Chapter 892: Prince Liam Blows His Cover
Rowena was so afraid of losing Julian, her only friend.
However, wouldn't he feel suffocated if she didn't let him have a life of his own?
No! Rowena couldn't hold him back anymore.
If he wanted to have a life beyond hers, then Rowena didn't have the right to stop and beg him to stay with her. That was childish, immature, and an entirely selfish thing if she insisted on having her way simply because she was scared and lonely.
"Cup of tea?" Prince Liam offered the cup of tea to Rowena.
"Thank you," Rowena said with a bit of a scratchy voice. She sipped a little of the tea and then grimaced. She rushed into drinking the tea which ended up with her scalding her lips a little.
"By the way, I've made my decision," Prince Liam said.
Rowena looked over towards 'Julian' and saw the bags underneath his eyes. It seemed like she wasn't the only one who had troubles during their sleep, but she hung on for the next words that would leave his lips.
"Y-yes?" Rowena asked.
"I wish to come with you," Prince Liam admitted with a knot in his stomach. "I know that we may have our own… issues and troubles, and you may want to push me away… but I would like to keep accompanying you and I hope that it doesn't pose a problem?"
Rowena's eyes widened and she put her cup of tea down. She immediately threw her arms and engulfed him in a hug.
"Thank you–I mean, of course, you're free to join me, Julian! You're my best friend, I can't imagine what I'd do without you."
Prince Liam let out a guilty smile and gently patted her back. "I-I'm glad… thank you."
After their small moment together, the two finished eating their breakfast and then prepared to leave Verona. There was the issue of Prince Liam not actually knowing the real name of 'Harlow' after all this time, but he was going to deal with it when it came up.
For now, Prince Liam was only eager and even anxious to get away.
In the future, he might return and come back to his family, but for now, he wished to travel with 'Harlow' and see what the world was like beyond his kingdom.
After breakfast, the two of them entered the stable to get their horses.
"Did you guys miss us?" Rowena smiled happily as she walked over and gently petted both Cinna and Hades. "We'll be traveling again, so I hope that the two of you got a lot of rest."
Prince Liam walked after her and was in awe of the two well-bred horses. His gaze lingered over the majestic beauty of the black horse and he couldn't help but step
closer.
Hades looked over towards 'Julian' as the man foolishly reached out with his hand and a gentle smile. "Why hello there, magnificent one."
Startled, Rowena looked over her shoulder and her eye's widened. "Julian–!"
Prince Liam happily placed a palm over Hades' snout and smiled in satisfaction as the dark horse rested against it. Despite its fearsome appearance, it was kind and friendly.
"Yes?" Prince Liam looked over at 'Harlow' with a curious expression. However, the smile on the young woman's face vanished and she became pale upon the sight of 'Julian' and Hades being friendly towards each other.
"No," Rowena said. "How could I have been so foolish?"
"Huh? What's the matter?" Prince Liam turned to her more properly but then found himself slammed into the stable's walls.
Rowena pushed him back against one of the wooden pillars and quickly retrieved a dagger from beneath her riding trousers. She placed the dagger on his neck and asked. "Who are you and what did you do to Julian?"
"What… what do you mean?" Prince Liam felt his heart drop to his stomach. What did he do to make Harlow act like this? Was his disguise truly found out?
"Don't play dumb unless you want to taste your own blood." Rowena glared at him. "Do you even know what my name is? You've been calling me Harlow since yesterday but you didn't even call me by my actual name once."
"Well that's…" Prince Liam swallowed hard. "It can be explained…"
"Don't make me wait for the answers to come out," Rowena said. "I'm not patient enough for any of this. If you had laid one hand on Julian's hair yesterday and won't bring him back now, I'll end you."
Prince Liam felt the edge of the blade underneath his throat and felt himself wobble for a second. He could feel the dangerous tip graze across his skin.
He had been curious about what the two did for a living, but now, to experience the beautiful young woman having him with her knife at his throat… Liam realized that the situation was more than dangerous.
Looks were deceiving and, as he looked at Rowena's furious expression, he felt a stab of guilt enter him. These were the lengths that this person would go through for the 'Julian' and to think that Liam wanted to take his identity was a foolish whim.
Prince Liam looked down and sighed. "I… I don't know where your friend is."
"Who are you and why do you look so much like him?!" Rowena asked again. She felt stupid to have not realized it earlier, but there were signs of Julian being odd and she chose to ignore them and
think it was just Julian's antics.
Rowena had poured her heart out and had even been honest with 'Julian' but it turned out that she hadn't even laid down her thoughts to him in reality.
She was so furious with herself. Gosh! How could she not recognize her own FRIEND??? Now that she looked at Liam carefully, she realized he didn't look like Julian. For one, Julian was definitely taller and his face was more tanned. How did she miss all the clues??
Prince Liam looked up. "I… I don't know why your friend looks like me, but I believe our roles may have gotten switched. My name is Liam Delavigne, I am the crown prince of Verona, the sole heir to the throne."