[The day of the Royal Ball]

A large room filled with extravagant items that contrasted the pale ceiling and walls. The queen’s chambers were divided into several sections, each one more expensive than the other. Long and majestic golden chandeliers adorned the room from above while on the ground several expensive dresses and jewelry stood, displaying the true wealth of the crown.

“Is she there?” Vivian questioned a maid while Neveah finished fixing her long hair. In front of her stood a heavy mirror adorned with ruby’s and emeralds.

“Yes your highness,” she quickly bows before seeing a wide smile appear on the queen’s lips.

“We must not keep our guest of honor waiting,” gracefully, she gets up and begins heading towards the tall door that separated her chambers from the hallways, however, her good humor soon comes to an end.

“Mother,” once Vivian stepped foot in the hallway she saw her firstborn, one of the beings she hated the most in the entire world.

‘You should’ve died in the war...!’ she clicks her tongue displeased with the situation.

“You shall address me as Your Highness, Blake,” she quickly refutes while glaring coldly at him.

“I understand,” he lowers his torso making his red hair flutter with the movement, “May I escort you to the ball?”

“How dare you?” annoyed, Vivian’s voice begins to echo within the long halls before her anger settled down as she controlled her emotions, “It seems as if you know nothing of respect.”

‘This brat...!’ the disgust she felt whenever she looked at him was rapidly turning into pure hatred.

To Vivian, Blake was the perfect seed from King Julius, the dreadful man that turned her life into pure misery. Everything about her first son is equal to his father and to her, that was an unforgivable sin.

“I spoke out of line, please forgive me, your highness,” while clenching his fists in frustration, Blake swallows down his pride once again.

“Mother,” a calm voice is heard and the painful memories in the queen’s heart disappear.

“Donovan, my child,” a graceful smile is shown on her lips as her eyes spot her second son, “You should be resting, what are you doing out of bed?”

‘As usual...’ Blake glances over to his brother who appeared to be a frail flower needing shelter from even the smallest storm. Quietly, he places some distance between them, ‘Donovan...’

“Your highness...” Aldrich, who had been beside the crown prince during this time, intervenes.

“Quiet, we have nothing to say,” the futile attempt to ease the pain in his heart is promptly cut down once he sees the coldness in his ruler’s icy eyes.

“Make sure you go to bed, I wouldn’t want your cold to worsen...!” Vivian’s hand pats her second son’s caramel hair gently, “Now go, I will be with you shortly.”

“Thank you mother,” a warm smile appears on his lips before Donovan's feet turn as he heads back towards his chambers.

On the other hand, the queen swiftly walked towards the ballroom, ignoring Blake’s presence completely.

“Announcing the entrance of Her Majesty, Queen Vivian alongside His Royal Highness Prince Blake,” the servant speaks loudly and the gossip roaming the room quickly dies.

Vivian’s eyes travel through the crowd before her attention is captured by the raven in the room, Ophelia Criswell. Her figure was small and she appeared nervous since her eyes kept on traveling through the space, avoiding the queen’s pressuring gaze.

“You may rise,” her voice echoes throughout the large area, and her words were taken in deeply by her subjects, just like divine intervention.

‘We should just skip this part,’ her mind was already preparing itself for the long and tiring speech that would take place.

“My dear subjects, I am indeed thankful...” gracefully, the words flow from her mouth as if they were known by heart and, after speaking for fifteen minutes it finally comes to an end, “For tonight, we shall feast on the honor of the Gods for blessing this land!”

After the speech, Vivian sits on the throne with Neveah on her left side and Blake on her right, followed by his aide.

“The queen welcomes you...!” as the servant was starting to call the Evans duchy, the queen waves, telling him to approach.

“Call for Ophelia Criswell,” the man in his late fifties looks at her astonished, “Didn’t you hear what I said? Do it now.”

“The queen welcomes you...” he walks back to his position and, before speaking that girl’s name, he looks one more time to Vivian, confirming her intentions. Seeing her cold and unbothered, he continued, “Ophelia Criswell!”

Whispers quickly spread through the room as a satisfied smirk appeared on that woman’s lips. She was well aware that this action would have a severe consequence, however, her curiosity couldn’t wait any longer.

“Glory upon the royal family who guides and provides, Ophelia Criswell, greets Her Majesty the Queen,” her small figure rapidly bows down onto the floor after reaching the red carpet, just a few meters away from Vivian.

