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Back in Arvis mansion, was Claudine. She was currently sitting in front of her vanity, her aide brushing up her beautiful locks, and making sure there were no tangles in them. Things were silent between them for a while, until Claudine broke it.
“I’m sorry you had to go through that, Mary.” Claudine began, and met her aide’s eyes in the mirror. Immediately, Mary gently put the brush down on the table, before kneeling beside her mistress and took her hands in hers.
“Oh please don’t say that my Lady,” she said to Claudine, looking up at her with tearful eyes, “It was my fault really, I should’ve behaved more properly, and have not troubled you so!” Claudine only smiled kindly at her.
“It wasn’t anyone’s fault but mine,” Claudine replied calmly, “And yet I let you take the blame, when it shouldn’t have been you who got in trouble.” she sighed, and then stood up gracefully.
She went in front of the floor-length mirror, Mary following her dutifully, as she assessed how she looked. She was preparing to greet the Crown Prince and his wife. She must look elegant in doing so, even if she was just one of the hostesses in the estate.
“Truly, I won’t forget what you did for me back there,” Claudine told her when she turned back around, “Thank you so much Mary, I mean it.” Mary’s eyes welled up with tears at how kind and beautiful her mistress was to her.
Mary had been one of House Brandt’s servants who’d been with them for many years. Though in all her years of servitude, this was really the first personal gratitude she received from her ward. It broke her heart to see her mistress so helpless back there.
Her Lady, Claudine Brandt, should have the right to hold her head up high, as she belonged among the proud noble family of a Count. Which was why she couldn’t hold back her thoughts on the matter…
“It’s all because of Leyla, isn’t it?” she asked her mistress, who blinked at her before shaking her head in finality.
“Don’t bother thinking about it Mary.” she dissuaded, because really, it wasn’t like it should matter much to her. Satisfied with her appearance, Claudine and her aide exited her chambers to walk around the mansion, inspecting some last minute preparations.
It would be a while before the royal couple would actually arrive, but Claudine couldn’t stay cooped up in her guest room as she waited for them. So she decided to go strolling along the still-renovating greenhouse, careful not to dirty her clothes among the dirt and debris.
The general sight was still the same, but at least the new repairs were beginning to take shape, as the framing of the wrecked parts were almost in completion. She turned towards the solarium afterwards, wanting to visit the place where the plants and birds that survived had been moved to.
The sight of the greenhouse only served to rile her up, her anger at the careless gardener returning, when a familiar voice caught her attention amidst all the noise around her. She turned around, and saw Riette, smiling expectantly at her…
“My Lady, it’s so good to see you!” he greeted her, lightly grabbing her hand, to press a kiss on her knuckles, “Are you feeling better today?” he asked her in genuine concern. They hadn’t seen each other in a while, and Claudine could only smile at him.
They both sat down at the table in front of the solarium, where the sweet scent of the flowers wafted over them, and the soft singing of birds replaced the incessant construction noises.
“I’m feeling much better, thank you for asking.” Claudine replied sweetly at him, he only beamed right back at her.
“It was my pleasure.” he then sat himself down from across her, and they began conversing. Each of them was regalling the other with tales of what they did when they were away, Riette more so than Claudine, when she steered the topic to something else.
“To be honest, I think the entire problem was because of Leyla.” she admitted to him, “The rest of it was simply a stupid idea.” Riette sighed, and looked around them, before leaning closer to her, and lowered his voice.
“I think you worry too much,” Riette tried comforting her, “Us men do crazy stuff when it comes to women, believe me, sooner or later his appetite will curb.” Claudine couldn’t help but laugh dryly.
“If he were like other men, I wouldn’t be this worried.” she pointed out, “But this is Matthias we’re talking about.”
At that, Riette couldn’t form any rebuttal, because it was true. Matthias wasn’t like any other man Riette knew or met before. His early arrival had been unexpected. And to the rest of their companions that day, Matthias had only acted like a true gentleman should with his fiance, and defended her honor successfully against the deceitful maid.
That brought a bitter taste to Riette.
“Have you ever seen him so attached to anyone before?” she asked him curiously. Riette sighed tiredly at the question.
“No,” he answered without hesitation, “I don’t even think he’s attached to his mother.” Riette pointed out. It was a bit of an exaggeration, Riette would admit to himself, but never out loud.
