18: OUTSIDE THE CAPITAL
Maaga kaming naghanda dahil malayo-layo ang magiging biyahe namin. I think Jason mentioned that the travel time was about 6 hours. Bukas pa talaga 'yung auction pero dahil sa ganap ni Samuel ay mas maaga kami ng isang araw ngayon.
From what I heard, the one who leads and owns the auction house is the Grand Duke, the brother of the emperor. After the current emperor succeeded the throne, the Grand Duke bought land that is far from the capital. And there, he decided to start an auction house since he has always been fascinated with items and artifacts.
Mas matanda siya sa current emperor pero wala siyang interest sa throne kaya nung fight of succession nila, hindi sobrang naging komplikado. Both are still living their own lives.
Healthy competition, sana gano'n na lang sa succession ngayon nina Caius kaso hindi. Prince Oliver's relationship with the others is not good, that's why out of the four of them, he is the one who must never succeed to the throne. Becoming the crown prince, or worst, the emperor, would give him more power to drag the others down.
Nasa loob ako ng carriage kasama si Evie at Samuel. 'Yung escort knight naming dalawa ni Evie ay nakasunod lang din sa amin pero nasa kabayo sila this time. Iris and Evie's maid are in another carriage together with our things.
Hindi ko lang talaga sure kung tama na kasama ko itong mag-asawang ito. Kanina lang ay si Evie pa ang katabi ko pero ngayon ay nasa tabi na siya ni Samuel.
I saw how Samuel tried to reach for Evie's hand. I just closed my eyes so they could at least have their privacy pero nakatulog din ako.
"Dahlia... Dahlia, wake up. We're already here."
Dahan-dahan kong minulat ang mata ko at nakita ko sa tabi ko si Evie na marahan akong tinapik sa pisngi.
Suddenly, I heard something rumble. Napahawak ako sa tiyan ko absent-mindedly kahit hindi ako 'yon.
"Sorry, ako 'yon."
Napatingin kaming dalawa ni Evie kay Jason na nakataas pa ang kamay na parang nasa recitation.
He smiled shyly. "Kanina pa talaga ako nagugutom. Let's eat?"
Mukhang ilang beses na rin nakapunta si Samuel dito dahil sa mga auctions last year kaya alam na alam niya na 'yung pasikot-sikot. Kumain lang kami sa isang restaurant pagkatapos ay pumunta na kami sa tutuluyan namin since we'll be staying for 1 night here.
"I'll get going, babalik din ako mamaya bago mag-dinner. The both of you can stroll around the place, just make sure to bring your knights." Pagkatapos ng paalala ni Samuel ay humalik siya sa pisngi ni Evie. Nag-tanguan kaming dalawa bago siya umalis.
"Tara, pasyal tayo?" aya ko kay Evie.
Nakakapit si Evie sa braso ko habang naglalakad kami. Nakasunod lang sa likod namin si James, 'yung escort knight ni Evie, at si Aiden.
The place was almost similar in the town at the capital. May mga food trolley na nagkalat sa daan at marami ring mga tao. I think mas marami lang tao ngayon dahil sa gaganapin na auction bukas. Ang pinagkaiba lang ay mas marami pa ring building sa capital kaysa dito.
Hinayaan ko na lang si Evie na hilahin ako dahil mukhang pamilyar din siya sa lugar.
"Gusto ko no'n," sabi ko sabay turo do'n sa isang food trolley.
"Dahlia... We can't just eat those," bulong sa akin ni Evie.
Ipipilit ko pa sana but Aiden gave me a look so I ended up sighing. Sucks to be a princess.
BINABASA MO ANG
Tale of The Substitute Princess
RomanceDon't you just hate it when someone kidnaps you, and in a blink of an eye, you are already a princess in another world. Haera can relate. Haera suddenly wakes up in a place where there are still emperors, princes, corsets, and magic. One of the prin...
