41: Rumours about the first prince

Rumours about the first prince

Music Recommendation: Heavens, what an afternoon- John Lunn

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Dante had only just returned to the palace the following day. As he made his way through the corridors, every step of his black shoes was precise and was heard by the servants, who quickly scrambled away from the floor before he appeared in the corridor they were in. 

Before Dante could reach his room, he met his siblings, Aiden and Emily, who were talking in hushed voices. 

"Brother Dante, you are back," Emily greeted him with a respectful bow while he noticed a grin plastered on his younger brother's face. "Is everything prepared for the war?"

"Almost. What are you two doing standing in the middle of the corridor?" Dante questioned them.

"I was wondering if I get a pass from having to join you and Brother Maxwell in the war," Aiden was looking for a way out, and when Dante spoke, his eyes brightened, 

"Father said that me and Maxwell should be good enough. If we die, he will still have you as the heir to sit on the throne, as Victor is still too young. It would be easier to fight the enemies than keep an eye on you." 

"I will pray well for your strength and success, Brother Dante." Aiden offered a bow, glad that he was going to stay in the palace. His eyes fleetingly moved to look at Dante's room before he returned to look at his big brother. He said, "You must be tired; we will let you rest."

Dante's eyes narrowed slightly at Aiden's enthusiastic behaviour. Without another word, he went to the front of his room and disappeared inside it. 

Aiden and Emily, who hadn't left the corridor, stared at Dante's closed door. Aiden said to his sister, "I am telling you, this is going to backfire, Lily."

"It is Grandmother's doing, not ours. Why did you even drag me here when I was making my jewellery?" Emily asked her brother before adding, "If it is going to backfire, we shouldn't be here in the first place."

Inside Dante's room, his footsteps continued further inside. Removing his brown coat, he dropped it on the table and uncuffed his sleeves before rolling them to his elbows. When he walked towards the bath, a pool of water inside his room, his footsteps stopped midway, and his eyes narrowed. 

There was a naked woman in the bath who was covered in bubbles, and she coquettishly smiled before bowing her head. 

"My Prince, would you like to take a ba—" 

"Get out. Now." Dante's voice was harsh, and he glared at the woman. He had thought that his family wouldn't send him any more women, but they were back at it. 

The woman was a concubine, whose smile fell quickly from her face when she noticed the anger exuding from the first prince. 

"Stay in there a second longer, and I will turn the water red with your blood," Dante threatened the concubine, who quickly moved her arms and legs to scramble out of there. He demanded in a low voice, "Who the fuck told you to come here?" 

The concubine thought she had been lucky when she was told to head to Prince Dante's room, as rumours were quick to spread that he was finally sleeping with women. Instead of trembling with pleasure, she trembled with terror while she stared at the ground. 

"I—I, that M—Mother Queen was the one who o—ordered it," the concubine answered as she picked up her clothes and began to put them on without wiping the bubbles off her body. 

Dante turned and opened the door. When the door loudly hit the wall, Aiden and Emily quickly disappeared from there to avoid the wrath of their older brother. He made his way through the corridors, every footstep heavier than the last, before he finally reached where his grandmother was. The doors were opened by the two servants at the front of the room, and he questioned, 

"What do you think you are doing?" 

The Mother Queen had opened her mouth to throw a cherry into her mouth, and she stared at her grandson and asked, "Is the fruit poisoned? Aziel!" She turned to look at her minister, who quickly shook his head. 

"I am not talking about the fruit," Dante tried to control his glare and questioned, "I want to know what a concubine was doing in my room?" 

"Oh, her!" The Mother Queen lightly laughed, saying, "Well, she is for your pleasure." 

"How rude of me," Dante's demeanour changed, and he offered his grandmother a smile and said, "To not realise that you offered her for my pleasure to kill." 

When he turned around, the Mother Queen frowned and dropped the fruit from her hand. She said, "Don't you dare hurt this one, Dante. The concubines are the treasures of the King and the Blackthorns."

