Chapter 103: Chapter 103: Tea Time With Lady Jade and Long Xiurong (1)
Swan was getting nervous as the cat maid pushed her wheelchair towards Lady Jade''s room.
Ever since she got the information from Rock about Jade poisoning him, all of her good opinions of that woman crumbled, and she learned that she should be more careful right now.
''And that Long Xiurong... I don''t think she will be kind to me either. She probably wants to have Gale all for herself, which is understandable, I guess. Because even I have the same selfishness myself,'' Swan thought.
She clenched her dress as the wheelchair stopped in front of Lady Jade''s room.
Maya and Myra noticed Princess Swan''s nervousness. They looked at each other and asked, "Princess, are you sure about this? Should you change your mind, we can just go back to your room and we''ll tell Lady Jade''s attendant that you are not feeling well."
"No, I can''t hide forever. I need to face them because they are equally important to Gale," Swan insisted. "Open the door, and let me talk to them."
Thus, despite her worry, she braced herself and joined Lady Jade and Long Xiurong who sat at a round table with assorted snacks and desserts, alongside tea for three inside Lady Jade''s room.
It was the first time in a while that Swan met Lady Jade again, and she looked scarier now in her eyes.
It was also her first time looking at Long Xiurong in close proximity. She realized once again that Lady Long was truly an exotic beauty of the East, no wonder Gale epted her easily.
"Thank you for inviting me, Mdy. How was your trip to the East?" Swan asked politely.
"Hm- it''s fine. Everything went smoothly. I can''t say the same with what happened here, though. I heard from the reports that Gale went as far as conquering the North Sea to punish your mother and sister," Jade replied with a scathingment. "I don''t know what you have done to grant such a cruel punishment from him, since Gale is usually very indifferent about everything."
Swan''s lips twitched.
One minute into the conversation, Lady Jade already attacked her with what happened in Holy Achate.
However, it seemed that she wasn''t informed of the details, or Gale simply didn''t tell anyone about his true intention behind Anastasia and Aria''s punishment.
Swan automatically thought it was her duty to keep the real reason a secret as well since her husband refused to tell anyone about Anastasia''s neglect of her.
On top of that, she shouldn''t allow Lady Jade to use Holy Achate as a liability against her.
"Whatever happened to Holy Achate is none of my concern," Swan replied calmly.
"None of your concern? Did you lose your heart, Princess? How could you say that against those innocent civilians and also your family in Holy Achate?" Jade feigned her shock, acting exaggeratedly. "If it were me, I would sacrifice myself as long as the Kingdom of Beastman would be safe, and-" Jade pointed at Long Xiurong who had been silent the whole time. "Lady Long must''ve thought the same as well. She will do anything for the sake of her people."
Long Xiurong''s body tensed as she nced at the beautiful woman sitting in front of her.
Swan was very beautiful, with her innocent eyes, soft and fluffy blonde hair, and also the way she stared at her as if she was an angel descending from heaven.
If the bunny maid didn''t tell her about Princess Swan''s ability as a witch, she would''ve thought that Swan was genuinely an angel.
''I guess beautyes with a price. Who would''ve expected an innocent-looking woman like her to be cruel enough to charm the Beast King and harm her kingdom?''
Long Xiurong was scared that she would get cursed by Princess Swan if she said something that would offend her.
Thus, she simply nodded andmented, "I-it''s given since we are royals."
"See? It seems that I have severely misjudged you, Swan. You are not the sweetdy that I expected," Jade said, which directly tranted to her calling Swan a cruel bitch in an elegant manner.
"You may judge me whichever you want, Mdy, Swan responded calmly. "But as you know, I have been sent by my mother to be the Beast King''s bride. Therefore, am now bound by my duty to His Majesty, not to my kingdom anymore. It doesn''t bother me as much."
Of course, Swan was lying. She was constantly worrying about the innocent civilians in Holy Achate and prayed to the Goddess almost every day that her stepmother and half-sister would finallye to the castle and beg for forgiveness.
Swan would forgive them immediately, not because she was full of love, but because she had to save the innocent people no matter what.
She knew how painful it was to suffer from getting beaten, starved, and neglected,
and she didn''t want innocent civilians from Holy Achate to suffer the same.
At the same time, she didn''t want to show weakness in front of Lady Jade. She was still Gale''s wife no matter what, and showing weakness would be a disgrace for him.
''Stay strong, Swan. Gale trusts you as his mate, and you shouldn''t embarrass him. Don''t let yourself get intimidated by anyone!'' Swan told herself repeatedly in her heart as she kept her head straight.
The smile on Jade''s lips faded quickly, as she noticed something had changed with this woman only after seven months of her absence.
Swan seemed to be confident and calm with her words and actions. She didn''t stutter and she kept her head high as if she had the bearing of a true Queen.
Jade even momentarily wondered if Swan was faking her stuttering and timidness the whole time. But when she recalled the time when they first met, it truly seemed that Swan had those traits. It didn''t look fake at all.
''If she''s not faking it, then what makes her change? Gale? Hah, nobody loves that man more thand do,'' Jade sneered in her heart, but it was difficult to hide her jealousy as she already heard many sweet tales of Swan and Gale around the castle from the servants.