The Alliance Marriage Went Wrong

All the royal family members of Qalagon had already left the palace as soon as they finished breakfast early in the morning. It was the day when the annual tournament will start and they had a separate camp where the tournament was held each year.

The camp wasn't far from the thick and vast Brinet Forest which was also called the hunting place of Qalagon. As such, it became easier for them to organize hunting though it would be held on the last day of the tournament.

In the residential area of the camp, several tents were already prepared for the royals, nobles, soldiers and individual participants. The people won't sleep in the camp but they will come each day to enjoy the tournament.

During the tournament which will take place for a week, people won't work and all the markets will also be closed. This was the custom in Qalagon. However, all shops and stalls will be reopened on the eighth day as soon as the tournament was over.

This was because there were always many travellers who came to Qalagon just to watch and enjoy the tournament. It was to give time for them to shop and to raise the culture and customs of the Qalagon Kingdom.

In the middle of the residential area was the biggest tent which was for the King and Queen. On the right was the tent for the Crown Prince and Crown Princess while the one on the left was for Prince Morin.

Iria Alewine was standing inside the tent where she was supposed to stay with Crown Prince Arin for... seven days?! She thought that she had already gotten out of this situation when they left Zoris! She stood still, glancing around the tent and then let out a sigh. Can't she just stay at the palace?!

Arin Helev was busy dealing with some matters with his father and she was alone in the tent. However, it wasn't long before Prince Morin Helev suddenly walked inside the tent.

Looking at the little Prince's face, Iria instantly understood that he was searching for his older brother.

"I'm afraid your brother is not here. He is busy with your father," she said to the young Prince.

She noticed the little frown on the Prince's face when he heard her. "Why? Is it something urgent?" she asked.

Prince Morin nodded and lifted the bow on his hand. "I broke the string and I want to ask Arin to mend it for me," he said.

"Why don't you get another bow? Won't it be better than a repaired one?"

The Prince shook his head. "This is my favorite bow which my brother gave me. I don't want to replace." He briefly shifted his gaze to the entrance of the tent and sighed. "Arin said that the shooting competition is tomorrow. I want to practice now."

"I heard that only 18 years old and above are allowed to participate in the tournament. Aren't you 12?" Iria asked.

She didn't think of this when Morin Helev expressed his wish to participate in this year's tournament but she was sure that only 18 years old and above are eligible.

"You don't know?" Prince Morin said and his once upset face was instantly brightened up. "Because I want to participate this time, Arin created a new competition for people below 18. I will participate in that category."

The words of the young Prince stunned Iria! Seemed like Arin Helev truly had no limits in satisfying his younger brother's wish!

"What will I do with this?" Morin murmured as he narrowed his eyes at the damaged arrow.

Iria quietly stared at him and then let out a sigh. "Come. I will mend it for you."

Hearing this, Morin Helev darted his eyes to her. Soon, he gave her a doubtful look. "Are you sure, sister-in-law? I don't think you can mend it. It's not easy."

"Don't you trust me?"

"It's not that," the young Prince promptly retorted. "This bow is precious to me and I don't want to cause more damage to it."

Iria laughed at the Prince's response. "That means you don't trust me. Forget it then."

"No!" Morin quickly said and rushed to Iria. Standing beside her, he handed her the bow. "Please mend it for me."

Iria slightly smiled and took the bow. "I will, but you should first promise me one thing."

"What is it?" Morin Helev quickly asked her. He was now back to being his normal self - cheerful.

"You won't tell anyone that I mend this for you. If you promise me that, I will make sure that your bow is good as before," Iria stated.

Morin nodded without even thinking twice. "That's not hard. I promise you."

"Alright," Iria said and briefly caressed the young Prince's hair with her left hand.

Collecting some materials to replace the string, she mends it in no time and handed it back to Prince Morin. "Here you go. It won't break again that easy."

Morin Helev observed the bow before a satisfying smile plastered his whole face. "Wow! You're really good! Thank you so much, sister-in-law!" he exclaimed as he shifted his gaze to Iria.

Iria smiled and pointed her chin at the outdoors. "You should go and practice now. There isn't much time left before the tournament start."

The young Prince nodded with an exciting smile and ran out of the tent.

As soon as Morin left, Arin Helev just entered the tent. His eyes trailed to his younger brother who was running towards the ground prepared for practice. "Why did Morin come?" he asked Iria as he approached her.

"He was looking for you," Iria simply said and took a seat on one of the chairs.

"Really? I'll go and ask him what he needs," Arin quickly said and tried to walk out again, but...

"I already help him out. He will be practising for the tournament right now."

Iria talked very fast and this made the Crown Prince flustered. She never did that before!

"Oh! That's good then," Arin said and took a seat beside her. "What do you think of this place? It's your first time."

"I prefer the palace more," Iria promptly blabbered without even thinking. When she realized what she just said, she quickly looked at Arin Helev.

The Crown Prince seemed to be taken aback. Didn't she always love the outdoors? She always tried to spend time outside and that's why he naturally thought that she would love this place more than the palace! Was he wrong?

"That's not what I mean -"

"There is still plenty of time before the opening ceremony. Do you want to go somewhere with me?" Arin asked her before she could finish talking. "I think it will be better than stuck in this tent," he calmly added.....