Allegiance

Chapter 23

'Talk about being blunt,' Sylvie snickered while she consumed her bacon underneath the table.

All eyes, except for Arthur and Sylvie's, were widened in surprise, as all attention was now on Tessia. Tessia's eyes darted around the table, seeing everyone was speechless. She mentally scolded herself, thinking she had just ruined the dinner's dynamic, and now Arthur's family wouldn't treat her the same.

Tessia looked at Arthur pleadingly, hoping he knew how to break the silence. Arthur met her gaze, seeing she was beginning to become concerned. He looked back to his family, who still looked surprised, trying to think of ways to break the silence.

"That's so cool!"

All eyes flicked to Eleanor, who looked at Tessia excitedly with widened eyes and a bright smile. Arthur smiled warmly, seeing Eleanor wasn't fazed by Tessia's news about her being a princess but instead showed interest.

Eleanor leaned forward, staring directly at Tessia, wanting to know more. In Eleanor's mind, she didn't care that Tessia was a princess. From her previous interactions with Tessia, she could tell Tessia wasn't big on her title and didn't want people to act formally around her. So, she planned to act the same as she had been.

"So, is that how you met Arthur," Eleanor asked curiously, her eyes flicking to Arthur before looking back at Tessia.

Tessia's brows raised in surprise at how Eleanor accepted the news so fast, but she soon smiled with relief, seeing Eleanor wouldn't treat her differently. Tessia chuckled happily and nodded, "Yeah, we met at the floating castle's garden."

Seeing her daughter continue to act formally with Tessia, and Tessia not minding it, Alice physically relaxed. When Tessia informed them of her title, Alice was afraid that she had overstepped by not being formal with the elven princess. But now, she could see her worries were unfounded, as Tessia obviously didn't want to be treated differently.

Alice picked up the fork she dropped on her plate and casually began twirling her spaghetti, "I was wondering how you two met." Reynolds, Tabitha, Vincent, Jarrod, and Lilia looked at Alice, seeing she looked relaxed and was speaking normally with Tessia. Alice chuckled in amusement and smiled, "And now I know. I should've guessed it was at the floating castle since that's where he's been the past few days."

Tessia smiled and sheepishly scratched her cheek, "Yeah, sorry if you think I deceived you. That wasn't my intention."

Alice smiled warmly and waved away Tessia's worry, "Oh, sweetie, think nothing of it. I assume it's because you didn't want us to treat you differently." Alice chuckled and tilted her head slightly, "Am I right?"

Tessia smiled, seeing how Alice had seen right through her, and she nodded, "That's correct."

Seeing how Alice and Eleanor acted casually with Tessia, Reynolds, Tabitha, Vincent, Jarrod, and Lilia, all relaxed and continued eating their dinner.

"Wait," Lilia began, and she pointed at Arthur with her fork. She raised her brow as she curiously asked, "Did you know Tessia was the elven princess before you asked her to spar?"

Arthur's brows raised, surprised and caught off guard by the sudden question, "Oh... uh..."

"You asked her to spar," Reynolds asked amusingly as he took another bite of his spaghetti.

"Yes," Alice sighed and rolled her eyes before she looked at Reynolds with a deadpanned look. "Your son, in his infinite wisdom, decided to challenge this sweet girl to a spar." Alice playfully narrowed her eyes on Reynolds, "And I wonder where he gets these ideas from."

Reynolds coughed sheepishly, "No idea." Avoiding Alice's piercing gaze, Reynolds grabbed his glass of water and took a sip.

"So, did you know?" Lilia asked again, and everyone curiously looked at Arthur.