliana had threw a tantrum and ran off in the middle of the celebration. She even fell off the staircase in the process and got herself injured.

My impression of her was not good to say the least, so I was astonished when my father brought me to his work room one day and declared that my fiancée was going to be Lord Remington’s daughter.

As the First Prince of the country, surely there were other better candidates? Although her lineage was good enough to be the wife of a prince, her personality did not seem suitable to be the future Queen of the country.

Even though I questioned the choice, my father was adamant. When I asked for the reason, he did not give any either. Nevertheless, it was the King’s decision, so I had no choice but to accept it.

Soon after the announcement, my father arranged a meeting between us.

A meeting of after three years, what kind of person has the girl grown up to be? It would be wrong to say that I was not curious.

The day of the meeting arrived, and the girl standing before me looked older than what I remembered. Her wavy red hair that reaches to the half of her back was tied in a braided half up with a white ribbon. Her cat-like eyes were the same shade of light green like her father and she wore an ankle length moss green dress with white lace that matched her eye colour.

During the first time I met her she was hiding behind her mother, but she was now able to stand in front of others and greet them properly.

Her sharp features and stern expression gave her an air of severity in spite of her age, but her actions were fluid and dignified. Most importantly, there was no arrogance in her voice or behaviour.

If I had to point out something strange about her, it would be that she was too nervous and distracted.

She would avoid my eyes and freeze up whenever I ask her a question, but even then, she would reply politely after a while.

Selfish, spoiled and vicious... It seemed very different from the dignified noble’s daughter in front of me.

The Lady Liliana I had a spent a day with was a girl who likes sweets, clumsy enough to leave cream on her cheeks, and someone who was curious about animals and plants. Even when she was dripping wet, she was also a person who was able to give a smile and forgive others.

In other words, she was a normal girl.

“It seems like rumours are not to be believed,” I muttered to myself as I lied on my bed.

I turned to my side restlessly.

My father always told me to observe things with my own eyes before making any judgement; it seems like I need to listen to his words more.

What time is it now? I thought idly. It was already past my usual sleeping time, but I have been tossing and turning for a while and unable to sleep.

However, there was one thing about the girl that was true.

“I wonder if she is feeling better now…”

It seems like the rumours about Lady Liliana being sickly was true as she had fallen ill after falling into the water and was spending the night in the Royal Palace. I wanted to visit her when I heard about it, but I was stopped by the servants as they were afraid the cold will spread to me.

I had a strong constitution so I didn’t think I will catch a cold so easily, but I was unable to convince the servants, so I had not seen Lady Liliana since the evening.

I tossed and turned around for awhile more before I sat up.

If she is already sleeping, then just taking a peek to make sure she is okay should be fine right?

It was uncharacteristic of me to leave my room in the middle of the night, but there was a strong feeling in me that made me want to take a look at her no matter what.

With a dark coloured blanket wrapped around me over my sleeping clothes, I opened the door of my room. After making sure the corridor was clear, I quickly tiptoed down the silent hall.

The room that Lady Liliana was staying in was at a slightly secluded area near the back of the Royal Palace but was not to difficult to reach with the help of the intricate maps I had memorised in my spare time.

While hiding in dark corners and creeping between pillars, I was somehow able to avoid the guards patrolling and reach the area where Lady Liliana was staying at. However, right before I turned around a corner to her room, I saw a familiar figure that should not be there.

Although I immediately hid back with a pounding heart, a stern voice sounded out towards my direction.

“Charles? Is that you? What are you doing here?”

How was he able to accurately guess that it was me?

With slightly warm cheeks from being caught, I turned back and walked towards the man who was standing in front of Lady Liliana’s room.

“Good evening, father,” I greeted with a small nod.

The man who had the same caramel coloured hair and blue eyes as me was the King of the country. It was difficult for me to meet him as he was always busy with work, but he was someone whom I wish I didn't meet now.

Father looked at the door to Lady Liliana’s room before looking back at me again. A feeling of dread crept into my heart. Sure enough, he lifted up the corners of his mouth into a meaningful smile and asked, “What is this? Visiting a lady’s room in the night? Even though you are so young, you already know how to do things like this?”

“N-no. It’s not like that,” I stammered.

“Oh? Then what is this?”

“Lady Liliana is sick so I wanted to see if she is better…”

“Even then… At this timing?”

“I wasn’t able to see her in the day, so…”

“I understand, I understand. I just saw her. She’s cute isn’t she?”

Knowing that he was teasing me, I just lowered my head and kept silent as my face burned. I was starting to regret having stepped out of my room.

“Trevor, stop teasing your son like this. His face is redder than beetroot.”

I looked up and saw Lord Remington stepping out from the shadow of a wall with a wry smile on his face.

As I thought, I should have never stepped out of my room… I wanted to hug my head and run back to my room immediately, but as that would be rude, I greeted the Marquis as calmly as I could.

“There is a man coming to visit your daughter at night, why are you speaking up for him?”

“You are the only one with wrong thoughts here,” the Marquis answered as he massaged his temples.

Then, turning to me, Lord Remington asked, “Prince Charles, it is already quite late. Although I am heartened by your concern for Liliana, shouldn’t it be time for you to sleep?”

From the Marquis’s eyes he did not seem to be upset, but was genuinely puzzled. I took a deep breath as I gathered what remained of my courage.

