New World, New Life: I Became A Bigshot In The Ancient World
Chapter 60: REMINISCENCE

Chapter 60: REMINISCENCE

When evening came, the finely dressed children of the Royal Family headed to the banquet hall.

There was an indoor balcony meant for members of the Royal family to stay in, in the banquet hall. That was where the royal family members would stay in at the beginning of the banquet until it was time to show their presence.

The balcony was designed in such a way that the people in the balcony would be able to see the people below but the people below wouldn’t be able to see the people in the balcony.

The adults were absent. The envoys had arrived hours ago and Fedor and Rowaine, the current rulers, were receiving their gifts and tributes. Wilson and Catherine were there too.

Ivan had also gone with the king to receive the envoys as the Kingdom’s Crown Prince. Fedor wanted to prepare him for his future role as king.

The noblemen were also there. Only women, children and the rest of the aristocrat men not belonging to nobility remained in the banquet hall.

"There’s so many people here." Serina observed, overlooking the people below at the banquet hall.

The banquet hall was filled with people, dressed up and brimming with extravagance.

"Yes, there are." Beatrix nodded in agreement. "It is both boring and interesting to watch them." She said, popping a berry into her mouth.

"Now that, I agree." Aristia said with a chuckle.

The aristocrats moved about socialising, children included. Aristia rested her jaw on her palm in boredom, watching them putting on fake smiles and probably shooting out words laced with venom and mockery.

She could only guess because she couldn’t make out anything from up there. The banquet hall was filled with the hum and buzz of different voices mixing together to form an incoherent sound.

She rolled her eyes in boredom, looking around until she caught sight of something. Or someone.

A young woman was currently being surrounded by some noblewomen. She was beautiful with smooth, pearly, light brown skin, chocolate hair and caramel eyes, but she looked a little bit pale and weak.

The women were smiling and saying something to the young lady who remained silent without saying anything.

[Look how they’re surrounding her like a group of hungry vultures waiting to devour her whole. And they would, if given the chance] Aristia was disgusted.

Aristia was sure it wasn’t anything good. And she wasn’t wrong.

One of the noblewomen laughed and said something with a fan over her mouth, her eyes filled with scorn, and the others followed suit. And though it wasn’t noticeable, Aristia noticed the emotion of hurt that flashed across the lady’s eyes even though her expression remained indifferent.

Then, the surrounded lady said something in reply to the ladies, leaving the ladies annoyed at her indifference.

She knitted her brows, trying to figure out the identity of the lady. Her eyes widened and she sat straighter. "She’s Marchioness Charlotte Oswalt, the wife of the cheat Marquis, George Oswalt."

"Did you say something, Tia?" Beatrix asked from beside her.

"Huh?" Aristia asked, looking away from the Marchioness. "No, I didn’t."

Beatrix shrugged, then turned to continue her discussion with Serina who was feeding Alaric berries.

Turning back to the Marchioness, Aristia didn’t see her with the other ladies anymore. Searching around with her eyes at the entire banquet hall, she saw the Marchioness leaving the hall. Her hands were fisted tightly as she held her dress.

Aristia stood up to leave the balcony.

"I will be back shortly. I want to bring something," she said to her cousins and brother who nodded.

"Okay, come back quickly. Our parents will be back soon." Beatrix said. She was curious about what Aristia wanted to bring, but she didn’t ask.

With a nod, Aristia left the balcony.

***

Marchioness Charlotte heaved a sigh of relief as soon as took in a deep breath of the fresh air in the garden of the royal palace.

Her tensed shoulders relaxed, and the feeling of suffocation she felt earlier faded as she strolled through the garden. She came to a stop in front of a pool some distance away from the garden, staring at the water.

The calmness of the water was a sharp contrast to her fleeting mind that kept going back to that day, the day everything changed.

...

The Marchioness was in the garden, her favorite place to be, admiring the flowers and breathing in their lovely scent. She hummed a tune, feeling calm and satisfied as she left the garden to head to her room.

She turned behind her when she heard hasty footsteps just as she reached the corridor leading to her room. She smiled softly, seeing her personal maid.

"What is the matter, Natalia? Why are you in such a haste?"

"Madam, t-the Master is back." The maid named Natalia disclosed. She sounded a bit nervous.

