Chapter 41: Family
The large, metal gates swung open, allowing for the carriage Adrien was riding on to enter. The carriage rattled down the driveway, leading to the Ceciles’ manor located in the capital.
The manor’s butler was waiting outside for him. The elderly man led him down the hallway that led to the dining room.
Adrien was following along, his mind drifting back to the events that had occurred the day before; mainly the kiss that had happened. It had been soft and tender, yet hungry and fierce at the same time. And all too short.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a familiar painting. He stopped in his tracks and all thoughts of Mikyle left his mind.
On the wall in the hallway right before entering the Cecile’s family dining room hung a very familiar painting. It depicted a still scene of a pond with sunlight pouring down onto the water through the trees that surrounded the area. Sitting away from the pond, underneath the shade of a tree, was a picnic blanket with a basket on it. The food within the basket stayed hidden within and the picnic goers remained unseen. Scrawled in paint in the bottom corner of the painting was the name Godric.
"This painting was recently obtained by Duke Ceciles. The painter is an up-and-coming artist that goes by the name of Ephraim Godric, a young painter who has just emerged within the recent weeks," the butler explained when he had noticed that Adrien had stopped following him. "The Duke Ceciles and his daughters share a love for the arts and try to help out new artists. They are the most fond of painters since the former Duke’s younger sister, the late Queen of Shigaron, was a painter herself."
The late Queen of Shigaron? Does that mean the present Queen’s mother? She was a Ceciles?
"I didn’t know that the Ceciles were connected to the Shigaron Royal family." Is that why all of the sisters’ friends have some kind of connection to the Shigaron Kingdom?
The old butler cleared his throat. "Yes and no," he answered carefully. "The current queen is the daughter of a concubine the former king married after the death of Lady Ceciles and is not related to the Ceciles family." Adrien did not miss the way the butler had referred to the late queen. "Her elder sister, the former Crown Princess, was the only child that the late queen bore."
The former Crown Princess? I wonder what happened to her? Hopefully it wasn’t some kind of power struggle over the throne.
Power struggles were a common trope in romance novels. Whether it be within a royal family, a noble house, or a rich chaebol family in modern times, everyone loved reading about a good power struggle. But reading about it and experiencing it first hand were two different things, and Adrien now found himself in a world where that was a strong possibility of happening. It was something that even Adrien could find himself in if one of his older brothers decided to take their grandfather’s title for themselves.
The butler finished leading Adrien to the dining room, unaware of all the tumultuous thoughts rushing through his head.
"Adrien, you’re here!" Lady Aefre greeted him. Both she and her sister turned large, sparkling eyes onto him.
"I’m not one to pry," Lady Aisley started slowly, her voice never losing its elegance, "but am I to assume that the outfit was a success for yesterday’s outing?"
"You have to tell us all about it, but only if you want to," Lady Aafre spoke with animation as the excitement was barely contained in her voice.
I think the sisters looked forward to my date with Mikyle as much as I did, Adrien thought to himself with a chuckle. "That’s fine. Ask away." Adrien made a gesture with his hand as he sat down at the table.
The sisters eagerly asked their questions, wringing out as much detail from him as possible. He answered them truthfully, though he did leave out some details, such as Mikyle’s secret, and their shared kiss at the end. And that strange lustful heat that makes his skin tingle with every touch. . .that was definitely something he didn’t want to admit out loud, especially to the sisters.
I really need to talk about it with Mikyle. . .but it’s kind of embarrassing to bring up.
While amidst their excited chattering, the food was brought out. The first dish placed before them was a vegetable salad made of various squash and carrots coated in a tangy sauce. Next was a bowl of seasoned mashed potatoes. And lastly, a rich, meaty smell filled the room as a juicy and tender-looking steak topped with sautéed mushrooms was placed in front of each of them along with a basket of freshly baked bread.
"His highness chose well for your first date," Lady Aisley commented while in the middle of cutting her steak.
"Yes. A play is the ideal place that allows one to be alone without actually being alone. It can also serve as a wonderful topic of discussion or allow for one to be quiet with a good reason," Lady Aefre stated, easily following her sister’s logic.
