Said No to the Prince and Yes to the King novel Chapter 222

Chapter 222 Do You Like Me?

Finished

She paused, then went on, “Besides, we’re both unmarried. Living under the same roof would be improper. Everyone may accept the excuse of me being your personal physician, but once you no longer need my treatment, I’d still have to move out eventually. It would be no different from being cast out unceremoniously.”

Theodore said, “I would never cast you out. You may stay at the Ducal Palace permanently.”

“What kind of arrangement is that?” Margaret took a soft breath. “Have you ever stopped to think how much gossip and slander I’d endure staying at your estate with no clear status?”

Before Theodore could speak, Margaret continued, “Staying with you might keep assassins away guarantee my safety–but what about my future?”

and

Seeing her utterly serious expression, Theodore finally seemed to realize his oversight, his tone softening.

He said, “You’re right. I didn’t think this through.”

Margaret smiled faintly, “I know exactly what you’re thinking. My medical skill is exceptional, my status respectable, and my family background untainted. I’d bring you no trouble staying by your side. It would suit you best to keep me here permanently–both to protect me and safeguard your own safety.”

She turned to gaze out the carriage window. “But I have my own life to live. I refuse to have confined to a noble mansion with no clear explanation.”

my

A breeze fluttered the carriage curtains, and Margaret noticed they had long left the royal palace.

future

The road still bustled with crowds, and shopkeepers called out to passersby from beside their stalls, everyone striving to live their own lives.

Theodore suddenly broke the silence. “I could give you an official title.”

The air in the carriage fell dead quiet for several heartbeats.

Margaret stared at him in disbelief. “Do you know what you’re saying, Prince Theodore?”

“If I give you a formal status, you may stay by my side forever.”

“Would you marry a woman merely to keep a healer who can cure your poison?”

Theodore fell quiet for a moment. “Being with you feels… effortless.”

“Do you like me?” Margaret fixed her gaze straight on his eyes, not missing the slightest shift in his expression.

Her heart raced wildly in that moment, loud enough she thought he might hear it.

The carriage was eerily silent.

Theodore avoided her gaze, turning instead to the window. “Being with you is easy and calm.”

3/2

1:29 am PPM.

Chapter 222 Do You Like Me?

Those same words again.

Margaret smiled, “So that means you don’t have romantic feelings for me?”

“How do you define “liking“?” Theodore asked quietly.

Finished

“To like someone is to want to give them all the good things life has to offer,” she replied. “To feel their sorrows as your own, to share every joy and hardship with them…“.

“That, to me, is love,” Theodore said. “Liking is what we have–comfortable silence, natural conversation. You feel at ease beside me, and I feel at peace beside you.”

He paused. “And I very much enjoy being with you.”

He only likes my company, not me as a person.

He’s deliberately drawing a line between liking and love.

It is clear his feelings for me hold no romantic affection.

Margaret leaned back against the carriage seat, lost in thought. She realized her own feelings for him were not deep, passionate love either.

Just like he said, perhaps she was fond of him, too, but nothing more.

“Few people in this world come together out of true love,” Theodore said softly. “Most bonds are built on interest. There is no hidden gain between us. Having this quiet fondness is enough, don’t you think?”

“I don’t agree.” Margaret shook her head. “Life stretches on for decades. How can one spend a lifetime with someone they don’t truly love? You might settle for ten years, eight years–but what comes after? If you only hold a fondness for me yet choose to marry me, once I grow older and lose my looks, you’ll only grow to fancy younger, livelier ladies. As a royal prince, you could take countless concubines. Left aging and alone, I’d spend the rest of my life in solitude.”

Her tone remained calm and steady. “That’s why I’ll only marry someone who truly loves me. If we share genuine love, we can stay faithful to each other for life–one man, one wife, no concubines, no wandering hearts. Only true love can last forever.”

Before long, the carriage came to a stop outside the Ducal Palace.

Margaret stepped down first, with Theodore following silently behind her, not uttering a word.

Cyan crept quietly after him, lowering his voice. “Prince Theodore, she speaks as if she means every word.”

He had heard every word of their private conversation inside the carriage,

118