Chapter 62
8 months, 1 week, 5 days pregnant.
Midnight
“I heard you had approached Lady Livia, your highness,” A voice states, coming up behind Kolton near the almost overly extravagant buffet table.
The third prince turns around to see a fellow schoolmate and upperclassman stopping before him, but one who was not a part of his house.
Callias Tolba was the current treasurer of the student council of Aster and resided in the House of Sphinx. He was currently a senior and attending his last year at the academy. As the only son of a wealthy merchant family, he would no doubt step into the family business of trade the moment he graduated. With his brown skin, dark brown hair, and orange eyes, his foreign origins were obvious, but he had been born in raised in the kingdom of Wisteria. His family was also prominent enough and well verse that his father had been granted the title of Baron by the king.
Kolton distantly recalls a time in which Callias had visited the White Castle with frequency before he had left for Aster. He had been chosen to become a playmate of the twins, Orin and Rodale. Recently, though, Kolton had noticed that the treasurer has limited his time with his long-standing friends over the year and months.
Certainly, a smart, if not cold move, given the turbulence the two princes had been the spotlight of.
It was something he had made sure to keep tabs on. Just in case.
He could always use someone like Callias in the future, after all.
So, Kolton smirks faintly and gives the upperclassman his full attention.
“You managed to come along as well?” He says, raising an eyebrow.
The Callias before him shrugs lazily and takes a sip out of his champagne glass, “I figured if even the president had decided to accept the invitation, why not?” He says, pulling the glass away from his lips.
“And isn’t that odd in itself,” Kolton says, dragging his eyes away from the upperclassman to scan the room until he spotted pastel blue lingering in the shadows and far away from the crowd. Indeed, it was Leighton, student council president, looking for all the world bored out of his mind as he nibbled on finger food.
Curious.
“It is, isn’t it,” The upperclassman hums. He twirls the glass held between his long, brown fingers, and Kolton's attention travels back to him.
“So,” Callias tilts his head, causing his dark brown ponytail to fall over his shoulder and reveal the heavy golden earrings hanging on his ear, “How did it go?”
“How did what go?” Kolton asks.
His distinct eyes catch a flash of a bubble-pink from the corner of his eye. He turns his head, but no. It had not been Miss Amelia. It had just been the rustle of a dress gliding over the dance floor as a young woman was twirled expertly as joyful but calm music wafts in the air from the orchestra.
“With Lady Livia,” Callias says. His look of amusement was duly noted when the third prince glances back at him.
In reply, Kolton casually shrugs his right shoulder, “It happened. And now it is over.”
He takes a long drag of his own drink, the bitterness on his tongue does nothing to stop the memories of the recent encounter with the Valentine heiress from dredging up. But it certainly made the chilling image of Livia's dull purple eyes fuzzy around the edges. It almost makes it tolerable enough to recount, but no, the mortification, dread, and dark sourness were still as fresh as if it all happened only minutes ago, and not hours.
Kolton takes another sip.
“That bad, huh?” Callias comments, eyeing the dark blue liquid in his cup, “I suppose I have my answer as to why Lady Livia had decided not to join us this evening. Unfortunate. I had been looking forward to seeing her again.”
“Why?” He asks instantly, frowning.
“Well, that much should be obvious, no?” Callias says, his orange eyes sparking.
It was.
After the trial and her subsequent visit to White Castle, Lady Livia had retreated to her family estate and had not set a single toe outside it for months. All letters that were written to her were either returned unopened or thrown away without a single reply. It was as if she had been exiled all over again to some distant, unreachable place, gone from sight.
The last time Kolton had laid eyes on her had been when he had volunteered to serve Lady Lynette the parental documents.
And, a few hours ago where he had proceeded to make a right ass out of himself.
He grimaces.
Given her state, Kolton would admit it was a smart move to lay low and avoid the populace as much as she could. In fact, it was the only dignified action that Lady Livia could have taken.
However, her absence from the public eye did nothing to silence the rumors or dampen public interest. If anything, it did the complete opposite. Now, more than ever, Lady Livia was all anyone could talk about. By this point, the rumors were plain ridiculous if not still favorable.
