Chapter 17: Discussion

They gave her a suitable room in the Blanchette's household as a guest. They debated whether it was worth the trouble of bringing her to the Grand Duke's mansion at such a late hour. Considering Theodore's safety and the current situation, keeping Cecilia confined here was the best option.

The guest room was far from the confinement. It was nothing like a trapped prison. If anything, this was very kind of them to provide her with such a room.

Since she has lived in this body for what felt like a decade, she wanted to take the identity of Emberlynn. "Cecilia" is now only going to be her code name as her real identity will remain as "Emberlynn". In a sense, she has become one with "Emeberlynn" through the mindset of "Cecilia". Nevertheless, survival will always be her ultimate goal, whether it was her life or her appearance in front of the public.

Although not deliberately shown, Emberlynn could guess the room is being monitored, thus it wouldn't be smart to speak about her plans. She kept doing ordinary activities before heading to bed, all while strategizing in her head about what her next move will be.

Like her guess, Arisanna kept a close watch on her movement. To no avail, she wasn't able to discover anything.

"She is wary of us after all. Though, it is brave of her to openly come to us. She can perish at Theo's command if he wanted it," Reynold snickered at his sister's expression.

"I just wish she would write something down. Don't you think clearer when you write down everything?" Arisanna complained.

"People have different habits, that is just how we behave."

"I can't help but feel wary. What if she does something out of the norm?"

"Like what?"

"Making her next big move. She can just drop some precious information and make us do anything she wants with a drop of a hat."

"She did say cooperation, she might also take part in this. If she wants to use the 'Grand Duke' status, what threatens it will also be her business."

"But she will just expect us to take care of the rest, no? She might even threaten that very status. We have no basis for what she knows and her guarantee on which side she will be on."

"Just like how she has status at her disposal, we have her life. She is gambling her all."

"But I am still worried. What if she escapes under our watch?"

"Didn't you agree to this deal as well? I know you both communicated throughout making this deal. Theo wouldn't do it without your approval," Reynold asked.

"You know how it is. Information is what we need most. If someone walked to us and hands us information at the cost of our reputation in exchange for the protection of the throne, who wouldn't think this is a good deal?"

"Bridgette wouldn't appreciate it if we all gambled our status to obtain it. You know very well the power of the 'Grand Duke' status."

"That is what I am afraid of, what she would do with the status. She said it was for protection, but protection from doing what?"

Reynold calmly sighed, "We can still take her life, don't worry yourself to death."

Arisanna only nods and stared at the ground.

She then jerked her head up, "Why are you calling her 'Bridgette'? Shouldn't it be 'Princess'?"

"Why are you curious?"

"It's so out of the blue… do you perchance have a thing with-"

"You have no right to speak of my relationships. Get yours sorted out first!"

"What do you mean mine? I have them sorted out!"

Reynold glared at her, not noticing his ear turning a light shade of red.

Arisanna snickered, "Oh dear brother, you have a long way to go."

***

It was the morning of the next day. Arisanna, Theodore, and Emebrlynn all sat in a room.

'What should I say? Why is everyone silent?' Emberlynn questioned.

Arisanna seemed very unfazed by the awkward situation. She diligently took the box of tea leaves and meticulously scooped them into the teapot. She then got some hot water and carefully poured it in, the sizzling of the boiling water in contact with a cold surface was heard. Steamed poured out from the pot as she placed the lid back and picked up the teapot. She gently swirled it, her eyes a bit dazed while focusing on such a frivolous task. There were no servants in the room, just the three people. She then quietly poured everyone a cup of tea, the aroma slowly spreading throughout the room.

While she was busy focusing on her tea-making, Theodore could be seen staring at Arisanna's movement. He looked wherever her hand moved, as if also in a daze without a care in the world. Once she actually poured everyone tea, he opened his mouth.

"Let's negotiate today. Let's talk specifics of the cooperation, shall we? I know we both have a few specific things that would fall under the categories of each of our wants."

"Let's start from you both then, what do you require of me?" Emberlynn carefully responds.

"Alright, then let's start with what we meant by 'telling us your plans'."

Emberlynn nodded.

"First, your identity. Your disguise has surprisingly been intact this entire time. We will need to know who exactly you are first before proceeding."

"You might be shocked at my real identity. News hasn't spread yet, but not everything has a clear black and white," Emberlynn warned.

"We need to know," Arisanna spoke up.

She looked at the two and nodded.

'I can't keep hiding forever, can I?'

She touched her earrings and her true appearance was revealed. The long brown hair locks flowed down to her sides. The shining emerald green eyes sparkled under the sunlight. Her lips gently curved into a beautiful smile.

'I knew I couldn't avoid this. This was all accounted for so it should be alright. The problem would be their reactions…'

Emberlynn nervously studied the expression of the two.

Arisanna couldn't help but widen her eyes at the sight. She knew who this person was. She would be lying if she said it wasn't unexpected. She thought about who the person could be under that disguise, someone she couldn't even have guessed had shown up in front of her.

"Emeberlynn Levin."

"Ah, do you know of me?"