"I'm making no progress…" Lilith thought, she managed to get on the good side of most servants around the mansion, but the Allard family still treats her indifferently. Which wasn't too bad considering their rough start, Thalia so far has still been hovering around Lilith and trying to get her to join them at tea time. However the last time she joined they ended things on a bad note. "My lady what are you thinking?" Natalie asked as she finished putting the red pigment on Liliths lips. "Nothing important, i'm just glad you girls will be able to join me at the ball…" Lilith said, Natalie wore an empire style gown in lilac, white gloves and chandelier earrings. Betty finished putting the head chain on Lilith's loose wavy hair, it was made of gold and decorated with red sapphires, with matching earrings and necklace. "My lady, are you excited?" Betty asked in a dreamy tone, Lilith thought it was cute how excited the girls are. "I'm nervous…" Lilith responded grimly. "Why are you nervous?" Betty asked. "I don't know…I feel like something is bad is going to happen." Lilith said as Natalie started applying black liner on her eyes. She had been receiving letters from her "father" for weeks now and she burned every single one. In fear of the Allard family finding them and assuming she was part of count Grimrose plan. She heard from Odette that all of the nobles, even lower ranks were invited for a chance to speak with nobles from other countries to grow their business and trade market. Melinda rubbed lotion on Lilith's fresh manicured hands, sniffing her a couple times. "This lotion has some perfume oil mixed in, your hands smell so sweet and feel so soft" Melinda said. "I can smell it over here, it's very fragrant, Natalie when we're there stay close to me please." Lilith pleaded. "Of course my lady, it is our job to stay close to you throughout the night." Natalie said as she finished applying Lilith's makeup. "We're all done!" Betty announced as the three women stood in front of Lilith to admire their handiwork. As Lilith looked over her appearance in the mirror she saw once again how sinister her looks were, if she smiled too wide it looked she was going to possess someone. She sighed in defeat, most of the maids in the mansion liked her enough to overlook it, but the people at the ball know the "original" Lilith, who was known to conspire against rich men that she would flirt with to get them to agree on business deals with her father. Many of the noble ladies hated the original Lilith since she would would flirt with their boyfriends or sometimes even married men. Thanks to the fact her father needed to remain a virgin she never slept with any of them, if she did lose her virginity she would lose her "value" in his plots to trap noble men. When Lilith looked at Melinda and Betty she smiled, they were wearing matching princess style dresses, Melinda wearing a sky blue and Betty a rose pink. Their hairstyles matching as well, dutch braids and flower headbands matching their dress. "You all look so beautiful." Lilith said and they blushed. A knock at the door caught their attention, Sebastian walked in and his breath caught in his throat when he saw Lilith. He was great at having a poker face, his emotions never showing in his expression. "You look very beautiful My lady, the family is waiting downstairs." He said curtly as he bowed. When he turned around she realized the tips of his ears were red. "Huh…so he blushes too…." She thought. Vincent watched Thalia as she was fawned over by the duchess and the duke, she wore an amaranth pink ball gown with puffy sleeves and ribbons, her hair in a classic updo with a pink bow, her french bangs neatly brushed. Thalia blushed at the compliments, then looked over at him as she waited for his praise. "Oh…you look beautiful Thalia." He said as he went over to give her a warm hug, her scent was refreshing, like walking through a path of peonies. It was a smell that soothed when he was stressed, sometimes when he had horrible headaches just smelling her scent made the headaches go away. They heard heels clicking from the stair case, Lilith confidently stepped down and Vincents eyes widened. She was drop dead gorgeous, her style was mature and strong. The way the cloths hung to her body and showed her curvy figure was entrancing, her black lace gloves giving an alluring touch to her appearance. When she was on the last step he was about to offer his hand to her to help her down but she was already reaching out for Sebastian, who mockingly smiled at Vincent. Vincent felt something in his stomach churn and he didn't like the feeling, the duchess gasped when she turned around and saw her. "Oh dear you look so beautiful." She said hugging Lilith. "Thank you mother…" Lilith sweetly said, when she turned to the duke she hardly smiled. "Duke." She greeted as she bowed. He scoffed, a glare in his eyes as he turned around to go to the carriages, the duchess sighed as she followed. Cyrus was already waiting outside with the carriages, he always liked to check them for Thalias safety. He smiled softly when he saw Thalia approaching with her sweet innocent smile, he reached out his hand to help her board the carriage. His eyes lingered on Lilith for a minute as he looked her up and down, but focused on Thalia as she reached for his hand. When she placed her gloved hand on his, a giddy feeling