The sacred pearl of the Khortel Empire—a phrase that referred to the most beautiful and revered woman on the continent, Calista La Forte.
When Calista was born, the skies were divided into two. Her birth signified the separation of light from darkness. And the empire she was born in was included in the part of the Lair cast by light, leaving the other half in the dark.
It was the birth of the Saintess; they said… except for the people in La Forte Duchy.
"I'm getting engaged." Calista broke the ice in the middle of their supposedly peaceful family breakfast, but nobody dared to ask a follow-up question regarding her statement.
She held the knife with her delicate hands, sliced her steak swiftly but elegantly, and took a bite-size in her mouth. Her jaws moved slowly as she chewed down her food, only to frown in disappointment.
"Hmm…" Her expression changed after giving the steak a chance. "Yeah, I don't like the taste. Lola, take this away." She put down her cutleries and sighed.
A petite maid in a ruffled skirt hurriedly took the plate in front of the lady and passed it to the other maid. She then fetched a napkin, held it out close to the lady's mouth, and waited for her to spit out the food that didn't suit her palate.
"Here's your water, my lady. Your salad will be ready shortly."
Calista took a sip of water from her glass, wiped her lips, and faced her parents, who were in awe, watching her every movement.
"Lola, you're spoiling your lady too much. She isn't a princess," Melissa La Forte, Calista's mother, stated. Her candle-like fingers gently rubbed her temples.
"Pardon me, Madam. I'm only doing my best to please the lady," Lola said, bowing her head while walking back to stand behind Calista. She looked dedicated to what she was doing, and it worried the Dutchess.
"What's wrong?" Calista raised a brow. "Lola agreed to do this so I don't see any reason why you'll have to nitpick on me about it, Mom. Besides, were you not the one who called me 'princess' when I was younger? What happened? I'm no longer your princess?"
She leaned back in the chair, pulled her arms to her chest, and folded them. Her green eyes narrowed when her mother looked guilty for a moment after hearing what she said.
"So I'm saying this coming Duego will be my engagement day. I've decided on the date after considering your schedules. I know you're both very busy these days, but I hope you'll be able to attend."
She faked a smile before shooting daggers at her dumbfounded parents. "Especially when I'm well aware that you're free on that day," Calista continued.
"Attend what?" The head of the La Forte Duchy, Cyrus La Forte, spoke. His daughter always surprised him, but after realizing everything that she said, a chill ran down his spine.
Sighing, Calista replied. "My engagement. You heard me, Dad."
Cyrus La Forte was known to be composed all the time—despite being hailed as one of the most powerful fire guardians in history—in whatever situation but with his daughter's presence.
Calista was like a fishbone stuck in his throat. There was not a day he wasn't having a headache because of his only daughter. He loved her.
That was a given.
He just couldn't understand her whims and caprices and to think that she was like that ever since she learned to speak, Cyrus had been suffering for a long time.
It was his wish that Calista get married and have a reliable husband who could handle her attitude, but the sudden announcement about her engagement he never heard of before was a total shock for him.
"Stop kidding around first thing in the morning, young lady," Duke La Forte stated and continued his meal. "You are not marrying anyone. Not to someone I do not approve."
"I'm not kidding at all, Dad. You were the one who mentioned my marriage first. Now I've decided to do it, but I must be the one to choose my groom," Calista retorted.
Cyrus slammed the table. "Who's the unlucky one?"
Raising the side of her lips, Calista rolled her eyes. "Unlucky? Haha! You must be kidding," she said, rolling her eyes. "Well, I'm still thinking."
Her parents and even the servants gasped at her reply. Who wouldn't? She already set a date for an engagement party but had yet to choose the man she was about to marry. It was typical of her to do that and everyone could only wish she would change her ways. Well, except for one—Lola.
Lola had become Calista's maid for more than a decade. They were inseparable while keeping the master-servant relationship. The La Forte couple would always find it strange why the young maid would stick to their daughter like glue, despite Calista's attitude toward her. Nevertheless, Lola had never abandoned the lady in tough times, which made the couple's suspicions fade.
"Lola, give it to me." Calista held out her hand and waited for her maid to give her the documents with written instructions about her expectations for the upcoming party. She had them sorted out the previous night.
"Here it is, my lady."
Calista checked the papers before handing them to the butler.
"Peter, I've got the list of guests prepared. You can also check the memos I wrote. Don't come to me and ask what you need to do when I took my time writing everything I could think of on this paper. Understood?"
