The Villainess Will Not Bring Dishonor To Her Family

6 - Unspoken Intentions

"Then, let us make a deal, Alstair. I will not attempt to sway you romantically, unless you, as my fiance make the first move. Of course, I do not mean something as trivial as an invitation to dance. I mean an exquisite public display of affection. In other words, unless you want to change it, our marriage will be a political one without love and I must accept that decision."

I realize my words might have been a bit too complicated for my age, but it was hard to change your speaking patterns. I move my hand from my cheek and take another sip of my tea as the boys soak in my words. Lionel is suspicious, Eric is frowning and Alstair... is staring at me with a puzzled look. Then he gives another smile.

"But, Lady Lily, what would there be in it for you, in a deal like that?" Alstair's question confirmed to me he was a cautious one, even though he asked with a pretentious worry for me. I'm sure a more naive girl would have thought him kind, but remember, Alstair didn't like me. He was just trying to read my intentions, truly a frightening child. Even children can be manipulative, but this one is exceptional. As expected of a girl's fantasy dream guy.

"It is quite simple. With a deal like this I will not be under pressure to court you. I am expected to do my utmost to keep your attention after all." I tug at the frills and simply smile back at him politely. If I had his word on this deal then Adela might put less pressure on me as well. It would be for the best if she let me be entirely.

This marriage is a political move to buy my father's loyalty in the, my blood is of just an appreciated bonus. House Celeste hasn't been given a lot of honors over the years unlike a certain house Tepet, so this is a way to make up for it, from what I've heard.

Luckily for the royal family, I had been in love with the prince from our very first meeting. As I was neither stupid, nor unblessed in magic nor looks, this was truly a match made in heaven for the current Queen. I was devoted to her son, and I would never betray him as long as he gave me just a bit of attention. The only thing she would have to do, was to restrict my personal budget. Then I'd make a good wife, who would follow Alstair blindly, and give birth to magically blessed children.

"I see, I will agree if it makes things easier for you, Lady Lily." It comes out hesitantly and well considered, but Alstair agrees with that fake polite smile of his. I can see Lionel's cruel smile creep up on his lips and my brother's frown deepen. Alstair of course worded it perfectly, even appearing kind. I smile to them none the less. I am in a good mood now, even in the gaudy dress I am forced to wear.

With this the Queen will likely panic. I'll have to see Alstair more often for a while, but I don't care. Since Alstair himself dislikes me, he will never break that agreement. I have successfully betrayed the foolish 'trust' of my fiance. You should not go and think a girl will be in love with you forever, if you do not return her feelings. Maybe 'betray' is too strong a word. I did tell him I didn't love him anymore after all. A back given is a back taken. I happily finish my tea.

I'm sure the Queen will be delighted when she finds out that a certain heroine is head over heels for her son. With a few complaints to the Queen before the possible condemnation event, the engagement should be broken peacefully.

"Well then. I will still entertain you as is my duty of course. I can recommend the garden, after all, it is a brilliant weather outside." I happily enter the role of a proper hostess. There is no need to chase them off any longer. With this even the sadistic Lionel should give me a break.

It truly is a brilliant weather today.

Eric's Point of View

My sister was poisoned about a week ago. Well, it was to be expected. Her personality has always been cruel, and ever since her engagement with the prince she has become utterly intolerable to everyone around her except for mother. The two of them always to about wasting money.

Still, at least she has always been simple. She never had any truly hidden motives and she usually made it clear what she wanted. Of course, if you were in the way, she would try to get rid of you by any means possible, she even pushed me down a flight of stairs once.

But ever since she was poisoned she has been different... I have always kept an eye on her before this, so that I would be able to smooth things over with the people she turned into enemies... That's why I can see the changes with painful clarity. Like how her posture changed, and how suddenly her motives have become cloudy. I can't read her anymore, and it's terrifying.

A villain whose intentions are clear gives you a fair fight, but one you cannot read is impossible to brace against.

We have just finished having tea with the crown prince, and the result was a disaster. The two of them made an agreement, and the agreement in itself would have been fine, if my sister had any immunity  against his charm. At least so I concluded...

"Are you really okay with this? If you break this agreement, it will reflect poorly on our house you know," I partly scold her as we make our way into the garden after seeing the guests off. She's been smiling ever since they made the agreement, so I assumed she was probably putting on a brave face. Since it's about Alstair I had expected her to start crying as soon as we finished, but even now she is still smiling.

"Worried about our house, are you? I will do nothing to dishonor our family. As I said before, I have fallen out of love with his highness, I am quite happy with the agreement," she says with a hint of amusement. I end up scowling at her carefree attitude. She really seem sincere about it, but that only makes her decision weirder.

"What did he do?" I ask even though I knew he had done nothing. I have to know what she perceive he has done to prevent a scandal, and hopefully make them reconcile. She stops walking and then smiles back at me. Her smile is cruel... and her blue eyes seemed like a pond frozen over.

"I will not waste my life on a man who will abandon me." Those were the cold words she replied.

"What?! There is no way he would do that!" I end up raising my voice in shock. Alstair didn't like her, but he would never do something as rash as to abandon the engagement. Even with Lily's personality-

"If that was true he would never have agreed to such a silly agreement, Eric," she speaks mockingly, even giving a small huff and shrugs her shoulders.

Her cruel smile widened for a moment as she continued, "He will abandon me at the first sight of the girl of snow... and you might too."

She smile doesn't quite reach her eyes. I feel a shiver crawl up my spine at those words, for the way she looked at me was like I was something in the way...

"What are you planning..." I gasp out weakly. I didn't think she would answer, but I need to ask... for the safety of our house, and for the safety of the crown prince.

Lily merely gives a wry smile at my reaction.

"I will let him be happy with her, and you too... After all, I don't want to die... You don't need to worry so much, Eric. I will be a good girl." Her cruel smile suddenly turns sincere, leaving no trace of the cruel expression she had just a moment ago. She is toying with me.

She turns around and continues towards the lake after leaving me with those odd words. Be happy with 'her'? Who was she talking about? Wait, did she intend to break the engagement with Alstair?

This was at an entirely different scale than the agreement just now.

If they split up then his highness will probably be happy, but...

I look to Lily's small back and take a small breath. If she deem that Alstair would abandon her, why would she want him to be happy? Her cloudy intentions became even foggier, but if I were to believe her, then the crown prince should be safe for now... I shake my head and head back. I needed to report to father about this agreement of theirs, and that she sincerely seemed to have fallen out of love with his highness Alstair.

My gut feels tight. Did she hit her head when she fell from the table when she was poisoned?