took over him, smiling to himself he helped his mother and followed next, his father joining them last. The next carriage was for Vincent and Lilith to share, they both stared at the open door in silence, she turned to look at the last carriage with Sebastian, Natalie, Melinda and Betty. She wanted to join them but there was no more room, and it would look bad if they arrived at the castle and the couple came out of different carriages, and Lilith sitting with the help would lead everyone to believe she wasn't being treated well. He cleared his throat and offered his hand to help her up, she looked at him strangely but accepted his hand. Lightly putting the tips of her fingers on the palm of his hand, her scent reached him as she jumped on. "She smells so sweet and fruity…" he thought, it wasn't overpowering but it was very fragrant, a scent that left one wanting more. When he sat in front of her, the sight was breathtaking, her beauty and elegance wasn't a joke. He always heard rumors about her beauty and no matter how strict and smart a man was, she was able to wrap him around her finger and make him act a fool. Seeing her now he understood why, having interacted with her, no matter how much he hated her in the beginning, her strong character has been chipping away at him and he hadn't even noticed. She has mocked him, teased him, and even punched him, no other lady has ever treated him in that manner. There were woman he met that carried themselves with confidence, they were smart and elegant. However, none have ever treated him the way Lilith has, and the few times he has spoken with her during a meal, her strange way of speaking always intrigued him. After half an hour of the carriages moving they went through a bumpy road, from the corner of his some movement caught his attention. When he turned to see what the movement was he realized it was Liliths chest, the bumps were making them bounce and he quickly looked away before she noticed his stare. He gulped down some saliva and he felt hot, his collar felt tight on his neck and he fought the urge to look again. A soft giggle made him look at her and he saw a mocking smile on his face, and her eyes shined with mischief. She saw, he sighed in defeat as he rubbed his eyes and she leaned back to rest her spine, since sitting straight tired her out. When he opened his eyes again he made eye contact with her, she was still smiling smugly and she leaned forward to create more cleavage. He turned bright red and goosebumps formed all over his body, a cold sweat on his back and hands. "This is so fun." She thought as he kept reacting like a high school girl. "You can keep looking you know, after all my body is legally yours." She said in a soft tone. Hearing that made him burn brighter, she bit her lip as she tried not to laugh. "Wonder how far I can take this…" she thought, in the novel it states that he kept his body pure because he wanted Thalia, when the original Lilith tried to sleep with him he dragged her out of room and she walked back to hers humiliated. She slowly reached out her hands and placed them on his thighs. "God…he's so muscular.." she thought. His body was well built but he was on the leaner side so she never really noticed. He froze when her warm hands firmly squeezed his thighs. "W-what are you doing…" he stuttered. She had removed her gloves to feel everything and since he hadn't made any movements to push her hands away she kept going. She traced the tips of her fingers up over his chest, moving to his shoulders, she stopped her hands at his biceps and squeezed. "You know, you're very strong." She said, he was watching her every move like prey being pushed down by a predator. "Why can't I stop her…ever since we got here her sweet scent has been drawing me in…" he thought, normally he would have put a stop to her immediately but for some reason he couldn't. She moved down to his forearms, when she made it his wrist she tarted playing with the hems of his glove, seductively massaging the middle of his wrists with her thumbs. When she looked up at his face again there was a cloudy look in his eye, like he wasn't all there. "He's in shock…" she thought giddy. She slowly pulled off his gloves and placed her hands on his. "You're hands are cold.." she said. "Yes…ever since I was a kid, my hands have always been cold.." he said. She let go of his hands and placed them on his shoulders as she got up from her seat, she placed her knees on side of his thighs, straddling him. His eyes blew wide open and his breaths quickened. "He's taking this really well…i'm surprised he hasn't pushed me off.." She thought, he wasn't acting like himself, the Vincent she knew would have never let her get this far. She leaned her face into his neck and inhaled his scent. "Oh..that's good.." she thought, it was a citrus scent and she loved it. His hands rested on her hips as held her in place, her arms wrapped around his neck as her eyes focused on his. She started moving closer, she parted her lips slightly and right before her lips landed on his a word echoed in her mind. "Ylang ylang." She thought. A few days ago Betty convinced her to buy a perfume oil but Lilith was so distracted writing some details down in her diary that she ended up agreeing without paying attention. Melinda was using that perfume oil on her for the ball, even putting some in her hair and