‘Oh...?’ her eyes traveled through the girl standing before her, ‘You’ve got guts...’

Surprisingly, Ophelia was wearing a cheap dress and had an extremely thin figure, appearing to break at the slightest touch. Her skin was fair and her hair was black as a crow, making her beauty otherwordly. Even then, her body trembled slightly making a sense of superiority embrace Vivian’s soul.

“You may rise,” seeing the small rabbit struggle, the queen shows mercy, relieving some pressure from her tiny stature, “Is this a sign of the Criswell’s rebellion?”

“It was all I could afford, your majesty, please forgive me,” she quickly kneels once again. Unsatisfied, Vivian frowns and, beside her, Blake observes her quietly.

‘This girl...’ the queen couldn’t understand the hidden meaning behind her words, making it hard to comprehend if she was saying the truth or if she was trying to fool the royal family, ‘Let’s play your little game for now.’

“All you could afford? Deceiving a member of the royal family is a crime,” Vivian’s eyes were focused on the kid before her, analyzing her behavior thoroughly.

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Unexpectedly, Ophelia was trembling and was conflicted, not knowing if she should speak the truth.

“You’d do well to respond to her majesty,” the maid next to the queen speaks loudly, wakening the young girl from her daydream.

“I-I wouldn’t dare my queen!” tears quickly flow down her face as her body trembled harshly, “My father has left to recover and he hasn’t been able to send me my allowance... I promise next time I will bring something to your liking!”

‘Don’t tell me...!’ Vivian’s eyes were emotionless but inside, she was screaming with excitement.

‘What...!?’ Blake couldn’t hide his surprise as his eyes widened in shock with her words. Even then, he remained quiet, glancing over at her from the sidelines.

Of course, they weren’t the only ones who were caught of guard. A small and almost unhearable line of gossip flew through the air. The nobles were astonished by this claim and thus, the majority of them, began to side with the poor girl who didn’t even have enough money to buy a decent dress.

“Tell me, Ophelia, how does it feel to be neglected?” her words were of mockery and held her amusement, however, she needed to remain cool, not allowing any further emotions to come out.

‘Speak...!’ a sense of excitement flew through the queen’s veins as she waited eagerly for the girl’s response. She wanted her to take the bait that was so carefully set.

“Father gave me a roof above my head, provided me with leftover food, and gave me the dress that my sister didn’t want... I am very lucky... Truly!” Ophelia’s eyes glimmered from the leftover tears.

‘This is it!’ a large smile appears on Vivian’s lips as she had found the perfect pawn to remove that dreadful house and all its members.

Curiously, her interest in this small creature was born out of pure luck. It was something that she wasn’t expecting or even predicted but she knew that fate had smiled upon her.

✽✼✽✼✽✼✽

[Somewhere during Seedling]

“Your majesty, prince Blake is...” as Vivian walked through the halls rapidly, one of her spies inside the crown prince’s servants spoke, “And he...”

“Silence,” her cold voice makes the man shudder in fear.

“She was so pretty wasn’t she?” hearing a soft female voice the queen stops at her feet.

“I know! She doesn’t even look from Ashen... Maybe she is out of this world,” a maid comments while giggling happily.

“I wish I was that pretty... Maybe Paul would notice me then...” another girl comments.

“Just forget him! He is already engaged...” the maid undervalues the third girl’s remark, “I’m betting that she will be able to choose her fiancée... She’s like a doll, all men like that.”

“Personally, I think she should just stay by herself. It’s such a waste marrying someone when you’re that beautiful...!” the first girl declares.

“I know right!” the other two speak loudly before chucking.

“What are you doing here? Get to work!” the head maid appears with her loud voice and strong presence. Her voices begin to lower as their bodies walk further down the halls until the only thing that remained was silence.

‘Who could it be...?’ a spark of curiosity embraced the queen as she remembered the young girl’s words.

“Neveah, find her,” the lady-in-waiting bows down.

“Would you like me to bring her to you?” she questions politely.

“No, I just want to know who she is,” she calmly replies before seeing Neveah leave.

After a couple of hours, Vivian learned that the girl that gave birth to so much gossip was none other than Ophelia Criswell, the second daughter of Alvin Criswell.

‘Criswell...’ the queen clicked the tongue, irritated with the situation.

