Chapter 126 - Charmed

Luciana was busy bickering with Lucian until she noticed the man who was approaching the dining table. From that very moment, she couldn't take her eyes off him. 

As the King introduced them, she deduced that this man should be none other than the infamous Prince of Visteria, Aleister Daven. It was rumored that he was born with extraordinary powers that none of the other royalties possessed but the ordinary people who have never witnessed his powers speculated that he was a good-for-nothing Prince.

They gossiped that to save themselves from humiliation, the royal family brought it up as a cover-up. 

A good-for-nothing? Hah, those fools! Her instinct has never been wrong. There was something about this man that made him extraordinary. 

But at this point, she was not that interested in his powers. She was more interested in him. One look at him and she could not help but be charmed. 

'How perfect,' she glanced at him in a daze, 'I want him.' 

'Clang' 

Esme absent-mindedly stabbed her fork on her plate, instead of the dessert which made a loud noise, earning her the attention from everyone on the dining table. 

''What happened, Esme?" Duchess Flora asked with a worried expression appeared on her face. 

Esme could feel her Aunt's glare on her. The woman must be chastising her for forgetting her manners. 

She swiftly avoided Adrian's worried gaze and smiled awkwardly at Duchess Flora, ''The food looks delicious and I am a bit hungry. So, I got impatient. Apologies.'' 

''You don't need to apologize,'' King Alexander shook his head as he glanced at his adorable soon-to-be daughter-in-law. If it was in his hands, he would have her married to his son today itself.

Duchess Flora and Duke Maverick exchanged glances before they smiled at her, ''Brother is right. Let us start eating,'' the latter said. 

Esme nodded at them and tilted her head to the side, her gaze landed back on Luciana who seemed to be unfazed by the ruckus around her as she focused her constant gaze on Aleister. 

She glanced at Aleister who was looking into the distance. Earlier this day, Leo disappeared in that direction. Was he looking for Leo? 

Her nerves loosened and she slowly slumped back on the chair. She was bewildered about why she felt so edgy and frustrated earlier. Did she perhaps...? 

Suddenly, her eyes widened in horror and she glanced at Aleister before shaking her head and breaking the trail of her thoughts. 

''Do you not like her?" came a whisper beside her ear just when she was trying to focus on her food. 

Esme tilted her head to the side only to find her face dangerously closer to Aleister's,

''I don't know her. Is there any reason for me to dislike her?" she whispered beside his ear. The question seemed to be more for himself than for him. 

''How am I supposed to know it? I saw you glaring at her.'' 

''Hmm... You saw it wrong then,'' she shrugged, inwardly surprised that he noticed everything even though she assumed that he was not paying attention to what was going on. 

As expected, this man never missed any details. 

Little did she know he didn't miss any details especially if the matter involved her.

The others around the table could not help but look at the couple. 

''I just want to bring forward the marriage plans,'' Duchess Flora sighed and glanced at Marlene with a dreamy look on her face, ''Look at them, they are so in love.'' 

Marlene nodded, ''They are.''

Adrian rolled his eyes. 

Esme could hear those whispers loud and clear quickly distanced herself from Aleister, suddenly aware of their intimate position. The way they were whispering into each other's ears made them look like lovers for real. 

Aleister flashed an innocent smile at her. 

'Hmph,' Esme turned her face to the side.

She noticed that King Elias was not present during the breakfast. He must be working in his room. She concluded. 

And there were no signs of Arlan as well. Perhaps, he is resting after his hectic training with the soldiers. 

Esme sighed and shifted her attention to the food. 

...

''So about the murders in the kingdom, Marcus has already found the culprit,'' The King announced as he glanced at the selected royals who were inside the courtroom along with a few ministers. 

Amongst the royals, there were the Duke and Duchess, Aleister and Esme. Rest, there were a few ministers in the court along with Marcus Norwell and his two children, Lucian and Luciana. 

Even though women were not forbidden from entering the courtroom in Visteria, Esme's presence was frowned upon by the ministers. 

Because, first of all, there was no official announcement yet about Esme's real identity. So, like the guards who linked Esme and Arlan and said all disgusting things, the ministers also looked down on her because they thought she had no background and she merely relied on her beauty to seduce the Prince. 

Esme could hear them talking about her but she did not frown or show any expression on her face. 

Strangely, Aleister sensed something even without her saying anything, ''Is there something wrong?" He tucked her hair behind her ear before whispering. 

''No. Sit straight,'' Esme said with a stiff smile. She could feel those ministers mincing her with their sharp gazes. 

One of the ministers stood up and glanced at Marcus Norwell with a hesitant yet suspicious gaze. He hesitated for quite some time until the King motioned for him to speak. 

The old minister sighed, ''Sir Norwell and his family arrived at Visteria today so how is it possible for him to find the culprit so fast?" 

Unlike what he expected, the Norwell family had calm expressions on their faces even though the minister's words were like raising a finger at the credibility of their investigation. 

The minister wiped the cold sweat off his face and glanced at the King.

Before the King could open his mouth, Lucian Norwell stepped forward, ''I'd like to speak, Your Majesty.''

King Alexander motioned for him to start speaking. 

Lucian glanced at the minister with an aloof gaze, ''We arrived in Visteria yesterday and it was Father's wish to keep it low to not alert the culprit. Who would have known he would have fingers pointed at him for his thoughtfulness instead?"