Eve thought that there were only nine women who were going to join the courtship.
She was wrong.
She walked inside a large dining hall filled with more than fifty women.
There were about ten long rectangular tables and only about six of them were occupied.
Their group seemed to be the last to appear and that might be because they had to walk for more than five minutes to get here.
Clearly, they were on the other side of the mansion but she could not be sure as the halls had no windows that would enable them to see the outside terrain surrounding the large house.
Eve's table was located at the back portion. From here, she could clearly see the seven women standing in front of them. One of them was Mistress Ophelia. She assumed that the others were the Mistresses of the other women. Each table should have their own Mistress.
On the Mistress's left, there were maids holding trays of what she assumed to be food.
*CLAP*
"Take your seats." Another woman wearing the same long black dress as Mistress Ophelia said. She stood next to Mistress Ophelia. "Today is the first day of the Night's Courtship. Tonight, there will be a celebration and His Highness, Prince Maximilian Knight, will be in attendance. I expect everyone to act in accordance with the rules. Do not look them in the eye unless you are asked to. Do not talk to them, especially the Prince, unless he calls your name or talks to you. Do we have an understanding?"
Some women nodded while others said no.
"Louder."
"Yes, Mistress."
"Good." The woman smiled. "Take a seat."
Just as the women took their seats, the Mistress gestured towards the maids lining up to the left of her to start serving food.
It should be acknowledged that each and every woman seated at the tables was elegantly attired, with makeup that accentuated their features and hair that had been styled to perfection— everyone, including Eve.
A heavy silence hung in the air as the maids started serving food.
Out of nowhere, a man walked inside the hall that was lit with candles. Dressed in a black coat that reached down to his ankles, he looked at the women before he approached the Mistresses and stood next to them.
Without saying a word, he continued standing there with his perfectly styled, slicked-back hair that emphasized the sharp angles of his face.
His skin was pale, almost translucent.
He stood there as if he had been frozen in perpetual state. Without his moving eyes, one could actually mistake him for a corpse.
'Silly,' Eve thought inwardly as she straightened her gaze and waited for her own food to be served.
She could feel the vampire's gaze landing on her, but she could not feel an iota of danger coming from him. Evelynn had been around many vampires in the past; she knew how to spot someone who wanted to kill her, or at least someone who was tempted to drink her blood.
This vampire was none of those.
The longer he stood there, the weaker his presence became.
Meaning, this vampire did not come here to kill them. He came here to observe.
Wasn't this a good time to show off some elegance?
Eve straightened her back. As a daughter of a fallen noble, something about her movement already showed elegance and grace. This was not something that anyone could just pretend to have or fake. It was something that this body had gotten used to since she was younger.
Currently, Eve Lucrecia was twenty years old and she could vaguely remember having this training since this body was a very small child.
From a very young age, Eve Lucrecia had been trained rigorously, as was customary for the noble class to prepare their heirs.
Soon enough, a covered plate was placed in front of her.
Then there was another clap and the woman from earlier told them to open the covers. She complied without saying a word.
She glanced at the meticulously decorated dish that easily pleased her eye. She wondered if this would please her palette too.
"You may start eating," the Mistress said.
Everyone compiled without saying a single word. Their movements were all careful, their hands light as they held their forks and knives.
Not long after everyone finished their food with a glass of exquisite wine that tastes too sweet for Eve. Perhaps the previous Eve would have liked this as she could remember this body's desire to eat food that was more sweet than savory.
Evelynn Rosetta on the other hand, preferred savory more than sweet. In fact, she disliked anything sweet in her food.
"You—" the vampire suddenly spoke, his deep voice interrupting the silence inside the room.
Everyone turned towards one of the woman that he pointed at.
The woman elegantly rose after dabbing a napkin on her lips.
"Tell me your name."
"This lowly one is named Diana."
"Tell me about the food that you just ate Diana."
"The meat was savory and juicy. It is perfect for—"
"Enough," the man said. "Take her out." He looked behind the women.
"But, Sir, I have yet to finish my words!" Diana said.
"Take her out of my sight."
"Yes, Sir." The knights held the woman's arm. Just as she was about to complain, the vampire snapped a finger in front of her face. Almost immediately, she lost consciousness.
"Who can tell me about the food and wine?" he asked.
Another silence hung in the air. This time, one could not ignore the suffocating pressure that accompanied it.
"It was mundane," Eve spoke.
"Pardon me?" The vampire appeared next to her without warning. He was fast, Eve thought.
However, the man was not as fast as that prick Lucius.
Eve dabbed a napkin on her lips before she slowly rose.
"I said the quail, while roasted to perfection, did not satisfy my palette."
The man stared at her face before his eyes narrowed. "The quail was perfectly roasted yet you complain that it did not suit your palette?"
"I acknowledge that it was skillfully prepared with great care and attention to detail. It was beautifully decorated, adorned with flowers and sauce that complemented each other. However, it tasted bland. I would have preferred it if they increased the salt content or perhaps marinated it a bit longer."
....
A/N: What do you think of the novel so far? If you can, please leave a review to support the novel. Thank you very much!