The Villainess Doesn't Want To Fall In Love

Chapter IV: The White Flower Part 2

"Everyone, behold, the arrival of the House Belfford!" the knight who was at the entrance announced as soon as they entered the Imperial Palace. The eyes of the crowd diverted to them, especially to her. Gossip started to like the sound of buzzing bees.

"Chin up, be confident. You're beautiful, Clarish." She smiled at Jefferson's words and raised her head. Instead of looking at everyone, she just roamed her eyes around the hall.

The Imperial Hall was wide enough that it could accommodate a lot of people. When she thinks about it, the Imperial Palace must be a huge architecture that took hundreds of years to build. As a civil engineering student in her previous life, she was kind of curious about the construction of the palace. And how do they hang those pretty chandeliers on the ceiling which the lights reflected to the large, glassy windows? Do they fall easily when there's an earthquake? She wants to touch the ceramic designs around the corner and the flowers that were properly arranged, she wants to smell them to know if they are really real.

At first glance, the place seemed to be joyful, filled with idle chitchats and waves of laughter of the crowd but in a deeper look, it was only a facade. There's more to it than the surface. She could spot different nobles: duke, marquis, earl, count, viscount, and a few barons, together with their spouses and few children. They were identifiable and there were faces that she had already seen before. They were like the classic versions of rich people and celebrities in the modern world. Although she could spot some genuine conversations, many of them were only here for social niceties and bragging.

Jefferson who was just right by her side suddenly vanished. He may have excused himself earlier but she didn't hear him since she was too focused on observing the place. The Marquis and the Marchioness were busy talking to the Duke and Duchess of Frisia. As soon as the discussion with them ended, other nobles approached them and struck up another conversation. It felt like forever.

She held tight to Chester's hand as she put a smile on her face every time the elders looked at her. She didn't understand what they were talking about but it may be rude to act like she was not interested at all. This is why she was never a fan of social gatherings. She's homesick already.

It was that time when the knight announced the arrival of the royal family. Everyone bowed to Emperor Albrech, the first emperor of the Great Luveria Empire. He looked old and didn't look like in good condition. Reina's eyes were automatically fixated on the woman beside the Emperor. She's the second wife of the emperor and the mother of Prince Warryn and Princess Eloise-Empress Margareth Scarlett Heinrich. She looked so elegant and dignified in her royal gown. Her hair was as bright as gold, her eyes were crimson red. Beneath her angelic smile was an evil creature that she had long been keeping from everyone.

Reina couldn't help but clench her fist and grit her teeth in irritation. Seeing the Empress standing before everyone like she never did a horrible thing only made her head boil. It's because Empress Margareth was the reason why the first prince was cursed. She was also the person behind the previous empress' death.

It was written in the book. She did all those things for revenge. She was the first true love of the Emperor but their love story came to an end when Emperor Albrech married the late empress, Rosaline Marqaux Heinrich. After the previous Empress gave birth to the first prince, Margareth poisoned her. Her revenge didn't end with just that, she also wanted to make her son, Prince Warryn, to be the next Emperor. Thus, she hired a witch to curse the first prince during his coming of age.

She stared at Jefferson who was walking beside the second prince. No wonder he disappeared from her side a while ago. She then saw an image of her brother in a bloody war. The novel didn't state if he died in the end but it could happen this time. She shook her head to erase the negativity and her gaze transferred to Prince Warryn. To her surprise, he was already staring at her and when their eyes met, he raised his hand and waved at her bearing a bright expression. He was smiling from ear to ear as if delighted by her presence.