The Courtesan

Chapter 30

The crowd parted for Prince Kron and more eyes were on as we approached the royal couple. I finally let go of Prince Miyon’s hand, doing a curtsey.

“Greetings to his majesty and her majesty.”

“You may rise, child.”

I tried hard to not let it show how much his presence affected me. While half of me was screaming at me to run, the other half wanted to tear into the pretentious bastard.

“I can finally see why you wanted to choose your date for tonight. You have a good eye, just like your father’s,” King Mival said with a somewhat proud smile. The meaning of his words hit differently when I realized who Prince Kron’s mother was.

Just like that, any hopes I had for Prince Kron were crushed.

I felt a stare bore into me from beside the Queen. I tried to ignore the fact that I was being watched like a hawk by Lady Vanessa. After greeting his father, Prince Kron moved on to his mother. She extended her hand with a blank expression and he kissed it.

“You look most pleasant when you smile, mother.”

“I will smile if there’s something to be happy about.”

“Mother, this is Elayne Greycastle.”

“We’ve been introduced. I am not exactly fond of her.”

I could honestly say I felt the same way. I would not be surprised if she was also being ‘serviced’ by the Chief of the palace guards. She would be hypocritical if she decided to hate me.

“She is quick-witted, that I know but she is a good person. I’m sure in time, you will like her, mother.”

The more Prince Kron talked, the more he scared me. He gave a brief nod to the other wives and concubines before walking back into the ball. On our way we bumped into someone I wish I had gone longer without seeing.

“Your highness.”

“Duke Erik. It has been so long.”

“Hm, indeed it has.”

I could see Prince Kron was trying his best to be civil but Lord Erik wasn’t interested. His eyes strayed to me ever so often and the expression he wore wasn’t one I was familiar with.

Their small talk filtered in and out of my ears as she busied my eyes with the top of Prince Miyon’s head and the ground. The awkwardness wasn’t at the level I could safely handle.

“I have to say, you have a fine yet unique taste, your highness.”

Whatever civil response he wanted to give hooked in his throat. Prince Kron's eyes suddenly turned cold. He c****d his head, using his height to his advantage to appear intimidating. I raised her viewpoint, interested in the sudden change of events.

“It came as a surprise that you had a date for this event. After all, his highness is rumored to be looking for ‘the one’.”

“I didn’t know Duke Erik lent his ears to rumors.”

“For someone in my line of work, it is almost impossible I don’t hear them. Is it safe to assume she is the one you have chosen? After all, you know what she is.”

“Was. She now works for the palace, taking care of my brother. And if I recollect correctly, we are friends, aren’t we, Miss Greycastle?”

Friends? When? How? What is this man talking about?

I couldn’t fathom how he would conjure such an idea but I wasn’t about to embarrass him at such an event.

“Yes, we are friends.”

“It just so happens that I and Miss Greycastle are also friends. Isn’t that so, Miss Greycastle?”

Do you really have to make it worse?

“Ah, yes...”

The hostility hidden under polite words perpetuated in a form of silent glares. All that was left was for them to begin dragging me like a toy favored by two children. I had to do something.

“Pardon me but his highness needs something to eat. I need to take care of him. It was nice seeing you again, Lord Erik. I’ll be but a moment, your highness.” I gave a short nod, hightailing it out of there. Once I was out of sight, I scanned the crowd for Amelia. She was surprisingly easy to find and she was right beside where I was headed in the first place.

I ignored her dancing eyebrows and we drew closer.

“So, do you have anything to tell me?”

“I have a plethora of words to describe how badly I want to leave this ball.”

“Oh come on, it’s not that bad.”

“I was cornered in the middle of Lord Erik and Prince Kron. If it happens one more time, I might just be skewed by actual daggers.”

“In just a short while, you became the enemy of every woman here. Your life is something out of a fairytale.”

“I’ll toss that book into the fire.”

“Ah, I’ve missed your scathing remarks. I bet they don’t know how bad you are with your words.”

“No, I’m sure they’re aware.”

“And they’re still fighting over you? Gods, you must be overflowing with luck.”

“Or cursed.”

She laughed, handing me a glass of wine. I raised a brow.

“Drink. You’ll need it.”

“I know but I have a child to take care of.”

“Later then. For now, let’s gossip about everyone in here.”

“Sure.” I smiled, standing beside her.

“You know, with the current king having many wives openly, the other nobles have been encouraged to have multiple wives of their own. Marriage is now a means to an end,” Amelia suddenly said.

“Wasn’t it always?”

“It wasn’t this open. Marriage used to be a sacred union of love, now, it’s just men racking up unhappy women and breeding g******e in their backyards.”

“I never realized you were so opposed to this idea.”

“In truth, I never wanted to get married. Life happened and I became a woman who had to depend on multiple men using her the way they liked to get by in life. Nowadays, my only wish is that they be gentle.”

“Wishes don’t come true, Amelia.”

“I know, but we have them anyway. You’ve never told me yours.”

“I wish for many things.”

“What’s the thing you most desire?”

I want to go back to the days where all I worried about was how I was going to sneak past my mother to the garden. When the palace wasn’t a breeding ground for hostility and decadence.

“In truth, to get out of here. Balls are so stifling.”

“I agree with you.” She raised her glass and downed it. The alcohol looked very tempting but the little prince was very much awake. I looked into the crowd to distract myself. If anything, I was worried I would become an alcoholic like Amelia who resolved to wine to fix her problems.

“Say Amelia, is Lady Andrella looking to settle down?”

“The hag? I wouldn’t put it past her. She’s still trying to make it look like she’s in her prime. That poor earl is wrapped around her thumb.”

“You say it like he’s innocent.”

“Anyone’s an angel compared to the hag.”

Anyone except King Mival. I cast another casual glance into the crowd, throwing a piece of cake into my mouth and promptly choked when a set of vivid brown eyes locked into mine.

An alarmed Amelia quickly offered me a glass of water and patted my back. When I finally looked back up, he was no longer there. I sighed, seriously considering if I wasn’t going to give myself a heart attack one day.