Several years ago, Vivian tried to force the Criswell’s to support Donovan’s claim to the throne but it was useless. Even though that house belongs to the old nobles, he always takes a neutral stance, not meddling with internal affairs. Annoyed, she attempted to gain control over their businesses but somehow, Alvin managed to slip right through her fingers.

‘Such an annoying man...’ she despised them and wished to remove that prideful smile he always wears from his face.

“You,” her finger points to a young maid, new to her station, “Find me everything you can about Ophelia Criswell.”

“A-As you wish, your majesty,” the common maid nervously replies.

It was not long after that she received the news.

Ophelia Criswell was considered a cursed child, being neglected within the Criswell’s household, due to the death of the beloved Duchess. Even then, how far Alvin went in that neglect was a mystery since no one had seen her before her first appearance at a social event, one of Lady Catherine’s balls.

‘Oh...?’ as it was to be expected, she would wed Terrel Wharton but, according to the letter from the maid, Bradley Trace had shown some interest in her. She had also been seen talking with the second son of Marquess Verne, Layton Verne, during the ball, ‘Interesting...’

“A girl who is hidden in the Criswell’s estate for fifteen years manages to capture the heart of so many men?” even though she didn’t want to doubt the words written in the letter, Vivian couldn’t bring herself to comprehend the logic behind this, “It can’t be...”

Then, much to her surprise, at the end of Seedling, a lowly maid attempted to poison her during a social event. The case was simple and, according to the spy, Blake didn’t hesitate into delivering the execution order, however, no one expected that Ophelia Criswell would rescue that girl.

‘Impossible...!’ Vivian’s mind was filled with questions, not comprehending if the girl was utterly dumb, humble, and kind or a perfect manipulator.

“I need to see her with my own eyes...” she mumbles after reading further between the lines. She needed to know who would Ophelia be: a hindrance or a useful tool.

✽✼✽✼✽✼✽

“Oh my...! We can’t have that...! Neveah, take this lady with you and provide her with a beautiful dress!” understanding Ophelia was nothing more than a naive girl with extremely good looks, she decided to use her to the fullest.

“Your majesty! I couldn’t dare... How could I...!” she instantly panics and Vivian frowns.

‘I guess it was too sudden,’ she begins to reconsider her actions. Of course that a humble and naive girl like her would never accept something so precious, ‘Alright, I’ll be gentler...’

“I understand... Then tell me if there is anything you wish and I shall grant it to you,” she politely smiles, making Ophelia’s body stop shivering.

“May I approach you, my queen?” a sudden question but, surprisingly, Vivian accepted it without any reserve, “I would be honored if you’d accept my gift, it took me several weeks to make but I hope it is to your majesty’s liking.”

Ophelia’s hands held a beautiful white handkerchief with the royal family’s crest in golden colors. Surrounding it were several pale flowers that made the symbol stand out, increasing the value of the gift provided.

“This embroidery... You made this all by yourself?” Vivian was extremely intrigued by the beautiful work. Suspecting it was created by someone else, she glares at the girl’s hands that were covered in small cuts, most likely from being pricked by the needle several times during the process.

‘Not bad...’ she kindly smiles making Neveah, her lady-in-waiting, widen her eyes in surprise.

That woman had worked for Vivian for several years and the only time she had seen her display compassion was with her two middle children, Donovan Virden, and Amelia Virden. This was something unseen, making Neveah confused and conflicted.

“Thank you, Ophelia, it’s actually beautiful,” a gentle smile appears on the young girl’s lips after hearing the queen’s words. It was clear she was happy with the compliment.

Gently, Vivian passes the handkerchief to Neveah who stores it carefully in a small chest. Then, unexpectedly, the queen leans forward and pats Ophelia’s head softly.

“Child, would you do me another one with Evan’s duchy crest?” feeling overwhelmed, her cheeks blush and she rapidly nods her head, excited with the request.

“It would be my honor, your majesty...!” she declares loudly.

‘Just like a well-trained dog...’ the queen thinks after seeing her reaction.

“Do enjoy the party, Ophelia,” Vivian subtly warns her to leave and she swiftly does.

Her small figure begins walking backward until it is lost within the large crowd of nobles. They traded glares, confused with what had happened, and, even though they were curious, no one found within themselves to follow her.

“Your majesty...” Blake suddenly speaks and she frowns, displeased.

“I’m sure you have many people to talk to, no? I wouldn’t dare to stop you,” she calmly interrupts him but, contrary to what she expected, he didn’t argue and just left in a hurry.