Chapter 626 - The Princess's Honorable Guests
Once Rika had managed to calm her friend Glennise with her reminder that others getting curious about the Prince was a normal thing, she realized that she had overreacted just now.
Even she did not know why she had gotten so annoyed after hearing Aleena Kiron's curiosity about the Prince.
Thankfully, due to Rika's interference, she had halted before she could reveal what was truly on her mind.
No one knew about how she felt about the Prince and if she were to behave excessively right now then it would be easy for others to decipher her inner thoughts which she wished to avoid at all costs.
Therefore, she took a deep breath in before nodding both at Aleena then at Rika.
Turning around, she began walking away which caused the others to resume their journey as well.
Aleena felt that Glennise Brodie's expressions and her behavior earlier were odd but she did not make her thoughts known lest she ignited another dispute.
Contrary to her relief, Elna Leopold pursed her lips because she did not get to watch the pleasing sight of Aleena getting reprimanded.
There was also Mae who sighed in relief to see that Miss Glennise wasn't too mad after what had taken place.
Cecily from beginning to end was uninterested in the conflicts of these children and she now walked along without any qualms just as she was earlier.
Meanwhile, Yvonne was still mulling over everything she had experienced and decided to give it more thought once she returned home, safe and sound in the confines of her room where there would be no distractions and disturbances.
Thus, this group of little girls continued their walk and finally, after a few more minutes, came to a halt once they reached their destination.
A large and extravagant palace stood before them and they had to strain their necks to see it whole.
At the entrance of that Palace, they found a long line of maids who were standing, possibly waiting for them to arrive.
Their doubt was cleared when they reached the entrance of the palace and these maids bowed before them, displaying their respect to their Master's, the Princess's honorable guests.
Soon after, one of them began to escort them in a certain direction and the rest of the maids followed them so that none of them were left behind.
The little girls were all excited at this special treatment they were receiving and even gushed over it.
Yvonne was also found glancing around as she paid attention to her surroundings while also marveling at the path they had now ventured on.
Without entering the Rose Palace, the maids had led them onto a side path that brought them through the garden which had a pavilion over a lake at a distance away from them.
However, the eye-catching lake wasn't their destination so they could only move along instead of getting a closer look at it.
The maids continued walking further away from the garden and finally came to a halt before a large glass structure behind the Rose Palace.
The King had specially constructed this glass structure, a greenhouse, for his precious daughter and gifted it to her on her birthday a few years ago.
Right now, they were about to enter this greenhouse which was said to have numerous beautiful flowers from all across the Kingdom that had been brought over and planted here.
When the maids pushed the doors open for them, audible gasps echoed from those standing outside this glass structure.
Glennise and Rika had been here numerous times but for the rest, this was their first time visiting this stunning place they had heard much about.
Bright light entered through the glass roof and walls, trapping heat inside this greenhouse but surprisingly, it wasn't too hot around them.
There was greenery all around and the scenery was worth the high praise they had heard before.
All around them were numerous flowers with petals of various colors and each emitting its own unique fragrance.
The moment these doors were opened, the sweet earthy scent of a hundred different flowers wafted into their nostrils.
However, they all seemed to amalgamate to form a soothing and gentle scent, unlike a strong and irritating fragrance which one would expect.
This discovery was bringing smiles to their faces as they glanced around in excitement.
No matter how nonchalant Yvonne appeared to be, she too was curious to know more about this place.
The only other greenhouse that she had been to, in this world, was the one at the Tanner estate.
However, that could not stand in comparison with the Princess's greenhouse.
Its size, the grandeur of the structure, even the tinted glasses used for the greenhouse exclaimed the amount of thought and effort that had been put in to creating such an enormous building.
The plants were well taken care of and they all looked healthy and thriving in this greenhouse.
Just like the one in the Tanner estate, the Princess's greenhouse also had a spacious area meant to entertain guests.
This was exactly where the maids had led them after entering the greenhouse.
At the center was placed a large table and by this table they found two figures standing next to each other.
When the group of girls came to a halt before them, they gazed at each other for a brief moment.
Yvonne's eyes landed on the shorter figure first and with a single glance, she had discovered the identity of this person.
The sight of the young girl with bright blonde hair that flowed down her shoulders and reached down to her waist was enough for anyone to guess who this might be.
If that wasn't enough then those piercing blue eyes which were looking their way confirmed her speculation without further hesitation.
"Greetings, Princess!" Glennise and Rika chirped in unison which made that little girl smile as she nodded at them.
The rest snapped out of their momentary daze and hurried to curtsy and greet the Royal Princess as well.
Yvonne followed the rest and moved along with them, trying not to stick out of the crowd as much as possible.
However, she was bound to fail at this mission as not only was she the youngest in the group but she was also the one who had given up on her chance to become the Princess's playmate in the past.
Therefore, as Princess Felicia glanced around to make out the few familiar faces she had already seen in the past, she found two new faces.
Only Yvonne St. Claire and Mae Blaise were daughters of Earls whom she had not met before.
She had gotten acquainted with the rest during her birthday celebration in the past.
Thus, she fixed her attention on these two for a second longer than the rest.
Mae Blaise was older than Princess Felicia by a couple years but Yvonne St. Claire was a whole year younger.
When Yvonne felt the Princess's eyes lingering on her, she raised her head and shot her a smile to not appear haughty and disrespectful towards the beloved daughter of the King.
Thinking of the man who had the appearance of her father in the past, showering the Princess with all of his love and care in this life, she felt a strange wave of dissatisfaction wash over her.
However, in the next second, she chided herself for even entertaining such emotions.
'I have Papa now!' She reminded herself that she could not get jealous of the Princess on account of the King bearing resemblance to her father in the past.
The King she had met today knew nothing of the past life and was only someone who looked like Harold St. Claire.
Therefore, she pushed aside those unwarranted emotions and held that smile as before.
Princess Felicia wasn't as interested to know more about Mae Blaise as much as she was about Yvonne.
Both were girls she had met for the first time but she felt an inexplicable sense of intimacy with one of them when compared to the other.
Yvonne did not know what was going on in the young Princess's mind and could only hold that smile while the other girl kept staring at her.
'Everything should be fine since this is our first interaction.' She reassured her worried heart that nothing could go won't here.
The Princess was only eager to get to know the guests she had invited.
This was the explanation Yvonne had come up with for the Princess's strange behavior.
"It's a deep violet." A mutter escaped Princess Felicia's lips which had caught the others' attention.
"What is it, Princess?" Glennise Brodie inquired in the next moment, not worried about offending the Princess as they had already been close friends for many years now.
The others too were curious to know what Princess Felicia meant while also shooting glances filled with awe towards Miss Brodie who was on friendly terms with the Princess.
Looking right at the only daughter of Earl St. Claire, Princess Felicia broke eye contact with Yvonne only to glance upward.
"Miss St. Claire's hair… It's a deep violet." She muttered in explanation while observing the unique hue of the younger girl's hair.
The smile which Yvonne had been maintaining until now showed cracks at the strange interest the Princess seemed to have towards her hair color.
'Why is she so concerned about the color of my hair?' She wondered how her hair color could have possibly attracted the other girl's attention.
Yvonne was oblivious about the thoughts in the Princess's mind but a distant memory from the past had sparked in Glennise's mind which could explain her close friend's strange mutters from before.