The Marchioness smiled even wider. Her husband had gone on a short trip and had finally returned. "Oh? Then I must go welcome him."

She was so happy that she failed to notice the pity in the eyes of her personal maid. She had already started heading towards the entrance of the mansion.

"Oh, sweet madam. Why did this have to happen to you? I’m sorry," the maid whispered softly, her eyes filled with pity.

She hesitated for a moment, but in the end, she didn’t follow after her madam, instead she walked further into the mansion.

The Marchioness quickly made her way to the entrance of the mansion. Joy filled her eyes as they made contact with her husband who had alighted the carriage.

But that joy was quickly cut short and replaced with confusion when he stepped aside with a little boy behind him. They both turned around to walk in her direction and she froze in shock as she stared at the little boy holding onto her husband’s hand. It was as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water on her on a cold, winter day when she was running a fever.

She wished, no she prayed, that the child turn out to be a nephew or a distant relative, or a child who just coincidentally looked like a replica of her husband.

But the truth stood in front of her and repeatedly made itself clear as she stared at the miniature version of her husband. Her husband had no nephews as he was the only child, and there were no such coincidences in this world.

Her heart broke into a million pieces and something in her snapped. She felt a mixture of emotions; hurt, anger, helplessness, disappointment, shock and a whole lot of other emotions, but most of all, she felt lost.

She had believed that he loved her, no, that he would come to love her someday. She felt like someone had taken off the anchor keeping her in place, and allowed her to drift aimlessly in the sea. For the first time, she felt like she was alone.

She didn’t know what to say or do. Should she ask him why or should she just turn around and return to her room? Her husband’s eyes met with hers at that moment, but she cowardly decided to return to her room without a word of confrontation.

’So that was his trip?’ She thought as a tear slid down her cheek.

...

The Marchioness shook her head in a bid to push away the sad thoughts. It had been six months since that incident.

Even now as she thought about it, a lone tear slid down her cheeks. She sighed, raising her hand to wipe her tears away.

The words of one of the noblewomen rang in her ears.

’We have a responsibility. That is to birth an heir for our lords. An inability to fulfill that role could cause him to find a solution elsewhere.’ The Lady covered her mouth in a weak attempt to hide her sneer.

Marchioness Charlotte clenched her fist, then she unclenched them and took a deep breath. "This is a joyous occasion, Charlotte. Do not let such thoughts spoil your mood." She whispered to herself.

Even though she said that, the thoughts that she tried to suppress started to resurface. Thoughts that maybe she was at fault for her husband’s infidelity. Maybe if she had birthed him an heir, he wouldn’t have had to look for one outside. He would have been satisfied with her.

Another tear slid down her cheeks. She felt useless and sapped of strength, not only physically, but emotionally.

Not too far away, Aristia watched the Marchioness from a little distance. She felt sympathy for the young woman.

"Marchioness Oswalt," she called out to the Marchioness as she approached her, acting quickly before she could change her mind.

Charlotte was startled to hear her name being called suddenly, and her body tensed again. She quickly wiped her tears discreetly and turned to see the person who had called her.

On seeing that it was a child, her tensed shoulders relaxed.

"Princess," she curtsied lightly in greeting, not wanting to appear rude. "Is there anything that I can do for you?" She asked even though she deeply desired to be alone. She wondered what the third princess was doing here when she should be inside the palace.

But then again, she herself was also outside the palace instead of inside where she should be.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when the little princess spoke, "You seem sad."

Aristia ignored the Marchioness’ earlier question. She knew it wasn’t appropriate to probe, especially as a child, but she had to.

The Marchioness was surprised at her words. ’Was it so obvious that even a child noticed?’ She wondered.

Aristia walked closer to her. The pond was a little distance away from the garden so no one would be able to eavesdrop or overhear their conversation without being spotted.

Aristia sat on the ground in front of the pond and silently patted the spot beside her.

Marchioness Charlotte revealed a look of surprise as she watched the tyrant princess sitting on the bare ground and even inviting her to sit with her.

She hesitated for a few seconds before sitting on the ground beside Aristia. Seeing that Aristia wasn’t planning on saying anything, the Marchioness turned to stare at the pond, leaning her arms on her knees and placing her head on them.

She knew it was improper and unladylike, but she was too depressed to care.

Almost a minute had passed when Aristia started to speak.