12 Chapter 10: In!!!

The abode of the infamous Third Prince was magnificent to the point of being rotten in its glory.

Tapestries of blank and gold lined the hallways of its reception area. Precious jewels and porcelain decorated the front hall. The pillars were thick and durable-looking, undoubtedly made from expensive wood not available to the masses. Even the chairs lining the reception area had all been polished until they shone.

'For a prince who had been abandoned and disabled, this much of luxury was a little unexpected', I told Rulia.

Rulia frowned, 'He is a prince, isn't this much normal? It's just a little more luxurious-looking as compared to my home...'

I tsked with disappointment at this new disciple of mine, to her annoyance. 'Well, Rulia, you are the cherished daughter of the highest-ranked minister in Kaedolia. Naturally, whatever you have would be the best. But you are married to a prince who has been disdained since birth. Even if he gained some fame for a short period of time after the war, you just don't amass such wealth in a decade. Tsktsk, you're so privileged that I am astoundedly disgusted.'

Rulia frowned. 'Doesn't matter. I'm here now. But I don't see him...'

Speak of the devil. Just as Rulia mentioned the prince, Aden Defluer, the curtains fluttered slightly before a tall figure entered the room in a wheelchair.

The first thing that struck the both of us was his gloomy aura. 'Man,' I thought to Rulia, 'your husband sure is depressed. Look at his eye bags and dishevelled hair. Who wears all black in the summer!'

To be honest, I was sure that Aden Defluer was a goth kid. In a country that enjoys lush greenery and forests although it was beside a dessert, he seems to like darkness than the light that his country is abundant of. However, he has very nice features. An accentuated jawline, high cheekbones, phoenix eyes that suited his noble lineage and a head full of luxurious hair. Although he was seated in a wheelchair, one could still make out his muscular upper body underneath the clothes.

Hey, could he be one of those guys who is pretending to be handicapped but is actually very powerful? I've seen this kind of pretence so often. Maybe I can ask Rulia to check his legs out...

Rulia was too tensed. Well, she was just a kid after all, and this male kid did have an impressive aura. 'Shut up, teacher.' Oops, she heard me.

The two individuals just stood in front of each other, staring stoically at each other. If I remembered correctly, in the orginal story, Rulia had seen the prince and immediately seduced him. In all honesty, it was not seduction to be exact. Rulia had gone up to Aden and trailed her finger on his chest before being thrown off.

Unlike the original 'fate', their first meeting was a detente compared to the former.

'Hey, say something. This is so unbearable,' I whispered to Rulia, even though Aden cannot hear us.

Rulia stiffened and took a breath.

"Are you my husband?" she asked as calmly as she could.

"Never." The stuck up man replied, glowering at her with obvious hatred.

It was fortunate that Rulia's face was half-covered by a veil. The change in expression was so funny. Still, he probably saw her eye twitch. I am pretty sure no one had ever been so rude to her aside from me or the bandits.

"Well," she straightened her back. "I was sent here to become the wife of the owner of this mansion. Could you send your master out then?"

"What makes you think you can talk to Master that way!" An anonymous young man stepped out from the prince's side and said fiercely to Rulia.

'Say that if he is the Master, then you are his wife, how dare this servant speak to me, the mistress of this house like this!' I urged playfully.

Rulia was doubtful but she regurgitated the words I said. She probably sensed that something was wrong but the words were in tune with her feelings so she did not feel uncomfortable spouting them out.

Naturally, the atmosphere took a turn for the worse. "Who are you to demand that you are the mistress?" the prince sternly reprimanded. "Have you looked yourself in the mirror? Trash," he spat.

Rulia was stunned but I immediately thought of a reply for her, 'At least not more than you, who wears the colour of garbage bag everywhere around town. I wonder where your fashion sense is.'

Rulia served the attack swiftly and fluently and for the first time, we saw the prince's expression change. She even added her own insults along the line of suggesting that he was an otaku for not hearing the news.

The two of us kept rallying against the prince together, and the tennis balls kept volleying between the two of us. The servants were a little weirded out. After a while, the prince noticed the situation and finally stopped bickering.

"Send her out." He finally realised that he had the power to remove us directly instead of trying to talk us down.

"I was sent by the Prime Minister. If you attempt to send me back, it would be a breach of the trust between our two nations," Rulia tried to counter.

"Who dares to criticise if it was I who ordered it? Do you know who I am?" the prince arrogantly sneered.

"Of course I know. But you dare ask who would criticise you? Naturally, that would be me," Rulia summoned all of the arrogance in her body to match up with the prince. "Don't forget, Prince, you have no power over me if I have Kaedolia at my beck and call, and I assure you I do, even if I am disfigured now. I am the first daughter of the Cleridalles and the favoured princess in the country. If anything happens to me, I'll be sure to report it clearly as to who is responsible for this mishandling."

The prince fell silent in rage. Kaedolia is still powerful enough to become a threat to Siodros, and the Third Prince obviously cannot risk the ire of the King now, with diplomacy at risk. No matter how unwilling he was, Rulia and I were in the right to push for becoming his wife if we base it on the negotiations. Rulia continued, "I would suggest that a room is prepared for me to rest in, one that is suitable for a princess. A couple of servants to serve me. Food every three meals a day. Basic services befitting of a royal house. In exchange, I will not bother you...at least for the time being."

The prince glowered at her for a moment before waving his hand and wheeling out of the room. He was fast.

Soon, someone who looked as if he was the head servant brought us to a courtyard that was neither too glorious or shabby, as if the Third Prince's estate was trying the serve us the best of the worst, as long as it did not tip into discourtesy. Naturally, with everyone in the estate being the Third Prince's men, Rulia and I will probably have a hard time, but at least we were safe now.

'Rulia, we did it,' I cheered.

'Yes, we did it,' she almost cried in relief once the double doors slammed shut and the shadows of the servants moved away.

From now on, it would just be the two of us against the rest of the world.