WHO MADE ME A PRINCE
chapter eighty one - meeting cousins.

ATHANASIA MADE HER WAY to the noble ladies who were dancing to the third song.

Arius was currently talking to some nobles, but as soon as he noticed Athanasia dancing with the other girls he realised Claude must be free by now and asked the nobles to excuse him.

Arius hadn't told Claude about the fact that Lucas was his dance partner and he was wondering if Claude cared at all who he danced with.

Arius passed the crowd of nobles rather skillfully as he approached the corner where Claude stood, he saw Felix standing a few tiles away.

He was about to call out to his father when he noticed the person standing beside his father, Roger Alpheus.

He couldn't make out what those two were discussing. But Arius could pretty much guess.

Jennette Margarita.

Should he step in right now and break their conversation? If so, Jennete might not be introduced today.

But, that's not fair to Jennette. Even in the manhwa, Jennette was always shown desperate for a family. This isn't right. For her to be treated like this and to be kept in the dark about everything.

Arius ended up approaching the two of them despite his head telling him otherwise.

"Blessings and Glory upon the first star of Obelia. It feels like yesterday when you were just a child, but now you're an adult. Congratulations on your debut and birthday, your Highness. "

"Thank you, Duke Roger. What were the two of you discussing?"

"It was nothing important. Duke, you may go now."

The Duke bowed and left.

"Dad." Arius stared at Claude.

Claude stared back at his son, who was smiling.

"Are your feet alright?"

Arius thought he heard it wrong, but nope, Claude actually laughed a bit at his son's question.

"I could ask you the same."

The two shared a knowing smile, before Arius replied, "Minced meat."

Claude had the urge to ruffle his son's hair and although he tried to control it, he ended up giving Arius one violent pat on his head.

Arius let out a small laugh at his father's habits but his happiness got multiplied when he heard a certain voice.

"Blessings and Glory upon the sun of the Obelian Empire and the first star of the Obelian Empire." Millicent bowed, her younger siblings standing some steps behind bowing as well.

"Lady Millicent!" Arius's eyes brightened up. "I'm so glad you all could make it!" Arius went and shook hands with the Villareals.

To his annoyance, Edwin had grown quite the height as well. What was beyond reassuring was that Edna was shorter than Edwin despite being older than him.

"How long is your stay this time?" Arius asked the younger siblings, who looked at their sister.

"Unfortunately not long, about three days including tonight."

Arius frowned slightly, " Can't you extend it?"

Millicent was about to say no when Claude cleared his throat. "There are some things the Governess and I have to discuss."

Claude gave Arius a signal and Arius understood to leave the matter with his father.

"Well then, let's head to the tables." Arius dragged the two siblings hands as he separated from them.

Gunther and Cadell had been appointed as bodyguards for the banquet, but Arius had them positioned within the hall so they could guard Athanasia and him from a distance, hence why Felix didn't follow them anywhere.

The three of them reached the table filled with desserts, appetizers, drinks and a variety of other snacks.

Since the banquet was held for the prince and princess who had just debuted, the food was decided to please children more so than adults.

Arius and Athanasia both like sweet and salty foods over spicy ones so the whole menu in the banquet was simply for them.

So the three of them were simply in heaven as they filled their plates with all kinds of snacks.

One thing that wasn't chosen for children was wine. Wine was extremely enjoyed among nobles and a banquet not having wine would be turned into a joke, so to preserve the reputation of the royal family it was still added.

While the three cousins were enjoying food in a secluded corner while talking about the most random stuff, Arius noticed the third song had ended.

He wanted Athanasia to meet up with them so she could also enjoy the food since Arius didn't remember there being a scene in the manhwa of her eating.

Arius excused himself from his cousins for a while to go find her.

As he passed the crowds of nobles he noticed the weird stares he got.

He stopped for a while and stared back at the nobles, and then in less than three seconds, one by one the nobles approached him.

"Your Highness, this is my daughter, would you please honour her with a dance?"

"No! Your Highness, My daughter wishes to dance with you as well!"

"Your Highness, this is my son, and he's always wanted to get to know you!"

"Your Highness! I'm from the humble county of-"

"Your highness! I'm–"

"Your Highness–"

"Your Highness–"

Arius was getting dizzy from all of this. As the crowd of nobles struggled to get closer to the prince, Arius decided to run from the back.

As he stepped back without looking behind him, he bumped into someone.

"Ah!" The noble lady whom Arius bumped into almost fell to the ground, but Arius caught her by the shoulder and gently supported her back into position.

"I–I'm so sorry for your highness! Ah– I– Blessings and Glory upon the first star of the Obelian Empire." The lady stuttered from nervousness and embarrassment.

But Arius hardly heard a word she said, his mind was too preoccupied by who the lady was.

Jennette Margarita. His paternal cousin.

He had never met her, but he could tell from one look it was her. Partially because he'd seen her in the Manhwa.

Arius took his time staring at her, from her blue eyes which showed no jewels to her dress which was although beautiful, the neck of the dress reached high up to her neck. The arms of the dress reached her palms and were rather fit instead of flairy.

At first glance, it looks like a normal dress. But Arius could tell the reason why her dress was covering her neck and arms. To hide bruises.

In his past life, Arius would wear his winter uniform throughout his school year. To prevent anyone from seeing the bruises on his arms. He would skip all P.E lessons and go to the library to study instead.

He looked at Jennette who was smiling nervously as she stood in front of Arius.

He heard a whisper from behind him, "Hmph, which house does this girl belong to?"

"She didn't even introduce herself to royalty."

"Such lacking manners."

Arius looked to see Jennette completely flustered. "Ah, Your highness, I-"

"Lady Margarita, did you perhaps get separated from him again?" Arius suddenly asked.

The nobles behind him were quick to shut their mouths.

Even Jennette was quite surprised by this, but Arius stood in front of her , so the nobles couldn't see her expression.

He leaned in towards her ear, "Just play along."

"Oh well, since we have the coincidence of meeting twice, will you accept a dance with me?" Arius stretched out his hand and gave her a wink.