Villainess Loves

Part 25

He is that stupid.

I pause my steps in front of the royal dining hall entrance to the sight of Prince Orion sitting next to a very pretty maid, who I'm guessing is Bella, the heroine of the story. She's what I would describe as a soft gentle beauty, her maid outfit doesn't hide her gentle features, with bright pink eyes, and equally bright pink locks. The combination of Prince Orinion's brilliant blue hair with Bella's strikingly almost hot pink hair gives me bubblegum vibes. If their good looks weren't enough to catch people's attention, their hair color certainly makes them stand out!

I scan the room to see the queen looking away, obviously embarrassed by this view, and a familiar face of Prince Caelum, looking just the same as he was before he left for the war. Sharing the same brilliantly blue locks and golden eyes as Prince Orion, but his countenance screams gentleness and manliness. His face makes you think he's a studious and quiet person but that's simply not true. He flashes a teasing smirk.

Oh! Next to him is a beautiful woman, her features are what I would say are striking but quiet, cold but soft. A naturally silver-haired beauty with surprisingly dark ruby red eyes. Her appearance reminds me of a vampire with that regal but cold beauty. I'm guessing that she must be the Vendia princess. She's a total babe to boot! I can see why Prince Caelum would say yes to someone like that!

I noticed the king hasn't arrived yet, well that explains why Prince Orion was able to bring Bella in. The queen has no qualms about who Prince Orion likes and she fully supports their relationship since her best friend is Bella's mother. Prince Caelum probably doesn't care much about the matter either, he's always supportive of his brother and since he's going to marry the Vendia princess, there's no pressure for Prince Orion to use his marriage as a political push. Only the king would not allow Prince Orion to bring in his maid to eat with them, especially when they're eating with me, the prince's fiance. But he's not here yet so I guess Prince Orion got lucky?

I sigh, waving the guards in front to officially alert my presence. This is going to be a mess.

"Presenting, Lady Annelise Thornweather." One of the guards says in a booming voice.

I walk inside, bowing to the royal family, avoiding acknowledging Bella's presence. She certainly looks uncomfortable. She's smart enough to read the room and know what's wrong. I pity her, it's too bad her partner is the one with the higher ranking, making it hard for her to reject his innocent wishes of eating together.

"I greet thee, your majesties," I say gracefully.

"Welcome Lady Annelise. It is always a pleasure to see you." Queen Solana says, her voice soft but stern enough to know she means business. She smiles slightly. Prince Orion stops his conversation with Bella and notices me. He waves and walks up to me.

"Annelise! You feeling better?" He asks. I nod.

"Yes, sorry about that," I said. He shakes his head and smiles, grasping my hand to drag me to where he's sitting.

"Annelise, here! Look! This is Bella! This is the girl I like!" He says happily, gesturing to Bella, who's completely white as a sheet.

"Hi Bella, it is nice to meet you," I say, curtseying slightly to show my acknowledgment. She shakes slightly.

"I-I greet Lady Annelise." She stammers, standing up quickly and bowing rapidly to me.

"Ah? Are you alright, Bella?" Prince Orion flusteredly says as he tries to stop Bella's nervous bowing.

"It's fine. We've already talked about it yesterday. I support your relationship." I said, walking back around the table and sitting in an empty spot, next to the Vendia princess.

"Yeah, Bella, it's okay! Annelise and I already figured it out!" Prince Orion followed up, patting Bella's shoulder in reassurance. She looks a little confused and still a little pale, but less nervous than before. I guess Prince Orion didn't really explain it to her yet. Well, that's not my problem.

"You support their relationship, Annelise?" Queen Solana says, a little surprised. I nod.

"Yes, your majesty. Prince Orion and I have already decided to end our engagement." I clarified.

"I see. Have you informed your father about it?" She asks.

"Yes, he supports my opinion," I answer.

"Well if you both have agreed to it.." She hums. I nod again as confirmation.

"Wow, really? How surprising." Prince Caelum pops in. He nudges the Vendia Princess.

"That's Lady Annelise Thornweather. One of our four duke families. They're in charge of our major trade routes." He whispers to her, then turns to me.

"Lady Annelise, this is the princess of Vendia, Princess Echina." Prince Caelum introduces the beautiful princess. She smiles at me.

"It is very nice to meet you, Lady Annelise." Her voice is soft and light, like the humming of a songbird. I smile back.

"The same to you, Princess Echina. How are you liking Elden? The weather should be at its nicest during this time of year." I reply.

"Oh, it is lovely! Prince Caelum has been taking me around the royal castle and we are planning to visit each of the dukedoms too." She excitedly says. Prince Caelum wraps his arm around her shoulder, pulling her in slightly.

"We've already been to the royal garden and royal lake. She's really good at fishing. Her beauty attracted all of the fish." He smirks proudly. She blushes.

"Stop that, you caught most of them!" She hits his chest in jester.

"Well then, your beauty gave me luck in fishing." He says, leaning in and giving her a small peck on her forehead.

"My lucky charm." He states. She turns away from him, her face burning.

Okay? Besides Prince Caelum's usual over-the-top flirting, I'm surprised that they are getting along quite nicely. Sure both sides did agree to marry but didn't the war just end? I guess I must have missed some sort of story arc or something.