“I was having trouble sleeping as there was a prickly feeling in my chest… I really just wanted to take a look at Lady Liliana. Since she is fine, I will go back to my room first…”

Just as I was about to turn around and escape from the place, Lord Remington stopped me with a hand on my shoulder.

“How do you know Liliana is fine without seeing her?”

“Eh?”

“Since you are here, why don’t you go in and take a look?”

I looked into the Marquis’s eyes and asked, “Will this really be okay?”

“I should be the one feeling grateful to you.”

Was that something a father should be saying with a bitter expression? I could feel that there was a deeper meaning to his words but something made me hesitate to ask further.

Suddenly, the door to Lady Liliana’s room opened and a woman with black hair tied up in a ponytail appeared between the slit. I recognised her to be one of the personal maids of Lady Liliana. She looked to be around 17 to 18 of age and seemed to be of higher status than the other two maids who came with them from how they listened to her orders without question. She seemed to be deeply trusted by Lady Liliana as well, as she had turned to her when she was embarrassed by Aedus earlier.

“Did something happen?” the Marquis asked as he peered into the room. From where I was standing, I could see a dark coloured lump in the middle of the four-poster bed deep in the room.

“That is the question I would like to ask. I heard voices coming from the corridor, so I was wondering if something had happened.”

“Ah, sorry. Were we loud?”

“No. Lady Liliana is still sound asleep.”

Even when facing her master, the maid had an expressionless face.

Just then, her eyes darted to me, and I saw surprise appearing her grey pupils. She gave a bow in my direction and I quickly replied by giving a nod in return.

“What is his Highness doing here?” she enquired towards the Marquis with a slightly puzzled expression.

“He is here to see Liliana. Let him in,” Lord Remington replied matter-of-factly.

The maid cast me a strange look, but opened the door wider to let me enter.

I took a deep breath before I stepped into the room.

The room was dark with the curtains down. The only source of light was from the candle on the bedside table.

I approached the bed with soft steps, and stopped when I was standing by her bedside with my back to the curtains and looking over her.

She was fast asleep, but the faint light made her face look unearthly pale.

“No…”

She was really unwell as I realised that her forehead was wet with sweat droplets and her lips were trembling slightly.

Beside me, the maid bent forward and gently wiped off the sweat from her forehead with a dry towel. At the touch, Lady Liliana frowned with her eyes still closed and her lips parted slightly as she took in air in gasps. The maid turned to take a wet handkerchief and pressed it on her lips to make them moist.

“Her fever is still not going down. At this rate, ‘they’ are going to come,” the Marquis muttered under his breath as he stood next to me.

Who is the ‘they’ that he is talking about? I looked up to see the Marquis and my father staring at each other from across the bed.

“It will be fine. I have deployed more guards at the perimeter of the castle, and Alena is looking over the barrier protecting the castle. No one will reach this room.”

Hearing his words, I finally understood the reason why the guards patrolling the corridors were lesser than usual.

Just then, I felt a tingling sensation up my spine.

Something is coming, I instantly realised.

My heart thumped at the uncomfortable feeling and all of my hair stood on its end.

Something is coming, and it is coming fast, a tiny voice in my head warned.

The Marquis and my father seemed to have felt something as well, as their eyes tensed and the atmosphere in the room turned uneasy all of a sudden.

The maid straightened up from her caregiving and studied the three of us.

“I see. So ‘they’ have arrived?”

A bitter smile flickered through her face as she added, “Having magic sure is convenient…”

The only two persons in the room who would understand her words did not reply to her question as they continued their stiff stance. Unsure of what to do next, I kept quiet and clenched my fists.

All of a sudden, the Marquis turned his head towards the window.

“Diana, from the window!” he snapped in a suppressed voice.

“Understood.”

In a swift movement, the maid lifted the curtains and drew out a sword with her other hand. A silver glint carved through the room to form a straight line with her arm.

Where was she keeping her sword?

Does she know that showing unsheathed weapons in front of the King is punishable by death?

And is she really just a maid?

Alarming thoughts flashed through my mind. But before I could think further, my eyes were dragged towards the window.

What should have been a bright night from the full moon, was being blocked by growing shadows.

“So it is from the air this time?” father mused.

The identity of the shadows soon showed itself to be gigantic birds resembling vultures with a wingspan of at least two metres covered with dark feathers. A black glow with moving tendrils seemed to be enveloping their entire body giving it a smoky, eerie feeling.

At the front of the group was a quickly approaching monster. Its red, beady eyes glowed in the dark as it focused on its targets, us, before diving down at breakneck speed.

I took in a sharp breath and closed my eyes as I raised my arms up in anticipation of the impact.

However, the sound of windows breaking never appeared.

I opened my eyes and saw that it had hit an invisible wall around one metre away from the window. Sparks appeared and scattered across its wings. The screeches coming from the large beak should have been loud, however in the room, all sounds were strangely muffled. Was it part of the magic surrounding the barrier?

The monster squirmed in agony for a moment before it slid down.

“What was that…” My eyes widened as I stared at the spot that the monstrous bird had just attacked a moment ago.

Footsteps approached me until it reached my side. I looked up to see father giving a smile that did not reach his eyes. I immediately had a bad premonition about what he was going to say next.

“That is the reason why she is your fiancée.”