After getting ready, Rosa led Adeline to the dining room which was on the second floor, surprising Adeline for a second because she thought they would be having their meals in the dining room used to host the guests the previous night. But she soon realised that this was a palace, and it was perfectly normal for the royals to have their meals in a different place than the others.
The door was already open and Adeline walked in with her head held high, but her steps briefly slowed down as the first person she saw was Solanine. Again.
A frown marred her forehead for a brief moment before she schooled her expression and wore a neutral look.
Servants were already setting the table, and she looked back over her shoulder to find Rosa already walking away.
"Good morning, Your Highness," Solanine's voice broke through her thoughts and Adeline's gase travelled to the woman who stood at the same height as hers, waiting for Adeline to take her seat before sitting down.
Adeline's eyes narrowed at the woman, then she forced a small smile which didn't reach her eyes and responded reluctantly, "Good morning, Solanine. I didn't know you would be joining us for breakfast," she remarked and instead of giving and explanation, Solanine smiled evasively and Adeline's lips thinned.
Even a fool could tell that Adeline didn't like Solanine, because apart from the clearly forced smile, she wasn't trying so hard to hide it.
Just then, they heard footsteps approaching the door and soon Katherine walked in leisurely.
Seeing Solanine, her steps also slowed down and her lips quirked upwards. "Solanine, how nice of you to join us," she said with a hint of sarcasm and Adeline's eyebrows slightly raised, her lips threatening to curl up, but also curious as to what it was that happened between these two. Or did they just dislike each other?
Solanine didn't respond and remained smiling, an empty smile that made her look more dangerous than she appeared to be.
Soon the King walked in and greeted them with a smile, to which the three ladies responded by bowing their heads. Sylvan was the last one to arrive and didn't even bother to greet anyone, directly taking his seat beside his father.
Unlike his usual neat appearance, he looked disheveled, with the sleeves of his shirt folded up to his elbows, and the top buttons were left open to show the firm chest beneath the material. His hair was slightly tossled, but he still looked as handsome as he usually was. Maybe even a little more because of the unruly aura surrounding him, Adeline thought inwardly as her eyes followed him until he was seated.
"Why are you dressed like that?" Roderick asked after everyone was seated–in a strange arrangement that no one seemed bothered about except Adeline.
"I'm going to train after this," Sylvan casually responded without looking up as he waited for the maids to finish serving.
Adeline kept her eyes lowered, but she couldn't help but frown at the arrangement of their seats.
She was seated opposite Sylvan on the King's left, with Solanine next to her which made her a little uncomfortable, and Katherine next to Sylvan, making her wonder why a servant was sitting at the table with the royal family. Didn't they mind? Not that she herself minded it because on few occasions Howard would eat with them back at home, but it brought more questions to her mind.
The breakfast passed quietly, but with each passing second, more questions flooded Adeline's mind and she could no longer concentrate on her food. While she and Solanine were having fresh juice for a drink, the rest had glasses of red wine beside their plates. Wine? This early in the morning? She wondered, her eyes glued to the liquid which would have been mistaken for blood because of the darker shade of red than what she was used to.
Her eyes were still wandering mindlessly when her gaze collided with Sylvan's on the opposite side of the table and her mind went completely blank. Her hand that was fiddling with a fork stopped and so did her breathing.
Sylvan's eyes were deep and unfathomable, but there was something about his prying gaze that made her unable to look away, as if there was something in those eyes drawing her in.
They stared at each other for a moment, both of them unblinking and for some reason, Adeline's heart picked up it's pace. Then as if breaking the spell, the fork fell from her hand and her eyes blinked, her mind snapping back to the present and she lowered her gaze.
But even after refusing to raise her head, she could still feel his intense gaze which made her wonder if there was something on her face. Why was he suddenly looking at her like that?
Meanwhile, Sylvan had stopped eating, his sharp eyes taking in every little reaction from Adeline. His gaze shifted from her face and traced down her delicate jaw, down her neck and settled on her half-exposed collarbones for a moment, before going back to her slender and fair neck, which was now turning pink as blood rushed up to her face.
His gaze stayed there for a few seconds, and Adeline resisted the great urge to cover her neck with her hands. It almost felt like he was setting her skin on fire just by staring at her.
Sylvan wasn't subtle in his staring because it was easily noticeable by the other people on the table, but Katherine and Roderick continued eating like they didn't notice anything. On the other hand, Solanine's eyes darted between Sylvan and Adeline, a small frown coming to settle on her face.
"Tch!" Sylvan clicked loudly, finally disrupting the awkward atmosphere and returning his attention to his food.
'Nothing he hadn't seen before," he concluded in his own mind.
Feeling like she could finally breathe, Adeline sucked in a breath of air, then tried to eat as quickly as possible.
After breakfast was over, everyone left the room to different directions. The King went to attend his morning meeting while Sylvan walked to the training ground, and Solanine went to God knows where.
"Solanine is staying in the palace?" Adeline asked Katherine as they walked back to the third floor to start their tour.
"Yes," Katherine replied without looking up. "She is… a frequent visitor and a very close friend to the royal family as I had told you earlier, and the King was kind enough to give her her own room. On the second floor," she added.
Adeline's eyebrows furrowed at the information. "And she's just a friend?" She asked again, still not convinced.
"Yes," Katherine simply answered, as if there was nothing more to it, but Adeline still felt like something was amiss.
Friend?
But soon, her thoughts on Solanine's identity and relationship to the royal family disappeared as Katherine started showing her around the palace, starting from the upper floor where her room was located.
The royal wing was huge, with the King's chambers occupying most of the space. Unlike what she was used to, there were no guards situated outside the room, which no longer surprised her because everything here seemed to defy whatever little information she had about royalty.
The king's chambers were connected to a study which was also huge, then followed Sylvan's room which was on the other side.
The upper floor formed a U around the staircase, where Adeline had to walk all the way round to reach Sylvan's room.
The fourth and last room on the royal wing was Katherine's room, which left Adeline a little dumbfounded.
It wasn't unusual for a servant to occupy a room near their master's because some nobles were a bit insecure, but Katherine's room was way more than a servant's room.
It was as huge as Adeline's in size, and even the decor was nothing simple.
The small sitting area and the sleeping area was separated with thin curtains, just like Adeline's room, and everything inside screamed luxury.
"I can tell you're surprised," Katherine commented with a small smirk tugging at the corner of her lips.
Adeline turned to her with her eyes still wide.
'Surprise isn't even the word,' she said inwardly.
Katherine gave a short laugh on seeing her expression, then walked forward to the staircase.
"It's convenient for the people I'm serving. Even you, you can call me whenever you need me," she said, then quickly added, "Even in the middle of the night."
Adeline walked quietly, still surprised over the treatment this family gave to this woman. Oh… and the other woman as well. She added in her mind.
When she raised her head, and her eyes met the hawk-like ones on a painting that caught her off guard for a moment because if how real it looked, her eyes moved from the man with the scary eyes to Katherine on the other side of the painting and her lips parted subconsciously.
"I'm still not sure about your position in this palace," she remarked, her eyes holding multiple questions.
Katherine looked over her shoulder with her lips curled up but took a moment to answer.