Mikel sucked in a deep breath and muttered. "We need to move faster."
"I am not sure why but the beast being held in the prison right now is somehow affecting Sylvia."
"Affecting?" Leol asked, not understanding how these two could possibly be connected.
"She knew. She knew that there was a young beast being held downstairs."
"What? How could that be possible? Isn't that information only available to the King and your brothers? How could she know?"
Mikel could only shrug at Leol's question as he himself did not understand. "She said something about a dream and a wolf."
Leol paused, thinking about the situation. Theodore as well had nothing to say as none of them had expected something like this.
This matter was something that was extremely dangerous and kept as a closely guarded secret. So it was almost near impossible for it to have spread through rumors or gossips.
Even they themselves wouldn't possibly know if Mikel hadn't told them. So how could Sylvia know such sensitive information?
After a while, Mikel was the one who finally spoke. "I have a bad feeling. We need to leave soon. At least she needs to leave soon."
"I agree." Theodore shook his head.
"Alright then. I will make all the necessary preparations." Leol nodded, before heading out of the corridor, climbing down the stairs, and directly walking out of the castle to one of the carriages on the side.
Mikel and Theodore, then walked to the royal courtroom as they continued discussing the things that needed to be carefully and meticulously planned.
Even if one thread came off, their entire plan could unravel. So everything had to be done with the utmost precision.
Meanwhile…
A maid ran over to the chamber where Priscella was currently resting. She was laying on the bed with her head being massaged by another personal maid.
"My Lady. My Lady. His highness has left the room." She hurriedly notified Priscella.
Ever since Michelle was punished severely and banished from the Kingdom, all the maids were walking on eggshells around the woman.
"Hmmm… You can go now." Priscella sat up straight and snapped her fingers, commanding another maid to hurry up and dress her.
"Get the finest jewelry and the most expensive dress. This slut needs to know the difference between a real Queen and a fucking mistress."
The maids obediently nodded and scurried along, diligently dressing the lady from top to bottom. Not even a single strand of hair appeared amiss.
After almost an hour when everything had been finished to perfection and final touch-ups had been completed, Priscella checked her reflection in the mirror and nodded satisfactorily.
She then tossed her bouncy fresh auburn curls to the back and waltzed out of the chamber with an elegant smile on her face.
She greeted the few people whom she passed by gently and then arrived at Sylvia's room or rather the room which was previously Mikel's.
"Where did you…" Sylvia opened the door with a cheerful smile expecting the devil, but her words and her smile froze as soon as she saw the unexpected guest standing at her doorstep.
"Greetings, Miss Sylvia," Priscella muttered with a gentle and kind smile on her face.
She couldn't help but notice the messy sheets and the strewn around clothes and her heart sank. However, she didn't let it appear on her face.
"Would you please accompany me for some tea?" She asked, her smile still lingering on her lips.
"Ummm… Maybe some other time? I have some things that I need to take care of." Sylvia gulped and answered vaguely, not wanting to spend any time with the woman who was clearly never going to be her friend.
"Ah… Is that so? That's too bad." Priscella tutted.
"His majesty himself suggested that I meed with you and we introduce ourselves to each other. But if you are too busy then…" She paused, trailing her words.
"Then?" Sylvia asked, raising her brows. She could tell what the other party was trying to do. How could she allow herself to be so easily intimidated?
"Oh! I apologize." Priscella awkwardly cleared her throat and continued.
"I might be overstepping my bounds here, but I think we should try to get along at least for his majesty's sake."
"It would only embarrass him if the concubines in his harem did not follow rules and listen to his Queen."
"You are the only concubine for now, but soon, there might be a few others. I am sure you know what I am trying to tell, right?"
Sylvia softly chuckled, the smile not reaching her eyes which were instead cold and freezing. "Even a child can understand what you are trying to imply, my Lady."
"But please rest assured. I will be sure to inform his highness when he visits me later in the evening." She paused and then added, licking her lips seductively. "and appease him for my wrongdoing by using every inch of my body."
Priscella's face instantly darkened and she lost her cool and collected composure.
She had come here to demean Sylvia and rub the fact that she was a mere mistress, but now she felt as if she had been slapped on the face with the same fact.
She wondered if Mikel would ever be interested in her as he was interested in Sylvia. Was it just her face and her slutty figure? Is that why the man was madly indulging a slave like her?
Even though she had tagged along with the man and paraded with him for several occasions, they had never spent any sort of personal time together, let alone share a bed.
If not for the other men trying to woo her and coax her, Priscella would have really started to doubt her own appearance and aesthetics.
So it pissed her off when Sylvia poked the same wound, twisting the knife while it was still within her.
"Mmm. I am glad to hear that." Priscella muttered, her voice barely hiding the anger bubbling within her.
She didn't want to lose face in front of a mere slave, so she added with a smile. "Please be sure to take good care of his highness."
"I have been feeling unwell lately, so that's why his highness is visiting you these days. He worries over me and fusses over me for no reason. Aha ha ha."
However, contrary to the reaction she expected, Sylvia simply smirked. "Heh. Is that so? Shall I tell his highness that you said this?"
"When he spoons me throughout the night, he keeps begging me to tell him things, things that bother me. Perhaps I should tell him this tonight."
Her words made Priscella immediately panic and she gritted her teeth in anger. "Do as you please, Miss Sylvia. I will take my leave now." She turned around and left with her two maids, without saying another word.
Watching the woman storm away, Sylvia smiled and then slammed the door shut behind her.
She knew that things were going to get more troublesome, but she didn't care. If Mikel needed her to be his mistress, then she was going to accept that role fully without any reservations.
Priscella, on the other hand, was not in the least calm. She wanted to humiliate the slut and put her in her place, but instead, she was the one who had suffered.
Just why the hell did he have to favor her so much? Priscella bit her lips and chewed her nails out in annoyance.
"Ummm… My Lady…" One of the maids standing near her spoke up, to which Priscella immediately turned around and slapped her, a loud resounding noise echoing in the room.
"My lady, please forgive me. I only wanted to suggest inviting the Queen or the Crown princess for tea." The maid started crying. She had only wanted to say something to help the lady but she got unjustly punished.
Priscella's hand that was ready to land another slap on the maid's other cheek immediately paused midway.
"That's not a bad idea." She muttered to herself. Of course, if she wasn't this agitated, she would have thought of it herself.
However, she also didn't want to look too petty in front of the maids. She removed the pair of ruby earrings she was wearing and handed it over to the maid.
"Here. The reward for your loyalty." She patted the confused maid and then stepped out after wearing a new set of earrings.
The other two maids looked at the one who had received the slap and also the pair of expensive earrings and sighed in jealousy.
But what could they do? They threw another glance at the lucky girl, before quickly running after Priscella and following her as she strolled over to the inner quarters of the castle.
"The Queen… yes… I need the favor of the Queen." Priscella muttered under her breath as she hurried with a big grin on her face.
Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m