Lianne stood at the edge of the railing in a balcony outside the grand hall. Her right hand gripped the railing tightly feeling vexed by something she thought was inferior.
Why was she feeling annoyed with the woman’s presence? Much more, why did it cause a strong emotion seeing the prince talk to another woman other than herself?
Surely, she must have gone mad.
Continuing to cool herself down, it was then that she realized she had inadvertently stomped her foot when she caught a glimpse of the two walking towards the center of the dance floor.
“That lewd woman!” Lianne turned her back quickly away from them and began to take deep breaths.
“And what was he claiming about? Thinking about me the whole time when he was in Versailles?! Huh! Go fool others!” she shouted, unaware that Lord Cain had just arrived in the balcony.
“Who is fooling around, Lianne?”
Startled by his unexpected entrance, she placed a hand onto her chest and gave out a fake smile.
“Lord Cain! You’re here!”
“Tell me, what are you blurting about?” he questioned, his eyes shifting with suspicion. He approached her and stopped to lean against the railing too.
“Oh, nothing. I was just speaking my mind again. You know, about Garlow,” she replied, astonished with herself why she couldn’t bring to tell him about how annoyed she was with the mysterious woman’s presence Lord Jared seems to have an acquaintance to.
“Ah, I see.” Cain cocked his head up and crossed his arms to his chest. “I was looking everywhere for you. Apparently, the royal table is absent of a King and a prince who I just saw waltzing with a lady on the dance floor just now. I thought you had already left the party when you did promise me a dance, right?”
“Of course, I hadn’t forgotten about that my Lord,” Lianne said in an astonishingly calm manner. She just had to keep her emotions intact and show a straight face.
“Well then, would you dance with me?” He then bent low and stretched out his hand as an invitation.
Lianne was reluctant to agree knowing that ‘they’ were still in the dance hall, but not wanting to rouse Cain’s suspicion, she agreed to dance with him then.
Surely enough, the prince and Lady Kathrine were in the dance floor when Cain and Lianne entered the crowd.
She kept her eyes low trying to avoid glancing at the couple, but she was hyper-aware where they were.
Ruen saw them both and was bothered by the sight of them dancing together: Cain’s hands on Lianne’s hips and her face on the general’s shoulder. He wanted to go and cut their dance, but with his current predicament still holding him down, he couldn’t do so.
The rhythm of the music was slow and steady making Lianne conscious of every contact of Cain’s skin. It had only been a month past since the Soulisse ball and Cain’s amorous actions towards her that night, but Lianne was still finding it hard to feel comfortable in his presence.
Aside from that, she could feel another set of eyes watch her intensely. It was making her feel dizzy and flushed. She knew then it was from the prince when she caught sight of him stealing glances on her way.
Lady Kathrine was oblivious of Ruen’s actions though. She was busy herself deliberately pressing her breasts on his chest which did not yield any outright response from him.
“My prince, your mind is wandering elsewhere,” Kathrine spoke, staring at his face with starry eyes. More closer now and their lips would touch which was the goal she had in mind before the ball would be over.
Ruen’s attention abruptly turned to her and his response thrilled Lady Kathrine, misunderstanding it as it was. “I just feel it rather drowning to be waltzing with you.”
“Then don’t you think this dance is enough? I am wondering if you could tour me around your mansion, and oh! your chamber perhaps. I’m new here after all.”
Kathrine tried to stress the word ‘your chamber’ from her puckered lips and Ruen didn’t miss it. Despite the apathetic one, he knew what she was trying to say, and he thought, ‘Hell, this woman must be crazy.’ He’d never let some woman inside his chamber other than the princess.
Not waiting for his reply, Lady Kathrine took his hand and pulled him out of the dance floor with a smile as broad as a donkey.
She felt like she was the star of the night. The attention of every maiden present was directed at her, and she knew they were incredibly jealous.
Ruen took a last glance at the princess who was still waltzing with the general. Just by the look on Cain’s face, he knew that he needed to act fast and break them apart.
On the other hand, such a sight was something Lianne could never rid out of her mind.