hands. The key ingredients in the perfume were ylang ylang, rose, and cherry. All known to be aphrodisiacs. She pushed herself off of him and sat down, he was ready to be kissed and she could see a hint of disappointment in his relief. She cooled down a bit and relaxed. "No wonder he was docile…after being locked in with scent he didn't even notice being affected by it." She thought. He seemed to be coming back to his senses and he was staring at her head, she furrowed her brows in confusion. "Your head piece is a little crooked…." He said and started to reach out, lifting a bit off his seat. As he fixed it the carriage came to a sudden halt. He flew forward and as her face got buried in the crook of his neck he face planted on the wall, his full body weight on her as she struggled to breath. The door opened and Sebastian stared in shock, from his perspective it looked like Vincent was forcing himself on her. She shoved him off and reached out for Sebastian to help down, Natalie and the girls immediately fixing her hair and head chain. Thalia had been happily talking to Cyrus when her eyes fell on Vincent, her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. Cyrus stared in disbelief and Vincent felt confused. "Why are they looking at me like that?." He thought. "It appears it was a fun ride brother." Cyrus said and smirked, pulling Thalia along with him as she stared. The duchess gasped and covered her mouth with her hand, pulling on her husbands sleeve to look at their son. "Well what is it!?" He asked desperate. He could hear Lilith laughing behind him but he waited for his mother to explain. "Honey, there is a kiss mark on you neck and your clothes is very disheveled…please fix it up…" the duchess said as she blushed. The duke sighed in disappointment as they walked towards the line to greet the king and queen. Natalie grabbed a handkerchief to help Vincent wipe off the lipstick, but many nobles had already seen the stain and whispers could be heard. Vincent turned to scold Lilith for laughing at a situation like that but she was gone, Odette had already dragged her away as Melinda and Betty chased after them. Sebastian cleared his throat and followed after Lilith since he was her valet and needed to accompany her at all times. Now that Lilith had a chance to really look around she was awestruck, the water fountain was enormous and made out of gold, jade, and white marble. All kinds of colorful fish swimming peacefully under Lilly pads, people from all around the world in the surrounding area were a sight to behold. The bright day was warm and the breeze smelled sweet and floral. A few white fluffy clouds adorned the sky, the giant castle made of gold, jade, and black and white marble. The pillars had engraved figures of male bodies, it reminded her of the museum if statues in her original world, it had ancient hand made sculptures of women and men made to the tiniest detail. Odette pulled her along to meet the king and queen, when it was close to their turn Liliths hands were sweating profusely, glad that Natalie had found her gloves in the carriage. The queen stood confidently and elegantly, a few fine lines on her fave but overall she was a beautiful woman. Her golden hair shining bright like the sun, her honey colored eyes examining everything around her. She was thin but healthy, a gown made if white and gold cloth and golden jewelry with green emeralds. Her crown also gold and laced with green emeralds, her wedding ring that was passed down by generations also an emerald surrounded by tiny diamonds. Lilith and Odette bowed deeply out of respect, Henry kissed the hand of the queen softly as he bowed. "Welcome, we hope to meet all your expectations tonight." The queen said in her sultry voice. As they entered the halls they were surrounded by paintings and jade pillars decorated with gold, knights standing at the walls with their backs straight and spears pointing at the ceiling. All kinds of portraits on the walls, when they looked at the ceiling they surprised by the hand painted angels and cupids. They followed the people into a ball room with round tables stationed close to the walls and corners, leaving the giant dance floor bare and a diamond chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Exotic plants next to every pillar and what appeared to be a short stage at the end, with seats for the queen and king to observe their people. The excited voices of Melinda and Betty behind her was sweet, she was glad the girls could join her. Natalie and Sebastian were quiet but that wasn't anything new so she didn't think much of it. Flashbacks of the carriage popped up in her mind and she pulled Melinda aside. "Melinda, how much of the perfume oil did you use?" Lilith whispered. "Just a little bit…." Melinda lied, looking at the floor like it was the most interesting thing in the world. Lilith raised an eyebrow sternly, pressuring her to say the truth. Melinda caved in as a desperate look on her face appeared. "Alright a lot, but i'm guessing it worked because you are asking about it my lady…" Melinda whispered back. "What do you mean it worked? What was your reason?" Lilith asked, not understanding what her plan was. "Master Vincent does not treat my lady the way you deserve to be treated, at the beginning we were scared of you but now…there is no place we wouldn't follow you, even if it is to burn