Chapter 3: Her Prey
1777 Words
"My Prince, is this one also your prey?"
Eli raised the curtain of the carriage for Gwen, glancing at Lancaster with pretend surprise and a hint of caution in his light brown peach blossom eyes.
Gwen coughed lightly and said sincerely, "I'll explain later. Let him ride with me in the carriage."
Lancaster, still an escaped criminal, would cause trouble during the city's inspection. Fortunately, no one dared to inspect her carriage.
Lancaster looked down on the intricate patterns and lace borders on the curtain with disdain.
"Your taste…" He hesitated before finishing his sentence.
The intricate patterns were the exclusive three-headed bird emblem of the princess. As for the lace borders… they were added by the craftsmen to please the princess.
"Do I need to personally invite you onto the carriage?" Without allowing Lancaster to be hesitant, Gwen half-dragged him into the carriage.
The interior of the carriage was also overflowing with a girlish aura, which was completely out of sync with Gwen's serious demeanor.
This was Marie's idea. After all, her princess was only sixteen years old; it was normal for her to have a pinkish side, right?
"Take off your clothes," Gwen sat down next to Lancaster and said briefly.
Lancaster: ?
I know you're an ice mage, Princess, and you're not afraid of the cold, but I am.
Who are you trying to freeze to death by taking off clothes in this weather?
And why do we need to take off clothes?
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Gwen noticed the resistance and confusion in Lancaster's eyes and realized that her words might cause misunderstanding. She coughed lightly.
"Aren't you injured?" She tried to explain. "Let me check it for you."
"After all, we're going to get married. Cough, I don't want you to have any lasting effects."
Lancaster reluctantly took off his clothes.
...She was only being kind, but it seemed like she was forcing him. Gwen carefully touched the bruise with her fingertips.
The edges of the wound had turned black and ulcerated, indicating poisoning. Based on the wound's appearance, it was a poison called "Dianyue," a common sword poison in Linxi. Its characteristic was that once it penetrated the skin, it caused unbearable pain and was difficult to completely remove.
...Lancaster had endured for so long; he was truly remarkable.
As a member of the royal family, she had received a complete education in toxicology since childhood, and detoxification was no big deal for her.
She studied for a while and scribbled the names of the required herbs on paper.
She didn't notice the redness of Lancaster's earlobes.
This woman…doesn't she know what the difference between men and women is?
Her blue eyes were always calm like a serene lake, serious and focused, as if few things could affect her emotions.
Just sitting there, she looked like an unapproachable goddess statue. With such a stunning face, she was anything but cute.
He silently looked at Gwen's flawless and exquisite side face, but his memory flashed back to that kiss.
He remembered her cheeks flushed with a light pink and her helpless expression as she lightly bit her lower lip.
...She was indeed cuter at that time, at least like a living person.
Gwen handed the paper out of the window to Marie, who was riding alongside.
"Purchase these herbs as soon as possible."
"Yes, my princess."
Marie glimpsed the scene inside the carriage through the curtain gap and her blood pressure skyrocketed.
What was the princess doing?! She was stunned.
That man was so frivolous, daring to undress in front of the princess. How**! She would definitely tell Eli later and let him kill him as soon as possible!
Well… although this guy was the princess' fiancé, right?
It didn't matter. They could find another fiancé, but they couldn't let their princess suffer.
Marie convinced herself, feeling resentful.
The carriage slowly drove into the city of Westmin.
The guard soldiers only bowed respectfully to the princess' carriage and no one approached to inspect it.
The princess stayed in Westmin for three days, but they never even caught a glimpse of her face.
Therefore, even as the carriage gradually faded away, the guards were still stretching their necks to look, hoping to catch a glimpse of the princess' appearance.
Westmin was a small town on the border of Linxi. Its only claim to fame was its magnificent royal palace within the city - the Westmin Palace, dedicated for use by royal family members during their tours.
The citizens of the small town were honored to host the royal family.
"Welcome, Princess."
The ruler of Westmin, the young Marquis Allen Carrell, had been waiting at the palace gate. After hearing the news of Gwen's arrival in Westmin, he rushed there but was informed that the princess had gone hunting at the border and hadn't returned.
The carriage stopped.
The first one to get off was not the blonde princess.
It was a tall and handsome dark-haired man.
Immediately afterward, a delicate, white hand rested in his palm.
Gwen helped Lancaster get off the carriage.
"I didn't expect you to come see me." She nodded slightly at Allen. "Please accept my condolences."
