Sierra clapped, and with one signal, a royal knight promptly stepped away. He brought an elderly man in tow - a face Vivia knew all too well.
Tears faintly wetted her eyelashes. It hadn't been that long since she had last seen Revel Master Walterce, yet, it felt like ages. It was just yesterday when she was on stage, dancing to Emil and Ella's music, but now Walterce looked as though he had aged by several years.
It's only been six months, but Sir Walterce looks so frail…
Walterce walked in with slow steps, his fatigued gaze scanning the guests of the tea party. When his eyes caught Audreya, he stumbled a step back, surprised.
"Audreya…What are you doing here?"
It then shifted towards Raffert, only amplifying his disbelief further.
"Raffert? You were in Orseth too? But why? Y-You just suddenly left Stras and never came back…"
Claudia's quivering hands flew to her chest. "Wh-Who are you? How do you know my husband?"
"I'm Walterce Flemings. I own the entertainment group in Stras or…I used to own one. Raffert was my assistant."
The shock etched across every face was clearer than daylight.
"So what this red-haired woman said was true?"
"Mr. Lowe knew her!"
"Does this mean that Claudia was fooled into marrying him?"
"Master….Master Walterce!" Audreya rushed to his side, tears springing to her eyes. "You're here too…! Please Master, please tell how Raffert has been lying to everyone! He's denying that he even knew us! He helped the culprit in killing Vivia and is now feigning ignorance!"
Walterce froze.
"What…are you saying?"
"Yes, Master! You cannot believe it either, right? But it's the truth!
Sierra intervened. "I don't think that's the reason for Sir Walterce's confusion."
Audreya shot her an ugly glare. "Don't interrupt us! What would you know about any of this?"
"I don't, but he does, right Mr. Walterce?"
Walterce pressed his lips. "Audreya…don't tell me that…you came all the way to Orseth just to ch-chase after Raffert?"
Audreya blinked, stunned. "Huh? What are you talking about?"
His hands clasped together. "I mean that you loved Raffert so much that you…almost went mad after he left Stras. And then you left the town too, b-but I never thought you'd really chase Raffert all the way here."
"Master Walterce…" she chuckled, a foreboding of dread creeping within her. "What are you even talking about? Yes, I left Stras to find Raffert but not because I loved him. I vowed to expose his involvement in Vivia's murder!"
"E-Enough Audreya!" Walterce burst forth, enraged. "Are you still not satisfied? I found out afterward that you purposely hurt your own toe to force Vivia into becoming the lead dancer that day. You were always jealous that Raffert liked her. Not only that, but you wanted to become the Maestro. How can you still feign ignorance…?"
"Hooo?" Priscilla arched her brow, amused. "And here this witch said she got hurt because Mr. Lowe tried to force himself on her."
"That's p-preposterous! Raffert is not that kind of a man."
Raffert dropped to his knees before Walterce and cried. "Thank you Sir Walterce. I don't know…how to express my gratitude. Audreya has been accusing me of such horrible things that I wouldn't even dream of doing!"
Claudia stared down at him. "So…you did know her."
Raffert's fingers clutched his knees. "I…Please forgive me Claudia!"
He pressed his forehead upon the floor, kowtowing before her. "Please forgive me for lying to you, but I didn't have a choice. Audreya had been madly chasing after me even though I rejected her countless times. I couldn't be harsh to her since we knew each other for years b-but when Vivia died, I couldn't…stay in Stras anymore. I wanted a new life, far away from her. That's why I denied knowing her when she first barged in."
Tears fell, his voice tightening. "The moment Vivia breathed her last, something felt wrong to me. It suddenly occurred to me how Audreya might have faked her injury to make her the lead dancer. But I didn't have any evidence. It was only my conjecture.
I couldn't live there anymore, so I left without telling anyone - even Sir Walterce, who I respect so deeply. But trust me Claudia - I never saw Vivia in that light! I always treated her like my little sister, but Audreya never believed me. She kept insisting I looked at her as a woman, but it was all in her head!"
"Have you gone nuts!?" Audreya exclaimed, enraged.
She then faced Walterce, panicked. "Master, why would you say such things about me? You know I never liked Raffert or felt jealous of Vivia! It was him! He was crazy for Vivia and only ever treated me as her replacement!"
With a lack of response from Walterce, Sierra shook her head.
"It's truly unfortunate. You had a bright future ahead of you, and you wasted it fruitlessly chasing after a man's love. You orchestrated your friend's murder, then pinned the blame upon Mr. Lowe and some imaginary noblewoman - one who very conveniently, only you had ever come across."
Priscilla clicked her tongue with disdain. "And then you went all rogue in your madness and joined hands with rebels to plot the royal princess's murder. You're truly deplorable!"
Audreya's vacant eyes stayed locked at Walterce. Raffert's tricks and denial were nothing new to her, but it was Walterce's poisonous accusations that truly crushed her heart.
Why is this happening to me? I have the evidence, so why did I become the culprit instead of him?
With clenched fists, her reddened, fury-laced gaze fell upon the princess. Tears plopped down her cheeks like trickling burning lava.
You…You fooled me, didn't you, Princess Clairette? Planning my escape from prison and bringing me here to expose Raffert was all just a farce, wasn't it?
Why did I feel for a moment that I could trust you?
I failed…I failed Vivia…
"Take this woman away and throw her back into prison! She doesn't deserve another breath of free air among us!" Priscilla's chest puffed with indignation.
Benjamin's unsheathed sword swung towards Audreya - who didn't flinch. But eyes went wide when a second blade clashed against Benjamin's.
"Step back, Sir Benjamin."
As an unbreakable wall between Benjamin and Audreya stood Vivia, her emerald pair of eyes cold enough to be easily mistaken for icy blue. And between her and Benjamin was her blade, pointed right back at him. A no-nonsense glint spoke volumes through her frigid countenance. One misstep, and blood was going to be spilled - a turn of events that nobody could make sense of.
Sierra stared. "Clairette, You're pointing that sword at the wrong person."
"I know exactly what I'm doing, sister-in-law." Her eyes remained still at Benjamin. "Step back, Sir Benjamin."
"My lady, why would you-"
"I said step back. This is my command. Do I need to remind you who I am?"
The other royal knights in his troop shared tense and bewildered glances, countless questions freezing their arms and legs in place. Benjamin's jaw clenched, and he stepped back but refused to budge his stance.
Vivia turned to Audreya and whispered, "Quick! I'll hold the knights here. Leave right now!"
Too shaken to move, Audreya hesitated to trust the princess before her.
She grew more impatient. "We don't have time! Just listen to me and-"
When a chill tore down her spine was when the world had come to halt. Her breath stopped. Her grip on the sword tightened. Her ears stretched for the faintest of sounds - and that was when she sensed it.
Bloodthirst. A gaze so piercing it felt like that arrowhead that had once struck through her heart.
Vivia had barely turned when a silvery sheen from above struck against her own silver blade. The clash of swords tore a sharp metallic hiss through the air, its vibrations shaking the very stillness out of its place. The sheer strength of that force nudged back a step. Beyond that silver grip was a pair of amused eyes, watching her as if the tea party had finally sparked with liveliness.
"La-Lady Judith!" Claudia gasped.
The woman who had been lying drunk and wasted on the couch all this while, the noblewoman belonging to one of the Great Three, let out a low chuckle.
"My, oh my. Just when I thought this tea party couldn't get any more boring. But oh well, first things first. Care to explain since when the delicate Princess Clairette learned how to wield a sword?"