Chapter 59

8 months, 1 week, 4 days pregnant.

“It seems we have arrived at the Valentine Estate,” states Orin when the carriage comes to a slow stop. The royal blue curtains hanging over the small window are pulled aside by long elegant fingers to back his previous words, revealing the view outside.

Amelia leans forward to better see without thinking. A stray lock of hair falls into her eyes, and before she can push it back, warm fingers brush over her cheek and ear, doing it for her, gentle as always. She pinks up and realizes just how close she is to the second prince. Quickly, she retreats back, her flash darkening into a blooming red.

“Sorry! I did not mean-”

“It’s alright,” Prince Orin reassures instantly and directs his trademark smile her way.

Amelia cannot bear to stare at it long and her eyes drop to her knees. Her restless fingers twist into the soft fabric of her beautiful blue dress. It was the same one Prince Orin had gifted her a year ago. She hadn’t even noticed until he had commented on the fact.

How embarrassing.

She couldn’t understand why though.

It was just Prince Orin. He was her friend and he has always been so nice to her.

Still, those facts did nothing to make the heat retreat from her face. Amelia whines in her mind, confused.

An arrogant scoff is heard, “Honestly, what a strange sight you two make.”

Amelia lifts her head and shrinks away from the piercing blue stare of The First Princess of Wisteria, Adanna Ophelia Silvan. Mostly, her reaction was because the hue and shape of the princess's eyes were almost identical to the crown prince and it was unnerving to see them glared at her with such open distaste.

It was not a view she was used to seeing.

A long lock of gold is flipped over a smooth slope of a shoulder as Princess Adanna scoffs again.

“I did not realize the two of you were so close,” The princess says as her eyes turn keen, “Close enough to casually lean into each other space as if you two were already a married pairing. Though, the reality is that one is a second prince while the other is a princess candidate of the crown prince,” Adanna's words cut true and without mercy. She even drapes a pretty smile on her face as she turns her head, her eyes turning innocent.

“Though, I suppose the blatant and shameless act before me is not without logic,” She continues on as she turns her attention to the couple sitting next to her, “If I was being so obviously neglected as you are dear,” Her eyes flicker to Amelia then back, “I suppose I would also cling to the next best thing.”

“Adanna, you are speaking nonsense,” Prince Orin says the words lightly, but there was no denying the ringing tone of warning just below them.

Anyone else would have dropped the subject like a hot stone, rare as it was to be admonished by the second prince.

But Princess Adanna acts as if he had never spoken, “Lady Vivian, my friend of many years,” She coos, laying on the affection thickly, “How are you this fine afternoon? The ride has been long and tedious, hasn’t it?”

The topic of attention changes.

The lady in question's lips twitch faintly but she retains her air of effortless grace. Never once has she broken away from her perfect and composed posture even after enduring the stifling tension inside the cabin for the past few hours.

Vivian Alice Baston knew how to present herself at all times, and now that she had been acknowledged by the princess, it was only appropriate that she responded. So, that is exactly what she did.

“It has been a while since I have been outside the walls of Aster Academy. I find it has been a nice change of pace,” The lady says smoothly.

Princess Adanna hums as she slyly glances at the silent figure sitting by the door of the carriage, on the other side of Lady Vivian, “And you, little brother? How have you fared?”

Crown Prince Rodale does not respond, his face stoic.

Princess Adanna was not offended. Not when just a half-hour before, her little brother had played his part with a refined maturity that had taken her by complete surprise.

Of course, she was well informed about her brother's pre-arranged meetings with Lady Vivian. There had been exactly three, and all had gone swimmingly. But Princess Adanna had taken her friend's words with a grain of salt. After all, Lady Vivian was somehow actually fond of Rodale and cultivated that she would never voice words that would come off as rude or offensive to the royal house in any way.

To think, her friend had not actually been speaking through rose-colored glasses.

Princess Adanna could not wrap her head around the fact. Since when was her too serious and stiff little brother actually genuinely courteous? And Princess Adanna was not talking about that false, easily seen through the type of manners that is displayed at galas and grand balls.

Without prompt, her little brother had fallen into small talk. And that had happened only after her little brother had seen to it to help his older sister, Lady Vivian, and that plain miss into the carriage himself. Once they all had settled into the cabin, the crown prince had turned his attention to both of his crown princess candidates, individually, and engaged them into a conversation.

