Chapter 60:
Suspicions
Olicia glanced back and forth with a suspicious gaze as she stepped out of the small closet in one of the castle's many hallways, lightly tugging on the dark blue corset of her dress. Her black dress hung low, barely hanging above the ground, and the small train that hung from her shoulders fluttered behind her. Though she had not gotten the answers that she wanted, Olicia found she had learned quite a bit about the Yursear kingdom. She shook out her dark-brown hair and took a breath.
Marquis Cyneric was different than what I expected, Olicia thought to herself as she hurried back to the candidates' lounging area. I had heard rumors of his promiscuous behavior, but now they seem to be an understatement. Olicia sighed in frustration, And I didn't even get any information I wanted. All I really learned is that Marquis Cyneric is a pervert. Olicia's face became warm as she thought back to what had happened only a few minutes before. She shook her head rapidly, trying to shake the memories out of her mind and quickened her pace. Whatever, there's plenty of time to learn more. The crown prince being poisoned was no minor incident. There has to be more to this situation than what appears. Olicia was so lost in her thoughts, she did not notice the shadow following her as she hurried back to the rest of the group.
As she approached the door to the lounge, she peeked her head in, seeing if there was anyone around. There was a group whispering together and laughing, and Olicia furrowed her eyebrows in annoyance.
Oh great. She thought to herself as she stepped inside, It's them again. Just take a breath and walk right past them. Olicia took a deep breath and braced her shoulders, holding her hands elegantly in front of her as she walked to her room, passing the group of women as she went.
"Oh my, where were you, Marchioness Olicia?" Duchess Cordelia asked, fanning herself lightly as the group quickly silenced, "Everyone noticed you had left, and we were all beginning to worry you had gotten lost or offended someone." Cordelia was at the head of the group, fanning herself with her silk black fan elegantly, standing tall in her high-heels with an imposing air about her. The dark red dress she wore was embroidered with black vines, looking like tendrils to the irritated Olicia.
Olicia's eyebrows twitched, but she smiled, standing tall as she stepped into the room, attempting to make a short appearance before returning to her room to prepare herself for the gatherings later, "You don't need to worry about me, Duchess Cordelia. I don't need dozens of handmaids to help me find my way around. Especially for something as minor as a walk in the garden." Olicia waved her hand casually, motioning in small circles. Her gesture made the smile on the duchess's face tighten, but Cordelia held her expression taut.
"If something as minor as handmaids makes you uncomfortable, you would greatly struggle becoming the queen, seeing as the queen is followed constantly with a parade of helpers, advisors, maids, guards," The fellow Variten native, Countess Annmaria, responded with a stern smile, listing the people off on her gloved fingers, "But of course, the Falfier kingdom does not have as strict standards as the Vartien or the Yursear kingdom."
"You are correct." Olicia said, biting her anger down as she bit her lip, "But the Falfier kingdom prioritizes its people over its luxuries. Maybe that is why people have been fleeing the Vartien kingdom and begging for asylum in the Falfier kingdom." Olicia shrugged with a tight smile, "But I am just a minor marchioness, so what would I know?"
Annmaria glared, preparing something nasty to say, but Cordelia rested her hand on Annmaria's arm, her eyes giving Annmaria a look that silenced her immediately. Seeing as Annmaria was silenced, Cordelia smiled and turned back to Olicia,
"They were traitors, so they would not be welcome in the Vartien kingdom anyway. I am glad they managed to find a new place to live, but I would recommend to your uncle to watch his citizens very closely. Who knows who is a traitor among them?"
"I appreciate the advice, Duchess Cordelia." Olicia said shortly, biting her tongue.
"Oh, what is this?" A mellow voice sang out, quickly approaching the group. The small group's faces turned sour quickly, which caused Olicia to turn to see who approached. It was Princess Charlotte. Her long, pink dress fluttered around her as her train slid silently across the ground behind her. Her brunette hair curled around her small face and her smiling, pink lips. She opened her fan and began fanning herself as she continued, "What are you all talking about, with your expressions so serious?" Her smile was warm, making her appear relaxed in enemy territory.
Olicia hummed quietly to herself and shrugged, glancing away as Cordelia smiled, "We were giving Marchioness Olicia some advice. Are you seeking some too, Princess Charlotte?"
Charlotte laughed, her voice lifting as she giggled, "What a silly idea, Duchess Cordelia! Please, do share with me what advice you could give that would be helpful!"
Cordelia continued to smile, but the corner of her lip twitched, "What could you possibly mean by that, Princess Charlotte?" The duchess's dark eyes narrowed, her fingers trembling slightly as she gripped her fan.
