Adelia sighed. She thought about what happened the day before when she accidentally stole Chiron's spotlight. Roselia had already attached herself to Adelia after her help. Since Roselia was recently adopted into the Denvito family, she hadn't had much luck in high society. So, Adelia's kindness towards her was very meaningful to her. Adelia couldn't push her away or tell her to stay away after seeing how happy Roselia was, to finally find a friend of the same age as herself. Also, Roselia was cute. She reminded Adelia of a dog she once had.
'I'm sorry Chiron. You're still a jerk tho,' thought Adelia.
"Lady Adelia, you have a letter," Anne said as she handed a letter to her. It had the royal seal on it. Adelia's expression morphed into one of confusion.
"The palace?" Adelia muttered and opened the letter. It was an invitation for tea. Adelia sighed, dreading for the day to come.
When the day of the tea party finally came, Adelia asked Anne to help her.
"Anne, get me ready, I'm going to the palace," Adelia said.
Adelia had changed her entire closet to clothes from Mythry. Most of the dresses Adelia owned were dresses that was especially made for herself and not available for sale.
Adelia went to the palace alone this time. She told Arkin to stay at the duchy in case Nora comes to report on the business.
Upon Adelia's arrival to the palace, she was taken directly to the garden.
"Glory be with you your majesties," Adelia lowered her head as she greeted the king and queen of Rosen.
"Rise," the king said. "There's no need for that," he told her.
"Come have a seat Adelia," queen Olympia offered.
Adelia nodded her head and took a seat. "Thank you for the invitation," she smiled.
"Oh, that's nothing. You used to come to the palace often to see Chiron, but you haven't been coming lately," queen Olympia said. "It would be great if
you would come often again."
Adelia laughed lightly. "I apologize. I should have come and check up on his highness the first prince more often," Adelia said. She had to stop herself from gagging for saying those words.
"Don't pressure yourself," king Trenos told her.
They then, engaged in conversation. They talked about the newly opened establishments by Mythry, the food that were sold at the Mythry patisserie.
"They were all very good," king Trenos said and queen Olympia agreed.
"I wondered how you got your hands on the products early on before the release," king Trenos announced, looking at Adelia.
Adelia took a sip of tea. "I wonder that as well," Adelia answered, not giving anything away.
King Trenos laughed. "That's right, I won't push you anymore," he said.
King Trenos can't help but think that Adelia must have made a connection with quite a powerful person.
"But it's really amazing how the head of Mythry was able to absorb Merchant Union into Mythry isn't it?" queen Olympia mused.
King Trenos nodded his head. "That's right. Merchant Union is a closed off guild. They don't give just anyone entry into their guild, but somehow they let themselves be absorbed into another company," Trenos explained. "Any idea who this person might be Lady Adelia?" he questioned.
"The person might not be as amazing as we all think. Maybe the person was just lucky," Adelia said. She dodged the question.
"Well, whether it was luck or not, it is still very much an amazing feat. Don't underestimate luck. Luck is a very powerful weapon to hold," Trenos told Adelia.
Adelia smiled at king Trenos. "I'm sure you're right your Majesty."
King Trenos laughed again. "Oh!" he suddenly exclaimed. "Chiron is finally here," he said.
Adelia turned around. Approaching them was none other than Chiron. His face was expressionless as always. "Glory be with you Your Highness the first prince," Adelia greeted him.
Chiron nodded his head slightly.
"Come, Chiron. Sit," king Trenos told Chiron.
Chiron took a seat at the only available seat left which was next to Adelia. Adelia swore inwardly. She didn't want to be there.
"Chiron, isn't it great to see your fiance after so long?" king Trenos asked.
Chiron did not answer. Instead, he took a sip of his tea. Adelia kept a smile on her face, ignoring Chiron.
"I see you got the macarons," Adelia started.
"Oh, yes," queen Olympia said. She looked very pleased. "We got them from the patisserie. I heard Mythry is accepting membership applications at the moment," she said.
"I am aware," Adelia answered. "I applied myself," she confessed and laughed lightly.
The queen laughed along with Adelia. "Oh, I heard a lot of nobles applied, even those from other kingdoms who happened to be in the capital during the opening," she said. She leaned in and lowered her voice. "Even I applied. I loved the designs too much, I had to apply," she admitted.
