The moment Adelia woke up, she was bombarded by maids. They gave her breakfast in bed then, gave her a massage. Later on, they made Adelia take a milk bath with roses and essential oil. They massaged her shoulders, her hands, her legs, even her face. It felt like a full spa treatment.
Adelia asked them what's the occasion and they reminded her that the second prince's birthday banquet was today. Apparently, when there's a big event like this, original Adelia would often take a whole day to get ready.
After taking a bath, they started to put different products on Adelia's face. Beth was in charge of make up and Tia, hair. Beth started to beat Adelia's face with make up, accentuating her features while Tia started doing her hair. After hours, even at the expense of lunch, Adelia was ready.
The dress was as beautiful as it first came. Beth and Tia did a very good job on hair and make up. The hairdo Tia gave Adelia was a tendril twist bun decorated with the hair ornament Mendez made. Tia even sprinkled some powdered jewels on my hair. To complete the look, Adelia wore the matching ruby necklace and earring that she designed and a pair of simple black heels.
After making sure everything was ready Adelia left the room to be greeted by Arkin. Arkin was going to the banquet as her personal guard. At the sight of Adelia, Arkin froze.
"What do you think?" Adelia asked him referring to the dress.
He stared at her in a daze without responding.
"Arkin?" Adelia said and waved a hand in front of his face.
Arkin shook his head. Adelia noticed his ears tinted red.
"What?" he asked.
"What do you think of my dress?" she asked again.
"Oh, it looks good on you," he answered. He seemed a little flustered.
"I designed it myself!" she informed him proudly with a big smile on her face.
He raised an eyebrow. "Did you?"
"Yes!" Adelia affirmed. "Now, let's go," she suggested.
She walked down the stairs with Arkin and Anne tailing behind her. At the bottom of the stairs the duke and Atlas were waiting for her.
"Ady!" Atlas yelled in excitement as he saw Adelia and ran towards her to give her a hug as greeting. "You look beautiful. Truly the treasure of House Cruz," he commented.
'This sis-con really knows how to give compliments.'
"Thank you brother."
Adelia thanked Atlas and greeted the duke.
"Good evening father."
"Good evening Adelia," he said and embraced Adelia in a hug.
'Ah... I almost forgot. He dotes on Adelia as well.'
"You look wonderful," he praised.
"Thank you for the compliment father."
"Well then," Atlas started. "Shall we?" he asked, extending his hand for Adelia to take.
She placed her hand on his palm.
"Take care," the duke said as he waved them goodbye.
"We will," Adelia answered back and they went their way.
Atlas and Adelia shared a carriage while Arkin and Anne shared another together with Atlas' attendants.
The palace was filled with nobles. The sound of chattering was prominent. It was obvious that everyone was enjoying the banquet.
They made their entrance and Atlas and Adelia parted ways. This event was called a banquet, but the food prepared were barely touched. Adelia went to the refreshment table and took a glass of wine.
Anne was somewhere in the maids' waiting area and Arkin was following closely behind Adelia.
"You're not enjoying the banquet?" Arkin asked.
She didn't blame him for asking since novel Adelia loved this sort of gatherings, so, it was obvious that Arkin would question her lack of enthusiasm.
"It's not that I don't," she said, as she took a sip of wine. "It's just the banquet is not as interesting as I thought," she explained.
Arkin looked at her, surprised. The way she talked almost seemed like she'd never been to a banquet before. This was how a banquet always was, and Adelia would always enjoy the banquet. Well, up until when the first prince would ruin the banquet for her every time. She would be happy going to the banquet, enjoying herself, excited for when prince Chiron would arrive and spend the rest of the banquet with him, but every time, he would ignore and treat her callously.
"Here," Arkin heard Adelia said.
He looked to her extended hand. She was offering him the wine she was sipping from before.
Arkin shook his head.
"I'm working right now," he reminded her.
Adelia made a face that seemed to say 'so?'.
"I'm your employer," Adelia answered Arkin. "And I say it's fine," She announced.
Arkin looked at her and sighed before taking the glass of wine from her. Adelia gave him a smile.
"Now..." Adelia trailed off as she looked around at the refreshment table.
'Do they have vodka?'
