「 During the dinner 」

Bradley's attention was focused on Ophelia as she gracefully ate her food. He couldn't understand how this woman affected him so much, whether it was during the day or the night, he found himself thinking about her. Her crow hair fell from her shoulders as she cut small pieces of the food onto her beautiful light pink lips.

A maid enters the room abruptly and Bradley gets startled as the calm surroundings turned loud. A letter reaches the hands of Ophelia but, contrary to what he was expecting, she looked unbothered by its contents.

"Burn it," she ordered coldly. The maid looked at her frustrated, almost as if her master had committed a grand sin.

"Your sister... She might die!" her voice became louder and, as Bradley watched this scene unfold, he couldn't help but feel annoyed at the woman's impertinence.

'You dare...?' he knew he had to step in, he couldn't allow anyone to treat Ophelia with such disrespect.

"Remember your place," as he was about to intervene, her cold voice penetrates Bradley's soul with the words he had heard all his life. Seeing her there, standing so proudly, above everyone else just made him want to see her in misery even more. A shiver ran down his spine from the adrenaline and excitement he was feeling.

"I'm sorry milady!" the maid quickly apologizes but Ophelia looked already extremely unpleased and disappointed in her.

"Rise," she states right before getting up and slapping the maid's cheek harshly. The light skin turned red from the impact, "You seem to lack education," Ophelia's eyes looked at that woman as if she was nothing more than a mere rat, an eyesore.

Bradley couldn't remove his attention from her, the woman whose heart was covered with wickedness, that vicious woman who looked so kind, yet so deadly.

'You have no idea...' his mind wandered to extremely dark places as he observed Ophelia apologize on behalf of her maid. Even while doing something like this, she looked untouchable, honorable, and confident in her words, as if the people in front of her were nothing more than goods to be disposed of at her will.

The servants murmuring became louder and, as Bradley was about to speak, he is interrupted, again.

"Do you have anything to say?" her cold glare made the servants shiver in fear as they averted their eyes, "At least you are wise."

The conversation at the table continues to flow thoroughly but Ophelia continued to ignore his presence. Even when their eyes connected she would gracefully place her attention elsewhere, as if Bradley wasn't important.

"I almost forgot, Terrel sent a letter, he is very anxious to meet you," the Duke declared with a warm smile on his face.

Bradley's eyes widen in surprise as he is greeted with an Ophelia he had never seen before. Her eyes looked terrified, almost as if she was seeing the devil himself, while her skin turned paler by the second. Accidentally, she drops the fork but quickly hides her trembling hands under the table. She wasn't looking at anyone, just at the table while trying to compose herself.

"Are you alright Ophelia?" when Mace's voice was heard she gracefully stands up, using a mask that covered her true emotions, as if nothing had happened.

"I seem to be unwell, if you will excuse me," Ophelia declares right before heading towards the door. As she walked Bradley saw another glimpse of the painful expression she was making while trying her best to hold her shivering hands in one another.

The table grew quiet for a couple of seconds. Bradley and Mace get up simultaneously.

"Lord Bradley, I would like to discuss some matters further..." the Duke intervened, forcing Bradley to stay behind while Mace rushed after Ophelia.

"Is she alright father?" Ralph questioned with his kind voice.

'You old geezer...' he was well aware that the Duke did this on purpose. His fist grabs his napkin harshly as he tried to control his anger. From the cold look in that man's eyes, it seemed as if the real motives for Bradley's presence at the Wharton's was beginning to be discovered.

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「 The next day, dawn 」

Jade opened his eyes slightly just to see the green grass being showered by the warm rays of the sun. His head felt light as it was laying down on something comfortable. After lifting it and regaining his sense of self he gets startled.

'Master?! What did I do?' he realized he had been laying down in Ophelia's lap all this time.

"Master... Wake up..." Ophelia's expression looked peaceful and, as she rested soundly, she looked almost like a frail doll, breaking at any touch. He already knew that she was powerless, but now, as she stood calmly in front of him, he couldn't help but wonder how someone so frail could even walk in the first place.

Even then, his mind kept on going back to yesterday's dinner. How she stood dignified as if she owned the world, yet, how terrified she looked at the mention of that man's name.

'She'll be in trouble if she is not in her room,' Jade's traveling mind settles as he listens to some voices in the distance. Realizing the danger of the situation he decides to bring Ophelia back to her chambers.

Gently he grabbed her thin body and carried her in his arms but she was so light that Jade thought she would fly with the wind if a strong breeze blew. Hurriedly, he entered the mansion and opened her room door just to be greeted by a black cat with ruby eyes. Without paying too much attention to the creature he placed Ophelia under the sheets carefully and left without a word.

✽ ✼ ✽ ✼ ✽ ✼ ✽

「 The day after Lady Catherine's Ball 」

"Aldrich, bring me a cup of tea," Blake states as the caramel-haired man leaves the room after bowing.

