Tobias might be his cousin, but Luke would not be bothered to answer the guard’s question. Some time ago, he overheard the lady guards gossiping about Tobias and the unusual way he watched the princess elect. It did not take a long time to realize how true the observations of the ladies were. Tobias behaved differently around Rhiane. He talked a little more, smiled more, and acted like a gentleman more than a commissioned guard. It was unusual. It was disturbing.

It was disturbing, because the engagement of Luke and Rhiane was nothing but a political move orchestrated by the queen. Rhiane did not love Luke and the same could be said for the latter. He was pushed into an arena of lies where the only way to win was to deceive as much of the public as they could. As far as they were concerned, they were winning. The public loved Rhiane and the love story the PR Team sold. The disturbing part was that he got angry. He got angry because his betrothed rested her head and slept peacefully against Tobias’ shoulder as if nightmares did not plague her. The crown prince wouldn’t have been bothered by such display; he would even encourage it. Luke, on the other hand, wanted to drag his cousin out of the vehicle and then order his immediate transfer of assignment.

If not for their relation by blood and the presumption that kinship inspired loyalty, Tobias would have already been kicked out of the royal service just for being at the wrong seat. Men were dismissed for less and Tobias seemed to be testing the boundaries of his cousin’s patience.

“Prince Alessandro is asking if we can move Ms. Black into her room?” Nolan asked Sebastian in the background. Luke could hear the other man hesitated before he added, “If she does have her own room.”

The size of the house gave Luke the impression that there were enough rooms to cater to the whole family. It was not at all the shabby hut that the prince envisioned her father’s house was like when she talked about how poor they were or how difficult it was to make ends meet at the farm, but appearances of size could be deceiving. For all they knew the livable rooms of the house were limited. 

While they waited for Sebastian’s answer, Rhiane stirred. Luke’s face softened a little. “Never mind, Nolan.”

He stepped aside to allow Rhiane’s favorite in-law, the only one she got, to come closer and greet her if Sebastian wanted. The way she told stories about her brother’s partner made it seem like the pair was closer than Rhiane was to her only living brother. If that was true then both the man Luke came for and his princess would be delighted to be reunited after months of being apart. Maybe the reunion would erase any trace of memory of Tobias that she might have had. 

Nolan stepped up beside the prince. His face was to the estate’s gate, but his words were directed at the prince. “That was surely something not easy to miss.”

“What is?” Luke’s voice was low in order to keep the conversation between the two of them. He asked what Nolan meant, but both of the men knew that the prince was too smart not to get what Nolan was pointing out.

And perhaps the royal guard was confident of his highness’ exceptional IQ, he smirked. Luke may think that he was fooling himself into believing that everything he did up to that point was purely business, but people around him was beginning to notice. Lia and Octavia were talking. The staff, the medical team, Anelle’s people – they had picked up clues and subtle cues that Luke himself was either too dense or too slow to notice.