On Scher Mountain
Since her watch was confiscated last night, Nina didn't eat or drink. She didn't even speak.
No matter what Rebecca said, Nina just ignored her and stood on the balcony, staring off into the distance.
Her daze lasted the whole day.
"Your Highness, it's time for dinner." Rebecca went to the balcony to call Nina, but the princess still gave no response.
Nina was like a sculpture, motionlessly staring at the boundless sea.
She knew that John was on the other side of the ocean and was trying to take her back home.
She was waiting for him.
"Your Highness, you haven't had any food or water. If this goes on, you will get sick," Rebecca tried to persuade Nina, concern evident in her voice.
Nina still turned a deaf ear to the other woman's words. She held the elk pendant in her hand and gently stroked it with her thumb.
At this point, Rebecca was extremely worried about the princess. She hastened to go to Anne. "Your Majesty, Her Highness hasn't eaten anything for a day. She hasn't even taken a single sip of water. At this rate, she will fall ill."
"What?" Anne was worried.
"She hasn't had anything at all. No matter what I say, she never responds to me. I'm really worried about her."
Anne pinched the bridge of her nose and said, "She is doing this to force my hand, trying to threaten me by going on a hunger strike. She has really grown up. Now she dares to do things regardless of her parents' feelings."
"In your eyes, the princess will always be a child, regardless of her age. Please don't be angry with her," Rebecca implored in an attempt to reconcile mother and daughter.
"I'm nearly at my limit with her," Anne huffed out angrily, resting her forehead against her palm. After a slight pause, she continued, "Well, I wanted to be mad at her, but I just can't. I don't mean to separate the two of them.
It's just troublesome to deal with the Nangong family.
We can't back out on our word. We planned the engagement between Nina and Vicente when she was eighteen years old, but we didn't expect her to run away for two years." What annoyed Anne the most was that she had no idea where her daughter had been and how she survived in the last two years.
While Nina was gone, she couldn't sleep well out of worry that her daughter might get hurt.
Rebecca carefully said, "Your Majesty, you are afraid that you will get to see the princess infrequently if she marries a man who lives far away. Moreover, you are worried that we won't be able to come to her aid if she gets mistreated in her husband's home. That's why you want her to marry Vicente, isn't it?" Rebecca had been working for Anne for a long time—the familiarity between them was such that Rebecca could speak her thoughts to the queen in a straightforward manner.
Anne hated how Rebecca saw so clearly into her head, so she said in a disgruntled tone, "You know too much. Things are difficult at the moment. Vicente already knows that Nina has come back, and I have to arrange for them to meet as soon as possible. However, Nina won't listen to me."
Matters had become more complicated than Anne had foreseen.
"Perhaps you can make a deal with the princess," Rebecca suggested. "You can use the ring as a bargaining chip. As long as she agrees to meet with Vicente, you will give the ring to her."
Anne thought for a moment and nodded. "The idea has merit. Go and tell Nina that as long as she agrees to meet Vicente three times a week and three hours every time, I'll return the ring to her in a month."
She thought that such a schedule would give Nina ample time to get to know Vicente.
Perhaps she would begin to like him after getting along with him for a certain period of time.
"Do it as soon as possible, then let me know if she agrees." Anne waved Rebecca away.
Rebecca proceeded to Nina's room to fulfil the queen's orders. She found Nina still standing on the windy balcony.
Rebecca slowly approached Nina and said, "Your Highness, do you want to get your ring back?" Her words captured Nina's attention.
Nina looked at Rebecca without saying anything.
Even without Nina saying anything. Rebecca considered her attention to be a small victory. Such a reaction meant the success of the first step of Anne's plan. Rebecca turned sideways and said, "Your Highness, after dinner, I will tell you how to get back the item."
Without saying anything, Nina sat at the table.
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