Kolton had recalled how the anticipation in the ball had reached almost unbearable levels at the start as everyone had eagerly waited for the arrival of the pregnant heiress of the estate. To gawk, gossip or point and stare, the crowd of elites had been anticipating a show. How unfortunate, it was that the party goes only ended up severely disappointed when Duke Valentine had announced that Lady Livia would not be attending.
“You can understand why I am curious, can’t you, your highness?” Callias asks, drawing the third prince out his thoughts.
He says nothing when the merchant son pulls a dark bottle out of nowhere and begins to refile his glass almost to the top with a charming smile.
It was an old, obvious trick to pile a person with alcohol and wait for their guard to lower.
Callias did not even have the grace to look a bit shameful in the obvious act. Why would he? Out of everyone in the room, he was more aware of Kolton's habits given that he all but single-handedly encouraged them himself when he would drag his lowerclassman to wine tasting sessions in the middle of a school day.
Truly, it was wonder why he managed to become the treasurer.
No. On second thought. It was no surprise.
Kolton takes a sip and sighs irritably, feeling like he lost, somehow.
Callias continues to smile as he steps closer, waiting.
“It was fine,” Kolton reiterates, scowling.
“Oh? Then why the long face? Before I had approached, you were staring at your drink as if it had all the answers to the world's greatest questions,” Callias says, his eye and tone softening.
Right.
Kolton almost forgot.
This bastard practically grew up along with him.
And because of that, he could read him like a damn book.
Hell.
He moves to take another sip, but a brown hand covers the top of his glass. He pouts at it, annoyed.
“I think you might have had enough, my friend,” Callias says, taking the glass away entirely. Before Kolton could protest further, the upperclassman tilts his head back and swallows the dark blue liquid in one go.
Fucking show off.
Callias sets down the empty glass and his half-full champagne glass on an empty tray of a passing butler.
“Why don’t we move to talk somewhere more private?” The upperclassman suggests as he directs a vapid smile to the two young ladies lingering a bit too close to them.
“Fine,” Kolton says and is suspired to hear the slight slur in his words. Hm. Maybe he did have too much to drink.
“Come on, your highness,” Callias says, tilting his head to the second floor of the ballroom, “I saw chairs upstairs.”
As they walk along the edge of the room, away from the gossiping titters of young women freshly debuted, and the lingering eyes of many older peers impatiently waiting for an opening to approach the third prince, they bump into Leighton.
“President,” Callias greets cheerfully, waving, “Would you like to join us?” He asks.
Leighton glances over them coolly, his face smooth, “Leaving early?”
“Not exactly,” The upperclassman points upward, “It’s a bit quieter on the second floor.”
The presidents' eyes fall on Kolton. He raises a blue brow, “Drinking?”
Kolton smirks, “I wouldn’t dare. I’m not of age, after all.”
Leighton does not look convinced. He then flinches when Callias smacks him upside the shoulder and uses the same motion to wrap a friendly arm around them.
“Come on, prez. Live a little,” The upperclassman points rudely to him, “Our prince over there was just about to regale me about his encounter with the Lady Livia.”
Kolton scowls and crosses his arms, “I was not about to regale you. It isn’t some long-lost fable.”
“But it might as well be,” Callias sings songs, right into the ear of Leighton if his wince was anything to go by, “I know many people who would be interested in knowing anything about the exclusive Valentine Heiress.”
He could feel his scowl deepening, “Like your sister?”
While the Tolba family mainly deal with trade, not all of them had gone down the same path in life. Callias oldest sister, Kaavia, for an instant, had decided to make a living and profit from writing about the lives of others.”
The upperclassman gasps and clutches his heart dramatically, “Your highness, I would never.”
“Yes, you would,” Kolton and Leighton deadpan at the same time.
“Alright, well, I would never pass along sensitive information,” Callias edits and beams without a hint of remorse.
If it had been anyone else to say such a thing, such charms would have been meaningless as neither the third prince nor the Heir of Duke Wright would have given him the time of day. But Callias, despite not comprehending the definition of shame, was a man of his word and had an incredibly rare trait of honor.
Though, as if to refute this, the merchant son continues on to say, “At least, not without being paid a just price. I mean, information is not cheap. Especially in this economy,” With a look of sudden seriousness.
