Nobody said anything the entire journey.
Fabian kept looking at the back seat between his King and the princess, wondering if he should comment to start the conversation.
Sensing his gaze, Cyrus looked up, making the man immediately look forward.
Cyrus looked to his side, where Amelia sat quietly, gazing outside.
He could see her reflection in the window.
The once jubilant eyes that spoke of protecting him and were joking earlier appeared utterly empty now.
She sat with her hands clasped tightly in her lap, her nails digging into her palms, but even after all that, her gentle hold around the muffin was praiseworthy.
It was confusing. Why had the healers reacted like that earlier? Cyrus looked at Fabian to determine what happened in his absence, and once his subordinate told him everything through the mind link, Cyrus didn't know how to react.
He looked at the girl who refused to show weakness.
He noticed how her eyes occasionally wavered as if thinking about something pained her, but she would control her emotions at the last second.
Cyrus looked outside, the pouring rain and the weird appearance of thunder suddenly resembling their life.
Amelia looked at the raindrops hitting the window before sliding down.
The echoes of her family's cruel words still rang in her ears—cutting, demeaning, meant to remind her that she was nothing more than a pawn.
'Pessimistic,'
'A monster,'
They used the exact words they always used to demean her, and though it hurt a little less this time, it didn't mean it removed the stark reality of her life that her relationship with her family was doomed from the very beginning, probably on the day she was born.
The little hope in her heart for her father, if there was any, was extinguished today.
His words shook her. The way he raised his hand to slap her shook her.
But what had shaken her most wasn't her family's familiar actions.
It was him. King Cyrus Valentino.
Amelia's heart skipped a beat as she remembered how he had appeared before her, standing before her to protect her from harm, just like he had in her last life.
His presence alone had silenced everything around them, rendering her family unable to move an inch against her.
The same man who had made it clear that he wanted nothing to do with her, who had married her only to maintain peace between the wolves and the Lantern Healers after the devastation her people had caused.
Just why the hell did she run from him in her last life?
Right. Because her sister's tricks blinded her and that bast*rds love.
She had already been indebted to King Cyrus for life, and now he protected her again.
Why had he defended her?
Did he not despise her anymore?
Or did he protect her because she was his wife, and allowing her father to slap her would hurt his ego?
Whatever the reason, it didn't change the fact that amidst everyone who was close to her and she had served all her life, only he stepped forward and stood by her side, even when they had been married for only two days, just like her last life.
Amelia glanced at him from the corner of her eyes, licking her lips subconsciously.
His sharp profile was unreadable. His blue, cold eyes were fixated on the road through the window, and his hand rested leisurely on his thighs.
His presence was suffocating yet impossible to ignore.
Then, he spoke.
"What are your future plans?" His sudden words and gaze on her startled her, and she nearly jumped in her seat, her heartbeats quickening before she took a deep breath to calm herself and make it less obvious that she was admiring his aura.
She blinked. "Future plans?"
Cyrus exhaled, his voice as calm and detached as ever, with a hint of annoyance in his eyes, "You weren't expecting to sit at home all the time, were you?"
Amelia raised her brows before quickly shaking her head.
"Of course not. I am willing to help with anything that the King needs. What should I help with?" Amelia said.
She blinked her eyes innocently, and Cyrus scoffed in his head.
Anything that he needs? Does she even know the meaning behind her words? Or has she always been so casual with her speech?
His gaze flicked to her briefly before returning to the road. "Nothing,"
He restrained himself from making off-comments and calling her weird, considering what she went through earlier.
Amelia, however, stiffened. Nothing? Did he say all those words just to say nothing? That was quite suspicious.
"But didn't you say I should do something and –"
"I will get you enrolled into the University this week. You better not let me down," Cyrus said, not looking at her.
She stared at him, trying to find some hidden meaning in his words, but she only saw the same stoic mask he always wore.
Amelia's heart pounded against her ribs.
Cyrus hated her, or just any healer. Everyone knew it. So why was he suddenly being like this?
He had allowed her to study in her last life, too, but it was on the condition no one should know about them.
However, he has mentioned her studies twice so far but has never said anything about keeping their relationship a secret.
Maybe he thought she was intelligent enough not to cross him and keep it a secret already. Amelia nodded in understanding.
"I… I won't let you down," Amelia said, her voice quieter than intended.
"Good."
The conversation ended as quickly as it had begun. The rest of the drive was spent in silence, though it felt different this time—no longer thick with resentment, between them at least.
Miss Quinn and two other maids, the names of whom she didn't know, rushed to her as soon as they reached the palace.
The questioning look in Miss Quinn's eyes as she saw the large water stain on Amelia's dress was too clear, but the girl had no intention of explaining anything.
"What happened to the dress? It's a pity," One of the maids said as Amelia ascended the stairs.
Her words made Amelia stop in her tracks.
A pity. This dress… everything started for this dress because Hannah wanted it.
Since that vile girl touched it, she didn't want it anymore.
"Do you want it?" Amelia suddenly felt extremely calm after saying those words.
The maid's pupils dilated.
"Princess, how can I ask of something so exquisite and –"
"If you want it, come to my room in ten minutes and take it once I change out of it," Amelia said before leaving.
Cyrus observed everything while talking to Fabian and Trevor about their next meeting in the city's main office.
Seeing her elegance and how she kept her head high even after everything, Cyrus felt that this girl was different from the rumors spreading about her.
Perhaps she is even different from all those healers. If that were the case, he might have found himself a pawn he could use against them.
A smirk appeared on Cyrus's face.
The door shut behind Amelia with a soft click, and she stood still for a long moment.
She sat on the edge of her bed, taking deep and long breaths as she sorted out her thoughts.
She closed her eyes, reliving every moment from the second she stepped into the healer's territory to the moment she left.
It was humiliating. Her family had reminded her exactly how little they thought of her, how they had treated her in the past, and why the hell her life turned into shambles, and yet she died because she went out to care for her father, the same father who didn't refrain from calling her a monster even when he knew the king was present.
A self-mocking smile appeared on her face before she chuckled.
She chuckled so loudly that tears welled into her eyes before spilling from the corner of her eyes.
They had expected her to break before then. Hannah might've expected her to beg on her knees before them for forgiveness, just like whenever she was punished for something she didn't even do.
But this time, King's interruption stopped that.
She relied on King Cyrus for protection this time, but this was the last time it happened.
Amelia's fingers curled into the sheets' fabric as she looked out of the large, floor-to-ceiling windows.
'I will make them regret every tear they made me shed,'
Hannah and her twisted games had taken so much from her. But Amelia was done being the victim. And that b*stard Killian… she will make him pay for being so blind and make him regret every second of his belief in Hannah.
They wanted her to be weak.
They had no idea who they were dealing with.
In her last life, her late admission turned her into a mocking case before everyone else, right? This time, she would ensure she exposed them perfectly.
Hannah came third with her help, no?
Amelia chuckled darkly at all how she would ruin them.