Tyren and Helena

Tyren headed back inside after seeing the Crown Prince come out without her daughter. When she asked where Helena was, Constantine replied that she was still in the gardens. His tone was odd and he seemed to be avoiding Tyren's eyes as he responded. Suspicious, she quickly ran off to find Helena. She did not wish to see the prince, Liam and Alex interacting with that wench in complete harmony. She had her fill from dinner and could not stomach anymore of that girl ruining all her plans for her daughter's advancements.

Entering the back gardens, Tyren walked further out into the gazebo and saw Helena slumped on the floor crying and hugging herself.

"Oh, my poor baby!" Tyren immediately rushed over and pulled her daughter into her embrace.

Helena cried some more and held onto her mother. Some maids had been watching from nearby, but upon seeing the Duchess consoling her daughter, they retreated to their quarters for the night.

"Come now, stand up. You are a noble lady. It's not proper to be seated on the floor." Tyren guided her daughter back inside, up the stairs and into her bedroom. "Tell me what's hurting you. You know I can fix anything."

She had her daughter sit down and proceeded to wipe her face with a wet cloth before pouring her a glass of water. Silently sipping, Helena felt a bit better. She believed her mother's words. Her mother always gave her everything she wanted. If anyone could help her deal with Felicia's sudden intrusion, it was her mother. 

"Mother, Felicia is taking everything away from me and I can't stand it anymore. Even Constantine, who has always favored me in the past is telling me that we need to maintain distance from now on! What do I do? I love him and I want to be his wife and empress! I deserve that more than Felicia!"

"Of course you do, my love," Tyren asserted, feeling angry all over again at the ugly trends taking place in her family ever since Felicia left the annex. "You deserve the best of everything. And you will have it! I promise. Don't lose hope just because that evil girl has gained some footing, there are still ways to dismantle her!"

"How, mother? She has my prince, Marquis Liam, Alex and even father all fawning over her!"

"The Duke is not fawning over her! And neither is the prince! If not for that stupid royal decree from the emperor forcing this engagement, that wench would still be inside the annex!"

"Alex went to get her the same day the Duke announced the engagement. Why? What has him thinking that just because she is now betrothed to the Crown Prince, that she suddenly deserves his affections?"

Tyren gritted her teeth. "I don't know, either. Frankly, Alex's behavior confuses me just as much as Felicia's sudden change. She has gotten bold! She no longer bows down to me and respects my authority as Duchess! Before she couldn't make eye contact with me, but now she stares at me as if I'm something she found on the bottom of her shoe."

Helena's head jerked up. "Me too, mother! She treats me like that as well! Even Alex just walks past me like I'm furniture. His love for me is gone! I can see it in his eyes. Felicia has completely turned him against me!"

"And now she's trying to turn the prince against you." 

Helena nodded and cried, only this time the tears were more from anger than sadness. "She forgets that I am the Saintess! Why does she deserve to be empress when I am a holy being blessed by the Goddess!?"

"She doesn't," Tyren replied, enjoying the fire that replaced the sadness in her daughter's eyes. "I've told you this many times before, Helena. You are an extremely important person in this empire. Even before the Pope declared your sainthood, I knew there was something exceptional about you. Your place is far higher than Felicia's! That stupid wench should know better than to covet your place! She doesn't seem to realize that standing against your ambition is the same as defying the Goddess!"

"Exactly! That bitch keeps forgetting that I'm more worthy than her. The Goddess chose me as her Saintess! She is only the Duke's daughter by circumstance. She only holds the Del Montague title because she was born into it! She hasn't done anything to deserve it!"

"Precisely! You are better than her in every possible way. And don't ever forget it. Don't allow that girl to dampen your spirits. In time, everything will fall into place for you! We put that roach in her place for nearly four years and we can do it again! Only this time, I will make sure she doesn't dare to crawl out of her hole ever again!" Tyren eyes glinted with cruelty. She wanted nothing more than for Felicia to simply drop dead. If only she had been killed with her mother.

"So what will we do, mother?"

Tyren started pacing. "We must isolate that roach once more. And destroy the good impression the prince has of her."

"But how will we do that? Alex refuses to leave her side and that stupid nanny of hers back again!"

Tyren fists clenched. She wished she could put her fingers around Hildegarde's throat. "Do not worry, my love. The old hag isn't long for this world. She's not a true threat, but since both Felicia and Alex are so fond of her, I'll have to ensure she does not live under this roof for long!"

Tyren ran her fingers through her hair, her conceited mind preparing to do the worst. 

"But even if we get rid of her nanny, Alex's devotion to Felicia is still a major issue. And so long as she is no longer locked up, she can socialize with other noble families and make friends. I don't want that, mother! I want her to be completely alone and miserable!" Helena started crying again at the thought of Felicia making friends who would support and defend her.

"Alex may be devoted to Felicia, but it's simply because he believes it's in his best interest to have a good relationship with the prospective future empress. He's doesn't actually care for her. How could he change so quickly? And that spiel he gave about needing to be closer to his blood sister is nothing more than an excuse! I'm certain he's being manipulated by that wench! We just have to pull him out of her grasp!"

Helena was a bit doubtful. "Mother, I don't think Alex is suddenly pretending to care for Felicia. I hate admitting this, but it looks very real. And he's more affectionate towards her than he ever was with me. He's gone as far as wearing colors to match with her!"

Tyren hissed in disgust. "I know, it's pure lunacy! All the more reason to believe he's being tricked by her."

Helena yawned. "Mother, can you sleep with me tonight? I've been feeling so lonely."

Tyren smiled. "Of course, my dear. And set your mind at ease. Pulling Alex away from Felicia is not nearly as difficult as you think. How devoted would he remain towards her if he were to realize that doing so would jeopardize his position as the Duke's heir?"

A wicked smile bloomed on Helena's face. Tyren mirrored it.

"We have not come this far only to lose to that wench."