Princess of the Silver Ocean - Chapter 75

“After all,” she leaned back and crossed her arms with a slight close-lipped smile, “My fiancé is here.”

Her eyes widened in surprise. She could not believe that such a statement came out of her own mouth. Well, it was not like she was lying or wrong. Prince Yashiro was Nexi’s fiancé and hers for the time being, and she would be here again to meet him when it was time for the wedding preparations.

‘When are the wedding preparations, anyway?’ she wondered, pressing her lips together.

She hoped that she would have solved her transmigration dilemma by the time the wedding preparations began. She would have eliminated the Dark Lord and prevented him and his evil army from taking over and destroying this world. Once that mission was done, she would transmigrate back to her real body and world before Nexi had to say her, “I do,” to the fox prince.

She also hoped that she actually had a body to go back into. After all, she does not know if her body was found by the police or someone. She does not know if her body is lying in a hospital bed or the morgue. It was scary to even think about it, but she prayed that she was lying in a hospital bed, even if it meant she was in a coma. To her, it was way better than being dead.

“Of course,” she heard Ai say cheerily, “You will officially be part of my family soon. I cannot wait!”

Astoria awkwardly smiled and nodded.

“When is the wedding, by the way?” she asked the fox princess, who shrugged.

“We have not set the date yet,” Ai replied, “but you and my brother have only known each other for a few months. Because of your busy schedules, my father and yours decided to wait for another three to four months before beginning the wedding preparations.”

Astoria nodded, almost letting out a breath of relief. Three to four months was reasonable. It was not great, but it was a reasonable enough time frame for her to quickly save this world and disappear before the wedding commenced.

‘I have to start this mission as soon as I arrive back in Ashen,’ she bit her bottom lip, ‘The sooner I start, the better it will be for not just myself, but for everyone too.’

“Princess Nexi will marry prince Yashiro?” she and Ai heard Lara ask.

“That is correct,” Ai said, beaming, “She is gonna be part of our family soon. My big brother will be a married man after a few months.”

“That’s amazing!” Lara exclaimed, her eyes holding a glint of awe and excitement.

‘I wish I could say it is,’ thought Astoria as she forced a smile, ‘but it is not. It’s just complicated.’

“Oh!” Ai exclaimed, “We are here.”

They had arrived at the palace, and when they entered the palace, they all went up to Astoria’s room to help her pack.

“You ladies do not have to come with me,” she told them, “I do not have that much to pack anyway since I only brought my suitcase.”

“We know,” Ai said with a smile, exchanging glances with Lara, “We just wanna spend some more time with you, that is all.”

Lara nodded.

“We will not stand in your way or bother you,” the little fox added as they walked up the stairs and to the bedroom.

Astoria sighed and nodded.

“Okay then,” she opened the bedroom door and stepped inside.

Ai and Lara followed behind her. As Lara had said earlier, they  did not bother her. They just sat on the large bed as they watched her pack some of the bathroom amenities she had left in the bathroom for easy access. She had now finished packing her belongings in the suitcase.

“All done,” she told them, and they got up from the bed.

Minutes later, when it was almost 4 PM, they heard the voices of the king and queen.

‘Looks like they are back,’ she smiled as Ai turned the canvas around.

She and Lara were in Ai’s art room, and Ai was painting a portrait of her to take home. Lara was sitting in a corner and drawing flowers.

“What do you think?” she heard Ai ask her, pointing at her portrait.

“I think you are like the female version of Leonardo da Vinci,” Astoria replied to Ai, clapping her hands in satisfaction at her portrait.

Ai shrugged, looking confused.

“I have no idea who that Leonardo person is,” the fox princess said, then smiled, “but I have a feeling he is a great artist, so thank you.”

“He was. I love my portrait,” Astoria stated, standing up and giving the fox princess a thumbs up, “Lara, come look at this.”

The little fox stood up from where she was and walked towards them. She stood next to Astoria and stared at the painting of the princess with widened eyes.

“It is amazing,” the little fox complimented.

“Mhm mhm,” Astoria agreed, nodding her head.

There was a sudden knock on the door, causing all of them to turn their heads to it. Ai placed the paintbrush she held in her hand on the table. She opened the door and found one of the butlers standing outside with his head bowed.

“I’m sorry to disturb you, your highness,” the butler stated, his head still bowed, “but your father and mother have told me to inform princess Nexi that her chauffeur has arrived.”

“Aww, it is time for her to leave already?” Ai pouted and sighed.

“Okay. We will be right there,” she dismissed the butler.

Astoria smiled at her.

“Why don’t you go grab your suitcase?” Ai told her, “Lara will help me wrap this portrait nicely for you, and then we will meet you in the throne room.”

Astoria nodded and walked out of the room and to her bedroom. When she was grabbing her suitcase, the bedroom door opened, and prince Yashiro had stepped inside.

“Prince Yashiro? You are done with your meeting?” she asked him, pulling the suitcase’s handle upwards.

He nodded and walked to her. He stared at the suitcase.

“Let me help you with that,” he said, holding the suitcase’s handle.

“Ah, thanks.”

“After you,” he gestured for the door, and she walked out.

He followed behind her and closed the door. They walked to the throne room in silence, and she found everyone gathered there. The king and queen stood up from their seats and walked towards her. They gave her a hug simultaneously, causing her eyes to widen.

“We were so glad you could join us during this festival period,” they told her as they began to walk outside to where her ride home was.

“Time really flew by,” prince Yoshito said as he hugged her, “Take care of yourself until we meet again.”

She nodded and gave him a smile. “You too.”

The king and queen held each other’s hands and watched as Ai gave her the portrait.

“Something to remember me by,” Ai said as Astoria held the portrait in her hands, “Come back soon.”

“Thanks, Ai,” she told the fox princess.

Lara had grabbed the teddy bear Astoria had won for her at the festival. The little fox tilted her head up, staring at her.

“I can’t believe you are leaving so soon,” Lara squeezed her teddy bear, her shoulders slumped, “I will miss you.”

Astoria smiled at her.

“Don’t worry,” she told Lara, “I promise to be back sooner than you think.”

Lara smiled, nodding happily at the thought. Astoria smiled at everyone.

“Thank you so much for your hospitality,” she told them, “I had a great time. I will be back soon.”

With that, she bowed at them, and they waved her goodbye as she walked to the car with prince Yashiro. The fox prince opened the car door for her, and the chauffeur took her suitcase, carefully placing it in the boot.

Prince Yashiro took the portrait, walked to the other side of the car, and placed it on the seat. He then closed that door and walked towards her, standing in front of her. She stared up at him, not knowing exactly what to say.

“Well,” they both said in unison.

They chuckled.

“You go first,” she told him, pressing her lips together.

“Um, right. Thanks for your help with the whole Saxhish mission,” he told her, “I was able to prevent more deaths thanks to you.”

She smiled and nodded.

“And thank you too,” she said, playing with her hair, “You know, for agreeing to help me with this whole Dark Lord thing.”

He smiled and nodded too. There was silence in the air, and before she knew it, he had pulled her closer to him, running his knuckle down her cheek. He stared into her mesmerizing cobalt eyes and brushed his lips with hers, giving her a slow, soft kiss.. Before she could react, he pulled his face away and hugged her.