Chapter 244: SUS
"Tia’s leaving too!!"
The Amberale Grand Ducal family would also be among the families leaving for their fiefs.
When everyone heard this, they turned to Aristia.
"That’s true."
"So which of your fiefs are you going to?"
"I don’t know yet." Aristia shook her head and spread her arms. "My parents are still thinking of whether to stay in the North or in the East. I think Mama will choose the North." She smiled in the end.
Her father would probably want to go to the East where he and Catherine would be alone and have ample time together to... spend time together.
Because if they went to the North, then Catherine could choose to visit family or have them visit her.
He knew that they would be quite busy in whatever fief they chose, but he didn’t want to take chances.
For Aristia, on the other hand, if someone asked her, she wouldn’t know which one to choose. Either one would be okay.
But this reminded her that...
[Oh. I haven’t been to any of our Fiefs since coming to this world two years ago. Hmm. Two years ago. It sounds weird thinking that I’ve been here that long. Funny thing’s that I’ve gotten used to it. It doesn’t feel foreign anymore.]
"Well, whichever one it is, we still can’t see each other. I’d be in the South." Lauren said.
"I’ll be in the South with Laurie and Ali." Nova said.
"I can visit princess Tia. I think," Wade said.
The Oswalt Fief was in the East which made it easier for him to see Aristia compared to the others.
The twelve pure noble families in Amberale had fiefs in either the North, South, East or West.
The families that had fiefs in the East were the Winston, the Oswalt, and the Prescott.
The families with fiefs in the South were the Anton, the Eldridge and the Kiran.
The families with Fiefs in the North were the Hemsworth, the Everett and the Tindall.
The families with fiefs in the West were the Splane, the Essylt and the Easton.
Wilson had two Fiefs: one in the East and another in the North.
The children stopped talking about their fiefs and moved on to something else. They were all aware of the reason they would be moving to their fiefs, and knowing that locusts were affecting their Fiefs made them a bit worried. So they chose not to talk about it.
The banquet continued that way until Serina couldn’t hold it in anymore.
"Our fathers are still meeting with his majesty and the banquet won’t end until they’re done. How about we go and take the sweets Wade brought us?" She suggested, looking around.
Aristia shook her head in amusement. [Ah, I should have known her mind was still on those sweets.]
"Mm..." Beatrix thought about whether it was a good idea. But in the end, she shrugged and agreed.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Alicia asked skeptically.
Lauren looked around to see their mothers busy conversing with others.
"Of course." She nodded.
After all, it wasn’t like they were leaving the palace. They would just go to where the carriages were packed and collect the sweets then come back. It wouldn’t take long.
The children discreetly left the banquet hall, unaware of the person watching them.
***
"There’s our carriage." Wade said, pointing at one of the carriages.
"Okay. Then let’s do this." Aristia said, tiptoing toward the carriage
The Coachman wasn’t there. In fact, none of the coachmen were.
But it was normal because at events like this, the coachmen would usually be waiting somewhere else.
The children followed after Aristia and now stood beside the carriage, following her towards the carriage door.
The carriage door was open and there was a male servant standing at the entrance.
Seeing them, the servant bowed respectfully when he saw them. "Your Highnesses, young masters and misses. What are you doing here?"
"We want the sweets father brought back from his trip." Wade replied.
"Oh, the sweets. I’ll get it for you right aw..." While the servant was replying before entering the carriage to retrieve the sweets, Aristia’s thoughts trailed.
[I don’t know why, but something doesn’t sit right with me. This servant... is suspicious. Or could I just be overthinking it?]
Just then, the servant came out of the carriage carring several bundles and snapping Aristia out of her thoughts.
"Here they are, young master. These are the sweets you prepared specially." The servant said while handing the bundles to Wade.
No one found anything wrong with the servant’s words.
"Thank you," Wade said while collecting the bundles.
The servant bowed respectfully and stood there.
"Here." Wade said, holding out his hand for the others to pick one.
"Thank you." They said, collecting the parcels.
The servant paused. "Your Highnesses and young masters and misses. Will you eat the sweets here?" He asked.
The children glanced at him and nodded.
"But..." The servant opened his mouth and closed it.
The children ignored him and turned away from him, but Aristia’s eyes lingered just enough to see him look left and right before gulping.
[Hmmm... Definitely sus.]
Beatrix opened hers and held it out to Aristia.
Aristia took it and bit into it.
"Here’s mine." Serina said, doing the same.
The last person to open the parcel was Lauren.
She didn’t take a bite first and showed it to Aristia with her sparkling eyes that seemed to say that it would be her honor for Aristia to have the first bite.
"Here’s mine too, Tia. But you can take two."
It made the others speak up about how she could also take two.
[Oh. Don’t mind if I do.]
Aristia smiled at her before taking two into her hands.
Lauren also took one, about to put it into her mouth.
A faint smell wafted into Aristia’s nose as she opened her mouth to eat the candy.
Just then, her pupil constricted.
A voice rang in her mind.
’Don’t eat it. It’s poisoned.’
___
A/N
Who could have poisoned the candy? 👀