Chapter 3: Blair

"I'll see myself to confinement." Blair says, looking down.

Her father lets out a deep sigh. He had clearly had enough of Blair's antics. "Go, I don't want to see you out of your room until supper. You had better head straight to your room."

Blair nods obediently. But she had other plans. As if I would just head straight to my room. I'm not confining myself until I have had the chance to speak to Duke Rinehart. With that thought, she pretends to slowly walk toward her quarters, acting sad that she was going to confinement. As soon as her father and the palace guards walk away, Blair quickly books it to the palace gates.

She could spot Duke Kaiser Rinehart from a mile away. He was preparing his horse along with his troops that accompanied him. Blair quickly shouts out for the Duke before he could jump onto his horse and ride off. "Duke! Duke Rinehart!"

The Duke stops in his steps having heard her screaming at the top of her lungs for him. Blair can see that he was watching her as she runs full speed toward him. Her long and heavy dress did not help her at all to run any faster, and her heels were killing her feet as she runs. She comes to a complete stop as she nears him, panting hard. She catches her breath, slouching forward with her hands resting on her knees as she steadies her breathing. She definitely did not look like a princess at this moment. After gathering her composure, she finally stands up straight, face to face with the Duke. His eyes seem to widen slightly as if he was surprised to see Blair. Or rather, maybe he was questioning what she was doing there.

"Greetings, I hope you are doing well, Duke Rinehart." Blair manages to force out.

"Greetings. What are you doing here, Princess?"

His voice! How can it be so dreamy? And he called me Princess! Get it together Blair, you are a princess. She quickly comes up with an excuse as to why she was standing before him. Clearly, she had no business with him. So what was she doing there? To fangirl over him of course. "I saw that you had returned after a long while. I just wanted to come say hello before you departed."

Blair looks up at him, noticing that he just stared at her with no expression. He didn't even say anything to her. She felt a bit awkward, and nervous. She was afraid he would be able to see a sweat dripping down her forehead from being nervous. Blair clears her throat, trying to make conversation with him. "Well, how was your trip? Did it go well?"

"Princess, if you are curious about this matter, you should go ask Prince Igraine. I should not be sharing political matters with you. Please be well, I will be heading home now." And without another word, Duke Kaiser Rinehart hops onto his horse and gallops out of the palace grounds without letting Blair get in another word.

Blair tries to call out to him to wait. She hadn't fully processed what he had even said to her and he just ran off like that. She watches him and his troops disappear into the distance, confusion written all over her face. "Political matters? Why would I be curious about political matters?" Blair slowly turns on her heels, making her way back to her quarters. She wasn't fully satisfied with her conversation with the Duke. If that was even a conversation.

"Princess! Princess Blair!" Sofia was calling out to her, probably about to nag her about tending to her duties as a princess. It was going to be a busy day, especially now with her brother Igraine's return.

"I can't. I have to go into self confinement." Blair says, trying to get away from her responsibilities.

"What did you do this time? Well, that's fine. I will bring your paperwork to your bedroom." Sofia says, insisting on Blair to fulfill her duties.

It seems things won't be going Blair's way today. She gives up in disappointment, stomping away to her room. Sofia follows closely behind her as Blair dramatically throws a fit while heading into self confinement.

...•   •   •...

Blair was reading her book while laying on her bed after finally plowing through the stack of paperwork on her desk. Finally, Sofia comes calling for her. It had felt like forever being holed up in her room the whole morning. Her back was killing her from laying down all day. She sits up on her bed, stretching her arms out and arching her back. Blair sighs in satisfaction as she cracks her back while stretching out her muscles.

"Princess Blair, it's meal time!" Sofia knocks on the door gently before barging straight in.

"So it is, finally." Blair gets up from the bed, practically strutting out of her room toward the dining room for her meal. She was finally free from confinement. As she nears the dining room, she could hear her father shouting out loud. Oh gosh, I hope it's not about me. Blair slows down her pace a little, as if trying to sneak up to her seat.

"Duke Rinehart this, Duke Rinehart that! What's so good about that boy?! He's getting too arrogant for his own good."

"Calm down, Caelus. We're at the dining table."

Blair sits herself down at her seat as her mother tries to calm her father down. Theodore, Igraine, and Rosalie were already seated. Rosalie looked impatient, ready to dig into her food. Blair's father glares at her for a moment as she sits down. She remains silent, not wanting to worsen his temper.

"Father, if you're so worried about him, why do you insist on having him go fight on the borders?" Theodore asks.

Blair's father didn't answer. He fell silent, as if finally realizing that they were currently supposed to be dining peacefully.

"Let's eat, the food will get cold." Blair's mother clears her throat, signaling the end of that conversation.

And with that, everyone digs into their food. Rosalie and Blair were the first to touch their food as if they were forced to starve all day.

After their family meal, Blair's father dismisses them from the table. He calls for Igraine and Theodore to follow after him. They were probably going to be talking about political stuff. She suddenly remembers Duke Kaiser Rinehart's words. If you're curious about this matter, you should go ask Prince Igraine. I should not be sharing political matters with you. Blair doesn't ever remember being interested in politics. The Duke must have misunderstood something.

