When Sydnee arrived home, a huge crowd ofmoners was gathering outside the huge mansion gate. The driver slowed down the car. Not long after, the crowd was dispersed by the head maid servant of the house. Then the car entered the gate that was opened up for them.


    “What happened?” Sydnee asked the head maid servant when she hopped off the car.


    The maid lowered her head in greeting and answered, “They just want to see the second prince, Young Miss.”


    Sydnee raised her brow and looked at themoners outside of the gate. There were still some of them lingering around the corner, but majority was dispered already so she was not worried.


    Then she looked at the huge mansion. It was then that she saw how lively it was. She smirked. So the second prince visited Catarina again? Was it an ordinary visit or a way to intimidate her?


    Nheless, Sydnee walked inside the mansion. What greeted her was the smiling second prince and Catarina. The second prince resembled the King a lot. It was not like the blue iris and the blonde locks of the crown prince who inherited the traits from the reigning queen.


    The second prince had a hair as ck as the starless night and eyes that were colored after the ck obsidian. He also had a fairplexion which created a big contrast with the color of his assets. It was no wonder that he was a top notch when ites todies, and clearly, Catarina was one of them.


    Just as she turned around to leave, the second prince raised his head and called after her. “Young Miss Sydnee.”


    Sydnee secretly sighed. She just wanted to climb the stairs and rest for awhile after driving through the border. Without a choice, she turned around and politely smiled at the prince. “It’s nice to see you, second prince. Do you need anything?” she asked as she did a salute to him.


    The prince was silent for a second before he cleared his throat. “Catarina told me about the stolen ne. The ne was retrieved this afternoon. I’m sorry for the trouble.”


    Her lips curved upwards. “There’s no need for an apology. I understand.”


    The prince looked at her for a moment. Catarina noticed the peculiarity of the prince so she turned her head to Sydnee and secretly sneered. “You have assignments to do right, sister?”


    Sydnee looked at Catarina for a moment before she bowed before the prince. “Yes. I have something else to do, Prince. I will excuse myself.” Then she turned around and hurried away from the living room.


    She climbed the stairs and she only sighed in relief when she reached her room. Watching the prince with the same eyes as Isa, she remembered her friend. Her lips twitched. She could not do anything about that but she hoped that Isa would be okay.ConTEent bel0ngs to N?v(e)lD/rama(.)Org .


    Her foot just stepped out of the bathroom after a stress free bath, when a knock sounded at the door. “Young Miss?” the maid called from outside.


    She stood before the whole body mirror and dried her hair using the towel. “Yes,” she answered.


    “The duke asked of you.”


    Sydnee looked at the wall clock and it happened to be six in the evening. The duke might called her for the dinner, but she hesitated. The prince was in the mansion and she would feel ufortable facing the second prince. Sydnee pursed her lips. Nevermind. She would just finish her dinner faster.


    So after dressing up with a simple purple dress without the help of a servant, Sydnee made her way out of the room. The maid who called her earlier was still standing at the hallway to wait for her. When the girl who saw, she lowered her head to greet her.


    Sydnee raised her hand to stop the maid from saluting. “Is the second prince still around?” she asked.


    The maid nodded. Her brows met while walking her way towards the staircase. Her lips were pursed into a thin line, but she managed to hide her discontent upon standing before the Duke. She saluted.


    The duke smiled at her and gestured her to sit down. She sat at the chair opposite the second prince. It was her dining chair afterall, even though she hesitated at thest moment. Nevertheless, Lady Geneva might ask her why she changed her seat. Might as well ignore her discontent if it would save her the trouble.


    “The dishes were served ording to Your Highess’ preference. Please do enjoy the food,” Lady Geneva said.


    The second prince smiled at thedy. It was normal for Lady Geneva to speak to the prince in behalf of the duke. It was rude to let the butler ry the duke’s messages, so as formality, the wife of the duke would do all the talking. While the two daughters and the duke kept their silence.


    But Sydnee froze when the second prince turned his head to her and said, “This is the newly adopted daughter of Duke Theodore?”


    A second of silence before Lady Geneva answered the prince. “Yes. It is Sydnee Lurica. The duke pitied her when her mother tried to kill her, so he decided to adopt this girl.”


    Sydnee tried her best to swallow the food in her mouth. She then reach for the ss of juice and drank a bit. She lowered her head. “Yes. I am Sydnee Lurica.”


    The second princeughed. “It is interesting to know that amoner entered the duke’s household.”


    “You never see how she dressed when she first arrived here in the mansion. She was like a beggar if not for my father who took pity on her,” Catarina chirped in.


    There was another silence hovered around the air before Lady Geneva reprimanded Catarina. Then the woman turned to the prince. “Don’t mind what this daughter of mine had said, Prince. Sydnee was indeed not like this when she first arrived in the mansion. But with proper care and proper training, she looks like a dignified noble now.”


    Sydnee fought hard not to twitch her lips. It looked like Lady Geneva was defending her, but in other perspective, the Lady was mocking her for being dirty. She bit her bottom lip and reached for the ss of juice again.


    “I see,” the prince said as he looked down on his te. “Then the duke must do his best to educate Sydnee. It is not easy to enter a noble household afterall.”


    There was a hidden message in the prince’s words. Except for Catarina, maids, and the butlers standing not far away, they all understood what the prince was saying. Sydnee narrowed her lowered eyes.


    The duke once warned her that she should be careful upon dealing with the royals because they were too cunning and the pce was full of schemes. In the surface, they might be sound cheerful and friendly, but on the inside, they were already nning their scheme against their rivals and suspected spies.


    If she was not wrong, the royals were wary of her who recently entered the duke’s household. It was not something that she did not expect. The duke had taught her about the power struggles in the court and the princes, as well as the power struggles in the harem. The king who seemed powerful kept a bnce both in court and in the harem, but this ruler was not simple. He also kept an eye on every household of his subjects to maintain the bnce and the power was still on the throne.


    She, being amoner who entered a noble’s household, was an opening for the king to suspect the duke. And it seemed like the royals would not wait any longer. They had started to move, and the first wave was the second prince who just recently took notice on Catarina Mondragon.


    Lady Geneva smiled. “We will teach Sydnee the things she need to know.”


    The rest of the dinner was spent in silent. The people sitting around the dining table was lost in their thoughts.


    Duke Theodore looked secretly as Sydnee.