Rebirth Of The Witch Queen

Chapter 9 - Good Opportunity

Adeline took a sip from her tea, trying to focus on her book without much success. The weather had grown warmer, so she had decided to take advantage of that and spend her early afternoon in the garden instead of pacing nervously in her room.

Three days had passed since Kaden’s proposal and now he was back in the house, talking privately with Lester in his office. There was no reason to be nervous, she had managed to convince Lester this was what she wanted, and she even saw the rejection letter he wrote to the crown prince. Yet, for some reason, her heart refused to settle, making her head throb from the moment Kaden arrived.

Nothing could go wrong, right? Kaden could act properly, so she was sure he wouldn’t mess up the last step. Then why did she feel the same way she felt when it was the crown prince talking with Lester? This was unsettling.

The porcelain cup chattered as its bottom hit the plate, and Adeline flinched, returning to reality. She put the cup down carefully, closing the book and glancing at Millie, who was looking sideways, towards the house. Adeline followed her gaze curiously, her eyes landing on the person that was striding purposefully towards them. It took her only a second to recognize him - the tall, well-built figure, the well-fitting suit and dark hair shining under the bright sun… she had grown oddly accustomed to them.

When he was close enough to see his face, he found him smiling and relief flooded her body. That smile probably meant it all went well.

Adeline got to her feet to greet him, taking his extended hand and allowing him to kiss it. She didn’t have to since there was no one around but Millie, who already knew the truth about their relationship. He always looked so happy when he touched her, though. he decided that giving him those small wins was better than him pushing for more.

“All went well?” She asked, pulling her hand away. He reluctantly let go, glancing at the table. “Would you like to join me for a cup of tea?”

“I’d love to.” He replied as if he had been waiting for her invitation. They both sat down and Millie immediately sprung to action, bringing a second cup and pouring some of the hot, delicious-smelling liquid in it. “It all went well, as expected. We went over the marriage contract and let me tell you, your Guardian really can negotiate. Unlike you.” Kaden added, adding a couple of spoons of sugar and stirring it before looking at her with his usual smirk. “It almost felt like he was ready to add a clause where we can’t touch at all in public. He didn’t look particularly happy about giving away his precious ward, but he looked somewhat resolved to do it. You must have really convinced him how much you love me. I’m touched.”

“I did,” Adeline said, giving him a pleased smile. “He even said that he believes in my feelings for you while he doubts your sincerity. He said he thinks you have an ulterior motive and your love is not true.”

Kaden raised an eyebrow, his smirk widening. Adeline almost choked on her tea when a sudden wave of shivers ran down her back and the feeling that she had just slipped into deeper waters dawned on her.

“Well then, I’ll really have to up my game. I can’t have people saying that I am not absolutely, desperately, completely in love with you.” She hadn’t realized when he had taken her hand, but as his lips brushed against her knuckles, she felt her face heat up. His pleased look told her he noticed too. Adeline pulled her hand from his grip and he picked up his cup, leaning back in his chair. “Anyway, the engagement party will be held two weeks from now. We have prepared all the necessary documents to be submitted to the palace.”

“Alright. Will it be held here?” She asked. Knowing Lester, he probably proposed it so he could keep control over the guest list and not overwhelm her. She would have suggested the same, but as she looked at Kaden, he was shaking his head.

“No, it will be held at the palace.” He replied, and Adeline’s eyes widened. “We are both sole heirs of our households and we hold two of the highest titles after the king. We can’t afford to keep things under wraps. Besides, we need as many people as possible to attend. And we need to convince them we truly are in love. For both of our sakes.” He set the cup down, leaning his elbows on the table and locking his eyes on her. “You just rejected the crown prince. You need one hell of a good reason for that or he might take it as an offense. And what better reason than true love? While technically marrying him would have been a more advantageous match for you, people would understand why you chose someone with a lower position if love and feelings are involved.”

“That… makes sense.” She nodded and the smirk returned to Kaden’s lips.

“Besides, knowing Shayde, he probably won’t give up even after our engagement is announced. Engagements can be broken easily, so until we are married, you’re not safe from his attention. So don’t meet with him privately and stay close to me during the engagement party.”

“Got it.” Adeline nodded. She had no intention of meeting Shayde, privately or otherwise. And if all that was needed was to pretend to be besotted with Kaden, then she could do it. She had to. She was already getting used to him touching her and kissing her hand and she had convinced Lester. It would be easier to convince strangers.

Millie cleared her throat, and as Adeline looked at her, the maid pointed towards the house. Both Adeline and Kaden looked towards the mansion as the main butler made his way towards them, stopping a few steps away from the table and bowing respectfully.

“Please excuse my interruption,” he said in his low, raspy voice, “but your guests have arrived. I have invited them into one of the drawing rooms. The salon is ready as well, but I figured you’d like to lead them there as usual.”

“Oh, god, I totally forgot about that.” Adeline gasped, covering her mouth. She pushed her chair back, getting to her feet, and straightening her skirts. At least she had decided to wear one of her prettier dresses and even let Millie fix her hair so she didn’t have to embarrass herself in front of them - she didn’t have time to change now and making them wait any longer would be rude.

Her eyes switched to Kaden, who was watching her with a question in his eyes.

“Erm, Du…” she started, glancing towards the butler. “Kaden, I’m sorry I’ll have to cut our time short, but I have a prior engagement to attend to. I’ll make it up to you.” At the sound of his name, he perked up, and by the time she finished speaking, he was smirking, as he had just been told some very good news. He slowly rose to his feet, picking up his jacket before looking back at her.

