"You fold this side, and then flip it and fold again like this..." She stopped folding the paper and looked at Chester who was busy following her instructions.
It was a pleasant morning and they had plenty of extra time to do a recreational activity. She thought of teaching Chester the art of paper folding which was called Origami. It was Alyssa who taught her when she was still alive and whenever she got bored, she'd only make paper cranes until she fell asleep.
"Am I doing the right thing, sister?"
"Of course, my dear brother," she replied in a sweet voice and pinched his cheeks. "Since my cute brother can't get himself a dragon pet, I will teach him how to make a paper dragon instead." The marchioness who had been drinking her morning tea and the maids on standby laughed in unison at what she had said.
"Pardon my intrusion, there's a letter for Lady Clarish." They were enjoying a moment of joy when a male servant interrupted them.
Reina who was sitting on the couch looked up at him in confusion. She then transferred her glance to the marchioness who had just smiled at her and nodded as if telling her to just take the letter from the man. When she opened the white envelope, she was rather amazed by the quality of the folded paper inside. She took it out and sniffed it, it had a flowery scent that her spirit feel like being lifted to the sky.
"Are you sure you're going to read that here? You can go to your room for privacy," the marchioness giggled as she thought it must be from her daughter's secret admirer. Clarish was a beauty after all and her previous tutors often bragged her daughter's name to some students and acquaintances.
She took another sip to her tea and when she glanced at her precious daughter, she saw a sign of horror on its face while reading the content of the letter.
"What's the matter, Clarish?"
"It's a marriage proposal..." Holding the piece of paper with shaky hands, Reina looked at the marchioness. Her complexion went pale as if her blood escaped down her face. "....from Prince Darius."
Those words were like a bomb that exploded in the living room. Everyone went silent. The marchioness who had been smiling lost the arch on her lips and lost her grip on her cup of tea, it fell to the floor. The maids were shocked to hear it too but they still managed to pick up the broken pieces and clean the carpet. Reina handed the letter to the marchioness to make sure it was real and it was indeed from the first prince since it had been sealed with a royal emblem.
"We are rejecting the proposal." As soon as the head of the household read the letter, his facial expression darkened, and quickly tore the paper into pieces. "Prince Darius knew we were supporting Prince Warryn. Letting my child betrothed to him will only mean betrayal to the House Scarlett. Just what does he think of us? Is he insulting the House Belfford?"
"To think that it was a marriage proposal and not engagement. There's no way Prince Darius would do such a thing but the seal itself and the quality of the paper being used could tell who the sender was," Jefferson commented as he was stroking his chin, as if in deep thoughts. "Is this some kind of provocation to our house?"
She doesn't know what's going on either. She thought she had already cut the string that connected her to the royal family. Why on Earth the first prince would suddenly propose this kind of matter? Why would he marry her?
"We are not accepting such a proposal and we're not talking about it anymore." The marquis massaged his forehead and heaved a sigh. "While we're here, let's talk about the banquet which will be held tomorrow."
It's a celebration of the coming of age of Princess Eloise, the only daughter of the emperor and the younger sister of Prince Warryn. The banquet will be held at the Imperial Palace and their family had already received a letter ahead of time. She had already expected that day to come since it was written in the book. She took a deep breath and stood, catching the attention of the three Belfford.
"I don't think this matter still involves me. Then I will excuse myself," she bowed and turned her back.
Just because the house received an invitation letter doesn't mean she's included in it. She's now an empty vessel, the only flaw of the House Belfford. If she appears at the banquet, the other aristocrats will only mock her and her family. The House Belfford will be a laughing stock again just like what happened to the previous parties they attended. Since then, she has always avoided social gatherings.
"You're coming with us, Clarish. It's an important event. All of the members of the family were invited," said the marquis.
"Please don't worry about me, father. I will be fine here. There are so many things to do in this mansion so I won't get bor-"
"Prince Warryn is expecting you," Jefferson cut off her words. His gaze became sharp. "Are you gonna disappoint him?"
She stared at him, trying to read his facial expression but she couldn't find any lies in his eyes. Jefferson worked directly for the second prince as his loyal right-hand man and knowing his personality, he could be telling the truth.
