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The Lunch that the Grand Duke hosted was held in the Grand Ducal Palace that was located in the City of Luxembourg. Just like every other special event, they hosted the lunch inside the Ballroom of the Palace, where the country’s heritage was proudly displayed inside the paintings that were encased in gold frames.
“Are you sure their place already landed?” Grand Duchess Esther Nesson- Nasae asked her husband, who sat in his office just a few rooms away from the Ballroom that was located on the first floor of the palace.
“Yes.” The Grand Duke frowned. “Pierre told me that they tried to contact Lily, but the latter never answered his calls.”
“Do you— “
“He might be lying.” The Grand Duke added. “Pierre might be scheming something again.”
“Then… we should stop lunch. I can’t allow this to— “
“No.” The Grand Duke shook his head. “There is no need for that. I believe Lily is safe.”
“Are you certain? I just — can you try to call her again?”
“I am positive. Let everyone know that the lunch will begin as scheduled”
The Duchess stared at her husband as the line in between her brows deepened. “I understand.” The duchess immediately assured herself that a woman like Lily is not someone that one could easily scheme with.
Grand Duchess Esther immediately left the Duke’s office and went to the guests’ living room where her grandchildren together with Mikaela and the other’s were currently staying as they waited for Lily and her brother.
“Mother!” Mikaela immediately greeted her mother. “Is everything alright? It’s almost Eleven and— “
Esther gave an assuring smile. “Of course. You arranged this schedule. Since when did we have any problems when it comes to your arrangement?” Her gaze roamed around the people inside until it finally landed on her daughter’s husband. The Earl of the Dorf Castle in the East. The smile on her face did not falter. “We should all prepare ourselves. Lily will arrive soon.”
“But… ” As expected, Pierre’s face changed when he heard the Duchess’ words. “Without the ride, she won’t be able to — unless… you were able to contact her?”
“So… she didn’t answer my husband’s call?” Mikaela immediately asked. “Maybe there is a misunderstanding somewhere?”
“We should not jump into conclusions,” Eliza spoke. “On a flight, we couldn’t really expect someone to be there on time. Delays could happen.”
“Lily’s flight already landed and is on her way here.” The Duchess repeated, her gaze was glued at the earl. Watching the colors of his face change as she continued to show her confidence about the matter is just something that she would not want to miss. She gave the Earl a knowing smile before she left the room to go back to where her husband was currently working.
“I already told them that Lily is coming.” She spoke. “As expected, Earl… is doing something behind the scenes. Maybe she wanted my daughter to look inadequate in front of Lily. After all, she was the one who arranged everything.” The Duchess spoke. “This — Instances like this really makes me wonder why she fell in love with that man. How could someone be so blind?”
She walked towards the window where the Duke was standing, looking at the outside of the palace. “A man like that— “
“I was the one who arranged the marriage.” The Duke interrupted her.
“You arranged it before they were even born.” She retorted as her face turned ugly. “If I had known that the house of the Webers would produce a man like that, I would have canceled the engagement before Mikaela was born.”
“Do you really hate him that much?”
“Is that even a question? We all know the man was an activist. He had always been against Grand Duchy and the type of government that we worked so hard to maintain.” Letting out a sigh, she stood next to him. “That man is a manipulative beast. I know he acts all sweet and gentle around us, but I can always spot a manipulative person like him.”
“It seems that this incident is really making you angry?” The Grand Duke turned to his wife. “Is it because… you really like Lily? Or you wanted her to take Eliza under her wing, train her to be an independent woman like her?”
The Duchess turned silent. She stared at her husband’s stern expression before smiling. You know me too well.”
“Of course.”
Esther shook her head, a few locks of her blond hair fell, framing her small face in the process. “I sincerely like her. She — She is someone that I wanted my daughters to become.”
“Hmmm. She is indeed a very outstanding woman.” The Duke smiled as he tucked the loose hair behind her ears. “Pierre won’t do anything that might reveal his actual intentions. So… you should be mindful. You know how he could easily twist his words and make you look bad to your daughter. You would not want to break Mikaela’s heart, right?”
The Duchess let out a sad sigh. Divorce is not something that happens all the time in the Royal Family, however, it is not a taboo either. However, the only thing that is stopping her from suggesting such an arrangement to her daughter is because she could really see that Mikaela liked that man.
The Duchess could not bear to see her daughter broken hearted just because of that person. Moreover, marrying into the Weber Family who had been open about their stance against the Grand Duchy was something that would have paved the way to a better relationship between the two families.
Alas, the arrangement did not have the result that they hoped for. The Earl found a way to control Mikaela and her daughter— her daughter had become blind.
“We should go now. It is almost time.” She heard the Grand Duke said. The Duchess nodded in response as she held the Duke’s arms and together, the two walked out of his office to have lunch with the rest of the Royal family.
