[Portia's POV]
"Step away from here, Lady Palmerston."
My face twitched with anxiety, and my hands clenched tight when I got stopped before entering the castle hall. "Why? I just want to go inside the castle. Didn't everyone in this empire get the invitation?"
His gaze was cold and detached as he declared, "Because you are disliked by anyone in this empire. Your appearance might ruin this event." He said that as if it was normal and did not consider how it hurt me so much.
"No. I want to go inside. You have no right to tell me this, Second Prince." I stepped forward. It takes a lot of courage and strength. However, he did not let me go that easily. He grabbed my arm and dragged me away. He did not even care about me screaming loud when taking me out of the palace. We become the center of attention for other guests entering the castle.
"Let me go! It hurts!"
"Let go of me now, Nathaniel!"
"Let me go, let me go! Let go—"
"What happens, Portia? What's wrong?"
Suddenly, my eyes opened, and my consciousness returned when I saw a worried face in front of me. Adeline is here. She sits beside me with her palm on my forehead, checking if I get sick or not. I wonder since when she was here.
"Huff … huff …, Mother?"
Adeline's palm lightly strokes my cheek. She asks me, "Do you have a nightmare, Portia?"
A nightmare? So it was a nightmare?
"Sister … are you okay?" Beside her, Yuri is standing with her favourite rabbit doll in her hand. She must be worried too.
I nod as I get up and sit on the bed. "Yes, I am okay. It was only a nightmare, so you two no longer have to worry." My fists clenched tight. It was not a nightmare. It was my past memories that really happened to me. Thinking that today I will come into that brat's birthday makes me want to puke so bad.
Yuri catches my attention when she tries to give me her doll. "M-Mama said Yuri will not get a nightmare if Yuri sleeps with Rabbie. Sister must sleep with Rabbie too, so the nightmare will go from Sister's dream."
For information, Rabbie is Yuri's doll's name.
"No, just keep it. This nightmare is nothing at all." I push Rabbie back to Yuri, who looks sad because I reject her offers. Before she starts to weep, I add another sentence. "If Rabbie is with me, she can not repel your nightmare anymore. She needs to be with you. I am okay."
"She is right, Yuri. You must believe your sister is strong enough to drive away the nightmare without Rabbie's help!" Adeline pats Yuri's head as she sparkles in amazement.
"I understand, Mama. Sister is so strong and kind-hearted!"
Now, now, it starts to get embarrassing. I must get out of this awkward situation as soon as I can. "Guhum—when will we go to the palace?"
Adeline turns to me. "We are leaving in two hours."
"That is enough time to prepare. I will take a bath first."
"Of course, Yuri and I will wait in the parlour. Let's go, Yuri."
"Yes, Mama!"
Both of them leave. I sigh and let go of my clenched fists after a while. That was a bad nightmare. The biggest question in my head is why it must happen right before I need to see his bastard face?
For information, Nathaniel is Kazech's little brother. He is the second prince of the Tamerlaine Empire and a long enemy of mine. The reason is simple. He likes Yuri, but Yuri never likes him. His short-minded temper is the biggest reason why Yuri would not choose him in the first place. As a result, he vented his frustration by hating me, Yuri's sister. My bad popularity getting worsened thanks to his big mouth and non-sensical action.
I really want to make him pay for everything he had done to me, but it seems unfair since I got a chance to fix my mistake, and now, he is just part of my new timeline. "Well, let's just ignore him for now. My main goal for today is to meet her, not him. She will be a great investment if I build a good relationship with her."
I head to the parlour, where Adeline and Yuri have waited for me. For the event, I wear a white dress with puffed sleeves and other fine accessories put by Diane as my personal maid for the closet matter. Adeline wore a long blue dress and kept her hair in a neat bun, while Yuri looked cute in a knee-length pink dress with twin-tail hair.
"Sister, you look beautiful!"
"You too, Yuri."