Princess Adanna and Prince Orin had little choice but to pretend to be invisible as their brother had spoken. And even for a split second, the siblings had even shared a moment of surprise eye contact.

Now, at the end of their journey, it seems Prince Orin could not leave it be without doing something to the baron heiress. Princess Adanna refused to sit idly by and stoically ignore them like the crown prince and her friend. She heard enough talk of the plain miss back at Aster to not comment on it.

The door to their carriage is open by a royal coachman.

“Your highnesses,” The man says and bows lowly. He then steps aside, keeping the door open as Rodale moves like a statue that has suddenly been gifted life.

The crown prince is the first to exit. Just like before, when they had entered, he offers his hand to first Lady Vivian and then Miss Amelia, helping them step out of the carriage without a word. When he does the same for his oldest and only sister, Princess Adanna cannot help but give him a taunting look solely for siblings.

And as if they were children again, Prince Rodale glares at her on instinct. She snickers and squeezes his hand tightly once before letting it go.

Lastly, Prince Orin leaves the carriage. He soon gravitates to the plain heiress side. Princess Adanna decides to ignore this, for now, soothed by the fact that Prince Rodale stays by Lady Vivian even as the baron heiress shoots a doleful look of obvious longing at his back.

“You all sure took your sweet time in presenting yourselves,” A voice drawls.

Princess Adanna scowls as Prince Kolton, the third prince and last in line for the throne, swaggers up to them with a smirk on his lips.

“You should have ridden with us,” she tells him instantly.

Prince Kolton cast his distinctive eyes over at his older brothers and the woman by their side and snorts inelegantly.

“I’m not the type to torture myself willingly,” He states.

Princess Adanna's lips quirk, “It was not that bad.”

Prince Kolton raises a single eyebrow in disbelief, silent.

Princess Adanna's lips twitch, “Alright, if given a choice, I would sooner claw out my own eyes than go through that again,” she admits poshly, lowering her voice.

Prince Kolton just snickers.

Princess Adanna would prefer to go and complain a bit further with the only brother she was comfortable with doing so, but that would be rude. They were esteemed guests after all, and it was important to uphold oneself deserving of the title born to them.

Without a need for a single signal or look, the progeny of the Royal House of Silvan step into rank with the crown princess candidates two steps back. Even Kolton, the usual outlier, moves in perfect sync. Behind them, the others joining them, their subjects, follow their lead.

The stunning group does not get far.

The duke of the Valentine Household appears before them with his wife by his side.

“Your highnesses,” They both greet formally, bowing at the correct angle.

Besides the crown princess, Princess Adanna eyes the duchess with disdain. She knew of the rumors. Heard of them aplenty from too many mouths to count. But unlike her subjects, the princess also heard the ordeal directly from her brothers. She knew exactly what was fiction and what was the truth.

If it was not for Duke Valentine in his solid and unshaken station in the council over the years, Princess Adanna would not have ever entertained stepping foot into the duchess domain. Especially not after the debacle the former ex-fiancé of Rodale had made of herself.

By all accounts, mother and daughter should have stayed abandoned and forgotten on the outskirts of society. At least until an appropriate amount of time had passed and certain things were properly taken care of.

But it seems the matriarch of the Valentine Household still had a few cards up her sleeve. As the crown prince and second prince greet their host with all the properness of their station, Princess Adanna's eyes take in the gleaming and towering estate before her.

It truly was a view worth admiring.

Stark white, cream, and onyx was the simple color scheme, but between the stone cricks, swirling marble columns, and looming three floors towering proudly in the sky, it carved out a beautiful sight on the land.

Along with-it height was the way it hugged the parkway, displaying its add-ons proudly.

The red trees, blue and purple flowers, and the simplistic but tasteful carvings in the pavements, stairs, and pillars brought it all together into a sight she could not help but be in awe of.

Because this view was a fairly recent one.

Possibly it had only been less than a hundred years ago that a grey stoned castle had sat in the place the current Valentine Estate inhabited. Before it had been destroyed in the war, back when this area had been the second start of the still-growing Kingdom of Wisteria. t had been a humble beginning, as the castle had not even been as large as the estate that stands in front of her now.

Once, long ago, the very spot in which she walks now had been the capital and heart of the kingdom. The second one in its full history.

But all that was left the castle that had fallen in history was the high-reaching walls that surrounded the estate. Even after the building in which it was meant to protect had fallen, the walls had stayed.

