Dark Moon Third Arc (Fallen Heart) - 99. Her First Assignment III (Patreon)

Third Arc (Fallen Heart) - 99. Her First Assignment III

"She is Lady Aline. The third daughter of Marquess Eluard," Claire explained. Then she leaned her face on Rose's ear.
"Do you remember the man near Lady Belle at your wedding party? He is her brother, Lord Evrat. He has been in love with Lady Belle for a long time. But Lady Belle only set her eyes on His Majesty," she whispered.

"I see..." A smile appeared on Rose's lips.
"Then I will have more chances to make her my first friend."

Claire distanced her face away in confusion.
"What do you mean?"

"If she is quite close to Lord Evrat, she will support her brother's love. Although I'm sure she still wants to be with His Majesty, at least it will eliminate one of the reasons for hating me. I don't know if this will work or not. I just need to test the water," she explained.

Based on Claire's explanation, most Euphorion noblewomen competed against each other since they wanted to be his queen. So she knew they would reject her since she was 'a foreign princess who snatched the king out of nowhere'. But she realized some were worse than others since they supported Lady Belle's relationship with Angel.

"Oh... I get it," said Claire. So, Rose only chose who had the least grudge against her.

Claire got up from her seat and carried out Rose's orders. Rose had a higher rank than any noble here so according to etiquette, she had the right to summon anyone before her and that was an honor for the others. But of course, because of the rumor, the lady showed an uncomfortable expression as soon as Claire said her request.

Well, succeed or not, Rose only wanted to get along with them. Or at least, straighten things out. She knew she would still have haters, but she somehow had to build her own relationship.

Once near her, the lady bowed to her.
"Your Highness."

"Lady Aline, right? Please take a seat," she said with a smile.

Lady Aline did what Rose asked even though she was reluctant to do so.
"May I know why you called me, Your Highness? Did I do something wrong?" Her head was full of questions since she had never met Rose before yet she called her out. She didn't even say any bad things about Rose since she knew Rose had the king's protection. Moreover, Lady Aline was still young, so she didn't want to cause trouble for her family.

But Rose answered with a soft giggle.
"Don't be afraid, Lady Aline. You didn't do anything wrong. I'm just interested in you," she said in a calm tone.

"Interested? But why?" Lady Aline repeated in confusion. She didn't feel like she had anything special to the others.

"Your dress looks beautiful and your hairdo looks natural. I'm new to Euphorion so I hope you can share a thing or two about this." It was a simple conversation that could open up to other things. She deliberately brought a simple thing and mentioned that she was not from this kingdom. Judging from Lady Aline's dress and hair, Rose was sure she paid a lot of attention to this.

Upon her compliment, Lady Aline's face brightened.
"Really?" she said happily. Rose indeed was her rival to win Angel's heart, but she couldn't hide her happiness over Rose's compliment. It was enough to lower her resistance.
"But I thought His Majesty gave you lots of expensive and pretty clothes," she tried to keep herself low.

"Indeed, but I want to know about Euphorion's latest fashion and trends. Can you tell me a thing or two?" Rose asked politely.

Lady Aline glanced at Claire.
"Doesn't Lady Claire also know about this?" She couldn't believe that a princess like Rose acknowledged her fashion sense even though she just made her debut 3 months ago.

"I have a lot of work lately, My Lady. So I don't pay attention to it anymore," Claire said politely. She caught Rose's intention so she took the initiative to help her.

"With pleasure, Your Highness," said Lady Aline. This was an honor for her and she could boast that even at her young age, the king's wife recognized her fashion sense and wanted to learn from her.