together in hell." Melinda said in a guilty tone. "So you used an aphrodisiac to make him warm up to me? That would only arouse him for a while, then he would go back to how we were before." Lilith said, but another thing made her curious. "Why do you assume I want him to like me? All I need is you girls, you support me more than you could ever know." Lilith said as she hugged Melinda tightly. Melinda sighed. "Alright…I just…I wanted to help." Lilith thought it was sweet, but she didn't need any help in that way, her goal wasn't to make Vincent fall in love with her, she just wanted to survive. "I just want to live…" Lilith thought as Odette grabbed her arm again, leading her to a table so they could drink. Henry was holding Dilly so Odette could eat comfortably, even though Dilly wasn't a fussy dog. "She's here? I thought she would be on probation by now." A woman's voice reached Liliths ears. "Yes, considering how troublesome she is, one would think that a whore like her wouldn't be allowed in a place where nobles eat and drink." Another said in nasty tone. Lilith ignored the words, she wasn't offended since the person they were talking about wasn't even her, it was the original Lilith. Natalie came back with a small plate of dessert and small appetizers for Lilith, and she overheard some of the rumors the young ladies behind Lilith were spreading. As an adult Natali knew better and stayed quiet, waiting for direction from her master, but Melinda and Betty were clenching their fists and struggling to stay still. "I can't wait for lord Vincent to divorce her, then my lady can finally take her rightful place by his side." A nasally high pitched voice said. Lilith froze as she was reaching for an appetizer, ice running through her veins and her heart dropping to her stomach. That familiar voice giving her goosebumps, she maintained a poker face to not arouse any suspicion. "Why would you say that!? We can hear you!" Betty exclaimed, red faced and teary. In fear of her slapping them Melinda grabbed Betty by the wrist before walked towards the maids that were trash talking their master. Lilith stood and walked over, finally get a good glimpse of the maid. Thin almond eyes, brown, light brown straight hair, faint freckles, upper lip thicker than bottom lip. The maid looked at Lilith with disgust in her eyes, resentful that she "stole" her master "rightful" place. Placing a comforting hand on Bettys shoulder Lilith shook her head in disapproval. "Please don't cause a commotion, just ignore them, nothing they say carries value." Lilith said smiling at the three maids that were trash talking her just a few minutes ago. "What is going on here?" A lady said walking towards them, she appeared to be at least two years younger than Lilith. Odette watched from her seat concerned, but she put in faith in Lilith knowing she wouldn't escalate a problem, and if she did Odette would step in to help. Searching through the original Liliths memories she tried to remember the girls name. A lightbulb went off in her mind. "Lady Hansen, nothing is going on here, we were just greeting each other." Lilith said getting a good detailed description of her appearance. Copper hair, light blue eyes, round eyes, medium lips, a small beauty mark on her left cheek bone. Lady Hansen scoffed, knowing full well that was a lie, rolling her eyes she went along with it. "Well, it has been a about a month and a half since your wedding, we hope you are doing well." Lady Hansen said, clear resentment in her voice, even though she tried to keep a smiling face. Lilith smiled widely, making the maids look down in submission. "My lady Hansen should have been chosen. You are nothing but a cheat, you play with men like toys you should not be married to a dukes son." The maid said clenching her fist as she closed her eyes. Lady Hansens eyes widened, Betty gasped as Melinda held her again. "How could you say that! My lady is the sweetest master anyone could ask for! She cares for us and talks to us like equals!" Betty said in tears. "I bet she does." The maid said, implying that Lilith is no better than a maid. "Gabby!" Lady Hansen scolded, many nobles had been watching them and she would look like a master that couldn't her control her maids if this continued. Meanwhile Lilith looked like an innocent bystander being shouted at by her maid. "Gabby…" Lilith thought, putting a name to the face. Lady Hansen gritted her teeth as she bowed at Lilith, feeling like Lilith didn't deserve any respect. "Please excuse us." Lady Hansen said as Gabby followed her, walking away angrily. Lilith sighed as she faced the girls. "Please don't start any arguments next time, just stay quiet and I will personally handle it if it gets bad." Lilith scolded them. They bowed their heads, Odette sighed in relief that the situation was handled. "We're sorry my lady." The girls said. People around them started whispering and Lilith felt a little nervous, her reputation was already being dragged through mud, if this whole situation was spread negatively she was afraid to cause problems between her and the duke. "You are forgiven, go have fun with your friends, Natalie will stay with me." Lilith said. The girls smiled and hugged her. "Alright! We'll be back soon!" They said as they rushed away to find their friends from their training days. "That was a good way to handle that situation." A