Allegiance

Chapter 24

Alice grabbed another plate that was lying on the side of the sink and held it under the steady stream of water coming from the faucet before she began to clean it.

"So, what did you think of her?" Tabitha asked curiously as she dried off a wet plate with a towel.

Alice smiled as she looked at Tabitha while washing the plate, "She seems nice and got along well with us." Alice chuckled a little humorously as she looked back at the plate, "I was stunned to learn she is the elven princess, though."

Tabitha nodded in agreement, thinking back on the dinner and when Tessia told them who she was. She was in complete shock and didn't know how to act at first until Eleanor and Tessia began to talk casually, which helped her relax.

"You and me both," Tabitha chuckled. "But, not as surprised to see how different she is compared to the human royal family."

Tabitha finished drying off the plate and handed it to Lilia, who was standing beside her. Lilia walked over to the counter where Eleanor was sitting and handed her the plate. Eleanor then placed the plate into the cupboard with the other plates.

Alice nodded, agreeing with Tabitha, recalling the few times she had met the human royal family. Once Blaine had taken an interest in Arthur, he frequently visited the Helstea mansion with his son, wanting to speak with Arthur and get to know him. However, Alice could always see through his arrogance and knew that Blaine didn't honestly care for Arthur, only his powers and abilities. This was confirmed to her when Blaine bestowed upon the Leywin family the title of nobility and provided them with their very own estate. Alice once spoke with Arthur about not having Blaine visit him anymore since she was worried for her son and how Blaine would try to manipulate him. However, Arthur convinced her not to worry, as he could handle Blaine and his honey-coated words.

Alice smiled, thinking about how Tessia acted and how she felt comfortable speaking with her, "Oh, definitely. She held no air of arrogance around her, never condescended us, and treated us as equals." Alice finished washing off and scrubbing the plate and handed it to Tabitha, who began to dry it, "Plus, she seems very sweet."

"She's also very pretty," Eleanor added as she leaned back and relaxed on the counter she was sitting on. Eleanor chuckled amusingly as she said, "How my goofy brother got her attention, I will never know."

"Ellie," Alice playfully scolded as she looked at her daughter over her shoulder with a lighthearted, narrowed gaze. "You're brother is very handsome. It's no surprise that he could attract such a girl as pretty as Tessia."

"He can also be quite dense," Lilia interjected jestfully as she took the plate Tabitha handed her. She walked over to Eleanor and handed her the plate. "I'm very confident that it was Tessia who asked Arthur out and not the other way around."

Alice's eyes flicked down, thinking about what Lilia said. She sighed, knowing it was true, and nodded in agreement before she looked back at the plate she was washing, "Unfortunately, you're right. He takes after his father in the dense department."

Lilia, Tabitha, Alice, and Eleanor broke into laughter, seeing that they agreed that Arthur was incredibly dense.

Tabitha looked at the kitchen entrance curiously, thinking about Tessia and Arthur, "I wonder where they went and what they're doing."

Alice looked at Tabitha inquisitively, "Arthur and Tessia?" Tabitha met Alice's gaze and nodded. Alice shrugged casually, "I'm sure they're just walking around the mansion like you suggested.

"I saw Arthur take her down the hallway toward Uncle Vincent's office," Eleanor advised. "Arthur is probably showing Tessia his collection."

"I wonder if he will take Tessia into Dad's office. Dad has a lot of cool stuff in there, after all," Lilia said, thinking about all the artifacts her dad has collected over the years. A not-so-innocent thought suddenly surfaced in Lilia's mind, and she snickered as she said, "Hopefully, they don't do anything inappropriate while they're in there."