Chapter 339 Chapter 339 War Of Words
Everyone who wanted to greet her had to do so from a distance. Her guards made it truly impossible to breach the gap, especially an old man who followed behind her like her shadow and was always there to foil the plan of anyone foolish enough to think about hurting her.
In total, there were at least a few dozen guards following Princess Candice, some were out in the open while others were hidden close by but would emerge in time of emergency.
The remaining guards led the way for the princess and the maids followed right after them in twos.
The whole procession induced awe and wonder among the masses who had been there to witness the enjoyment. They couldn't help but steal a few furtive glances towards the maids and the Princess they were serving.
The procession marched straight towards the conference hall before dispersing and letting out the main character of the evening in her full glory.
Her guards dispersed around the venue and stood like lifeless dolls. They looked extremely vigilant as if they wouldn't even tolerate a single house fly to approach the princess without her permission.
The maids too took to one of the corners and stayed still as if they were part of the background and exuded a peaceful image. Although all of them were beautiful in their own right, as maids they had been trained to never steal the spotlight of their master.
Princess Candice was only followed by the old man who walked right behind her in plain clothes. There wasn't even a protective armor on his body that traditional knights or protectors liked wearing. Compared to those knights in shiny armors, the old man looked surprisingly ordinary. Anyone who couldn't feel the threatening aura radiating off the simple looking old man wouldn't be able to understand how horrifying the man actually was.
Christina had been born with a keen eye for detail. She had already noticed the man who kept squinting his eyes as if to warn all those planning ill for his mistress. He was like a snake hiding his fangs all poised to strike. Even though he looked like he was sleeping, anyone with eyes could understand that it was only a fa?ade.
Christina tried to sense his mana signature around him but was surprised to feel that the sense of oppression didn't seem to be intentional on part of the old man because there was no mana fluctuation around him at all. The oppressive aura was probably instinctive.
There was another reason why Christina was unable to sense his mana fluctuations despite being so close to him. It was because she was weak; she was too weak compared to the old man.
She was so weak that the old man looked like a giant to her that she couldn't possibly reach in her entire lifetime. It was the more obvious answer as the king probably wouldn't have entrusted the safety of his daughter to the old man if he wasn't at least that much powerful.
Princess Candice on the other hand didn't stand out like was expected out of the royal family. She neither dressed very extravagantly nor acted in such a graceful manner.
She looked like an ordinary girl next door with a slightly extraordinary temperament. She appeared to be aloof from worldly matters.
Even though the royals were expected to be high and mighty, Princess Candice didn't look anything of the sort. She was like any ordinary girl that one could come across at their neighbor's house. If not for the fact that Princess Candice had an entourage of guards and a trail of maids by her side, no one would have been able to distinguish her from the rest of the elite crowd.
Candice didn't put on any airs as she came towards Christina and George with calculated steps. She stopped right in front of Christina as if ignoring George on purpose and offered her hand for a handshake.
"We didn't have the chance to get to know each other before due to some unnecessary meddling. Let's continue where we left off, if that is all right with you?"
Candice had a smile on her face, but her words were frozen. There wasn't even a tinge of warmth in the way she spoke.
Christina failed to notice but George was a cunning old man with a wealth of experience and knew that he was better off not offending the woman.
"Of course, my lady. It would be an honor to make your acquaintance." replied Christina warmly as she reciprocated Candice's enthusiasm with a smile of her own. The smile was dazzling. Its allure along with the scenery of her heavenly figure was a deadly aphrodisiac that could easily send some of the weaker willed men into frenzy.
"Christina, I have yet to see a woman as perfect as you even though I come straight from the capital that is tens of times more prosperous than this place. Your figure is so perfect, I can't believe that all these men are able to keep themselves from going insane after looking at you once."
Candice kept praising Christina as she grabbed a hold of her hand after their handshake. It appeared as if Candice didn't intend to let go of her hand in the near future.
Christina was a woman who was proud of her looks. She had been confident of her charm even when she was still in Elizabeth city. Countless men had tried to pursue her, but none had caught her eye until she met Zach and eventually fell in love with him.
Therefore, she knew how desirable she was. But hearing it from one of the most desired women in the empire caused her to blush. She tried to hide her reddened face behind her hands as she felt extremely flattered by Candice's kind words.
Candice didn't give her a chance to recover from her blush as she prepared another barrage of eulogies for her beautiful countenance.
"You really are very beautiful. Have you got yourself a man yet or are you still on the lookout for someone worthy enough? I don't think there is anyone worthy enough for you out there though."
George had already felt that something was off from the behavior of the princess. Even though it hadn't been very long since he came into contact with the royalty, he still had learnt some of their ways. They were akin to sharp hidden daggers that could strike out of nowhere.
George couldn't help but feel that dangerous air around Candice. He even knew that his daughter had yet to realize the situation she was in.
No woman liked to praise another woman, especially when it came to beauty and fashion choice. The fact that Candice was doing it for Christina meant that she was paying Christina exceptional attention, which could never be good.
Therefore, in order to divert Candice's attention, it was necessary to push his daughter down a notch. As such, George took the initiative to belittle Christina.
"My lady, please don't praise her without reason. She already has a big head after she attained some success in business. I can't have her thinking she is some kind of fairy that deserves a prince. Wouldn't I have to wait a lifetime to marry her off to someone then? She is still a little girl who doesn't understand how the world works. Compared to you, she is still a fledgling firefly while you are the sun itself; no matter whether in terms of beauty or in terms of intelligence and business acumen."
The more Princess Candice heard his words, the more genuine her smile became. There was no doubt that she liked George's words.
After all, no woman could have resisted such obvious but elaborate flattery especially when she was questioning her meager self after coming across someone like Christina who was obviously better looking than herself.
Christina knew how much her father loved and treasured her. He wasn't someone who would belittle her like this in front of anyone. After all, the man never got tired of praising her in front of his acquaintances.
Not only was she one of the main decision makers in the family after her father but she was also overseeing most of the businesses of the family due to her exceptional business intelligence. Her father often sought her counsel when it came to several important decisions for the family, and she had yet to disappoint him once.
Therefore, she could not believe that the same father was acting differently. Such a glaring abnormality in her father's behavior could only mean that something was horribly wrong.
Alarm bells rang in her mind when she focused back on her conversation with the princess. She had been acting friendly with the princess unknowingly. The latter had that kind of charm that could pull you in without your feeling it.
The only thing she failed to infer was whether the princess was doing it purposely or not.
Thinking of how she had been acting overly friendly so far to the princess despite their obvious gap in status, Christina felt that it was better to withdraw before she did something to offend the princess. She felt like her father's previous words were also a warning to her so she wouldn't go overboard.
Christina softly pulled her hand free from Candice's grip. Her slippery skin allowed her to do so without using much force.
Candice noticed the change in Christina immediately and the momentary smile on her face vanished instantly replaced by a serious countenance that could make the most powerful of men shiver in fright.
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