Mate of the Fallen Alpha Prince

Chapter Fifteen - Suspicions

The tension that they had in their eyes intensified after they stared at each other's eyes. Venus didn’t back down, so it was Marie who averted her gaze before smiling.

“Of course! Were childhood friends, remember?” Marie beamed, making her stop before agreeing with her.

“Right, he must like to open up to you compared to his wife, or maybe because someone was always there to nag him first?” Venus massaged her chin.

“Nag him first? I don’t understand, what are you talking about, my princess?” The duchess tilted her head.

“Oh you know, someone that might have feelings towards my husband,” Venus pretended to be wondering while tilting her head.

She could see from afar that Marie was sweating profusely on the forehead, so the fake cough of Josette captured everyone’s attention.

“I-I think things are getting hot in here,” Josette nervously laughed, making Victoria agree with her.

“Right, right! We should just talk about the future events that are coming soon. What kind of gowns and dresses are you planning to wear?” Victoria asked everyone.

Venus didn’t say anything unless someone asked her a question. The rest of the afternoon felt like she was about to get sick, so she excused herself early.

“Why leave so soon?” Josette pouted while faking a cry, so she thought that she was the funniest princess in the land of Flora.

“I have matters to attend to. I’ll make it up to everyone by conducting a tea party next time,” Venus playfully winked, making everyone cheer.

“Oh! I’m excited for that to happen! Rose is one of the kingdoms that have breath-taking interior designs,” Victoria gracefully clapped her hands.

“You flatter us so much,” Venus almost pouted, making everyone chuckle as she decided to stand up.

“Oh, Princess Venus, would you like some extra hot tea before you leave?” Princess Kiera asked, so she thought it wouldn’t be bad to have a last one.

“Alright, you convinced me to drink,” Venus chuckled before looking at Marie, who harshly grabbed that pot from Princess Kiera.

“Let me pour yours instead, Princess Venus,” Marie happily suggested, and walked around the table.

When she was near, it was as if Venus anticipated that something bad would happen when she stood up and immediately went to the side when Marie purposely tripped herself over.

A loud crashing of the porcelain pot was to be heard, making every princess gasp, including their lady-in-waiting, when they heard something.

The hot water from the pot was still steaming even if it was already on the ground. Venus thought that if that water hit her, it would be burning right now.

“A-Ah, oh my goodness, I’m so sorry is anyone hurt?” Marie panicked and decided to check on her.

“Princess Venus, are you hurt?” Marie looked like she was about to cry, but she couldn't help but think it was just an act.

Venus just shook her head before squeezing her hands, “You were lucky that the floor was the only one that got hurt,”

She fooled around to ease the tension in the air, making some of them anxiously shake their heads, “You worried us so much, Princess Marie, what will happen if Princess Venus got hurt?” Victoria raised her tone.

“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be this clumsy,” Marie lowered her head, so everyone just shook their heads in disbelief.

“Burns are not that easy to lose as a scar, so be extra cautious,” Josette added before crossing her arms against her chest.

Venus looked at everyone and noticed that they were loathing her for what just happened, “Everyone, I’m alright, no one got hurt, give her some break, she’s probably feeling all tense right now,”

She sighed in relief when everyone started to calm down as Hanna came to approach her, “Milady, are you alright?” She sounded worried.

“I’m alright,” Venus sighed before looking at Marie, who still had her head lowered even though some of the princesses had already left.

“Marie, what happened back there isn’t anyone’s fault, okay?” Venus bit her lower lip when she didn’t get any answers.

“I don’t need your reassurance, thank you for coming here today,” After Marie said those words, she left.

Venus thought that she was starting to act strangely and she was bothered by it. She changed a lot of things already, so she wasn’t sure what would happen next.

“Milady? Can you hear me?” Hanna tapped her shoulders, pulling her back from reality as she sighed.

“Y-Yes, thank you for worrying about me as well, Hanna,” She beamed before she decided to invite her home.

A lot of princesses waved her goodbye happily. All of them decided to go home as well, so she felt a little bad for the hosts of the party since they didn’t get to play any games.

Marie still saw them all off even though it was obvious on her face that she was bothered about something.

“Marie! Can you come here so we could talk?” Venus raised his tone to call her, so she just looked at her intently before turning her back to her.

“I deeply apologize, Princess Venus, I feel bad just even speaking to you right now, I wish you farewell,” After Marie said those words, she left.

Hanna wondered for a moment why she was acting like that, “Did you two quarrel somewhere, milady?” She curiously asked.

“I’m certain that we didn’t, she must’ve felt bad about the spilled hot tea,” Venus just sighed because she was anxious.

She couldn't shake the uneasy feeling forming inside of her until they arrived at her kingdom where Arthur was waiting for her at the main entrance.

“Prince Arthur, you’re here,” Venus sounded surprised when he was the one who opened the door for himself.

“Well, I just have some good news,” He beamed but stopped when he noticed something about her aura.

