Chapter 171: Certain Activities Meant for Couples
{Third Person}
Alexander was silent for a second before answering. "Better."
The response was very brief, but Amara still nodded. Unfortunately, the conversation immediately stalled.
An awkward silence settled over the room. It was not difficult to understand why.
Too much had happened between them recently, and neither of them seemed entirely certain where to begin.
Barron noticed it immediately, and so did Jasper.
Neither man made any attempt to interfere. Instead, they quietly watched the struggle unfold.
Amara shifted slightly in her seat. Alexander looked toward the window. The silence stretched, then stretched further.
Eventually, Amara decided that someone had to say something. Anything. Otherwise, the room would become unbearable.
Searching for a safe topic, she settled on the first thing that came to mind.
"Have you had breakfast yet?"
The question drew Alexander’s attention back to her. "No."
Amara nodded. For some reason, the simple answer eased some of her nervousness, so she said, "I haven’t eaten either."
The words had barely left her mouth when Alexander looked toward Mrs. Woods. "Tell the servants to prepare breakfast."
Mrs. Woods blinked. She was no longer in charge of his own side of the residence. But then again, he was still her Lord and master, so she quickly bowed.
"Yes, Your Highness."
Without delay, she left the room to carry out the instruction.
The moment the door closed behind her, another silence threatened to settle over the room. This time, however, it felt slightly less awkward than before.
Perhaps because there was now something ordinary to focus on. Breakfast. A simple meal.
Under normal circumstances, it would have been completely insignificant.
Yet after everything that had happened during the past day, the simple act of sharing a meal somehow felt reassuring.
Amara relaxed slightly. Although Alexander did not say much, the fact that he had ordered breakfast for them made the atmosphere feel a little less formal than before.
---
Breakfast arrived not long after.
A small procession of servants entered the sitting room carrying trays laden with food. The atmosphere immediately became busier as dishes were arranged neatly across the table.
Fresh bread, fruit, tea, roasted meat, and several lighter breakfast options quickly filled the available space.
Once everything had been set in place, the servants bowed and quietly withdrew.
Mrs. Woods remained long enough to ensure that everything was properly arranged before excusing herself as well.
Jasper followed shortly afterwards, leaving only Alexander, Barron, and Amara in the sitting room.
For a brief period, the meal provided a convenient distraction.
The awkwardness from earlier eased somewhat as they focused on eating. Barron, however, seemed determined not to allow silence to settle over the table.
"So," he began casually, "I hear someone was very worried this morning."
Amara immediately looked up and caught Barron’s smile as it widened.
"The first thing she asked after waking up was whether Alexander was alive."
Amara nearly dropped her fork. ’What nonsense is he talking about? Who told him that?’
Barron looked delighted at Amara’s reaction. He was enjoying his very own little antics.
"Barron." Alexander’s tone carried a warning, then he calmly continued eating. But trust Barron to ignore it completely.
"What?" he asked innocently. "I merely find it touching."
Amara could feel her face warming. Fortunately, Alexander chose not to comment. But his silence somehow made the situation worse.
Barron eventually took pity on her and changed the subject.
At least, that was what Amara thought. As the conversation drifted elsewhere, she found herself remembering something.
"Actually... There is something I’ve been wondering about." She frowned.
Both men glanced toward her. "What is it?" Barron asked.
She hesitated before speaking. "Last night."
Immediately, both men’s attention sharpened. Amara, however, did not notice.
"I remember feeling strange after drinking my last glass of wine." Her brows furrowed thoughtfully. "I felt unusually warm."
Then she paused for a second, as if trying to recall the next feeling. "Dizzy too. And then I woke up this morning feeling completely normal."
She looked genuinely confused. "I forgot to ask Mrs. Woods about it."
Barron exchanged a glance with Alexander, then he looked back at Amara. "That’s because you were drugged."
Amara blinked. For several seconds, she simply stared at him. "Drugged?"
"Yes."
She still looked confused, but Barron suddenly understood. "Oh," he drawled as the grin slowly returned.