“I just can’t get my head around why he’s so invested with a servant girl.” she exclaimed, making Riette look at her tiredly.
“Technically speaking, Leyla isn’t a servant in Arvis.” he pointed out dryly, making Claudine roll her eyes at him.
“Details.” she scoffed, “It doesn’t matter what she is, my question remains the same.” She took a deep breath to calm herself down. “I should have realized sooner he’d lied back then, I can’t believe I’d been so blind.” she muttered softly, scolding her past self for her incompetence.
On that past summer morning, Claudine had seen Matthias walking alone, on that day someone had broken into the gardener’s cabin. She initially thought he’d be headed to the annex, which was along the way. She had been there earlier, cutting some roses for that flower arrangement she wanted in the garden, when she decided to follow him, curious as to what he was doing so early in the morning.
All she knew was that Matthias didn’t want anyone to visit him when he went by the annex, which only made her curiouser to what he really did back there. So with a basket full of roses, she followed him.
He moved quickly through the forest, and Claudine struggled to keep up with him, when she saw the most unexpected sight in front of her. Matthias had halted in his tracks, and so she followed his gaze, and found out why.
Walking towards him was an unfamiliar man. She’d never seen him before as any of Matthias’ associates, and quickly hid behind one of the trees. Something was telling her she should not have witnessed this.
It wasn’t out of character for Matthias to meet with random strangers, Claudine knew she couldn’t know everyone he made business with, but she could tell this was different. And then Matthias resumed walking, not even stopping again when the man passed him by.
She had stayed there for a while, confused as to what she just saw before she opted to return back to the mansion instead. It wasn’t long until they received word that Leyla’s money, which was for her tuition, had been stolen.
The officers had come by asking questions around the Duke’s residence, and Claudine found herself invested in the matter as well, when she saw them questioning Matthias. When they asked him if he’d seen any suspicious individual around the estimated time of the crime, Matthias denied having seen anyone.
She knew he’d seen that man, but she couldn’t piece together why he had lied. She opted back then it was best not to contradict him, but she did suspect it was because of Leyla. Which she now believed was the right and only assumption to what happened back then.
After all, the real culprit had been revealed as Mrs. Etman, who was against her son’s marriage with the poor girl from the very beginning. And she’s certain her fiance wants Leyla for himself.
Claudine had laughed mirthlessly to herself when she found out.
Her fiance, the Duke, was wasting his time devising elaborate schemes, just to keep a servant girl by his side? She shuddered at the thought. He even went as far as destroying one of Leyla’s best prospects.
She had thought Matthias von Herhardt was going to be different from the other men she had the displeasure of knowing. But alas, he’s just another one of those sleazy types, who thought they could get away with a mistress on the side. How dare he try and compare her to Leyla?
She felt absolutely mortified and humiliated when she realized he sought things she could not give from someone of a lower stature than her!
As though sensing her growing turmoil, Riette broke the silence between them, to get her to listen to him.
“Fret not Claudine,” Riette called out to her, pulling her from her thoughts as she looked back at him, “Even if he is attached to the girl, Matthias is practical. He knows she’s not fit for the role as his Duchess.”
“You really think so?” she asked him softly, the worry imminent in her eyes, and Riette reached out to clasped her hand comfortingly over the table.
“I know so.” Riette told her, “He’d be a fool to choose her over you as the Duchess.”
But Claudine still seemed convinced that something was bound to go wrong. And Riette couldn’t have her getting in trouble like she did just a short while back then.
“I get that you’re worried, but I advise you to let them be.” Riette pleaded with her. “Matthias doesn’t get love!” he pointed out, making Claudine frown at him.
“What do you mean by leaving them alone?”
“Look,” he sighed, “Sooner or later, his actions will make him lose her. So just let their affair exist as is, don’t bother trying to break them apart sooner.”
“Are you that confident he’s that unaware of his feelings for her?” she asked him sharply, and he nodded confidently.
“How could he? He’s never been in love before.” he rebutted, “All his life, he’s been given what he wants without really having to work for it, and then quickly discards it when it’s no longer his fancy.”
“I still don’t think he’s that unaware of his feelings.” Claudine scoffed, when Riette held onto her hands tighter.