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It had been the only feature of this property that was even remotely appealing.

When the lands have been gifted to the Valentines in the long distant past, it was a double-edged sword. An insult on top of a reluctant thanks.

But now, look how far it has come.

Princess Adanna recalls the sketches she had looked over of the old lost capital. Out of all the histories of her kingdom imposed upon her, this particular story had stood out. Along with the castle of Aster.

It amazed her to think that her ancestors once lived upon these lands and just how far their reach and struggle had been in the old lands and unforgiven world.

She wonders if her ancestors had known it could turn into the thriving mass that it was today, would they have been so willing to give up on the old capita? To even hand it off like some broach after it had fallen to complete ruin.

Unlikely.

Her brothers, Rodale and Orin mainly, finish up their greetings, and somewhere along the way the group begins to move, and she along with them. As they walk through the bodies of servants, and closer to nameless nobles of lower standing, Princess Adanna's eyes fall upon the two countesses.

Ah.

Well, that answers that.

Of course, the duke with his standing alone could have seen to it that the Fall Courtship happened under his wings, but he was not the type to care for such blunt advantages. Why take out an opponent with a club when a poisonous needle would have the same result?

Princess Adanna was well aware that at first glance, Duke Valentine seems cold but mild manner, almost obedient at times. Rarely is he ever first to voice his opinions during the council meetings she sits in. He is always quiet and observing.

Marking him as someone who is easily manipulative or one who is swayed by the overall voices had been her first mistake in the past.

But she was a quick learner because now she knew his true nature.

As she did everyone on her father’s council. It was important, as a woman, and sole crown princess of the Wisteria Kingdom to silently observe these things. Though she would admit to no one but herself, this knowledge was only brought about from years of skulking in her own home, the White Castle.

When one could not see or hear you, you learned many things.

That is why she knows, though silent and liken to a grey cloud of smoke, that Duke Valentine was someone to keep a close eye on. Especially after his daughter had been engaged to Prince Rodale. But even though she had made note of it and even kept an ear out, it was still a shock to her system to see the estate in which his family resides.

The last she had been here; it had looked starkly different.

Now, it could be likened to a beautiful fortress and even a small castle in its own right. It had enough soldiers keeping silent guard over it to make it so.

It made sense. Logically, Princess Adanna knew that the duke was of the top five landowners in all of Wisteria. Of course, it was nothing in comparison to what the Royal House of Silvan owned, but still, a remarkable feat.

This was a fact she had known for years, but, looking around, and recalling her view of the past, she wonders just when the Valentine Duke had clawed up from fifth place?

And how is it she only just noticed it now?

“Greetings, your highnesses,” The countesses say, bowing to them. Behind the two women, their entourage echoes them. As more greetings are exchanged, Princess Adanna finds catches an odd movement from the corner of her eye.

She turns her head.

Briefly, her eyes meet her youngest brother. Prince Kolton flashes her a look of pointed annoyance as the nameless nobles crowd around them, causing her to smirk, but soon his head tilts back, and his distinctive rise up and stop.

Princess Adanna frowns.

She knows that look.

It was the same stupid face her brothers had made plenty of times over the years. Since that plain little heiress had stepped into Aster. As their oldest sister, she knew all the expressions her brothers were capable of. And that look was a rare sight to behold outside the privacy of their home.

It was one of interest and genuine intrigue.

Only, Kolton is not directing it behind him.

He is not gazing upon the plain baron girl.

Princess Adanna follows the trail of his gaze, the ends of her mouth pulling further down when she catches a glimpse of deep yet startling amethyst hair swaying gently in the breeze around a pale face. But that is as far as she gets because she quickly becomes distracted by the regal figure standing unmoving just a few feet away.

Her pretty blue eyes widen as her mouth falls open slightly.

Oh.

Who...who is that?

As if he could feel her gaze, keen yellow eyes meet hers full on.

Princess Adanna will later lament about her initial reaction, cringing away from it as all she does is stare back as heat radiates from every pore of her face. Not a drop in her prestigious breeding could be found in those few seconds. All it takes was a single look and she is reduced to a girl spluttering over the sudden attraction that reaches up and slaps her ruthlessly in the face.

