Seated before the mirror the next day, her despondent countenance couldn't lift even a fraction of energy in the air. Though the sun rose farther and farther in the clear blue sky, her heart sank deeper and deeper into the crevasse.
"Princess."
Vespera's summon broke her daze. She stepped in, dropping a casual, not-so-respectful bow.
"The Emberlain Convoy has arrived. My lord and Sir Lucian have stepped out to welcome them."
As if her breaths had taken some cruel vow to torture her, they refused to escape through her lips, constructing her chest into uncomfortable tightness.
"Thank you, Vespera. I'll come with you, but…can you leave me alone for a moment?"
She didn't fail to notice Vespera's expression change. Though Vivia didn't mind it as much as she held her own suspicions about her shady transaction in the street market alley yesterday.
"Certainly, Princess."
Silence returned to the chamber, and Vivia exhaled another trembling breath, more tense and anxious this time. The thought of meeting Clairette's brothers evoked an unsettling current prickling her all over.
Will they figure out that I'm not Clairette?
What if I make a mistake and expose myself?
Part of Clairette's memories did help her connect the dots about her family and relationships, yet the invisible apprehension refused to dissipate. Impersonating a royal princess was a crime of the highest order. With just one misstep, her head would come under the guillotine.
The Emberlain Kingdom would surely hold me responsible for Clairette's death if my real identity gets exposed. There's no way I'd be able to explain something like reincarnation…
Clutching a fistful of her dress, determination met her eyes amidst the silent storm of the uncertain future. She swore to find her and Clairette's killers and make them face their sins at any cost.
She rose to leave when a small box slipped out from her dress onto the floor, rolling afar. It came to a stop near Eurus's feet, and he picked it up curiously.
"Ah Eurus, please give it back!"
Vivia hastily retrieved it from him and checked that the opal gemstone was safely tucked in its box. Relief flooded her, and she promptly put it back in her dress pocket.
The mystery of whether the opal was a jewel of misfortune, good fortune or one a vengeful spirit trapped in it still continued to puzzle her. She couldn't let Eurus be in proximity of such an unpredictable and dangerous jewel that could possibly affect him in ways she didn't understand yet.
Vivia smiled, ruffling his head. "I'm sorry to snatch it away like that, Eurus. It's just something I bought at the festival yesterday, but honestly, I don't know what it is either. You should stay away from suspicious things."
Eurus's head tilted slightly, his gaze clearly questioning why Vivia could keep it if he wasn't allowed to.
That's because I've paid for it. With gold. Too much gold. I'll keep it with me even if my life depends on it.
She coughed. "I've got to attend to some important guests now. I'll meet you again soon."
Eurus held her hand, indicating that he would accompany her too. His bright, innocent silver eyes crushed her heart with despair. The truth about her inevitable departure was yet to reach his ears. It was a conversation she wished she could avoid.
"You won't be with Princess but Chef Andras."
Vespera returned. "He's cooking a welcome feast for the Convoy, albeit very, very, grudgingly. You'll be more useful in the kitchen to cool down his flames of indignation before he'd burn himself and his precious kitchen down with it."
Her brow twitched. Her very first meal in the Demon Realm flashed in her mind, wondering what Chef Andras would present before the Emberlain Convoy.
"Everybody's waiting for you Princess," she displayed a hint of impatience.
Vivia straightened her back and nodded. "Let's go."
—
All the heads turned at once as soon as Vivia entered the royal meeting chamber.
Gressil whispered to Asmodea. "Have we thought about an explanation about Princess Clairette's burned wrist? We're going to be in a very tough spot when they learn about young lord Astaroth's aggression against her."
"I'll somehow handle it-" Asmodea blinked, puzzled at the absence of any injury on her wrist.
Gressil, too, couldn't wrap his head around it. "What magic did Sir Doloros use that it healed that quickly?"
Asmodea squinted her eyes, her gaze thoughtful.
Feeling everyone's eyes on her, Vivia forced herself to stay poised and calm. Her gaze lined up with Zerath's eyes that softly flickered with tenderness. It brought a momentary pause to her steps. The brooch pinned on his coat glimmered with a tranquil golden sheen. With the beauty of the ornament perfectly matching his eye color and demeanor, her breath caught in her throat.
Vivia continued towards her seat, finally noticing Clairette's brothers in the room - the ones she dreaded the most to meet all this time.
The man seated in the middle, whom she knew as Clairette's eldest brother and the Crown Prince of the Emberlain Kingdom through her memories, Elvin Emberlain - his countenance flickered with a subtle change. It was difficult to place a finger about what exactly his sharp but unreadable gaze meant.
Vivia couldn't ascertain if the demons present in the room had sensed it, but she sure did. As if some remnants of Clairette's soul, if existed, were responding to his presence through a thorny chill Vivia felt at the back of her neck, she shivered. Every tremble in her fingers expressed the strained relationship between the brother and sister - added to her shaky memories which didn't allow Vivia to appreciate Elvin to any extent, considering how he had a nasty habit of bullying Clairette in their childhood.
Meanwhile, there was the second brother and prince, Aeren Emberlain. His expression remained inscrutable, a riddle she couldn't solve. She wasn't sure if he looked thrilled by her presence or just as disappointed as Elvin. But as opposed to Elvin, her heart didn't race with a sinking tension that wanted to pull her down into the pit.
Searching through Clairette's memories, the only reality Vivia could uncover was that the siblings weren't that close to each other, which she could see as clear as day as none of them left his seat to even talk to her, much less hug her. Embrace a sister who was brutally attacked and almost murdered. It was as if they had shed away any concern about her miles away.
However, Vivia's expectation lay more in meeting the Emberlain King, considering how his daughter had barely scraped through escaping death. His absence evoked more pity for Vivia towards Clairette.
How did you live with such a family Clairette…?
As she walked past Lucian, approaching the Emberlain Convoy's side, a faint flowery scent drifted to her nostrils.
Jasmine..?
In the next spur of a moment, a striking pain tore through her chest out of nowhere. A piercing agony resonated through her veins, her chest rising and falling in rapid succession, as she struggled to catch her breath.
What…What is happening…?
Lucian, standing right behind her, swiftly pulled her back from stumbling forward. "Princess…!"
Holding onto his arm for support, she somehow staggered herself to balance. The sudden heat that surged through her like an invisible wave further flared and squeezed her insides, rendering her painfully helpless. Blood rushed to her head all at once and for a moment, it occurred to her that she floated in the strange void once again - similar to when she had walked past death's door.
"I-I'm fine…" her throat felt too parched to speak.
Amidst the spell of dizziness, her lashes gently fluttered open. Distant confrontational voices reached her ears, though she could barely focus on the incoherent exchange of words.
"Princess."
Exhaling soft bursts of restless breaths, she recognized the worried and anxious eyes. The familiar golden eyes that never failed to make her heart skip a beat.
Zerath asked, anguish marred all over his features, "Princess Clairette, can you hear me?"
Vivia slowly nodded, her surroundings gradually becoming clearer. She attempted to rise from her resting position as Zerath supported her to comfortably lean against the couch. Doloros was on her left, his fingers pressed on her wrist as he studied her pulse.
"Her pulse feels normal now."
The demons heaved a sigh of relief, but the humans? Not so much.
Elvin's hawk-like gaze demanded answers.
"And what had gone wrong in the first place? We expected Rudaheim to protect our princess. But she collapsed right in front of our eyes, which makes me wonder - How exactly was she taken care of?"