Chapter 19: The Dinner
Bella skillfully glided the brush through Aideen’s flowing locks, pausing to express her admiration,
"Your Highness, your hair boasts such a uniquely captivating color! Although I haven’t personally visited the Capital, I am confident that even there, no one possesses hair as stunning as yours. Has anyone ever attempted to put its beauty into words for you?"
Aideen fidgeted, twirling a thick lock of her hair between her fingers before nodding.
Yes, both the maids at the Royal Palace and those in the Count’s mansion never failed to mention my hair every time they would tend to it.
’My hair is incredibly soft; I can always feel the effortless glide of my fingers across its surface. However, no one has ever described it as beautiful or unique. It seems the consensus is that my hair color resembles that of rotten berries. Each maid, including Vira, was consistently exasperated with me due to the rapid growth of my hair whenever it needed trimming. Perhaps Bella is merely attempting to uplift my spirits, especially considering the approaching dinner.’
The princess’s evening preparations were, after all, prompted by her impending dinner engagement with Duke Tillian Valentine.
Despite Aideen’s consistent rejection of his invitation, as she reassured him about not wanting the castle’s cook to expend unnecessary time and effort on doubling the duke’s portions, Tillian sternly refused to accept her refusal.
As Aideen began to detect an unmistakable shade of annoyance in his tone, she concluded that attending the dinner might be a safer choice than risking irritation with the castle’s owner, who had thus far been nothing but kind and patient with her.
Contemplating the prospect of sharing a meal with Duke Valentine resurfaced unpleasant memories of every occasion Aideen had the misfortune of dining with Count Constantine.