ALEXANDER'S SILENCE
"You're here... Where's the Crown Prince?" Alexander asked as he saw Felicia walking down the stairs alone with no one else accompanying her. Felicia looked at her dear brother, gently shaking her head in return.
"His Highness told me that he'll follow me since he still had something to do," Felicia answered as she reached the ground floor, looking at his brother. Alexander frowned when he heard her.
"I see. Let's wait for his highness to come—"
"Actually, why not call Helena instead? She might want to come and greet the Crown Prince since it's against the protocol to not greet the Crown Prince. Who knows what will happen to her if she were to not display her respect." Felicia commented, cutting him off which resulted in Alexander glaring at her.
"Are you out of her mind?! She's on probation! If she were to be seen walking the hallways, she'd be on Father's bad grace!" Alexander muttered in a low voice, not letting anyone hear them.
"Then blame the Duke of the if the Emperor heard the news of the Saintess acting cocky for not greeting a royal descendant." She said as she started to walk away from him. Well, he ought to discover Constantine's debauchery.
"It would have been perfect if I was there to witness the scene personally. Seeing his lovely sister getting feasted on by a beast is truly magnificent in the eyes." Rachelle thought to herself as she had to give up the idea of watching things unfold.
Felicia found herself at the lounge, waiting for the three of them to arrive while in the meantime, enjoying her peace with no annoying people trying to ruin her day. With her glamorous look right now, everyone was reminded of how she was able to rise in power.
It was also not too long before she could hear multiple steps coming out from the stairs wherein the three of them showed up. Alexander's expressions say that something definitely happened.
The three of them were awkward, they didn't even notice her staring at them in the lounge. Rather, they were all walking straight to the dining area.
"I think something happened, My Lady. The Young Lord's face is distorted." Olivia commented as she too was looking in their direction, observing their faces as they walked past them.
"I know. Shall we start this banquet?" She asked as she stood up from sitting comfortably in the chair. "Is my outfit alright?" She asked Olivia as she turned around in front of her to check if there was something that needed to be fixed.
"None My Lady," Olivia answered her and bowed her head. Since there was nothing wrong with her outfit, she started to walk towards the direction of their dining area, trying to hide a proud smile from her lips.
"Helena sure is a natural snake. What a pair of shits." Rachelle cussed in her head as she continued to make her way towards the dining room. As she arrived, everyone was talking to each other, yet Alexander was quiet in the opposite direction of where Helena was sitting next to the Crown Prince.
"Looks like I'm not invited for lunch. Supposedly, this banquet is a celebration of his Highness and mine's engagement." She said as she just stood there with a fake smile across her lips.
She just wants drama after all, wanting to piss them all away. It's fun watching them grinding their teeth in annoyance, staring at her while killing her in their mind. It's not new to her anyways since Felicia was killed because of their schemes.
"Ahh... Sit down, dear. We were told that you weren't joining us because you were not feeling well. Come! Let's celebrate!" Tyren said, smiling at her as she tried to hide how enraged she was for starting a drama once again.
"But wait, Madame." She said, emphasizing the word Madame made the Crown Prince look at her with his brows furrowed.
"What's the matter, darling?" Tyren asked, wondering what was with her trying not to hide how bad her temperament was in front of the Crown Prince who was observing her with piercing eyes.
Tyren is confident that the Crown Prince didn't like her behaviour after all. Just by that look, she could easily tell how the Crown Prince despised her. However, Felicia's eyes never backed down as she looked at Constantine and Helena sitting together.
"I wasn't aware that it was Helena who was getting engaged to the Crown Prince since she was sitting next to him. I thought this act was called heresy. Aren't you afraid of the Holy Land's wrath ruining the Dukedom's reputation?" She asked as she never took away her eyes at them.
Helena's eyes went wide as she immediately stood up from her seat. As usual, her tears were glistening in her eyes. Meanwhile, Constantine was offended by her words yet stayed silent, holding Helena's hand under the table.
