"Patcharee, why did you call everyone here?"

Thinking about what Chalida said about breaking off the engagement, Patcharee made the final decision to gather everyone in the mansion's hall. Of course, Thotsawat had to be present as well, as this engagement came from both sides, not just the Witsakul family.

"Actually, I have thought carefully about my decision before making it. If it disappoints you, I hope you understand that I have my reasons for it. And Thotsawat, I'm sorry to say that I want to cancel my engagement with you." Patcharee's words stunned everyone present, except for Chalida and Arlene - who were there as Chalida's servant and also witnessed Patcharee's statement.

"The engagement is fixed. You can't just cancel it like that. Marriage is no joke, Patcharee."

"If my marriage and Your Lordship's marriage are not a joke, then why have I waited all this time for an official wedding? I'm already twenty-six years old, and this marriage has been arranged for six years, so how much longer do I have to wait?"

In response to Thakrit's reprimand, Patcharee responded with the arguments Chalida had previously discussed with her. Her words made Thakrit ponder upon hearing them. Chalida, who was present, was completely certain that Thotsawat would not object to the annulment of the engagement when he and Paweena had wanted to make their relationship public.

"What does Your Lordship think about this? I won't say whether it's okay or not, but I will leave it to you to decide."

"Actually, I don't object to this if that's what Patcha wants. Because I've really kept her waiting for too long."

Only Chalida and Arlene understood that Thotsawat's agreement to break off the engagement was not what he said, so they secretly felt contempt. Thotsawat also showed his consent to Patcharee's breaking off the engagement, so Thakrit no longer had any reason to continue forcing this marriage.

"She broke off the engagement because she didn't have enough patience or because she ecause she was no longer qualified to continue the marriage. Twenty-six years old and still a virgin, just thinking about it is hard to believe."

Fortunately, at this moment, Patcharee had left due to fatigue, and Thakrit was also busy with his business, so none of them heard these words from Paweena. But Chalida was still there, still hearing every word very clearly, even though no name was mentioned, every word was directed at Patcharee sarcastically.

"There are people who can only think bad things about others, and those bad things are very obvious in themselves. Are they themselves bad-natured, so they can only think that way about others?"

Chalida, Of course, Chalida responded to Paweena's insults toward her cousin with sarcastic words and immediately received a reaction from Paweena. Arlene, who was standing next to her, heard what Chalida had just said and immediately turned her face away and burst out laughing. Chalida's tongue was also really sharp, unlike her appearance. 

"Just my random words, you don't need to pay attention to it. Because only those who are guilty need to react strongly." After saying that, Chalida immediately stood up and left, causing Paweena to sit up immediately, intending to pull the other person back. But Arlene quickly blocked Paweena, so that she couldn't do anything to Chalida.

"Lady Maprang needs to rest. If you want a conversation, you can do it later."

"A servant like you here has the right to stop me?"

"If you feel I did something wrong, you can punish me. But first, I need to do my duty because Lady Maprang told me to go to the greenhouse to take care of her herbs."

Arlene, who was pretending to be a servant, had to act like one as she bowed to Paweena before leaving. Paweena watched Arlene leave, feeling resentful while Thotsawat felt a sense of familiarity with this person that made him unable to stop thinking.

"I don't know why, but I feel like she looks familiar, like I've seen her somewhere before."

"How could my Lord be familiar with someone as lowly as her? But then again, that doesn't seem right because from the way she looks, she doesn't look like someone from a lower class at all."

______

After three days and two nights, the mobile medical team completed their mission and returned to the military hospital at the end of the day. Aphatsara was now better. The mark on her neck was still there but had faded a bit as it was only a temporary mark. During this time, Prapatsara took care of Aphatsara herself while Thanita still had work to do. That made Aphatsara feel touched and grateful towards the other person for taking such good care of her.

As for Jindarat now, after witnessing Aphatsara going through heat, the shy feelings she had for so long were now like a flower that had come to bloom. Aphatsara had become so important to Jindarat, and now she also realized how much she truly wanted her by her side, how much she wanted to protect and shelter her.

Thinking about Aphatsara temporarily losing her memories and still not realizing her true identity, for Jindarat, no matter who she was or what her identity was, it couldn't affect her feelings for the other person. If this was a predestined fate, then no matter what happens, it could not separate two hearts that had already beaten as one.

The time they were together wasn't too long, but it was enough for both of them to realize many things.

"Doctor Jade, your jacket."'

Aphatsara had just recovered today thanks to good care, and the first thing she did was to go find Jindarat at the hospital, bringing back the other person's jacket. Receiving the coat from her, Jindarat also realized that before returning it, Aphatsara had washed it thoroughly.

"Are you feeling much better?"

"Thanks to Lady Sara's care, I'm completely fine now. I also made some sweets to send to her as thanks. And if there's nothing else... I'll go do my own thing."

"Wait, Mali." As soon as Aphatsara turned her back, Jindarat called her back because an idea had just popped into her head, and she needed to tell her immediately.

"Huh?"

"The Luminaris festival is in three days. Can you go float lanterns with me?" And of course, with this invitation from Jindarat, Aphatsara couldn't refuse.

______

"Mali."

In the afternoon, when she returned home, Aphatsara met Phupha waiting for her at the gate. As soon as he saw her, he immediately ran towards her with a small box in his hand.

"Phupha, are you looking for me?"

"Yes. I was looking for you, intending to invite you to the festival in three days. This... is for you." After saying that, Phupha also handed the small box in his hand to Aphatsara. Looking at the box in his hand, Aphatsara looked up at Phupha, but her eyes carried an extremely difficult to describe look of anxiety. But then, instead of taking it, she pushed the box towards Phupha, causing the other person to be surprised by her actions.

"Is that Dr. Jindarat?"

"How... do you know?"

"I actually saw that from your eyes a long time ago. But Mali, I hope you can reconsider the matter between you and that Countess. You two have different statuses. In Cendralis, there is no shortage of young ladies of noble birth and noble lineage to match a Countess like her."

These words of Phupha made Aphatsara stunned when thinking about it. Perhaps he was not wrong in that she was just a wildflower by the roadside. Compared to those aristocratic blood ladies, her status was indeed far inferior. In the past few days, she had hardly ever thought about it, perhaps because Jindarat was too close to the people around her, so Aphatsara had long since forgotten the huge difference in status between the two sides.

"And even if she really likes you, what if her parents will agree? You should think carefully, Mali."

______

The Luminaris Festival took place three days later, and Prachan was filled with the light of the night when everywhere was filled with lights and flowers, and people were excitedly taking to the streets to attend the festival. It was one of the biggest festivals of the year, held to pay respect to the goddes of water for the blessings she had bestowed upon the people. And this was also the occasion for couples to pray for their happiness.

Although she still had many doubts in her heart about what Phupha had said, Aphatsara did not miss her appointment when she went to attend the festival at sunset with Jindarat. Because this was a special occasion, with the help of Thanita, Aphatsara also dressed up as beautifully as possible with a new dress that Jindarat had sent the day before, a dress from the most famous shop in town. Of course, Jindarat did not come empty-handed either, as she brought flower lanterns to pray and release the lanterns together.

Since Prachan was located on the border of Avaloria and Devanthira, the lanterns are usually made into boats with two symbols: the silver swan - representing Avaloria and the garuda - representing Devanthira. The prayer ceremony took place, Jindarat and Aphatsara held the lanterns together, and then when the prayer ended, incense and lamps were also lit on the lanterns and then they were floated into the Moonlight River. They released the lanterns together, their eyes met as the small boat drifted along the water with the starry sky shining down.