But why would the prince await for my presence? She had no idea. The last time she saw him was six years ago when she apologized and promised that she would give him the peace he always wanted. In fact, she had given him the space that would separate them for eternity so why does Prince Warryn expect her presence? Why so suddenly?
"Then just tell him I don't feel well. It's not like I'm an important guest right?" She bit her lower lip, trying to suppress the tear at the corner of her eye. "Besides, I can't stand seeing my family being insulted because of me. Please enjoy the celebration without me."
She politely withdrew herself, leaving the marquis' room in silence. The marchioness who had been keeping her lips close earlier stood from her seat and massaged the shoulders of her husband.
"It must've been so hard for our daughter too. Let's just understand her for now, alright?" The marquis gently held his wife's hand.
"What if she pushes herself away from us? She's our precious daughter and I don't want her to look at herself differently just because she lacks something. She's already great the way she is."
"I will try to convince her once more." Jefferson shot his eyes to the clock and excused himself. He went straight to his sister's room but she wasn't there.
o o o
There will surely be a lot of food at the royal banquet. That's the only thing she might regret for not going. However, there were also many reasons for her to not attend. Not only did she wish to avoid the mockery, but she also intended to avoid the members of the royal family. If the second prince had been expecting her presence at the banquet, it only means he still recognized her existence. That alone would be troublesome.
She heaved a sigh and tilted her head, leaning her cheek to her palm as she recalled a special event in the novel. The night at the coming-of-age ceremony of Princess Eloise was the night of confession between the secret love of the two protagonists in the story. She didn't know what happened between Melissa and Prince Warryn at the Imperial Academy of the Gifted. She wasn't there for six years so the part where Clarish met the heroine for the first time and they became close friends was completely erased.
I wonder if they had already met and fell in love with each other.
In the book, the two protagonists met at the academy and they fell in love with each other instantly. During the night of the coming of age ceremony of the princess, at the garden of the palace when the moon was in its full bloom, Prince Warryn confessed his undying love for Melissa. Melissa admitted that she liked the prince too and then they kissed under the bright moonlight.
"And that's how their tragic love story started," Reina murmured as she bent her body backward with her hands at the back, leaning to the ground. "It was a forbidden love after all."
When the villainess Clarish finds out about the secret affair of her fiancé and her best friend, her wicked personality gets worse. She then began tormenting the life of Melissa. The next thing she did was unimaginable. She told the heroine to avoid the second prince right away and tell him that her feelings were just a lie. After that, she must leave the Empire for good and never show her face ever again. If she fails her orders and if she tells it to anyone, the antagonist will burn the orphanage where the heroine came from. It was Melissa's weakest spot-the children and so she did follow her wishes. She met Prince Warryn for the last time and withdrew her feelings. It was a heartbreaking chapter, the second prince even kneeled to her but all she could do was swallow all the lies she had mastered and leave him for good. However, as the villainess she was, Clarish sent an assassin to kill the protagonist as she was traveling outside the Empire. But, her plan failed successfully when a skillful mercenary saved her rival. It was the loyal right-hand man of Prince Darius who rescued Melissa and she was brought to the Louvern Castle. The story proceeded as the heroine made a deal to live with the cursed prince. He must hide her from the villainess and protect her life, in return, as a natural healer as she was, she must find a solution to lift his curse.
The events in the novel that she read together with Alyssa in her past life drifted down her memory lane like a clear river. She slapped her cheeks to pull herself back to reality and lay down on the bed of grass, facing the clear blue sky.
"Just because of love, she met her demise..." she smirked thinking how foolish the original Clarish was. She then put her palm on the top of her chest and felt the beating of her heart. "That's why I refuse to fall in love."
"Then you will die an old maiden," Jefferson retorted as he was looking down at her, with his arms crossed. He was wearing his usual stern countenance. "Have you gone back to your old self again, lying on the grass like that?"
"My old self would only think lying on the grass is disgusting." She snorted and got up, her butt was still nailed to the ground. "Anyway, to die as an old maiden is way better than to die a tragic death because of love."
"Why do you think love is tragic?" Jefferson furrowed his brows, wrinkles began to show on his forehead. "Is it because Prince Warryn rejected your feelings before?"
