She sat on the bench, her teeth chattering while she muttered, "I'm doomed, I'm doomed, I'm doomed," over and over again, as if a mantra. Her mind was racing with thoughts, and her body was tense due to the pressure from the earlier interrogation of the Duke and the cold glinting gaze of Damion. How could things have gone so wrong?
At last, a maid bustled towards the gazebo, her voice ringing with urgency. "Your Grace, the queen, and the crown prince have arrived!"
Before Selene could understand the maid's words, the Duchess's shrill voice cut through the air. "Clean her up! Bring out the prepared tea immediately!" she shouted, her gaze darting to Selene with both distaste and disgust.
The maids leaped into action. In an instant, the table was cleared, and to Selene's dismay, her unfinished breakfast was whisked away. Before she could utter a word in protest, a maid snatched a cloth and began to roughly scrub her messy face, while another hastened to set her hair aright, yanking it into place. Yet another straightened her wrinkled dress and set her clothes in order. This was all done in an instant, and so strongly, that Selene hardly had time to utter a word of protest. She was then unceremoniously picked up and laid beside the Duchess like some sort of prop.
How dare you manhandle me? Selene thought, but before she could express her protest, the butler, Alaric, came forward to announce the arrivals in his lofty voice.
"Her Majesty, Queen Isolde Vancaster, and His Highness, Crown Prince Aldric Vancaster."
All heads turned as the queen and crown prince strolled towards the gazebo. Queen Isolde was a regal figure with long, flowing blonde hair that glittered in the sun as if made of spun gold. Her keen blue eyes, framed by perfectly arched brows, created an impression of icy elegance. She was wearing a magnificent gown of deep royal purple, embroidered with silver thread, while a crown rested lightly on her head.
Behind her was 13-year-old Prince Aldric. His hair was as golden as his mother's, but his eyes were that rare, strange emerald green. He moved with the same fluidity and command as his mother, but there was an underlying warmth denied to his mother. He had that magnetically compelling yet intimidating presence.
Once they were back at the gazebo, the queen stopped suddenly, almost as if she expected something. But after a few moments of silence, neither the Duke nor the Duchess said anything to greet her, her lips curled upwards in a sneer of impatience. Queen Isolde strode into the gazebo without awaiting an invitation and sat herself down directly opposite the Duchess and Selene. Aldric followed her, sitting down beside his mother.
The poor girl could hardly contain her excitement. Drama! Live drama right in front of me! She knew she was the main topic of discussion, yet the tension between the Duke, Duchess, and Queen Isolde was far more captivating than her own impending trial. I may be the main focus right now, but the drama was just too delicious to ignore.
The moment the queen sat, maids fluttered forward and put out the prepared tea: an ornate teapot in fine porcelain with golden filigree, with a matching tea set that shone with delicate gold patterns. Six teacups and saucers were set before each person. Another maid began to pour rose-scented tea into the cups, its fragrance wafting through the air like some kind of flower perfume.
Immediately as the maids were done, the Duchess was the first to reach for her cup with studied elegance and take a sip of the tea within, her eyes cold, her expression unreadable. She was followed by the Duke, who also took up his cup and began to drink, his eyes never leaving the queen.
The Queen Isolde frowned, her eyes narrowing slightly while she watched them. Then, with a lot of forced politeness, she did the same, picking up her teacup and sipping.
Damion and Aldric followed suit, picking up their cups and drinking wordlessly.
Selene, who was the last, grasped her cup in a flurry with shaking hands and lifted it to her lips. She didn't have time to taste anything. All her attention was focused on the drama unfolding before her eyes.
Although no words had been exchanged yet, the tension between Duke, Duchess, and Queen was thick enough to cut with a knife. Everyone sat in stiff, polite silence, but the undercurrent of hostility brewing between them was palpable to Selene, who knew it would not take long before someone broke this silence.
Wrapping her fingers around her teacup, feigning interest in the tea, Selene's eyes darted from the Duchess to the Queen. This is going to be interesting.
By now, Selene was sipping her tea again, really trying to put together what she knew about Queen Isolde from his route in the game and the fan wiki. The queen didn't have a very happy story.
Queen Isolde Vancaster is not from this kingdom, thought Selene. She was originally the princess of the Kingdom of Elandor, a neighbor that enjoys a diversified culture and political alliances. She was born between a union of a maid and a king. Her marriage to the king of Vancaster was purely a political one, an arranged union meant to solidify ties between the two kingdoms when he was still a crown prince. Whereas the king had always been secure, the queen's position was tenuous from the very start.
Queen Isolde found herself facing opposition from the nobles of Vancaster from day one. She was a foreigner and, to their thinking, a "classless" woman with no noble blood from Vancaster; most of the leading nobles in the court regarded her as some kind of interloper who had no business being among them; and as time moved on, there was no lessening of their scorn.
It didn't help that her marriage to the king was not based on love, Selene remembered. They were nothing more than political partners, and it wasn't long before the king took a concubine, claiming she was the true love of his life.
One concubine led to another, and soon the king's court was filled with women, each one vying for the king's favor. Worse still, many of these women bore him children. Meanwhile, Queen Isolde was barren and found herself in a more precarious position with all the gossip circulating within the court. If she could not bear an heir, then it would only be a question of time before one of the concubines' children, the sons, would claim the throne.
Thankfully, the rule within the kingdom had been strict: only a child born of both king and queen could be crowned crown prince or princess. It was the one thing that kept the title intact for Isolde. But with every passing year of childlessness, her fear grew.
In desperation, Queen Isolde secretly consulted a powerful witch. From the witch, she obtained two potions-one being a fertility potion and the other a highly rare potion called "Virilis Auctor," which had been said to grant the birth of a male heir.
The night she was to share the king's bed, Isolde drank the fertility potion herself and mixed the Virilis Auctor into a bottle of wine intended for both her and the king. They drank, and shortly afterward, they shared a passion-filled night with each other.
Nine months later, Prince Aldric was born.
For Queen Isolde, his birth was a great victory. The moment Aldric was declared crown prince, she felt her position as queen temporarily stabilized.
It was a year after Aldric's birth that she started to plan for another child and repeat her earlier trick with the king. But before she could act upon those plans, some news made her change her mind, the birth of Selene.
She was the only daughter of Duke Magnus Ravencroft, and the queen had taken notice. Isolde seized upon this as a chance. Without delay, she offered a betrothal between Aldric and the then-newborn Selene. The gamble paid off, and both the King and the Duke agreed.
Everything was secure once the marriage contract had been sealed regarding the position of Queen Isolde. The nobles who scoffed at her earlier now vie for her favors. All the enemies, such as the king's concubines, are able only to envy her as she secured her place in the pecking order of the royal hierarchy. What it means is that Queen Isolde was an ideal example of a woman who fights tooth and nail to keep her status in the cutthroat noble society.
But that changed on the day that Selene awakened her dark priestess class. On Aldric's route, there was this one dialogue between Isolde and him; she said that after Selene woke up, her well-built foundation began to crumble.
I guess she's trying to break off the engagement between me and Aldric before it causes any damage to her position, Selene mused, watching the queen sip her tea, Too bad she's being too hasty.
She shook off such a thought.
Her gaze cut next to Prince Aldric, seated silently beside his mother. Selene's eyes went wide as she realized Aldric was staring at his emerald eyes full of a tightly leashed fury.
Why is he looking at me like this? Selene thought with a skip in her heartbeat. Have I done something to affront him?