Her Highness's Second Life

Chapter 2 - The Unexpected Storm

Kara raised her hand in front of her face, trying to keep her hair out of her eyes when an unexpected gust of wind sent it flying everywhere. She should have brought a shawl, but the weather had been fine earlier, so decided to forgo the extra layer.

Her eyes glided over the perfectly lined and tended flower beds, the evenly trimmed grass, and the blossoming trees. It was a beautiful garden—as expected from the third prince’s residence—but she missed the North Palace more and more every day. The garden there had been a mess, the walls had been old and crumbling, and in the first days after they had moved in, there had been more rats in that house than people. But it had felt like home. More than this beautiful palace, more than her own residence.

That old place, forsaken by everyone, held some of her best memories.

Kara stopped and looked up at the full moon, smiling. She remembered the first night they spent in the North Palace after Raena had kneed the crown prince in the groin. Kara had nightmares that night about soldiers storming in to arrest them for making the crown prince impotent, and when she woke up in a cold sweat, she had found Raena sitting next to her, caressing her head and humming a lullaby. That had been the moment when she realized just how kind and caring of a person Raena, or rather, Lydia, was and decided to stay by her side no matter what. Even now, after everything they had been through that could have destroyed any normal person, Raena was the same.

Caring. Smiling. Unrelenting.

But that simple time—if one could call it simple, considering they had been through several assassination attempts, kidnappings, and threats from who knows how many people—that time was over. And now everything was a mess she could not even tell Raena about because she didn’t want to sound ungrateful.

Being a noble was more exhausting and complicated than she ever thought. Managing the estate and overseeing its restoration wasn’t a big deal—she had done the same in the North Palace, and her residence was much smaller and easier to deal with. She actually enjoyed it, since it reminded her of their time in the North Palace.

The problem was the people.

The title of Countess wasn’t particularly high on the hierarchy ladder in the Empire, but it still held noble status, requiring everyone on her level and below to show respect. Moreover, not a single noble was unaware of her relationship with Raena, and even that the Imperial family knew and called on her. She had assumed this would help her forge friendships and establish a circle of acquaintances, as she didn’t want to burden Raena and her family constantly. Raena already had enough on her plate with a husband, two children, and another on the way, not to mention her crazy notion of returning to work.

But that was a naïve thing to wish for. Initially, everyone seemed friendly, but it soon became apparent that their kindness was merely a facade to gain favor with either Kassian, Raena or the Emperor’s family. When Kara made it clear that she had no intention of exploiting her friends’ generosity for personal gain, the crowd around her quickly thinned. Then the rumors began, followed by shunning, until she eventually gave up on attending any social gatherings alone. Fortunately, Raena’s lack of interest in such events meant she had yet to notice the nobles’ attitude toward Kara.

It was nothing unexpected. At the end of the day, Kara was just a commoner dressed in fancy clothes.

Another gust of wind picked up, carrying away a few blossoms that had fallen from the trees and tossing them into the air. Kara sighed in annoyance, ready to head back. Her mind was still weighed down by uneasy thoughts, which she had hoped a long walk would dispel, but it was wiser to return to her room before she caught a cold. With the festival drawing near, she couldn’t afford to fall ill now.

She had barely taken two steps when a flash of lightning turned the night into day, followed by a clap of thunder so loud it made her jump. Her eyes landed on a figure standing not too far away from her just as the sky lit up, and she took a step back, tripping on her skirts and falling onto her backside. The figure rushed forward, and relief flooded her body as she realized it was just Blaine.

“Are you alright? I apologize for startling you! I called your name, but I guess you didn’t hear me because of the thunder,” he said, stopping next to her and offering her his hand. She hesitated for a second, then took it, getting up and dusting off her skirts. There was a big wet spot on the fabric where she had landed on the damp grass, so she turned to face him, making sure he couldn’t see it.

“I’m fine,” she replied, clearing her throat. “What are you doing here, sir Blaine?”

“I… um… came for a walk,” he mumbled, scratching his neck. She almost laughed at the obvious lie, but she tried her best to keep a straight face. His eyes moved back to hers, and his expression turned serious. “When are you going to stop calling me ‘sir’? Technically, you have a higher station than me, so if anyone should be using titles, it should be me.”

“It just feels more natural.” Kara shrugged, pushing away a string of hair that was flying in front of her face. “Besides, it’s not like we are… oh!” Something fell into her eye, and she winced, closing it. When she felt a few more taps on her face, she looked up. The bright moon had disappeared behind dark clouds that were now letting down all of their anger in big, heavy drops.

The sky disappeared as something even darker covered her head, and she blinked in surprise, reaching out to touch it. She realized it was a cloth, and as she looked at Blaine, she noticed he was just pulling his hands away, his jacket now missing. A light blush had appeared on his cheeks, and he avoided her eyes, glancing at the mansion.

“We should get back,” he said, frowning at the sky. “I’ll walk you to your room. Please take my arm so you don’t trip again.”

Kara hesitated before taking it. The rain had increased drastically in just a few seconds, and there was still quite a distance to cover until they reached the house. By the time they found themselves under the awning of the first floor, Blaine’s shirt was sticking to him, and water was dripping from his hair.

He was by no means as well-built as Kassian, but now that the cloth was hugging him like a second skin, Kara realized he wasn’t as thin as she thought either. His muscles were not well-defined, but they were there, and his shoulders seemed broader than she remembered. Maybe it was all that carrying Kassian’s work on his own back that had allowed him to toughen up. The third prince shamelessly delegated too many of his responsibilities to his aide in favor of spending time with his wife and children.

