Chapter 213: You Are All Invited!
The manor’s great hall gleamed with golden light and the warmth of blazing hearths. Tall candelabras lined the long dining table, their flames dancing against polished silver and crystal.
Servants moved gracefully offering drinks and ushering the guests to their seats. Four northern vassal families that rule the territory under Rhistel and bound to him by loyalty and blood had arrived in regal attire, with their heirs to meet the lord and the ladies to seduce the lord.
Lord and Lady Halvine, Baron Redmarche, the stoic Viscount Cloundre with his daughter Evelyn trailing behind in a pristine wine-colored gown, and the Gretham twins, fraternal siblings from an ancient line of warlords entered with silent grandeur.
They all bowed as one before Rhistel and Oriana, acknowledging his authority and her new role. But beneath the formal courtesies, their eyes betrayed something colder. Though none dared insult her openly, Oriana could feel the weight of their scrutiny.
Their gazes flicked to her gown, her aged face and the curves she had maintained hardly after giving birth twice. Not only was she the outsider, but the widow with two kids.
Only Rhistel’s unwavering presence at her side reminded them of her new status.
Olivia stood beside Oriana, dressed modestly in soft violet, a contrast to the noblewomen around them draped in jeweled silks. Her eyes scanned the room quickly, noting every shifting glance, every whisper behind fluttering fans.
Soon after the formal introductions, the guests broke into smaller circles. The noblemen gathered around Rhistel to discuss trade routes, beasts decreasing near the border because of the new group of knights sent to protect those borders.
and the latest court rumors from the capital about Olivia breaking the engagement with the second royal prince. His majesty was furious and even decided to punish her but his step nephew saved her.