A young man with dark brown hair and a pair of glasses sitting on his crooked nose stepped forward and received the papers from Calista. "Is there anything else you want me to remember, my lady?"
Calista gave Peter a smug look. "I just told you. Everything you need to know from the smallest detail is on the paper," she said in a firm voice, pointing at the sheet she had just handed him.
"Understood, my lady." Peter took a step back and read through the list. His eyes widened when he saw a familiar name that he never thought would be included on the list. Aside from the fact that he only had less than a week to prepare for the party, a particular name on the guest list bothered him more.
Cyrus noticed the butler's expression, so he asked him about the matter. "Is there something wrong with the list, Peter?" He watched as the latter abruptly shook his head. Cyrus took a deep breath and sighed. "Who do you think is the owner of this house, Peter?"
Peter straightened his back and replied. "It is you, Master Cyrus."
Cyrus raised his eyebrows and glanced at his daughter, who started to eat her salad as if she hadn't caused a scene just moments ago.
"Then why don't you tell me what's on the list? I told you to respect Calista as your master's daughter, but it doesn't mean she's the most superior in the house," Cyrus said, still looking at Calista who was eating in silence.
"Dear, we both know that Calista has ruled this household for a while now," Melissa whispered to her husband. "The servants are afraid of her. You can't force Peter to talk when she's around."
"It's okay," Calista said and wiped her lips as she finished her meal. "Peter, you can share the details of the party with my parents. However," she paused for a second and dropped the napkin on the table while making eye contact with her dad.
"You better not make any changes to it. Stick to the plan and follow the instructions, then everything will go smoothly." Calista stood from her seat and went over to Peter's side to pat his shoulder.
"Don't make a mistake. This will be my first and last engagement party," she said before heading upstairs, with Lola following behind her.
"This brat… Who do you think will cover the cost of your party?" Cyrus said rather loudly.
"It is I," Calista replied. "Remember? I received a diamond mine as a present from the Empress last year. Ah! You must have forgotten since you didn't give me anything back then," she added, made a face, and sighed. Her footsteps echoed through the walls when Cyrus chose to say nothing about her remarks.
"Hah! He forgot about her daughter's birthday when he only has one," Calista said and rolled her eyes. "Lola, prepare a dress. We're going out," she added before entering her bedroom.
"Yes, my lady. Do you have any specific preference?" Lola asked as she followed her lady inside the closet — an entire room as huge as the lady's bedroom, filled with her clothes only.
The La Forte family had so many spare rooms that Calista decided to keep another three for herself. One solely for her clothes, one for her shoes, and another one for her jewelry and accessories. Lola would refer to her lady's closets as treasure halls, as they had everything a woman would want to get from stores.
"Hmm. Let's see." Calista pulled the chair in front of her vanity mirror and settled down. "Find something simple for me. We might need to go to the usual place later, so it should be comfortable to wear." She tied her hair in a messy bun and stood up. "I'll be taking a bath. No need to prepare for the bath water, Lola." Calista raised a finger and shook her head at her maid.
"My mother will not stop nagging at me if you continue to do this," she added and rolled her eyes.
Lola nodded her head. "Even if it hurts my pride as your most valuable servant, I will do as I'm told. I'll get your clothes ready in a minute, my lady."
"Uh-huh," Calista responded. "Don't forget to find something good to wear too. I don't want to be seen walking with someone ugly in rags."
Lola giggled. "Yes, my lady. I'll take care of your image by taking care of my appearance. Please enjoy your bath. I'll let you know when the clothes are ready."
Calista waved her hand without sparing a glance at her maid. "Sure."
Lola watched her lady get inside the bathroom before doing the task given to her. She had been working with the La Forte family for more than a decade and became Calista's maid when she was 10 years old. Although La Forte's young lady appeared to be bossy and a spoiled brat in front of others, to Lola, Calista was the kindest woman she ever met other than her mother.
Calista was the first person who called Lola ugly in her entire life so far. The latter could still vividly remember the time when she first met the lady, the person she vowed to follow as long as she lived.
At that moment, when Lola thought she had lost her job for being ugly and discriminated against by the rich and pretty young Calista, she was devastated. But what happened next surprised her. Not only did Calista accept her as her maid, but also ordered the elder maids to help the stinky young maid bathe.
"Ah, Lady Calista. You never changed," Lola muttered dreamily as she traced her fingers on the fabric of the dress she picked for her lady.