208 Plotting
“Come, Alex. You should also sit down,” Everard said while patting the seat beside him when Alexander didn’t immediately take a seat.
Alexander looked down from the balcony. The guests from Sorvando were still standing still in the middle of the ground floor which was supposed to be the dance floor. They were sticking out like an outcast in the middle of all the other guests who were slow-dancing to the soft music.
He looked back at Everard and said, “I think I will attend to my sister, and then have a little chat with her. It’s been a few months since I last talked to her.”
Everard suddenly recalled that he had left Anastasia downstairs without even taking her to the separate hall that was prepared for all the monarchs, princes and princesses, and the alphas.
“Oh, right! I completely forgot to take Anna to the other hall. Let’s go!” Everard was about to get up when Alexander held him by his shoulder and then pushed him back to the seat.
“No, you’re not coming with me,” Alexander said with a heavy heart.
He didn’t want Everard to tag along with him right after he brought the drunk man to the balcony. He didn’t want his friend to say something in his drunken state, like how he likes Anastasia, and then cause friction between Anastasia and her husband.
So, he made up an excuse to make sure that Everard wouldn’t follow him right after he left, “Anna hates the smell of alcohol and you reek of it. So, sober up before coming and talking to her.”
Alexander then turned his gaze at Lorenzo and asked him while slightly clenching his jaw, “And I am asking you again, Lorenzo. He already drank way too much alcohol for the night. If you truly consider yourself as his friend then don’t allow him to take another drop of alcohol.”
.....
Lorenzo smiled and said in his usual overly-nice voice, “Of course, Your Highness. I do consider myself a good friend of His Majesty. So, I will take proper care of him. You don’t need to worry about him.” He gestured at the ground floor and then added, “But you should take proper care of your sister. They are standing out a little too much.”
Alexander didn’t trust a word that came out of Lorenzo’s mouth. He knew that in his absence, Lorenzo was going to bootlick Everard and do as Everard demanded.
However, he couldn’t do much about it at the moment since it was true that the guests from Sorvando were standing out a bit too much. For some reason, the other guests were maintaining some distance from those four, almost as if those four were some decorative pieces of sculptures placed at the center of the hall. And those four were being observed and talked about.
Alexander rolled his eyes at Lorenzo and then looked at his friend again. “Eve, come to the other hall after you sober up. You have to attend to those in that hall as well.”
“Yes, got it, mother!” Everard mocked Alexander for constantly nagging at him.
Alexander scoffed and then turned around to leave from there. While running down the stairs, he spotted Jerome who had his eyes on the King even though he was standing down on the ground floor.
‘Yes, I think I can trust Everard with him,’ Alexander thought to himself and then sprinted to Jerome’s side.
And when he reached in front of the man who was good at giving commands to Everard, he gave a subtle smile and then asked, “Sir, I will attend to the guests from Sorvando. While I do that, will you stay by Everard’s side? I think he will chug down a few more glasses of alcohol if no one is there to stop him.”
Jerome smiled because he could see that the Crown Prince was genuinely worried about the King, unlike the others who he had met until now.
“I would love to stop him, my Prince.” Jerome looked at Everard again and said after heaving a sigh, “However, he is not exactly the type of person who listens to me.”
“I think he will be a little cautious if he sees you around,” Alexander insisted again.
Jerome turned his gaze at Lorenzo and mumbled while slightly narrowing his eyes, “Yes, he might be a little cautious if I am around.” He looked back at Alexander and then said after giving a gentle bow, “I will go there right away, Your Highness. I hope you enjoy the night.”
“I hope the same for you,” Alexander smiled and then finally headed towards the center of the hall where his dear sister was standing.
While walking, he noticed how Anastasia was smiling and talking with her husband and the other two gentlemen. He smiled to himself and thought, ‘She isn’t that shy little Princess anymore, huh? She looks so mature now. And look how she is carrying herself. She looks like a perfect queen.’
“Brother! You’re back!” Anastasia happily said when Alexander went and stood by her side.
Alexander gave a wide grin to her and said, “Yes, I am.” He then looked at Caspian and apologized on his friend’s behalf, “Your Majesty, please excuse my friend’s behavior earlier. He is usually not like that. But it seems like he drank a bit too much, and he didn’t know what he was saying.”
Caspian was sure that Everard meant every word he said. However, he didn’t want Alexander to apologize on behalf of someone else. So, he said with a smile on his face, “It’s alright, Prince Alexander. I’m sure he will come back to his sense soon.”
Alexander was relieved to hear Caspian’s calm voice. He smiled and then said while gesturing at the back door of the hall that they were currently in, “May I lead you all somewhere much quieter than this place?”
“Oh, yes please!” Hamilton was the first one to agree.
He was suffocating as though he was thrown into a pile of garbage that were rotting for a month. He was smiling on the outside, but he was wishing that he could run somewhere to get some fresh air. And when Alexander asked that, he was more than happy to follow.
“Okay, please follow me then,” Alexander turned around and led them all towards the other hall.
Romulus watched them all heading for the special hall. He then looked at Everard. Although the beta was trying to stop him, Everard was pouring a small bottle of alcohol into a glass.
He smirked while glaring at Everard, displaying his cruel image for a split second. And he thought to himself, ‘Good job, Lorenzo. Now, all it takes is a glass to make him drunk out of his mind.’
He finished the glass of wine that he was drinking and then thought after putting the glass aside, ‘Now, I think I should go and say hello to my fellow alphas.’
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