183 2.2.8: Marriage Contract I

"Your Highness, how about we visit the garden?" Hearing her request, the wine that was raised to his lips froze. His royal blue eyes turned in her direction, looking for any signs of mischief. When he did not find any, he realized that she wasn't kidding.

"Miss Warrington, I'm sure you're just jesting because you aren't really planning to leave your own debutant party and the guests to go visit the garden for leisure?" When he worded it like she was ditching her own birthday party and the most important party of entering adulthood, she blushed. He found the rosy hue that was rapidly spreading all over her face, cute, and like a bunny.

She shook her red and ignored the warmth in her face. "My...Mother can handle it." He noticed the hesitation when she called the Duchess of Warrington her 'mother' but didn't make a comment. He knew that it wasn't his business and that there was obviously deeper things happening behind doors, no matter how much the Duchess 'adored' her daughter, she wasn't of her blood and an illegitimate child. "And no debutant party can compare to time with Your Highness." Hearing that part, the top of his ears went red like her face, but luckily, she couldn't see it because his hair covered them.

He couldn't understand her actions.

All through the night, she proved his initial idea that she was infatuated with him wrong, and she showed no indication of harboring any feelings for him. But just like his first thought, he couldn't be sure that she wasn't acting. After all, he was requested to personally be her escort. But the more that he thought about it, the more that he couldn't see the noble young lady who had wanted him to personally escort her based off of what she had shown him that night.

"Alright." Finally, he agreed. He was curious on why she was dragging him to the garden in the first place. What did the garden hold for her to want to evade her own debutant party?

She inhaled sharply and turned to the Duchess that was seated not too far from them. Adriel noticed that the usually cold Duchess was ecstatic and didn't resemble a cold hearted woman that many feared. She began to mouth words and oddly, the Duchess understood each and every one of them. Even though he was at her side, he couldn't understand everything she was mouthing but understood the gist of it. She was asking for permission to leave to go to the garden.

He expected for the strict Duchess to disagree, but she agreed immediately. The quickness in her agreement contradicted her usual personality and he wondered what she was planning. Once Xiao Yunhua finished asking for permission, she nodded and it felt like a huge burden was released from her shoulders.

The nobles didn't doubt her because for such an expensive party, the person it was being hosted for would never leave of their accord. Furthermore, it was a debutant party, one of the most important parties in the lifetime. Adding on with how small and delicate Violetta appeared, it helped to justify that she really could fall sick with just the smallest error.

The crown prince realized that what she was doing was the right thing. She couldn't say it outright that they were going to the garden to save their reputation, particularly his as a whole family member. Not only would this excuse her absence, but it would allow him to leave too now that he didn't need escort her.

He watched Violetta leave quickly. Before she left, she whispered that she would leave a servant to guide him to the garden, where she would be waiting for him. He felt like they were on a secret rendezvous. Him, along with everyone else, watched her creme-colored figure getting smaller and smaller until the entrance closed. Everyone else included the person that she had been eyeing earlier, the noble and knight. As much as Adriel wanted to turn to him, he didn't because he still had the dignity of a future king.

He drank another cup of wine until he realized that he had stalled enough and her small figure was still waiting for him in the midst of flowers. He stood up, causing the other nobles that were seated to stand up. "Since the main lady of the party and the one I was escorting isn't here, I believe it is time for me to get going."

"But Your Highness, it's too soon!" One of the nobles said flatteringly.

"Yes, your charming presence is worth anything!" Another noble added.

"Please, stay a bit longer." The nobles with their insincere words of cajolery began to annoy Adriel but he kept his cool and turned to the Duke and Duchess.

"The party was lovely but I believe that it's time for me to head off because I have many things to do. Thank you for the invitation."

The Duchess smiled pleasantly, "No, many thanks to Your Highness for enduring my foolish daughter. I hope that she wasn't too much of a nuisance." Although her words were parting, her eyes relayed a different message. She was still steering him towards the garden, reminding him that someone was waiting for him.

After a couple of more words exchanged for formalities, the crown prince bid the rest of the nobles adieu and stepped out of the main room. Many of the nobles has decided to stay despite the lack of presence of the main debutant socialite and the crown prince, purely because debutant parties were very extravagant—especially the ones held for high nobility like the Duke—and fun. Everything about these extravagant parties were enjoyable to the nobles who wanted nothing more than to indulge in their gluttony.

