"You truly loved your grandfather, don't you?" Yelena asked, observing the portraits.

"He was the one who made me wish to become a good King for the people. I want to be like him, who prioritize the people's well-being rather than his own." The Prince tone and eyes showed his respect for his late grandfather.

​​

Yelena smiled at the thought of her grandfather, the General. "I used to think that we are so different but it turns out that we have many things in common." She remarked.

"On what criteria?" Felix asked, curious about what was in her mind.

"A supportive grandfather whom we look up to, the past which we couldn't let go and... " She made a deliberate paused, turning to the Prince. "A messed up family relationship."

Felix stood still and quiet for a while. He knew that he had never told her about the crack in his family. "Did my mother tell you?" He muttered.

Yelena turned around and took a seat on one of the couch while Felix's eyes trailed to her. "I'm not a fool, Felix. What's more? I know you well than you thought. I saw through you last night when you talked about your mother." She said. Her gaze never left him the whole time.

Felix stared at her and finds it hard to read her. He didn't know what she was thinking. "Yelena, I - " He walked towards her but halted when she chimed in.

"I also realized one thing today, Felix. Your parents love you." Yelena stated, interrupting the Prince who was in the middle of talking.

Standing just a few steps before her, Felix muttered, "I know."

Seeing her confused expression, he walked to her and sat beside her. "There are different types of love, Yelena. My parents love me but at times, their love is selfish. They often care too much about reputation, neglecting my feelings."

"But today -"

"I know. That's why even I still finds it strange. I never thought that my mother was capable of saying such words. It still amazed me." Felix's voice trailed off. He finds it too hard to suppress his amazement when his mother said that she accepted as long as he can smile happily! It was too different from the mother that he knew throughout his life!

"Maybe she has a change of heart. I can feel that she is serious when I have a chat with her." Yelena slightly smiled at the thought of the conversation. "She said that I can be her daughter and also advised me to prepare beforehand so that it won't be too hard for me in the beginning."

"My mother said that?" Felix asked with disbelief written all over his face.

Yelena nodded her head. "You're right when you said that your mother is not scary. She is a great woman, also very considerate. She told me to be at ease because she understood me saying she was once in my shoes."

"Considerate? My mother?" Felix almost scoffed. "They are very contradictory." He commented without much thought. Well, he didn't need a thinking!

"You don't know your mother at all." Yelena shook her head as if she was disappointed in him. "She said soldiers and royals live with rules and that's what made us similar. It's just that our rules are quite different."

If Felix heard these from others, he wouldn't believe them at all! But it's Yelena and she had no reason to tell a lie. The mother in his memory and the mother Yelena was talking about; they don't have any similarity.

Of all the things he heard, his mother comparing the lives of soldiers and royals shocked him the most. The fact that his mother's most disapproved of was Yelena being a soldier from a foreign country, Silveren on top of that. But now, the exact mother was saying how they had similarities! What was the meaning of this?!

"You won't have to wait for long." Yelena's voice snapped the Prince out of his troubled thoughts. He looked at her waiting for an explanation. "I think I will solve my brother's case soon." She whispered. Her once calm eyes were now filled with many different emotions.

"You find some other evidence?" Felix promptly asked.

"Colonel Maverick knows something. After four more days, I will be able to know everything from him. He's not the mastermind but I'm sure that he knows the main culprit. He promised to tell me everything." Yelena explained.

"Will he keep his promise? Do you trust him?"

"Trust?" Yelena muttered. "I already lost my respect and trust in him. But do I have another choice? All I can do is wait." It's so tormenting but her time here made her distracted, so she could bear with it, at least for now.

Understanding the anxiety and pain inside her, Felix felt helpless but he heard her voice again.

"If things go wrong or if he broke his promise, I can't guarantee anything. I might lose control and even use force. I'm not scared of anything now." Her voice was low yet the strong determination and seriousness it contained made it sound dreary.

She meant what she said and Felix knew it. He didn't want her to expose herself to danger. He was not a fool to not know the enemy was powerful and dangerous enough. "Promise me one thing." He uttered and he saw her turning her head to him. "No matter what you do, it will not be the same way as the enemy. You will be different from them."

His words just opposed what she said and Yelena was well aware of his intentions. He tried to stop her from losing control by using this promise. She knew but she still answered. "I promise you." He made her realized that she should prove she was different and that she fought for justice.

The Prince finally smiled, out of relief and pride. He was proud of her. He suddenly put his legs on the couch and lay down, his head on her lap. She was quite startled by his action.

"I have many things in mind too. I want to clear my head this way." He said as he closed his eyes.

Yelena gently touched his face but realized that he also had some problems which he still didn't spill out. "Then it's your turn. Tell me what troubled you these days." She calmly said.

"I suffered a betrayal from my most trusted guard. It takes quite a toll on me." Felix simply said as if he was having a casual talk. He still closed his eyes and peacefully lay on the couch.

"Cayden?" She asked, flustered. Why was he so calm?!

"Don't worry," Felix spoke up as if he could read her mind. "You're here and everything is fine for me. Besides, Cayden did it involuntarily. He was blackmailed with the lives of his family. Now, he is locked up in my family villa." He calmly said again.

"What will you do? Will you punish him?" Yelena asked.

Felix remained quiet for a while before he responded, "I'm not sure. I cannot make a decision for now but if I do punish him, it will be done my way, not the law of the Royal Guards."

"The main culprit is still unknown. I set up some trap and like you, all I can do for now is wait." He added.

Yelena didn't say anything and quietly narrowed her eyes at him. She was unable to reach him these days and it turned out that the betrayal of his right-hand man was the reason! How hard was it for him?! She looked at his eyes and noticed the dark circles. How long had it been since he had a good sleep?

Not even a minute passed and she noticed that he was already sleeping. That fast?! Maybe he was really tired. A small smile escaped her lips. She wanted to touch his face again but she refrained herself. She didn't want to wake him.

Somehow, she felt sorry for him. It would be too tormenting to face it alone while she at least had Morris to share everything. Lexus was in Silveren, so he couldn't do anything.

It was already past midnight and Yelena also started to feel sleepy. She bent her head and planted a light kiss on his lips. "Sweet dreams, Your Highness." She muttered. Soon enough, she fell asleep with his head still on her lap.

* * *

The sun rises beautifully like every other day. When it was 8 a.m., the sun was already high up in the sky, lighting up each and every corner of the magnificent royal palace.

Still sound asleep on the couch of the rooftop room, the couple was not aware of all the commotion that was happening in the palace, all thanks to them.

'The Crown Prince and his fiancee are missing!'

The servants and the guards were looking for them and the Prince's parents were no exception. They tried calling the couple but to no avail! To add their worries, both the phones of the couple were in their own room!

The Prince guards said that they didn't have any plan this early! Did something happen to them? Anxious, they searched every inch of the palace but the rooftop room.....