Sacrificial Bride to the Feared Lord Hastings-Chapter 234: Normal dinner (1)

"I didn’t mean to upset you. I’m still a little bit nervous about Dante leaving you to be in charge of the castle, and now I am hearing that Nigel might be coming here. I don’t like knowing that I cannot help you," said Theo.

Ophelia sat down on the bed and reached for Theo’s hand. "You can help me by offering advice."

Theo pulled his hand out of Ophelia’s hold and answered, "That is not helping. That is you trying to make me feel better."

"You know, all of this is new to me. I can’t use a sword, arrow, or a spare, yet I am able to help by offering ideas. I don’t think Dante allows it simply to let me feel good. My ideas are being used daily, and I genuinely thought you would have ideas as well. Nevermind," Ophelia said, giving up.

"I suppose I need to blame myself. I have never been hard on you, Theo. I have been trying to include you, not only to give you a task throughout the day, but since you know Nigel as I do, you would have ideas. I have accepted your wish," said Ophelia.

"I know," Theo replied. "I was caught up thinking about Dante leaving you alone. You should have fun."

"I should. I would like to have fun, especially now, before the kingdom falls into war. Who knows when I will be able to dress up with my husband again? Theo, I would appreciate it if, just as I am trying to make your days good, you would do the same for me," Ophelia requested.

"For a long time, I have put my feelings to the side. Now, I would like them to be considered. Can you do that for me?"

"I can. I’m truly sorry for spoiling the moment. Let us start again," Theo said, realising his mistake. "I need to be more careful with my responses. I can admit that I sometimes don’t think of how what I say might affect you. I apologise." 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"I accept your apology. I also need to speak to you about our mother. What do you think is a fitting punishment for her? Letting her rot in the dungeon for the same amount of years we were in the Valthorn castle, or letting her die?" Ophelia asked, putting the decision in Theo’s hands.

"As much as I would like to know she is dead and out of your hair, leave her in the dungeon. Once Nigel is dead, she won’t have anyone to support her. She will suffer alone. She has always wanted to be alone, so let her have that life," Theo decided.

"Very well. I will keep her in the dungeon for a few years. Now, let us talk about us," Ophelia said, turning the conversation back to Theo.

Ohphelia got lost in conversation with Theo until the hour before dinner. She was rushed back to her bedchamber by a very frantic Alice, who needed to dress her.

Now, Ophelia sat before a mirror, staring at Alice’s hard work.

Ophelia raised her hand to pick at her hair, which was now neatly brushed into a bun with jewels surrounding it.

"Where did you get the jewels?" Ophelia asked, moving her hand after Alice hit it.

"You must look at the gifts Lord Hastings prepares after his outings in the market. No money was spent to dress you now, so you mustn’t think it is a waste. I think this is far better than how I dressed you in the palace," Alice said, proud of her hard work. "I urge you to intend balls."

"I am almost tempted to because of my appearance. You did well, Alice. I was expecting you to panic and come to me for help. I think you have earned yourself a spot at dinner. Pick any dress and wear it tonight," Ophelia offered.

Alice froze. "Do you mean it? I couldn’t possibly join the Hastings."

"You would turn down an invitation? That would be rude, wouldn’t it?" Ophelia asked, knowing Alice couldn’t resist. "I’m sure my husband would welcome you to the table after all your hard work. I shall allow you to keep the dress-"

"Then I must make haste," Alice said, moving without a second thought. She could never turn down a new dress.

Ophelia chuckled and continued to admire how Alice dolled her up. Her fingers rested on a necklace she had never seen before.

’When did he have the time to get me a necklace?’ Ophelia wondered.

Ophelia didn’t have any interest in attending balls, but getting dressed up and seeing another side of herself was something she liked.

Ophelia’s attention moved from the mirror to the bechamber door opening.

Dante walked into the chamber, puzzled as to why he had been banned from it for the last hour.

It was only when he entered the bedchamber and found Ophelia in her grand attire that he realised the plot.

"Alice outdid herself. I am a little concerned about the dress not having any sleeves to protect me from the cold air, but it is beautiful. I adore the blue. Don’t you?" Ophelia asked, enjoying every bit of how stumped Dante was.

This was why it was worth it to get dressed up for dinner.

"Speak, Dante. I can’t know what you think without you speaking. Do you hate it?" Ophelia questioned, but she knew it wasn’t possible because of his stare. "I didn’t know your gifts were so grand. She pinned up my hair to show off the necklace."

Dante walked to where Ophelia sat and stood behind her. He placed his hand under her chin to make her look up. "She pinned it up to show off your beauty. Did you plot this all day? To take me by surprise like this?"

"No," Ophelia shook her head. "It was all Alice’s idea, but it didn’t start like this. She wanted me to make my night gowns more seductive to surprise you."

"And why don’t we listen to Alice?"

"Oh, now you want to listen to Alice. I thought my beauty was all you needed, not for me to get dressed up, but I thought wrong. A man is a man after all," Ophelia said, and averted her gaze from Dante.

Ophelia flinched when Dante’s cold hands touched her shoulder. Perhaps it wasn’t a good idea to wear this dress tonight.

"That’s not true. You don’t need to get dressed up for me. Your beauty shines beyond the dresses and jewels you wear, but it is a welcome surprise for me. Here," Dante said, making Ophelia look up at him again. "I am almost tempted to miss dinner and stay here with you."

"My apologies!"

Dante frowned, annoyed by Alice’s voice disturbing his attempt to kiss Ophelia.

"Oh, Alice is here," Ophelia informed Dante. "I forgot to mention it."