After making her rounds, Adelia sighed.
"Figures.." she huffed.
Arkin had been following Adelia with his eyes the whole time.
"What are you looking for?"
Adelia pouted. "Nothing."
'It was clearly something,' Arkin thought.
"Announcing the arrival of his majesty the king, her majesty the queen, his highness the first prince and his highness the second prince."
Suddenly the herald started announcing the royal's arrival. In an instant everyone looked over towards the entrance. There, stood the royal family in their glory making their way to the throne.
"Ah.. the first prince is here..." Arkin muttered under his breath.
'Well, at least this time, she wasn't enjoying the party in the first place,' he thought and turned his gaze to Adelia.
Usually, she would be ogling at her dear prince Chiron. However, right now, Adelia was sitting in the corner, with a slight pout on her face and her arms crossed, not giving the prince or the royal family any attention.
Arkin tilted his head in confusion. When Adelia saw him, she made her way towards him and took the glass of wine from his hand.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked as she took a few sips of the wine before handing the glass of wine back to Arkin.
"No, it's nothing," he answered and shook his head.
Adelia turned her gaze to Arkin and stared at him. Somehow her stare made Arkin felt conscious. Why was Adelia staring at him so intensely? This question filled his head.
"How many glasses of wine have you had?" Adelia finally spoke.
With furrowed eyebrows, Arkin answered her. "Three including this one." He slightly raised his hand that was holding the wine glass.
Adelia nodded. She noticed that Arkin's cheeks were slightly flushed from the alcohol.
'That's cute,' she thought, holding back a laugh.
Adelia suddenly reached up and patted Arkin's head with a smile on her face. Arkin was taken aback by her but seeing how relaxed and happy she looked, he couldn't help but smiled back at her.
"Lady Adelia."
Suddenly, a voice called out to her. Both Adelia and Arkin turned their heads towards the owner of the voice while Adelia retreated her hand from Arkin's head.
"Countess Sterna Morney," Arkin whispered to Adelia at the confused look on her face.
"Right," Adelia whispered back.
"Countess Morney, how are you enjoying the banquet?" greeted Adelia.
Countess Morney smiled. "Very," she answered. "But Lady Adelia..." she trailed off glancing at Adelia's dress. "I can't help but admire your dress," she said.
Adelia flashed her a smile. "Oh my, thank you."
"I must ask, where did you buy this dress from? I would like to get one for myself or my daughter," she asked.
Adelia let out a small laugh. "Yes, I think the dress would look great on both you and your daughter, Countess," Adelia started. "But I'm afraid that this dress is not released to the public yet."
Countess Morney looked disappointed. "Oh, really?" she said as she tapped a hand fan on her chin.
"But I will let you know as soon as I caught wind on when it will be made public. You'll be the first to know," Adelia informed her.
"Oh!" Countess Morney exclaimed, looking visibly more spirited than before. "Thank you Lady Adelia," she thanked. "What fabric is this? I've never seen it used for a dress."
Adelia and countess Morney started engaging in conversation and before long, more ladies joined. The topic went from Adelia's dress to her accessories to random things. The talk proved beneficial to Adelia as it helped her gain knowledge about the current situation in high society.
Arkin tapped Adelia's shoulder to get her attention.
"Prince Chiron is making his way here," he informed Adelia.
Adelia's face visibly hardened which caught Arkin off guard. Adelia would be brimming with happiness and excitement when he told her that in the past. Arkin had been taken aback many times today by Adelia especially now that her reaction to the first prince approaching was clear disappointment. It wasn't that Arkin liked the first prince and wanted Adelia and prince Chiron to be together. It wasn't that at all, instead it was quite the opposite. Arkin would be happy that Adelia was brimming with happiness, but he didn't like that prince Chiron was the reason. And he hated how prince Chiron would treat Adelia, but now that Adelia was reacting this way, he couldn't help but think that something was wrong.
Adelia quickly wiped the disappointment away from her face and plastered a smile on her face.
"Oh," she said.
"Lady Adelia," a voice called her name indifferently.
