?

　　“How are you feeling, sister?” Aiden asked, taking my hand and giving it a firm squeeze.

　　“I’m fine. I’m sorry to have worried you and mother.” I said, turning to my mother who was by his side.

　　“We’re just glad you are well. With all the commotion last night, we could not even check on you. I’m glad Gideon brought us up to speed.” She said as she reached to caress my cheek, thumb brushing against my cheekbone.

　　I let out a small laugh at how she still treats me like a little girl even though I was particularly taller than her now.

　　It was a new day and the kingdom was awakened by the news of the assassination attempt that had happened last night. Most of the guests had returned to the safety of their homes while the guests from faraway stayed the night with extra security to protect them. According to mother, Gideon had been working hard alongside Captain Evander and? Rodrick throughout the night to make sure there were no more suspicious characters lurking around.

　　“Shall we head to the dining hall for breakfast?” Aiden asked, tugging my hand slightly.

　　I remained still, slowly pulling my hand free from his grip. “You two can go ahead. I think I should go and apologise to the remaining guests. They travelled so far for my debutante party only to experience something so manic.”

　　“But you were the one who was targeted!” Mother almost shouted as she was clearly frustrated by me.

　　“Mother…” Aiden started.

　　“These circumstances could not be predicted, Cordelia. Don’t put yourself down over something you could not control. I’m sure our guests understand that you need time to recover from such a traumatic experience.”

　　“I agree with Lady Isabella.” Mother, Aiden and I turned to the owner of the voice as she approached us with Elina and Lilian by her side. Lady Marie looked almost too happy even after everything that occurred last night. “You must have been so scared yesterday, Cordelia.” She said, looking at me with fake sympathy on her face.

　　“I heard you got stabbed.” Elina, nearly snickered but was quick to pout. “Are you alright?”

　　“I’m fine, thank you for your con—”

　　“I heard an alpha almost attacked you last night when your heat arrived. Is that true?” Lilian pushed. I could sense my brother and mother tense up from Lilian’s casual approach to such a sensitive topic.

　　“Well…”

　　“Was it one of many husbands to be? I mean, what did you expect would happen when you surround yourself with that many alphas.” She giggled.

　　“Is it truly appropriate to joke about this topic when my sister's life was in danger last night?” Aiden snapped.

　　Lilian rolled her eyes. “In danger? A scratch on the arm is rarely life threatening and being attacked by your fiancé doesn’t count.” She shrugged. “You choose him after all.” She added with an irritable smirk.

　　“You—!” Aiden’s fists were balled up, getting angry for my sake when all I could think about was wanting to just walk away. I should have stayed in bed a little longer this morning.

　　Lady Marie then raised her hand to Lilian, gesturing to her to stop her silly quips. “Now, Lilian, there’s no need to be that way with your half-sister. She has just been through something traumatic. I believe that if the planning was more adequate then no assassins could have snuck into the party.” She said, insinuating the worst. She then looked over at my mother, an eyebrow raised. “Could it be that you have made an error in the guest list to the point where not one, but two intruders managed to get into our palace?”

　　“I do not appreciate what you are trying to say, Lady Marie.”

　　“What do you think I am trying to convey here, Lady Isabella?”

　　“That’s enough. We still have guests under this roof and it would be unbecoming if they were to hear us bickering like this.” I said, hoping that acting logical here would avoid any more unnecessary arguments.

　　“Hmph. Good day to you,” Lady Marie rolled her eyes and walked ahead as her two daughters followed along. Lilian gave me a sideways glare that turned to a smirk when our gazes met.

　　“Their attitudes are getting worse as the days go by.” Aiden muttered under his breath. Mother and I agreed as we sighed in unison.

　　“I’m going to take a walk. Please head for breakfast without me.” I said, giving them a small bow.

　　“But sister…” Aiden wanted to convince me but mother stopped him.

　　“Very well. Please do not push yourself too hard, my dear.”

　　“I won’t.” I said as I walked away, heading towards where our guests were residing.

　　The encounter with Lady Marie and her children was something I did not want to deal with as their words were already messing with my preoccupied mind. Something was not right with me as I could feel my heart pounding against my ribcage. I found myself getting scared of walking down the corridors by myself even though I knew there were guards around but were they truly my guards or were they in disguise?

　　These thoughts kept filling my mind until I had to stop walking and to catch my breath. I was scared of being in this place which I called home. I leaned against the cool wall, hoping that the silence and moment of peace I had away from everyone would be enough to calm my nerves but glimpses of last night flashed through my mind.

　　My arm throbbed as I could feel the blade slicing into my skin over and over again and the fear mixed with confusion I had when I was being held down by Cassian, the complexity of what I wanted and what I needed was truly starting to hurt my mind.

　　“Princess?”

　　I gasped out in shock as I turned around only to find Nasir, a few feet away from me as he observed me. To think that I let my guard down as I did not even feel him approaching me was enough to make me sick to my stomach but I felt almost relieved that he was a beta.

　　“N-Nasir. Good morning.” I greeted with a forced smile.

　　He returned my smile but his eyes said otherwise. He was probably thinking of what to say next since he had caught me leaning against the wall and gasping in fright earlier. I wonder if I should come with an excuse first but Nasir spoke out before I could even think of anything.

　　“I heard about what happened last night… Are you doing well, Your Highness?”

　　Of course he had heard about the chaos that occurred, everyone in the continent must have found out by now and that thought alone was enough to make me want to fade away from the public eye.

　　“Yes, thank you for your concern. I was heading to greet Her Majesty Yara and Karim and also to apologise to them about what had happened.”

　　“Apologise? Whatever for? You were the one who got hurt…”

　　“Yes but still…” my words trailed off as I’m starting to understand what my mother had told me earlier. “How are the accommodations? Let me know if there is anything I can do to enhance your stay here.” I blurted out.

　　Nasir smiled. “Everything is perfect. Please, you do not have to worry about us. But, princess, I was just going to visit Her Majesty’s room. Would you like to come with me since you said you wanted to speak to her?”

　　“Y-Yes, if you do not mind.”

　　“Not at all. Shall we?” he said, as he started to walk. I took in a deep breath and followed him as we walked side by side. “How is your injury?”

　　“It’s fine. The doctor said that it might leave a scar but I do not really mind.”

　　“In our culture, scars are considered to be very beautiful and rather appealing. It shows that you have lived life and it acts as a reminder that you are well and alive.” I nodded absentmindedly, remembering all the scars that decorated Isaiah’s body. “Are you perhaps thinking of Isaiah right now?”

　　I snapped my eyes to him. “N-No…!” I lied. “Just a little…” I bashfully admitted, causing Nasir to laugh.

　　“You are a rather funny character, princess. But yes, Isaiah's body is covered in many, many scars and he is very well respected by our people and very sought after. He had always denied all proposals hence I was rather curious as to why he had accepted yours. I sometimes wonder if it was due to your…nature.”

　　“My nature?”

　　“Yes. Could it be that you used your unique circumstances to charm these three alphas?”

　　I knew what he was trying to imply but I also knew that the way I responded would either ruin or build this relationship fondly. “I assure you that no ounce of my omega ‘charms’ could make these men fall for me. All of us had a mutual understanding. That is all.”

　　Nasir looked at me for a moment, studying my expression before freely bursting out in laughter.