Chapter 5: Unwanted Gift
"This is... A dress?"
It was a beautiful blue dress that matched the colour of her eyes, she wondered if that was on purpose. The material felt better than the dresses she had. It felt as light as a feather, she couldn't help but squeeze it.
Underneath the dress was a smaller box, and in it was a pendant that matched the dress.
"No."
The Marquess tried his best to keep calm but he couldn't stop himself, the stone used in that pendant wasn't an ordinary one. It was a stone called aster and only the royal family were allowed to wear it, it held the blessing of the Goddess of the Sun.
He knew what it meant when they offered it to her, he glared at the messenger who was already sweating from the pressure. He held on for a long time waiting for Adeline to come and receive the gift, he had to dodge the Marquess' dagger-like glares.
Her father rushed out of his chair and grabbed that pendant. He put it back in the box and 'asked' him to take it back. His distaste for the royal family only grew, they were trying to trick his daughter into being their puppet.
Adeline didn't know what was happening, the events that took place before the Saintess set foot in the capital were very briefly mentioned when explaining the background.
"Take this back and tell the Empress to put away her little schemes."