Although Melisa had only heard rumors about Amelia from the old servants in the palace, she knew that before she came, Amelia was the future wife of Alexius. She was a girl who came from an influential Marquess family. Although she didn't have an outstanding appearance, her natural beauty, and background should have been enough to be the life partner of a crown prince.
Unfortunately, Amelia was not as lucky as Melisa, who was able to establish a partnership with Alexius. Although Amelia was the longest-standing owner of the crown princess' palace before Melisa, in the end, Amelia was still sent back to her parents before a formal engagement could take place.
People said that Amelia was sent back to her family home after King Dillion announced that Melisa would be the crown prince's new bride-to-be. Therefore, in the eyes of the people, Melisa was the reason why Amelia could be sent home in the first place.
"Greetings, Lady Amelia. May health and prosperity also be with you."
Although meeting someone who was the reason why Melisa's old servant had antagonized her made the girl uncomfortable, Melisa still maintained her elegant posture to greet Amelia. Their meeting soon became the subject of gossip among the people present at the party. Even guests from other kingdoms couldn't help but feel intrigued when they saw the attention of the crowd directed at someone who had just stood up as the future wife of a crown prince.
"Thank you, Your Highness. I was almost afraid that you wouldn't speak to me earlier. Because you know, you seemed too preoccupied talking to someone from your past since earlier."
At first, Melisa was still able to smile to show her friendliness to Amelia. But when Amelia started discussing her family with an appraising look, her expression soon hardened.
Insulting her family in front of many people was the worst way to humiliate Melisa. Especially, when Melisa had just been officially recognized as the crown prince's future wife today. Unfortunately, with her current status, Melisa was not strong enough to stand up and protect herself and her family from the nobles of the Sigmund Kingdom. Because up to this point, Amelia had not said anything that was shown to insult her.
The Sigmund Kingdom did not have a rule that they had to protect the honor of someone who was not part of their kingdom. Especially with the weak status of the Cyrille Kingdom, people were just silent as they waited for something interesting to happen, thanks to Melisa's meeting with Amelia.
"As you may know, being an aspiring Crown princess requires you to serve the Sigmund Kingdom, even if it means giving up your background and past. You are supposed to mingle more with the people of the Sigmund Kingdom now that you are part of us. But from the beginning to the end, I was worried because I couldn't see that you had any desire to get acquainted with any of us."
Amelia began to speak in a worried tone as if she really cared about Melisa's well-being. The way she spoke caught the attention of the noblewomen, who were also secretly complaining that Melisa had been ignoring them since the beginning of the party. Slowly, the people began to whisper while judgmental gazes began to appear from various directions.
Until before Melisa came, the Sigmund Kingdom and the Cyrille Kingdom were two hostile kingdoms. When Melisa failed to show that she was ready to be a part of them, all sorts of speculations immediately formed in people's minds.
"If you're not careful, someone might think that you're sharing the secrets of the Sigmund Kingdom with the other kingdom."
"You!"
When Sir John could no longer bear to see Melisa humiliated in public, he subconsciously lost control of his temper and ended up raising his voice at Amelia in front of everyone. Even the music in the dance area had to stop because of Sir John's loud voice. The situation worsened because of that, while the person who had caused the commotion pretended to be surprised as she stared at Sir John with furrowed brows.
"My, I heard that the Kingdom of Cyrille lacks manners. But experiencing it firsthand is..."
Amelia pretended to let out a long breath, then looked at Melisa, who did not show any expression when she looked at her.
"Your Highness, I beg you to reconsider who you talk to in the future for your own good."
Although Melisa did not mind even if she earned the hatred of the residents of the Sigmund Kingdom, she did not want her family to come all the way to visit her to get the same treatment. Amelia's annoying tone of voice seemed to have incited her anger. Melisa clenched her fists tightly while her brain was constantly at war to read the situation and figure out how to solve this problem without adding more conflict.
Sparking hostility among the nobles would only make life more difficult for Melisa in the future. The nobles are the ones who have a lot to do with the king's decision-making. If Melisa couldn't maintain a good relationship with them, it wasn't impossible that they would push for the engagement to be canceled, even if the king had approved the engagement.
Lady Violet also seemed to have thought about that. That was why she gave Melisa a look as if asking Melisa to let them go for Melisa's convenience.
"Lady Amelia, if I were asked to point out who really has no manners here, then I would without a doubt point to you who has dared to humiliate my future wife in public like this."
"Your Highness!"
Amelia immediately turned pale when Alexius suddenly appeared to cut through the crowd along with Alister, who had been accompanying Alexius to chat. Even the other nobles immediately stopped gossiping when they saw Alexius arrive with a look of anger. Alexius was a crown prince who almost always showed a gentle expression in front of everyone. Now that they saw Alexius' angry expression, those people realized that they had crossed the limit of Alexius' patience by bullying his future wife.
"How dare you accuse Princess Melisa like that when she just wanted to chat with her family. You should feel lucky that His Majesty has returned today. Because if he had caught you instead of me, even your family might not have escaped his anger."
"I... I just want to...."
"We have seen and understood everything from your words and attitude, Lady."
Amelia closed her mouth again after Alister spoke after Alexius. Alister's family was probably just a Marquess like Amelia. But since Alister was Alexiu's best friend, his position still could not be underestimated even by Amelia. Amelia was no longer able to say anything when Alexius and Alister took turns reprimanding her actions. The girl could only bow her head deeply before saying something in a small voice.
"I'm sorry."
"You're apologizing to the wrong person."
When Amelia said her apologies to Alexius and Alister, Alexius immediately corrected Amelia's actions. Being reprimanded like that made Amelia inevitably turn towards Melisa. She bowed respectfully before delivering her apology with a sad face.
"Forgive me if my words sounded offensive to you, Your Highness."
Amelia's apology didn't sound sincere. But Melisa preferred to settle the matter as quickly as possible. Melisa only gave a brief nod before she looked at Alexius to ask for the man's help in getting the matter over with.
"I will officially send you a letter of complaint for your behavior today, Lady Amelia. What you did today was absolutely outrageous. You should remember that."
"... I understand."
Thanks to the presence of Alexius and Alister, the matter was resolved very quickly. Amelia left with a tearful face after that. Melisa saw how the girl was slowly swallowed up by the crowd before her attention refocused on Alexius and Alister who had yet to leave their positions.