deep chocolate smooth voice came from behind her, making goosebumps travel throughout her body. She turned around quickly to bright toxic green eyes staring deep into hers, and a beautiful dimpled smile. She swallowed as she looked up at the handsome young man in front of her, she could tell he was royalty and she bowed quickly. His large sculpted hand grabbed hers and he bowed down to kiss it respectfully. "I am prince Arsalan, my father the Sultan is speaking with your queen and king at the moment, otherwise I would have gladly introduced a goddess like yourself." He said in a flirtatious tone. She fought the urge to smirk and kept a blank face, seeing a literal prince bow to her and kiss her hand made her heart race. "My name is Lilith Allard.." she said softly. "Lady Allard…" he said, smiling again. "Your majesty may call me Lilith." She said. "Lady Lilith, may I have the first dance?" He said, rolling her name smoothly off his tongue. She stared at his hand not sure what to do, when she looked back at him and saw his smile her body moved on its own, placing her hand in his. Pulling her in close by the waist, she placed her left arm on his shoulder, his left hand holding her right. The original Lilith craved attention and learned how to dance for entertainment, she was thankful the muscle memory seemed to move her on its own. While they danced he continued to look into her eyes, she could feel the warmth in his gaze. "I have never seen maids so protective of their master, you must truly be a kind and generous lady." He said as they spun. "They are kind girls and mean well, they can get a little…passionate at times." She said. "To me it seems like they highly respect you, your patience is commendable as well, a mere maid was scolding you and not once did you bat an eye." He said. She smiled softly, he gently dipped her, his strong hand holding her back so she wouldn't fall. Strangely she felt comfortable with this perfect stranger, and he seemed to really like her. As he pulled her back up she smiled brightly, dancing with him was fun. "You wouldn't drop me right?" She teased after he dipped her. "Only an idiot would let a woman like you slip through his fingers." He whispered sweetly. Her heart fluttered and she looked at his lips. "A woman like me?" She asked looking back at his eyes through her eyelashes. "Yes, a kind, beautiful, strong, confident woman." He said. She chuckled. "You know nothing about me." The music stopped and they stood in front of each other. "I would love to spend the rest of my life figuring out a mysterious woman like you." He said looking at her affectionately. The music started again, the tune a bit faster and perkier. He pulled her in again and spun her around, their movements faster than the previous song. They were well in sync with each others bodies, many nobles were watching them amused. She looked at the people watching and saw Vincent watching with a stoic face, she tried to ignore it but it lingered in the back of her mind. As soon as the song ended she bowed, the prince smiled as he bowed his head. "Please excuse me, I need to freshen up my make up." She said walking away smoothly. He watched her leave with sparkling eyes, and left to search for his father. She made sure nobody followed her when she looked for the ladies room, looking in a mirror she sighed deeply. "I need to focus….if I keep getting distracted i'll never go back home…" she thought. The silent lonely hall let her reorganize herself, she needed to find a way to bring to light her kidnapping right. If she simply told the duke that she recognized lady Hansen's maid from the abandoned building she would get punished for saying it with no evidence or proof. "As soon as Vincent divorces Lilith Grimrose, he can marry my sweet daughter Rosette, she is more suited to be the wife of a duke." A mans whispered voice echoed. She quickly hid behind a pillar. "We would need to wait at least a year for the divorce to be approved, besides why would I agree to that." The duke said unconvinced. "Count Hansen? He's trying to marry his daughter to Vincent?" Lilith thought. "Lilith Grimrose is the daughter of a man that wants power, and he'll try to get it any way he can, he is probably using her now to spy on your family." Count Hansen said. "Lady Grimrose hasn't done anything yet to arouse suspicion. However I wouldn't put it beneath her to steal documents and give them to her father." The duke said. " My daughter has been taught well and trained to be the wife of a duke, she would be an excellent lady of the house, as for Lilith we could stage a little…accident. After all if her father continues going the way he is, in a years time his entire bloodline could be executed for treason." Count Hansen said. Her mind raced, in the novel the count and his family do get executed, including Lilith, but it was never mentioned that it was plot of the duke and count Hansen to lead it to that. "Why? Is it really just because he wants his daughter to marry Vincent? Is she convincing her father because she loves Vincent?" Lilith thought. She stayed listening to their conversation, waiting for the dukes response but she was found by Natalie. "My lady? What are doing here?" Natalie asked and Lilith covered her mouth quickly, pushing her back to the party, looking back at the corner she wondered. "Who is truly the villain in this story.."