As the next day came, the pair of sisters were greeted by fanfare and flashing lights. Their parents finally took some time out of their days to spend time with their daughters. It was quite a strange occasion to say the least, considering that the duke and duchess had barely spoke to their daughters in the past month. It was almost an assumption that Liandra would be celebration her birthday alone this year.
"My cute little daughter is finally 18! But don't let you think I'm letting a man take you away from me! Papa will always be here for you no matter what!" Liandra's father showered her with affection, present many presents to her. Although many of which had great value and came from his heart, Liandra found herself preferring Estelle's gift for some reason.
"Oh honey, don't embarrass her like that. She needs some room to breath otherwise she will suffocate." Estelle's mother sighed. While she may only be a stepmother to Liandra, she did not come empty-handed. She had a dress commissioned for Liandra, custom made by a famous dressmaker in the capital. Such a luxury was hard to acquire.
"Thank you mother and father, I appreciate these a lot." Liandra held a warm expression, not as afraid as she had been for the past month or so. This was what it felt to be loved by family, she had almost forgotten after spending so much of her time with Estelle.
Estelle of course watched, not wishing to be part of this. She just sat in bed next to Liandra and smiled and waved. This much she could do without making her tired.
"O Liandra, where did you get such a ring?! Have you been seeing someone without telling papa?" Liandra father's eyes found themselves settled on Liandra's ring finger. His face was full of shock, his eyes opened wide.
"No no no, father. This is a gift from a friend." Liandra tried to play it off without mentioning Estelle.
"Who are you kidding with such a joke? Those engravings are the new vogue when it comes to engagement rings. Are you sure you don't want to tell papa anything?"
Liandra and Estelle both reacted with shock. Estelle realised in her mind that the runes she engraved could indeed be similar to an emerging trend that had recently picked up in the capital. The trend involved the use of rune-like symbols to create ornate patterns on an engagement ring. The more complicated, the more powerful the love.
Liandra on the other hand wanted to die, figuratively of course. She thought that this was an obvious set up by Estelle to embarrass her in front of her father. "Trust me, I would know if I was engaged. Your daughter is smarter than she looks."
Liandra's father finally stopped asking questions, trusting his daughter and just letting the matter go. He knew that going to deep into her matters may cause her unnecessary stress and may cause her to become unresponsive to him again. Such a risk wasn't worth it.
While this was happening, Estelle had carefully placed her ring inside her pocket and continued appearing normal. She did not want to arouse suspicion from anyone. If their parents found matching 'love rings' then there would be a mess that would be terribly difficult to explain.
The small in-room celebration ended after their parent retreated to the door and left. It was actually quite early, a whole hour before breakfast. This gave the sisters enough time to discuss the happening of the prior encounter.
"Younger sister, you performed well. I do hope you will continue as such from now on." Estelle congratulated Liandra with claps as a gesture.
"You want me to lie to my father and your mother? Older sister, don't you think this is too much? Surely I could omit the fact that it was a birthday present…"
"Younger sister, do not test the waters with me. What I say goes. If you utter a word to them about this, there will be no end to our problems. Do you really want to be wrongfully punished by your father because of an assumed scandalous relationship between us." Estelle moved closer to Liandra and stood upright so she could look down on the latter.
"Of course not… I will do as I'm told." Liandra replied regretfully.
"Good, I don't want to hear about this again. Also, make sure you are ready to appear all sisterly with me. Just like we rehearsed, holding hands, light cuddling, and cute nicknames. Understood?"
"Yes, Elder sister."
The two finally called for the servants to prepare their morning routines for both of them. It was the same as usual but with a few more added steps because of Liandra's birthday celebrations. Because a party had apparently been planned, both of them needed to do their hair and put on fancy dresses to fit the occasion.
While Estelle was planning her next moves for the celebrations, Liandra could only ask herself why she had to live like this. It was becoming tiresome.