Sera’s eyes were filled with awe when she saw the huge gates of the Palace Hall. The gates were painted with black and golden lines, the entrance was made of pavers made of red bricks, and the sides were decorated with flower bushes. In the middle was the golden statue of the imperial family’s animal symbol: dragon.
“The palace is amazing!” Sera said in awe while her eyes held the glass of the carriage window.
“I’ll bring you here again next time so that you could explore more of the place,” Alejandro proudly said with a chuckle.
“Is that a promise, Papa?” Sera was filled with anticipation. The palace hall that was only open during national events was beautiful and well maintained. How much more were the other places in the palace where people were working?
“Tsk. Our estate was still the most beautiful for me,” Andric butted in as he pulled Sera away from the window. “Seat properly, S
After that intense greeting, the Fiore family sat on their respective seats and the program started. It was just a short program consisting of a few introductions about the history of the event and how it became a tradition and a few words from the emperor. After the formalities, the emperor’s secretary announced that everyone should enjoy the rest of the night.As soon as the live music started playing, Andric stood up and offered his hand to his sister.“May I have this dance?” He let out a smile when Sera gladly took his hand.Sera also learned dancing in preparation for the event so she was confident that she wouldn’t embarrass herself on the dancefloor. She was also confident that Andric would lead her well during their dance.“Thank you for asking me to dance with you, brother.” Sera smiled as she put her arms on Andric’s shoulder.“Why are you thanking me?” Andric laughed. “I should
“If that’s what you want, Your Highness.” Sera gave in since the princess insisted. There would be no problem because she already finished her basic education and she was given a week-long break before her new teacher would arrive.“Thank you, Lady Sera!” Eli smiled and hugged her. “I’ll be preparing a tea for you tomorrow so please look forward to it.”“Thank you, Your Highness.” Though she didn’t know why the princess had shown her favor, she was happy.The princess went on to talk with her friends seated at the same table and Sera remained silent since she didn’t know any of them. There were others who gave her curious gazes but she chose to ignore them to avoid any bothersome relations or annoying complications.“There you are, Eli.”Sera heard a boy’s voice from behind her. Judging by the timbre of the voice, the guy would be at least younger than Xander
After Sera left the table, the whole table was silent. Even the princess who was bubbly just a while ago didn’t speak a word after her brother left. The other noble ladies already knew that the princess was just trying to be more friendly because of the young lady of Fiore. Now that she was no longer around, she was back to giving them the silent treatment. “Your Highness, are you planning for another tea party tomorrow?” Tiana, the daughter of Marquess Gale, asked. “No.” One word. She received a one-word reply right after she had been talking right in front of Lady Sera. Was there something about the Fiore lady that even the princess wanted her attention? She knew that the lady’s existence was amazing but it wasn’t even her own achievement. Why would they even like her that much? After a while, the princess once again stood up to look for Sera and they were once again left on their own. Why were they even hanging around the princess when they
“Do you want to go?” Alejandro asked his daughter after handing her the letter of invitation coming from the imperial palace. He expected his daughter to be uncomfortable so he wanted to make sure that she would go there on her own accord. “If you don’t want to, I could just tell His Majesty to ask the princess to invite you on a later date.”Sera took a deep breath and smiled. “I’m going, Papa. It’s not like I would die if I go to the palace, right?”Alejandro smiled when he saw his daughter’s determined face. The way her eyes shined in determination reminded him of his younger self. He was sure that Sera would face a lot of difficulties especially since she wasn’t his heir. But still, he wanted to make her feel secure. He wanted her to know that no matter what she would be going through, her family would be there for her.“Then I’ll go there with you.” Alejandro messed his daug
“Can you just not leave yet?” Eli held on to Sera, trying to stop her from going home. Even though the duke was already there and the duke said that he would allow Sera to be her playmate, she still didn’t want her to go that day. “Why is the day so short?”Sera smiled at the princess. “Then you can just invite me again next time. I’ll come earlier so I can spend more time with Your Highness.”“Really?” Eli’s eyes sparkled when she heard Sera’s proposition. “Can I invite you again tomorrow?”“I’m afraid you can’t do that, Your Highness,” the princess’ attendant butted in. “You have a scheduled lesson tomorrow for the whole day.”“Can’t I study with her?” Eli tried to reason with her attendant but the attendant shook her head.“You still need to talk with His Majesty about it. It would take a while to
Sera opened her eyes in the middle of darkness. She could feel her cold sweat flowing from her forehead and her heart felt heavy when she realized that she couldn’t see anything.Where was she? She tried to remember what happened a while ago and she trembled when she realized her situation. She felt so secure that she asked her father to fight alongside the knights. However, as soon as her father left her side, a man suddenly appeared from the shadows and pulled her in. After that, she lost consciousness and woke up in her current state.“Papa…” she mumbled as she tried to stop the trembling. “It’s okay, Sera. Papa will rescue you.”She tried to console herself and calm her nerves. She knew that her family loved her and that they would come looking for her.Her father was probably mobilizing his knights to look for her while her brothers were also doing their best to find her.“You will be saved, Ser
“Now tell me, where did you guys hide my sister?” Xander’s icy voice echoed in the room. He lent his hand to Andrei and the latter immediately understood what he wanted and placed the knife on his hand.“I didn’t know.”Xander’s brows furrowed as he raised his hand that was holding the knife so the man immediately shouted.“But I can tell you a little information about their hideouts!” The man shut his eye tightly. Afraid that the knife would cut his skin again. “She could be in one of those.”“Talk.” Xander sounded impatient as he sat in front of him and crossed his legs. “I wouldn’t want to waste my time on you but it would make our search for Sera faster, I’d gladly give you some of my attention.” He gently slid the knife’s blade on his face so the man trembled in fear. “Now talk and stop wasting any more of my time, okay?”&ld
“What did you say?” Alaric dropped the documents in his hand when he heard what his secretary said. “Did you just say that the young lady of Fiore was kidnapped?”Alaric’s expression turned serious. He knew it. As soon as Sera’s existence was brought up, her life would be threatened. Was it only because she was the duke’s sole daughter or was it because his father also showed his interest in her?He clenched his fists. How could he sit still after knowing all that? He felt as if he was also at fault for the threats in her life so he had to do something. He had to make sure that nothing like that would happen ever again.“What did you say?” Eli, who just barged in the room, asked him with guilt all over her face. “Did she get kidnapped after she spent time with me?”She looked like she was about to cry so Ric walked towards her and pulled her to a hug.“It wasn’t because o