Free Web NovelChapter 312: Chapter 312
"Well, I don’t think all that will be necessary. I’m sure a simple no would have sufficed," Circe replied quietly to Mina’s grim words. As she spoke, she covered her friend’s hand with her own, her fingers curling gently around Mina’s in a gesture meant to comfort her.
"If only that stopped her," Mina said bitterly. "She takes offense both when I don’t show up and when I dare to show my face." She released a sigh, one heavy with long-standing resentment and exhaustion, all of it directed toward Lady Kaelith.
Their heads were bent close together in conversation, largely oblivious to the rest of the room. Around them, the other women mingled in clusters, their voices rising and overlapping, loud enough to drown out the quieter exchange Circe and her friends were having.
"Then we could always teach her a lesson," Elara suggested with a glint of mischief in her eyes.
She was immediately met with Mina’s sharp rebuke.
"Elara!" Mina hissed under her breath. "We will do no such thing. Could you imagine how Gracil would react if I did anything to his mother?"
"Your husband has the softest heart," Elara whispered back, rolling her eyes. "I truly wonder how he came from that harpy." She leaned in closer, lowering her voice further. "I’m certain Her Highness would agree with me, if she knew just how unbearable Lady Kaelith truly is." frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
Mina snapped her gaze toward Circe at once, shaking her head emphatically. "Don’t listen to a word she says, Your Highness. She is a terrible influence."
Circe blinked, brows knitting slightly as she looked between the two women. "Is she truly so horrible?" she asked gently. "Your mother-in-law, I mean."
"The worst," Elara declared dramatically. "Thank your stars every day that you are not saddled with a mother-in-law like that."
Though the words were said in jest, they struck far closer to home than any of them realized.
The closest thing Circe had to a mother-in-law was the queen herself, and she suspected that Nheera was far worse than Lady Kaelith could ever hope to be.
She kept that thought carefully to herself as Mina and Elara resumed their hushed bickering.
"Elara might be right," Circe said at last, her voice quiet as she fixed her gaze firmly on Mina. "If Lady Kaelith troubles you so deeply, then perhaps you should teach her a lesson, preferably one she would have difficulty forgetting. How else do you expect her to change?"
The moment the words left her mouth, the soft sound of approaching footsteps reached them.
All three women lifted their heads at once to see none other than Avarine Caelorth walking toward where they sat.
"Your Highness," Avarine said politely, her saccharine smile already in place as she dipped into a respectful bow. She wore a dress the color of moss, her shiny black hair adorned with gold pins. "I was so delighted to see that you joined us today. It’s always a good day whenever you choose to venture out of His Highness’s estate and spend some time with us common folk."
Her smile did not waver even slightly as she spoke, but her voice carried farther than necessary, prompting a few nearby women to glance in their direction with open curiosity.
Mina rolled her eyes so hard Circe half expected them to lodge permanently at the back of her skull. She looked even more displeased now than she had moments ago while Lady Kaelith was making her rounds. Avarine, for her part, made a point of ignoring Mina entirely.
The words themselves were sweet and impeccably polite, yet Circe caught the undercurrent beneath them, sensing the bitterness and derision woven seamlessly into them.
She studied Avarine curiously. She despised the way the woman had said "His Highness’s estate," as though insinuating that Circe was merely a guest there or even a freeloader, rather than the mistress of the manor.
"I didn’t realize you made a habit of keeping track of when I appear in public," Circe said softly. "How odd. Surely women your age in this town have more interesting hobbies than that."
She didn’t understand what Avarine’s problem was, nor what had prompted the comment in the first place. But Circe had existed among noble women long before Lamora. She knew their brand of subtle cruelty, the way they smiled while they slowly cut their victims open into shreds with their words alone. She was so attuned to it now that she could recognize it from a mile away.
Amris might be Ragnar’s territory, but it was still Lamora. And Circe refused to make herself an easy target. If she was to carve out a home for herself in a den of vipers, then her bite would have to be sharper and more venomous than theirs.
Color bloomed across Avarine’s cheeks as she hastened to reply.
"It’s nothing like that at all, Your Highness," Avarine said quickly, her smile widening to an almost painful degree. "I merely wished to thank you for coming."
"The host, Lady Kaelith, already did so some time ago," Circe replied smoothly. "But I appreciate the gesture." She did not return the smile.
Avarine’s gaze drifted downward, landing on the embroidery hoop resting in Circe’s lap.
"What a unique design," she said, lifting her eyes slowly back to Circe’s face. "Do you intend to gift this to His Highness?" frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
Circe did not break their shared stare. "And if I do?" she asked coolly, one brow lifting.
"Forgive me, Your Highness," Avarine said, dipping her chin shallowly and lowering her gaze in a way that was meant to appear demure. "I simply thought that if you wished to give him something more... artfully made, you might prefer mine instead. I am more experienced, after all and my piece is nearly finished."
"No, I don’t think I will," Circe said simply. "Thank you for your kind offer."
"Well then, if that will be all from you, perhaps you can excuse yourself so we may return to our conversation," Mina replied, her voice layered with the same brittle politeness Avarine paraded everywhere she went.
Avarine didn’t even glance in Mina’s direction as she dipped into another respectful bow. "I will take my leave now, Your Highness."
