"You know, I've never been in an event where she was there, and it didn't end that way. Dramatic."

Lady Lara didn't turn her head when Iya, who spoke as if she had seen something gross, replaced the mat under the sofa. Meanwhile, Rory wiped off invisible dirt from the newly installed piano. They were both busy rearranging the lobby of Lady Lara's chamber. Tila ba hindi sila matapos-tapos sa ginagawa at dalawang oras nang walang katabi si Lady Lara sa isang sulok. Well, except for the book she had placed on another mono block beside hers.

She was still thinking about the two Cassano's whose voices stayed in her mind the whole night, stealing her rest.

Lord Celesto is the empress' brother. Empress Celesta is Duke Cassano's daughter. So, the three are . . . family?

"I guess that's the only thing where we meet halfway," sagot ni Rory kay Iya. "Ayaw ko sana maniwala sa mga sabi-sabi tungkol sa kaniya pero paano mo naman magagawang kaawaan ang gano'ng ugali?"

Oh and Prince Rohan! Lady Lara's eyes widened. They're all family.

"Weird, isn't it?" Iya stood up. Pinagpag niya ang kamay sa saya niya bago lumingon kay Rory na tumigil na rin sa ginagawa. "Kinakampihan pa siya ni Lord Celesto."

Rory shrugged her shoulders. "It makes sense, Iya. Ika nga, an enemy's enemy is a friend."

Napaangat ang tingin ni Lady Lara na kanina pa nakikinig sa kanila. Pinanood niyang magtitigan ang dalawa bago tumikhim habang tumatayo mula sa mataas na upuan.

"Are you talking about Kanye?"

Unang tumingin sa kaniya si Iya. Kumurba ang kilay nito at malawak siyang nginitian. "Did your ladyship mean . . . the royal bastardess?"

"B-Bastardess?"

"Uh-huh." Iya nodded. She seemed to be in a very good mood today.

"Stop it, Iya, there wasn't even a word."

"It's a female term for bastard," Iya insisted. "I dare say it fits her."

"She's a daughter to the emperor, young miss," agaw ni Rory. Hinarap niya talaga si Lady Lara.

"The story telling starts now," Iya mumbled as Rory took the mono block beside the young lady.

I know that. Lady Lara chose to keep it in her mind but still anticipated to hear more.

"But not to the empress," dagdag pa ni Rory. "Lady Kanye could've been a princess if only the emperor didn't divorce Countess Rodora."

"Her life isn't necessary to talk about at this moment, but I'm afraid I might want to add." Mas lumapit na rin si Iya.

Rory chuckled sarcastically. "Tea time!"

***

The sun cast a shadow of Lady Lara's body on the ground as she walked from the building, where her chamber was, to the central castle. She needed to enter the palace' main entrance before she could get to the palace's library.

"I thought you're going to visit your father, young miss," ani Rory na katabi niya sa paglalakad. Wala na naman si Iya. Ani Rory ay ayaw raw nitong mainitan.

Lady Lara shook her head while looking straight. "What for? My . . ." she sighed, ". . . godfather already shared to me what I was curious about."

"W-What was it, Lady Lara? At . . . sino po ang godfather niyo?"

She faintly smiled. "Duke Cassano."

She heard Rory's gasp to which she looked at her.

"Duke Cassano is your godfather?" gulat na gulat pa nitong turan.

Lady Lara nodded. "Yeah, he . . . just introduced himself to me at the ball."

"Whoa," Rory reacted, touching her chin. "Kaya pala. You must really be star crossed lovers."

Naguguluhan siyang tiningnan ng dalagita.

"Kasi po, I'm certain you knew Duke Cassano is Prince Rohan's grandfather. And that's only . . . wait . . . three letters different from a godfather."

Hindi mapigilan ni Lady Lara ang matawa nang mahinhin dahil do'n. "Star crossed lovers, huh," she whispered to herself as she resumed walking.

Hindi nga ako sigurado kung papakasalan ko ba talaga ang prinsipe.

She came to a halt when she realized something.

Wait. Is this me?