"Of course not. It's not a big deal to me and I've been doing fine even without him." Her reply was toneless as she tapped the spot beside her, telling him to have a seat too. He only shook his head which made her pout.
"Prince Warryn told me that you apologized to him before. He thought you were just pulling a prank so he never really paid attention to it. However, it looks like you were actually serious and it bothered him up until now. You had been hiding away from him, weren't you?"
"I only gave him the peace he always wanted." She then stood up thinking the conversation was meaningless. "It was nice to have a little chitchat with my brother but looked like he still has to do in the Imperial Palace," she acted as worried as she scanned his deep-blue Imperial knight uniform which was different from the ones their houseknights were wearing.
"Clarish, don't you really want to attend the banquet?" He asked, straightly ignoring what she just said. "The prince wanted to talk to you. Don't you think it's about time to face him already? It's not like you have committed a crime, right?"
"I'm not attending the banquet not because of him. I'm not that shallow, I have some valid reasons." She massaged the corner of her forehead. Now she's really getting mad. "It's not that I dislike going, it's just that I have to stay behind for the sake of everyone."
"Is that why you skipped a lot of social gatherings with an excuse of being ill while you were actually just fine? And then what happened? Did it help? Did they stop?" But Jefferson didn't want to give up and his words were like sharp arrows that shot through her soul. She couldn't say a word.
"My main point is, running away is useless. Whatever you do, they will always have something to say. You think too much about us even though we're not really affected by anything. We know you more than they do. You don't have to carry it all by yourself." Jefferson put his hands above her shoulders and they looked at each other's eyes. "Clarish, you're not a hero. Please don't be so hard on yourself. You're only making us worried."
She didn't realize she was already shedding tears until he reached for her cheek and wiped the liquid drops on it. He was right. All this time, she had been running away from everything like a coward instead of facing them. She only gave those punks the sense of superiority that they shouldn't have in the first place. So, she made up her mind. She's going with them after all.
o o o
She received another letter from the first prince regarding the marriage proposal. He was asking her for a reply. The marquis who was not in a good mood since the first letter already raised the matter to the House Scarlett including the other respected noble houses but they still haven't given him a response.
She bit the tip of her thumb as she walked back and forth in her room. She looked exhausted and sleep-deprived since she couldn't get a night of proper sleep because of the sudden happenings. First is the marriage proposal. The second is the banquet. What's next?
She was in deep thought even during the preparation for the banquet. She'd been replying with a simple nod every time the hairstylist and the make-up artist asked her some questions. The upper part of her long, wavy silver hair was tied together and braided with some pins that had ornamental designs put in it while the lower part was left hanging freely to the air. She requested the stylist to make her hair simple but it only looked good to her. Even the fringes that covered her forehead deserve a fandom. The make-up artist only put light make-up on her porcelain skin, even enhancing her unearthly beauty. She looked stunning and elegant wearing the white floral dress that the Marchioness had prepared for her.
Everyone stared at her and praised her beauty as she walked through the corridor to the entrance of the mansion. Jefferson, who had been waiting outside with the other family members, smiled widely when he saw her. He carefully helped her as she got inside the carriage. The Marquis and the Marchioness were on the other carriage.
"When I grow up, I will marry you, sister," Chester said with a blush on his cheeks as he stared at the lady sitting beside her. Initially, he should ride the same courage as their parents but he insisted on going along with his siblings.
"But we're siblings, isn't that bad?" she giggled while fixing the tie of his suit. He looked cute in his attire.
"I'm just an adopted child from a faraway relative and we're not really siblings, that would be fine," he bravely said, his eyes sparkled. "I will marry you and protect you from anyone who will hurt you."
"Unfortunately, your sister's not marrying anyone. She said it herself," Jefferson joined the conversation with a smug face. Chester pouted his lips like he was about to cry.
"You don't have to say it like that, brother." Reina tapped Chester's head gently to console the kid. "Don't cry, okay? Your tears will make you ugly."
"Crying is only for the weak. If you're a crybaby, you can't protect your sister. Just give up," Jefferson teased even more. Reina glared at him, but he only shrugged his shoulders off. Their squabble continued until their carriage finally reached the Imperial Palace.