Lianne’s eyes widened with the realization of Lord Jared’s request. Surely, she heard it all wrong.
“Lord Cain?” She stared at the general with questioning eyes who in turn nodded, although reluctantly.
“I didn’t expect for this to happen, Lianne. Tell me now and without a doubt, I will escort you out of this party right away,” Cain stated without any hesitation.
She looked at Lord Jared with the same amount of surprise she gave to the general. Her thoughts battled between staying or leaving. Her plan for this night would be to avoid the man as much as possible but to be requested by him no less to join their table was somewhat of a surprise for her. She knew his request would yield to dire consequences, but to refuse a king in public would mean to refuse her freedom.
But all this time.
For all this time.
She had never ever complied with Garlow’s requests. However, to deny him now would prove to be her loss. With all of these people observing her delicate actions, it would seem as though she had no other choice.
“Lead the way, Lord Jared,” Lianne spoke with confidence as she placed her hand on his palm.
“Lianne,” Cain abruptly stopped her. He stood up and offered her a proposition. “Let me escort you to the royal table.” He looked obviously pissed by the King’s request, but there was nothing he could do to stop it.
“Lord Cain,” she murmured with regret as she felt the concern in his eyes.
The trio began to walk the length of the grand hall towards the royal table. Cain then began to tighten his grip on her hand as they neared, seeing his counterpart, the crown prince, sitting beside the king.
“I should have known this would happen,” he hissed in disagreement. “It seems I wouldn’t be able to have you the whole night after all.”
“Lord Cain, a dance later would suffice.” Lianne looked at him wearing a sweet smile trying to hide the erupting anger she had already amassed.
“Later then, Princess,” Lord Cain responded, a little bit cheered by her promise.
When they arrived in front of the royal table, Lord Cain routinely bowed his head as a sign of respect to the king, but Princess Lianne didn’t do the same to the guests’ astonishment.
“As always have been. You never fail to amuse me, Princess Lianne,” King Garlow spoke in a dark rough voice, smiling like the devil that he was.
“I see no reason to bow to you,” Lianne replied without a thought, her head held up high as if sending a message she didn’t give a damn to even respect the man in her front.
King Garlow, if he was offended, didn’t show it on his face. He just grinned and then routed his attention to the general.
“You may go now, Cain. I am pleased you escorted our beautiful princess all the way here.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Cain replied and as he turned his back away from the table, he looked at Lianne and nodded at her as a sign of his departure.
As she stood all alone in front of the royal table, her anxiety grew worse. Her heart skipped a beat when she caught a glimpse of the prince who has been staring at her endlessly since their arrival. Damn, his eyes were like daggers passing through her.
“Jared, escort the princess to her chair,” the King commanded directly, pointing to a vacant one at the far corner beside the prince.
She felt relieved by the quick dismissal, but she felt a new kind of worry realizing Lord Jared was directing her to her seat beside the prince.
“Could this get any worse?” Lianne murmured through gritted teeth as she stood in front of Prince Ruen who rose from his seat to gentlemanly pull the vacant chair for her.
Their eyes met and instantly, there was a spark ignited in her that she cannot deny. The hair on her skin started to rise and she shivered when he smiled handsomely at her.
‘What was wrong with him! Again, with that devious smile!’ she shouted on her thoughts.
She ignored the prince and went on to finally sit on the cushioned chair. Her nerves tensed as seconds to minutes passed by with him close to her left side.
“Could this get any worse?!” she expressed out loud without thinking he might be able to hear.
Unfortunately, he did.
Ruen scoffed in response and because of this, she quickly stared at him with irritation, her brow raised.
“You think this is funny?” Lianne spoke, annoyed to the core of her being.
He directed a questioning look on her and said, “What is?”
“Oh! Don’t play dumb on me! You know exactly what I am saying,” she voiced out, crossing her arms to her chest.
“Hmm, nothing is funny Lianne. I just find your patience rather admirable,” Ruen noted with genuine naturalness. “But, of course, you just can’t keep your emotions at bay.”
The princess rolled her eyes. “So you think you can read my actions now, how disquieting. You might as well stop pretending though,” she retorted and then began to munch an available pastry near her side of the table.
The prince observed her movements and then turned his attention to the guests waltzing on the dance floor.
“You look magnificently beautiful tonight,” out-of-the-blue, he voiced out.
