[Music Recommendation: Idea 1 ~ Gibran Alcocer]
"I didn’t mean to threaten her; she insulted me first," Caspar puffed his chest out, his face covered with a deep frown, evidence of his bruised ego. "She has guts, I tell you. When are we going to make her know her place? Give me the orders, Princess."
Adelaide poured tea slowly into her cup, the tinkling sound of the tea fading out Caspar’s voice. Done with pouring the tea, she raised the cup to her nose and inhaled deeply. She sighed, "Caspar, why are you angry?" 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞
"Did you not hear me? I said—"
Adelaide pushed the cup down roughly on the table. "Shut up, Caspar. Don’t ruin my plan because of your foolishness. How do you expect people to believe that the princess seduced you when you’re actually the one following her around? Idiot," the princess sighed.
Caspar rubbed his hair. "No, I was only trying to make her soft and bow to me. I didn’t know she would fight back."
"Caspar, are you just plain stupid? How do you expect someone who isn’t afraid of my mother, the Queen, to tremble at the sight of you?" Adelaide palmed her face; she was starting to think using Caspar was a bad idea. "You are—" a knock interrupted Adelaide. She glared at the door.
"Who?" the princess shouted, irritated not just by the interruption but also by her brother’s wife, Oriana, who had refused to bow to her or even acknowledge her. Now she was frustrating everyone.
Nicholas entered the room with a frown on his face. He opened his mouth to talk but then closed it when he saw Caspar. "I can come back later since you have a visitor."
Caspar nodded, raising his shoulder to show that he was the visitor that shouldn’t be ignored, but his pride was short-lived when Adelaide said,
"He was on his way out. Please come in," she said, turning to look at Caspar. She tilted her head, "You are done, aren’t you?"
Caspar’s shoulder dropped, as well as the proud smile he had on his lips. "I was still trying to talk to you about something important."
Adelaide narrowed her eyes. "I said you are done, and it means you are done. Or are you trying to say I’m wrong? I mean, that would be tragic, no?"
The mild threat got to Caspar, and he bowed. "I’m sorry, Princess. I must have lost my mind for a minute." He raised his head to look at Nicholas. "Lord Nicholas, forgive my impudence." He bowed one more time before leaving the room.
Nicholas’s eyes followed the young man until he left the room, then he turned to look at Adelaide. "I find him strange and sly. How did Jasmine end up with someone like that?" he asked, going to sit close to Adelaide.
"I wouldn’t know. Love comes in different shades. My sister must have found hers in Caspar." Adelaide shrugged. "But if it makes you feel supported, I find him creepy too." She remarked, standing up from her chair. She went to pour wine for Nicholas, then returned to sit down.
"You didn’t look happy when you walked in. Something bothering you?" Adelaide asked, handing the cup of wine to Nicholas.
Nicholas took the cup and finished the wine in one gulp. He scrunched his face as the bitter aftertaste of the alcohol slapped his cheeks. "I’m having a bad feeling. Adric is getting into Oriana’s head. Have you seen the way she looks at him? And today during the cooking event, they both shared a moment that was so touching. I don’t know who planned the entire thing to set Oriana up, but I think that person is foolish," he hit his hand on the table, fuming.
Adelaide cleared her throat; the prime minister had unknowingly called her foolish, and it hurt her pride so much. "What makes you think it was a setup? Oriana might have done that just to get Brother Adric’s attention."
"No," Nicholas shook his head. "Oriana is a pure soul. She would never devise such a plan. And did you see her cry? That girl is definitely an angel. That is why I want her. She is yet to be tainted by the greed of the palace," he replied with a deep sigh.
Adelaide clenched her fist. The insult was getting too much, but she had no choice but to smile. "You must have been so angry with what happened today."
"Yes, so angry. Adric keeps showing her reasons to fall for him. First, it was the horse race, then the hunting, and now the cooking. It’s more as if these activities were set to make them fall in love with each other. It’s of no advantage to me," he bent down, covering his face with his hand.
The princess rubbed her eyebrows slightly. She was tired of these men coming inside her room just to vent and show anger. And it was all because of one person from a small kingdom who had come to push her away from her own home.
Adelaide hit her clenched fist on her lap. She wasn’t going to let it happen. If Oriana wouldn’t bow to her, then she wouldn’t let her survive life in the palace.
"The plan, the one you said would make me be her savior," Nicholas raised his face, now staring at Adelaide unblinkingly, "When is it happening? Push it forward, it’s just two more events before the masquerade ball. I need to score some points before the coronation day."
Adelaide nodded. "I have the plan in motion soon. Don’t worry about it. You’ve been doing well so far, so good."
"I have been doing good, and one idiot decides to ruin it all by making Oriana cook the things Adric doesn’t like. All for what? To make them fall deeper in love?"
Adelaide was so fed up with Nicholas shading her. She rubbed her tongue over her teeth. "I have heard you. Let us rest. There is tomorrow to prepare for."
Nicholas touched his neck. "That’s right," he smiled. Moving closer to Adelaide, he tried to touch her leg, raising her skirt.
"What are you doing right now, Lord Nicholas?" Adelaide asked with a tone of formality.
Nicholas frowned at first at the tone Adelaide used, then he smiled. "I really need to calm my pressure, you know. We have both been stressed out lately. A little... you know."
"I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I will need you to leave right now. We don’t want to make one person feel like an idiot, right?" her tone sounded a bit irritated.
Nicholas paused his hand. He didn’t know what he had done so wrong, but the princess looked really angry. He retraced his hand and stood up. "Have a good rest then, Princess Adelaide," he bowed and left the room.
Adelaide picked up the empty cup on the table and threw it across the room, which clashed on the door and broke to pieces. "I am the idiot? And the one tainted with greed, right? You all will pay for this, for looking down on me. Especially you, Oriana!" she fumed, looking at her door with anger.
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