Chapter 918

Chapter 918: A Two-edged Sword

The Chamberlain bowed when he reached the location where the younger generation of Royalty was present.

“Your Highnesses, it is time.” He disclosed his reason for arriving here as he glanced at the two young children.

His words were aimed at only two among the three and when his gaze fell on the older Prince with them, he bowed to greet him as well but did not urge him to join them.

There was no use in doing so as he was well aware that this prince would not be willing to accompany them any further.

He had served the King long enough to know that the young man disliked being in the eye of the public and thus often rejected to attend such crowded events.

There weren’t many who had the opportunity to meet the King’s younger brother and it seemed that this would continue for a while longer.

However, recalling what his Master had in mind for this young man, the Chamberlain could only imagine how things would change for the Prince in the future.

.....

Nevertheless, now wasn’t the time to focus on this matter as there were other more essential tasks to complete.

Hence he averted his gaze from the Prince and moved his line of sight toward his Master’s children.

“Shall we leave, Your Highnesses?” He inquired to seek their permission and saw them nodding in response right away.

The Chamberlain once again bowed before the older Prince to bid him farewell, following which he asked Prince Fritzen and Princess Felicia to accompany him.

Prince Draco smiled and nodded at his niece who waved him goodbye then shook his head when he saw Fritzen’s apprehensive glance that had been aimed at him.

‘Don’t do anything unnecessary.’ The Uncle had a final word of advice for his impulsive nephew whose mind could get chaotic at times.

Fritzen pursed his lips as he knew exactly what his uncle was hinting at but nodded in acceptance to avoid any further punishments being thrown on his struggling shoulders.

Gaining this response, Prince Draco seemed satisfied as he looked away.

He no longer found any reason to watch his niece and nephew leaving with the Chamberlain and thus shifted his attention onto the guests who had appeared here on this occasion.

His emerald eyes scanned the Banquet Hall as he observed them from his vantage point, concealed from their view.

His elder brother, the King, had often brought him and Fritzen to these covert balconies that weren’t visible to those they were watching.

From a young age, both the Princes had been taught to observe the demeanor of those who appeared in the Palace.

People behaved differently when they did not know that they were being watched.

Their true personalities would emerge when they were under the impression that no one was watching them.

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However, the moment they stood before someone with influence and authority, they would only display their best side, concealing whatever flaws they had within them.

Hence the King had often brought them along to help them differentiate this contrasting behavior which was prevalent among many nobles.

Being a member of the Royal family was a two-edged sword.

They had the influence to accomplish many feats but this same influence could cause them to be surrounded by greedy people who only wished to guarantee their gains, disregarding the greater good.

For these reasons, even today, the King had asked his children to observe the nobles who had entered the Palace.

This was Felicia’s first time so her uncle and elder brother had taken it upon themselves to explain their motives behind this covert mission.

Though she was embarrassed at first to be spying on the guests, she soon got engrossed in her task when she found people she was familiar with.

She had watched how her two good friends had greeted each other and later formed a group with other young misses joining them soon after.

Thanks to this, she was even able to observe how the other young girls behaved with each other and discover the different cliques that had been formed outside this Royal Palace.

When Glennise and Rika accompanied her each day, they were always talking about the groups they had outside and today, Princess Felicia was able to observe them in action without interruption.

This had allowed her to see how different girls reacted to each other which was an eye-opener to her as they were always prim and proper each time they met her in the Palace.

Among the numerous girls who had been invited, her gaze often fell on the youngest girl with violet hair who also had formed a group of her own.

Princess Felicia had a positive opinion of everyone in that group so she was happy to see that the people she liked also liked one another.

This news, she had excitedly shared with the two boys who had been with her at that time, making them pay attention to the same group as well.

Thinking of what had taken place a few minutes ago, Prince Draco’s emerald eyes sought for the young girl whose name his niece had mentioned quite a few times earlier.

To his surprise, the moment he had fixed his gaze on the young girl, he heard his name being uttered from her lips.

The immense aura stored within him, a result of the intensive training that he had been undergoing, allowed him to hear exactly what the group of girls was talking about.

Therefore, though he was at a considerable distance away from them, as long as he focused his aura on their location, he could overhear every single word being spoken down there.

___

Ignorant of the fact that there was someone eavesdropping on their conversation, Yvonne was too busy rolling her eyes and shaking her head.

Earlier, a few minutes after the arrival of the Tanner couple, the girls had gone to greet them.

It wasn’t just them as many others had now gathered around the Duke and Duchess to show their respect to the Ducal pair.

Among them was Elna Leopold who had come along with her parents to meet the head of the Tanner family.

Aleena, who had been standing next to Yvonne, wasn’t too enthusiastic when she saw the one who often made her look bad due to the striking contrast between their personalities.

Knowing that there would be friction between the two, Rika who had been with her friend had also returned to ensure that her elder sister did not fall for Elna’s provocations which was a constant occurrence in the past.

However, it appeared that their cautious attitude wasn’t needed as Elna had simply looked their way before flashing them a polite smile.

As surprised as they were, they could not be rude so they could only be courteous and return the smile with a casual greeting.

Having completed this brief interaction, Elna turned away and headed back to her initial group with Glennise Brodie and the Carter sisters.

This sight had once again stunned them as the proud daughter of the Leopold family who was praised by everyone had not once tried to strike up a conversation with them.

If this had been in the past then Elna would have tried to incite Aleena in some way or the other, either by her actions or her words.

However, nothing of that sort had occurred which was not something they were able to comprehend.

In the midst of the unexpected silence that prevailed in their group, Rika was the first to snap out of her reverie.

“Why is she being so polite today?” She muttered when it was only them nearby.

Yvonne and the Jorbin triplets had no clue so they had nothing to say in response but the same wasn’t applicable for Aleena who seemed to have discovered something funny.

“The excessive jewelry... That sparkling dress... Being kind to us...” The elder daughter of the Kiron family pointed out the odd aspects she had noticed in her eternal rival’s attitude and appearance today.

The others were confused so they could only remain silent while Aleena explained the conclusion she had arrived at.

“Isn’t it quite obvious?” A suppressed chuckle was soon heard in their group which only increased their bewilderment.

Aleena rolled her eyes at the girls who weren’t smart enough to grasp what she already had.

‘Looks like I have to explain everything to them!’ She shook her head but was benevolent enough to divulge the details of the discovery she had just made.

“Don’t you think that she is putting in a great deal of effort, hoping to catch the attention of a certain someone?” Aleena declared her findings while wiggling her brows at them.

However, she did not forget to scan her surroundings to ensure that there wasn’t anyone overhearing their conversation as it could get them in trouble if they were caught.

Hearing this query, the girls had a puzzled look on their faces as they tried to figure out what Miss Aleena was implying.

The mischievous smile she had flashed intrigued Yvonne who also did the same, searching her memory to find any information regarding the ‘certain someone’ Aleena was talking about.

Due to this trip down memory lane, she recalled an incident from the past where Aleena had shared an unexpected piece of information with her.

“The Gr- Ahem... The Prince?” Yvonne muttered her doubtful thoughts out loud.

She had almost addressed the one who had come to her mind by the title that was used whenever he was mentioned in the script she had read but had corrected herself in time as that would have been wrong.

After all, the prince whom she was talking about had not yet received that title at this point.

‘Miss Elna likes Prince Draco.’ She recalled this statement that Aleena had made in the past which had resulted in a sullen look appearing on her face both in the past and now as well.

Thankfully, none of the girls had taken notice of it and were more focused on the words she had just uttered, garnering a multitude of reactions from them.