The Reincarnator's Inauspicious Route to Finding Love-Chapter 60: The Fall Festival? (1)
Adrien watched as Mikyle and Aisley walked away. He had a feeling that they hadn’t run into Aisley by mere coincidence but that she had purposely met them outside their classroom. It had also been strange that the entire time she had been talking to him, her feet and body had been turned slightly toward Mikyle, signaling that Mikyle held quite a bit of her attention even if her focus was placed elsewhere.
He had a feeling that Mikyle was who she had been waiting for.
He turned away from their retreating backs and entered the art room. It did no good on trying to figure out Aisley’s actions, not when he had so little information to even fathom a guess as to what her true intentions may be. He couldn’t even use the book as a reference since she was only mentioned in a couple of lines.
Adrien made his way to the back of the room and grabbed one of the free easels. Once he finished setting it up in an available spot, he finally allowed himself to react, to touch his face. Ever since earlier, the mole on his face had been tingling. It was a weird sensation, and one that he couldn’t place.
I have a feeling Aisley did something when she touched me there. Does she suspect the same thing that I do, that we might somehow be related?
The professor came in just then, dragging Adrien out of his thoughts. Her voice carried out through the room, the sound not echoing thanks to the colorful fabric strung up on one of the walls.
"As I’m sure you are aware, the Fall Festival is just around the corner. You know what that means! During the festival, a gallery showcasing our students’ artworks will be open during the event. Each student partaking in any of the art classes is permitted to enter one work a piece. Whether that be a painting, a drawing, or a sculpture is up to the student."
The Fall Festival? Why does that sound familiar? He scoured his memories for any mention of the Fall Festival that he might have read about in any of the books about this world. He felt like he may have read something about it, but his memory was coming up blank.
. . . .
The professor ended the lecture by assigning a paper for them to do on all of the known advantages and disadvantages of Double-book Keeping. They were to provide a short summary and an example for each advantage and disadvantage that was to be two pages in length.
Aisley stayed seated as she watched her fellow classmates rise from their seats. She made a quick note on what the assignment was and when it was due before she slowly placed her things away. Her eyes lingered on Lady Silva as she waited for the girl to leave the classroom.
During the entire lecture, she had been running ideas through her head, trying to find the best way to show House Ceciles’ support for Lady Silva, the future Crown Princess. She finally settled on the best way to show their support to Lady Silva and that was through the Fall Festival’s concert.
Aisley’s finger drummed against the table in a nervous twitch. She was hit again with the fact that she should have put more thought into this. Maybe she should have at least talked with her sister to bounce around some ideas first.
"I can’t keep doing this," she muttered to herself. She was the heir to the Ceciles’ Dukedom but here she was acting like an uneducated fool without a care in the world. She needed to start thinking ahead and acting as she should as her position warranted.
But that was something she could start doing after the Fall Festival.
She rose from her seat when Lady Silva did. "Lady Silva," Aisley called out once they were out of the room. "May I have a word with you?"
"What is it, Lady Ceciles?" Lady Silva’s voice dripped with aversion and her expression had abhorrence written clearly on it. "What do you have to pick apart about my actions today?"
Aisley came to a stop, realizing that her earlier assumptions were correct and that her advice had been taken the wrong way. "I merely wish to extend an invitation for you to partner with me and my sister during the concert."
"Ha! Why would the heirs House of Ceciles partner with me during the Fall Festival’s concert? Are you not afraid of how the nobles will take that or how your house will lose their neutral stance?" Her questions were sound and it was clear that she did not trust Aisley’s words.
"Remember that advice that you took as open hostility? I was merely trying to tell you that you needed to build you’re own support base instead of relying solely on the Crown Prince. House Ceciles is willing to put our support behind you as the future Crown Princess and that is why I am extending an invitation for you to join me and my sister. So, yes, I know how the other noble houses will view us and we are willing to take that risk."
It wasn’t as if it was a great risk anyway. Lady Silva was already the Crown Prince’s fiancée. Unless her house were to fall completely to ruin and the other High Nobles decided to push for a marriage with another young lady, then Lady Silva’s marriage with Prince Nathaniel was all but guaranteed.
"Ha! Do you realize how conceited you sound?"
"Maybe so, but the truth of the matter is that you need support." Aisley knew she sounded condescending and utterly haughty, but that was just the way she was. Even if she meant well, someone will always mistake her good intentions for hostility just because of the way she carried herself and the fact that she could not lower herself due to her high station in life.
"And pray tell, what will you and your family gain from this?"
"That is not something I can reveal, not to you and not to anyone. What I can reveal is that it is but one means to protect my family," her voice was stern, and her eyes held nothing but an unwavering truth. It wasn’t an actual answer and she knew that there was a good chance that Lady Silva will deny her invitation.
Lady Silva held her gaze for a while, her lips pressed firmly together. "How will House Ceciles backing me help you protect your family?"
"The Crown Prince is in love with you in a. . .very passionate way. Supporting you will allow House Ceciles to be in his good graces." She was able to avoid using the real word that she had wanted to use to describe the Prince’s love, and because of that,her words had a very short but audible pause in them.
"So you wish to gain his favor? I don’t see how that will protect your family?"
"Everyone can tell that the Crown Prince is showing special attention to the domains tied to those who have been less than favorable towards you." Aisely gave the answer that she had previously thought of during class if Lady Silva were to ever ask a question like this. Though she had worded it lightly. It wasn’t hard to figure out that anyone tied to bullying Lady Silva was met with harsh punishment, some even had their whole entire family and house ruined.
She painted it to look like she wanted to avoid meeting that same fate, completely refusing to reveal that she wanted to support Lady Silva purely because the Crown Prince viewed his younger brothers in a favorable light. Shining some light onto that will only put Adrien in harm’s way if it were to ever get out that Adrien may very well be the son of the Shigaron Kingdom’s late Crown Princess.
"Fine." Lady Silva finally breathed out, her guard still up and her gaze piercing. "I will give it some thought."
Aisley decided to put her pride away and allowed herself to give a small bow to Lady Silva, a mere Baron’s daughter. "Thank you." It was more than she could ask for, even if Lady Silva were to turn her down in the end.
. . . .