Adelia looked away from Arkin to look at the owner of the voice. He didn't look familiar. He had silver hair and blue eyes that would always shine like jewels when looking at the heroine, but now, looking at Adelia, his eyes were icy cold. Adelia knew exactly who he was despite never meeting him before. Her body knew.
"Your Highness the first prince," Adelia greeted and the rest followed and curtsied.
Prince Chiron nodded at their greetings. "May I have this dance?" he asked Adelia, extending his hand to her.
Adelia stared at his hand before looking back up to him. She would love to reject his offer, but with everyone watching, she can't refuse. It would be embarrassing for the royal family especially with nobility from other countries present. Adelia inwardly sighed.
She gave Chiron a smile. "With pleasure," she said and placed her hand in his palm.
Prince Chiron guided her to the dance floor and they danced.
'This is hell,' Adelia thought.
They danced in silence with the music playing in the background. Usually, novel Adelia would be chattering away, asking the first prince countless questions trying to make conversation, but now, Adelia was quiet, solely focusing on dancing.
"I'm not dancing with you because I want to," Chiron stated with a straight face.
Adelia looked up at him. She knew. She knew that the only reason he ever asked Adelia to dance, even in the novel, was because he was obligated to do so by the king.
"Of course," Adelia answered curtly and flashed him a smile before going quiet again.
He was probably aiming to hurt Adelia by saying that, but her curt reaction took him by surprise as if she already knew. No matter how surprised he was, he didn't let it show on his face. He kept a straight face on that showed no feelings and they continued dancing silently. Before they knew it, the dance was over.
"Thank you for the dance," Adelia said with a smile on her face, looking him straight in the eyes before averting her gaze downwards. She gave him a curtsy and turned around to leave.
Chiron's gaze followed her. He thought it was strange that she didn't try to stick herself onto him today. He brushed away the thought.
'Well, less annoying nuisance for tonight then.'
He made his way back to the throne and stood beside his father.
"How was the dance?" King Trenos asked his first son once he came back.
"...It was alright," Chiron answered.
"Was it?" the king mused. "But where is Lady Adelia?" the king wondered. "She would be following you around right about now," he stated.
Chiron looked around the room when a certain black haired girl caught his attention. She was talking to her knight, smiling brightly, unlike the smile she gave him a few moments ago; a smile for the sake of smiling. Chiron looked away.
"I don't know," he answered.
He noticed how unusually quiet Adelia was being when they were dancing. He thought she wasn't feeling good but seeing she was chattering away with her knight, he stand corrected.
"Enjoyed the dance?" Arkin asked once Adelia returned.
Adelia groaned and rolled her eyes. "You know for a fact that I didn't."
He didn't actually know.
Arkin let out a small laugh. "It can't be that bad," he said.
Adelia gave him a look. "Oh, it was that bad," she stated. "It was so awkward that I'd rather be dragged to hell and back."
"Now that's just you being dramatic," Arkin said.
This was out of character for Adelia, but Arkin didn't hate it. It was strangely refreshing to see Adelia act this way about the first prince.
"And you know what he said?" Adelia questioned.
"What?"
"He said he didn't dance with me because he wanted to,"Adelia said. "The nerve on that guy," she grumbled.
Arkin' eyebrows furrowed.
"I mean, I knew from the start he didn't want to dance with me and was only dancing with me because the king wanted him to, but to tell that to a girl? I might just punc-" Adelia was cut off by Arkin.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
Adelia looked at him blankly. "Huh? Which part?"
Arkin shook his head. "You mean to tell me he was forced to dance with you and you knew it was an order?" he rephrased his question more clearly.
Adelia nodded her head slowly. "Pretty much... yeah..."
'Was he deliberately trying to hurt her feelings?'
"Hey," Arkin broke out of his thought with Adelia's gentle voice and touch on his shoulder. "You alright?" Adelia asked.
Arkin didn't noticed that he was tightly clenching his fists, that his knuckles were turning white.
"Yeah, I'm alright," he said and unclenched his fists.
Adelia glanced at his hands. "Great! Cause I'm feeling good too," she exclaimed.
She stared at him and grinned. "For a moment there I thought you were angry for me," she said, teasing him.
Arkin abruptly turned his head to look at Adelia.
"Me?" he laughed. "Anger is too tiring, why should I waste my energy getting angry for you?" he said a bit too quickly.
