Three days later...

"Miss! Have you heard the news?" Marie jumped with excitement as she pulled open the curtains.

"Marie, I have just woken up. Tell me what happened..." Angelina, who was wearing her nightgown, sat up and rubbed her tired eyes.

"Miss, the foreign princess from the kingdom of Lina, who is leading the envoys, has arrived and it's said that her highness will stay here for the rest of her visit!" Marie started with a serious but laughable expression.

"She's staying here? My... It will be very troublesome..." Angelina sighed.

*************

"Princess Cecilia, rumors of her stubborn and hardheaded personality spread throughout the empire... I wonder what gave her the bravery to come here..." Evelina chuckled while Lia brushed her hair.

"Many have guessed that the princess is not here to merely lead the envoys. Some say she's an offering to his majesty the Emperor by the Lina kingdom." Lia said with eyes full of ridicule.

"An offering? Pfft... Hahahaha! How stupid is the Lina kingdom? Offering a princess to be his Majesty's new concubine when their other princess is the one who caused all this trouble in the first place! Hahah!" Evelina laughed as she mocked.

"They are truly desperate..." Lia joined Evelina in mocking the Lina Kingdom.

"Oh this will be interesting... I heard Princess Cecilia isn't a very obedient and quiet lady. I'm expecting quite the show..." Evelina sneered excitingly.

*************

"Ugh... I don't like the princess. I've met her and she's very rude!" Rienne complained.

"Perhaps that's because you're rude to her as well." Arianna retorted with a cold and indifferent expression.

"H-hey! That... Yeah you're right..." Rienne wanted to defend herself at first but she soon realized Arianna was most probably right...

"I'm always right." Arianna sipped her tea with a noble expression.

"... Okay don't let your head get too big." Rienne scoffed.

**************

That mansion was in a ruckus. After all, a foreign princess will be staying! All the servants were put to work. They all gave their best efforts to make sure the mansion was spotless.

Angelina assumed that the Emperor ordered the envoys to stay at the Skyler estate for the reason that he didn't fully trust them. But there is a possibility that the Empress is the one who persuaded the Emperor to make the decision.

The Skyler family waited for the envoys in the lobby. It took fifteen minutes for the carriages of the envoys to arrive.

The Skyler family walked out to greet them.

The first to step off the main carriage was a middle aged man. Then a beautiful young woman stepped out while holding the man's hand for support. After them, the doors of the other carriages opened and the servants came out, carrying luggage.

Usually, the duke should be the first to offer words of greetings. But this time it's different. The envoys are the ones who will be apologizing and compensating the imperial family, there was no need for the duke to lower and humble himself.

"Greetings to the noble Skyler family." The middle aged man bowed while the young lady beside him gave a light curtsy. "I am count Waltster and this is our kingdom's princess, princess Cecilia Brionna Lina."

"It's a pleasure to meet you. Do come inside." The duke gestured for them to enter.

Once inside the mansion, the duke and count Waltster exchanged a few words before retreating to a separate room with two servants and Alex.

"Welcome your highness, I hope you will enjoy your stay here. These are my daughters." The duchess gave princess Cecilia a friendly smile and gestured for her daughters to step forward.

"We are honored to meet your highness." Evelina and Angelina curtsied together in a graceful manner.

"Hmph." Princess Cecilia nodded but her eyes were wandering elsewhere.

"...." Both Evelina and Angelina could not help but feel annoyed. The duchess left shortly after and left the princess to her daughters. As soon as she left, the princess started acting much more boldly and carelessly.

"Hmm..." Princess Cecilia looked around, "such a shabby place..." The foreign princess laughed in ridicule.

"You..." Evelina's eyes twitched with suppressed anger.

"You're the famous lady Evelina, correct?" Princess Cecilia observed Evelina from head to toe in a judgemental manner, "pfft... I expected you to be much prettier."

Usually Angelina would be happy seeing Evelina so frustrated, but...

"And this must be lady Angelina, I'm puzzled. They described you as an elegant and beautiful young woman... But your appearance is as dull as a servant." Princess Cecilia continued to mock and insult the top two beauties for the empire.