"Then stop fucking sending them if you don't want me to cause any damage. The farther away from me, the better," Dante replied. 

"I won't sit here quietly watching you sleep with the maids when you have concubines and courtesans at your disposal," the Mother Queen stated, and this made Dante turn back to meet her eyes. "I am very serious about it."

"What are you talking about?" Dante wondered if his grandmother had started to drink early today. 

"The concubines are precious gems, and the courtesans are the gold," the Mother Queen replied in a matter-of-fact tone. 

"Not that. Sleeping with maids?" Dante asked, and the old woman clicked her teeth. 

"I was so glad when I heard that you have finally taken an interest in women within the palace rather than going out to do business elsewhere. It was music to my ears, but then what did I hear? You slept with Emily's maid. Stealing your sister's maid is not nice." His grandmother's face held a look of disapproval. 

"Where did you hear it from?" Dante's dark eyebrows furrowed, but his grandmother waved her hand. 

"Everyone knows about it. You don't have to hide so—"

"Nothing as such happened. So stop sending women to my room. I won't be responsible for their broken limbs, and it will be on you." Dante didn't stay to converse more and left the room. 

"Dante!" The Mother Queen called after him and huffed, "What a rude child! To think he complies with everything except for this one thing. And what was with that language earlier?!" She asked with a baffled expression. 

Aziel wanted to say that the language might have been picked by the Mother Queen herself, but he decided to stay quiet. 

"What kind of woman did you send to his room, Aziel? To think he finds all of them unattractive when they are beautiful creatures!" The Mother Queen asked in a frustrated voice. 

"Maybe it is the lack of a Crux that is causing the abstinence, Your Highness?" The minister asked her politely. 

"That is not it," the Mother Queen said grimly. 

After seeing how his mother's position was downgraded after the absence of his Crux, as Dante grew up to be an adult, he refused to touch any woman in the palace. She didn't know what he did beyond the palace walls, but he despised the courtesans and the concubines. Mother Queen Ginger could tell that her eldest grandson didn't want to follow his father's path of having multiple women by his side. 

But in some way, the Crux was to blame, and she nodded. 

Dante, who had left his grandmother behind in the room, on seeing a nearby servant walking past, demanded, 

"Where is Emily?" 

"The princesses are in the concubines' hall," the servant bowed as he answered. 

Dante walked straight to the concubines' hall, and when he drew nearer, he could hear the music spilling out from the wide room. When he appeared at the entrance, he noticed some of the concubines dancing to the music being played. 

"Prince Dante is here!" 

"Prince Dante!" The women in there whispered in surprise, and suddenly murmurs filled the air as they turned to look at him. 

The princesses were with the other female guests, who were also joined by King William's wife and the three concubines who belonged to him. 

"What a surprise to see you here, Dante," Queen Sophia remarked. "I heard the Mother Queen sent you one of the precious concubines here."

"She's always kind to do such things," Dante replied politely before his eyes switched to where the maid stood. 

Anastasia, who had never been to this place before, had been enjoying the music and dance, watching the different colours move, when Prince Dante appeared, and he now looked right at her. 

She could tell the guests around were trying to find out who the prince was looking at, but he made it more apparent by telling her, "Get up and follow me."

Princess Emily turned to look at Anastasia and whispered, "Go on."

Gingerly, Anastasia stood up, and feeling everyone's piercing gaze, she dragged her feet out of there. The music continued playing again, and so did the dance, but the discussion had only begun, and Lady Noor, who was the second concubine of King William, turned to Lady Lucretia, 

"It seems like it is true that Prince Dante finally slept with a woman. That must be good news." 

Lady Lucretia smiled and said, "I guess it is," but then her smile faltered as she hadn't heard anything about it. 

"To think it was a maid, of all people," Queen Sophia clicked her teeth, while Lady Maya laughed and said, 

"Prince Dante seems to make peculiar choices. Perhaps she will be moved from being a simple maid to serving here or even made a courtesan. Time for her to count her good blessings if it does happen." 

