To His Hell and Back-Chapter 167: The Odd One Out-I

Itchiness filled her chest and subconsciously Arabella had went and scratched the itchy surface of her chest. She noticed only after a while of staring at the Princess from the neighboring kingdom how Malvo had been intently staring at her. Not that it was malicious but studious. She didn’t feel comfortable having her expression being read out by him and cleared her throat as if she hadn’t noticed anything.

"That sounds good for him..." so many princesses, "He will be married to a pretty princess."

"I don’t think you would fall pale in comparison to them," said Malvo with a smile and though that sounded like a humble thing to say, Arabella knows the truth.

She isn’t any princess. She could see her own reflection on the window and then the princesses that had walked out of their golden ornate carriage. They’re dresses sparkly and made from the silkiest fabric. How could she ever compare to them?

"Being the crown prince is tough," she muttered to herself. "So many choices to choose."

"Haha," Malvo chuckled. "Choosing a princess isn’t the only hard part. You’re right, though— it’s not as easy as it looks. Sure, having a court full of eager women sounds delightful, but some families are too dangerous to get tangled up with. Cassius needs the right woman by his side— someone who can truly support him. Rising to the throne has always been his lifelong ambition, he won’t risk choosing the wrong wife."

Lifelong ambition... Hadn’t she seen it by her own eyes? It’s true that Cassius had risked everything to become the king of Versailles. Not that anyone else could replace him right now but the king who had chosen another wife had shown how affection meant nothing to him and it would guarantee nothing of Cassius’s future as the next king.

Of course everyone was aware of this and Malvo was also even more aware that to Cassius the throne mattered more than anything. Therefore finding the perfect wife who would push him closer to the throne... that would be the most ideal choice.

Arabella found herself not wanting to look at the princesses anymore and turned her face away, finding it odd that Malvo was still sticking beside her when the conversation should have ended long ago.

"You see the princess from Edelmunt is quite dangerous. Her family consists of mostly pirates but the princess from their kingdom have a tendency in trying to take monopoly to the sea of the kingdom they’re being married to. If she eventually marries to Versailles, we can expect her to demand part of the sea and that would weaken our naval force."

"I see," she muttered under her breaths, "Choosing a woman with no background power would also be a dreadful choice isn’t it?"

"It would be lamentable," answered Malvo, "It would stump him from his lifelong ambition. But this is Cassius we are talking about. He had never and would never make future mistake."

"You’re right," Arabella smiled though she didn’t know why she didn’t feel quite good. She has always been good in knowing her own emotions but not today, not now. "I have to go now, Your highness."

"Oh you do? Alright then, do take care! I enjoy talking with you. Should next time we meet, don’t shy away in saying a hi," answered Malvo as he raised his arm and waved it around.

Arabella smiled back at him and turned around. From what she can conclude about Malvo is that though he is still suspicious he doesn’t exude the same killing intent toward Cassius as Queen Morgana does. He also seemed to be very keen in understanding the court and how treacherous it could be though he didn’t seek to be involved in it.

Though their meeting was awkward, she didn’t have enough information to be sure what side he was on and whether he would become someone she should always be careful with or maybe someone she could soon befriend with.

She didn’t look back to see if he was still in his spot, but she could feel Malvo’s gaze lingering on her shoulder until she was far enough and had finally left the scene.

Upon reaching the kitchen, Arabella found a few servants looking at her oddly. She made her way to the chef and spoke cautiously, "Excuse me, may I ask for a bread and butter?"

The chef turned to stare at her, studying who she was. "Who told you to come here-" As the chef was about to speak, a chef rushed to his side and whispered something to his ears which made his expression to turn stunned. He cleared his throat and nodded, "We can. However next time do not enter the kitchen and wait in the dining hall if you have ever needed for something. It’s dangerous for outsider to enter kitchen as this is a place where food would be prepared only for royals and if something were to happen to the nobles who had eaten the food after your appearance in this place, it wouldn’t be a mistake for them to cast suspicion at you."

Though he spoke politely, his tone was filled with thorn and Arabella could tell that this was the chef’s way of telling her out of the kitchen as he believe she would one day cause trouble and had ill will coming here. Though the narrowed glare did make her feel bad, Arabella nodded in understanding as his words were more of a warning for her own sake as she thought about how some people sees her as a pawn to harm Cassius’s image.

Not long after a maid had came with a wooden bowl of soup, a bread and butter. Most of them were leftovers and the soup wasn’t warm anymore. The bread was the hardest one they had baked this morning, the one that had failed to be baked properly and was even used to be given to the birds or simply thrown away. The butter themselves were the one that had tasted badly as it neared the expiration hour but Arabella who saw the bread gulped down in hunger. Back in the village this was the best food anyone could have offered her. So how couldn’t she be happy seeing the bread and such meat filled soup?

When she was with Cassius she had a softer bread and a much warmer soup but this wasn’t all that bad so she had overlooked the maid’s lack of attention and delightfully thanked her. She did saw the maid scoffing and rolling her eyes but paid no attention to it as she pulled herself far from the dining room, wandering around as she knew she couldn’t eat in the dining room or the hallways of the Castle, aware of how nobles would be irked at her presence.

Then when she reached the glass door that was slightly opened, she could see the stable not far and the horses that were black and tall in color. A few more horses lined beside the wooden stable, eating and munching in the grass with delight.

If there she wouldn’t be in problem, she thought to herself as she quickly paced near the stable, finding a tall apple tree which she then made her place at, not aware of someone who had took notice of her presence.