Reborn As A Princess Mated To The Vampire Prince

Chapter 6

“Come along then,” Caleana’s focus was interrupted by the butler calling out to her from down the hallway. He had given her a moment before he called for her attention, noticing how she scrutinized the portrait; especially Luke’s face, as though it were the first time she had seem him.

That spark in her eye every time she looked at Luke had vanished, which made the butler very curious. Perhaps Mother had finally gotten through to the both of them and they were ready to move on from their relationship.

The butler had ironically realized that situation just from observing Leah for a moment, not realizing that he was, in actuality, very correct with his assumption.

“Of course,” Caleana said, averting her attention from the portrait and back to the butler. She followed behind him, this time focusing her eyes on his back and not at anything else that she walked past.

At last, they reached the door that led out to the garden. She spotted a woman sitting outside at the garden table, drinking her tea with the maid Caleana had seen in the portrait sitting beside her.

The woman, Mother, saw her and raised her head high, asserting authority. Caleana was too confused to feel intimidated by her actions. She walked forward when the butler gestured with his arm for her to go out to the garden. The maid stood up and walked around the table to pull out one of the chairs for her.

“Leah… How wonderful of you to pay us a visit,” Mother began, “Please, have a seat.”

Caleana said nothing and did as she was told. This little act was more than enough to shock Mother, who exchanged a glance of curiosity with Rita.

Normally, Leah would have refused to do anything Mother asked her to out of spite. Leah would have rather remained standing than to acknowledge Mother’s words. Now, Leah was rather timid and nervous.

“Well… Would you care to join me for some tea?” Mother asked next, gestur7ng at the layout on the table. Caleana gave it one glance and nodded.

It hadn’t crossed her mind before to eat, but it was the end of Leah’s work day and her lunch break had been hours ago. She was getting hungry and looking at the spread on the table made Caleana realize that.

“Yes, thank you,” She muttered softly and not at all in the strong tone that Leah possessed. It was as though Leah was meeting Luke’s family for the first time and not that their families had been feuding with each other for years. The malice Leah felt towards Mother had completely vanished, it’s existence not being acknowledged at all.

Rita stared strangely at Leah. She was acting the same way that Luke was. There was no doubt that this definitely had something to do with what happened last night. Could it be…?

“Luke will be down shortly. You are here to see him, aren’t you?” Mother spoke with a slight emphasis on the word ‘see’, almost like she was suggesting something.

Caleana was confused, not by the wording but by the situation in its entirety.

“I’m sorry, but I seem to be having a bad day. Could you tell me who you are?: Was Leah’s question that made both Rita and Mother frown before giving each other strange looks. Regardless, Mother decided to humour her. Last night must have been a great emotional shock on Leah and Luke.

“Right. I’m Luke’s mother. This is Rita, I’m her godmother but she’s been living with us for a while,” Mother said, gesturing to the maid. Caleana was right. They did have a habit of hiring family as working staff in that household.

“Luke’s father is out at the moment, but I doubt his presence would be of music relevance to us,” Mother said and Caleana could only nod. From that along, she deduced that Mother was the one who held the most authority in the household. Well, she could have figured that out from Mother’s assertiveness alone.

Mother took a sip of her tea as Rita prepared some for Leah.

“About last night… asking you to break up with Luke must have been a great emotional shock to you. You two are so in love, but you have to understand that our families differences… well, they cannot be resolved quite easily…”

Mother’s words trailed off as Caleana focused on the first words Mother said. So, Leah and Luke’s relationship wouldn’t have made it in the first place.

“I’m here to end my… our relationship,” Caleana said, unintentionally interrupting Mother. Mother didn’t mind at all. Instead, she paused for a moment, collected her thoughts, and continued.

“Would you mind if I asked why you’ve agreed so easily after all these months of refusal?”

Caleana had no appropriate answer. Was she supposed to tell her that she was in love with another man and was searching for him and his love instead? It made no sense for someone who was so insistent on being in a relationship with ne a to suddenly fall madly in love with another one in only a matter of hours.

“I’ve realized that you’re right. A relationship between us won’t work with the opposition from both of our families,” Caleana said. She failed to notice that she made a mistake.

It was, in actuality, just Mother who had opposed the relationship between Luke and Leah. Leah’s family loved Luke, despised holding contempt towards the rest of his family, and had already given Luke the blessing to marry Leah.

With a furrowed brow, Mother firmly tightened her hand into a ball. Caleana had not seen her do so. She didn’t know that she had to look out for such a reaction. She could only be shocked when Mother stared straight at her face with an unwavering gaze.

It sent a shiver through Caleana’s body and through her soul.

“Who are you?” Mother asked, a question that raised curiosity in Rita and a fear in Caleana that she did not understand the reason behind its emergence.