Chapter 7: Untimely Proposal

Flora held Eleanore's hand and started pulling her to the exit of the ballroom and Eleanore followed. She was so lost in the task offered to her, that she didn't notice she was moving. 

They stopped at the far end corner of the ballroom. That's when Flora finally let go of her friend's hand.

"Elle, you should stay here until it's over." She said, noticing a hint of shock in Eleanore's expression. Her eyes were staring straight in the air, as if they were frozen in one place.

"Flora, can you leave? I want to stay here alone for a while." Eleanore requested to be left alone.

Unwillingly Flora agreed to leave her alone there, believing she would not do anything stupid. She didn't go too far, just a few steps away from that corner. Her eyes remained fixed on Eleanore's activities.

'There must be a way to find out my current reputation. But how?'

Eleanore swiped her hand in the air, but nothing happened. So she called out for the system, again nothing happened.

"Could it be that the system window only appears whenever it feels the need to?" Eleanore muttered to herself.

Immediately, as she said, the notification in the window changed. 

||Task 1: Ask For Caelestis First Dance.

Do you accept the quest?

Yes| No||

"I should give it a try." She convinced herself to carry out this task. 

Originally, Eleanore wanted to maintain as much distance from Caelestis and Stella as possible. "Yes." However, it turns out that's not possible anymore. The system will not let that happen. It will connect her to Caelestis, whether she likes it or not.

At that moment, Eleanore felt like she needed to believe in the System, that it was on her side and that it would not let her fall in danger.

Eleanore rushed back to the throng, gathered in the middle of the banquet. She ignored Flora who was patiently waiting for her friend to come out of her dilemma. But what Flora saw on Eleanore's face was determination and a tiny hint of fear. 

A minute ago she was swinging her hand in the air, as if trying to perhaps kill a fly or something. Flora was confused. She didn't know what Eleanore was doing, when a strange thought passed through her. 'Could it be that she was practicing to hit Stella, it could be Caelestis too?' she thought.

Without landing on a rather better conclusion, she rushed behind Eleanore to stop her from pulling off that madness.

"Elle!" She yelled but Eleanore acted as if she couldn't hear her at all. She felt like her legs would stop forwarding ahead, if she were to give any heed to what Flora had to say.

"Elle, please stop. Don't do anything stupid." Flora said, genuinely scared for her friend. 

She knew that if she pulled anything stupid right now, Caelestis might just really kill her.

Eleanore entered the throng and pushed her way through the little space she herself made between people that were blocking her path. As she passed through, she injured them by the gems attached to her dress. 

Some people almost let out a hiss in pain, while a few didn't bother about those minor scratches at all. They were way too invested in the drama about to take place ahead, when they saw Eleanore walk past them. 

Soon the end of the crowd started approaching, she could now see Stella and Caelestis standing close to each other. Stella's hand was about to touch Caelestis'.

Is Stella accepting the marriage proposal? How is that possible? She is supposed to refuse it? 

Eleanore was finally outside the crowd and was in the space where no one other than Caelestis and Stella were. Flora also followed her in but stopped at the end.

Caelestis, on seeing Eleanore, got back on his feet. Stella also turned to the all time enemy, half scared as she thought about all possibilities that could occur now . 

As Eleanore read the room, she realized it was not a proposal for marriage but instead a proposal for the first dance which Stella was about to accept.

Her brother stared at her with a worried gaze, feeling a pang in his heart as he saw the smirk on everyone's face. They were expecting drama.

Most of the nobles around them had also held their breath. In the last banquet Eleanore had poured a glass of wine on Stella's beautiful white dress, making it look like she had just performed a horrible murder. The other time she had pulled away Stella's chair at a tea party, making her fall on the mushy floor below her, completely ruining her beautiful soft pink dress.

This time what would she do? Would she ruin Stella's mesmerizing sky blue gown that probably looked better than hers?

Eleanore walked forward to Stella and stared into her sky blue eyes that matched her dress perfectly. She knew what people were expecting, but she was about to do something different. 

"Lady Eleanore, I will—" Before Caelestis could complete his threat, Eleanore cut him off.

"Baroness Stella, would you mind if I steal the first dance of your man, one last time?" Eleanore asked, bearing light, sweet tone and gentle smile . The tone and the smile was one with which no one present at the ball was familiar with.

"Lady Eleanore, I— I— I don't think he is my man." She said, shyly. Her face turned red from embarrassment.

Eleanore chuckled, then said, "I understand. Does that mean I can?" 

At that Stella nodded and in return Caelestis' gaze widened in surprise.

How could she agree to that? He thought. I am her man.

"Grand Duke Lancaster." Eleanore turned to him. On hearing her calling him out formally instead of using his first name like always, Caelestis' eye's further widened, ready to pop out at any minute now. 

"May I have the honor of this last dance with you, good sir?" She stretched her palm forward in front of Caelestis and bowed a little with the tip of her thumb and index finger gipping a little fabric of her flowy dress.

"Tut!" Caelestis sighed, then placed his hand on Eleanore's, accepting her request. But he quickly removed his hand from hers, then turned to Stella.

"May I have the honor of your second dance, My Lady?" Caelestis bowed with his palm open to grab onto Stella, which was caught by her. He gently kissed the back of her head, leaving the spectators in awe.

"Announcing, the King and the Queen of the Seraphine Empire. His Majesty, King Rowan Seraphine and Her Majesty, Queen Isadora Seraphine." And that's when everyone's attention shifted from the three, to the main characters of the day.

An old yet charming woman entered the ballroom, alongside her husband, who looked a lot older than her. The light pink hair fluttered in the air, as her blue eyes scanned the room thoroughly.

Her husband on the other hand had no interest in the nobles at all. His hair was the same cyan color as Flora. His eyes bore a unique purple color, a sign of royalty, that differed them from other nobles. The eyes looked like gems embedded in a doll, it looked precious and majestic as it scanned through the ball.

"Announcing the crown prince, Prince Alastor Seraphine."

The ladies rushed to see the handsome and young crown prince of the Kingdom. If there was any other most wanted bachelor of the Kingdom after Caelestis and Hael then that was His highness the crown prince.

He had the eyes of his father and everything else about him, resembling his mother's grace and softness.

"Elle?!" A tap on the shoulder shifted Eleanore's attention to her brother. Hael could finally get past the running ladies, infatuated by his highness the crown prince, to talk to his little sister. 

"Why did you do that? Didn't you say you were over him?" He sounded desperate and a little concerned.

"I want to give him a farewell." Eleanore casually replied, as if that wasn't a big deal.

The clanking sound of the wine glass getting hit by a golden spoon turned the noisy ballroom quiet. Everyone turned to the direction of the sound. The King had a speech to give and he had started it after clearing his stiffened throat.

The speech went on and on like that of a chief guest, invited to the school functions. Some of the words his majesty uttered were completely useless, some were like jokes, people could laugh on but remained quiet. There were hardly a few lines that held any importance.

By now, Eleanore had started to feel faint pain in her feet but no one could move from their place, until the speech ended. Her attention had now shifted to nothing. Her mind was blank and her eyes were fixed on his majesty but she heard nothing.

After what felt like eternity to Eleanore, the King's speech ended with, "Now, Ladies and gentlemen, let us enjoy the ball. You may all dance now."

A minute after the announcement, the orchestra had started playing and people had started their first dance with their chosen partners. While others prepared to start greeting the sun and mother of the Kingdom and the crown prince.

Caelestis walked to Eleanore, who simply looked in his direction, packed with thoughts.