Then she continued walking slowly. She sighed heavily. What were you thinking, Lara? Ano, gagamitin mo lang ang prinsipe—

"Pardon me, young miss, but I think you should still have the sentiment to visit your father."

Napalingon siya sa seryosong boses ni Rory. The lady shrugged her shoulder. "I mean, akala ko po'y gusto niyo siyang kamustahin."

Napakurap-kurap si Lara bago idineretso ulit ang paningin. "I don't know, Rory," mahinang aniya. "The mere thought of him makes me weak. Baka ay mawalan ulit ako ng malay kapag nakita ko siya." Pumikit siya saglit. "So I totally changed my mind."

I need to earn strength, now. I need to be focused. Whether or not dad killed mom, it's best for me to find it out myself, not just be convinced by someone's words.

Nang makarating sila sa aklatan ay hindi na nababad sa pag-iisip si Lady Lara. She scanned the place with her eyes.

The library within the royal palace provided an aura of timeless elegance. Ornate marble pillars stretched towards a vaulted ceiling adorned with intricate paintings depicting scenes of wisdom and knowledge. Lady Lara bended her neck just to keep staring at them.

And when she decided to look down and at her side, she saw the guilded bookcases lined the walls, their shelves filled with leather-bound tomes and ancient manuscripts.

Soft, plush carpets muffled the sound of footsteps as both of the girls wandered among velvet-upholstered reading chairs and mahogany tables. The air was scented with the faint aroma of aged paper and polished wood, creating an atmosphere of quiet reverence for the wealth of knowledge contained within those hallowed walls.

"I regret to say we only have less than an hour to stay here, young miss. You have an appointment with Maestro Dravideo right before noon, should we not forget," Rory reminded before they could even choose their seats.

"Oh, yes." Lady Lara smiled. "Iya has already mentioned that. He's the director of the palace choir, am I right?"

Tumango si Rory.

Lady Lara sighed. "Hindi naman ako magtatagal rito. May hinahanap lang akong aklat." Her brows furrowed.

Kung sinuli niyo lang sana sa'kin ang mga gamit ko . . . Isip-isip niya.

One of the books she made sure to bring with her when she traveled off was Empress Celesta's complete autobiography—which she hasn't started reading yet. Lady Lara saw that it wasn't enough for her to just know Empress Celesta's life after she was crowned the empress. She stayed up the whole night reliving everything she had read about Her Majesty just to find a hint on why she hated, or at the very least, disliked Lady Lara's father, but the young lady had found nothing.

Maybe it's in that book. She thought in the middle of the night, biting her lips when she realized her things weren't with her anymore.

"Or not to sugarcoat, papalitan ng empress ang mga gamit niyo ng bago."

Narinig niya sa isipan ang boses na 'yon ni Iya. She could've requested to have her things back but she didn't want to look stubborn in front of her ladies-in-waiting. As much as possible, she planned to never look as if she cared for trivial things more, thinking it could loosen up her hold of the crown princess title.

And besides that she was too shy to ask the empress personally about it and that it would be quite a risk to do so, Her Majesty was also not available today. She had left as early as dawn. Business Trip. Iya told her.

Who knows when she comes back? Ayaw ni Lady Lara ang tumunganga habang hindi niya nakakausap ang empress.

"Besides, I also anticipated to finally learn how to play instruments." She turned at Rory, smiling and the other lady reciprocated it.

"Ah, there's the librarian. Baka makatulong po siya sa paghahanap," Rory blazed as she saw a woman getting back behind a counter a few meters from the entrance. The wall behind the woman held abstract paintings which caught Lady Lara's attention, reminding her of something.

Lumapit silang dalawa roon at agad naman silang napansin ng ginang. Tumungo ito kay Lady Lara bago siya binati. "I believe your ladyship is His Highness' chosen one." It sounded like a question to which Lady Lara shyly nodded. "How may I help you?"

"I'm . . . looking for a special book," Lady Lara hesitantly replied.

"Hm?" The woman narrowed her eyes as she pushed her glasses down the tip of her nose. "I must say every book is special, my dear. What exactly are you looking for? Here," may inabot siyang piraso ng papel at panulat. "Cite the title and the author."

