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"𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒 to Elacor Empire's Sun and Moon." Victoria curtseyed gracefully, lifting up her skirt. Next to her, Cyril did the same, bowing low.
"Rise. It is good to see that both of you are well, after the tragedy that occurred." The king, Ilias, said pleasantly.
"I was pleased to hear of your achievements, Lady Eisenberg." Lucia, the queen, added. She smiled warmly.
"Although it risens my happiness so to hear praise from your lips, my achievements are not great enough to warrant such kind words." Victoria returned modestly.
"As humble as ever." The king grinned. "That is respectable. Please, enjoy the refreshments, for today is a celebration for the crown prince, my first son."
Victoria and Cyril bowed again, before leaving. The female nodded towards the younger, and he nodded back, heading towards the lonely silver haired second prince who stood alone.
She herself joined a small gathering of old nobles, smoothly entering their conversation and leading it expertly. A chuckle at a particularly satiric comment there, a giggle at a joke that wasn't humorous there. The men stared in surprise at her intelligence, and the female aristocrats around her murmured at her unexpected change in behavior.
Everything was going well, until suddenly, Victoria looked towards where her brother and the second prince should've been. They were gone.
She clicked her tongue and gently excused herself from the conversation, and quickly walked towards the back of the room. She had made some good connections anyway. Looking around and seeing nobody, the female went outside, where the garden was.
"Cyril?" She called.
"Is something of the matter?" A light voice asked from behind her. She turned her head back in surprise, and lo and behold, with all his royalty, stood the first prince, Shion Elacor.
How irritating. Victoria thought to herself. "Greetings to Elacor's Crown Prince." She curtseyed again. At his gesture to rise, she straightened. "There is nothing, your highness. A little.... hide and seek with my younger brother." With her most polite smile, she turned back to continue her search.
"I see. Have you found him yet?"
Was he stupid? Blind? Obviously she hadn't, considering the fact that she was still outside, looking around. Cyril was still nowhere to be seen.
"I'm afraid not, your highness. If you'll excuse me..." She stepped forward into the neat rows of rose bushes, now a bit more annoyed.
In the novel, the first prince was shown to be a wise leader and strong commander, able to bring his troops to victory every time. So why was he so stupid?
Shion frowned in disappointment, and fake or not, Victoria couldn't tell.
"I was hoping to have a proper conversation with you tonight.." He pouted.
Grimacing, the Eisenberg, looked side to side for any sign of help, and seeing none, she sighed. "My deepest apologies, but at the moment, I am full of worry for my now missing brother."
With that, she bowed deeply and full on ran into the garden. She could feel some thorns ripping into her fabric, but she ignored them. Looking behind her to see if anyone was following her, suddenly, she bumped into a hard wall.
Stumbling back, she caught herself with trained instinct and grace, straightening immediately.
"Sister?" The voice of Cyril came from above.
"Where were you? I thought I told you to-"
The boy held a hand over the older's mouth, and looked next to him. Victoria followed his gaze, and saw in surprise, the second prince.
"Ah. Greetings to Elacor's second prince." Victoria quickly composed herself and for the fourth time, curtseyed. Her ankles were starting to ache.
"Please, rise. I do hate to see such formalities performed for a mere second prince like me." Felix Elacor raised a hand and stepped back, his long white hair swaying behind him.
Who was this edgy and ungrateful teenager? Of course everyone had to "perform formalities". He was a royal fucking prince. Was every character below average intelligence in this novel?
"Erm. Ehem." Victoria coughed slightly into a gloved hand. "If I may ask, what were the both of you doing outside on such a cold night?"