Princess Niyasa turned to her mother and said, "I don't think she's fit to serve as either of those things. A maid, and she looks so lowly. If I am not mistaken, Lady Amara mentioned her rough hands."  1

"Did she now?" Lady Maya asked while she watched the concubines dance.

Lady Amara nodded, not wanting to see Princess Emily's maid be promoted. She replied, "They are as rough as rocks. I don't think it would be suitable for a person like her to join this particular section of the quarters."

Outside the room, Anastasia followed Prince Dante away from the hall for a good two minutes until they finally reached a lonely corridor with no one around. She fiddled with her fingers as she noticed the anger on his face. When he stopped walking, so did she, and she stared at his back. 

When Dante turned around with his jaws clenched, it was at the same time that Anastasia spoke softly,

"Was there something you needed from me, Prince Dante?" Anastasia didn't know what she had done to irk him, and it left her in distress. 

Dante unclenched his jaws upon noticing her expression, but it didn't eliminate the bad mood she was indirectly responsible for. 

"Thanks to you, there are rumours flying around that we slept together." Dante scowled at her, and she stared at the buttons of his shirt. "Was that what you were intending for when you visited me?" His eyes narrowed, because there had been a few maids who liked to make it seem as if they had done the deed with the ministers or the princes to be promoted. To have a better life in the palace. 

Anastasia shook her head and said, "I didn't know it would happen…I tried to explain, but everyone continued to misunderstand. Please believe me. It was Lady Amara who—"

"That pest," Dante cursed as his eyes narrowed. He couldn't wait for Maxwell's wedding to be over. He then said, "Perhaps I should agree with the rumours."

Anastasia's eyes, which had moved to his forearms, quickly snapped up to meet his eyes. "Huh?" she said.

"The rumours won't be dying down anytime soon, so better to make use of them while keeping the nuisance at bay. In the eyes of others, you will be a maid who serves me. A quick promotion for your carelessness," Dante's voice drawled as he glared lightly at her. 

"I am happy to be a maid! Please don't promote me!" Anastasia shook her head because that was the last thing she wanted in here! She was a maid and low in status compared to the concubines or courtesans. Was he not worried about tarnishing his reputation? 

Dante stared at the maid, his head tilting. He usually didn't bother talking to the maids, but this one had meddled too much. He ordered, "Follow me. You have a bath to clean."

"Now?" Anastasia asked him in surprise. "But I need to be next to Princess Emily." 

"I am sure you will come up with a believable answer when she asks," Dante remarked before turning and walking away. 

He was punishing her, wasn't he? Anastasia asked herself, before following him. 

As they walked, Anastasia noticed Marianne enter the corridor from the opposite side, walking with Madame Minerva next to her. The two sisters didn't look at each other to avoid any suspicion brought upon them, as Theresa was the only one who knew that they were related. 

But when Marianne and Madame Minerva walked past them, Anastasia's footsteps slowed, and she quickly glanced at her sister's back. And hearing Anastasia's footsteps fall behind, Dante turned his head in time to catch sight of the maid staring at the courtesan who had just walked by. 

When they finally arrived at the room, Anastasia looked around before her eyes fell on the big bath built inside the room, which had bubbles and froth spilling out of it. She had failed to notice it the last time she was here. 

"Get to work. The faster you finish, the sooner you will return to Emily," Dante said without looking at her, getting back to his work by walking over to his desk. 

Hearing those words, Anastasia decided to do as he said and walked closer to the enormous bath. Knowing that the water plugs of bathtubs were placed at the bottom, she guessed it was the same here. 

Taking note of the stairs on the other side, Anastasia made her way there and realised her dress would get wet. Unaware of the bath's depth, she first peeked over at Dante and saw him engrossed in reading a parchment at the desk. 

"Let me finish this quickly," Anastasia murmured before she bent and pulled the hem of her dress to hoist it up to her upper thighs. 

At the same moment, Dante turned to see if the maid had started to clean, only for his eyes to fall on her bare, smooth legs from her feet up to her thighs. 

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