The Crown Prince expected Celine to run into his arms the moment she got notified of his arrival, but her flower boys refused to inform her of his presence with one excuse after another.
His previous privileges as her fiancé were now lost, and he no longer had the right to meet her in private anymore, especially after showing interest in another Lady besides theirs.
What he truly didn’t see coming was Lord Arclight being held hostage by the very same woman. His people were disarmed, their weapons confiscated. From the looks of things, there weren't heavy casualties.
'Had she gone completely insane?' The Crown Prince thought. Was this her idea of revenge? Cutting him off from his ally and eventually preventing him from saving his Bianca? Did she think that would change his mind and make him take her back?!
The worst part was that he would probably end up having to do so.
For Bianca's sake.
His Bianca.
The soft yet stubborn girl would try so hard to be unyielding even as she stood completely at his mercy. It fed something deep inside him, a power high he had never known before.
She haunted his thoughts and dreams from the moment he id eyes on her. He couldn't quite tell how, but her very presence was making him feel more alive than he ever had been.
It wasn't simply because of her beauty, though she was undoubtedly the most exquisite girl he had ever id eyes on, but because she was the first being who seemed to look beyond the Prince in him and treat him like a normal human being. Everyone else always tiptoed around him, trying their best to please him, but she was different.
If Celine thought this little ploy of hers would sway his mind, then she was sorely mistaken. It only proved that she had lost her mind and was willing to do anything for his attention, including endangering his people.
Nothing bad could ever happen to his Bianca. She had to be found and brought back. At all costs.
And if that meant that he would have to give himself away again…
So. Be. It.
Just this time, just this once, he would yield again. But the moment Bianca's safety was assured, he would continue to carve his own path ─ wealth, power, alliances — he would cim them all, so no one, not even his father, would be able to pull the reins again.
Until then, he was stuck here.
With dozens of soldiers, he was powerless against the Duke’s private army.
That spoiled. Self-centered. Wretched. Woman.
Without her father's backing, she would be nothing.
NOTHING!
With a scowl, the Crown Prince ordered his men to set up a camp nearby and wait.
And wait.
For hours.
As the time passed, he could feel his patience wearing thin.
A man of his status shouldn't have been kept waiting for so long like this.
His authority was absolute, except when it came to that thorn in his side. A thorn that he wanted to pluck from his life and discard at the earliest possible chance.
No woman should have been given that much power, least of all her. The Duke should have known better than to let his daughter run unchecked. She needed to be kept in line. Subdued. Repressed.
· · ─────── · ???· ─────── · ·
Meanwhile…
After chasing away the Crown Prince, Seb approached the mercenary leader, "You lot surrendered faster than I expected."
Tied up, the man should have looked ashamed, should have had the decency to at least pretend regret. But no, there was no weight to what he had done. "What can I say? A good offer is a good offer. The fight would have been a waste of men and money. We don't get paid to die."
Lady Celine took Lord Arclight for a walk. That’s all it took. A little distraction, and in the time it took for him to return, a few bribes were pnted, and all his people folded like wet parchment.
Lady Celine had tried to get Lord Arclight on her side before, but it was quite obvious that he didn't have the best opinion of her, ignoring every letter she sent, never once accepting an invitation to her house.
It was a bit insulting.
Seb followed the man's impatient gaze, directed at Lady Celine's tent, "Your debt must be high to want Lord Arclight dead so badly."
The man chewed on his lips, his bloodshot eyes snapping up, "What are you talking about, Sir?” he asked, defensive.
Seb let out a low hum, as if he’d already pieced everything together. Most of the mercenaries here just didn't want to work without pay anymore, that's why they were so fast to switch sides.
If there was another thing Lord Arclight was known for, it was his generous loans. The wealth he was willing to part with was great, the interest was almost negligible compared to others, and the time he was willing to wait for repayment was manageable.
The fear of being robbed or having his vault broken into pushed Lord Arclight to liquify part of his wealth through these so-called 'loans'. He would make the debtors sign a contract with him, then collect a small portion of their debt every month.
Fear of failing to repay didn’t make the debtors fight back; some were even grateful, while others were too afraid of his debt collectors to skip their due. Either way, they would do anything to keep themselves in his good graces.
Then, there were people like this mercenary. Seb could spot a gambling addict from a mile away. These people would offer up their daughters or wives as payment just so they could borrow another dime for the gambling den. They, themselves, would have no choice but to end up sving themselves away, and who was Lord Arclight to reject cheap bor?
Lady Celine went for the opposite approach. She used the Rochefort reputation to offer protection over other people's assets. The fee was worth the security they received. One could collect their money from any of the Rochefort houses without worrying about traveling with rge bags of gold.
It all started when she was looking for ways to cut down on the overwhelming costs of maintaining Rocheforts' many luxurious estates. With vils in every major city, each guarded by elite security due to the priceless artifacts they housed, she saw an opportunity to make them self-sustaining. This ensured that the Rochefort staff was also generating revenue rather than merely being an expense.
Lord Arclight could have benefited greatly if only he had been willing to cooperate, to work alongside Lady Celine instead of working against her.
Today was a good chance for her to show Lord Arclight that she could be relied upon, that she was not like the rumors that surrounded her.
Simple persuasion didn’t seem to be enough. Lady Celine had to build an upper hand in her negotiation with him, to make him feel a bit paranoid, a bit trapped. She needed to show him that she was the better choice, the only choice (by showing his people’s disloyalty).
Things spiralled out of control quickly enough: Their Lady failed to anticipate how much trouble Lord Arclight posed, or rather, she failed to grasp the extent of his hatred toward her.
He would rather die than side with her, as they soon discovered.
Seb sighed.
That's what she made them believe, but he had his doubts. Lord Arclight didn't seem to have any knowledge of any deals Lady Celine was supposed to be making with him. It was strange, given how hard she had been trying to get in touch with him.
She was up to something more, as always.
This was not the first time. Her actions, her words, her reactions, were all a show to keep her people from panicking, to keep her enemies guessing, to keep her friends from getting too suspicious, to keep them all in line.
╔═══ Author's note ════╗
Don't you find chapters with barely any dialogue boring? ?? I skipped the head-to-head confrontation between Seb and the Crown Prince, only including some of their views on the situation. Hope it didn't come out as info dumb too much.
This is like a reverse harem where a bunch of men go for one woman, but for the opposite reasons than usual, haha. ??
Bianca sounds like a much healthier option than Celine, doesn’t she? Maybe she will be able to charm Lucian, too, if they interact long enough? ?? I don’t know about you, but jealous Celine is too entertaining for me to leave out. ??
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