To My Dearly Detested | ✎

2 | acquaintanceship to foes

Two days had passed before Adrien was told that his letter had been received. He sunk even further into his dining chair that evening when his father also told him that the King and Queen of Kingdom Cheng were delighted by his proposal—so much so that the arrangements were quickly made for them to meet the following day.

Adrien wasn't prepared. He wasn't ready to greet his future bride, take her hand, and smile, pretending that he genuinely wanted her as his wife. He didn't even know her! He had no idea what to expect—if she would treat him civilly or if she was even beautiful!

Unfortunately, he wasn't given much time to dwell on how their first meeting might play out. The day for their arrival had come, and now, he stood anxiously beside his father at the palace's entrance. He couldn't help but nervously fiddle with the hem of his shirt as he stared straight ahead at the double doors. In just a few minutes, the princess, along with her parents, would be stepping through those very doors.

Of course, the prince was ordered to look his best for their arrival. Adrien was dressed in his finest attire, and his hair was combed back to reveal all he had to offer: a pretty face, and that was all. His attitude was far from thrilled.

He was angry. The last thing he wanted was to have anything to do with the princess from the enemy. He was frustrated that he had to pretend to want her, that he had to seem interested in marrying her, when in truth, what he wanted was for her to never come here.

What he really wanted was to marry Kagami.

A heavy, defeated sigh escaped his nostrils. His father noticed and turned slightly to glance at him, only to reprimand him for his slouched posture. With a roll of his eyes, Adrien fixed it, and as if on cue, the double doors were opened from the outside by two castle guards, revealing a man and a woman of royalty.

That man and woman were King Thomas and Queen Sabine of Kingdom Cheng. Adrien had heard plenty of stories about their neighboring rulers, but he'd never met them. In fact, seeing King Cheng now as burly as he was somewhat scared him. That man could possibly kill him with the flick of his finger.

Queen Sabine, however, was a lot more petite than her husband. She seemed sweet at first glance, the type of woman who would butter you up with pastries.

And then, as the couple slowly broke apart, between them emerged their daughter, Princess Marinette, accompanied by two of her knights. Adrien instantly frowned at the sight of her, but he couldn't deny what his eyes could clearly see. Marinette was a gorgeous woman. Her raven locks were pulled up into a purposely messy bun fitted with lots of flower buds. She was built just like her mother, but he had a feeling she had some hidden strength possessed from her father. Her skin was silky and fair, and her eyes were a bluebell blue, but what really stuck out to him wasn't any of those things. It was the way she carried herself.

With her appearance, his first assumption of her would've been that she was purely innocent, confined to her flowery bedroom, hardly ever exposed to what the outside world had to offer, but with the way she carried herself, perhaps that wasn't quite the case. Her posture held absolute confidence as she strode into the throne room. He would've expected her eyes to be glued to the floor as she entered, but instead, they were staring straight ahead and zeroed in right on him.

When their eyes met, his frown instantly vanished. For a second, he was frozen. This woman wasn't what he had expected at all. He was astonished and in awe—really, he was shocked.

And then her brows lowered, and she smirked at him.

Adrien couldn't help but stare back in utter bewilderment. That smirk of hers should have frightened him with how devilish it looked, but in truth, it only confused him. What was that smirk even supposed to mean...?