(* Slap *)
The resounding sound of a slap rang out in the room. After that it was quiet for a short time, till an angry voice broke the silence. “You ungrateful brat! Who do you think you are? That marriage would have brought us fame and prestige!”
“I’m sorry, Father.” That was all Celia said. She knew that he would only get even angrier if she contradicted him. Her cheek still burned from the last slap, she could do without a second one.
“So you’re sorry, huh? Well, you should have thought about that beforehand. Especially before you sent a rejection to the proposal of the Crown Prince!”
A vein had burst in her father’s eye out of sheer fury. But she was not aware of any guilt. She simply hated the prince’s proposal. This guy already had two concubines and had offered her to be his third.
It was her luck that in Liradia the rejection of such a request was not considered an insult to the royal family. So she could compose a reply and send it without fear of being hanged for it. The only problem was her father.
“Do you seriously think that you could find a better man? High rank, good looks, a good reputation, and even the prospect of being chosen as the next Queen at some point!”
Celia sighed inwardly. If you like him that much, then you can become the concubine of this womanizer. She definitely didn’t feel like it. Although it would be her chance to escape the daily abuse of her parents house, she would never marry someone like the prince in her life. This man looked like a woman! Curly light brown hair, fine features and a slim figure. Not her type at all!
She had looked at her feet the whole time, fearing he might strike again. So when she heard a loud bang close to her, she quickly closed her eyes and winced.
After she realized that nothing had happened, she carefully opened one eye and discovered a few folders on the floor in front of her.
“This will be your choice. Either you apologize to the Crown Prince and accept his proposal, or you will marry one of these three men. Either way, you’re going to get engaged! Are we clear?”
Celia nodded. “Yes, Father.”
She heard him leave the room and soon after that, her maid hurried to her and put her on the bed.
“You should have accepted the proposal, Lady Celia,” she was reprimanded by her maid as she roughly tended to her wound. At the touch of the alcohol on her wound, Celia sucked in a sharp breath.
“Don’t act like that,” Lora reprimanded her again, which was shortly followed by an annoyed mumbling. “He could have taken off his ring first.”
Celia smiled slightly at this comment. Like the others in the estate, Lora wasn’t treating her very well, but at least she felt a little sorry for her and dutifully took care of her work.
Her gaze wandered to the floor on which the folders were still lying. Was her father serious? Did she really have to choose from these three men? Should she actually have accepted the proposal of the Crown Prince? But just at the thought she grimaced in disgust. No way! And if only because she did not wish for her father’s victory.
He had actually hoped that her sister Arla would one day take the coveted place at court. However, this hope was destroyed due to a scandal with the son of Duke Castillon. When it came out that she was pregnant, she had no choice but to marry Sir Taman.
And now she had to pay for it.
“Lady Celia”, Lora shouted in shock, tearing her from her thoughts.
“Hm?”
“You are crying. So what’s going on? Is it because you don’t want to get married? Maybe These folders contain a gentleman who still makes a good husband”, she tried to comfort her mistress clumsily.
How could she explain to Lora that she didn’t care about that ? She glanced over at the folders again and this time her tears could not be stopped. What if all three look like toads???
Desperate, she let herself fall on the old bed and held her hands in front of her face. Meanwhile, Lora stood in front of the bed and wasn’t really sure what to do.
“Lora, please put the folders on my desk, I’ll take care of them tomorrow.”
After all, her father hadn’t said she had to take care of it immediately. At least this one night she wanted to sleep peacefully.
Sighing, Lora picked up the folders and threw them carelessly on the desk. Then she helped Celia to get ready for bed and left the room without another word. But Celia was still sitting in front of her make-up mirror and thinking about these ominous men.
As she knew her father, these would be the worst of the worst. Just at the thought a cold shiver ran down her spine. Not choosing the Crown Prince seemed to be even harder now. But in the end she rather married some ugly drunkard, than to fall for her father’s games. She knew he hadn’t given up on marrying her into the royal family. These three other men only served to ensure that she would have no choice but to take the Crown Prince. But not with her! Tomorrow she would look directly at the folders and choose the least evil.
Sighing, she began to make her hair into one simple braid and then lay down on her creaking bed. In contrast to the other rooms, she only had very old and already damaged furniture. The bed was already infested with wood worms and Celia was just waiting for the day when it collapsed.
Just take a deep breath and forget your worries for a moment. Presumably her father’s chosen men weren’t that bad after all. Some simply lacked a good woman who would lead them on the correct path. And it should be possible to get used to the outer appearance.