Blair makes her way out toward the palace gardens for some fresh air. The palace gardener currently attending to the roses that were technically her mother's, but Blair was out here to see the roses more than her mother.

"Oh, Princess Blair. Here again today I see."

"Hi, Richard. How are you today?"

"As you can see, the roses look alive today. So I am also alive today." Richard makes a joke, he laughs at his own joke as if it was the most funny thing he had ever heard.

Blair softly chuckles, trying to entertain him. "You always do well. The roses are beautiful everyday."

"Thank you, Princess. How are you doing today? I heard the Duke was here today, he returned with Prince Igraine. Speaking of, I just saw the Princes and the King heading toward the King's office."

Blair nods, "It didn't go out as well as I planned it to be. But I still managed to catch a glimpse of the Duke's handsome face. And I believe my brothers and my father probably have more business to talk about. It must be something important if they're headed to father's office."

"I heard your brother mentioning about marriage actually. To the Duke Rinehart."

"What?!" Blair's eyes widen in shock. Her voice was a little louder than she expected, all the maids turned their attention to Blair. "Who's marrying Duke Rinehart?" She asks, her interest piqued. She was ready to pounce on Richard the palace gardener to get the answer out of him.

"I am not sure. That was all I heard from them before they disappeared into the King's office."

Blair quickly runs out of the garden, making her way toward her father's office. She needed to find out the truth of the palace gardener's words. If Richard was just saying it to mess with her, she was going to make sure the roses in the garden died by the next morning.

As she nears her father's office, two palace guards stand guard by the door. Blair is hiding behind a wall, trying to come up with a plan to divert the palace guards attention away from the office doors, so she could go eavesdrop on her brothers and her father. But before she could do anything, the palace guards spot her snooping around. She even catches one of them face palming, not wanting to deal with her. One of them makes his way toward Blair.

"What are you doing here, Princess Blair?" He asks softly.

"There is something I would like to talk to my father about." Blair responds, quickly coming up with an excuse.

"The King is currently speaking with Crown Prince Theodore and Prince Igraine. You will have to return at a later time, Princess."

"No, that is okay. I will just wait by the door."

"I'm sorry, I cannot allow you to do that."

"And why not? I am not doing any harm."

The palace guard does not budge. They look back at each other before looking back at Blair. Clearly exchanging annoyed looks with each other.

Blair needed to get those palace guards away. A. S. A. P. She didn't want to miss the conversation that her father and her brothers were having. "Oh, there's an intruder there!" Blair points toward the palace garden. "He's attacking the palace gardener! Hurry you have to go help him."

The one palace guard sighs, making his way toward the garden. He clearly knew she was just trying to force him away, but he couldn't possibly tell the Princess that she was lying. Blair watches in satisfaction as the palace guard walks away in defeat. The other palace guard remains guarding the office door.

"Are you... not going to go help the gardener?" Blair asks, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'm sorry, Princess." The palace guard responds. Compared to the other palace guard that walked off to rescue the gardener, this one was a lot more stubborn.

Suddenly, Igraine opens the door. Blair stands back, surprised with the sudden encounter.

"I knew I heard your voice. Come in, father wants to talk to you." Igraine says, grabbing Blair's arm and pulling her into her father's office.

Blair was not able to get any words in as she was pulled into the office. The palace guard shuts the door, leaving Blair in the room with her brothers and her father. The look on her father's face slightly frightened her. He looks like he would have her beheaded at any moment.

"What is it you needed to talk to me about, father?" Blair stutters, swallowing back a heavy gulp.

"Blair. You are already of age to be married off." Her father starts.

"So it is true. Duke Rinehart is getting married? You're marrying me to the Duke?" Blair interrupts her father, sounding a little too excited.

Her father gives her a confused look. "It seems nothing escapes your ears when it comes to Duke Rinehart. Correct. But the decision has not been finalized. Tomorrow, I will be making it official."

"Tomorrow?! So soon?" Blair exclaims. She wasn't sure to shocked or happy.

"Blair. Remember that this marriage is for political reasons. It's a marriage that will benefit us and keep the Duke in our control." Theodore says.

"What do you mean?" Blair asks, confused. She knew the marriage would be for political reasons. But she was confused as to why her brothers and her father needed to control the Duke.

For now, she was just happy that she would be engaged to Duke Rinehart soon. Although she was happy, there was a hint of sadness in her heart. Blair knows the Duke doesn't think of Blair the same way she thinks of him. But a huge part of her hopes that after they get to know more about each other, he will open his heart to her.

Her father sighs. "Theodore, let her be. Blair, you may leave. We will talk more tomorrow." He signals for her to leave his office.

"Oh... okay." Blair hesitantly leaves her father's office. At this moment, her mind was a mess and she was a mix of different emotions. For sure, she was happy. But she couldn't help but feel both sadness and guilt for having forced her marriage with the Duke. What would the Duke think of me?

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***