Unfortunately, Alexander recognized that grin immediately. "Barron."
The warning came too late.
Barron leaned back in his chair. "Let’s just say that if the effects had fully taken hold, you would have become very interested in certain activities meant for couples."
Amara stared, then stared harder before finally understanding. The realization struck with enough force to turn her entire face red.
Barron immediately looked pleased with himself.
Alexander looked considerably less pleased. The glare he directed toward his cousin would have frightened most people.
Barron merely continued eating. He was already used to such stares. Nothing like that could move him again.
Amara lowered her head and focused very intensely on her breakfast. Nobody spoke about the subject again, at least not for the next few minutes.
Eventually, however, another thought occurred to her, so she looked down at her hands. A small frown appeared on her face.
"That’s strange."
Alexander glanced toward her. "What is?"
Amara rolled back her sleeve slightly and said, "The markings."
From the look of things, she now seemed bold to openly talk about them. But the room immediately became still.
Unfortunately, she did not notice. "They usually appear when the weather becomes cold." She examined her wrist. "They were there yesterday."
Then she looked up. "But they aren’t there now. I don’t understand." Her frown deepened.
Across the table, Barron suddenly found his breakfast very interesting while Alexander remained expressionless.
Amara slowly looked from one face to another. Something felt wrong.
The realization settled gradually. Barron had gone quiet, while Alexander seemed to be avoiding the subject.
The more she thought about it, the more suspicious she became.
Right then, her eyes narrowed slightly. "Did something happen while I was unconscious?"
Nobody answered. The silence itself became an answer.
Amara’s suspicion immediately grew. "Something did happen."
Still, there was no response. So, she looked directly at Alexander and inquired, "Do you have any idea of what happened, Your Highness?"
Alexander calmly reached for a serving dish. Then, without warning, he placed more food onto her plate.
She blinked, slowly letting her gaze follow his withdrawing hand before looking up to his face.
Alexander was staring at her with a perfectly straight face. "I thought you were hungry."
The abrupt change in subject was so unexpected that Amara simply stared at him.
Across the table, Barron nearly choked trying not to laugh.
Amara looked from the food to Alexander, then back to the food. The conversation was clearly over. At least for now.
Realizing she was not going to get an answer, she reluctantly returned her attention to breakfast.
A few minutes later, the sitting room doors opened. Without waiting for permission, Elowen strode inside.
The guards behind her looked exhausted.
It was the expression of men who had already lost an argument and knew there was no point continuing it.
The Princess Royal barely acknowledged them. Instead, her eyes immediately landed on Alexander. Then on Amara, and then back on Alexander.
For several moments, she simply stood there watching them before finally marching forward.
"You two are absolutely terrible."
A trace of confusion appeared on Amara’s face as her brows slightly drew closer. On the other hand, Alexander released a sigh.
"Do you have any idea how worried everyone was?" Elowen pointed at both of them.
Neither of them answered. Of course, they had no idea. How would they have thought about it when they were both unconscious last night?
And waking up this morning, their thoughts were filled with the crazy chaos from the banquet last night, plus worrying about each other.
So, how could they have any space left in their head to start thinking about the possibility of others worrying about them?
"Alexander nearly dies." Elowen pointed toward him. "Amara collapses." Then toward her. "And somehow I’m the last person to find out that both of you are awake."
Barron immediately abandoned any attempt to hide his amusement.
Elowen ignored him completely. She walked straight toward Amara and pulled her into a hug.
Amara froze in surprise, but only for a moment, because the next second she relaxed and returned it.
Elowen pulled away a moment later and said to her, "You frightened me."
The words were directed at both of them. Then she turned toward Alexander. "And you."
Alexander already looked tired. He was well aware of what her energetic presence always brought.
"You are not supposed to be sitting here."
"I am sitting," he simply said.
Elowen scoffed, almost rolling her eyes. "That isn’t the point."
"It feels like the point."
Elowen bared her teeth. She looked ready to throw something at him.
Barron found her reaction amusing and so threw his head backwards and laughed openly.