The carriage stopped in front of the castle's stairs, and the coachman stepped down to open the door. Lillian was quiet throughout the ride, lost in thought.
Lord Harold stepped out of the carriage first and walked towards the stairs. When he turned back to notice Lillian was still in the carriage, "Lillian," he called out, his voice deep and clear.
Lillian jolted, letting a soft smile rest on her face, "Oh, we're here," she mumbled, taking her time to step out of the carriage.
She walked up to Lord Harold, raising her gown slightly, to avoid tripping. She knew she couldn't stall this meeting; she felt like a cow being taken for slaughter.
He led the way into the court, passing by lush gardens, with the sound of water rushing from the water fountain in the middle of the courtyard. They walked up to a big, wide wooden door. The guards at the door saluted Lord Harold as the chamberlain bowed.
"Lord Gregory Harold," the chamberlain at the door announced.
The guards pushed the door open. Lord Harold and Lillian walked into the throne room to see the king seated, with the prince and the queen by his side.
Lord Harold bowed his head slightly, while Lillian curtsied, tipping her head lightly, as she stood up, her shoe got caught at the hem of the gown.
Lord Harold, noticing this, held her arm to stop her fall. Lillian stumbled lightly before regaining her posture, giving a small smile to Lord Harold.
The prince's eyes narrowed at Lillian, 'Has she always been this clumsy?' he murmured, his eyes narrowing.
The other women in the throne room who stood with their chaperones silently sized Lillian with their eyes, wondering who this girl was.
Lillian was soft on the eyes and had curves in the right place; she truly didn't need her clothes to shape her body.
Some wondered when Lord Harold had gotten a daughter. This was Lillian's first appearance in the royal court, and she truly didn't know the politics that were played, but Shannon knew the story like the back of her palm because she wrote it, and this was her playing ground, and now she's living in it.
The King acknowledged them, smiling at Lord Gregory, while the Queen got down from her throne and walked up to greet Lord Gregory, giving him a light kiss on the cheeks.
"It is wonderful that you decided to accept this invitation, I thought you wouldn't be willing to have your niece participate for the prince's hand in marriage," the Queen said, looking closely at Lillian.
Lillian stood at the side, her eyes looking down at her hands, staring at the system's screen.
[Ding, the witch of nevermore]
[Ding, a new quest has been unlocked]
"What?!!" Lillian's voice was heard through the court, and everyone's eyes immediately fell on her.
"Who is this girl?"
"Does she not have manners?"
"She's before the king and the court."
"What an easy target."
"I feel pity for Lord Harold, truly an untrained one he has on his hands."Came the murmurs and snickers, loud enough for Lord Harold to hear; his cheeks immediately turned red.
"Excuse me, my Queen," he grimly uttered.
He grabbed Lillian's arm and dragged her towards the garden, out of the court. The prince who sat on the throne, lazily looked at Lillian, interest beginning to seep into his eyes. "This season looks promising."
_____________________________________________________________________
"What have I told you about how to behave in court?" Came Lord Harold's stern voice.
Lillian looked at him directly in the eyes, silently daring him to hit her, because that's what he's good at when things don't go his way with her.
Lord Harold let out a sigh, raising his hands. Lillian flinched, muscle memory had kicked in, he put on a thin smile, brushing a stray lock of her hair that fell from Lillian's hair.
"Don't mess this up, the fate of the kingdom, my fate." He paused, looking at her intently.
Placing his hands on her head, "It rests on you." He whispered.
He patted her head before going back to the throne room.
Lillian let out a sigh, her shoulders letting go, "I have to be careful, before anyone finds out I'm not Lillian," she muttered to herself.
Lillian found a bench well hidden behind some flowers, and she took her seat. The system window popped open.
"Open quest," she muttered. The quest opened.
It actually worked; her eyes lit up with excitement.
[Awaken the other, system gain an ally or an enemy]
"Gain an ally or an enemy?" Lillian repeated the words to herself.
"How does one gain an ally or an enemy, and how do I go about this? Where do I even find another system to awaken? This isn't helpful at all." She sighed.
"I should head back inside." As she stood up from the bench, a timer appeared before her; She had 12 hours to awaken the system.
"Are you guys for real? I thought the idea of a new life was to live it as a new leaf," she grumbled.
"What are the penalties?"
[failed quests, reputation drops, possibly become a suspect in court, and may lead to death]
"Why didn't I just get a system like solo leveling where at least I'll have muscle and power? At this rate, this worthless system will be the death of me before the court." She glared intently at the screen before her.
"I fear the way you keep glaring at the plants, they may wither and die, never to grow again," came a female voice behind Lillian.
Her shoulders shook from the intrusion, as her heart leapt. Lillian quickly turned around to see who had spoken. Her hand patted her chest lightly, "I didn't see you there, lady, um.."
"Lady?" the woman raised her brow, letting out a light chuckle, "I'm not a lady, I'm a Princess, Princess Castella, well, the infamous beauty of the castle."
"Oh," Lillian quickly curtsied before her, "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it."
Castella looked at Lillian, her eyes twinkling with amusement.
"Please don't chop my head off," Lillian voiced out lightly, as she had not gotten a word of confirmation from Castella.
Castella laughed out, "Oh, please, I'm not like that." She helped Lillain stand.
"Truly nice to meet someone in a court who isn't uptight and power hungry," Castella immediately said.
She studied Lillian's body movement while staring into her eyes. She could sense that Lillian's intentions were pure.