Stella was relieved when Prince Aiden finally stopped crying. She would rather not become famous for making the prince cry and chasing him away.
In the novel, Stella had negative rumors about her but it was never about bullying the prince. It was because of her appearance and aura.
She might not look exactly like the duke the way Hendrick did, but she looked as cold and icy as Duke Henry. Her aura scared people away. She looked too scary to approach due to her cold demeanor.
People got scared that she might refuse them. They even assumed she was looking down on everyone due to her father's wealth and power so she never approached anyone.
They did not understand that she was merely not used to speaking with other people and she was not used to a crowd.
She was also afraid of making mistakes and ruining her family's esteemed reputation. Thus, she merely did the necessary greetings and did not talk with anyone else unless she was spoken to.
Yet, everyone interpreted it as her having so much pride and looking too highly of herself.
Only Prince Aiden and Alina knew of her warmth and kindness. But in the end, they were also the ones hurting her the most.
. . .
"Shall we drink tea together?" Stella suggested, diverting the topic. She was not sure she could deny hating Prince Aiden if he asked her again. Not that she truly hated him, but she disliked him in more ways than one.
"Sure," the prince looked elated to finally be invited and dried his tears.
All of Stella's servants sighed in relief but made sure that the prince did not hear them. It scared them that their little mistress may get punished for being disrespectful to the prince so they were relieved that everything ended peacefully.
"Then please have a seat, Prince Aiden."
"Thank you," the prince smiled. His eyes were still red but he was beaming once again since he was invited to tea by his only friend.
"My pleasure," Stella tried to smile as brightly as she could. She realized that the prince was observant despite how naive and innocent he looked. She had to up her acting skills.
"Oh, right. I brought gifts for you," he signaled his servants to bring it. He was once again as radiant as the sun that he was almost too bright for Stella to look at.
"That's a lot," Stella barely stopped herself from gawking as several boxes were brought to her.
The servants opened it one by one as Prince Aiden presented and explained the items to her. There were medicinal herbs, tonics, fabric, preserved food from the capital, and so on; all in the best quality.
"Please accept this, I personally chose it for you," Prince Aiden opened a small box himself and presented it to her.
Stella gawked at the prince in disbelief when he gave her a necklace that was considered to be a national treasure.
It was something that he was supposed to give to Alina on her twentieth birthday as an engagement gift.
"Why are you giving me something that important?" she asked Prince Aiden.
"To cheer you up. My nanny said that women of all ages liked jewels and ornaments so I thought I'd give you one to make you feel better," Prince Aiden innocently replied.
"But that's considered a national treasure," Stella protested.
"Do you dislike it?" the prince sulked.
"It is very beautiful. But it's too precious for me to accept. Would His Majesty not be furious if he knew you were giving this away?"
"But it was Father who brought me to the treasury and let me choose a gift for you. I thought this suited you best, so I asked for it, and Father granted it to me," Prince Aiden explained.
"R-really?" Stella blinked in disbelief. She wondered if the prince was lying so she glanced at his servants and they did not react strangely.
"Yes. Father said that I should never give a lady a half-hearted gift. So he allowed me to choose it myself," Prince Aiden beamed proudly.
"See, Father even had your name engraved behind it along with his insignia to serve as proof that it was given to you with his permission," the prince continued as he showed it to Stella.
The words 'To Stella Valyenor' were indeed engraved on it along with the Emperor's insignia. With that, no one would dare accuse her of stealing it.
"The Emperor is so kind," Stella sweatdropped. She did not understand why the emperor would go to such lengths.
'Perhaps, he was just being thoughtful. Stella is Duke Henry's daughter after all. I have everything I would ever need. None in our family would steal a measly necklace.'
They could afford custom-made pieces of jewelry if they wanted to. And if Duke Henry became crazy for some reason, he was powerful enough to start a revolt and empty the national treasury if he wanted to.
"Yes. Father is really kind and amazing," Prince Aiden agreed and babbled on; returning Stella's attention to the necklace.
"When I chose that necklace, Father said that I had a good eye. He said that a long long time ago, that necklace was owned by a great magician.
"The magician gifted it to his pregnant wife when he had to go away due to war. It was said that he probably enchanted it with a lot of complicated magic spells.
"And that necklace kept the magician's wife safe from harm and illnesses. Even when there was a plague, his wife did not get sick at all despite taking care of the sick people.
"The magician never returned home after the war. He was probably felled by the enemy.
"But the necklace continued safeguarding his wife and she safely gave birth to their daughter.
"The necklace was then passed on from generation to generation of their family and it always kept the owner safe and healthy.
"Father said that it may still have some power left in it. And it might help you stay healthy from now on. So please accept it," Prince Aiden kindly smiled at Stella.
"A-alright. If you insist," Stella sighed.
In the novel, it was said that the necklace's power still remained and it also kept Alina safe from the epidemic that broke out.
Alina thought she was just healthy but the necklace actually protected her. She only realized it after she forgot to wear it one day and got sick. She recovered quickly after she wore the necklace again.
"I do insist," Prince Aiden appealed to Stella cutely.
"Alright then," she relented.
'This is not my fault. I did not ask for this. It happened without my will so I'll gladly accept it since Prince Aiden is giving it to me,' she thought.
"Let me put it on you," the prince offered and put it around Stella's neck when she agreed.
"Wow! It really suits you. It goes with your eyes," the prince exclaimed and even clapped his hands together in awe.
"T-thank you," Stella blushed in embarrassment at the young prince's exaggerated reaction. All the servants joined him in praising how it suited her.
"It truly suits you, my lady," her servants added to reassure her.
'Sheesh. Everyone is forced to follow the prince's lead. How could he be so thoughtless with his actions and just does as he pleases,' she internally complained as she plastered a smile for everyone.
'What would he give to Alina as an engagement gift now that he had given me this?'
Since it was gifted to Stella with the Emperor's approval, it could not be taken back since it would seem like the emperor was going back on his word.
'Perhaps there were even greater treasures with more value than this that he could choose from for Alina,' Stella concluded.
She accepted all of the prince's gifts and just thought of them as compensation for the suffering that he would cause Stella in the future as per the author's will so that she could stop feeling bad for how valuable all the gifts were.
They had a tea party together and the prince told her of what he had been busy with since the last time Stella replied to a letter he sent.
Prince Aiden asked Stella about what she had been doing since her last reply so she told him about what had been happening to her.
He ended up crying again much worse than before after he realized just how much Stella had been suffering. It took some time to make him stop since he was crying so much to the point that his body was even shaking.
"I'll pray every single day that the necklace will heal you and keep you away from any more illnesses. No. I'll also pray in the temple for the gods to heal and protect you," Prince Aiden promised.
"Thank you. You do not really have to do that much for me."
"I promise I will definitely pray for you as often as I could," the prince only got more motivated.