Leighton shrugs the arms off his shoulders and then proceeds to return the smack from earlier with one of his own. Callias flinches and nurses the side of his head with an affronted pout that does nothing to hide the amusement swimming in his amber-red eyes.
“Fine, I’ll join you,” The president tells Kolton, turning his way.
He just nods in silence and walks in the direction of the stares. After complaining for a bit by himself, Callias easily catches up with him with long easy strides.
The group of three heads up the stairs while expertly by-passing nobles and fellow classmates who attempt to draw them into the conversation. After a few minutes, they find a secluded spot, the noise of the dinner ball almost dropping down a bit as they take their seats in velvet blue chairs.
A butler comes by and asks if they need anything. Leighton orders a glass of water while Callias orders a small platter of food to be delivered to them. As the butler leaves, the treasurer turns an expectant look at Kolton’s way.
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“You may begin,” The young man proclaims importantly.
The third prince just rolls his eyes, his lips twitching, as he mutters, “I wasn’t kidding about what I said earlier. Nothing really happened. All I did was greet Lady Livia and attempted to escort her to her room.”
“Hmm. You had attempted? As in, you weren’t able to?” Callias questions, clearly very interested.
“I didn’t know you were such a gossip, Callias,” Leighton comments lightly with his permanent expression of boredom.
The upperclassman waves this off, "With a sister like mine, it comes second nature now.”
“We had been stopped by a maid. Apparently, the duke had Lady Livia moved to the north wing without telling her a word of doing so,” Prince Kolton says, his tone thoughtful.
“That is odd,” Callias remarks, retrieving the tray of food from the newly returned butler. As he sets it down, his orange eyes look out the large window they sat near, looking out at the view of the main garden, “From what I can tell, the Valentine Estate on has a west, south, and east wing. There is no connected building for a north.”
“There isn’t?” Kolton asks, turning his gaze in the same direction with a frown.
“What happened after?” Leighton asks quietly, taking a small sip of his water.
The third prince suddenly scowls, recalling his sister's sudden appearance, “Adanna had shown up.”
“Ah,” Leighton and Callias say as if that one sentence explains everything.
The prince massages his temples as a fresh wave of irritation pours through him, “It hadn’t been going well, certainly, but the added presence of my sister made everything worse.”
“Oh, it hadn’t? Why?” Callias munches on a cracker loaded with thin slices of meat and cheese, “I thought you had been the one who had decided to investigate Lady Lynette further? Was Lady Livia not thankful?”
Kolton lowers his eyes, “She had been. I suppose, as much as she could, at the time.”
“But?”
“But nothing,” The third prince grumbles, glaring at his upperclassman though he wasn’t the one he was angry at, “It is obvious that beyond that, she isn’t interested in keeping up appearances.”
“And why would she be?”
The two men turn to the president to see his gaze directed out the window despite having talked. He draws it away to stare at them with his frosty eyes, his expression impassive.
“Lady Livia has no reason or cause to be deferential to any you, your highness,” Leighton states curtly.
Stunned silence.
Callias forces a laugh and flaps his hand, “Prez, come on.”
“Your right.”
The upperclassman's head whips in his direction, surprised, but Kolton wasn’t looking at him. He stares down at his clenched hands in his lap with unseeing eyes, replaying back what Lady Livia had told them back in that hallway. About the ship, the crying around her, and the inevitable sickness.
...And death.
It was hard to think about.
Kolton had known from reading the reports that had been written before and after the trial. It had painted a distant picture, of events happening to a person that he had known of and even stared into the eyes of, but somehow, even after, he had been able to hold onto his anger.
His righteousness.
All on behalf of Amelia.
Now...
“I’m a fucking idiot,” He groans.
Leighton, eyes back outside the window, staring down at something with vague interest, nods and pats his back, “Yes, you are,” He agrees.
Callias just sighs and then smiles and pulls out a bottle and three small glasses from his jacket.
“Well, I don’t really understand it, but I know when it’s time to take a shot,” he says and starts pouring.
“He is underage,” Leighton points out half-heartedly, not turning around.
“It’s fine,” Callias says lazily, and pushes a glass towards each of them after filling it to the top. The liquid inside them was as orange as his eyes.
Kolton readily grabs it and tips his head back to swallow it down in one gulp. He coughs, his throat burning and his eyes instantly watering.