"I-It's not what you think, Sister! His Highness told me to sit down next to him... I should've declined his offer since you love him enough that you got jealous of me..." She said, wiping her tears away while hiding the sly smirk on her lips.
"Felicia! Could you stop attacking your sister? You're always doing this to her!" Tyren emerged from sitting in her chair, slamming her hands on the table and making everyone freeze on their spot.
"What do you mean, Madame? I was only asking a question. I meant no harm by asking them that." She replied shortly, calm and composed despite Tyren's wild action.
"I am the Crown Prince, Lady Felicia. I am the rule, I made Helena sit by my side. Are you defying the heir to the throne's demand?" Constantine immediately said as he saw Helena crying, scared because of Felicia.
Poor girl getting intimidated by her evil step-sister. Seeing that the Crown Prince is protecting Helena from Felicia, the Duchess looks at Felicia with insulting eyes just to rub in her pride that she will never be chosen at all.
"But of course, I trust that the Crown Prince still treasures the amity between the Empire and the Holy Land. It's okay for you to sit down on his side, Helena. Since you were ordered to remain on his side." She answered with a sweet smile across her lips and decided to sit with Alexander who had gone quiet since then.
"Is something wrong, brother?" Felicia asked, looking at Alexander as his expression had gone colder than usual. He looked at her with torment and coldly brushed her off, didn't want to answer her.
Seeing him acting like this, she wanted to laugh loudly, ridiculing him. Oh, how broken this man is after thinking how pure his step-sister is. Makes her wonder what will be his next move since Helena doesn't want to let her greatest solution provider go.
In Rachelle's mind, Helena would probably try to woo him as an excuse and blame the Crown Prince just to get him back. After all, if it's not for Alexander, she would've stayed here getting picked and bullied even though the Duchess' position is stable enough for Tyren to keep her in place.
But what should she do? Alexander is slowly drifting away from her. Making her helpless inside the Dukedom. She may have someone like the Crown Prince, but he cannot interfere with the Dukedom. After all, the Duke's power is immense and influential.
The lunch was more boring than Felicia had expected. She thought that Tyren and Helena would continuously poke fun at her, trying to push her to a lot of blaming. But instead of getting accustomed to constantly getting the blame, Tyren was low-key pushing the idea of marrying Helena instead to the Crown Prince, saying bluff things to cover how much of a failure her daughter is.
Of course, all the talk made her want to laugh, but as someone who doesn't want to get her meal getting disturbed, she'd rather stay silent and enjoy her meal while listening to Tyren's bullshit.
Although there are sometimes when Tyren would occasionally try to bring her down, she would always answer her in return, embarrassing Tyren for her lack of knowledge about this and that.
She was too busy spending herself while the butler took advantage of their financial statements.
"Ladies, I shall visit you at another time. Unfortunately, I have to go to attend the academy. I shall not forget what happened today." Constantine said as he stared at Helena who suddenly blushed seeing that the Crown Prince was looking in her direction.
Meanwhile, Alexander's face grew darker even more after hearing Constantine's words. Felicia wasn't too affected by this but she has to attend the guest since it's her guest.
Constantine's eyes then gaze at Felicia who remained indifferent and indignant, showing no emotions in her face. Her face greatly annoys him even though she's not doing anything to him.
"I hope that you will not forget what I said to you earlier, Your Highness. I will wait for the great news." Felicia said, seeing that Constantine's eyes were looking at her with disgust.
"I shall. Until then." He said coldly as he started to turn away and entered his courage, didn't even bother to tell her goodbye. Tyren and Helena wondered what the talk was all about but just by observing how cold the Crown Prince was to her, they had already assumed that their relationship was bad.
The Chauffeur started to manoeuvre the horses, making the carriage move as they had finally left the Dukedom. Everyone waved their hands except for Felicia and Alexander who was still not in his best mood.
How lovely to ruin someone's relationship, makes Rachelle want to watch how this drama will change the entire course of her revenge. Will he change his personality and seek Felicia instead? Or will he forgive Helena? Either way, it will change her plan or not.