Charlotte faked a surprised face, then smiled with a small blush and a laugh, "Oh, you didn't know? Everyone, especially Countess Annmaria, has been talking about how uneducated and informal you are. She even told me it's no surprise you haven't caught Prince Clarence's eye at all. Oh, but, don't tell me Countess Annmaria hasn't told you yet?" Charlotte turned towards Annmaria, whose face was flushed a bright red as it contorted in immense anger, "I'm sorry, Annmaria! You were so comfortable saying all of this with everyone else, I had assumed you had told Duchess Cordelia what you said about her! But maybe that is how it is done in the Vartien kingdom."
Countess Annmaria's face reddened even further as she clutched her fan tight in her hand, looking as if she were prepared to strike the Bethilian princess for her comments. Duchess Cordelia, however, grabbed her shoulder in her tight gasp and held her down without a word, her lips crossed with a small, irritated smile.
As Cordelia controlled Annmaria, Charlotte brushed a strand of hair off her shoulder with her free hand and smiled brightly, "Oh, if it isn't Marchioness Olicia! I had a question for you. Would you please come with me?" Olicia looked unsure, but Charlotte quickly closed the distance between them and looped her arm through Olicia's, guiding her away from the glaring, heated group, "I have never vacationed in the Falfier kingdom, and it is such a lovely country, but I just wouldn't know where to start. I insist you help me!"
Led by Charlotte, Olicia was led by the hand down the quiet hallway towards Charlotte's room, near the southern end of the Queen's palace. As Charlotte lifted her hand to the door to announce her presence, there was a clicking sound, and the door suddenly opened, exposing the princess's tall, imposing knight on the other side of the door. Without a word, the knight stepped back, allowing Charlotte in as he bowed his head, greeting Olicia with a stern nod. Feeling intimidated by the tall man, she could only nod back.
In the sitting room of the residence sat a familiar figure, Princess Sagara from the Khymal Empire, dressed in a long, delicately embroidered jade green dress. Behind her were two of her personal maids, resting their hands in their laps as they stood, standing behind the princess with an air of invisibility. Walking in, Charlotte walked to the armchair near Sagara and said with a smile, "Olicia, please, take a seat. We have some things to discuss." Without a word, she lowered herself onto the chair and motioned for Olicia to sit next to Sagara, looking refined as a queen.
Carefully, Olicia walked to the side of the couch and said, "Pardon me then." She sat down next to the smiling Sagara and looked to the table in front of them, full of freshly-baked cookies and steaming tea, prepared for their arrival by Charlotte's maids. Reaching forward, she delicately grabbed a cookie and brought it to her lips before she opened her mouth and chomped down, startling Sagara, who watched the marchioness in gross fascination.
As the group of three relaxed in their seats, Charlotte's knight suddenly walked to the door and opened it, showing the face of a startled Philomena, followed by two of her maids. Philomena, whose hand was raised to knock at the door, slowly lowered her hand to her side as she stared at the knight in bewilderment. She then sighed lightly and held her head high as she entered the room, her light blue dress trailing behind her, and walked by Charlotte's chair, looking at Sagara and Olicia with a flash of surprise.
"Hello, Charlotte, Sagara." Philomena bowed her head lightly to the other princesses before her gaze moved to Olicia, who had cookie crumbs on her chin. Philomena's lower lip twitched as she added a stiff, "Olicia." Philomena did not find Olicia's careless attitude charming in the least, and she felt the future duchess of the Falfier Kingdom was uncouth. It took Philomena a great amount of patience to not chastise Olicia in front of the other nobles.
"I'm so glad you could come, Philomena." Charlotte said with a sweet smile. She gestured with her hand to an open seat, across from her, and continued, "Please, take a seat." As Philomena slowly walked over to her seat, looking around curiously at the small group that had been gathered by Charlotte. Charlotte continued speaking, this time to the group, "And I am very thankful you all were able to come too. Even though we've only been here for such a short time, there has already been a great deal of betrayal and backstabbing, from some within the group of candidates, and some from outside of it. I'm sure we all knew this would happen, as soon as we received the invitation to come, but it still does not change the fact that all of us are in danger every moment we are in this palace."
Sagara nodded her head lightly as Olicia dusted the crumbs off of her lap with the back of her hand. Philomena sat in a seat by herself to the left of Olicia, her hands knotted in her lap with anxiety as she said, "That we all know, Princess Charlotte. What we want to know is why you have gathered us all here like this." Philomena did not mince her words as she asked Princess Charlotte directly, her expression firm. "Are you looking to create an alliance between us?"
Charlotte's expression did not change at Philomena's words. She instead lifted her freshly-poured cup of tea and brought it to her lips. "Something of the sort." She took a small sip of her black tea before she returned the teacup to its saucer and added, "I have a proposal to make."