Even though he had told them he was going to leave but in reality, go to the garden, he technically didn't lie since he didn't think the business in the garden would take long. He was going to ask what she wanted and then quickly leave. He really did have many things to do, so it wasn't just an excuse.

Once he was outside of the main room, he noticed that a servant was waiting for him. The servant was distracted and was startled when she noticed him a few minutes later, bowing for forgiveness for momentarily neglecting him. He waved it off and she told him that she would guide him to where the garden was.

He nodded and began to follow her.

The path to the garden was longer than he had thought. Although the Warrington mansion wasn't as big as the castle, it was still a remarkable size that was worthy of belonging to a duke. The walk to the garden had taken him many steps and he presumed about twenty minutes before he began to see it in his sight.

Finally, they reached it and the entrance to the garden was in front of him. The servant bowed and quickly ran off, afraid that he would hold her accountable for what happened earlier—which was her negligence.

He slowly opened the garden door and was greeted with a mixture of herbal aroma hitting his nose immediately. Although the garden was dark because the sky lacked light, he could still see that it was very big and diverse with its plants and trees. He began to take steps, his eyes now adjusting to the darkness, to look for her.

The closer he got to the center of the garden, the more lanterns were used to guide and create a cozy atmosphere in the garden. The bare light helped the capture the minimal visual of the present flowers and focused overall on the natural aroma. It didn't take long for him to find her small figure that was turned away from him and faced towards the flowers. He was curious to see what she was intently looking at that she didn't even hear him come in. In reality, Xiao Yunhua did hear his footsteps, but she was just too nervous and focused mindlessly on the flowers in front of her.

Finally, unable to pretend to be patient, Adriel spoke. "Miss Warrington, I see that the flowers here are in full bloom."

She was startled and turned in his direction, quickly curtsying. "Your Highness, when did you get here?"

"Not that long ago, don't worry." He wasn't going to make a big issue out of something so small. "Now then, what did you want to visit the garden?"

"To enjoy the flowers, of course." She answered nonchalantly. However, in her mind, she was too cowardly to ask him about her ridiculous plan. Not only would it get the Duchess off of her back, but it would also prevent her from being married off to someone random in retaliation of the Duchess.

The crown prince chuckled, but there was no amusement behind his laughter. His coldness reminded Xiao Yunhua of the first moment she had seen him along with the picture of the system. His nature may have seemed different, but she couldn't forget that he was overall cold and unfeeling. "I'm sure Miss Warrington isn't just here to admire the flowers." No matter how innocent Violetta appeared to Adriel, he was sure that there was at least some part of her that had inherited the cunning nature of the Duchess. And her response had confirmed it when she clearly pulled him here for a purpose but acted over wise.

Xiao Yunhua didn't expect to be caught so easily and sighed. It looks like she couldn't drag it on anymore. She was about to pull the same stunt that a certain person had pulled on her in the first life. "Your Highness, I will say these words slowly and I hope that you will not take offense to them."

"Don't worry, as long as it's not asking for something excessive or against the law, I will not mind speaking about it with you."

"Just don't know if you will find it excessive," she muttered under her breath. He opened his mouth to ask her what she meant, but she spoke again, stopping him. "Your Highness...would you be willing to accept a life changing contract?"

"Contract?" This was beyond his expectations. Wait, what did he expect? Had it been any other young socialite, then her words and demands would be in his reach and thoughts. But she had broken every stereotype he had been warned about, even proposing a contract. What did a fifteen year old know about any contracts?

Xiao Yunhua saw the turmoil on his face and internally panicked. But she took a deep breath again, ignoring her beating and anxious heart. "Yes, a contract. Which will be beneficial to both of us." Her fists were clenched and gripping her dress on the side. "A marriage contract."

Silence followed her words as both didn't know how to react, especially Adriel. "Miss Warrington," his royal blue eyes flashed with a chill, "if this is a joke, then by all means, please end it."

She shook her head, fervently, "Your Highness, I would never joke about marriage. Please, hear me out." At that moment, they realized that they were standing the entire time by the flowers. Luckily, the garden had some furniture such as tables and chairs and other miscellaneous things for people wanting to sit and enjoy the nature. So, Adriel followed her to the closest table and sat on the chair across from her, waiting for her explanation...