Lianne, in reaction, choked on her food as she heard him say. In haste, she took a glass of red wine and gulped a minimum amount both to clear her throat and to calm her nerves.
‘What was he trying to do now?’ she thought, acting as if she was unaffected by his words.
“Not for you to enjoy, surely,” Lianne replied, her eyes averting his way.
“That dress suits you perfectly. I thought without a doubt after I bought it,” he continued to speak turning his gaze all to her waiting for her reply he already expected to be rather… disruptive.
Lianne was taken aback. She didn’t miss out on the words ‘I bought it’ out from his mouth.
“You?” she said. “Lady Faye wasn’t the one who-”
Ruen’s gaze was still fixed on her when his lips formed into a smirk.
“No,” he clarified. “I told her to give the gown to you, but she left my name out of it. That also includes the gown you wore in the House of Astoria ball.”
“What?!” Lianne stood up from her chair, but Ruen pulled her back to sit.
His hand held her arm tightly but still, she was able to wrench in out successfully like she just touched a pool of acid.
“You tricked me!” she shouted. “First is the book, then the Astoria gown and the necklace, and now this?!”
“I did not trick you,” Ruen explained. He leaned towards her to deliver his words properly and clearly as the music of the ball was all over the place. “If anything, these are gifts for you. You just won’t heartily receive it, that is why I have to resort on another way for you to take it.”
“You’re despicable!” Lianne threw him a glare. “I do not need such things coming from you. You choose gowns for me to wear when all you have in your head is how it fits perfectly well on my naked body, and how my bosom would swell from it!”
He was caught off guard by her blatant accusation, but he definitely couldn’t deny it.
True. It was all he had thought of when he was in Versailles. Everything about her. All of her, and how he missed her so.
King Garlow had been observing both of them all throughout the time when his attention was redirected to the majordomo who then whispered something on his ear. He nodded in agreement, then quickly rose to his seat and began to walk outside the nearest balcony of the hall at the left side where standing in one of the columns, was the second Duke of the City of Olga, Duke Conrad.
“I am still a man Lianne,” Ruen stated, eyes in a serious shade of brown-green. “Those sensitive things are not meant to be shared out in the open. But, true to your accusation, I was thinking about you the whole time when I was in Versailles.” There was no malice in his voice at all. No hint that he was lying. He looked at her with deep longing, waiting for her to reply, but before the princess could respond, a certain female voice interrupted their conversation.
“Excuse me, Your Highness?” Lady Kathrine inched her way up to the royal table and stood in front of the prince.
Ruen saw her. He quickly straightened his back and asked with a reserved voice, “Lady Kathrine? Why are you here?”
Lianne was stunned by the intrusion. Who was this woman to have the guts to interfere with them? She was beautiful, however, and stylishly dressed. With one look on the woman’s face, Lianne already knew that she was head-over-heels attracted with the prince.
She didn’t care, however, but her emotions began to boil as she heard their conversation.
“Ah, well, uhm, Lord Jared has invited me to your party here at the Regaleria Mansion,” Lady Kathrine replied, her voice stuttering as if she had not rehearsed the line a few times on her way to the mansion.
“You came here all the way to Versailles just for this party?” Ruen said, his brow arched. “Is Lord Jared even thinking properly?”
“Uhm, well, I… I really wanted to see you, Your Highness,” Kathrine responded in a slow arduous tone, her eyes twinkling and fluttering.
She began to lean on the table and intentionally stooped low to reveal her swelling bosom beneath her gown all for Ruen to see.
Lianne forcefully swallowed a piece of honeyed ham, although feeling disgusted upon witnessing the woman’s obvious seduction.
She did not notice Ruen’s void and cold expression, however, unmoved by Kathrine’s immodesty.
“Please dance with me, Your Highness? I would be greatly honored,” Kathrine invited, smiling deviously trying to intimidate the princess on his side.
Lianne’s brows arched in amazement. She can’t believe what she was hearing and even seeing. A sarcastic smiled appeared on her face then in response to the woman’s action, and before Ruen could reply, she rapidly rose from her chair and darted out of the royal table and walked towards one of the balconies on the right side of the grand hall.
Ruen followed Lianne’s movements and mentally noted where she stormed away.
He wanted to follow her, but Kathrine grabbed his attention, touching his jaw towards her face, “Dance with me please?” she offered once again.