Allen's father, the old Marquis Carrell, had passed away half a month ago. Allen, who had just taken over the marquisate, had a shaky foundation and naturally came to seek her favor.
The old Marquis Carrell was a supporter of the eldest prince, Tier.
Allen's visit also served to show his allegiance to her.
The moment Allen saw Lancaster, his eyes were filled with heavy confusion. When Lancaster turned around, Allen widened his eyes in surprise.
Wasn't this Lancaster von Garcia, the eldest son of the traitorous Garcia family?
How could he be by the princess' side?
"I understand your confusion," Gwen didn't give him a chance to ask questions, her thin eyebrows furrowing slightly with a faint look of worry. "But I can't just let my fiancé die, can I?"
As if she and Lancaster had deep feelings for each other.
To elicit Allen's sympathy, she managed to squeeze out a few sparkling tears at the corners of her eyes.
Lancaster: ?
When my entire family was killed, I didn't see any reaction from you...
And their betrothal was concluded ten years ago. During those ten years, he hadn't seen the princess once.
What's happening now?
Allen thought: Poor princess, she's so devoted to her feelings.
He quickly shut his mouth and nodded in understanding.
A fugitive? Could the princess' fiancé be called a fugitive?
As long as the princess liked him, no one would dare to harm Lancaster a single hair.
"Can the marquis keep this a secret for me?" Gwen's eyes were filled with tears. "I... I haven't reported this to my father yet..."
She lowered her head, her eyes sparkling with charm.
Who could resist the fragile and beautiful pearl of the kingdom?
Allen immediately obeyed and said he would visit another day to take care of the princess' emotions.
Fortunately, it was Allen. He had been in office for not long and was relatively easy to deceive... If it had been those cunning old aristocrats in the capital, it would have been a big trouble. Gwen felt relieved at the bottom of her heart.
To convince them to agree to this marriage required careful planning.
Lancaster obviously also considered this point.
Both of them sat upright in the palace, and the atmosphere was like a diplomatic negotiation.
"How can we marry legitimately?" Lancaster asked.
Gwen took a sip of tea leisurely. "My father and eldest brother will support me. This marriage was originally approved by them. The trouble is convincing my mother and second brother... And those old guys."
The "old guys" she referred to were several powerful old aristocrats in the city of Linxi.
"Without a reasonable excuse, Freud will definitely make a big deal out of this."
In fact, there was almost no reasonable excuse for this.
The marriage contract was just a piece of paper.
As the princess of Linxi, why should Gwen be bound by it and must she marry a "traitor"?
So, in her previous life, after weighing the pros and cons, she quickly submitted a request to the church to cancel the marriage contract.
After all, who knew at that time that Lancaster would achieve such success in the future...
From then on, she made one mistake after another.
The husband-and-wife relationship was the key to stably binding Gwen and Lancaster and becoming a community of interests. She must make this marriage happen.
"I'd like to hear your thoughts." Gwen put down the porcelain white tea cup, and the bottom of the cup made a clear sound when it hit the table.
Lancaster looked up with a confident expression.
"God will make everything reasonable."
Gwen was stunned. Lancaster's idea happened to coincide with hers.
Having such tacit understanding with this tyrant, she didn't know if it was good or bad... she thought to herself.
As long as the church announced that their union was "the will of God", then everything would be solved, and no one would dare to say another word about this "sacred" marriage.
What they needed was a person of high status within the church who could be bought.
"But, do you have any connections in the church?"
"No." Gwen was frank.
In her previous life, as a princess without inheritance rights to the throne, everything she did was to support her eldest brother Tier to ascend the throne.
So she didn't develop any forces that were only loyal to her.
The so-called first princess was just a vine clinging to the eldest prince, the most beautiful and useless vase in the kingdom. "Starting from scratch..." Lancaster murmured.
"Not exactly." Gwen chuckled. "I... still have you, don't I?"
Lancaster looked at Gwen and didn't say anything for a while.
Was she too trusting of him...?
"Don't doubt it. I have my reasons." Gwen smiled gently. "Please stay with me always."
Didn't she understand... With such a stunning face, saying such misleading words was enough to make a normal man sacrifice his life for her...?
This woman was simply a seductive siren. No, he absolutely couldn't be bought off so easily! They were just allies, a relationship of exploitation!
Lancaster advised himself in his heart. But he couldn't force himself not to look at Gwen's sincere face.
Well... It was indeed difficult to cultivate his trust. Gwen observed Lancaster's reaction.
He still had that arrogant and cold expression on his face.
Forget it, a good hunter is not eager to harvest his prey.
- Writer