Tinanggap ni Lady Lara iyon at—what was that again?—nahihiya siyang tumingin ulit sa babae.

"H-Hindi ko po tanda eh. It's . . . It's a, it's the empress' autobiography."

The woman's brows arched. "Autobiography?"

Lady Lara eagerly nodded.

"Oh, pardon me but I must speak that the publication of any account of Her Majesty's past has long been cut off and forbidden. However, there was an attempt to produce copies of Her Majesty's manuscript but I advice you never to locate those now. I apologize for this inconvenience."

Lady Lara's lips hanged open while staring at the woman.

"W-Why?"

Naramdaman niya agad ang pagkalabit ni Rory sa braso niya sabay bulong, "Oh, pray, young miss. You can't ask that."

"There are plenty of books here, as you can see, your ladyship. Perhaps you'd like to explore books with similar themes," the librarian responded, disregarding Lara's reaction. "I can assist you in your search," she added as she rose from her desk.

"Ah, there's no need," agap ni Lady Lara.

Hindi nga natuloy ang paglapit ng ginang sa kaniya pero hindi 'yon dahil sa pagtanggi niya. Someone slapped a heavy book on the librarian's desk. Napaatras si Lady Lara at tinitigan ang pamilyar na likuran ng isang lalake at napakurap-kurap siya nang harapin siya nito.

"Her Majesty's past?" His tone was too low for Lady Lara to hear.

"W-What?" nauutal na aniya, pinipigilan ang sariling umatras.

But Lord Celesto moved even closer, squinting his eyes. "I behold that you are the crown princess, but do you really have to be invested with the empress' life?"

Lady Lara looked at him. His light grey eyes studied Lara's expression. In his vision, she looked like a lost puppy. He caught almost every change her face had made thanks to his hair clip above his forehead, preventing the babies of his long blonde hair from blocking his vision.

"B-Bakit, bawal ba?" Lady Lara immediately asked when she saw how Lord Celesto arched a brow.

"Tinatanong ko lang," bawi ng lalake. Tila ba naki-isyuso lang ito at bumalik na agad sa sariling ginagawa. Hinarap nito ang librarian. "I'm looking for the latest edition of this."

Habang tinatapik ng lalake ang makapal niyang aklat at nakikipag-usap sa ginang, nakatingin lang si Lady Lara sa likuran niya. He was wearing a black dress shirt that highlighted his long blonde hair whose ends met his waist. If not for his broad  shoulders and toned arms, he would look like a female in a distance.

Inalalayan ni Rory ang dalagita na umatras dahil mukhang tulala talaga ito.

"His lordship is so gorgeous, isn't he, young miss?" Rory whispered. Agad namang naglaho ang ngiti nito nang lingunin siya ni Lara. "Ay, of course, no one beats His Highness . . ."

Napakurap-kurap si Lady Lara saka saglit na tumango. "Tara na, Rory?" aya niya. Nginitian naman siya ng kasama saka sinabayan sa paglalakad.

Lady Lara looked at the walls full of books as they walked past them once again. Gusto niya pa sanang magbasa ngunit tila ba kinain na ng hiya ang katawan niya sa simpleng pag-uusap lang nila ng lalake.

"Kid,"

Both her and Rory stopped walking when they heard that call. Sabay rin silang napatingin sa likuran.

Halos mapaatras ulit siya nang makasalubong ang deretsong titig ni Lord Celesto. His light smile sent chills to her back.

The silence made way for his shoes to make a thrilling soundtrack. He took three casual steps forward but to Lara, it felt like forever. It was like a thread was attached to both of them as he drew closer. Nakapamulsa itong huminto sa tapat ng dalagita. Lady Lara fought hard not to look up. Ayaw niyang salubungin ng tingin ang nanatiling ngiti ng lalake.

"Would you mind taking a piece of advice?" He put out, and stretched his lips as the young lady slowly met his eyes. "You have a way different persona.  Do not try to copy Her Majesty."

Dumbfounded, Lady Lara had nothing to do but to watch Lord Celesto turn to the tables and settle himself there like he hadn't talked to anyone in his most intimidating look and voice.