"You are the official ministers of this kingdom, ant to set an example for its civilians. Yet you use crude and degrading words, not just against anyone, but against a princess of another kingdom. It makes question whether we need to reconsider who is truly worthy of their positions."
Saying that Ivan t his father’s eyes, who was silently watching everything unfold.
Iskara finally spoke, his voice slicing through the tense courtroom. "It seems a reform is overdue, considering the blatant disrespect displayed in my court today."
"Your Majesty! Forgive us if anything has offended you or the prince, but Minister Silas was rely-"
"rely voicing concerns?" Iskara’s cold, thunderous tone cut him off.
"Show where it is written in our law that my son cannot be with a princess of another kingdom? My son will see whover he wishes, and I, as your king, will never allow any of you to control that aspect of his life. Whoever becos Prince Ivan’s partner in the future will be his decision alone, not yours or mine. Let this be clearly understood before anyone dares to bring such absurd matters into this courtroom and waste everybody’s ti."
The room fell into stunned silence. Even the boldest ministers dared not breathe, fully aware of the weight behind every word of the king.
Ivan loosened his grip on Silas’s throat, letting him drop heavily on the floor like a discarded prey. The minister coughed violently as he clutched his neck until Ivan’s cold voice rang out, "Get up and apologize... apologize to the princess. Now."
Shaking, Silas forced himself to his feet. He turned towards Evelyn, whose cold blue eyes pierced through him that for a mont he felt as though she could see right through his cowardice.
"P-please forgive , P-princess Evelyn," he stamred, bowing his head low.
The chamber remained dead silent as all the eyes remained fixed on the disgraced minister. His hands clenched tightly at his sides betrayed his humiliation at being chastised in front of the entire court.
For years, he had sched, weaving opportunities to place his daughter closer to the crown prince, only to be t with cold dismissal. And now this girl, the lun princess, was openly being protected in a way his own blood never got the opportunity to.
Bitterness burned in his chest, and the girl’s beauty only twisted the knife deeper, feeding his resentnt. Yet there was nothing he could do. Right now, in front of the kind and the entire court, he could only grit his teeth, swallow the insult, and obey as required.
Ivan swept his cold gaze over the courtiers. "Is there anyone else who is curious about my personal life?" he asked in his sharp and unyielding voice.
When he was t with silence, he turned to his father, "Your Majesty, please allow to leave, then."
"You may," Iskara responded.
Without wasting another mont, Ivan walked back to Evelyn, took her hand, and led her out of the courtroom, followed by the rest of them.
....
After excusing themselves from Cece, Edward, and Damien, Ivan took Eve back to his room, telling the others they would be returning to the academy in the evening.
Currently, he sat on the coffee table in front of Eve, studying her with a serious expression. Eve, anwhile, sat quietly staring at him with confusion across her face as she wondered what exactly he was looking for.
When he remained silent, she finally asked softly, "What are you exactly looking for?"
"You...do you rember when you were looking at Kayla...were you using your powers then?"
Her brows knit together slightly. "I don’t rember using any powers," she pursed her lips, "I only recall getting a slight headache after she kept glaring at ...while confessing everything."
Ivan quietly observed her, wondering perhaps she had only been angry, which explained her eyes changing colour, and that it had nothing to do with Kayla confessing her cris on her own. Still, a doubt lingered at the back of his head, so he spoke softly,
"Eve...would you like to ask sothing?"
"Huh? Why do you ask this of all of a sudden?" She tilted her head slightly as she took in his features.
"Just..don’t you want to ask anything?" he fixed his molten red eyes onto her blue ones as he waited.
She licked her lips lightly and thought about what to ask. There were so many questions on her mind, yet she couldn’t bring herself to voice them, unsure if she truly wanted to hear his answers right now. So instead, she settled on sothing simple.
"What is your favourite colour?" she asked.
Ivan’s eyes widened slightly. He had been expecting sothing tougher; never did he imagine she would ask him sothing so simple. Any other woman would have jumped at the opportunity to press him with complicated questions about their relationship or sothing more personal, but never sothing as innocent as his favourite colour. His lips twitched before a low chuckle escaped him...she never failed to amaze him.
Tilting his head, he raised his hand and gently caressed her cheek with the back of his fingers, "Is this really what you want to know, baby? Hm?"
Colour rose to her cheeks at his endearnt, and she nodded slowly. Ivan’s molten red eyes locked onto her vivid eyes as he leaned closer and whispered, "My favourite colour is blue... although" his eyes traced her blushing cheeks and added, "the crimson shade of your blush is quickly taking the top spot."
Evelyn was once again left speechless as she wondered, ’Just how does he manage to turn a simple question into sothing so intimate in the blink of an eye. What a charming devil.’ And before she knew it, a lovely smile blood on her face, lifting her earlier gloomy mood into a bright one once again.
"You really have a way with your words, don’t you?" she asked him.
Ivan returned her smile with one of his own and murmured, "I am glad it worked." He then leaned in to press a soft kiss on her lips.
After pulling back slightly, he asked, "Are you sure you’re feeling okay? I noticed you were a little uncomfortable in the court."
"I had a bit of a headache earlier, but it seems fine now," she replied.
"I see. Why don’t you rest for a while, and in the evening we’ll head back to the academy?"
"Alright." She searched his eyes for a mont before softly asking, "Do you think...it’s safe to go back there now?"
"To be very honest, I don’t think any place in this kingdom or anywhere else is completely safe. But having said that, we just have to beco stronger, stay alert, and not fall into any more traps." He narrowed his eyes at her slightly as he spoke the last words, making Eve lower her gaze in embarrassnt for having fallen into their trap and being abducted.
She nervously tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear and murmured softly, "I won’t let sothing like that happen again."
She then lifted her big blue eyes to him, "You’ll co with , won’t you?"
"Yes." He took her small hands into his large, warm ones and pressed them gently. "After all, I need to make sure my grades don’t get affected by missing another week of classes, don’t I?"
"That’s correct. You do rember you’ll be punished if they are, right?" Eve replied unabashedly, making Ivan burst out laughing at the thought of being punished by this little princess.
Leaning forward, he kissed her knuckles and murmured, "I rember."
After that, the young couple sat there, smiling at each other, relishing the quiet peace for a while before entering the chaotic life of students once again.
As the sun began to set, Ivan and Evelyn approached the gates of Blood Moon Academy. Many students were out and about in the evening, taking a breather from the hectic day of studying. When the luxurious black carriage, adorned with intricate gold carvings and pulled by four horses, ca to a halt at the academy entrance, all eyes were naturally drawn to it.
When the coachman descended and opened the door, all eyes first caught the polished black shoes stepping out, before noticing the tall figure dressed in a sleek, all black tailored suit. As he stepped forward, his handso features ca to light. The won were instantly captivated, silently thanking the heavens to bless their eyes once again with the sight of the gorgeous prince back at the academy. They adjusted their dresses, pulling them a little lower to show their cleavage and fussed with their hair, each hoping to catch the attention of the icy prince.
But to everyone’s surprise, the prince didn’t start walking right away. Instead, he turned towards the carriage and extended his hand, waiting. From the doorway, a delicate milky hand reached out and rested in his. As she stepped down gracefully, they felt the ground shift beneath their feet, drawing all eyes to the enchanting scene. A beautiful woman erged from the carriage, her beautiful blue orbs sparkling as she looked up at him with an unbridled smile.
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