“Are you wet?” Blaine asked as he took his glasses off and tried to wipe them on his shirt, but that made things even worse. Kara’s face turned hot while she stared until he met her eyes with a calm expression. “The rain,” he added, still staring at her with that innocent look on his face. “It came down so fast. Your clothes and hair aren’t wet, are they? It wouldn’t be good if you caught a cold.”

‘You i***t,’ Kara scolded herself, slipping his jacket off her head to show him that the rain hadn’t drenched her. ‘Stop with those lewd thoughts! This is what happens to your mind when you spend too much time with Raena and Marden! Get a grip!’

“Ahem, yes, I’m fine. Thank you,” she replied quickly, offering the jacket back to him. He looked at it but didn’t move to take it.

“You should wear it. You are shivering,” he muttered, turning his back on her and opening the door. Kara hesitated, then wrapped the jacket around her shoulders, following him inside. For a couple of minutes, the only sound came from their steps, muffled by the vicious thundering outside that seemed to grow louder and louder.

“Did you have a good time?” Blaine asked, and she looked at him with her eyebrows raised.

“In the garden?” she asked in confusion.

“Ah, no, with Her Highness. She dropped by the office earlier.” He cleared his throat, grimacing as if he regretted saying that. “She said you two spent the afternoon together. She looked in a good mood.”

“We were talking about our plans for the restaurant and the upcoming festival. She is coming back to manage it with me,” Kara replied, snuggling into the jacket as the night chill ran its cold fingers over her naked hands and the thin fabric of her dress. Blaine’s jacket smelled of ink and papers and some sweet aroma that reminded her of the desserts they offered at the restaurant.

“I see. So that’s probably what she wanted to talk about with His Highness.” he nodded. “At least now you'd have some help, so you can take it easy and have more time to attend social gatherings and make friends.”

“Right,” Kara mumbled, looking away from him. The silence returned, heavier than before. She heard him sigh a few times as they drew closer to the guest room she occupied when she stayed over, but he said nothing. She wasn’t entirely sure when it had become this unbearably awkward between them—maybe it was when he asked for permission to court her and she asked him not to; maybe it was because they were forced to watch Raena and Kassian being so overwhelmingly happy all the time while there were still so many unsaid things between them.

She looked up to realize they had reached the door of her room. A feeling of regret passed through her, but she shut it down, turning to face Blaine instead. She took off the jacket again and handed it to him.

“Thank you for lending me that. Make sure to take a warm bath and drink something hot. We can’t have you getting sick either,” she said, smiling at him without thinking. He continued to stare at her with that longing look in his eyes that made it hard to breathe. As if realizing the same, he cleared his throat and bowed his head respectfully before giving her a tight-lipped smile.

“I will. Thank you for worrying about me,” he said, catching his hands behind his back. “I wish we could have enjoyed a longer walk, but I guess it wasn’t meant to be. Have a good rest, Kara.”

“Y-Yes, you too.” She turned sharply, slipping into her room. The servants had lit up a fireplace and left a few candles burning, which gave the room a pleasant glow and chased away the chill that came with the rain. Still, the cold she felt inside refused to leave.

Kara sighed, leaning against the door. This was the second reason she hated being a countess. She could handle the scorn and mockery on her own; she didn’t care about all those nobles, anyway. But if she ever got married, her partner would have to endure all that too. If she married a commoner, those whispers would only grow louder, and their tricks would grow nastier. If she married a noble, they’d be given the same treatment as her.

If it was someone like Marden who cared even less about society than her, then they might be fine. But Blaine came from a well-respected family with a long noble bloodline. He was kind, intelligent, and well-respected. She didn’t want to put him through the same hell just because she liked him. That was too selfish.

But when he looked at her like that… it was really hard not to be selfish.

A knock came on the door, and she jumped.

Who could it be at this hour? Was it Raena remembering something and coming to discuss it? It was unlikely. They were going together to the restaurant tomorrow, and since she went to talk to Kassian, they had probably retired for the night.

Taking a deep breath, Kara opened the door. Her eyes widened as she realized it was Blaine—still drenched from the rain, but now panting heavily as if he had been running. She was just opening her mouth to ask him what was going on when he stepped toward her. His trembling fingers trailed over her cheeks before he leaned down and kissed her.

His lips were cold and slightly cracked, his breath tasting like tea and honey. When Kara realized she was returning the kiss, it was already too late. His tongue slipped into her mouth hesitantly, his hand moving to wrap around her waist as if to make sure she wouldn’t run away. He was shivering even more than her—she wasn’t sure if it was because of his wet clothes or excitement, but as the seconds flew, his trembling subsided, and his stiff posture relaxed.

“I wanted to be respectful and wait for a clear sign from you that you are ready to let me court you,” he said in a breathless voice. “But seeing how the other party has no interest in holding back, I won’t either. I won’t lose you to him or anyone else.” He let go of her and took a couple of steps back, bowing formally. “If my actions offended you, please forgive me. But I won’t apologize.” He rose again, she realized that his face was almost as red as hers felt. “Next time, I promise to ask for permission before kissing you. I’ll take my leave now. Have a good rest.”

He walked out and closed the door, his hurried steps echoing through the corridor. Kara ran her fingers over her lips, a shuddering breath escaping her lips.

The other party? Was he talking about Marden? There was no way he knew about that kiss from so long ago, and nothing else had happened between them since then, so what could he mean? But no, that was not important.

He had kissed her. Blaine! She had never expected him to do something so bold, considering he was always so proper and considerate. What was worse, she didn’t stop him or tell him not to do it again. What was wrong with her?

Kara pulled her hand from her lips, striding back to the bed and throwing herself in it. She buried her face in the pillow and screamed, letting out her frustration until she ran out of breath.