Let the face slapping begin.

When Sigrid looked at her maids, they appeared to be worried. Lama looked like she was ready to faint from the great horror of Oliver Ye visiting the manor.

Obviously, this had something to do with her reputation, after all, an ex-fiance visiting before her wedding would get the tongues of their society wagging.

"My lady, you must not be alone with him." Lama said.

Lanai nodded, "Do not even smile in his direction lest a scandal shall follow."

Scandal! is anything on Eldoria really scandal free for women? Sigrid asked herself.

If you are unmarried and smile at a man in a way that appears intimate: scandal.

If you hold hands with a man in public without a chaperone or good reason: scandal.

If you talk to a man for more than an hour without a chaperone: scandal.

If you walk with a man in the absence of a chaperone: scandal.

If you dare to pick up a sword as a woman: scandal and prison!!!

"Oh for heavens sake!" Sigrid exclaimed and rolled her eyes.

She increased her speed and followed the butler to the great hall. In there, a small number of people had gathered, thirty or forty at least.

They were sitting, the ladies especially, helping themselves to cups of hot tea which was outrageous given how hot it was.

Most of the men were standing in one group, forming a scandal. A few were smoking, others were talking and one was quietly reading a newspaper.

"The lady Sigrid has returned." The butler announced.

Every head in the room turned Sigrid's way, dozens of eyes all pinned on her. Some of the faces bore smiles that were genuine and others not so sincere.

"You mean the crown princess has returned." a woman's proud voice buzzed through the room.

The owner of the voice was Mila Thorin, Sigrid's grandmother and the duchess. She gestured for Sigrid to go closer and Sigrid did, walking slowly, as elegantly as she could towards the old woman.

Mila Thorin was a beautiful woman and this showed despite her age and the wrinkles which had eaten away at the corners of her eyes. Her once dark rich hair was all grey now, but it was still as full as it had been in her younger days.

She had a dignified air around her, her posture was straight. In her eyes, Sigrid saw a sparkle and felt warmth and care which she had not felt or seen before in her life. It was like she was looking at her most prized possession in the whole world.

No wonder those roses had been set on fire, the love she has for me is clear as day, Sigrid thought.

Sigrid curtsied, "Greetings your grace."

"What grace, since when are you so polite?" Mila took both of Sigrid's hands in her eyes and encouraged her to sit.

"I will be wed into the royal family grandma, it's time for me to refine some of my less than appropriate habits." Sigrid answered.

Her eyes were on the plate of freshly baked scones sitting on the table in a perfectly untouched small hill.

"Lanai, pour mistress a cup of tea." Duchess Mila ordered.

Lanai stepped forward to do her job but another young woman beat her to it.

"I will do it." Miss Rosalind eagerly shoved Lanai aside and took on the task.

A few people frowned at her behavior, puzzled by her sudden eagerness to pour tea for Sigrid. However, Rosalind and Sigrid were friends so nobody thought much of it. Some of the ladies assumed that she was sucking up to Sigrid even more because of the crown princess identity.

"This tea has gone cold, I will fetch a fresh pot." Rosalind said.

"She is probably hoping to be a lady-in-waiting." Someone whispered.

Between all the whispers, the messages of felicitations did not end which denied Sigrid a moment of rest. She was reciting thank you, over and over while her maids accepted gifts on her behalf.

Despite their easy smiles, Sigrid did not trust any of them. Power was like shifting sands, difficult to control forever. The moment they detected a change, most of them would abandon the Thorin family.

"How many of these people will turn against me for the female lead, I wonder? System, check all of their loyalty for me, start with that Rosalind."

From her memory of the plot.....

"Host, a plot has been detected."

[Mission: Publicly bring down Rosalind Alexander and thwart her scheme.

Reward: A secret about prince Roland, three beauty pills, coffee seeds that can ripen in 2 months.]

Sigrid's thoughts were broken before they could expand, but it was as expected, Rosalind was not her true friend and she was planning something nefarious.

Sigrid had figured this out the moment the butler informed her that her good friend had come to celebrate her impending nuptials in the company of her supposed ex-fiance.

"The tea is here," Rosalind walked towards Sigrid and she set the cup down. Smiling, subserviently, she encouraged Sigrid to take a sip.

Sigrid reached out slowly and touched the wide brim of the small porcelain cup which would provide no more than three small unsatisfactory sips.

Duchess Thorin patted Sigrid's back gently. "Drink something dear, you must be quite parched. When you are finished, I would like to hear all about your conversation with the king."

Sigrid picked up the cup and brought it to her lips, acting as if she was about to drink. She noticed the huge anticipatory look in Rosalind's eyes.

"System, what is in the tea?"

"An aphrodisiac."

Sigrid's mind traveled to the novel plot, in the book, Sigrid had lost her chastity before her wedding. The unhelpful author of course, had not revealed the cause or the responsible party. It was just another thing wrong with villainous Sigrid, added to make the pure female lead more alluring.

The loss of her chastity served as a crucial point for her crucifixion because the crown prince did not consummate the marriage.

So, when Sigrid prevented Emmah from being made Roland's secondary consort, the news of her lack of purity had been spread by an unknown party through the capital.

The queen had sent people to inspect her body, it was confirmed that she was no virgin.

The news was sealed to avoid embarrassing the royal family but Roland was a assigned a secondary consort and Sigrid who had no idea how her chastity had been lost could not even say a word.

Roland of course hated her even more because he believed that she had been cuckolding him and deliberately shamed him.

"So it was you." Sigrid whispered into the cup.

Mist from the hot tea rose up, finding it's way to her nostrils. A cunning smile grew on Sigrid's face and she put the cup down.

She stood up and slowly but deliberately walked towards Rosalind. When she reached the chair where her good friend was sitting, Sigrid smiled down at her. 

For her, it was not enough to avoid the plot and change it, now that she was Sigrid there would be a few changes, vengeance was one.

Nobody was more excited for what was to come that Cosmos who was standing in the corner of the hall with one foot crossed in front of the other and a thermos of wine in his hands.

"Here it comes, I knew she would not hold back for long, there is no such thing as RV."

Sigrid suddenly reached out with her hand, striking like a snake. She grabbed Rosalind by the throat and laughed mockingly.

"Rosalind, my friend, I have received your well wishes, now please allow me to return them."