Page 31 of Beacon

Despite the arrangement that she was expected to fulfill, the princess didn’t linger on pleasantries or small talk. She made to step away…only to pause upon noticing me.

“I don’t believe I’ve met your companion. Might I acquire an introduction?” Though the inquiry was polite, her tone was almost dangerous, as if she sensed my relationship with the prince and heartily disapproved.

Prince Owen’s expression softened, not exactly to that of an enamored prince but friendly enough not to give the true nature of our relationship away.

“This is Marisa, the woman I’ve recently begun courting.” The king and queen had decided that with the expectations of Princess Lavena’s visit still unresolved, it’d be impolite for Prince Owen to introduce me as his actual fiancée, despite that being the role I’d been assigned in this charade of ours.

The princess’s eyebrows rose. “I didn’t realize you were in any form of courtship.”

“Nor did my family until recently,” Prince Owen said. “Rest assured that despite our relationship, I am still very much looking forward to furthering our own acquaintance.” It was another predetermined line, one that seemed to almost pain him to deliver, yet I still felt an unexpected pang at the thought of him spending his time with such a beautiful princess.

Princess Lavena pursed her lips. “As am I. I’m relieved you feel the same; I’d hate our long journey to have been in vain.” Her icy stare made it clear that despite Prince Owen’s attempts not to offend her, he’d already done just that.

Her family had witnessed the exchange. While Crown Prince Nolan made no noticeable reaction, the Queen of Lyceria looked concerned. “I confess I too am surprised to learn my daughter isn’t the only one you’re considering a match with. I’m grateful our visit will allow you the opportunity to see which choice of bride will be in Bytamia’s best interests. I have no doubt you’ll choose wisely.”

With that pointed remark, she and the princess finally stepped away, allowing Prince Owen to release his pent-up breath. He leaned close enough to whisper, “Though they clearly weren’t pleased, that still went better than I expected. However, I fear that even with our ruse, they’re not going to make it easy for me to escape the arrangement.”

I agreed, and once again I was left to wonder just what I’d gotten myself into.

CHAPTER12

By evening I was beginning to feel even the promise of obtaining my lighthouse at the end of the charade wasn’t enough for the steep price required of me. I took a shaky breath in an attempt to calm my taut nerves, but the confining corset beneath my borrowed gown made each sharp, nervous breath difficult.

That feeling only intensified as the evening wore on. Ever since my supposed relationship with Prince Owen had been announced to the royal visitors, they’d monitored me closely, and I’d already grown weary from the tension. Was it too late to back out of this scheme?

While Prince Nolan seemed curious rather than hostile, the Queen of Lyceria gave repeated hints on what a fine match Prince Owen and Princess Lavena would make, and the princess herself seemed to be expending great effort to hide her disdain.

Her reaction remained subtle, masked beneath the politeness expected of her, but throughout dinner, each of her responses to Prince Owen’s polite inquiries lacked warmth, while she made no secret that she was ignoring me entirely. When not conversing pertly with the prince, she studied us carefully, as if analyzing the depth of our relationship…and she wasn’t the only one—the Queen of Lyceria too seemed particularly attentive, observing each gesture between us carefully as if to measure its sincerity.

Whenever he noticed their pointed observing, Prince Owen made an effort to lavish me with attention, but though his interactions were friendly, they showed not a man in love but rather a man who preferred my company to hers. The thought only escalated the tension already weighing upon me, a pressure already made unbearable with my struggle to conduct myself in a manner that wouldn’t reflect poorly on the Bytamian royal family.

I ached to return to the sanctity of my room, but retiring would not only subject the prince to an evening alone with the princess whom he was trying so desperately to avoid but cast suspicion over our relationship, leaving me forced to endure the pressures of the charade, already too much to bear. And it was only the beginning.

Prince Owen seemed to be enduring the same pressure. He had a very fine line to walk—between not offending the princess or her family and avoiding displaying any romantic interest in as gentlemanly a manner as possible. He navigated the task well enough—despite his aversion to the match, his manner was polite and he made it a point to talk to Princess Lavena several times throughout the meal, all while keeping his conversation as short as he thought he could get away with.

I’d hoped the endless dinner would be all we’d be forced to endure, but following the meal we adjourned to the parlor for act two of the tedious evening.

Prince Owen made no attempt to hide his displeasure at the thought of several more hours in the princess’s company, a reaction that would have caused offense had his guests not been walking ahead of us and thus missed his disgruntled expression.

“I was hoping our guests would be weary from their travels and wish to retire early,” he muttered quietly enough so that only I could hear his complaint from my place on his arm.

I fought to mask my irritation as I nodded.It’ll be worth it, I told myself.Anything to obtain my lighthouse. But even this reminder wasn’t enough to stave off my frustration at wasting an entire evening entertaining royal guests when I could instead be doing something more to try and find Father, especially considering that so far, the prince’s efforts hadn’t yielded any results.

But all resentment fled when Prince Owen rested his hand over mine in the crook of his arm, his smile reassuring. “Though I’d rather spend the evening differently, having you by my side will be enough to at least make it pleasant.”

The words were simple, yet for some reason they caused my heartbeat to escalate, the part of me that liked the idea of spending time in his company.His words are only because of our act, I reminded myself.He could never actually like me enough to want to spend time with me, not when there’s nothing extraordinary about a lighthouse keeper’s daughter.

Despite the business aspect of our relationship, deep down I hoped his words were sincere. Why did the prince have to be so appealing? It made everything far more difficult.

Upon entering the parlor, I expected the prince to be forced to sit near the princess, but when we arrived, we found her already seated between her mother and older brother, leaving no available spots beside her. Prince Owen did little to mask his relief and immediately took advantage of this miraculous reprieve by guiding me to a seat far enough away from the others to provide a semblance of privacy.

He deliberately avoided his mother’s disapproving frown, but judging from his next comment, he’d surely seen it. “I don’t know why she’s upset; Prince Ronan and Princess Seren often sit separately from the family.”

The crown prince and princess undoubtedly only got away with that because they were married and had likely only done such a thing when they weren’t entertaining guests as Prince Owen was expected to. I raised my eyebrow at him. He seemed to realize his blunder and made another attempt to rationalize his faux pas.

“It’s not as if I deliberately avoided sitting with her; she’s the one who chose the seating arrangements. Wouldn’t it be fortunate if my supposed intended shares my lack of interest in furthering our acquaintance?”

If her glower in our direction was any indication, these hopes of his were in vain, but even if I could speak, I was wise enough not to point such a thing out, not with Prince Owen looking grumpier by the moment. But my silence made no difference, not when the prince seemed to sense these thoughts anyway, which only made him more disgruntled.

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