To My Dearly Detested | ✎

12 | standing alone

Luka and Alya had been Marinette's personal knights for as long as he could remember. Alya, of course, had been there a bit longer than he had, but Luka could still say he'd had the privilege of witnessing Marinette grow up to be the fine woman that she was today. He was proud to say that he knew her so well that he always felt like he was a friend in Marinette's presence more than he was a servant.

But being Marinette's friend came with a hefty price. It meant that when she chose to sneak out of the palace in the middle of the night—with her betrothed no less—that he was forced to cover for her.

"So..." King Gabriel leaned back on his throne, surprisingly calm for a man who had summoned them here because both Marinette and Adrien hadn't shown up for breakfast. "You have no idea where the princess of Kingdom Cheng might be?"

Luka swallowed uncomfortably. He could feel the tension pooling off of Alya beside him. "I believe she is still in her chambers, Your Majesty—"

"You believe she is in her chambers or you are certain?"

"I-I am certain, Your Majesty." He quickly fixed his wording, the stutter slipping past before he could help it. He internally cursed at himself for being so careless. For good measure, he added, "She wished to stay in and soak in the bath."

The lie rolled off of his tongue so easily that it quite frightened him. The king arched an unconvinced brow, which led Luka to believe that no matter what he said, the king truly wouldn't buy any story he had to offer.

Oh, Marinette was so hearing from him when she returned.

Thankfully, King Gabriel didn't press the matter any further. Instead, he turned to Adrien's knights who stood right beside him and Alya, their shoulders just as tense as theirs. From the rigid way they stood, Luka had a pretty good feeling that neither of Adrien's knights knew where he was either.

"And what about you two?" The king narrowed his eyes at them. "Where is my son?"

Nino timidly spoke up first. "I-I could not s-say for certain where he might be, Your Majesty."

"Why not? Are you not one of his personal knights?"

"I am, but—"

"And what of you?" The king turned his sights to Kagami, completely cutting Nino off. It left the knight quivering in his spot. Kagami, however, differed from Nino in the sense that although she was tense, she didn't look worried. "You have no idea where my son might be?"

"The prince has a habit of evading me from time to time," Kagami's tone was so neutral that Luka winced on her behalf. She was bold to admit such a thing in front of the king, he would give her that. "More so as of late to spend more time with the princess... alone."

Luka's eyes widened at such an accusation before they narrowed at her. He knew that she could feel his gaze, even if she wouldn't meet his eye. What she was implying—

"Are you implying that my son has snuck off with the princess to partake in... inappropriate activities before they are to be wed?"

"I only say this out of concern for His Highness..." She evaded the question so easily that it left Luka wondering just how manipulative this woman was. "But perhaps the princess is merely a bad influence."

Luka felt his teeth grind together and he quickly fixed his jaw, lest he let his anger get the best of him by saying something he shouldn't. Marinette was right to have suspicions and distrust when it concerned Kagami. Not only was this woman accusing Marinette of something so... appalling, but she was also doing the same to a man she was supposed to be serving.