Saved By The Mad Duke
Chapter 158: The Market

Chapter 158: The Market

Melania waited for the Queen to leave the tea room, bowing down politely and patiently waiting for the woman’s footsteps to finally disappear. Once the air in the hallway became still again, the princess fell back into her chair, rubbed her pulsating forehead, and released a long sigh. Her whisper filled with irritation as she noted to herself,

"One day, I will surely suffocate from so much tension when I am around her... Alright. I have to take care of the doctor issue first."

As the young woman opened the doors to her drawing room, she noticed that Loraline was already there, anxiously waiting for her lady’s return. When she noticed the princess too, she jumped to her feet and ran towards her, her voice ringing with despair as she exclaimed,

"Goodness, Your Highness! What are we going to do? The doctor! The doctor will come to see you tomorrow!"

"Calm down, Loraline, the Queen has already told me about it," Melania said, placing her hands on her attendant’s shoulders. "I have a plan, do not worry."

"A plan?"

"Yes, I will fake having my period tomorrow and talk about what we can do with His Highness tonight."

The princess’s words seemed to have calmed the woman down for a few moments until a sudden realization dawned on her.

"Wait a moment, Your Highness! How exactly will you fake having your period?"

Melania could not help but sigh––she knew her incoming request would put Loraline in an uncomfortable position once again.

"Loraline... Please do not be mad, but I need you to go to the commoners’ market, discreetly, of course, and buy me some pig’s blood."

The lady-in-waiting widened her eyes and took a step back from the princess, shaking her head frantically while her complexion turned rather pale.

"I beg your pardon, My Lady, but are you in your right mind? How can I do that? This is a horrible joke, you mustn’t do this again!"

Desperate but also cunning, Melania took a step forward, grabbed Loraline’s hands in hers, and started begging,

"Please, Loraline, I implore you, help me! You know very well that we both will get into serious trouble if we cannot tackle this conundrum! Please, I am begging you!"

Loraline took a moment to examine the look in her lady’s pleading eyes, then exhaled a long sigh and shook her head,

"I cannot believe how many outrageous things I have already done ever since I came here, Your Highness. And it is all your fault! You should be extremely grateful that I was the one chosen to accompany you here in Geraldion! That prude Tamara would have never done anything like this, even for you!"

With a hopeful spark in her eyes, Melania brought her attendant’s hands to her lips and planted a warm kiss on them, her voice filled with gratitude as she exhaled,

"Thank you! Thank you so much, I will never forget this, I promise!"

Smiling widely, the woman patted the princess on her head and replied,

"Of course, Your Highness, be sure, I will never let you forget this! Oh, and I am using the money from your allowance to buy myself a new dress!"

"Sure, anything you want!"

Releasing another sigh, Loraline left the princess’s drawing room, lamenting something under her breath, but Melania could no longer hear her. She rushed into her bedroom, sat behind her desk, and took out a writing kit, prepared to write another letter.

’Will he like it that I sent him another letter before he could reply? I have no one I could talk to here beside Loraline, but she will hardly understand what it means to be torn by so many political affairs... As a king, he might share a useful piece of advice.’

Melania picked up the quill and sighed again.

’I’d better hurry. This way, I can ask Loraline to send the letter out too.’

***

Valon paid the seller with silver coins and hid the herbal roots he had just purchased in the large leather bag hanging down his shoulder.

The commoner’s market was a place he visited often as it was the only place he could find rare things for his alchemy lab. Disguised as a commoner himself, he could roam the market freely and avoid the issue of people trying to sell him things he did not need––something that frequently happens when he ventures to the shopping district.

As he moved through the countless stalls, nonchalantly observing the people passing by him, one person still managed to catch his eye––although dressed in simple attire as well, Loraline could not avoid the prince’s keen eyes.

’Melania’s lady-in-waiting? What is she doing here? And in the meat section at that.’

Curious and puzzled, Valon decided to follow the woman and see what kind of errands she was going to run in the market. His suspicions soared, however, when he saw what she bought, and it was the sole purpose of her coming there in the first place.

Loraline was on her way to exit the market when the prince made his sudden appearance and stood right before her, his thin lips stretching into a wide grin.

"Lady Loraline! What a pleasant surprise. What brings you to this market?"

Valon leaned closer and tapped his gloved fingers on the bottle with blood, his face beaming with even more curiosity.

"Pig’s blood? Pray tell, what is it for?"

Caught off-guard, Loraline had no idea what to say. Her mind began to flip through dozens of frantic thoughts and excuses, but none of them seemed reasonable or believable enough. At last, she faked a rather awkward smile and answered,

"Well, you see, Your Highness... I do enjoy the food here. The royal chefs are truly talented, but... I like my minced meat mixed with some pig blood so..."

"Oh?" Valon made an effort to suppress a scoff, snatching the bottle from the woman’s shaking hands. "So you ventured here all alone and dressed like this just to get yourself some pig’s blood? The palace’s cook has his own suppliers who can provide you with the best quality of everything. Buying things on the commoner’s market is utter nonsense! Just like Princess Melania, her lady-in-waiting should only be served the best quality of everything!"

Not waiting for Loraline’s retort, the prince opened the bottle and poured its contents onto the ground, continuing in an almost singing voice.

"Come on, My Lady, I will personally ask the chef to make sure he gets enough blood for your meals. Trust me, you will not regret my interference."

With a wide grin still playing upon his lips, Valon lightly nudged Loraline on her arm, urging her to start walking. The woman pressed her fist against her chest, her racing heartbeat ringing in her ears, and thought,

’What will happen now? Heavens, at least I managed to send the letter out...’