The room was quiet, with everyone so shocked that even the slightest sound, like a needle dropping, would be heard.
Acia was at a loss for words; her legs felt weak, and she grasped the table beside her for support.
Lucian finally broke the silence with a cough.
"Prince Devilin, I don't think..." he started, but Devilin cut him off.
"Then there will be no alliance," he said, his expression cold.
Everyone was taken aback as they stared at Devilin in disbelief, and murmurs began to circulate.
This was also troubling for King Lucian, who realized that if this devil were to marry her, it would spell disaster for him; his plans would unravel, and his secrets would be revealed.
What should he do, King Lucien wondered.
Meanwhile, the crowd continued to whisper among themselves, and those unaware of the princess's existence started to sense that something was amiss.
"Could it be treason?" someone in the crowd asked.
"Why is he so intent on keeping the princess's identity a secret?
How did the devil prince find out?" Suspicion began to mount in the hallway.
Inyan, on the other hand, felt as if her entire world was about to collapse.
She felt betrayed; who would have thought that Acia would catch the prince's attention?
It hurt her that Acia had never mentioned meeting Devlin before had she been lying to her all along?
A burning sensation filled her, as if everything inside her was about to break.
Cold sweat began to form, and what had never been there before a deep-seated hatred for her cousin Acia intensified.
She looked at Acia with a mix of pain and animosity in her eyes.
"I apologize, Your Highness, but you cannot have Acia as your bride," King Lucian stated.
"Why not?" Devilin chuckled. "If you knew me, you'd understand that I always get what I want.
And now you're telling me I can't have a princess, one of royal blood at that?"
"What do you mean, Prince Devilin?" Lucian inquired.
"You know exactly what I mean, King Lucian.
You were a noble knight trying to assist your brother back then, and you even looked after his only daughter," he smirked.
"Ah, what a truly wise king you are," he said sarcastically.
Lucian started to sweat nervously as he questioned how Devilin could be so interested in someone like Acia, especially since he didn't seem to know anything about her.
Lucian speculated that perhaps Devilin wanted to use her blood, but that didn't make sense; no one is as powerful as Devilin, he wouldn't need Acia's blood for anything.
He couldn't understand why Devilin would want to marry her at all.
Unlike Alex, who was deeply troubled, Lucian felt that their carefully laid plans had been thrown off course by Devilin.
He wondered how they could possibly escape now that Devilin had his sights set on Acia, and he looked at her, feeling utterly helpless.
*****
As Prince Devilin called out, he leaned in and whispered something into Ezekiel's ear while they prepared to depart.
"Prince Devilin insisted that the wedding be scheduled for the next day, and everything needed to be in place by noon, including the alliance contract", Ezekiel stated.
Lucian remained silent, simply nodding in response. He glanced at Devilin, who was preoccupied with rolling a pendant in his hand, not uttering a word.
Before Devilin walked away, he glanced back, a fierce intensity in his eyes.
"Not a single strand of her hair must be touched; otherwise, the offender will face a death sentence," he said coldly, standing alongside his companion.
The other people and royals departed, and it was evident that the king and queen of the Immortal Realm were merely figureheads, as they remained silent.
They followed Devilin and the other immortal humans out, leaving only the human royals behind.
Acia felt her legs weaken as she watched more and more people exit the hallway.
She knew the danger she was about to confront was right in front of her. Before she could even blink, she saw Queen Yashti rushing toward her like a blaze.
The queen pulled her along to where everyone else was, and Betty, feeling frightened about what might happen, could do nothing but follow the princess.
"How dare you!" Yashti exclaimed angrily.
"You had the audacity to seduce the prince with your little tricks, didn't you? He didn't even consider any of my daughters because of your schemes!".
"Yes, mother, the prince didn't even glance at me; he only had eyes for Acia. Floria added in fustration "
Yashti could only think about how one of her daughters, especially Floria, would be favored.
No matter how cruel the prince was, he couldn't harm a princess under an alliance; that was the way things worked.
She felt she had just lost to this deceitful snake, and Yashti gritted her teeth in anger
."I warned you, Sister," Floria said, clearly irritated. Inyan could only gaze at Acia, feeling a sense of betrayal.
"It's not what you think, Inyan, I..." Acia couldn't find the words; they were stuck in her throat.
Would she explain?
Would she tell her that they had never met before?
Acia felt weak, her vision blurred as if something had been taken from her.
"What was she trying to say about being a flirt with the prince without us knowing?" Floria exclaimed in anger.
"I had a feeling she would bring us bad luck today," Yashti replied.
"How dare you, Acia, trying to take someone else's place!" Floria was about to slap her when a hand grabbed her firmly.
"That's enough!" King Lucian said, preventing her from hitting Acia.
Floria was taken aback because her father had never stopped her from hitting or bullying Acia before.
"Dad, what's wrong?" she asked, her eyes wide with disappointment.
"Did you hear what Prince Devilin said?"
He stated that no one should lay a hand on her unless they wanted to die, and you would think the prince would be upset if he saw his goods being damaged, King Lucian remarked.
"Dad, we can ask the king and queen of the immortal realm to change Devilin's mind, right?"
Lucian sighed and replied that they were merely puppets on the throne and could never disobey him.
Floria felt a cold sweat as she listened to her father. Inyan and Alex, on the other hand, felt as if all color had drained from their faces and remained silent.
"The only thing we can do now," King Lucian continued, "is to give Acia to him."
Acia's eyes widened in disbelief as she heard King Lucian's words.