*PREVIOUS CHAPTER*
Creatures that are currently living must live in secret, afraid that they'll get killed or have to mate.
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*The next morning, 12 p.m.*
The marchioness was going to pay a visit in the afternoon, so everyone was preparing food and cleaning the place. The servants even had to prepare guest rooms in case the marchioness would stay a night.
That old woman also wrote in a letter saying that Elia and Danvy would come by too, so my day was already feeling like hell. The duke prepared more guards and he also had to prepare gifts for them since they were coming.
"Duke & duchess, the marchioness and the soon-to-be princess arrived" Perin said. He luckily recovered fast after almost getting killed.
The servants all stood in a line, ready to greet the guests.
"The marchioness and royal couple have arrived!" A servant from the Luvenis Mansion yelled.
'Royal couple? What a stupid name' I thought, the duke seemed to think the same way too.
"We're thankful that duke Florys allowed us to visit" Elia and the marchioness said, ignoring me on purpose.
"Shouldn't you have greeted your family first, marchioness and lady Elia?" The duke was standing up for me, I remembered what he told me. I had to stand up for myself if needed.
"It's an honour to have the third prince visiting too, please take a seat" I bowed and showed them the table. The marchioness kept looking around, her eyes showed that she wasn't too satisfied. Elia was also disgusted when she saw the food on table.
The prince ate first, pretending to not know them. His eyes widened, they sparkled. Elia noticed and also took a bite, her face showed that she liked it.
"I'm glad it suits your tastes, I made it myself" I gave them a smile as Elia froze. The prince didn't seem to mind and ate even more. Elia's fists were clenched, she was jealous. The marchioness noticed and gave me a fake smile.
"Let's settle the bet now, duchess" The marchioness' servant handed a box. The marchioness had a proud look and showed everyone the fan, even the servants. I was actually impressed by the design, but it lacked feeling. There was no depth, it looked like a flower that you'd find in child drawings. The fan was also too heavy, she used real gold. I wanted to hit my head so bad, did that old woman need to show off her status so bad?
"Duchess, I brought your fan" Mary came but the marchioness stopped her from opening the box.
"I'll be soft on you, you just need to give me all your fancy stuff instead of the 50% pocket money, duchess" The marchioness was so confident in winning.... Sadly she was going to lose.
"Mary, open it" Mary showed everyone the box first, it was a box that matched the sakura design of the fan. It was pink and had sakura blossoms on it. Everyone's mouth dropped wide open by the fan, the duke had a light smile on his face but it wasn't so different from his pokerface.
"The duchess even made it herself!" The servants said, I didn't expect them to take my side but I did feel happy. I sipped my cup of tea and looked at the marchioness, she was biting her lip.
"Marchioness, you shouldn't do that. You'll get wrinkles from all that frowning" I smirked and put my tea down.
"I want the 50% of the Luvenis' fortune by tomorrow, I want the marquis to come too. I'll cut ties with the Luvenis after, so no need to visit me anymore" My face was cold and I just stared at them. The marchioness was furious, she grabbed her fan and threw it at me. The duke caught the fan in time and broke it. The marchioness saw that she really messed up this time and immediately fell on the ground.
"I'm....I'm sorry duke! That wasn't my intention...." She was begging on her knees, quite amusing if I say myself. Elia froze and looked at the prince who kept eating. She clenched her fists and rose from her chair.
"You lowlife! How can you do that to the people who gave you shelter?!" Elia's face had an angry expression, but her voice sounded a little too calm for that. This time the third prince rose.
"Elia, you should know that the duke and duchess have more power than you. We're not married yet so your title hasn't changed" The third prince took our side, I actually hated it. He would definitely ask for something in return.
"I can't tolerate your behaviour of today, 'mom and sister'. Don't you think of apologising to the duke and I?" I just stared down on them. Their faces went dark and they both looked away. My face turned cold again and I put my arms over each other.
"Since you both don't want to apologise I want the 50% fortune and all Elia's belongings that are currently in the mansion" Elia's mouth dropped open.
The marchioness finally got up and bowed. "I apologise, duchess. I'll bring everything tomorrow morning". Elia was furious, her own mom didn't even take her side just like her fiancé. She stormed off and Danvy followed her. The marchioness left quietly, she must've felt humiliated.