“It’s alright, darling, I have a lot to arrange for our engagement, so I have to go too. I’ll walk you, it would be rude of me not to say hello to your friends. Especially since soon you’ll be meeting them in our home.”

Adeline opened her mouth to say that wasn’t necessary, but the look in his eyes stopped her. How could he say such things so calmly? He was already acting like they were married and so close they even called each other ‘darling’. Just a second ago she barely called his name without fumbling on it and he was speaking so casually, it was annoying.

“Sure,” she said finally, taking his extended hand almost by instinct now. The butler took the lead, walking slow enough for Adeline to be able to follow, but fast enough to give them a respectful distance. When they were almost at the house, she squeezed Kaden’s hand, making him look at her. “Do you really have to do this? That’s enough pretending for one day.”

“This a good opportunity to spread rumors of our passionate love.” He said with a smile, glancing towards the butler before lowering his voice and leaning down so she could hear him. She could feel his breath brushing her face and a shiver ran down her spine as it tickled her ear. “What better way to spread the word than a group of young, impressionable women who like to gossip?”

“Hey!” Adeline said, tilting away from him and trying to ignore the weird sensation that lingered in her body from his closeness. “I am one of those women. And I don’t gossip.”

“Well, you are special, of course.” Kaden laughed, a strange spark appearing in his eyes. “Still, we have to start from somewhere and this is good enough.”

“If you kiss me in front of them, I will slap you.” She warned him and he chuckled, looking back at the mansion just as they reached the stairs leading towards the wide-open back door. They climbed up to join the butler, who was waiting by the door, then stepped inside into the much cooler corridors. The butler led them to one of the smaller rooms closer to the salon where they usually had their gatherings, and as they stepped in, the five women inside all turned to look at them.

Surprise overtook all of the expressions and they quickly got to their feet, greeting the two of them in turn. Adeline allowed himself a quick look at Kaden, only to realize with surprise how much his expression had changed. He was still smiling but it was a cold, reserved smile and his whole stance was a bit stiff, almost like he was uncomfortable.

“Greetings, ladies,” he said in a voice Adeline hadn’t heard before. Every time he talked with her he was laughing and smiling like he was having a good time. When he was talking with Lester, he looked all proper and respectful, but the way he held himself now was almost cold and distant. “Please forgive me for making your hostess late. I lost track of time and she is too sweet to ask me to leave.”

“Ah, it’s alright. No need to apologize, Your Grace.” They all said one after another, some with an uncomfortable expression, some staring like Kaden was an angel who had come down from the heavens.

“Thank you for your understanding.” He smiled at them, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes again. He looked at Adeline who was still studying him, and his smile turned to the familiar one, the coldness and fakeness dispersing from his face. “I’ll take my leave now, darling. Please have a good time.” He caught her hand with both of his, kissing it gently without breaking eye contact the whole time. Adeline was still staring when he let go of her hand and turned to the others. “Good day, ladies.”

He moved swiftly past Adeline and exited the room, and for a moment she could hear him talking to the butler before their voices died down along with their footsteps. By the time she turned to face her friends, they had surrounded her with excited expressions, curiosity oozing out of them.

“So it’s true?” Valerie asked in a low, trembling voice. All of the others were Marquis’s daughters Adeline’s family had approved of and most were around Adeline’s age, so they had basically grown up together. When Adeline had become queen, most of those friendships had become twisted even more with those same girls trying to use their connection to her to gain this or that. Only Valerie had stayed the same, at least when they were alone. But she passed away a few months after Adeline’s marriage from some strange illness that had spread through the capital and taken countless lives.

It was odd to be among them after all that time, after knowing what they would become in the future. Adeline was no longer comfortable among them, but she had to keep doing what she was doing before for appearance’s sake. At least until she married Kaden and then she could find a reason to break those connections.

“You’re really getting married to Duke Knox?”

“You two looked so cute together!”

“Did you see how he kissed her hand? You’re already so close, I’m so envious!”

“Did you really turn down the crown prince for him?”

“It must be true love!”

Adeline’s eyes dashed from one face to another while they kept shooting questions at her, not even waiting for her to answer. She opened her mouth, but it was almost like they had forgotten she was even there. Their conversation took a turn of their own and soon they were talking about themselves, ignoring her completely - some while they even held her hands.

“I’ve never seen him touch anyone before, let alone kiss their hand!” Brenna, a stout, short girl with muddy brown hair said as she pushed a string of hair behind her ear. “Everybody says he is the worst germaphobe there is! He even wears gloves in the summer!”

“I heard it’s because he was cursed by a witch when he was younger.” Katrin, a tall, willowy girl, said in a hushed voice, her shoulders slouching as if she was afraid of the bare mention of the rumor. “He can’t touch anyone or he’d turn them to dust.”

“Well, that’s obviously not true.” Brenna laughed. “He just kissed her hand, and she is still here, isn’t she?” Brenna turned to Adeline as if just now realizing she was still there and gave her a sheepish smile.

“Alright, can you all stop? You’re making her uncomfortable with your nonsense.” Valerie raised her voice, giving them a stern look. “We came here to have fun and have a book reading, not to gossip like some commoners who have nothing better to do.”

“We’re sorry, Valerie. Forgive us, Adeline.” They all started saying one over another, their expressions turning sweet and innocent. Adeline swallowed the bitterness in her mouth, glancing towards Valerie, who gave her an encouraging smile.

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Adeline said. “Let’s go to the salon. I had the servants prepare your favorite dishes, and I even got my hands on a book I think you’ll all love.”

Their faces brightened at the news and Adeline turned her back on them, leading them out of the drawing-room and towards the big salon where they usually held most of their social gatherings. She let her smile drop while they walked, tuning out their excited voices as they trailed behind her.