He does not turn his head to get a better look at her. He does not have to. With the sun beaming cheerily above them and the shadows of the balcony he stands under, his features are broadcasted in devastating contrast. His sharp jawline cast a short shadow on his pale neck, but it draws her eyes up to the high slope of his cheeks, his lips, nose, and eventually, his eyes framed by long indigo eyelashes. His hair framed his face, matching in color with his eyebrows and eyelashes, but as another swirl of air passes through, it sways just above his broad shoulders.

Princess Adanna does not know how long she stands like a stupefied dimwit, but it is long enough for all the greetings to be exchanged. Well, almost.

At some point, the man who caught her up with a single look turns away.

She blinks her dry eyes, finally recalling where she was. When she notices Prince Kolton, Prince Orin, and Lady Vivian giving her subtle looks of concern, blandness, and bemusements respectfully, she flushes further, and quickly rights herself.

Honestly, just how long did they need to stand in the heat? It was in proper. Shouldn’t they have already have gone in by now?

As Princess Adanna thinks this with all the affront of her station, she finally picks up on the tension swirling in the air.

The greetings and exchanges of pleasantries should be done.

But it seems a snag has been made.

Duke Valentine and his wife's body were turned slightly, looking up. Back onto the porch. Princess Adanna has enough sense this time to not follow it in fear of her own reaction, but she knew exactly who they were looking at.

Livia Katrina Valentine, the heiress of the estate and ex-fiancé of her brother, Rodale, has not moved once from her place in the shadows.

Princess Adanna supposes if she had been in her place, as comical and utterly horrendous as the thought was, she would not have wished to be seen either. And yet, here the girl was. The princess had once thought that the one who orchestrated the grand scheme was the Valentine heiress herself. After all, out of all the princess candidates, she was the one who had been neglected the most. It made perfect sense that she would prefer to be in her own domain during the Fall Courtship.

But at the same time, that explanation was too simplistic for the true reality of the situation. Calling it complicated was outright laughable.

From the fiancé of the crown prince to ex-fiancé, exiled with all her titles tripped of her, Lady Livia was in a very strange and bizarre spot. To add salt to the bleeding wound, she was pushed into it by the very person she had been sworn to by some very dubious judgment on behalf of the Crown Prince of Wisteria. After being forced out of her home in the kingdom, a year passed in she returned like a raging storm.

Everything had turned on its head upon her trial.

Princess Adanna had naively thought the fallout of exiling the crown princess to be had been bad. And she had made sure to keep as far from the brunt of it as she could. But once Lady Livia had returned...

She hadn’t wanted to know the why or how. Princess Adanna’s only concern had been her family and reputation, and the thoughts of her people. When Lady Livia had come through and left without a backward glance to go into hiding in her home, the Royal House of Silvan was left to pick up the shattered pieces.

The king, her father, had done his best to control the storm before it hit them, to make amends in his own way, but in the end, it did little to help.

The unyielding faith of the Royal House of Silvan, rulers of the Wisteria Kingdom, had been shaken and there was little they could do but hold on and try to hastily fix the small hairline cracks appearing in the foundation.

Princess Adanna had blamed Lady Livia for the longest time. Especially after her father had announced her as a crown princess candidate. But after a few days of the ball thrown in her honor, she heard the first rumor of abuse. Then it was like a flood gate, and soon, it became difficult to blindly hate a woman she had never bothered to get to know as she had hated her at first sight.

So, she finally had opened up her ears and listened like she always does. She even went to her brothers and fathers and coaxed the real story from them when the rumors became too ridiculous.

But even after knowing the full story behind the trial, her opinion hasn’t really changed much.

Princess Adanna still did not like Lady Livia. She could scout out an ambitious pawn from a mile away.

Her first impression of the girl still left a bitter taste in her mouth, even after so many years. The Valentine heiress was shallow, spoiled, and petty with a jealousy streak a mild wide and who could be downright mean at times. Certainly, Princess Adanna supposes the girl was passively pretty and capable beyond that.

But what interest did she have in someone who was basically a reflection of her own self? Especially when the girl did not have the grace to step in line like all others. No, Lady Livia's focus had solely been on Rodale. And look at what that had gotten her.

Princess Adanna was not without sympathy, as it seems all the bad karma the girl had accumulated in her life suddenly had been paid in full. It was unfortunate, all that had happened to Lady Livia.

But the thing is, why must her family pay the price as well?

Yes, yes, her brother made a horrendous mistake, but that is all it was. Mostly.

