Tracing the muscled frame of Carlisle"s face sleeping peacefully, she cannot hold her tears. All they both wanted is to love each other with no one against it.But why they can"t have a grasp of a very simple desire their hearts wis.h.i.+ng about? Instead, things get only complicates every time they work to be together.
Why does loving him is such a taboo? Marivella asked herself.
"I love you…" she whispered.
"In my next life, I promise to love you again. By then, I will fight for our love… but right now, I cannot choose you. I am sorry."
"Even how many times you distant yourself to me, over again, I won"t stop chasing you," he murmurs over to her ears.
This time, her sobs replaced with wails. Carlisle wipes her tears and then kisses her lovingly, bringing back the heat between them.
Sliding his hand down to her legs, parted, she clutches them around Carlisle"s hip. Feeling his warmth, Marivella tries to match his pace. Sighing, she holds him on the shoulder.
"Please, let me be with him forever..."
* * *
Meanwhile, happenings after Marivella and Carlisle left. Quinn goes back inside the Palace. Trailing the hallway toward the Grand Hall, Madison running toward him.
"Papa! Where is she?"
"I let them go," Quinn replied to Madison.
"But papa? How if they run away?" Fear showed all over her face. It troubled her might her parents run away.
"I guess Marivella won"t leave, yet," he retorted. Confident about it as he hears their conversation earlier.
"How certain are you, brother Quinn?" Levi walked toward them and hears their conversation.
"It is like Ca.s.sandra. She will do the right thing firsthand."
Well, he heard their conversation earlier. He could tell, although Marivella too loved him, she will choose what is best for everyone.
They were in a serious discussion when Charles joined them.
"Did something happens? I cannot find where is Carlisle right now. Carlene, where is Marivella?"
Before she answered, Madison glanced at Quinn. "Charles, she and Captain Carlisle has left."
"What? Isn"t we must prevent them from eloping tonight?"
"I believe Marivella won"t run away," Quinn a.s.serted.
"But, Papa. I"m still worried. I don"t know, but my heart is unsettled."
"Do you have any idea where they go?"
"Maybe they go back to the villa?" Levi"s opinion.
"They must be, and so we should let them have the night together."
"Okay. But then, what we have to do now?"
"We better watch them. The Korean soldiers are looking for Marivella. I wonder what the prince going to do if he learned she left with another man. They were engaged now, there will be a punishment, once found that Marivella is seeing another man."
"There will be a possibility that she will face prosecution."
"Is that a Korean law?" Charles asked curiously.
And before any of them could answer, Gene called out, walking fast toward them.
"Doctor Montfort!" he interrupts their conversation.
"Gene? What"s the matter?"
"Doctor, do you know where is Captain Carlisle?" he asked.
"He left a while ago, why? Did something happen?"
"I wanted to report to the captain, Doctor Charles."
"Can"t you share it with us?"
"Um…" Gene seems hesitant to talk about whatever it was, he is weighting the things if he must trust the Moore siblings. He scanned their faces before he spoke.
"I heard a conversation between the Korean soldiers. The king and the crowned prince of Joseon have died. Someone a.s.sa.s.sinated them during the second prince"s voyage."
"What does that mean?"
"There are rumors among them, that it was the second prince who sent the a.s.sa.s.sination."
"Gene, are you telling us that the second prince does not appear as how he is?" Charles inquired.
"As the Korean soldiers thought I would not understand their conversation, someone carried out the news by a trader"s s.h.i.+p from Korea. The Joseon King and the Crowned Prince have killed by one a.s.sa.s.sin as he defeated all the guards, alone." he continued sharing the news.
"It means he will be the next king of Joseon?" Levi presumed.
"And Marivella will be the Queen," Madison added. "I don"t know if something happens like this in the past."
"What we have to do now?" Charles does not understand but believing the people from the future.
"How can we prevent Marivella to sail to Korea?" Levi grumbles loudly.
"It will only execute her once they knew she"s having an affair before she married the prince. Soon to be the new king of the Joseon Empire."
"Did Marivella know about this already?"
"We are uncertain if her parents taught her these laws. Then, she was in danger."
"She won"t die in the hands of the d.u.c.h.ess but the Korean law once she steps in the country."
"Hmm…" Each of them having a deep thought of a plan.
"Ahem!" Quinn gets their attention. As he is pretending as a mute in front of Carlisle and Gene, he communicates through sign language.
"Brother Qui— ahem! Brother Henry, what do you mean? Do you have a plan and that? We better not talk here but somewhere?"
"Oh, right! We better go back to the villa and discuss the plan. But we should have someone to watch here, especially the Korean soldier."
"Then, I was the best candidate since I understood the language." Gene volunteered.
"All right. If anything happens, send us the news… and whatever plans we came up with, we need your help, Gene."
"I understand, Doctor Charles. I will do anything for the captain."
"You will be our eyes, here," he patted Gene"s shoulder.
He nodded, watching Charles, Madison, Quinn, and Levi left the Palace to go back to the villa. But the four of them halted their horses half a kilometer before they reached the house.
"You can speak now, brother Quinn," Charles encouraged since Gene was not with them.
"Okay. This is the plan what I came up with… Carlisle must know what is going on, and then, he must force Marivella to leave."
"Wait a minute, brother Quinn. So we"ll allow that Carlisle and Marivella run away?" asked Levi.
"No. We will hide Marivella from the prince. To a.n.a.lyze the situation, Marivella wanted to face the execution back in Korea. To prevent her death, we must prevent her to sail with the prince back to Korea."
"And then? How if the prince chases them, papa?"
"We will stop them."
"How?"
"We need not convince him anymore to take Marivella away from here because it is what Carlisle wanted to do in the first place. What I am trying to say is, we will force her because she doesn"t want to elope with Carlisle. We no longer call it was running away but hiding her," he explained.
"You have another plan, is it?"
"Yes. We need him and Gene to work on this plan… and then, I will pretend as Carlisle," Quinn announced.