(POV William)
"Damn it, I hate this fucking collar."
"Just take it easy, we still have time before we need to leave for the party."
Rossette met me in my room. Honestly, trying to put on one of these suits is awful. This damn collar with all its ornaments makes getting dressed formally a real ordeal.
"Let me do it."
Rossette came closer and started fixing my suit.
"Have you never worn a suit before? You look like a child. Besides, I chose a simpler one for you, without too many decorations, since I knew you wouldn't be used to it."
She even thought of that. She's too good to me—she's doing more for me than I am for her.
"Yes, I've worn suits before, but where I'm from, suits aren't so flashy. They're usually simpler, black, and you wear a tie with them."
Her fingers, agile and sure, began to untangle the mess I'd made with the laces and clasps. I can't help but admire the beauty of her red dress.
"What did you do all day, Rossette?"
"I had to wake up early and start getting ready. After breakfast, I called my maids to begin with makeup, choosing the dress, the jewels, and even the perfume I'd wear. I just finished."
Wow, seriously? And here I am complaining that I started getting ready just an hour ago.
"Well, I must say, you look very beautiful."
Rossette raised her head and looked directly into my eyes. She glanced away and finished adjusting the suit.
"Thank you. You look very handsome too."
I went and looked at myself in the mirror. I have to say, even though it's not my body, I look really good. I wonder how this suit would look on my actual body.
"Well, shall we go?"
"Yes, the carriage must already be waiting for us downstairs, and our parents will be waiting for us at the party."
After finishing everything, Rossette and I quickly went down and got into the carriage that was waiting for us. After helping her in, we sat facing each other, and the driver started on the way to the palace.
At some point, I noticed Rossette was staring directly at me.
"Is something wrong?"
"We've known each other for over a week now, if you can call it that, but I really don't know you. I know nothing about you aside from your name and maybe your purpose in Arthur's body. So, tell me about yourself, William."
So, the moment has come. Finally, my existence has raised doubts in her.
"There's not much to tell, really. I come from a place where there are no titles or anything like sword duels. I come from a family that you could say is prestigious because my parents have some financial means. I have three siblings: a younger sister, an older sister, and an adopted brother."
Honestly, remembering when that man arrived makes me sad. I don't know what would happen if I didn't have the ability to keep a calm mind and maintain a stable expression.
"When my brother was adopted, for some reason, I started being pushed aside. My family began paying more attention to him and started forgetting about me. They no longer celebrated my birthdays, didn't spend time with me, never celebrated my achievements, and because of that brother's schemes, my whole family started thinking I treated him badly for being adopted. From then on, they began to hate me and show it openly."
Breathe, William, breathe. That's in the past now, and you're away from them. You have to learn to live on your own. I looked at Rossette, and she was giving me a comforting smile.
"It must have been hard, knowing you did nothing wrong, and your family set you aside as if you were nothing because of a stranger."
I felt a tightness in my chest. For some reason, I even felt like crying.
"Don't think too much about it. I've come to accept that they won't change, so I left the house I lived in with that family and found my own place to continue my life without their interference."
"And are you happy?"
Happy?
"Honestly, I don't know. But at least now I don't feel unhappy, so I'm at peace with my choices to some extent."
Rossette kept looking at me.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked you that."
Seeing the genuine regret on Rossette's face, I could only give her a comforting look.
"There's no need to apologize. Your curiosity about me was genuine, and honestly, if none of that had happened, I might never have gotten to know you."
Silence fell over us again.
"Tell me about yourself, dear fiancée. Getting to know you can't be so bad."
She looked at me, understanding that I wanted to break this uncomfortable atmosphere.
"There's not much to tell about me either. I lived a very normal life until the day my engagement to the prince was decided. From that moment on, I had to be perfect and not make any mistakes. My family became stricter because I was going to be the future queen of this place."
"That must have been tough."
"A little. Having to take etiquette classes every day, learn all the history, and manage large amounts of money was frustrating. Above all, not being able to attract negative attention. At least now I have a bit more freedom."
"If you feel that way, why were you sad when I tried to cancel the engagement?"
"Sad? I wasn't sad. I was angry about all the time wasted for nothing just because a little brat threw a tantrum. Besides, even after ten years, you'd grow fond of a chair."
She's right.
At one point, the carriage stopped, and looking out the window, I saw a magnificent palace. I honestly wonder how long it took them to build something like that.
I got out of the carriage first and extended my hand to Rossette to help her down.
"Are you ready?"
"Obviously."
We started making our way into the palace. We saw many people entering through the large doors, accompanied by their partners or families. We entered the great hall with Rossette holding onto my arm.
We continued and managed to see the table where "my" parents and what seemed to be Rossette's parents were sitting.
Honestly, seeing Rossette's mother is strange. She looks exactly like her daughter, except for the eyes—Rossette's mother has blue eyes.
"Hello, Mom, Dad. Duke Moriarte, it's a pleasure to see you again."
"Oh, come on, dear Arthur, don't refer to me as Duchess. Call me Marisol or mother-in-law, whichever you prefer."
"Alright, mother-in-law."
"Mom, don't bother with that. At least wait until Arthur and I are married, and you're not giving him more reasons to annoy us."
I smiled, seeing how she seemed a bit embarrassed by the whole situation. When I turned my gaze, I saw her father giving me a look that sent a shiver down my spine.
"Hello, fath—"
"If you say 'father-in-law,' I'll throw you out that window."
"Alright, sir."
Damn, he scared me.
"Dad, stop bothering Arthur. He's my future husband, and you should at least be calm and respectful when he's around."
"I am being respectful. That's why I didn't throw him out the moment I saw him."
Well, thanks for that. At least I'm not suffering an attack from my fiancée's father.
"Let's leave that aside. Let's sit down since it seems all the guests have arrived."