Was it really fair that they all must suffer just because of one measly mistake that anyone could have made? It made no sense! And none of this would have ever happened if the stupid girl had never come back. Why return? Especially in that state. Has she no shame!?

But then again, all it took was a single order for Lady Livia’s life to go in the direction that it did.

Princess Adanna was conflicted.

But in the end, it did not matter what she thought. Her father had made his decision.

And now that decision has brought her here, standing outside the Valentine Estate, waiting for the girl to remember her manners. The silence stretches longer, and tension turns into awkwardness.

The disgraced Lady Lynette chuckles lightly, her voice airy and almost sickly sweet when she speaks with a coaxing tone most adults reserve for small children. Instead, the duchess directs her words to her daughter.

A few seconds feel like hours.

“Sweetie, if you could come to greet their royal highnesses?” It was a question that sounded more like a demand.

Silence.

“Livia,” The duke commands simply.

This gets a better response. With obvious reluctance, the girl steps forward. The shadows fall away as she pauses atop the stairs and is draped in the afternoon light.

Small gasps and murmurs are heard at her clear appearance.

Most barely glanced over her face. All eyes fell to the burgundy fabric stretched over bulging and heavily pregnant stomach.

Princess Adanna was no better.

Her hands go up to her mouth to stifle her own little gasp as her eyes widen.

The woman, no, girl, really, for her face, was too round and soft to be that of a woman, looked as if she could give birth at any second.

Suddenly, any sort of impatience, clinging pettiness, and dislike still and turns cold inside of her. This was the first time Princess Adanna has ever seen Lady Livia up close since her return. And strangely, it was...difficult. Her eyes quickly drop to her feet, even when that man steps up and offers his hand to the Valentine heiress to help guide her down the stairs.

She is walking strangely, is Princess Adanna’s first thought upon tentatively glancing up, noticing the way in which the heiress sways. Her second thought was why Duke Valentine did not bother to help his daughter. Her third was what relationship did Lady Livia and that man have.

Once the Valentine heiress reaches the bottom steps and comes to a stop between her parents, Princess Adanna stills her resolve and lifts up her head.

Startling, Lady Livia was looking directly at her. Even as Rodale stepped forward.

“Lady Livia,” He is the first to greet. He does not offer up his hand for the heiress to place her in as he did with the countesses and duchess. His hands stay at his side, his shoulders stiff.

Princess Adanna notes, distantly, that he has reverted back to how he used to be. The casual charm he had once exuded only a few minutes before has evaporated. And it was not for lack of trying.

It would be amusing, if only for the fact that she also feels like she has been transported in time, back to the first meeting between herself and the young woman who stands before her now.

She feels small and graceless. As if everything she has built around her over the past few years has fallen into an abyss, leaving only herself, bare and vulnerable.

Princess Adanna takes a step back, her eye falling away, to the side. At the same time, Lady Livia turns her head, back to her little brother, and she finds herself oddly relieved.

“Your highness,” The Valentine heiress says flatly. Just like Rodale, she does not offer the back of her hand to be kissed. But they do lift up only to rest on the swell of her stomach, patting at it seemingly without thought. Her nails were painted black.

Princess Adanna feels the urge to shuffle her feet and fiddle with her fingers like she once had when she was a girl, anything was better than standing still. She felt like she could barely breathe.

Why?

It was just a stupid greeting.

But those eyes.

A shiver crawls down her back.

“Well, now that is all said and done, why don’t we head inside? I’m sure you all wish to settle down and rest after such a long trip from Aster,” The disgraced duchess suddenly says with forced cheerfulness.

It seems she realized it was better to cut things where they were.

Princess Adanna silently agreed with this.

Things quickly became a bit chaotic as the line of servants moved in unison. Suddenly, two maids appeared at Princess Adanna’s elbow.

“This way, your highness, your room is not far from the main house,” She was being told after each maid formally bowed to her, and coaxed forward.

As she begins her trek up the porch, she notices her youngest brother, Prince Kolton lagging behind. Though, he was not the only one. Prince Rodale cleanly stepped aside and away from the madness, and even shakes his head at two butlers who step back instantly to wait on his command.

The group is split and shuffled off.

Just before she entered the Valentine estate, she notes that Lady Livia has also stepped aside and away from her parents. Moving further down the parkway, and away from the entrance and carriages.