Heavenly Love

Chapter 4: Battle Plan

A luxurious room of robins-egg blue with gold moldings glowed in the pale, waning light. The rest of the room; however, was completely destroyed. Once finely engraved wooden furniture and decadently sewn pillows now laid in tatters on the floor. Wallpaper fell in scraps, and a gilded hand mirror stuck halfway in the wall. On the singularly whole chair within the room sat a woman with ripped lace sleeves and a soiled handkerchief clenched in cracked hands. Nails bitten to the quick were pressed tightly against the material, wearing down the once finely made fabric.

Light footsteps and a sigh could be heard behind her. Alina slowly approached the woman, unable to see if she noticed her presence through the long, pale hair tumbled over her face. She gently reached towards her, but then startled as a hand tightly wrapped around her wrist, stopping the action. Her mother stared up at her with bloodshot eyes. Alina softly tugged her hand back, and then enfolded her arms tightly around the still figure.

"Mother..mother, please don't be sad." She soothed, cupping the back of her disarrayed head. "I know things seem hard right now, but that won't be for long." She lightly rocked the older woman in her arms. "Stepfather still loves us very much, and that won't change with a new addition to the house." Alina and Adelaide stayed like that for a long time, finding comfort in each other's presence.

Aoi, on the other side of the house, knew nothing of this interaction, or prior destructive scene. Within the first few days following his transmigration, he spent most of the time his room. After the very public warning, and no doubt humiliation for Adelaide, he knew it'd be particularly dicey for him if he arrogantly showed himself around the house. He was in a very problematic, unsafe position. Knowing this, he had to create a battle plan to ensure his survival. The first step: know his enemy. Unfortunately for Aoi, most of his information about Adelaide came second-hand from Himari. Still, it didn't hurt to write down what he could recall. He asked for some parchment paper and a pen from Eleanor, and she swiftly returned with a rough pad and a plumed writing utensil that was ridiculously fancy. He stared at it incredulously for a moment before starting his list.

He knew that she was born into a counts house that was known for water magic. He rolled his eyes while he wrote this down. He already had a firsthand encounter with her family's power, and it certainly was impressive. Continuing on, he remembered she was the youngest, and so she was coddled and spoiled since a child. Due to this and her overly praised beauty, Adelaide believed she deserved the world. It certainly made sense that when Earl Leggero proposed, and her family accepted, she threw a fit. How could they, knowing she was a diamond among coal, give her away to an Earl? It was preposterous. Not only did she think this marriage was beneath her, she was also adamant this would cripple her inevitable ascent to unseen social and political heights. Adelaide practiced her magic, her genes were strong, and she was beautiful. She did not; however, bank on the fact her stringent requirements would limit her options so much. There were not a lot of available selections at that point, with the nation engaged in a war. Many young nobles were pressured into participation for house honor, loyalty to the crown, or both. Adelaide required them to be young, handsome, rich, and with a good title. Most importantly, in her maiden's heart, she wanted someone to love her just as unconditionally as her family. In other words, she wanted her husband to worship the ground she walked on.

Earl Leggero did fit this description, except her family didn't realize how power hungry she truly was. It took her a while for before she reluctantly gave in, and only after a spectacular courtship from this young Earl. Flowers, jewels, etc. were given to her in abundance. It was truly unfortunate that he died at such a young age, all the while leaving his wife and child in such dire straights. Rumor had it that his great estate had been very mismanaged. This was not very surprising, considering the treasures he lavished on his wife before she even married him. Aoi grimaced at the ridiculousness of it. Going from living so luxuriously to being a widow of a destitute house, Adelaide really did catch a lucky break in marrying Duke Albert Tesoro.