"And I am assuming this has something to do directly with Prince Clarence and the engagement, am I right?" Sagara asked, her long eyelashes fluttering lightly as she put down her cup and stared at Charlotte.
"You all are so observant." Charlotte replied calmly, her rouged lips turning into a becoming smile, "But that is why I picked you all. Yes, this does have something to do with Prince Clarence, and it is about an alliance." Charlotte put her hands on her lap as the three women stared at her, waiting for her to continue, "You all know in this race that you need allies to succeed. Or, in our case, not be poisoned or eliminated." Charlotte laughed lightly, but everyone else remained quiet, waiting for her to get to the point. With a small shake of her head, she continued, "So I think us four should unite and work together towards a common goal."
"And what would that goal be?" Sagara asked, leaning back in her seat and crossing her right leg over her left. She looked as regal as a queen as she sat back, relaxed but alert.
"Our goal," Charlotte began, the smile growing on her face as she looked at each of the three noblewomen around her. Each was brave, beautiful, but most importantly, intelligent. Charlotte knew as she stared at them that she had not made a single mistake, "Would be me becoming Prince Clarence's official fiancee." Olicia almost spit out the tea she was sipping at. She begrudgingly swallowed it as Sagara and Philomena shot each other looks of bewilderment.
"You're..." Philomena bit down her sentence and started over, anger flaring in her bright eyes, "You are joking, Princess Charlotte. You must be."
"I am not." Charlotte replied immediately, a sweet smile still hanging on her upturned lips.
"But the whole reason we were all sent here is to become Prince Clarence's fiancee. Why would we team up to help you?!" Philomena snapped back, her brows turned down and her face bunching in unbridled anger.
"I am sure," Sagara cut in, her tone calm and cool, as she lightly placed her hand back on her teacup and lifted it to her lips, "that Princess Charlotte plans to explain that to us. Don't you, Princess Charlotte?"
Charlotte nodded gently, "I promise I will explain everything and make the deal irresistible to you all, if you will listen."
Olicia turned towards an angry Philomena, who was mumbling angrily under her breath. She then turned her head to the cool and calculating Sagara, who sat quietly, her thin lips closed tightly, her eyes closed as she thought. She then turned towards a smiling Charlotte, who was patiently waiting for a response. As Olicia looked at her, she noticed Charlotte was unconsciously clutching her handkerchief that lay by her side, the lace being crumbled into an indistinguishable bundle. Olicia then turned back to Charlotte's face with a weak smile,
"I can't speak for everyone else, but I would like to hear your deal."
"I agree. I would like to hear you out." Sagara said with a nod towards Olicia. Philomena gawked at both of them, incredulous.
"You both must be mad!" Philomena said, her hands bunched in tight balls, "If we agree to this, we agree to give up the most powerful position on the continent!"
"Just because we agree to listen, Philomena," Sagara said coolly, holding the cup of her tea to her lips, "Doesn't mean that we are agreeing to what Princess Charlotte is offering. We are agreeing to listen."
A hurt expression flashed across Philomena's face as she realized she was being chastised like a child, but she nodded at Charlotte, "Fine. I'll listen. But I probably won't agree to your terms."
"Thank you all." Charlotte said with a brilliant smile, "You will not regret listening to this."
…
As tailors and stewards flurried around Clarence, holding up different varieties of tailored jackets and blouses, he turned his head towards the opening door. With a bang of the door, Alywin strolled into the room without waiting to be announced, to the guards' annoyance, and he waved to Clarence as he walked over to a nearby couch, plopping himself down with a sigh.
"I see you are not dressed." Clarence said stiffly, another blouse pressed up against his body tightly, "Did you not like the outfit I sent?"
"No, it's fine." Alywin said with a roll of his eyes, his heavy gaze sticking to Clarence's face, "But I have something important to talk to you about before I get ready."
"Then, please, say what is on your mind. It's not like we have just a short time before we need to be ready." Clarence said sarcastically as the blouse was removed, and another one was placed against his torso, "Head tailor, please just pick what you think is best."
"Yes, Your Majesty." The head tailor said with a deep bow, "We will prepare your outfit right away." The tailor stepped back, holding the blouses in his hand as two jackets were draped on his arm from the previous fittings.
Clarence nodded, "Leave us. And let Captain Laurent know when you are finished." The tailors quickly collected their things as the stewards hurried out. The guards opened the doors and waited, letting the last of the tailors hurry out to a separate room before they shut the doors behind them. With the room empty and quiet, Clarence stepped off the round fitting platform and loosened the neckline of his bloused shirt, reflecting the back of his figure in the tall mirror as he stepped closer to Alywin. Alywin continued to glare at him as did this, waiting for Clarence to say something, but Clarence only raised his eyebrow at Alywin.
