strictlysupreme Chapter 136: The Birthday Ceremony
Chapter 136: The Birthday Ceremony
Chapter 136: The Birthday CeremonyThe next morning, there was no sun in the sky, even though it was well past dawn. The Empire’s sky was as gloomy and grey as it had been when it rained yesterday evening, and due to that, everyone came to believe there was indeed a witch in the land or in the palace.
Today was the Emperor’s birthday ceremony, and nothing was supposed to go wrong. However, the rain and the weather this morning made every single person worried, it had become a belief to everyone that witches and their powers bring nothing but bad luck.
The Emperor sent out men to
As she approached the entrance, the herald announced her name, and many eyes turned toward her from inside the hall before everyone resumed mingling. The hall was fully decorated, with all the chandeliers lit up. Soft instrumental music played in the background.
Isolde was looking around when she heard the second prince’s name announced at the entrance. She turned toward it and saw Prince Lucian walking into the hall with Princess Madeline, who looked as beautiful and delicate as a flower by his side. She wore a dark-colored dress that highlighted her fair, unblemished skin, and everyone in the hall was now looking at her enviously as she looked so beautiful, even Isolde couldn’t help but admire her.
"Oh Lord, I wish I could be as beautiful as Princess Madeline," murmured someone among the guests, admiring the new arrivals.
"Not only is she beautiful, she is intelligent and talented. I can’t wait to watch her dance today!!"
"Yes, her dance is always something to behold and look forward to every year." Said another young lady.
"Goodness gracious, look at the second prince walking beside her. He is one of the most handsome men I have ever seen in all of Pendragon. If only he wasn’t cursed, I would have told my mother to introduce me to him," gushed a young princess from among the guests who were watching the couple.
"Che, you don’t stand a chance with him. He’s Madeline’s; she would gouge out your eyes if you so much as thought of approaching him. Didn’t you see how he beat up Mordred yesterday for her sake? I heard the two are madly in love now, so you’d better not entertain any of those thoughts," remarked another princess.
"It’s not like I said I wanted him," scoffed the other.
Isolde, who overheard them, couldn’t help but notice that, despite Madeline’s beauty, she didn’t look good together with the second prince. To Isolde, her new friend Selene would always be the person she would want for this particular brother of hers. She didn’t know when or how she started liking Selene, but she had.
Lucian didn’t seem to want to be around Madeline, given how hardened his expression was. She noticed how his gaze was occasionally drifting around the hall. Quickening her steps, she mustered the courage to approach him and called out, "Brother Lucian!"
He stopped in his tracks immediately and turned to look at her so quickly that it startled Isolde for a moment; she thought she had angered him. She saw his eyes drift behind her, and she also turned to see what he was looking at, but there was nothing special there.
Lucian had thought she had been with Ave, who he hadn’t seen since last night. He couldn’t go to check on her, not because he’d said he would no longer bother her, but because many guards had been placed on palace grounds last night to ensure nothing went wrong for today’s ceremony after the strange rain. He had a feeling that it had something to do with Ave, and he’d looked forward to having a word or more with her.
Now that he saw she wasn’t with this foul-mouthed half-sibling of his, he couldn’t help but wonder where she was. Not to mention he needed to keep an eye on her today.
"What is it?" he asked Isolde, who now stood in front of him, looking nervous.
"I...I wanted to ask if you’d seen Selene. We have to prepare for our dance before evening, and I haven’t seen her since last night..." she said.
A frown settled on Lucian’s face, but before he could speak, Madeline, who had been standing beside him and had been clinging to him since this morning, chuckled in amusement.
"She must have quit after my advice last night. She is a coward after all; she couldn’t compete with me and must have hidden herself in her room. Take my advice, Princess Isolde, don’t bother looking for her and go hide in your chamber before the performance, or you’ll be a laughingstock for being a loser." She laughed, covering her mouth with her hand fan, then reached out to place her other hand on Lucian’s shoulder, but the dark look he shot her way was enough to make her stop laughing immediately and remove her hand.
"Selene would never quit on us; she doesn’t look like a person who would quit," Isolde said in Ave’s defense, and Lucian couldn’t help but agree with her.
Ave didn’t look or seem like someone who would quit because of Madeline. If it were Selene, he would have had no doubt about it. Even though Lucian wanted to check up on her right now and see why she wasn’t here yet, he held himself back, at least for the moment. He couldn’t reveal any of his thoughts or emotions toward Ave in public, especially when he knew the Empress had people watching his movements right now in the hall.
"I don’t know where she is, and if you are looking for Selene, I’m not the right person to ask. She’s not my concern, and don’t bother me with anything that has to do with her again," he said indifferently as he turned to leave. But he stopped in his tracks as the noisy hall suddenly went silent, as if everyone had heard his words. But it wasn’t what he said that quieted them—it was the people now entering the hall. When his eyes fell on one of the three women, who happened to be his half-siblings, his breath faltered, and a tingling sensation went through his heart as he stared into her light blue eyes.
Lucian couldn’t bring himself to look away from her. He wasn’t just relieved at the sight of her; he was glad, and he fought down the strong urge to walk forward and pull her into his embrace. He hadn’t realized it was possible to miss someone this much until now. His eyes roamed over her. She looked breathtaking in the red dress she wore, with long sleeves that stylishly fell off her shoulders and emphasized her long, slender neck, where she had gathered her hair up into a bun.
He briefly noticed she wasn’t wearing any jewelry around her neck to adorn them, and he made a mental note to adorn her with many more jewelries than she could ever asked for when the time comes.
However, something about her seemed different, but Lucian couldn’t pinpoint it as their eyes met from where she stood at the entrance. But then she looked away from him as if she hadn’t seen him and proceeded into the hall, ignoring him completely.