Chapter 5: Caelus Von Valencia

"Have you heard the rumors lately?" a young lady asked, her eyes sparkling as she looked at her two friends sitting opposite her.

"What rumors are you talking about?"

"I heard that Alicia Cloden bought some very fancy dresses for this ball," the other looked at her in exasperation.

"What's wrong with that? After all, she is the princess of the Cloden duchy," she shrugged.

"I don't mean that, she got to Madame Cyntia before Lady Estelle wanted Madame Cyntia to make her dresses for her."

"Oh, my Goddess! To hear that she resorted to such a trick just to put her sister in a difficult position," she clicked her tongue.

"I can't help feeling sorry for Lady Estelle. It must be awful to have such a sister."

"It's a comedy to call her the noblest lady in the empire when she's good at nothing," she said, laughing wryly.

"If I were her, I'd never go back to the empire."

"I thought, at the time, that she had been dismissed by the duke." As their conversation grew more heated, they were unaware of Alicia Cloden, who was listening right behind them. But Alicia Cloden was not the only one listening to them.

Caelus Von Valencia, the first prince, was sitting in a restaurant where he would not be disturbed by anyone when he came to have dinner and overheard the gossip about Alicia Cloden.

The most interesting part for him was that Alicia Cloden, who was sitting right behind the gossiping ladies, heard all this and yet continued to sit there indifferently as if the words were spoken to someone else.

Rumors about Alicia Cloden were always the hottest topic. Even princes, young lords, and knights heard the rumors about her and some of them even followed them with curiosity.

Even the cold prince Caelus had heard rumors about Alicia Cloden. Caelus did not have a good impression of Alicia. To him, Alicia was nothing more than a ball of arrogance.

It wasn't that Alicia was the only student of the famous alchemy master, or that she was the princess of the Cloden duchy, or that she was the emperor's playmate who annoyed him the most.

Yes, strangely enough, Alicia sometimes played Chess, and sometimes Go and chatted with the emperor. In Caeulus' eyes, the emperor was a man who held imperial authority supreme and had a good eye for ruling others.

It annoyed him that the cold and calculating emperor only smiled comfortably in the presence of that girl. Caelus could not understand what the emperor saw in her.

"Where have you been looking all this time?" he heard Andre ask, and his violet eyes, reminiscent of amethyst stones, turned to him.

Andre looked where he was looking and then, without saying anything, he turned away, expressionless.

"Aren't you going to help your sister?" he asked, a sly smile on his lips as he rested his chin on his hand and looked into Andre's cold eyes.

"No, and I'm no longer of the Cloden family," Caelus' eyebrows rose.

"So you've finally left?"

"Not yet, but I will after this ball, and it was always my intention to stay with them until I graduated from the academy."

"I suppose I should call you Marquis Osborn from now on. Still, aren't you being too harsh? After all, even if you leave, you have lived under the same roof with Lady Cloden for years. Are you going to let her be humiliated like this?"

Seeing the momentary anger in Andre's eyes, Caeulus's lips curved into an amused smile, but Andre ignored his provocation and sighed.

"Alicia is capable of taking care of herself without my help. The reason she is not interfering in this conversation right now is because it is a trivial matter to her."

Caelus sneered at his explanation. "You speak as if you know her well. I thought you two didn't talk much."

"His Royal Highness, have you decided who you're going to the ball with?" he asked, and when he changed the subject, Caelus noticed, but let him change the subject and answered his question.

"I still haven't decided who I'm going to choose," he sneered sadly. "I have received many invitations from many ladies to accompany them," he said, smiling playfully.

Andre couldn't help sighing as he looked at his best friend. "You should make your decision soon. So that the other ladies can find a suitable partner in time."

"Who will you go with?"

"I think I will attend the ball with Alicia."

"Hmm, has Lady Estelle found a partner for herself?" he asked, and though Andre looked at him curiously, he answered his question.

"I think she accepted Second Prince Bjorn's invitation because she did not receive a letter of invitation from you," he said, and Caelus' eyes flickered for a moment, which Andre did not understand, before returning to his old relaxed demeanor.

"Then you must find yourself another partner," he said, and Andre looked at him blankly.

"I have decided to go to the ball with Alicia Cloden."

"What?" Andre asked rudely as if he had forgotten all the formalities.

"I'd better write a letter when I get back to the palace," he said cheerfully, watching Alicia get up from her seat and leave with a twinkle in his eyes.

Andre wondered what was going through Caelus' mind and prayed that he wouldn't cause any trouble. He hoped that his unpredictable friend would not cause any trouble at this important time.