'So tired...' he laid back on his chair after a long deep breath. After pulling an all-nighter, the crown prince was exhausted.

"Fate is changing your highness," that's what Lady Catherine had told him yesterday when they met. Of course, she couldn't go into further details due to all the curious eyes and ears that surrounded them but something about her words bothered him. What she said could have so many meanings, too many meanings.

"Your tea, your highness," Aldrich arrives with a cup of strong black tea waking up Blake from his thoughts.

"Who was that girl?" the servant flinched hearing his words as he had no memories of who the prince was referring to.

"I'm sorry your grace but who might you be thinking about?" Aldrich was one of prince Blake's most trusted servants but, even then, he needed to be careful when handling the fire. He treasured Blake above everyone else as he thought he was the righteous one to guide Ashen to greater heights but, even if his loyalty was deep, he need mind his words and questions as it might cost him his head.

Everyone knows about the rumors surrounding the crown prince. Some call him the Blood Prince others just say he is nothing but a devil from Blasphemy in the shape of a human.

'Neither of them have truly seen the prince...' Aldrich thought as he was reminded of the half-hearted words people spurred out easily.

"Yesterday, that girl with the crimson hair and that disrespectful attitude," his tone portraited his disgust.

"Oh, that was Amanda Criswell, first daughter of Duke Alvin Criswell," Aldrich's eyes widen in surprise at the mention of a lady, in fact, part of him was hopeful that she had stricken the prince's fancy.

'If it's Duke Criswell, he would be able to have a powerful family to back him on the fight for succession,' Alrich felt happy for a glimpse of a moment, wondering how great it would be for Blake to finally have someone to love.

"The Criswell's uh..." Blake clicks his tongue right before dismissing Aldrich who leaves quietly, with a sad expression on his face. He had realized it was not the beginning of new love, instead, it was the beginning of a new enemy.

'The nobles are looking down on us,' what happened yesterday was still shining brightly within Blake's memory. The pure fact that the eldest lady of a Duke didn't know what the crown prince looked like was a complete disrespect towards the royal family.

"Maybe we should tighten their restraints to remind them of who they belong to," the prince grinned as he mumbled these words.

He was aware that the nobles and aristocrats were slacking ever since the king got sick from an unknown illness. No doctor is able to tell what is making the king ill but it happened very suddenly, a year ago.

'They think they own the kingdom and do what they want... Filthy puppets,' Blake hated the majority of the powerful families since they were all fucked up in their own way and somehow that didn't sit well with him. He didn't want to face it but the truth was, deep down, he related to their hidden personas more than what he wanted to admit.

"Lady Catherine as arrived your highness," Aldrich says after knocking on the door.

"Let her in," as Blake's words flew, Catherine entered the room wearing her long and voluptuous light magenta dress.

"Glory upon the royal family who guides and provides. Your highness, I am very honored for having received your invitation," her hands catch the hem of her skirt as she formally greets the crown prince.

Her almond-shaped green eyes looked more tired than usual while her long, curly blonde hair fell on her dress. Her cherry-colored lips were provocative and even though she was in her mid forty's she could easily make someone's insecure heart skip a beat.

"Leave us," the servants excuse themselves and head to the hall, as both Blake and Catherine take a seat in opposite couches.

"It is the first time you've ever invited me into your study room, your highness," Catherine's curiosity traveled from the books on the floor to the papers on the desk. She was looking around carefully, reading the several headlines and observing all the paper sheets that filled up the floor making the room appear much smaller than what it actually was.

'What a mess,' this thought glimpsed her mind as she noticed everything unorganized.

"Drop the formalities, what did you mean by that?" she wasn't surprised at Blake's sudden bluntness, in fact, that is one of the things she found extremely appealing about him. She knew what type of man he was and so she loved twirling him around her little finger, however, the same went for Blake, who felt that he was the one using her in the first place. Their relationship was extremely unusual, in fact, you could call them delusional partners in crime, who were so easily self-centered in their own ideas that couldn't understand the reality in front of them.

Catherine came from a fallen noble house that, miraculously, regained its prestige after Edith, her elder sister became the first concubine of the current king. This situation is a mystery to the high-class society and, even after investigating it, no one could find a specific answer. It was almost as if someone was purposely erasing all their tracks in order to conceal the truth.

"You see prince, there have been some rumors floating around... Are you familiar with Ophelia Criswell?" Catherine places her hands on top of her knees smiling politely. Her eyes looked almost as if she was a spider waiting for a small fly to touch her sticky webs.

"The cursed child of the Criswell's? What about her?" Blake frowned his eyebrows and Catherine understood that she couldn't delay her information any longer. Even though Ophelia was always kept inside the mansion, all the high society in the kingdom knew about her: the cursed child with the crow-colored hair.