"Don't pretend you don't know why I'm angry!" Alywin snapped, his arms crossed, with his fingernails digging into his arms. His green eyes burned with anger, but to Clarence it was like a disagreement between a child and their parent.
"I have no idea. Why don't you tell me?" Clarence said with a smirk, waiting for an answer from Alywin, who appeared to Clarence like an angry little kitten.
"Where is Theo?" Alywin asked immediately, his body tense with rage, "Or, more precisely, what did you do to him?"
Clarence shrugged his shoulders and slowly moved over to Alywin, who continued to glare sharply at Clarence. Clarence gently placed his hand on the back of the couch where Alywin sat, leaning in towards Alywin with a handsome smile.
"Oh, please," Alywin said with a roll of his eyes, pushing Clarence's hand aside and standing up, "Do you think that'll distract me? Everything you know, you learned from me."
"Don't be like that, Alywin." Clarence said with sigh, sitting on the couch and grabbing Alywin's hand, "Sit, and I'll explain what happened." Alywin yanked his hand out of Clarence's gentle grip, but still sat down, though at a distance from Clarence.
"Tell me what you did." Alywin said flatly, though his face betrayed his immense anger.
"I asked him for a favor, that's all." Clarence said leaning in towards Alywin, who ignored his advances with an irritated snort.
"Funny, because he didn't say anything to me about that." Alywin replied, keeping an eye on Clarence's gentle, smiling face.
"He probably didn't want to worry you." Clarence responded backhandedly, maintaining his lackadaisical smile towards Alywin with a startling lack of concern. Noticing this, Alywin abruptly stood up, his fist clenched at his sides as he faced the childish prince.
"That's a lie, and you know it." Alywin said shakily, taking a deep breath to calm himself, "But fine, if you won't tell me, Theo will." Clarence shrugged nonchalantly, but Alywin ignored it and continued, "And I have good news. I have someone I think could be of use to you."
"What would I do without you, Alywin?" Clarence said, standing up and approaching Alywin, who continued to ignore him with his back turned.
"I heard Malcolm will return for the engagement ball. You need to be prepared for his arrival. A large part of that will be to have a group of allies you can trust. Another," Alywin said, turning towards Clarence and locking eyes with him, "Is having the senate in your hand. They make a lot of important decisions for this country. Without them, you are nothing. Don't assume just because your father has a tight grip on them that you will."
Clarence chuckled as he responded, "I promise, Alywin, I've been doing some things on the side I haven't spoken to you about that are helping me to take the throne without incident. Some of that is what Theo is doing for me." Clarence said with a smile, lifting his hands and placing them gently on Alywin's shoulders with a pat. Though Alywin flinched at the touch, he did not move. It took everything in Clarence not to smile at this, in case it would anger Alywin.
"The only other person with any true eligibility to take the throne from you is Malcolm. You have to be careful." Alywin said, frowning deeply at the thought of Malcolm.
"I promise, I will be. Now, will you sit with me and tell me more about this person you found?"
"You might want to sit anyway when I tell you who it is." Clarence raised his brow at this, but Alywin shook his head, "I'm sure you've heard many things about the Falfier kingdom, right? Well, you might not believe what I'm about to tell you."
Hearing Alywin's tone, Clarence could only sit on the couch lazily as he rested his back against the fabric."Nothing you say surprises me, Alywin." He responded, his arms resting on the back of the couch with a languid look to them. It was only when Alywin spoke did the listening prince's eyes to widen as he sat up in his seat, completely losing his lazy bearing about him. He opened his mouth slightly before he closed it again and said in a low tone, "I see." Silence fell in the room.
…
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Just a note: Olicia is the Falfier King's niece.
Here is the chapter! Long 8 paged boy! Clarence was playing up his flirting game/ intimidation on Alywin, and it seems to be working. Though, there are some looming clouds in the distance with the arrival of Malcolm and Clarence is missing all the signs.... D:
Sorry for the delay! I just went for an early job interview and just clonked out on the couch for a while. Woke up groggy and finished this with Hunny! I'll know today if I progress onto the next round of interviews ;u; But good news, my family now has a new house! Our offer was accepted, so now we're waiting on the papers to process! When that comes, delays may come, but we'll let you all know when the time comes.
Thank you all for reading! I will be posting a bunch of novel teasers on my Scribblehub (CatMasseuse) later today, so check those out when you can ;D Huge thanks to Hunny, and I hope you all enjoy this chapter~! ♥