She was feeling a little down and tired, but she was trying her best to hide it from him after he helped her get down from the carriage.

“I’ll go get your bath ready, milady,” Hanna mysteriously smiled before she left, so she thought it was a little strange to see her like that.

“Are you alright? You seemed to be upset about something, do you want us to talk about it?” Arthur asked, which got her attention, so she shook her head.

“N-No, everything’s fine, it’s just that the tea party didn’t go well as expected,” Venus just gave him a small smile.

“And is it because of you?” Arthur was persistent, so she amusingly shook her head before chuckling.

“N-No, the host almost got into an accident,” Venus started narrating what happened there a while ago, so he wondered for a moment.

“Don’t you think that was almost on purpose?” What he said astounded her for a moment, so she continued listening to him.

“I-I don’t know, maybe she really tripped over, why would you think that?” Venus curiously asked, so he just sighed.

“I don’t know it’s just that for me, she sounded like she almost did that on purpose, how big was your table?” Arthur curiously asked.

“Hm, the table was about this big,” Venus created a shape with her hands, so he shook his head disappointedly.

“She did that on purpose, is she mad at you or something?” Arthur worriedly asked because if something did happen to her, he doesn’t know what he’ll do.

Just thinking that she got into danger while he wasn’t watching was enough to make his wolf on the inside furious.

“She can reach your cup by pouring the cup to the other side, she doesn't have to come to you, it’s part of the etiquette,” He added.

Venus thought it made sense, plus she didn’t know what came over her back there when she suddenly stood up like her body knew something bad was about to happen.

She clutched her chest before breathing heavily. Venus started to get nervous that lately, she was just being carefree.

It’s not the right time to relax because any time or day could be her death, she still has to survive this second chance.

“You’re tearing up, are you sure that you’re alright?” Arthur pointed out while wiping her cheeks, so she backed away from him before turning her back to him.

“I-I don’t know,” She sniffed, “I apologize, this is just too embarrassing,” Venus chuckled embarrassingly.

Arthur just stared at her intently before dragging her somewhere, “Where are you taking me, Prince Arthur?” She curiously asked while wiping her tears.

He didn’t answer her until they arrived at the royal gardens where numerous colorful flowers were in full bloom.

That view somehow calmed her spirits down before she decided to clutch her chest, “Sorry, this is really embarrassing, I just can’t help but tear up,”

Arthur just looked at her before shaking his head, “You can take your time then we’ll talk after,”

It was silent, and the only thing they could hear was the faint blow of the winds coming from the slightly dimmed skies.

Venus immediately cheered up after being around that place, it was like it took all of her worries away, which made her tear up once more.

Arthur noticed that, so he panicked before he immediately approached her to cup her cheeks, “M-Milady, you’re crying again,”

She cried uncontrollably when he asked, so he just took out his handkerchief and waited for her to calm down.

He was disappointed in himself that he couldn’t do anything aside from watching her being in that state. She looked like she was in deep pain.

It didn’t take her that long to compose herself as she sniffed, “I-I’m sorry, I really can’t help it,” Her voice cracked.

“I-It must be exhausting to see me like this, I'm really sorry,” Venus said, averting her gaze and wiping some of her tears from her cheeks.

“There’s nothing to be sorry about, milady,” Arthur firmly said before blowing out some air out of his mouth.

“Would you like to talk about it? I don’t want you burdening that all alone, it might be too heavy for you,” He reassured her impatiently.

He wanted to know what was bothering her. Arthur doesn’t like to see her in this kind of state again, so he was dedicated to helping her.

She was a princess that deserves so much happiness so he will do anything in his power to cheer her up no matter what happens.

Venus looked at him intently, “I don’t think you’ll believe me or even look at me the same way if I tell you,”

Arthur was confused at what she was trying to say but he shook his head, “Try me, my princess,”

She just exhaled a lungful of air, shifting her gaze at the flowers before them, “Do you believe in reincarnation?”

Arthur squinted his eyes before slowly nodding his head, “I only heard it from the books that I’ve read,”

“Do you believe in it?” Venus asked persistently because she didn’t hear the answer she would like to hear.

“Our world is full of mysteries, a lot of things aren’t still solved, so I guess I could believe in reincarnation,” He answered her.

Venus was just silent as she started fidgeting on her fingers before she rested them on her lap, “I don’t want you to look at me differently, are you sure you want to hear my thoughts?”

Arthur wondered why she looked so serious, it worried him for a moment but he wanted to hear more from her.

“I-I’m also not comfortable about sharing all of it, would it be okay if I tell you some of the brief and important parts?” She curiously asked.

She doesn’t know what came over her, but she knew that she could trust him in keeping her secrets, especially about the fact that she was reincarnated back to change her fate.

Venus just stared at him intently, “What if I tell you that I already died before and just came back here to change my fate?”

What she said made his eyes widen while he looked at her intently. Arthur knew it was a serious question, so he didn't know what to say because of his surprise.

To be continued...