"Everyone knows how Lilith died tragically after birth and how the Duke neglected his child because of it, however, she is now engaged to Terrel Wharton and she was present at my ball yesterday... Your grace, did you know that Ophelia refused Bradley Trace after he courted her?" as Lady Catherine drank some tea the servants had left, "In fact, she trapped him publicly," Blake was staring at her dumbfounded.

'A fifteen-year-old girl trapped Bradley?' he couldn't believe Catherine's words. The nobles on the Trace family were smart and cautious, they never made any mistakes. Blake knew it since they were one of the noble families he despised the most.

The Trace's held several granaries in the west of the territory so the crown couldn't put pressure on them without making the lower classes suffer and, even if they tried, they would just sneak away with a scapegoat. They held a lot of power and, as they invested in several types of business, their influence only grew. It got to the point where even the nobles and aristocrats would turn against the crown if they accused the Traces.

"And that's not it. She also made contact with Layton Verne, they looked extremely friendly," her words sounded made up.

"Catherine, are you telling me that a girl who has lived her fifteen years of life stuck in the Duke's mansion has her hands around Bradley and Layton?" everyone knew how much of a menace the Verne's were. They had their hands in several shady businesses making fortunes out of it and, due to the connections they created with the new aristocrats the crown couldn't touch them carelessly.

"Yes, your grace, she has but I can guarantee you she is not a regular noble lady... She even threatened to kill her sister on the balcony with a broken cup of a champagne glass," Catherine's eyes were sparkling, she loved different things, she loved to see flowers who were out of the ordinary bloom to their full potential and, in her eyes, Ophelia was a black rose waiting to be nurtured. In fact, after yesterday's ball, she had earned a nickname: The Black Rose, courtesy of Lady Catherine of course.

"If you are lying..." Blake couldn't believe her words even though he was well aware that Catherine's words always harbored the ruthless truth. Only a handful of people knew this but Catherine was not an ordinary noble lady, she had hundreds of eyes working for her and thus, she was always aware of everything that was about to happen. Since she is a lady with nothing much to do, she loves stirring up trouble by creating gossips and forcing powerful families to face each other in business confrontations.

"I am not. She is a natural disaster waiting to happen if not tamed properly, however, she can also be a very powerful weapon," she smirked as Blake leaned back on the red couch, frustrated, "Marry her. She would be a great chess piece to use against the nobles and she would definitely please your tastes," he looked at her suspiciously.

"Is that a certainty?" he glared coldly at Catherine. Blake knew that as the crown prince of the kingdom his decisions carried extra weight so they couldn't be taken poorly. Of course, he also didn't want to be tied down yet, he had too many complications to solve.

"I can't say that it is one yet, however, I should know the answer soon," her dark smile gradually becomes bigger and Blake sighs.

"I take I will be the first to know. Now leave," Catherine gets up and bows right before closing the door behind her.

'Ophelia Criswell...' Blake walks towards the big window as the sun rays shined down on him, making his bright red hair reflect them beautifully. He was curious about this woman who had managed to grab three noble houses easily as if they had been bewitched. His logic was conflicted: he wanted to meet this threatening foe, however, he didn't want to start any rumors by doing so.

Uneasiness was something Blake didn't feel on a daily basis but somehow his mind was restless. It was almost as if a new card had been added to the game, an unpredictable and appealing new card, just like the Joker, whose existence itself made the players shiver in fear.

"Let's watch for now," he sits back down and continues his work while trying to seal away his worried mind.

✽ ✼ ✽ ✼ ✽ ✼ ✽

「 Back to the present 」

"Olivia, I need to ask you something," I was being washed by the maids in a warm bath as Olivia prepared my clothes for the day.

"Yes milady?" her kind smile appears almost as if she had completely forgotten about what had happened yesterday during dinner.

"Who told you that my sister was sick?" I was concerned about this. The letter was sealed so unless someone told her about my sister's condition, there was no way for her to know.

"The man who came to deliver it told me. He said that the reason the letter had been sent so hurriedly was because of Lady Amanda's condition," as she finished speaking I felt an uneasiness grow inside of me.

"I see," after leaving the bathtub I get dressed in a long and rather simplistic dark green dress.

As I leave the room I am greeted by Mace who carried a troubled expression.

"Good morning my lord. You look troubled, is something wrong?" I carefully asked without accidentally getting out of line.

"Terrel sent a letter again... He wants you to visit the capital to meet him next week," a shiver ran down my spine as I felt my blood pressure drop.

'Of course, he wants...' I click my tongue inside my mouth and, a couple of seconds after I regain my composure.

"It will be my pleasure to visit him. We shall sort out the details with the Duke then," my lips had been covered with a polite smile just so I could hide my hatred but, even then, I could see Mace's pitiful's eyes as he knew of the hell that awaited me.