"Oh my, this place looks so lively"
All the talking came to a screeching halt as soon as the regal voice was heard.
"We greet her majesty the Queen" the ladies curtseyed immediately.
"Please rise. I just came to see how the tea party hosted by the Grand Duchess was going. You have outdone yourself once again, Natalia"
"It's all thanks to your majesty. I am grateful you granted us permission to use your garden. It's a lovely day. Please join us, your majesty"
"I'm grateful for your invitation but I have much to do. I'll send you a gift later so please, enjoy the tea party"
"Thank you for stopping by, your majesty"
The queen soon left with her entourage and the ladies chatted with more excitement. The foreign princesses in particular were impressed by the favor the Queen showed to the Grand Duchess but they also found it peculiar how the Queen ignored both the third princess and the Saintess Candidate. The tea party carried on for a while like that until it finally ended. Once the ladies dispersed, Natalia went up to her brother's room to rest.
"You look tired"
"And I'm surprised you're in here. Hiding from the ladies?"
"Urgh, I'm being ambushed at every corner. I feel like someone is plotting to put me in a strange situation so yes, I'm hiding"
"Hehehe, it's a good thing your lovely sister has settled on who is most perfect to be your bride"
"So fast? Now you have me curious. Who is it?"
"I actually have two choices for you. One is Lady Freya. She's intelligent and elegant. She also has a strong personality so I think you'd mesh together perfectly. The second is the princess of Polivia. She's a bright and beautiful lady who despite that, doesn't lack tact. She's elegant and intelligent but has the innocence of a child. So, who do you prefer?"
"You want me to pick the foreign princess, don't you?"
"Haha, is my intent so obvious?"
"Well, for the most part. Fine, I will do as you wish. I'll accompany the lady to tonight's gift giving banquet"
"Finally! You must court the lady properly and set a high standard"
"Yes, yes...by the way, are you really going to give the Queen the wolf cub?"
"I didn't change my mind" she yawned, rising. She bid her brother farewell for the time being, going to sleep in the room adjacent to his. Sebastian didn't question why his sister was napping in his room but instead ordered the servants to prepare what she would need for the banquet that night. Resigning himself to fate, he wrote the letter, stamped it and had it sent to the princess.
"The Grand Duchess held a tea party in my mother's garden?!" Princess Francesca yelled, smashing the cup on the ground. The maid standing close to it flinched, getting pieces of the cup on her skin.
"Why wasn't I invited?!"
"Your highness was entertaining the other noble ladies at that time"
"That bitch…..did she do it intentionally?! Everyone's talking about how she wishes to find a wife for Sebastian and she didn't invite me! How dare she?!"
"It's okay, Francesca. There's no need to be so agitated. Look, you're scaring the maids. What do you think would happen if there are rumors that the first princess is bullying her maids during the celebrations?"
Although agitated, Francesca forced herself to calm down. The one responsible for bringing her back down to earth was none other than the crown prince William, who was having tea with his sister in the garden.
"I don't know why they're avoiding us so desperately!"
"Have you really forgotten, Francesca?"
"What?"
"It's a bit of old history so I'll tell you. In the past, our father, the former grand duke and Marquis Adamantine used to be friends. They grew up together, training and capturing the hearts of the women in the kingdom. There came a period in time where they fell for the same woman. That woman is the former grand duchess. To force the Marquis out of the race for the lady's hand, Marquis Adamantine was forced to marry his engaged fiancee at that time and that woman happens to be the mother of the current Grand Duchess. The complex part however is that our mother was in love with the former grand duke but she chose to marry father while the grand duke was the only one who ended up with the woman he loved, the former grand duchess"
"So, the adamantine siblings hate us because their mother was forced into a loveless marriage?"
"No, they hate us because our father forced their mother's family to cut ties with her to cut the support of Marquis Adamantine. Of course that didn't work because his influence grew stronger, stabilizing when his children assumed high positions in society. Because of the actions of our father, their mother is currently bedridden and has been for the last few years. Don't you see, Francesca, we've always been hated"
"But those were our parents, not us!"
"Marriage is largely controlled by the parents, is it not? The Marquis engaged his daughter to the Grand Duke so the Grand Duke could stabilize his position and prevent me from asking for his daughter's hands in marriage before we came of age. Since both the Grand Duke and the Marquis refused to cancel the engagement, they got married right away"
"Are you telling me to give up, William?"
"Nothing like that. I'm just telling you the reason. So, what would you do? Even if you are able to marry Lord Sebastian, it is highly unlikely he would love you the way you want to be loved. He despises you and I"
Francesca's hands shook. The truth was too bitter to swallow. The result of her one sided love for many years was just failure. Even if they got married, he was someone that could easily ignore her. The way to his heart was his sister but Natalia's talent of brushing off people she didn't like was legendary.
"It's not completely hopeless. To be honest, I'm not really looking forward to marrying Lady Orland. Our dear sister seems to hold the Grand Duke's heart in her hands. If we can get the Duke to divorce the Grand Duchess, and marry our sister, I would take on the Grand Duchess as my wife to save her from embarrassment. Once his sister is our hostage, he will be yours as well. So, what do you think of this plan, Francesca?"