His upperclassman grins, “The apples and red pears really go well together, don’t they? My father thought it tasted too tart, but I think it is fine. What about you?” He asks in his business voice, his eyes turning sharp.
“Ugh,” Kolton says as tears crawl down his face, “What is it-ugh.”
“Oh, that would be the peppers,” Callias offers helpfully, “It really brings out the taste of tequila.”
“I’m not drinking that,” Leighton decides as the third prince continues to struggle for words next to him with his face turning red. He presses a finger to the window, his gaze assessing.
“Isn’t that her highness, Princess Adanna? And... Miss Amelia?” He asks, squinting. He stares a second longer, “That man. He had been the same one standing by Lady Livia, earlier. Her personal guard?”
“What? What is it? Is something happening?” Callias scrambled to the window and shoves his nose to it, staring eagerly.
“You are right. That is Princess Adanna and Miss Amelia, and, oh.”
Kolton wipes the tears from his stinging eyes. Damn it. What was his sister doing now? Couldn’t she just sit still and exist for a solid minute without causing trouble?
Callias turns to him, his face unsmiling, “Princess Adanna just slapped Miss Amelia.”
“I wouldn’t call that a slap,” Leighton says, unmoving, “More of a push.”
The upperclassman stares at the president for a second, but just shakes his head and stands up, “I’m going to go see what that is all about.”
“Alright. Tell me what happens,” Kolton says, and tries to become one with the seat underneath him.
Callias pauses, looking back with an eyebrow, “You two aren’t coming?”
“Hard pass,” Kolton says instantly, seeking further into his seat.
“You should be able to handle it fine on your own,” Leighton states lowly, “Miss Amelia seems mostly unharmed, just a bit hurt, mentally. It seems she was trying to befriend that man, Lady Livia’s guard when Adanna stumbled upon them.”
“Oh, is that so?” Callias says neutrally, turning away, “Well, I’ll just make sure it doesn’t escalate.”
Kolton narrows his eyes at his back, “What are you trying to say?”
The upperclassman just shrugs, “You know how Princess Adanna can get. It’s fine. I’ll be back,” he says before leaving them.
Kolton just glares at the spot he was standing at. Distantly, he knew he should feel more concerned. Despite being offended on his sister's behalf, he knew what Callias meant. Miss Amelia definitely did not deserve whatever ire his sister thought she caused. He should get up and follow his upperclassman. To see for himself that Miss Amelia was well and that Adanna wasn’t causing any more trouble.
The urge was certainly there.
Solid and familiar.
It was almost a need to make sure Miss Amelia was okay and just happy, in general. She was the sweetest and kindest girl he had ever met, after all. She understood him like no other and impossibly, managed to hold his interest even after so long.
It was the very least she deserved.
So, why wasn’t Kolton moving?
Empty purple eyes flash in his mind.
A drawn, haunted face.
It had been like they had disappeared from her sight, the moment she had started talking.
As if she had been in the middle of reliving it.
Kolton shivers, suddenly feeling cold.
“Are you alright?”
He turns his head.
Pale blue eyes stared steadily back at him.
He could feel the furrow in his forehead, “Why didn’t you go with Callias?”
A half-hearted shrug, “Why didn’t you?”
Kolton didn’t have an answer. At least, not one he wanted to voice.
All the same, Leighton nods in understanding as if he had been answered and turns back to view the show playing out below.
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Half Past Two
“Liliana, where are you going?”
She turns at the call of her name, her snowy hair swaying with the motion as she offers a small smile to her father, “Oh, I was just going to visit Livia,” she tells him.
Duke Valentine steps forward and into a curtain of moonlight. He stares down the dark hall, knowing it leads straight to the east wing, a place in which Livia no longer resides. Around them, the estate has finally fallen into silence in the early hours of the morning.
“It’s late,” he states.
Liliana small shrinks.
Duke Valentine softens his expression and tries again, “Your sister will be resting by now. It would be best if you didn’t disturb her.”
“But...” Liliana looks forlorn down the hallway, hugging the pillow she had brought with her.
She had been so caught up with the preparations and getting ready for the dinner party that she has barely spent time with her sister all day. Even as excited as she had been, she hadn’t been able to shake the feeling of trepidation ever since Livia had left her on the porch in the late afternoon.
