"This is... A dress?"
It was a beautiful blue dress that matched the colour of her eyes, she wondered if that was on purpose. The material felt better than the dresses she had. It felt as light as a feather, she couldn't help but squeeze it.
Underneath the dress was a smaller box, and in it was a pendant that matched the dress.
"No."
The Marquess tried his best to keep calm but he couldn't stop himself, the stone used in that pendant wasn't an ordinary one. It was a stone called aster and only the royal family were allowed to wear it, it held the blessing of the Goddess of the Sun.
He knew what it meant when they offered it to her, he glared at the messenger who was already sweating from the pressure. He held on for a long time waiting for Adeline to come and receive the gift, he had to dodge the Marquess' dagger-like glares.
Her father rushed out of his chair and grabbed that pendant. He put it back in the box and 'asked' him to take it back. His distaste for the royal family only grew, they were trying to trick his daughter into being their puppet.
Adeline didn't know what was happening, the events that took place before the Saintess set foot in the capital were very briefly mentioned when explaining the background.
"Take this back and tell the Empress to put away her little schemes."
The messenger visibly shivered and hesitantly took the smaller box away. He was worried what his master would say but that was none of the Marquess' concerns.
"The only reason I'm sending her is because the Emperor ordered it, otherwise I would have never let my daughter set foot inside that palace."
The Marquess looked at his clueless daughter and sighed deeply. He was prepared to fight if the Emperor decided to force an engagement on Adeline. He was friends with the Emperor back in the academy so there was a sense of familiarity, but still that was not a good enough reason to give away his precious daughter!
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Morning came faster than she expected, the maids were extra excited. She was about to visit the palace, they had to dress her up to be the prettiest girl in the castle.
The dark blue dress perfectly suited her, paired with ribbons of the same colour woven into her hair, she looked so adorable they couldn't stop squealing.
Adeline looked very pleased with herself too, she cupped her face as she stared into the mirror, satisfied with what it reflected. In her past life, her appearance was ordinary too, but not this time though!
Aaron was set to accompany her in the palace, when they had their 'playdate' no adults would be present. Her father decided to take Aaron with them so that he would protect her.
When he saw her all dressed up he couldn't help but lift her up and spin, "Linny, you're so pretty!"
She couldn't stop giggling and enjoyed being treasured by her family, it was a first in both her lifetimes.
"Ahem!" Her father cleared his throat so loudly interrupting their fun. She could tell he felt troubled, he too wanted to do the same but he was so set in his old ways to let go of the rules he grew up with.
It was fine, Adeline got a loving family for the first time. She was going to make this work! Full of determination she skipped up to her father and raised her hands hoping her father would lift her up. If he was too shy to initiate, she would lend a hand.
"Dad?" She looked at him with expectant eyes. 'Lift me up!!' She got used to calling him dad, she never called her father from her past life dad, and she rarely ever talked to her parents.
They avoided her, it was obvious, she didn't get many chances to call them fondly, but thankfully she didn't. They didn't deserve it.
He was completely taken aback by her behaviour, he didn't know what to do for a minute. Adeline shifted her weight from one foot to another. Her hands were hurting, 'Lift me up already, Dad!'
He immediately came back to his senses upon feeling his daughter tug on his clothes. Though he looked reluctant, he was ecstatic. He picked her up and smiled.
Even the smallest of smiles were rare to get from him, but he had a big, warm smile on him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gleefully cheered as he carried her all the way to the carriage.
She thought he would put her down in the carriage but she thought wrong. He kept her on his lap the entire way to the palace. Aaron looked dumbfounded, was this really the father he knew?
He never saw his father act this way, and although he felt happy seeing them so happy together, there was a pang of jealousy in his heart. He wished his father would hug him too. He shook his head vigorously, 'No, you are a big boy.'