Adrien found himself nodding along, agreeing with the sisters wholeheartedly. The theater certainly creates an amicable environment that allows for couples and large groups to be close while also keeping a distance between them.
Lady Aisley picked up her wine glass and took a sip. In this kingdom, it was legal to drink at the age of seventeen. "It sounds as if you greatly enjoyed your time with his highness. As long as you are happy, that is all that matters. Though we have only known each other for a short while, you feel like family to us."
"I agree." Lady Aisly wore a bright smile and her eyes were filled with sincerity.
Adrien felt a blockage in his throat and the corners of his eyes began to water. It took everything he had to not break down or to show a change in his demeanor as he pushed down the strong emotions that he was suddenly feeling.
I’m starting to miss my sisters even more now.
. . . .
Adrien returned to his room later that day. He headed straight for his desk drawer. Pulling out the diary, he made himself comfortable on the desk chair. It had been a few days since he had last written an entry and he felt like now was the time to write one.
He tapped the quill against the page as he tried to organize his thoughts. After a while, he slowly began to write.
Adrien described his date with Mikyle. He listed the places where they went and even included some of the absurd remarks that Mikyle used to tease him with.
His quill paused as his memories reached the part of their return. His lips tingled and burned as he remembered the kiss.
"Ugh! Why did he have to be so good at it," he muttered to himself as he ran a hand through his hair.
Shaking the images of the kiss out of his head, his hand began gliding across the diary’s page once again.
’The Ceciles sisters invited me over for dinner today and practically grilled me about the date. The sisters reminded me of you. . .I really miss you guys. Please stay safe. . .and know that you will always be my big sisters.’
Adrien looked down at the page and realized that he had filled an entire page front and back with just that one entry. With blurry eyes, he closed the diary and placed it back into the drawer with heavy hands.
He knew that one of these days, the pain and feeling of loss will eventually lessen, but for now, writing in his diary was the only thing he could do to hold onto his old life.
. . . .
Aisley watched as Adrien’s carriage pulled away from the second floor study. Once it could no longer be seen, she made her way to the desk to begin penning a letter to her father.
’Dear father.’
Her father was a strict man who was very formal, outside of the home. Inside, he was a very loving man who cared greatly for his family and preferred the informal closeness that family brought.
’Thank you for the painting. We received it yesterday and it looks lovely hanging in the dining room’s antechamber. I do hope we can make contact with the man who painted it because I believe he will have a bright future ahead of him as a painter.’
The painting that their father had sent was quite lovely. At first glance, it could be perceived as bright and cheery, but the shadowing and lack of human subjects depicts a loneliness that almost perceives at a broken family or a lost lover.
’On another note. . .one that I have been hesitant to write, my sister Aefre has made the most peculiar friend. I believe it would be for the best if you could see him for yourself.’
Aisley finished writing her letter and sealed it, stamping the wax with her personal seal. She then leaned back with a heavy heart. Her thoughts drifted to Young Adrien.
Count Mallorne’s youngest son was a remarkable young man who seemed uninteresting at first glance. He was a well-studied lad but was unremarkable in the physical and magical capabilities. His physical appearance was soft and delicate for a man, and he resembled the Countess more than the Count. But there was another he resembled even more.
The only reason why she and her sister had approached him and befriended him was because of the resemblance Adrien shared with their late Great Aunt. She had, at first, thought that Adrien might have been a secret child that their father had hidden away, but had ruled that thought out just as quickly.
Her father wasn’t a man who would ever look at another woman, so Aisley knew that Asrien could not be his. But the resemblance he shared with her late Great Aunt, and the fact that he carried the Ceciles’ signature mole, one that was always located underneath the eye or by the lips, suggested that he had Ceciles’ blood within him.
She had her theories on where the Ceciles blood in him came from. That was why she was vague about it in the letter to her father. It was no secret that her family had a close eye kept on it, which is why she couldn’t outright write down her thoughts about Adrien Mallorne’s origins.
A sigh escaped her lips and her head began to hurt. How will we be able to protect the boy when we can’t even protect ourselves?’