"...." Angelina was stunned. This must be the reason for the duchess's absence during the ball...
She knew the duke was not a good man, but she never expected him to be so cold hearted towards his own wife!
The duchess was a kind and fragile woman, she would definetly be unable to fight back against a man like the duke. She was never a brave women. The duchess, without the feeling of being supported, would feel alone and scared.
'Don't worry mother. Once I get stronger, I'll take you away from this shameless family!' As she saw a few servants walking this way, Angelina decided to return.
Fortunately she took on the appearence of the head maid, if she were to hang around there with the appearence of Angelina, they would definetly be alarmed. These servants are the head maid's people, not her's.
*****************
"Thank you for having me here lady Angelina" Harper curtsied in a shy and meek manner. As she stared at the mansion's architecture, her eyes shined brightly with admiration.
Angelina's eyes narrowed as she thought silently. She invited Harper here to get to know her character even more. She needed to confirm if she was an ally or an enemy.
"It's my pleasure to have you here." Angelina flashed her a polite smile and curtsied as well.
Marie led the two to the 2nd floor drawing room. Then stood at the side, waiting for an order. The two ladies had a peaceful conversation. Until...
"Hm...? Am I intruding...?"Evelina poked her head through the crack of the door and asked innocently.
"Oh sister..." Angelina continued to smile but her brows furrowed slightly.
"Lady Evelina!" Harper cheerfully greeted her. She walked over to Evelina and gave her an intimate hug.
Angelina immediately frowned.
"Did I bother you two? I'm sorry if I did..." Evelina stared at Harper pleadingly with teary eyes that could make any heart melt. As expected, Harper was moved just by her beauty and invited Evelina to join them without hesitation.
"....." Angelina forced herself to smile the moment they turned to look at her.
They chatted happily once again. This time Angelina was left out. She found their complements extremely sickening and boring. They were just exchanging praises. But then something caught Angelina's attention.
"Did you hear the news from the Illiya family? It just came out today! It's terrible! The Illiya family's youngest child, Oscar has gone missing! It's been a day already since he was last seen.. No one has found him..." Evelina said with horror written on her face.
"That's horrible...!" Harper too seemed frightened.
Oscar Illiya? He was Alice's little brother... She once had met him too.
"......" Angelina's gaze turned to Evelina. Did she do it?
Angelina wouldn't be too shocked if Evelina really did cause a little boy's disappearance.
Alice must be so worried...
***************
The boutique was doing extremely well. Arianna's reputation, which was already very admirable, grew even more.
But due to the boutique's popularity, more people wondered who the owner 'Angel' was. Some suspected Arianna, but Arianna denied and told them she was merely working for her.
However, though things were going well for Angelina and Arianna, things were not going too well for the Illiya and the royal family.
Unfortunately, due to their limited power, the Illiya family is unable to find Oscar. They searched and tried their best, but there was only so much they could do.
The royal family was also panicked stricken. The youngest princess's illness has became extremely serious. Princess Elizabeth started to cough out blood and her body has turned extremely weak. Now she was unable to even stand or walk. All she could do was lay down or sit.
The imperial physicians told the royal family to prepare themselves for the worst.
**************
"How many days are left?" the pale little princess asked one of her handmaids.
"This lowly servant knows your highness is looking forward to your highness's birthday, but it is still 3 days away. Your highness, this lowly one advises you to focus on getting better..." The maid said as she wiped the sweat off Elizabeth's forehead with a cold towel.
"I don't think i have much time left... I just hope I will be able to last long enough to attend my birthday..." Elizabeth smiled. But it only made her look even more pitiful and sickly.
"Princess..." The maid tried to hold back her tears. "Your highness will be cured soon."
"Hehe... I hope so... Cough! Cough!" She covered her coughs with her hand. When the coughing stopped, Elizabeth looked at her palm and the blood with sad eyes.
"Princess! This lowly one will go summon the imperial physician immediately!" The maid rushed out of the room.
**************
That night, Angelina experienced a strange dream.
In the dream, Angelina sat in front of her vanity table while Marie helped her get ready. But there were also her two other maids. Marie was holding the gown she wore on her debut party. This was clearly the morning of her debut... But
Angelina stared at the back of her dream self. Throughout the dream, she was always behind her dream self.
When the dream Angelina would walk away, she would be pulled behind her. Even though she didn't move. It's as if an invisible chain was tied around her. Making her follow the dream Angelina's every step.
When Angelina woke up, she was confused. Was it only a dream or did this mean something...
***************
In another unlit room in the Skyler mansion, another one seemed to have woken up from a dream. As they sat up and looked down on their sheets in silence, a tear streamed down their cheek.
***************
Around noon, Angelina received a letter from Alice. Angelina could guess what it would be written about before even opening it.
Marie handed her a letter opener and Angelina carefully cut the letter. When she read it, her brows twitched.
[ Lina, you must've heard about my brother. Words can't express how distressed I feel. But I just wanted to write to you, informing you that, though I'm worried, I'm alright. I beg for you to send my family your prayers for my dear little brother's safe return. I hope we'll be able to meet soon.]
She could tell Alice was lying. Alice reassured her that she was alright, but Angelina knows that she is frightened half to death.
From what she heard, Alice was extremely close with her little brother, Oscar.
She loved her parents, but she has a deeper bond with her little brother compared to her parents, or neglectful older brother.
Angelina could not get a suspicion out of her mind. Why would Alice write this letter... Just to say she's okay?
It might've sounded normal and not unusual at first, but Angelina felt something was wrong.
It felt forced...
She had a suspicion someone was forcing her to write this letter...
"Is everything alright, miss?" Marie asked while pouring Angelina a cup of tea.
Angelina sighed and said, "Just a slight suspicion..."
"Oh miss, I almost forgot to mention. Lia came to me earlier, a little upset. She wanted to know why miss has been avoiding her." Marie put down the teapot gently.
"I just don't trust her. Be careful around her Marie. There's a high chance that she's one of Evelina's people." Angelina gracefully took a sip.
"What!? How could that be!?" Marie froze in shock. That shy girl is actually a spy!?
"Don't judge people by how they look Marie. Though she seems shy and submissive at first glance, she's actually quite ambitious. She wanted to climb up to be my first rank maid. But since I never gave her any important orders and gave them to you instead, she became frustrated. So she wouldn't refuse if Evelina offered her a deal." Angelina explained.
" My head is starting to hurt miss! Why don't we discuss about something... slightly more happy? For example... like the princess's birthday tomorrow! Miss must wear the best gown! I won't let anyone look better than my miss!" Marie tried to lightened the mood.
Angelina merely smiled. Tommorow will be very important for her future plans...