Irvin gave the gun to Rufus standing next to him, "thank you for the gift Miss Addison. I will keep in mind of this new weapon for the next conference meeting."
There were no signs of happiness on the King's face, just his regular resting bitch face. It was as if he could care less of her efforts. Grace clenched her fists, but still showed her gentle smile as she bowed.
Florence could feel the sinister glare coming from the so called "Goddess". Sighing she thought with her imaginary tears, 'Why can't we all get along? Is that too much to ask for?'
In all honesty, she didn't want involved in a cat fight yet it was expected. Florence heard Irvin had rejected Grace many times, but the woman was persistent. All of this for power? Why wouldn't someone rather have the power to rule than the power of relaxation? Was she getting old to think of such logic?
"Father! Can we show our present now?" Lillian asked politely.
The twins saw him nod, then got up to look for Tina who was keeping their present. The two came back a little while later holding a box with a bow.
"This is a present from the both of us! We worked hard on it!" Lillian gave Irvin the box.
Unraveling the bow, Irvin opened the box in astonishment. It was a glass globe, inside there was two figures dancing with each other. The man looked like Irvin and he was holding onto the lady's hand and waist... the lady looked just like Florence.
"Turn the knob on the side," Lawrence instructed.
Irvin twisted the knob and surprisingly a musical tune played as the figures in the globe jumped up and down... as if dancing to the tune.
"You guys made this?" Irvin seemed speechless.
"Yes! I told you we worked hard on it! Do you like it?" Lillian asked nervously as she couldn't read his reaction.
Putting the globe carefully back into the box, Irvin lifted the twins into his lap and kissed their cheeks. "I love it, thank you for the wonderful gift."
"Yay!" Lillian hugged him while Lawrence looked stunned at the fact that he just got a kiss from his FATHER.
"You little geniuses, how did you make this?" Florence asked holding the globe.
"It was Lillian's idea and I helped with the mechanism" Lawrence responded.
"It's amazing and thoughtful," she complimented rubbing their heads.
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The nobles acted polite and kind in front of Florence and the twins as they saw how the King treated them like precious gems.
Tired of the ladies and their gossips, Florence walked out to the balcony for fresh air. This was more tiring than she thought it would be. If she remembered correctly back at the Blume Kingdom, Florence didn't need to attend such events. If she did attend, no one would even bother to talk to her as everyone knew the Princess wasn't the social type. They only admired the smart Princess from the side, but didn't bother to approach her.
Lending onto the railing, Florence looked up to the moon who's shining her dim light onto the ground.
"Even up close I don't see anything good about you," a voice stated bringing Florence out of her daze.
The beauty walked in with her tall stature towering over Florence. Her silver hair shone white in the moonlight, her face contoured into a wicked smirk.
"Miss Addison, what brings you here?" Florence played cool.
"Oh please Princess Blume, you know my intentions and possibly heard the rumors of me and His Majesty," Grace rolled her eyes.
Florence narrowed her eyes, "how did you know I'm Princess Blume? The King haven't announced my name yet."
"The banished vampire Princess crawled her way onto the King's bed in order to make the rest of her life remain in luxury, isn't that shameless?"
"At least I'm not the one trying to be a home wrecker. Get to the point Miss Addison, what's the threat," Florence said nonchalantly.
"Get out of here while I'm playing nice Blume, don't make me use force" Grace dropped her smile. "Leave the palace and live somewhere quietly, I'm willingly to pay you for it. You can take the twins too, but if you wish to leave them I will gladly-"
"FFFHAHAHAHA" Florence burst into laughter. "Me? Leaving MY babies? Are you out of your mind Miss Addison? I didn't carry them for nine months to sell them to a lonely Mistress."
"You-" Grace gritted her teeth.
"Miss Addison," Florence looked up to the beauty. "I had lived six years without the King and I can most certainly do it again, but... it's too late."
She paused briefly before staring into space and smiled warmly, "I'm starting to fall in love with him."
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Louis Maines gasped as he accidentally eavesdropped the ladies conversation. He was merely tired and wanted to get fresh air too, but stopped himself from opening the door to the balcony as he heard voices. This is one of the perks of having this strong hearing power, he could hear all the juicy gossips!
Falling in love with His Majesty? Isn't this big news?!
He contemplated whether he should tell His Majesty or not. The King might even give him a reward for telling him such a thing, but it will hurt his conscience to be a snitch!
Unable to hold his urge to gossip, Louis went over to Rufus.
"What?!" Rufus looked over to the King who's currently chatting with the noblemen. "Are you going to tell him?"
"Should I?"
"Nah don't. We will die in Her Highness' hands then His Majesty."
"I don't want to be a snitch."
"Your power's purpose is to snitch!"
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After Grace angrily left the balcony, Florence also left to find the twins. They were munching on snacks with their grandmother and Hendery, so she didn't need to worry about them.
Without a warning Irvin hugged her from behind, "are you tired? Should we leave?"
Florence nodded.
Irvin held her waist and they leave the banquet to rest in their room. Entering the silent room, Irvin immediately asked, "where's my present?"
"I thought you said you didn't need a present from me," Florence giggled at his sad face. "Alright, I'll get it."
She walked to the couch and dug her hand into cushions. A crushed paper bag came out and she gave it to Irvin. "Happy birthday Irvin, here's my gift. It's nothing much so you shouldn't anticipate much."
Irvin hastily opened the bag and pulled out the crimson scarf that he had seen her knitting. It was soft and warm... it filled his heart with joy to see the effort and work she put into it. Irvin warped the scarf around his neck with a satisfied smile.
"Do you like it?" She asked.
He pulled her into a hug then pecked her on the lips, "I love it. Thank you darling."
The kiss caught Florence off guard, making her face heat up. Looking away she replied, "your welcome."
That night Irvin refused to take off the scarf, and so he went to sleep with the fuzzy scarf embracing his neck. Florence could only shook her head and prayed it doesn't restrict his air flow.