She felt relieved seeing the prince and Lady Kathrine walk out of the dance floor, but her heart sank as she realized they were not returning to the royal table.
She couldn’t hear the accompaniment of the music, and as if the dance floor was nothing more than a dark sea in her eyes.
She let Cain manage her on the dance floor caring nothing if she would trip or stumble on another couple dancing.
She was confused. Though she disliked the prince to the core of her being, why does she feel distraught upon seeing him with another woman?
‘Where are they going?’ her thoughts shouted with unease.
***
Prince Ruen led Kathrine away from the grand hall and into the main foyer of the mansion.
She felt her plans coming to fruition, so she began to flirt more on the prince when they were alone at the foyer.
She turned to face him, pressing her bosom once again against his chest. She gave out a seductive smile and then gently combed her hands through his hair.
Ruen stared at her, motionless. A few seconds later, Lord Jared appeared at the entrance of the grand hall looking surprised.
“Kathrine!” Lord Jared exclaimed. “I didn’t know you are-”
The old man stopped as he saw Kathrine’s frown and meek display of disapproval.
He exactly knew then what his niece was up to.
“I… I wasn’t informed you had arrived,” he continued, hiding the true inquiry he had in mind.
Kathrine, in return, began to politely curtsy and spoke, “Uncle Jared, I’m happy to see you well and strong.”
The old man nodded in acceptance, “So am I, for you.” He was glad to see his niece, and he would have wanted to talk with her more, but as he glanced at the prince, one look from him, he immediately understood his dilemma.
“Well, uh, I hope I am not disturbing you right now, but I need to speak with the crown prince in private, Kathrine. Would you mind if I talk with His Highness first?” Jared stated.
Kathrine pouted and made a disappointed groan. “But Uncle Jared! We were supposed to-”
“Hush child,” Jared cut off. “You’ll have your time. This is an important business matter.”
“Business in the middle of a party?!” she shouted in disbelief, tightly gripping Ruen’s arm in the process.
Lord Jared glared at her, shutting her mouth up in surprise.
Ruen wrenched his arm from her grip and gave her a cold stare.
“Excuse me, Lady Kathrine.”
Then, he began to walk past her. He chose to stop at a safe distance wherein the woman couldn’t hear their conversation.
Kathrine was left dumbstruck. She hadn’t seen her uncle act like such for quite some time, but knowing it was her own childish attitude that led to it, she had no other choice but to oblige.
She stood beside an intricately painted wall next to the grand staircase of the mansion as if admiring a vase of white lilies set on a table in her front, but in truth, she was actually fixing herself up seeing her reflection cast by a large gold framed mirror bolted up against the wall.
After several minutes of waiting, her frustration began to increase when she caught a glimpse of the prince’s reflection in the mirror swiftly walking away to a hallway across where she stood.
Frantic, she turned and began to shout out his name when Lord Jared approached her quickly.
“Uncle, where is Prince Ruen going?” she asked in alarm.
“He has some business affairs to attend to urgently and he has told me to tour you around the palace in his place. Prince Ruen has bid me to apologize on his behalf for this misfortune, Kathrine.”
“What?!” She stomped her foot hard on the marbled floor upon hearing what Jared said. Her brows knotted hard too as she folded her arms together. “This is not right! He was supposed to tour me, not you!”
“And whose fault is it in the first place?” Jared fired back in anger. “You didn’t exactly inform me you were coming in the Regaleria Mansion. Going all the way from Versailles on a whim! Tsk! What kind of a woman are you?”
Kathrine, in reaction, bowed her head low.
She played on her fingers acting like an innocent child and said with hesitation, “I… I had some… friends I was with aboard the ship.”
“You are lying,” Jared commented, “and surely, your father doesn’t know any of this?”
Kathrine didn’t respond. She continued to lower her head feeling dissatisfied with the turn of events. She should have informed his uncle of her arrival first so to spare this kind of situation, but it was already too late to regret it.
Lord Jared, on the other hand, was enraged by her revelation. Truly, he knew that Kathrine’s father would be disappointed with her actions.
“Argh, child!” Jared spoke bitterly. “You and your capriciousness!”