Liliana had expected to see her sister during the party, or even help her prepare, but Amaya had told her Livia had wanted to skip it.
It made her a bit sad, but she knew it was for the best.
Especially after having to endure the presence of those two princes.
It wasn’t fair.
Why should Livia have to even put up with them at all?
Why did they have to come here?
Liliana had been sorely tempted to skip out on the dinner party herself and seek out her sister to make sure that she was okay, but Amaya had reassured her she would do so in her stead. The combat maid also said that it was very important that she had socialized with other people her age.
Something about being sheltered and not having human interactions outside of the servants.
Liliana didn’t really get it.
But she did know going alone to the party and being stuck by her father's looming side wasn’t even a quarter as fun as it would have been if she had gotten to go with Livia. But Liliana also understood that her sister resting and staying healthy took top priority. For the sake of both Livia and her unborn nephew, who has gotten so big!
Still, she couldn’t help but wish she had gone ahead and found her sister instead of attending the dinner party.
Especially since after, her father practically marched her back to her room himself and saw to it that she prepared for bed as if she was a child again.
As much as she missed him, Liliana was also used to him being gone just as much.
It was strange, having him constantly at her side.
Even stranger was his constant questions about Livia, the other servants, and what she did while he was away at the border of the kingdom. Liliana answered them, to the best of her abilities, but of course, it still was a very unpleasant feeling to lie to her own father.
At least this time, she was all alone.
Amaya, Sen, Beth, and Livia were with her on this.
Though, they still were all completely unaware of Livy.
Liliana grimaces.
“Is something wrong? Are you feeling alright?” A cool palm rest on her forehead.
She shakes her head lightly and gently pulls it away, smiling up at her father, “I’m fine. I was just thinking about other things,” She looks back down the hallway, pouting a bit, “I’m sure Livia wouldn’t mind. She is probably still up.”
The baby likes to kick a lot around this time.
Then she perks up, recalling a memory, and turns to her father to share in it, “You know, when the baby kicks inside, it also shows outside! Once, his little foot even moved along with my hand, like he was following it! It looks a bit strange, but it is also really cool! He is super strong!”
“...He?”
Liliana doesn’t bat an eyelash at her father's lackluster response, and nods eagerly, “Yes! Did I forget to tell you in my letters? Livia is having a boy! I’m going to an aunt of a nephew! I can’t wait to meet him. I’m super curious about how he will look! You know, Beth says that sometimes the first baby takes after their mother! Wouldn’t it be cool if he had Livia’s hair? Or eyes? Your eyes, now that I am thinking about it,” she says blinking and staring up at her father for a few seconds.
Her eyes brighten, “Oh! What if it has the same birthmark as us-”
“It will not.”
Liliana’s mouth closes shut at the hissed words. She stares at the snarl on her father's face in sharp surprise.
“...”
“It is late,” Her father says again, his tone forcefully calm, “You should go back to your room and rest, Liliana.”
This time, it wasn’t a suggestion.
Her father moves to block the way to the east wing and begins to usher her away.
It is only when she is back in her bed, under the cold covers, does she realize that she had not seen a single royal guard standing in the hallways as usually does.
----------------------------------------
Four hours until sunrise
Livia jerks awake, a glint of silver in her hand. The small knife digs into the delicate skin of a throat at the same time she registers that it was just Sen. She throws it away with a loud, tired groan and relaxes the unused muscles in her arms.
“Fuck, you couldn’t have made a sound?” She whines, collapsing back into the bed, still half-asleep.
The shadow above her just glares.
Livia doesn’t give two craps. She turns over onto her side and hugs the pregnancy pillow Beth had to fetch from the nursery closer. Of course, now that she had moved once, it was difficult to find a spot in which she could lay comfortably. She shifts and wiggles, tucking her nose into the fur of Noctis curled up back on her pillow, and wills her body to just be happy, but no.
“Damn you,” Livia groans, suddenly wide awake.
She struggles onto her back so she could properly glare at the face above her. Then she notices Sen’s slightly disheveled clothes, the faintest smell of roses, and a single strange of long pink hair clinging to his shoulders and glinting dully in the moonlight.
