[What a beauty. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if everyone in this book world is beautiful.] She stared at the pretty Duchess with waist-long scarlet red hair and emerald green eyes.
Her mother moved to talk with Alistair and was soon joined by Marchioness Avery Eldridge and Marchioness Clarisse Kiran.
Catherine was close to her sister in-law Alistair Anton, and also close to her sister in-law's sister, Avery Eldridge. Avery and Alistair also had a good relationship with their sister in-law Clarisse Kiran which made Catherine relate with her as well and soon, the four Madams of the four families became really good friends.
Aristia held Alaric and moved to meet their cousins; the Anton kids. As they approached, they heard a voice,
"Tia!! Ally!!!" It was a boy with scarlet red hair and red eyes— Liam Anton, the first child of the Antons. He waved at his cousins.
As they approached the other noble children, Aristia scanned the faces of each of them. Not all the nobles attended the tea party. Eight families out of the twelve families attended. Her family was not included as they were part of the royal family. it was considered an honour for them to even accept the invitation and attend. The King and his family rarely attended any event. Usually, Catherine wouldn't even bother, but because it was her dear friend and sister-in-law, she attended.
She didn't see the supposed Villainess of the novel among the crowd even though her mother was present, but she did confirm one thing;
[Just as I thought, they're all pretty.] She nodded her head as they started to mingle with the noble children.
They engaged in conversation as Liam led them through a pathway to a greenhouse.
There was a large round table inside the greenhouse with seats arranged in front of them and teacups were placed atop the tables.
"Here, I introduce you to my mother's greenhouse." Liam introduced as he led them into the greenhouse, eliciting gasps from the noble children with him.
The reason? The greenhouse was beautiful with a flowery scent that was not overbearing but was relaxing. It was clear that the Duchess really put in a lot of care and effort in making sure the greenhouse was well taken care of. Love of flowers was something she and the Grand Duchess had in common.
The greenhouse created a picturesque and fairytale like background as the sunlight shone on the round table filled with porcelain teaset.
"What a beautiful scene." Aristia muttered as they all took their seats. Aristia noticed that not all the noble children attended as they were not up to the number she counted during her history class. A maid led in some maids as they carried teapots in their hands and walked around the table, filling the empty teacups with tea.
As they started to drink tea, Aristia frowned a little bit. This wasn't how she liked her tea. Before she could reach for the sugar, someone beat her to it.
A small hand scooped two spoons of sugar and put into her tea. Aristia turned to the person in surprise and found none other than Liam who was smiling at her.
"There you go, Tia. Just as you like it." He said cheerfully and did the same for Alaric and his siblings. It only took a moment for Aristia to recall that the original Aristia had a sweet tooth too. She smiled and thanked him.
"Thank you Li-Brother Liam." She responded, addressing him the same way the novel Aristia would. Aristia would always call him brother so she didn't want to act too out of line in these aspects. That didn't mean she wouldn't do or say what she wanted though.
"Young Master Liam is so caring."
"Young Master Liam's kindness knows no bounds."
"Yes. Young Master Liam is a true gentleman."
Her attention was drawn back when she heard the noble children praising Liam one after the other.
[What?] Aristia raised her eyebrows in bemusement. [What do these kids know about being a gentleman? And they already know how to praise and curry favour at such a young age.] She wasn't surprised though as that was an attitude most nobles possessed and commonly displayed at every social gathering and it wasn't strange for their children to imitate or mirror such attitude.
"As expected of someone related to the third Princess." Someone praised.
Aristia paused. [How did I get involved?!]
Nevertheless, she smiled at them. However, most of the children seemed to be avoiding her.
The mini tea party held by Liam went on with the usual discussions, but mostly with the noble children currying favour with those who were from families with higher statuses or titles.
Soon, Duchess Alistair, the hostess of the tea party, sent a servant to announce that it was time for the tea party to begin.
The children were led back to the garden the tea party was being hosted in and led to their seats. The seats were given according to their positions and status.
Normally, The Grand Duke who was the brother of the King, was supposed to sit at the head of the table as he had the highest status at the tea party since the King, his brother was not present. But because he wasn't the host, he sat at the left side of the host, his wife and children taking the seats next to him. Alistair, the hostess sat at the right side of the host, Maxim Anton, who was her husband, with their children beside her. The other nobles also took their seats.
