Chapter 59: Guest of honor!
It was the celebration day in the Albeck Duchy as the mansion was painted in a golden hue with luxurious radiance shrouding the whole place.
Guests have already arrived at nearly seven in the evening and so did the main guests except for the Duchess who was stuck with some unexpected work.
Being a woman she also requires a decent amount of time to groom for her marriage anniversary. But thankfully, she arrived just in time to greet the royalties.
"You have grown quite a lot in so little time, Charles. How have you been? "
The one whom Valarie hugged lightly as she complimented the blond boy was the first prince of Ranghaur, Charleton Elheim el Bernford.
There was a reason why Valarie despite being a rank below the first prince was behaving such naturally and no one around the hall was surprised by such behavior at all.
The reason was Valarie's blood which was the same as the royal family. She's the aunt of the blushing boy in front and the younger sister of the Emperor.
The reason why Charles was left stunned for more than five seconds was that the mature charm oozing from Valarie was more than something the young man could handle.
Valarie was looking breathtakingly beautiful today in her single-piece dress which emphasized her curves and the hot red color showcased her bold and courageous nature.
Her appearance was charisma made many in the hall dazed regardless of gender.
"I...am fine, thanks for asking, aunt Valarie."
But Charles knew that he was here in his father's stead, leading his family so he forced his thoughts to assemble before he spoke with a brilliant smile.
On a side, Seth stood with a straight face but his attention was getting diverted by a single girl who came straight from the Capital.
The first princess of Ranghaur, Celina Bernford.
One of the only three people who has awakened a 1st Tier skill other than Valarie and the Headmaster of Pristine Academy.
"I am delighted that you brought Celine with you, Maria."
Valarie shared her thoughts with a genuine satisfied smile and talked with the Empress who was just behind Charles. The reason she said so, is because Celine very rarely leaves the palace because of her special traits.
"Well, surprisingly it was Celina who asked me a month ago that she wants to attend this ceremony."
The first empress of Ranghaur—Maria Bernford—answered which made Valarie and almost every onlooker surprised since it was very difficult to even assume that the princess could ever demand from her parents, taking the young girl's behavior into account.
"Is it true Celine? Aunty is so happy."
Valarie patted without waiting for any response since she knew Celine wouldn't say anything other than a nod.
The blond princess remained stoic and unchanged as ever with her blue eyes parted like it was exposing jewelry without any intention to blink whatsoever.
Despite being heavenly beautiful like everyone in the royal family, Celine's eyes make her appear strange and horrifying to look at. It wasn't she who had any kind of hideousness, but those unblinking eyes just make anyone feel ominous even though she doesn't look at them.
"Your Highness."
"I heard you had an accident recently. Are you fine now?"
It was Seth who walked forward and greeted the prince next as the seemingly successive head of the house. There were other family members as well, but of course, the common knowledge of people couldn't change just because Seth has decided to shift his position to his younger brother.
The greetings continued as people began to relax down and continued their chat after Seth was done greeting the empress. Celine was silent as ever, but for some reason, Seth felt her eyes on him when they were close.
"Please enjoy yourself, your majesty."
With a slight bow, he excused himself and walked inside the mansion for a second as his breath was getting uncomfortable in this ridiculous three-piece suit.
He has been wearing a formal dress for a while now but still, it was suffocating to keep smiling and being eyed from all the corners. Not to talk about that scornful bastard Keith who was glaring all the time at Seth for standing ahead of him at times of greeting.
"That princess is no good either..."
Until the last second he walked out of the hall, he felt that a pair of eyes were fixated on his back and undoubtedly it belonged to the first princess.
Seth is aware of her skills and what potential she carries since she is one of the harem members of Arata.
She is the type of woman who would prove to be his worst enemy which made Seth realize the need to win her over or eliminate her.
He has been thinking about this for a while ever since he heard about the ceremony from Laila before he broke the engagement.
But seeing her coming to this party unexpectedly made him uneasy and so did her strange curiosity toward him.
Seth might be overthinking but he doesn't want to be ignorant and regret it afterward. It couldn't be a mere coincidence or could it be...
"You seem unwell."
"!!!"
A shrill and bone-freezing voice reverberated clearly in his ears as Seth instantly turned to his left to see the person who approached without him noticing.
The first thing he saw was a pair of crystal blue eyes looking at him adorned on an unblemished charming face.
"Your highness? Thanks for asking but I am fine. Do you want me to show you-"
Seth was about to ask whether she needed to use the washroom since coming out of the main hall meant only a single thing or so he hoped.
But her interjection made it clear that this woman was indeed up to no good.
"You are not from this world, right?"
Seth pulled up his guard upon hearing such a word but he didn't let it become obvious that he was affected by words. That would be disastrous.
Rather he corrected his posture and let the lady continue.
"23 days ago it transpired. It was you for whom I came today."
Seth didn't let show it but he was actually in quiet distress about this unexpected development which he never planned.
Sure her skill let her pry in those places where humanly no being could reach but to sense the transfer of soul?
'As I thought I have to eliminate this girl.... '
___________...
A/N: - This chapter was a bit all around the place. I will write an extra scene and more words in the next one while detailing everything necessary.
Drop a comment if you are liking the story tho...
This content is taken from (f)reewe(b)novel.𝗰𝗼𝐦