She plucks at it, waving it between them, and scowls thunderously.
“Did you cheat on me!?” Livia squawks in her most shrill voice.
Sen's glare turns into a full-blown glower.
Livia flicks the hair away carelessly and squeezes out some tears, “After everything I had done for you! How dare you do this to me!” She grabs the front of Sen’s shirt and shakes him, “Think about the baby! What will I tell Estimate Erantz Danger Valentine when he grows up?”
Sen recoils, his face faltering, “What?”
Livia stops her pretend sobbing, her face suddenly thoughtful, “Oh. How rude of me, I meant, Estimate Erantz Danger Valentine Jr.,” After clearing that up, she starts right on up again.
“To think it would come to this! Oh, the ironic horror! Boo-hoo,” She dabs at a dried-up tear, “My soul is forever crushed and my day is ruined. I hope you can at least, somehow, find happiness with the pink-haired man stealer you had chosen over me.”
“...I hate you,” Sen huffs lowly.
When Livia opens her eyes, he was trying to fight off a smile.
She grins, “Honestly, I am sorry. I meant to tell you about the start of your route but it slipped my mind,” She blinks huge eyes up at him, not looking the least bit contrite, “Oops?”
Sen sighs and just sort of falls to the side of her, causing the old wooden frame to creak and the lumpy mattress to bounce from his body weight. She does an awkward motion, not unlike a turtle trying to get back on its feet, to face him. Once she succeeds, she reaches out and pats his shoulders.
“So, how was it?” She asks, genuinely curious.
Livia only knew about the beginning of his route via the second-hand words of one of her few friends in her first life. Beyond that, all she knew about Sen comes from him as a fairly important background character in the OG timeline. Though, now, that was a bit shot, given his own past actions.
She wasn’t worried though.
If today has taught her anything, it was that the OG storyline was a speeding train that would not stop no matter how many obstacles were thrown in its path.
That was fine.
It just means her prior knowledge would be much more reliable than she had thought.
“She...” Sen trails off, looking up at the ceiling, “She approached me first.”
Livia blinks, “Oh? That...make sense, in a way.”
Sen turns his head towards her, his blue hair fanning around his angular face like feathers of a raven, softening it, “How so?” He asks, his voice almost a drawl.
She shrugs, “Well, since you weren’t infiltrating the academy as you had in the OG story, Amelia had to be the one to make the first move. It’s a little awkward, but it still fits. Almost like a hybrid between the moment you were actually supposed to meet for the first time and the moment that kicks off your actual route.”
“So? What happened after she approached you?” Livia asks.
“She talked,” Sen says blandly.
Livia rolls her eyes, “About?”
“You.”
Livia startles, “...Me?”
“Hn,” Sen stares back up at the ceiling, “I was tempted to just walk away and ignore her, but I figured the insight could be helpful.”
She snorts, “In what way? And why me? Amelia was supposed to nervously ramble-whine to you about Rodale and her confusion about Orin only for you to swoop in and say a skin-tingly one-liner as you loomed “attractively” over her, causing her to blush and her heart to flutter, completely stealing the show.”
“What,” Sen says flatly.
“I wish I could show you,” Livia says wistfully, “I hadn’t been really interested because I already had a lot of husbandos to water and care for, but when my friend showed me that scene, I was pretty impressed.”
“What,” Sen says again.
Livia yawns, her eyelids heavy, “Your right. We should talk about this later today. You can tell me all about how Adanna had stomped onto the scene in the morning, ‘kay?”
Before he could reply, Livia lets out a little snore.
Sen shakes his head and begins to slowly rise from the bed-arms suddenly wrap around his waist in a tight hug, pulling him back.
“Stay,” Livia peeks open one eye, “The other rooms are already occupied by Amaya and Beth, and the servant quarters are at full capacity,” Then a look of amusement filters over her eyes, “Unless you intend to sleep in the nursery?”
He removes his shoes and flops back down in response. Livia drops her arms and hugs her body pillow which acts as a thoughtless barrier between them.
By the time Sen crawls under the covers, Livia is fast asleep, snoring lightly as Noctis nimbly pads over her head without waking her only to settle down in between them and curl up.
Sen strokes a hand through his soft fur and stares out into the room, silent as the moon begins its slow fall into the sky.