Chapter 356 - Already Late!

After Theodore and Azriel left the Palace, King Dragomir and Princess Adeline went to the King's Court to discuss further about the marriage and other things.

Adeline was sitting in front of the King's desk and Dragomir was scribbling something on a piece of paper. After he was done scribbling, he looked at Adeline and said with a huge smile on his face, "I was writing the things that I need to prepare for the wedding day."

He chuckled to himself and confessed, "In my excitement, I agreed for the marriage ceremony to be held so early. Now I will have to rush the preparations; from sending the invitations to stocking the grains."

"Oh..." Dragomir picked up his brush again as if he suddenly remembered something and spoke as he wrote, "First and foremost, I will have to ask the Royal Tailor to prepare the wedding gown for you. You will have to go on a procession after the marriage. So that is the most important thing on the to-do list."

Adeline was looking at her father with a wide smile on her face. She recalled the day when he was so opposed to the idea of her getting married to Theodore. And she looked at him now. Her father looked more eager for the wedding than her.

He looked at Adeline and said, "Adeline, you need to give measurements to the Royal Tailor immediately. And I will prepare a draft for the invitations. The staff will copy it and after I put my seal on it, we will have to send all of our messengers to deliver the invitations."

He rubbed his bearded chin and added, "I wonder if the guests will be able to make it here in time, considering how close the wedding is already."

Adeline chuckled and tried to calm her father down, "Father! You don't have to be so stressed out about the guests not coming. There are still 14 days left before the wedding. The messengers will take three days at the most to deliver the invitations. The guests might have to travel for two or three days in carriage depending on where they live…"

Suddenly, the carefree expression on Adeline's face also changed to that of a panic as she continued, "They should arrive here at least a day or two early so that they can be well-rested for the ceremony. They will just have 6-7 days to prepare themselves for the wedding ceremony."

Adeline pursed her lips and began to tap her fingers on the desk, "Uh-huh, yes, it's already way too late! We have to start everything from today itself. It's better if we send out the invites today, especially to Aberdeen."

She took a deep breath and said in a whisper, "I don't want Nigel and Rhea to miss out on my wedding as well."

Now it was Dragomir's turn to mock his daughter. He laughed and teased her, "Okay, so you agree that we are in a rush, right?"

"Yes, we sure are," Adeline took a deep breath in and asked her father, "Father, will you write the draft of the invitation then? If you need any extra help I will send Bennett here. In the meantime, I will call the Royal Tailor and have my measurements taken."

"Sure, send Bennett in. The more hands the better," Dragomir said as he noted something on his to-do list.

Adeline nodded and rushed out of the room. She went straight to Bennett's room and knocked on the door, "Bennett, I need to talk with you."

Bennett instantly opened the door of his room and was a little surprised to see that the Princess was on his door rather than calling him to her room. "Your Highness, is something wrong?" he asked, a bit worried.

"No, nothing is wrong." Adeline paused for a second and informed him, "Um… you are the first person whom I am telling this to… er… my marriage has been fixed with the Second Prince of Romania. And it's after two weeks. So−"

"Your marriage has been fixed?" Bennett interjected in between and exclaimed. "When? And why so fast?"

Adeline gave a burst of nervous laughter and answered, "It was fixed this afternoon." She gently rubbed her temple and added, "Well, we liked each other and the marriage was kind of… fixed."

There was an awkward silence between the two and after a while, Bennett said with a smile, "Congratulation! Your Highness. I am really happy for you."

Adeline smiled brightly and thanked him.

Bennett then cleared his throat and asked, "Is there anything that I can do for you, Your Highness?"

"Yes." Adeline then finally ordered him, "Will you send someone to call the Royal Tailor here? And His Majesty is going to be extremely busy so I want you to help him with whatever he needs."

"I will be right on my way, Your Highness," Bennett bowed to the Princess and walked away.

Adeline smiled to herself and was about to enter her workroom when suddenly, she heard Edwin's voice, "So, sister, you are getting married?"

Adeline turned around to see that Edwin was leaning on the wall with his arms crossed and a wide grin on his face.

Her cheeks turned red and she nodded her head. "Yes, I'm getting married. Theodore and Dragon Immortal were here to ask my hand."

Edwin sighed when he heard 'Dragon Immortal'. The smile on his face faded when he said, "Dragon Immortal came to see me in my workroom along with His Majesty. He almost scared the life out of me."

He shuddered as if he recalled the incidents of the test. And after taking a deep breath, he spoke cheerfully, "Congratulations, Adeline. I am really happy that my youngest sister is going to get married soon."

"Thank you, brother," Adeline smiled to make her dimples even prominent.

Edwin suddenly looked into Adeline's eyes and proudly said, "Oh! Earlier, our father agreed to make me your Personal Advisor. It seems like he has finally forgiven me for causing all the troubles."

"That's great to hear," Adeline was happy to know that one by one, everything was finally falling into place.

Lillian was finally where she belonged, her marriage was fixed with the love of her life, and the inner circle of her allies was increasing.

One issue that she was unable to resolve yet was the upcoming war. She remembered the letter that her father let her read in the morning.

One part of her wanted to believe that the Vampire King was really interested in maintaining the peace between the two kingdoms.. But another part of her was telling her that the letter was just a lie and something worse was coming her way.