Chapter 75 The Distraught Heir
The temple was quiet. Too quiet for a place that was supposed to be filled with prayers. Didier stepped inside, his cloak dragging on the marble floor. He pulled back his hood, revealing the tired face of a Crown Prince who hadn't slept in days.?
In front of the altar, Lysandra was kneeling. Her back was straight, her white dress pooled on the floor. When she turned, her face looked pale under the dim candlelight. She looked so holy, so fragile, as if a single gust of wind could shatter her bones.
"Didier?" Her voice was low, barely a whisper.
Didier approached. He didn't have the energy for small talk. "Father called me. Gisella was there too."
Lysandra froze. She looked at Didier with teary eyes, a sight that always made Didier feel like the worst man in the world.
"Gisella asked to break off the engagement," Didier continued. The words felt heavy on his tongue. "Father is furious. Everyone at the harbor saw what happened. The Mercer family name and the royal family are the talk of the town."
Lysandra lowered her head. Her slender hands clenched the fabric of her own dress. "She... she called off the engagement? After all these years?"
"She's changed," Didier said, frustrated. He ran a hand through his hair. "She's not the Gisella I knew. She's harsh, she's cold, and I don't know what's going on in her head. Father is demanding I fix everything, but I can't force her."
Lysandra stood up, very slowly. She walked over to Didier, touching the prince's arm with her trembling fingertips. Tears began to fall down her cheeks, one by one, very slowly.
"So what are you going to do?" Lysandra asked. Her voice was trembling violently. "Are you going to chase after her? You're going to beg her to stay, right? Do you still have feelings for her?"
Didier frowned. "It's not like that. This is about national responsibility."
"Responsibility, or feelings?" Lysandra started sobbing. Her voice was still quiet, but there was pressure behind it. "I'm just a temple girl. I have nothing but my devotion to God. While Gisella... she has everything. She has status, she has your attention."
Didier panicked seeing Lysandra starting to break down. He immediately grabbed her shoulders, trying to calm her. "Lysandra, it's not like that. I'm just stressed with all this chaos."
Lysandra looked away. She seemed so weak, so in need of protection. "I know I don't deserve you. I just feel... I've always been second. You always think about Gisella, even when she hurts you, even when she embarrasses you at the harbor."
She looked up, her wet eyes staring at Didier with an unreadable gaze. There was hurt there, but also a thin flash of possessiveness. Very thin.
"I'm scared, Didier. I'm scared you're keeping me only out of pity, or out of habit. You don't love me the way you think about her, do you?"
Didier fell silent. He didn't answer. The question hung in the air, making the atmosphere inside the temple feel suffocating. Didier could only hug the girl, while behind his shoulder, a thin, invisible smile appeared on Lysandra's lips.