Chapter 313: Humble Position
The prince’s attractive face and piercing blue eyes came to my mind and I immediately wanted to see him and then I started longing to feel the warmth of his embrace and the heat of his body against mine. The sound of the word love sounded so foreign and unfamiliar to me and that made the warmth that I felt deep inside my chest slowly transform into a sense of uneasiness. Honestly, I didn’t remember the last time that I remembered hearing that word or feeling a sense of its meaning.
“You look troubled...” the duchess said observantly.
I looked up from my lap to see her staring right into my face with a look of understanding in her eyes. The uncomfortable feeling in my chest grew tighter and I wondered if the duchess truly understood what I was feeling when I wasn’t quite certain of what I was feeling myself. Although I knew that it was time that I admit and face my fears. There was no point in trying to escape it and I didn’t think that I could escape it even if I tried. My mind wouldn’t give me rest or any way of escape. Whenever I had even a moment of spare time, my mind would conjure up the scene of that woman over and over again.
I don’t even know if she’s real or if anything that I saw in my mind that day was even real.
But what if she’s real?
I could still recall the way her eyes lit up with clear excitement before she called out the prince’s nickname so sweetly. She must have been waiting for him and she was so happy to see him. I wondered if I had that kind of look in my eyes when Prince Leonard came to see me.
“Do you think Prince Leonard is seeing another woman?” I asked before staring straight into the duchess’s face.
Duchess Flavia had a very surprised look on her face at my unexpected question. I have to say that I was as surprised as she was with my question. It wasn’t until those words left my lips that I truly came to realize what I had just said. Of course, I did not regret it at all, and I felt thankful that I had the courage to ask what I felt like I truly needed to. The duchess’s eyes widened, and she was silent for a few seconds before her long lashes flustered as she blinked rapidly.
“You mean like, does he have another lover?” the duchess asked as she cocked her head slightly to the side in wonder.
“Well, I’m not sure...” I murmured.
That was probably what I meant; however, I wasn’t sure if he had another lover, and I didn’t want to make it sound like I was suspecting the prince. The way my chest tightened painfully before an empty feeling settled in the pit of my stomach reminded me that I had absolutely no right to keep the prince to myself. Even if I was told that he had another lover or even more than one lover besides myself, what could I possibly do?
I should have known that just like his father, the king, it was highly possible that Prince Leonard would have more than one lover. With the race for him to produce an heir, it wouldn’t be unexpected if he would be encouraged to take more than one lover.