After that, we got into the carriage and headed to the castle located in the west Palmerston territory. Short information, Palmerston Ducal is an eastern region of the Tamerlaine Empire, the nearest region to the Southeast Sea, which was contiguous with another continent. This makes Palmerston Ducal have a strong army and naval base to protect the shoreline. Moreover, two-thirds of the total funds used Palmerston private funds to base the military and build up the barrier. The coal and jewel mining in the north region become the main resources of Palmerston's undisputable wealth. Still, our marine and forest riches can not be ignored too.
"Mama, look! It is the castle!" Yuri looks out the window and gets excited when she see the empire palace.
"Yuri, do not put your head out the windows. It is dangerous."
Adeline gives her a warning gaze, and Yuri sits back with a sulking face. I draw a little grin and glance out of the window. What is so special about the palace? After all, it is a place where greed and all the greatest sins jumbled together into one.
Soon after, we arrived at the court. This place is loaded with other carriages from different houses. It is a big event. After all, no one dares to refuse the royal invitation—except me in the past life.
Then, we are guided to the palace garden, where the event is held. As I walk behind Adeline and hold Yuri's hand so she will not get lost, I wonder how much money was spent to hold this unimportant event judging by how grand and luxurious the decoration and the mouth-watering food served in every corner of the palace garden.
It is a shame because that would be better if the money was invested in something useful for the empire than holding a party for this bastard's birthday. I have not met Nathan again in this life, but I have resented him so much.
"Duchess Palmerston! It is such a pleasure for me to see you in this place today. You look so beautiful as always."
Abruptly, we are intercepted by a medium-looking man with a thick beard and a glass full of wine in his hand. Judging by Adeline's sour expression, he must be one of the annoying guys who tries to seduce her even though she has been Anthony's wife for a long time. The reason is quite simple. Affair in this empire was not taboo thing to do. Even a mistress could have more than four husbands as long as she had enough wealth to feed them. However, Adeline is not that kind of woman. She is loyal to Anthony and to our household like my mother did before she died after giving birth to me.
"Yes, thanks for the compliment."
"No, no, no. No need to thank me. That is what a gentleman must do whenever he sees an incarnation of a goddess in front of him."
Adeline smiles wryly because she is getting uncomfortable around him. I take a slight glance at this odd man and see that he starts to act weird, like licking his lips or staring up and down at her. Do I need to save her from this man?
Afterward, I pinch the hem of her dress as I call her, "Mother, I want to introduce you to my new friend over there. She has been waiting for me. Can you go with me now?"
"What—" Adeline is surprised for a second, but she gets it and nods immediately. "Of course, Portia. Yuri is also going with us, right?"
"Yes, Mama."
"Then, I shall take my leave now. Please have a nice time, Sir."
"Y-Yes. Please have a nice time too." He gets awkward and takes his leave first.
Adeline crouched down and kissed me on the cheek without any warning. "Thank you, Dear."
I blush and step backward in embarrassment. "W-w-what? It is not a big problem. I just do what I can do to help."
"Mama, I want a kiss too!" Yuri cuts off the conversation and hugs Adeline, asking for a kiss. She kissed Yuri on both cheeks before turning to me again. "I know. You are a kind and sweet girl. So, is the friend you mentioned before really there? I want to meet her if I can."
"No!" I shout to her and regret it immediately. She looks surprised. My eyes trembled in fear. What if she starts to hate me because of my temperament?
"I-I mean, I just blabbing around without too much thinking. I have no friend to introduce to you. That is only a lie." I click my tongue. My anxiety rises high. I can not stand this for a longer time. "I want to search for some food. Please go around without me."
Not waiting for her response, I turned and strode away from them without looking back. It is a mess. A total mess.
Why can I not express my true feelings in front of her? Why am I running away from the crowd now? All these mixed feelings made me could not thinking straight. I need to find a quiet and isolated place to calm myself down.
Bruk!
Without noticing, I bump into someone and fall to the ground.