Adric chuckled, waving for the guards to leave. "Father, I think it’s time she joins you in taking the herbs to cleanse her heart," he remarked, going to pull out a chair for Oriana, who was still shocked at what she had just witnessed.
"Fidelis, you let me get humiliated in front of our guest and that’s all you could say?" Gwen asked her husband.
Adric shook his head. "The only guests we had here were the guards, which was why I asked them to leave. Now it’s just us, the Galgani Royal family."
Oriana sat down, trying her best to avoid the Queen’s eyes because she was sure that if her eyes had arrows and daggers, she would be six feet under with the way the woman was staring at her.
"Gwen, please sit down; we can sort this out as a family," Adric’s father said with a low voice, then he coughed, using the napkin to cover his mouth.
Gwen breathed in and out before sitting back down, making sure her chair scraped on the marble floor to make an annoying screech.
"Son," the king continued after his wife had settled down, "Are you really getting married to her?"
Adric nodded. "We already exchanged the marriage chest," he replied with a soft voice similar to his father’s own.
Oriana noticed how calm Adric was with his father, it was different from the way he spoke with his mother. It was more like Adric was trying to spite the woman with all his words and actions. Oriana felt someone intensely looking in her direction. She raised her eyes only to realize it wasn’t just one person.
They were two girls who had a faint resemblance to one of Adric’s striking features. The one with the red hair glared at her with hate, and it made Oriana worried because she had never met this woman before, so why the hate? The other one with the brown eyes had a calm look on her face, her lips curled up with a smile that Oriana couldn’t quite understand. She also noticed the two small boys and another man sitting close to them. She had always thought that Adric was the only child, but it turns out he wasn’t.
"Gwen, they have exchanged the marriage chest," Fidelis said to his wife, his words slow like it was difficult for him to say a word completely.
Gwen inhaled softly, stretching her hand forward, she held her husband’s hand. "We can’t let the future Queen of Avon be someone who can lie easily. A liar can also be a thief; who knows what her plans are. Fidelis, I worry for the family, and you know this."
Adric smirked; he knew very well the game the woman was playing, but he let his father handle it.
"Adric, you should have discussed this with your family first, knowing that the girl’s character has been questionable in the past,"
The Crown Prince hummed, "I would let Oriana defend herself on that,"
"Huh?" Oriana turned when she heard her name; they didn’t discuss that she would be talking. She saw Adric wink at her. Was this what he meant when he said to be herself? Oriana cleared her throat.
"Your Majesty," she bowed, "Thank you for the welcome. I know I have acted out of character in the past, but that’s just because I was growing up and I regret my past actions so much. But then, I got punished for it."
Oriana’s eyes were now on the Queen, who had abandoned her. If she had not met Freya and Louis that day, what would have become of her? She thought to herself.
"The punishment helped me grow, made me understand that I have a lot to learn about life. I said to myself, ’Why not come closer to this woman who was able to train me better than my own mother?’ Thank you so much, Mother," Oriana bowed.
Gwen glared at the girl. "Don’t you dare call me that; I would never birth someone like you."
Oriana nodded understandingly. "Ah, okay, but you can accept someone like me. Thank you, mother-in-law," Adric chuckled, while everyone at the table was surprised by Oriana’s boldness.
"I am not your- Fidelis, are you seeing that? Adric has taught her how to make fun of me."
The king sighed, touching his temples tiredly. "Gwen, there’s nothing wrong with being called mother-in-law."
"There is something wrong! I will never accept someone like her; it will be over my dead body," Gwen said harshly.
Adric smiled. "Noted, then that means we would go with your burial first before the wedding proper. Thank you for telling us about your plans earlier,"
Oriana knitted her brows worriedly. Adric was effortlessly trying to make things worse. Why would he talk about his own mother in such a manner?
"Fidelis!!" Gwen shouted her husband’s name. "Are you really going to sit back there and watch me get insulted by your son?"
Son? Oriana raised her brows. Was this how the woman referred to Adric when she was angry?
"Adric, don’t talk to your mother in that manner. Let’s talk this out, please. Did Orion really give their daughter to you as a wife?"
The Crown Prince sucked his teeth. "Well, when we look at it that way, we can all say yes. Let’s put it this way, shall we? Orion owed Valonia, and Valonia went to take their debt, which was paid through a marriage pact with the Crown Princess of Orion. So, in the spirit of debt collection, I decided to clean up our slate with Valonia. With her, Valonia no longer owes us."
"Wait, if I heard you correctly. Brother Adric, you married her in order to clear off the debt which Valonia owed us. She wasn’t even going to marry you to start with," Princess Jasmine asked.
Adric smiled. "It comes as a surprise that your brain worked faster this time; it’s progress. Anyone else?"
"Do you even love her?" Caspar asked, looking at the girl who didn’t have any qualities of a princess. She looked smaller and had pale skin.
Oriana nodded at the question, because that was what everyone was supposed to ask. And most importantly, she wondered why they were not eating when they clearly had food on the table. She was famished.
"Hm..." Adric hummed, "Let’s just say what we feel for each other is the same as your marriage with Jasmine," he winked.
He’s married? Oriana bit her lips. Then this explains this man was the father of the two boys beside him, but he wasn’t Adric’s brother. Then he is either a relative or married to one of the princesses. She noted.
"She is no crown princess! This is not the Crown Princess of Orion," Gwen remarked, pointing accusing fingers at Oriana. "Did she lie to you again?"
"I have the parchment here which says Valonia would be getting married to the Crown Princess of Orion, and I found her. So what does that make her?" Adric asked a rhetorical question, but someone from the table answered.
"The Crown Princess of Orion," Princess Adelaide replied, chewing her meat slowly. When her eyes finally moved away from her plate, she locked eyes with Oriana’s.
Oriana gulped; she looked away from the princess who had just spoken. Why was Adric trying to make more issues from all of this? If everyone found out that her family lied, it would be another trouble.
"You mean Curtis and his wife married off their youngest daughter as the crown princess?" Fidelis asked, and his son nodded. He sighed.
"We should invite them and continue this discussion when they arrive," King Fidelis said with a tone of finality.
Great! Oriana sighed. Now her family was going to get invited. This was the trouble she didn’t bargain for, but before that, she needed to eat to stay alive in the midst of all of this. Oriana pushed her chair forward, picking up her spoon. It had been a long time since she had a good meal, since she was scared someone might try to poison her back at home. Here she was safe; nobody would mind her.
"What are you doing?" Adric asked now standing with his hand stretched forward. Oriana held the spoon close to her mouth, ready to eat.
"Let’s go," she heard Adric say, slowly she dropped her spoon and placed her hand on Adric’s own. As she left her eyes was on the food, her life was messed up that she couldn’t even eat like a normal human being.
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