180 2.2.5: Debutant Party III

Once they were out of the main room, they headed towards the main room. For the debutant party, they had to host it in the Warrington mansion as it was the daughter of a Warrington dukedom that was turning into a lady. Fortunately, the mansion itself was huge and the main room was spacious enough to be decorated extravagantly and thoroughly. As much as she had the preference to host it in the garden among the flowers, she had no chose on the matter.

Yes it was her debutant party, but it was actually more like she was the puppet being sent forward by the Duchess. Everything, from her dress, to her venue, to even her escort was picked out for her. It was like the Duchess had been waiting for this moment all these years and it was finally given to her to use it. The obsessive nature to control everything about her coming of age party had freaked Xiao Yunhua out in the beginning, but over the past couple of months, she had gotten used to it.

First, she could be lazy and not really care for something she found trivial while others found important. Second, it helped her focus on the real matter that came along with her entering high society officially: the possibility of a marriage arrangement. The mere thought of being sold away to marry heaven knows who terrified her. Although fifteen was very young for marriage, by standards, it was a decent age. Nobles waited for the coming of age party to enter high society officially, but the peasants had no luxury. Some even get married as young as twelve, in the eyes of Xiao Yunhua—who came from the modern world—a child, but nothing major here. Although her mentality was old, her body was young. She couldn't allow Juliet to break nor would a marriage help her mission. But she had no authority against a marriage or to prevent a marriage.

The only thing she could do was run away but by doing that, she would lose all chance of getting close to Adriel. At least her current identity was the identity of the daughter of a Duke. Yes it was illegitimate, but it also allowed her to get close to the crown prince. Peasant Juliet would never have the chance to step in the castle, nonetheless meet the crown prince. Yes the numerous novels she read in her original world featured unlikely romances between a prince and a commoner, but reality was quite different. In the realistic sense, Adriel would never marry a commoner as his position was the future king, meaning he had to think of the nation before he could think of himself. If he were to think of the nation, then Xiao Yunhua needed extraordinary means to convince his heart to fall in love with her.

Yes, Violetta had appeared in some parties of the nobles, but it had been a while since her isolation and after her freedom, she didn't go much because her mind and everyone else's—including the Duchess—were focused on the upcoming debutant party. Hence, the people had slowly forgotten about her except a few who could describe her vaguely. This was high society, in which if one did not appear for a few months, they were quickly forgotten unless they were the royal family. Like Adriel, he rarely showed his face in events such as this one, but people immediately knew who he was with no doubt. Even with Xiao Yunhua's identity being of a family only below the royal family, it still wasn't as potent as the royal family.

In comparison to her tiredness, the Duchess was walking with ease, like she had been to the main room many times before. Xiao Yunhua was sure that she had because the woman had probably hosted many things in the main room before. Based on her calm attitude, she treated this lightly despite how chaotic she made the mansion be over the preparation for it. Her collective behavior astonished Xiao Yunhua as it did not appear guilty nor showed any indication that she had crippled a person's hands merely minutes ago.

The Duchess sensed her silence and asked, "Are you nervous?" Xiao Yunhua didn't know whether to nod and show weakness or shake her head and lie. The Duchess didn't wait for her response and murmured, "I'm sure you are. I remember how nervous I was when I having my debutant party." Raising her hand, Xiao Yunhua flinched but only felt a comforting hand on her head. "You had me as your mentor, so you don't need to worry." Her method of comfort was odd.

This woman really made no sense to Xiao Yunhua. Her actions now juxtaposed her usual attitude towards her. The somewhat gentle look in her eye was like a mother looking at her own child. The more gentle she acted, the scarier she appeared. It was like the calm before the storm when it came to the Duchess behaving in this way rather than her usual cruel antics. This was the woman who promised that she would 'kill her' when choking her. This was the woman that been anticipating the debutant party for a reason since a while, as per mentioned in that murderous incident.

"Violet," there was nobody there so referring to her nickname with such endearment meant there was some sinister hint behind her words. And Xiao Yunhua was correct when she continued, "make sure to get the crown prince interested. I've already said he's a big fish to reel in, but he's a fish necessary for your survival." Not the survival of the Warrington dukedom, but her survival. If Violetta didn't do anything to get the crown prince's attention, then Xiao Yunhua was sure that the punishment would be more severe than all of her previous punishments combined. After all, this was the moment that she had been waiting for. The Duchess wanted for this moment to be perfect for her mysterious plan.

Before Xiao Yunhua had the chance to respond, they had finally arrived in front of the main room entrance. The guests had already arrived and were being entertained by the Duke.

Even though the Duke found the party and attending it a hassle, he couldn't forgo his decisions as the father of who the party was being hosted for and needed to attended. If he didn't attend, negative rumors would circulate and affect his reputation, which he did not like. Not only would attending help make him look like a good father, but he would also be able to get closer to the crown prince. As much as he didn't want to believe it, his wife had told him that the crown prince had agreed to escort his daughter to her coming of age party. He wondered what tricks were used to accomplish this but didn't ponder too much as it benefited him.

He looked at his son, Augustine, who had also attended because he was growing to care for his sister. He would make sure to use this chance to get Augustine in the good graces of the crown prince and befriend him, which would then get the Warrington Household in the good graces of the future king. Augustine was lost in thought and his usual green eyes filled with arrogance were filled with an emotion that onlookers could not decipher. His attention had turned to the crowd which was surrounding the crown prince because he had attended. No one could believe that the crown prince had decided to attend this and be the escort! This was undeniably the biggest gossip of the year amongst the socialites.

They watched his every move but after a while, they were disappointed to find him so cold and rigid. He was polite and had the manners of a king, but he limited himself to a point where no one could say anything about it and find it as a flaw. His perfectionist behavior stunned many of the women there, which was further instigated by his Adonis-like features. The crowd had originally gathered for more gossip and because he was the crown prince, but they had ended up staying more because they favored to be by his side, no matter how politely distant he was.

Suddenly, a servant made her way through and moved her lips quietly enough to where only the crown prince could hear.

"The Young miss that Your Highness is supposed to escort for the party is at the entrance."

Adriel excused himself from the crowd and headed towards the entrance, curious on what the girl looked like. She was probably another spoiled daughter who was going to use this incident of having the future king as her escort for her debutant party for life.

But when the door was opened and the girl was in his line of vision, he was stunned.

And surprisingly, so was she.