Maid For You 4

Chapter 32

The so-called table of 'threatening Nikotans' was a bit daunting, but there was one face I was happy to see. I caught Nikolas's eye as I approached the table, and once he saw me, his eyes moved away from whoever he was talking to and followed me as I approached him. He smiled as he looked me, and once I was close, he stood up from his chair and pulled the seat out for me.

I smiled back at him. "I hope I'm not too late," I said quietly, glancing around at the nearly full table. Nikolas's eye wasn't the only one I had caught. Everyone at the table was looking at me, only their gazes sure held a lot less affection than Nikolas's had.

"You aren't late," he assured me quietly. "A lot of the guests still haven't arrived."

"I'm glad to hear it," I said, trying to focus on Nikolas and not on the glares that I could feel were being levelled on me.

"You look very nice tonight, Cassie," he said, his voice low. It seemed that he too was ignoring everyone's eyes.

"You do, too," I said. And it was true, though he didn't look much different from normal. I guess, he was just a nice-looking guy. He wore a navy-blue suit with a pale blue tie. His blonde hair was styled and cut nicely—it wasn't shaggy, but it hadn't committed the cardinal sin of being too short, either. Within his face and his eyes, there seemed to be a level of anxiousness that normally wasn't there. I had been nervous about dinner before coming, and suddenly I realized that he too was nervous for me.

"Nikolai!" We were interrupted. We turned our heads to the person across from us, some man I'd never met before. He started saying something in Russian, and I understood approximately zero of the words. Nikolas answered him, and I looked around the table to see people unabashedly looking at me. They could have been looking at Nikolas beside me, but the coldness in their eyes indicated otherwise to me. Queen Irina sat at the head of the table, looking about as perky as ever. Lord Volkov sat across and a couple of seats away from me, and his distaste was clear. Obviously, the nobles of Nikoto did not approve of my accompanying Nikolas. Whether they were concerned for the future of Nikoto, or were upset that their daughters had been overlooked for a commoner, I wasn't sure. But there were a few pretty young women seated at the table, and I was sure that tomorrow would bring only more Nikotan ladies at the actual ball.

Nikolas kept leaning over to begin to translate, before being cut off. "He's telling me about some of his tenets who—" "They're asking about the oil fields in—" All translated snippets of conversation were about politics.

I then felt a hand on my left shoulder, and turned upwards to see one kind face. Anastaysia had arrived with her husband, Alexsander.

"Cassie," she said. "It is so good to see you." Her warm smile filled up my heart in a way I didn't know it needed to be filled, and I almost felt like crying.

"Anastaysia," I said, feeling a big smile growing on my face. "Are you sitting next to me?"

"I am," she beamed, taking her seat. "How are you doing, darling?"

"I'm very well, thank you—"

"Anastaysia, Alexsander!" A booming voice cut us off. Lord Volkov was greeting his nephew and niece-in-law quite warmly, and in return they exchanged greetings and chatted about something or other in Russian. My eyes began to wander from my current table, and I was turning my head and craning my neck somewhat to look around the exquisite, winter-wonderland dining room. However, I wasn't just looking for decorations, but also people. I found that the Nueva Españanians were here—notably King Diego, Prince Alejandro, and Princess Esmerelda herself. She looked quite beautiful, even from where I was sitting.

My eyes swiveled to the Areganan table, where Mercucio had been joined by the Areganan Royal family—King Collin, Queen Klara, Prince Coleman, and Princess Calista. At the same table sat little Prince Duarte next to Coleman, and two adults who I assumed to be his parents. Duarte said something that seemed to make everyone laugh. Coleman ruffled Duarte's dark hair, who slapped at Coleman's hand in return and tried to restore his hair, making everyone smile. I wondered what they were saying. In fact, I found myself wishing that I was sitting at that table instead, where I could understand what people were saying.