The day Olivia arrived in the castle…
Marquis Praxis was feeling much better now that he had taken care of his little problem. He wouldn't have had to be so rushed about it if that king had just given him more time. As it was, last night he had to go to that filthy place and hire someone to do it for him. It was a risk. But it was an even bigger risk to let Olivia get close to the king.
Everything would be solved once Olivia was out of the picture. He knew the kind of men he was sending her to, but the little b1tch deserved it. From the first time she had messed with Graciella's food, he stopped caring about her. She could have done as she pleased everywhere else, and he wouldn't have minded. But she just had to go after his precious girl.
Still he didn't want others to think he was unkind to a relative's child, and he felt a little bad for her. So he spent money on her. He let it be known to everyone else that he spoiled the little thing.
He had heard that Olivia was doing bad things and framing Graciella for them. But there was never any evidence that Olivia framed Graciella. It really did look like Graciella had done those things.
He should have put a stop to it then, but Graciella pleaded with him to let Olivia stay. "Please papa! She's my only friend!" She told Olivia right in front of him to promise to be good so she could stay. Olivia promised with tears in her eyes.
…
… Unbeknownst to the Marquis, Graciella had threatened to have the young maid Claire beat to death in front of Olivia if she dared to speak out or refuse. Olivia didn't know that Claire was on Graciella's side at that time, so she agreed to obey Graciella.
…
…
He couldn't let his poor little girl suffer. So he allowed Olivia to stay, as long as she behaved. She did behave, for a long time Olivia did nothing wrong. At least not inside the house. But outside the house, he didn't care about those issues. Graciella even began to get better, and stronger. This made the Marquis wonder if Olivia had indeed done something to Graciella's food. He didn't trust Olivia at all.
Then about a year ago Olivia began her old tricks again, she started plotting sneaky things against his precious daughter again. Now Olivia, who already had a fiance, just had to seduce the king. Olivia only did this because Graciella liked the king. Graciella had danced with the king, everyone said what a stunning match they would make.
He was certain that the King would choose Graciella. She was the epitome of what a noble lady should be. He was just grateful that Olivia didn't have too much influence over Graciella. If Olivia had influenced Graciella to misbehave then Olivia would never have been able to set foot into the house again.
But this time, when Olivia seduced the king in front of everyone, and his Graciella returned from the ball in tears, He knew he had waited too long. He had really allowed that horrible villainess to stay in his home and harm his daughter.
Graciella didn't even want to tell him what had happened. The chaperone that he sent with Graciella had been the one to tell him. Olivia had really seduced the king. Not only that but he had heard from that same maid that she saw Olivia taking recreational drugs that commoners used. Where did she even get that from? It must be from some unscrupulous person she was associated with. Perhaps he should have paid more attention to who her friends were. But back then he thought 'Why should I?' He had only brought her here from the orphanage to be a playmate for Graciella.
Olivia seducing the man Graciella was supposed to marry was the last straw. He wanted Olivia out of the house. Immediately! At first he was ok with moving the wedding to Oscar forward. It meant she would no longer be his problem. But then she demanded the engagement be annulled. After it was annulled, she said words that sounded like music to his ears. She wanted to go to the Southern Convent to repent. He knew she was just planning to run away from the problems she caused. She was not the type to give herself up for punishment. She was too scheming for that. He agreed to let her go.
If she wanted to go to the southern convent then he would make sure that was where she went. He didn't want Olivia to ever come back.
He knew he needed to act fast, so he went to see the king regarding their reputation. The king was the cause of their reputation falling so low. He did not want it to be said that Marquis Charles Praxis raised his daughters to be wh0res. With Olivia out of the way, he had a plan to talk the king into a marriage with Graciella.
But when he went to talk to the king, the king readily agreed. He did not think that the king had planned it all. He thought that when Olivia seduced the king, she had also come up with this plan. The best way to cause devastation upon Graciella. Olivia would marry the man Graciella loves.
Unacceptable! Olivia should die before ever getting to the Castle. So he had gone to that filthy place and hired that filthy man. He abandoned Olivia to a dirty fate. She was a disgusting girl anyway. He was certain that the king was not the first one between Olivia's legs. If he were not related to her, he might have even succumbed to the temptress himself. That was why he made sure to hit Olivia everytime she was a temptation to himself. He was stronger than her.
He was almost giddy to have Olivia gone. He knew it would take a few hours, then she would be beneath those vile criminals. He would probably need to seek his own release when that happened. He would know when it happened.
But then, instead of word from his spy that Olivia had been delivered to her doom. He got a letter from the castle thanking him for Olivia's safe delivery to the castle. His spy came back shortly after he got the letter. He had been ambushed and knocked out before the carriage even got close to the forest.
This couldn't be real. What happened to his plan!? The king must have sent someone to protect her secretly. How long had that protection been there? How much did the king know?
Marquis Praxis panicked internally for the entire day. He silently wondered when the king would send his guards to arrest him for attempted murder of the kings fiance. But no one came. He was wondering what was going on. The king would easily be able to find evidence that he was the one responsible for hiring the rogue.
Then he remembered that he had paid the rogue to put the blame on Lady Lowenheim. She was so close to the king, surely she would be the one who wanted Olivia dead the most.
By the end of the night he had convinced himself that if the king knew anything he would have already been arrested. Yes. He was ok. He didn't have to worry. The rogue must have done his job well. It would only be a matter of time until Lady Lowenheim would be arrested.
He knew he was not allowed to visit Oliva per the king's orders. He had to come up with an excuse to see the king. This way he could get into the castle and see her. Then he could convince her to leave the king somehow. He knew the king was cold toward everyone. He wasn't yet married to Olivia, so surely he would treat her that same way he had treated his first wife. King Adarian had ignored his first wife, how he managed to spend enough time with her to create an heir he would never know. It was a good thing she died in that accident so that the little creature couldn't be born.
This opened the path to Graciella becoming the queen. He knew his daughter loved the king. Though he thought the king didn't have a personality, his daughter was infatuated. He just knew someone as lovely as his Graciella could melt the stone heart of the king.
But for Graciella to marry King Adarian… Olivia had to go. Olivia was so calculative. Maybe the king would get tired of her the moment he spent just a little time with her. He needed to convince them both that this union was not the right choice. He had to. This was for the sake of Graciella marrying into the crown.
…
…
A few days had passed since Olivia was taken to the castle. He hadn't come up with a good excuse that would get him to see the king. So far all of his visits had been turned down at the door. While he went he overheard the men who came out of their meeting with the king.
"Lady Olivia seems to match his majesty really well"
"That's true, I didn't expect her to be involved in the meeting."
"She's very beautiful. I knew she was pretty, but I didn't know she was smart. The idea she gave me to improve my invention will really make it sell."
"That's true, I expected to just get approval on this patent, I didn't expect to get a better idea in the process. I've truly underestimated her."
"Lady Olivia's idea's are really innovative."
He naturally thought they were just exaggerating. He had also overheard the maids gossiping when they thought no one was listening.
" Lady Olivia has not left the side of the king the entire time she's been at the castle. It's so romantic. They hold hands everywhere. It's like they can't be apart for a moment."
"I heard the king is still looking for a tutor for her bridal training. Do you think she needs it?"
"I'm not sure. She spent the night in the king's chambers again. Did you help her dress this morning?"
"No, I didn't. I think his majesty helped her to dress. When she came out this morning the knots on her dress looked like they were not done properly."
She was sleeping with him even though they weren't married yet? She wasn't wearing her clothing properly!? He just knew the girl would make a fool out of his family! He was not happy. He really needed to have a word with his majesty about this girl and her impropriety.