With a short speech from Maxim, the tea party officially began and conversations were continued. Servants walked around the table serving snacks and filling teacups. This time, Aristia added the sugar into her tea herself. She also didn't forget about her brother who was beside her.
Nobles engaged in small talk around her, craftily sending out words with hidden swords and poison laced tongues. Aristia listened with half interest and half boredom to the same method of noble currying favour from people of higher statuses. No one could tell that she was listening as she was staring at the tea and snacks placed in front of her. She was about to turn away from the conversation when she heard an interesting piece of news from some gossiping nobles.
"I heard that Marquis Oswalt brought back a child. I wonder if that's true." Aristia turned to the person who spoke. Aristia matched the features with those she was taught in the history class; Strawberry blonde hair and light brown eyes. It was a countess; Eleanor Splane, the wife of Earl Cedric Splane.
"I heard the child is already five years old." It was a Viscountess who had Auburn hair and brown eyes; Svetlana Essylt, wife of Viscount Leonard Essylt.
"A Mistress?" Another noblewoman spoke.
"Oh, poor Marchioness." Viscountess Amelia Everett spoke with pity, one hand over her mouth. She was the mother of Vasily and there was a close resemblance between them. Though, she had light blue hair and pink eyes.
[Oh, a cheat?] Aristia thought when she analyzed the conversation.
Little mention of her was present in the book. The Marchioness got married to the Marquis at sixteen years of age, and the Marquis twenty one. She was currently twenty three, while the twenty eight. She tried to think of any additional information the book had provided but she couldn't. Instead, she focused on analyzing what she had heard.
So, the child being five years old already meant that the Marquis probably had an affair two years after they had gotten married or already had an affair before the two years and only managed to impregnate the mistress after two years into his marriage, that is, when the Marchioness was eighteen years old.
Aristia discreetly looked around and noticed that the Marchioness in question was not present at the tea party.
As she looked around, her eyes stopped at a noblewoman with yellow hair and yellow eyes.
[Hmm... I'm surprised her hair doesn't make her look like a rotten vegetable.] Aristia thought.
The lady was pretty. In fact, every noble in this tea party was handsome and pretty. There were just different levels of beauty.
Coincidentally, the noblewoman opened her mouth to speak just as Aristia had that thought.
"The Marquis needed an heir and the Marchioness could not give him any." The woman, Duchess Matilda Winston said elegantly.
Hmm... a scandal?
Creation is hard, cheer me up! VOTE for me!
[What the hell did this lady just sputter? She just spouted a whole mouthful of rubbish.] Aristia thought incredulously.
Now she had a change of heart.
[It would have been better if her hair made her look like she had a rotten vegetable on her head.] She grumbled inwardly.
"What do you mean Duchess Matilda?" One of the noblewomen asked.
"The Marquis needed an heir, which the Marchioness failed to provide." Duchess Winston replied.
The Duchess didn't need to say more as they all understood.
Wasn't the Duchess saying that since the Marchioness couldn't give birth to a child for the Marquis, he had to resort to keeping a mistress or impregnating another woman outside in order to get what he couldn't get from the Marchioness?
While some agreed with the Duchess, some didn't. But regardless, none said a word.
Aristia wondered, [What if the Duke was the one who cheated on the Duchess? Would she still be sitting and saying this calmly right now? Her husband could even be keeping a mistress even with their child, who knows?]
[But I'm not sure about the Marchioness. After all, she could be a supporter of this, maybe she gave her consent. She could have even been the one to make the suggestion so that her husband would have an heir.] But that was highly unlikely, as which woman would consent or even suggest that her husband sleep with another just for the sake of providing an heir. And the fact that the Marchioness didn't even attend to the tea party as she was probably sorrowful convinced her the more.
Aristia would have also thought that the Marchioness couldn't be blamed for her inability to give birth to a child, after all, the Marquis could be the problem, if the Marquis hadn't had a child from another woman.
Soon, the nobles shifted from the topic of the Marchioness to other topics.
***
After the tea party, Aristia bid farewell to her cousins and boarded her family's carriage as they all left the Anton estate to return home. Once they arrived, the family separated in different directions. Aristia walked to her room to take a bath with Alaric, as had been the usual occurrence.
