The Outsider (Outsider #1) ✔️

Chapter 57 : Shopping For the Ball

The Airport Manager got them 3 separate hovercars. Catherine insisted that she will go with Dusk, and the attendants could go with security guards went into another vehicle. The security reluctantly allowed that.

Catherine was almost skipping along with Dusk in excitement and took the access keys from the attendant and gave it to Dusk with a smile. Dusk looked perplexed and asked, "What do you want me to do with it? I can't drive."

"Huh? But you have such a pretty pink car! How do you get along if you can't drive? This one is AI controlled just like yours. And I will tell you the way to go."

"Uhh... Catherine, I do not have a license. I never learned to drive. I was never allowed to drive at home."

"Yes, I have the same problem. No one lets me drive either." Catherine nodded with sympathy, "I am 16, I can drive on non-public roads, isn't it? Will you tell my brother to let me drive?"

"What? What makes you think he listens to me?"

"You are his girlfriend! He has to listen to you!"

Dusk was now getting confused again. Was she talking about Luke? Well, she supposed, if Rosemary considered Luke like a brother, so would her cousin Catherine. But was Luke the one who stopped her from driving? Wouldn't that be her own brother? Or Rosemary's brother?

"Ha ha, Catherine, you have a lot to learn about life and boyfriends. No, he is not going to listen to me. Anyway, we still have a problem. I can't drive, you can't drive."

Reluctantly, she called one of the security guards accompanying her and gave him the access to the car.

... ...

Sir Oyster looked at the news feeds coming from various social media condensed and summarised by his AI. It was not looking good. Julien Lidwig was going to be livid.

"Get the Manager of Haughtier Monalisa store in Central Mall! Let him know that Princess Catherine is coming to his store and he better take care of her." he shouted to one of his assistants.

He got a call from the Emperor. "Yes, Your Majesty?"

"Julien messed up, did he? I am getting alerts from everywhere about my granddaughter and that Hale girl. What is the problem?"

"Sir, Princess Catherine went to the airport to pick up Ms. Hale. And when they were leaving, there were newspersons all over the place. The Princess panicked. I think she did not take Crown Prince Julien's approval for going to the airport."

"Dusk Hale was to attend the Emperor's Ball today. She is the only new face. Did Julien expect the news media will remain quiet? And you sent an EPAC to pick her up. It was bound to attract attention. But what is the problem? It was bound to come to the fore at some time. Let them learn to live with it. Don't traumatise the kid for it. Even she has to learn to face the newspersons. Now deal with it. I don't want this to disrupt Julien's work."

Oyster shook his head as the call ended. He was bound to be in the crossfire.

"I want counter-action now! Put out the news that Dusk Hale has been invited by the Emperor to the Ball. Emphasise on her achievements as a student and her project. Fire up your social media bots, each one of you tell some family members to post nice things about her on social media. I want authenticity on the posts, coming from normal people."

... ...

In another part of the city, Louis Lidwig was sitting on a desk with an amused smile, looking at the new feed. He wanted to laugh as he saw his sister's panicked reaction to the newspersons at the entrance of the airport. She should learn her lesson. If you are a Princess, you cannot behave like a commoner. You do not have the freedom or the privacy.