"I'm glad to hear that," Adelia said.
"The dress that you wore to the banquet was from Mythry was it not?" asked the queen. "The style was one that only Mythry would sell."
Adelia nodded. "It was," she confessed.
"And Estes' gifts as well?"
"You could say that," Adelia smiled.
"You must have quite the connection there Lady Adelia," the king said in amazement. "I wouldn't be surprise if you were to say you're acquainted to Mythry or Merchant Union," he continued. "Or if you're actually acquainted to the head," he laughed.
Adelia laughed lightly. She didn't deny nor confirm what the king said. She wouldn't mind if people were to find out she was actually the head of Mythry, but ideally, she would want her affiliation with Mythry to be a secret. If news were to come out, she would have to deal with a lot of paperwork and questions and she didn't want that.
From her side, she could feel Chiron staring at her ever since Mythry came into the topic.
Chiron thought it was unusual that Adelia hadn't said a single word to him after her greeting. She hadn't even spared him a single glance, but then again, Adelia hadn't been acting like her usual self recently.
'And what's this about Adelia having connection to the Merchant Union? Much less the head of Mythry.'
Chiron had been planning, for three months now, to reach out to the Merchant Union, but when he had decided to set his plan into motion, he had gotten news that Merchant Union had joined Mythry, a mysterious organization that had just entered the business industry. He was frustrated and angry at first, but when he thought about how a guild such as Merchant Union allowed themselves to be absorbed into another company namely Mythry, then, Mythry must be just as powerful and influential as Merchant Union if not, more.
So, now he was planning on reaching out to the head of Mythry, but the identity of the head was unknown. He had sent people to find out who the head was and had went to numerous informants for any information
regarding Mythry, but to no avail, there was nothing about the head. And now, his father is saying that Adelia has connections to or knows who the head of Mythry is? He thought it was stupid, even for a joke.
"Why don't you go on a walk with Lady Adelia in the garden of Lapis Palace?" queen Olympia suggested to Chiron.
Adelia's eyes widened and Chiron wass unfazed as usual.
"No, I'm fine," Adelia said, forcing out a smile. "I'm sure his Highness the first prince is tired. Right?" Adelia said looking at Chiron, hinting at him to agree. Chiron looked at Adelia without saying anything.
"Nonsense," king Trenos said. "Chiron's not tired at all," he laughed.
Adelia laughed awkwardly. She was crying internally.
"Now, go have fun," queen Olympia shooed them away.
Adelia walked a pace slower than Chiron following him to the Lapis Palace. She was contemplating her life choices when Chiron suddenly spoke.
"We should walk around for ten minutes and you can head back after," he said. "Ten minutes should be enough," he muttered.
'I don't want to be here anymore than you do,' Adelia thought and fought the urge to roll her eyes.
"I think five minutes is enough," Adelia replied and walked past Chiron, to the Lapis Palace's garden.
Chiron was caught off guard.
'Did she just...' Chiron shook his head. He thought there was no way Adelia implied that she didn't want to spend time together as much as him. After all, Adelia's in love with him and was always sticking herself to him any chance she gets.
Chiron quickened his pace and caught up to Adelia. They walked around in the garden in silence. Chiron walked five steps ahead of Adelia and Adelia never once spared Chiron a glance. Both not acknowledging each other's presence.
After a while, Chiron suddenly turned around and saw Adelia crouching, admiring the tulips.
"You..." he trailed off.
"I think five minutes have passed," Adelia unknowingly cut Chiron's words off. She rose from her position and looked at Chiron. "I'll be leaving now," she said. "Thank you for having me," she bid him goodbye and walked away.
She thought he wouldn't give him a reply, and clearly, she was right. Chiron only stared at her for a moment, whatever he wanted to say to her before was long forgotten. After Adelia made her exit, Chiron followed suit and went back to his office.
Adelia let out a sigh the moment she entered the carriage.
'That was tiring.'
She would rather go to a hundred parties back to back and do a hundred more paperwork right after than go through that again. And Chiron didn't even bother to hide his distaste for her. Every moment was awkward and confining when she was with him.
Adelia shook her head.
"I don't care anymore if he's the prince or what ever. I'll change my approach towards him from now on since we both feel the same way towards each other."