Aristia had actually convinced herself that it wasn't a big deal for her to take a bath with Alaric. How did she manage to convince herself? Simple, anytime it was time to take a bath, she'd be reminded of the triplets; Andy, Summer and Mae. They took all their bubble baths together, splashing water around and playing with their rubber duckies.
They made messes, but they had fun. So much so that Aristia's parents always said that they were a thousand times more childish than she'd ever been as Aristia had always been mature for her age.
After Aristia and Alaric were done with dressing up, they changed into their night clothes and got into bed. Yup. Alaric sleeping in her room was also a regular occurrence. He even suggested moving in but Aristia firmly rejected it and even threatened him that they'd stop bathing and sleeping together if he tried it. Even his cute pout couldn't change her mind. A girl needed her personal space, after all. Ahem. Even though she was just five years old at the moment.
***
In a mansion in a certain fief, a woman was seen staring out of the window at the starless sky as she stared into space. Even when she heard the sound of a carriage approaching, she sat still and made no movement. No reaction could be seen from the once cheerful woman except for her occasional blinks, momentarily closing her despair and sorrow filled eye. She seemed to be in deep thought, but at the same time thinking of nothing at all.
In another part of the same mansion, a man could be seen coming out of the carriage and heading into the mansion. He frowned as he only saw his Butler who welcomed him. He shook his head as the other person who usually welcomed him home cheerfully didn't do so anymore. The younger man stopped and turned to the Butler.
"What about the boy and the Marchioness, Butler?" He asked.
"The Young Master is asleep. The Madam has been in her room and is yet to come out." The Butler replied honestly.
On hearing this, the Marquis frowned. Was his wife who used to greet and welcome him home every time he returned, the same person his butler was referring to? What was wrong with her? Was it because of his affair?
'But I have apologized to her. We did not love each other anyway.' He thought as he continued in the direction of his room. It had been a month since he found out about the child and brought him home.
***
"What?! The Marchioness ordered to change rooms?!" The Marquis asked in shock. His wife had been sleeping in a separate room ever since she found out about his affair, but her things were still in their shared room.
But now...
When they got married, the Marchioness was actually the one who suggested that they sleep in the same room just like other married couples, and now she was actually changing rooms. The Marquis was perplexed. He had thought that the Marchioness would gradually get over the feelings of humiliation she felt from knowing that her husband's affair and child had been known by other nobles, but the Marchioness didn't even join him for breakfast, lunch or dinner and she was always in her room. The Marquis sighed and rubbed his forehead as he headed to his study.
"Inform the Madam that I shall join her for dinner."
"Yes, Master." And the Butler left to fulfill the orders.
On reaching the Marchioness room, the Butler knocked on the door and spoke, "It is the Butler, Madam." After some time had passed and he heard no response, he was about to knock again when he heard her reply in a low voice.
"What is the matter, Butler?"
He didn't receive permission to enter the room, so he could only relay the message from the outside. "The Master has asked that he join you for dinner."
"Inform the Marquis that I have already had dinner and his presence is not wanted." She said curtly, then he heard nothing.
The Butler noticed the change in address. Before this incident, the Marchioness would always refer to the Marquis as 'My Husband' or 'George', but now it had changed to 'The Marquis' or 'My Lord'.
Sighing, the old Butler shook his head as he left, muttering to himself. He could only say that this was the Marquis' fault, as even he could clearly see the Marchioness feelings. But he was only a servant and could not say anything. Besides, it was their personal matter. The Marquis would have to figure it out himself, and think of ways to win back the Marchioness and return her to her once cheerful self.
He relayed the Marchioness' answer to the Marquis who stared briefly at him before nodding.
"Did she really say that?" He asked and the Butler nodded. He remembered that the Marchioness would usually be the one to remind him to have breakfast and dinner and she would always wait for him so that they would eat together.
"Master, when would you like to have dinner?" The Marquis was snapped out of his thoughts and back to reality by the voice of his Butler.
"I am not hungry. You can leave." He said in a voice that left no room for discussion. Strangely, he had no appetite anymore. He focused on his work instead.
In the Marchioness room.
She continued to stare out of the window at the night sky. Then, she sighed and stood up, walking over to her bed to lie down.
Upon lying down, she sighed again and covered herself with a blanket, closing her eyes and going to sleep.
What a poor lady the Marchioness is. Vote and comment to cheer her up.
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