Anastasia had her mind occupied as she walked over to the class. Her sudden engagement scared her. She could tell that Elizabeth was envious of her. She did not know why her father had picked her to become the bride of the crown prince.
Anastasia knew that Duke Thomson's residence was not the most influential in the royal capital. Moreover, her birth as the daughter of a mistress made her the least qualified to marry the crown prince.
It would have been understandable if she was the only daughter of the resident, but Elisabeth was also of age.
So why would such a good marriage fall on her? She could not help but think about her dream.
The lonely old woman who died without respect or dignity that is due to an empress frightened her.
"what can I do? " Anastasia fell into a dilemma. She knew that her marriage to the crown prince was a chance to escape the duchess's wickedness, but the dream made her frightened of living in the palace. What if her dream came true and the marriage was worse than Duchess Anita?
When they got to class, Miss Brice was already sitting. She had a stern look on her face. Of course, she was informed by the servant that Anastasia was called to the receiving hall.
Seeing the girls returned, Miss Brice cast a questioning look at them. She heard a little about the rumors of Anastasia being sent to the monastery to become a nun. She felt it would be a breath of fresh air in the Duke resident if she left.
Although curious about what would be more important than the girls' study, Miss Brice did not ask any questions.
She raised her brows when she noticed Miss Magdalene with the girls. Of course, she could guess that the woman before her was from the palace, but why was she with the duke's daughters?
"Good morning, Miss Brice, " the two ladies showed their respect as soon as they entered the classroom.
"Good morning, " Miss Brice smiled, as usual, looking at Elisabeth.
"Miss Brice, This is Miss Magdalene. She is from the palace. She is here today to listen to our class and know our educational background, " Elisabeth took the initiative to do the introduction. She smartly made it seem that the woman was there to observe the two of them. There was no way she was giving up a marriage that should have been hers.
Miss Magdalene raised her brows when she heard this introduction. She looked towards Anastasia to see if she would have any reaction, but the girl seemed lost in her world.
"Miss Magdalene, I am Miss Brice. Happy to have you in our class, " Miss Brice said. She wanted to leave a good impression on the woman before her. After all, she was no ordinary maid. Miss Brice was also curious about why a lady in the empress court would be here to observe a class.
Of course, she also had some guesses in her heart. Everyone knows that the three princes in the palace were within marriageable age. If a lady-in-waiting to the empress was present, then one might not be wrong to think that a potential wife candidate to one of the princes was present
"Thank you, " Miss Magdalen smiled, but she shook her head. She was disappointed that Anastasia allowed Elisabeth to scheme against her. To be an empress, one must be quick wit. It would be best if you never allowed others to scheme against you.
"Miss Magdalene, please have your seat, " Anastasia helped prepare a chair for Miss Magdalene since she was there because of her.
When Miss Brice saw this, she rolled her eyes mentally. She felt Anastasia was very ambitious to consider pleasing the lady-in-waiting
In Miss Brice's mind, she was only a backdrop in the classroom. This was a classic example of 'one forgetting what manner of man they were after looking at the mirror.' Which of the princes would be interested in the daughter of a mistress?
Miss Magdalen took her seat, she felt grateful that Anastasia recognized her duties to take care of her as her teacher.
"Take your sit. A lot of time has been wasted already, " Miss Brice said. She found the sight of Anastasia acting thoughtful unpleasant.
"We learned a new poem yesterday, Lady Elisabeth. Would you like to recite the verse, " Miss Brice said. She wanted to give Elisabeth the opportunity to shine so that the lady-in-waiting would know who was really worth her attention in the Duke resident.
Elisabeth smiled, she knew that her teacher was giving her the opportunity to shine. She felt proud of herself for taking the initiative.
Elisabeth's voice rang through the class as she recited the poem. Since she wanted to get the lady-in-waiting's attention, she tried to make her voice as pleasant to the ears as possible.
After reciting half of the poem, she turned to look at Miss Magdalene. She was hoping to see a delighted look. Perhaps she would even be drawn to the story of the poem she was reciting, but to her dismay, Miss Magdalene had her attention on Anastasia.
"What is this, " Elisabeth thought as she peeped at Anastasia to see what she was doing to steal Miss Magdalene's attention. To her surprise, Anastasia was just siting upright. There was nothing to look at, 'how could a fool get such an opportunity, ' Elisabeth cursed in her heart.
But because she was distracted, she began to make a few mistakes.
Miss Brice frowned, wondering why Elisabeth would make such simple mistakes.
Miss Magdalene only glanced at Elisabeth when she made a few mistakes in a roll.
Elisabeth felt more pressure with that gaze; she hated herself for losing composure and making mistakes. This pressure only made her make a few more mistakes before rounding up the poem.
Afraid that she might make more mistakes, Elisabeth began to stutter unnaturally when she gave her insight on what the teacher had taught the previous day.
"Lady Elisabeth, you must be feeling unwell today. Remember to rest enough later, " Miss Brice said when Elisabeth was done. She knew that it would be stupid for her to praise Elisabeth as usual, so she said those words to make an excuse for her.
"I will take your advice to heart, " Elisabeth said, grateful to Miss Brice for helping her with the excuse.
"lady Anastasia, your turn, " Miss Brice smiled at her. Since Elisabeth made a few mistakes, she expected Anastasia to make more. This way, Miss Magdalene would still be able to tell who is better between the two daughters.
Anastasia raised her brows slightly, she felt that this was the first time Miss Brice was smiling at her. Sometimes, she felt that rather than act all day long, the people in the Duke resident should join the theater as their acting skills would be popular in a few days.
Anastasia started reciting her verse; she did not deliberately try to add some melody to her voice. Although she was tempted to show off her skills to Miss Magdalene, she was also worried about the consequences of that action, especially since Elisabeth made some mistakes. So, Anastasia decided to make more mistakes than Elisabeth.
"Miss Anastasia, you are the daughter of a duke. It would be best if you put more effort into learning more; don't be distracted, " Miss Brice said. She did not want to show much favoritism, so she did not criticize Anastasia too much, but her few words sent many messages to Miss Magdalene.
Anastasia smiled and thanked her for the advice; she was used to Miss Brice acting this way. Elisabeth made a mistake because she was sick. On the other hand, she was unserious with her studies.
Anastasia felt that Miss Brice was an old fox. The reason why she had made more mistakes was to put Elisabeth's heart at rest. As long as Elisabeth felt that she was better than her, she would continue to underestimate her. Anastasia knew that with her marriage to the crown prince, she needed to be careful. She felt that her inability to give birth after marrying the prince might be related to the duchess and her daughter. After all, how could those two bear to see her do better? "Anastasia, that was a dream, " she scolded herself when she realized what she was thinking.