Thank you, Mother, for making us drop this little confrontation. At that moment, we all sat down together and watched as the adults talked about innocuous topics. On the other hand, I noticed Rossette slowly slipping her hand into the table centerpiece and pulling out two blue vials, making it look like she was just touching the flowers.
After doing it, she smiled at me with a certain air of smugness.
"Do you want to know how I managed to have this centerpiece placed exactly where we were going to sit?"
"You just said to put this type of flowers on the table where we were going to sit?"
"No, but close enough to give you a pass."
Rossette handed me one of the vials under the table.
"Put it in one of your pockets. If after eating or drinking something you feel any discomfort, run quickly and drink it in the bathroom. We can't attract attention, especially not with two strange vials on us."
While we were talking, the music started playing—an elegant and complex waltz that filled the hall. It was the signal for couples to take the dance floor, and several of them were already standing up.
I also stood up and extended my hand to Rossette.
"What do you think, my dear? Would you grant me this dance?"
"Do you think you're ready for this? We haven't had the chance to practice dancing together," Rossette asked, placing her hand in mine as we walked slowly to the center of the room.
"Trust me. As long as the waltz steps are similar to where I'm from, I'll manage."
As the music continued, so did I, and Rossette let me lead. It seemed the steps were the same, with some slight variations that Rossette subtly guided me through. Watching my partner dance with me so elegantly and without fear, I realized Rossette was a perfect partner—light and precise, guiding me with almost imperceptible pressures from her fingers when my memory faltered.
The music ended with a final flourish, and applause erupted—polite but genuine. All of us on the dance floor bowed to the king and queen. As we returned to our seats, my gaze met the prince's. The fury in his eyes was so palpable I could almost taste it—metallic and bitter like blood. The moment of calm had ended.
When we returned to our seats, both sets of parents looked at us with some surprise, except for my father-in-law's gaze—he still had that same hateful look.
"Did you two practice while we weren't looking?"
Leonor asked.
"No, Mother. Perhaps our connection is deeper than we expected."
"Well, if that's the case, we should have brought you together sooner,"
said Rossette's mother with a smile on her face. Seriously, this is the woman who told Rossette she should learn to defend herself.
As we continued with the somewhat informal conversation, as if by magic, servants with trays of golden champagne appeared among the crowd. I received mine and gave the other to Rossette, watching as David gave his to Leonor and Joseph to Marisol.
I leaned close to Rossette and whispered,
"Do you think this is the trap?"
"Most likely. Normally, only one servant brings these drinks to the whole table, but this time several servants went to the tables to distribute the drinks."
"For now, let's just pretend to drink and not actually do it."
"That's best."
As we took small sips of our drinks, I realized these little sips might help dilute the poison's effect. While drinking slowly, I turned to look at Rossette and noticed her face had turned pale. Looking at her drink, I saw she hadn't even taken a sip of the champagne.
Without time to think, I stood up.
"Rossette, dear, are you alright?"
"Yes, Mom, don't worry. I just need some air."
Damn it.
"Yes, Rossette, let's go. Maybe if we go to the terrace, you'll get some air and feel better."
As we moved away from the group, Rossette's arm trembled against mine. Her breathing had become shallow, but we quickly reached the terrace. After closing the door, which couldn't be seen through due to the opaque glass, I gave her my dose of antidote. After a moment, color returned to Rossette's face.
I helped her stand and lean against the balcony.
"Did you drink any of your champagne?"
"No."
That only means one thing.
"Your poison was on the rim of the glass."
"Yes. You didn't have any reaction to the poison even though I noticed you drank a bit of yours. That means only my drink was poisoned."
Damn it, they underestimated us, though we did too. They also had a Plan B, and if I hadn't noticed in time, Rossette could have had a bad ending.
"Thank you, William. You saved me."
"You give me too much credit. I only managed to save you because you had already planned for a situation like this in advance. It's a bit sad to say that you've been the most useful in all this. I've just followed your orders and plans."
"Maybe, but don't sell yourself short. If I were alone, I wouldn't have gotten very far."
"Thank you."
"It's nothing. But now we have to plan something because when they see us come back and I don't look half-dead, they'll know something went wrong."
"They'll probably try to use more poison, so we should leave right now. We only have one antidote left, and if they use a stronger poison, I don't know if we'll manage."
"But aren't we supposed to announce the date of our engagement party today?"
"Our parents will do that. Besides, today, no matter what, Alexander doesn't have much left to do since your father's and my vote will go to the second prince. So today is our victory."
"Good, then let's go back quickly."
Rossette and I returned to the party and stood in front of our parents.
"Rossette, are you feeling better now?"
"A little, Mom. But since I'm still not well, we've decided it's best for me to return to our rooms to rest."
"Are you sure, dear? In a few moments, the food will be served."
"No, don't worry. Arthur and I will leave together and find something to eat. There's no need to worry about that."
"Alright, then go ahead. We'll take care of the rest for you."
At that moment, Rossette nodded and took my arm. We started walking out of the palace, receiving curious glances until we finally reached outside and got into our carriage. The coachman, who was sitting outside talking with another coachman, took us back to the academy.
"How are you feeling, Rossette?"
"Fine, just a bit tired. That poison seems to be a powerful mix that drained a lot of my energy."
"Don't worry, we've gotten through all that trouble today. Though it's a bit sad not to have spent more time with you while you were in that beautiful dress."
"You're too much of a flirt, Mr. William. I wonder how many women have fallen for those compliments of yours."
"Hahaha, maybe you're the first I've given so many compliments to."
"Then I'll accept those compliments with great gratitude toward you."
While we were having a good time, I saw Rossette jerk violently to one side due to a big impact, and I also felt the movement as my head hit one of the walls, and everything went dark.