“Claudine please, I tell you this with utter concern for you,” he held her gaze, hoping she will understand he’s only saying this for her own good, “Don’t try to provoke Matthias, it won’t end well.”
He wants to see his most beloved succeed in her life, even if it means she has to be his cousin’s wife, he’d make sure nothing would stand in her way.
He couldn’t help but laugh dryly at himself at how pathetic he was becoming. Nevertheless, he truly wanted her to be happy. And as she was determined it would be as the Duchess Herhardt, he’d be happy to spend time with her in whatever way she can spare for him.
Just like at this moment.
“Don’t do what you did to Leyla again,” he warned her, “That could only push Matthias to see what she truly means to him.” Claudine stared at him curiously, prompting him to elaborate, “A person’s heart is a fickle thing, my Lady,” he smiled ruefully towards her, “Once you realize you’re in love, you can’t stop loving them so easily.”
‘Just like I can’t stop loving you.’ he confessed to her in his mind.
Suddenly, there was a rush of commotion outside, making Riette pull his hand away from her. Not a minute later, Matthias strode in, all dressed in his best suit and nodded towards his cousin, before holding a hand out to Claudine.
“We must make haste, my Lady,” Matthias told her urgently, “The Crown Prince and his wife are about to arrive.”
Gone was that cold look he’d thrown at her when he cornered her in front of their noble acquaintances. He now wore a graceful smile and polite gestures for her instead, and Claudine couldn’t help but flutter her eyes beautifully up at him in response.
She took his gloved hand with a smile.
“Of course, my Duke.”
Matthias nodded to him briefly, and quickly, the pair walked out of the solarium, leaving Riette to smile bitterly to himself at their retreating backs.
What a pair they made.
He shook the unbidden thoughts of Claudine and his cousin together, opting to just get up and get ready for the royal couple’s arrival as well. He arrived shortly after the engaged couple, joining the line of nobles who were there to greet the prince as well.
Somewhere off to the side, Riette caught sight of Leyla, amongst the other commoners, who were out to greet the prince as well.
The royals’ car came to a stop right in front of the mansion, and flashes went flickering left and right as photographers fought to get a good angle in capturing the Crown Prince’s arrival.
Despite being a friend of the Duke’s, the visit was an official event, as the Crown Prince was officially touring the entire Empire. They had to follow some protocol to welcome him officially into Arvis.
Leyla had been to many of these official visits before, but never one as extravagant as this one. Case in fact, the larger crowds gathered around her, and the amazing reception prepared for them.
Though she was among many people, Leyla stood with the crowd in anxious tension. She anticipated she’d see the Duke of Arvis, along his arm would be Lady Brandt. And she did see them when they arrived. They were front and center of the Prince’s welcoming committee after all.
They looked graceful, and poised. All powerful and calm in front of the raging crowd. It was difficult for her to connect him with the passionate man she’d been with every night, as opposed to this dignified persona of his.
Tonight, he was a nobleman.
Something was stinging in her eyes the more she watched Matthias and Claudine standing there together, welcoming the Prince with happy smiles. They descended the steps, hand in hand as they exchanged pleasantries with the Crown Prince.
She could tell they were close, never mind she couldn’t hear what they were saying from where she stood. Even Lady Brandt seemed well acquainted with the Prince’s wife.
She glanced down on her uniform, adorned with the Herhardt’s insignia. She unclasped her hands in front of her, and tucked them behind her instead as she felt herself beginning to tremble.
She wasn’t holding onto anything, but they trembled as she felt the ghost of a feeling beneath her fingers. It was achingly similar to when she’d stroke them against those crystalline figures in the museum.
It also achingly reminded her of the coin purse’s heavy weight in her hand when Claudine had the maid pay her.
She kept her head bowed down low, staring intently on her shoes, as the Crown Prince and his entourage climbed up the steps. She sighed in relief when they passed her by, and finally looked up, before freezing in place…
Lady Claudine was looking right at her. She was smiling brightly in her direction, and Leyla’s hand tightened around her fingers as the ghost weight felt heavier and heavier in her hands.
She could even hear the loud way the coins jingled as she moved.
And so she stood there, amongst the crowd in the pale afternoon sun, casting long shadows over her frozen form.