A trace of disgust and hatred could be seen in princess Cecilia's eyes when she faced Angelina. It was clear to one that she harbored hostility towards Angelina for she was the one who exposed the second imperial concubine's scheme.

The two irritated sisters clenched their teeth and led the rude princess to the drawing room.

************

It was supposed to be a peaceful and calm tea session. But the bold princess made it impossible. She went on to use every existing insult in the book to express her dislike towards the two sisters.

"Lady Evelina, what kind of dress are you wearing?! It's so plain! You're the daughter of a duke, not a baron! If her grace didn't introduce you to me, I would've thought you were some servant."

"Your silver hair... It looks as if you merely bathed it in powder! Ugh... I can't imagine how you can bear to look into a mirror!"

Really... Angelina really wanted to slap this princess and drag her by the hair! But that is unfit for a lady... So there's only one way...

"I'm saddened knowing that your highness thinks that way. Fortunately, I don't bathe my hair in powder. But if I did... Well, isn't it better than bathing it in mud?" Angelina held her teacup with the elegance of a noble lady and muttered in a gentle tone.

"You!" Princess Cecilia deepened her frown. Everyone else would most likely shrug Angelina's words off and think it held no hidden meaning, but she knew Angelina was deliberately humiliating her!

A few months ago, during an event held in the Lina kingdom, princess Cecilia fell off a horse and landed on a wet pile of mud. News of this spread. Princess Cecilia was embarrassed and anyone who would bring that topic up in the Lina kingdom would be severely punished.

"Your highness? Did I say something wrong?" Angelina feigned ignorance.

"Don't play dumb..." Cecilia gnashed her teeth while Angelina smiled sweetly.

"I apologize, princess. I didn't know you would dislike my dress." Evelina put on a sorry expression and widened her eyes as if shocked.

"Yes, it is ugly!" Cecilia picked up her teacup and raised her head arrogantly.

"But I'm quite fond of dressing like this... I don't want to be seen as those ladies who wear expensive and obnoxious gowns just to get attention. Isn't humbling yourself better than acting like you own everything?" Evelina squinted her eyes and smiled sinisterly.

Then she glanced to her side and made eye contact with Angelina, as if they had a tacit understanding. It looks like they've made a temporary truce..

"You little wench! I'm a princess and you dare disrespect me!?" Cecilia stood up angrily. It was clear to Cecilia that Evelina was targeting her in those words. Evelina's eyes even stared at her bright red gown! This was obvious!

"Your highness... Did I offend you in any way? How could you say such a thing to me?" Evelina looked at her with teary eyes, looking very pitiful.

Angelina must admitEvelina is quite good at acting pitiful...

"Your highness seems very agitated. We kindly let you stay in our home and this is how you treat us?" Angelina rose to her feet and frowned. From her tone, one would assume that Cecilia had wronged the two sisters.

"You're all playing with me! I know you're doing this purposely!" Cecilia glared at Angelina hatefully before leaving the room in frustration. Angelina and Evelina both left shortly after.

Outside, Evelina approached Angelina and muttered quietly, "It's truly such a shame that things are like this... If we weren't in this situation... I would love to be friends with you, Lilith."

"Tsk..." Angelina rolled her eyes

"We go well together Lilith... If only that didn't happen..." Evelina ignored Angelina's action and kept on smiling.

"Who would want to be friends with you? Though I admit you're clever... You're a horrible person." Angelina sneered.

"Oh Lilith, don't always name me as the bad guy. I know that deep down in your heart, you're no better than me. You're a selfish, egotistical, manipulative, and irritable liar. " Evelina pointed at Angelina's chest and smirked.

"...." Angelina's face turned ashen as she pushed Evelina's hand away. She turned away, letting Evelina face her back and glared at her. "I may not be a completely good person, but at least I'm not a murderous maniac!"

With that Angelina stormed off.

Evelina wore a twisted smile as she watched Angelina's figure walk further and further away.

"Keep pretending, sister. Keep pretending…"