239: Hypocrite Friends

Hypocrite Friends

After the Crown Prince of Griven and his attendant  left the drawing room, Rosetta moved to sit on the couch opposite to where Samer was sitting. A servant wordlessly came in and brought another wine glass for the lady, before uncorking a new bottle of vintage wine for her and the King to share.  1

As they enjoyed the wine, Samer asked, "As you expected, it was a ruse."

"It is not surprising. That prince did not even do a courtesy call on any of the other kingdoms, only ours. They are so obvious, even a child can tell, but then they didn't care at all as they needed to take this chance at all costs," she mused as she licked the wine off her lips. "But to think he managed to get a prince to personally accompany a servant, Drayce Ivanov sure knows how to use his resources well."

"What do you think will happen now?"

"Nothing much. At most, this human prince can only tell him how I look. That king has no resources to confirm who I am."

Samer had another sip, taking his time to drink before asking, "What do you need from Cromwell's aide in the first place?"

"That girl is an important chess piece who can help us in the near future."

"Is she your kind as well?"

"You can say that."

"How do you plan to use her when she is serving  another royalty?"

Samer and Rosetta's agreement mainly involved the Kingdom of Megaris, not Griven.

"You will know in the future," she smiled slyly. "In fact, I am relieved she is not serving Drayce Ivanov, otherwise it would have been really difficult to approach her. With her serving this human prince, I can approach her without being identified. Snatching her away from him is only a matter of time."

"Know that Arlan Cromwell is more ruthless than Drayce Ivanov."

Rosetta chuckled, her gray eyes with a glint of schadenfreude. 

"Ruthless, you say," she drawled. "Can a human not even three decades old be more ruthless than a thousand-year-old witch who has ruined an entire civilization?" 

A wicked smile appeared on Samer's face, as if hearing those horrible words brought him amusement. "That Arlan Cromewell seems quite protective of that girl."

"Do not worry." An equally evil smile painted on her lips. "He can protect her all he wants, but when that girl herself comes to me on her own, that human prince will have no ability to stop her."

"I look forward to what you will do."

"You won't be disappointed, Your Majesty."

—

Once they reached the Grivenian guest mansion, Arlan headed straight to his study. As for Oriana originally trailing behind him, he ordered her, "Come when you are called."

His attendant could only stay back as she watched him leave in a hurry. Staring at his retreating back, it gave her a strange impression that he was trying to get away from her. Her brows knitted with a frown. 

'Hmph! As if I like to be with you, you bratty prince. I would prefer it if I can stay as far as possible from you—best, if I never have to see you ever again.'

When Arlan entered his study, he let go of the breath he had been holding, swearing at how only now could he breathe freely. Before he could enjoy it, he heard an amused voice.

"Congratulations. You seem to have learned to control yourself."

The source was his friend, who was sitting comfortably in the lounge area of the study. Yorian was accompanying him, giving him a friendly fist pump in agreement to what Drayce said. 

"You should stop coming here unannounced." Arlan frowned. "What happened to good manners and basic etiquette?"

"Good manners and basic etiquette cover not barging in unannounced in the middle of the night carrying an unconscious woman and disturbing people's sleep."

"Just say you're salty I disturbed your time with your wife," Arlan countered as he walked to sit in an empty chair in the lounge area. 

"Indeed, I am."

"That was an urgent situation." 

"It counts as trespassing."

"You two royals should be the last one to talk about manners and etiquette. Who knows how many houses and private properties in various kingdoms you committed the crime of trespassing using your power of teleportation? Include damage to property, violation of privacy, and I'm sure there are plenty others."

The two looked at the silver-haired elf who just spoke. 

"Am I wrong?" Yorian raised a brow. He spoke again while shaking his head, "It's hard to stand the hypocrisy from both of you. Don't talk about morals when you use your powers to break human laws."

Arlan and Drayce looked at each other and happened to speak together in agreement. "Let's ignore him."

"Truth is always bitter to accept," Yorian mumbled which both of them heard but ignored him once more. 

"How did it go?" Drayce asked his friend. 

"Exactly as planned."

"And where is your partner-in-crime?"

"You don't want me to breathe properly, do you?"

Drayce felt like laughing at his friend's trouble. "Poor you, but not really. Just open the windows, then call Oriana. We need to know what she found out."

"Did you get to meet that Rosetta woman?" Yorian chimed.

"I did."

Arlan had already instructed Imbert to send Oriana to his study. Oriana was waiting to be called already,  as she herself had many questions in mind. She knew Drayce and Yorian would answer them. 

When she reached the study, she heard Drayce's voice when Imbert opened the door.

"... see that woman?"

"Our second plan worked to get her out from hiding."

Just then, Imbert informed those in the room, "Your Highness, Orian is here."

"Send him in."

The moment the young attendant entered, her master discreetly held his breath, frown lines appearing on his forehead. 'How long do women normally bleed? Four days? Five? I wish she could stop bleeding as soon as possible.' Even though fresh air came in through the open windows, being in the same room with her made him tense.

As Oriana greeted them, Arlan's reaction didn't go unnoticed by her. She frowned inwardly, misunderstanding him once more. 

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