Adelia crossed her arms and leaned forward, assessing Arkin.
"Hmm, defensive," she stated. "What for? Was I right?" she asked with a big smile on her face, clearly enjoying her time teasing Arkin.
Arkin turned his head sideways. "You wish," he said.
Adelia burst out laughing. "Arkin," she said, placing a hand on Arkin's shoulder. "It's alright, you can be honest."
Arkin was starting to get annoyed. They playfully bickered back and forth until Anne showed up.
"It's almost time to present the gift to his highness the second prince," Anne informed them.
"Oh, it's time already!" Adelia exclaimed.
It wasn't compulsory to present a gift but Adelia wanted to. She didn't know whether her gift was good enough. It was her first time giving a gift to a royal so, she was nervous yet excited. After the others presented their gifts to the second prince privately, it was finally Adelia's turn.
She walked to the room the royals were in and presented herself to the royals with Arkin and Anne, who was holding the gifts. She did a curtsy and Anne followed after her while Arkin bowed.
"Glory be with you, the royal family," Adelia said.
The king nodded his head.
"Happy birthday your Highness Prince Estes. I thank you for this opportunity," Adelia announced and gave a gesture to Anne.
Anne stepped forward and opened one of the box she was holding.
"This is my gift to you Prince Estes. It might not be much but I hope it is to your satisfaction," Adelia said.
A servant came and took the box from Anne and handed it over to Estes at his order. Inside the box was a cape brooch made of blue diamond with golden frame and a pair of collar pin made from gold. She got them ordered the same time she ordered her own accessories from Mendez. Adelia designed them herself so, the design was unusual and different from what the people here are used to, but so far, they are loving Adelia's designs.
"A cape brooch and collar pins," prince Estes said.
Adelia nodded. "Yes your highness."
"Hmm, the designs are different," he commented. "Which country did you get this from? I've never seen designs like these," he asked, curious.
"I designed them myself," Adelia replied. "I hope it is to your taste."
Estes looked surprise. "You did?"
Adelia nodded.
"You have a talent for this then. It is beautiful, thank you," he expressed his gratitude.
Adelia inwardly sighed. Estes was polite and respectful Adelia couldn't help but admire him. She couldn't help but to compare the two brothers.
'How did Chiron ended up being such an asshole?' Adelia wondered.
"If you would, I also have gifts for the royal family," Adelia announced.
Chiron furrowed his eyebrows.
"Oh, a gift for us too!" the king exclaimed. "How wonderful."
Adelia smiled. Anne handed the boxes to the royal servant and the servant handed them out to the royal family. In each of the boxes are 24 macarons.
'Promotion time!'
"Those are sweets, perfect for tea," Adelia explained.
Queen Olympia opened the box. Her eyebrows rose up.
"These are sweets?" she asked picking one up.
"Yes, your majesty," Adelia answered. "They're called macarons. The ones you have right now are chocolate flavoured," she informed them.
"It smells good," prince Estes commented.
"It taste better," Adelia said.
Estes raised his eyebrow and took a bite. His face brightened.
"This is good," he said.
Adelia smiled and the rest of the royals tried some except Chiron. Adelia held back the urge to roll her eyes at him. The king and the queen had the same reaction and praise.
"Where did you get this?" queen Olympia asked. "I would like to purchase this myself in the future."
"Oh my, that's a high praise," Adelia spoke. "Unfortunately, the macarons are not publicly released yet," Adelia informed.
"That is unfortunate," the queen agreed.
"But how did you get these if it hasn't been released to the public?" the king questioned.
Adelia flashed a smile. "I have my ways," she said refusing to explain further. Being the prince's fiance does provide one with some privileges.
"Once it is released, I'll send them your way and a letter to where you can get them," Adelia informed. "The company is very secretive about products that haven't been made public and wishes to stay anonymous for the time being," she provided more information.
The royals couldn't press her for more information. It was clear Adelia wouldn't give anything more away unless they order her too.
The king smiled. "Thank you Lady Adelia. Your gifts are wonderful," he said.
Adelia nodded. "It's a pleasure. Thank you for your time," Adelia gave them a curtsy and left.