As they settled into breakfast, Chloe found the perfect moment to bring up her plan. “Lloyd, are you free next Saturday or Sunday?”
Lloyd looked up from his meal. “Sunday. Why do you ask?”
“There’s an embroidery exhibition I’d like to go to. I wondered if you would join me?”
“An embroidery exhibition?” Lloyd repeated, blinking in surprise.
“Yes. I have tickets courtesy of Miss Ciel. Apparently, it’s the greatest gathering of artisans this side of the great ocean!”
Chloe had wanted to ask Lloyd’s availability yesterday, but had forgotten all about it, thanks to Sara.
Lloyd appeared thoughtful. “Embroidery... The sewing thing you do?”
“Yes! The thing I did on your handkerchief; the sword.”
“Oh, interesting.”
Lloyd lapsed into silence, his brow furrowed as he considered the invitation.
Chloe’s confidence wavered, and she quickly added, “S-Sorry, I don’t mean to force you. If you aren’t interested, I’ll go by myself...”
Lloyd looked up. “What are you talking about? I’d like to go.”
Chloe’s eyes widened in surprise. “Really?”
“I’m just worried if my presence will be welcome. I know nothing about embroidery, after all.”
“Of course you will! It’s open to everyone.” The look in her eyes became furtive. “But you want to come? Are you sure you won’t find it boring?”
“I feel it’s only natural to want to better understand the things you enjoy,” Lloyd added nonchalantly.
Relief and joy washed over Chloe’s face. “Thanks, Lloyd. I love you!”
“I love you too, Chloe. Thanks for thinking of me.”
Now Chloe was all smiles from ear to ear. “I can’t wait.”
A date with Lloyd, an embroidery exhibition! It took Chloe all she had to keep her heart from jumping out of her chest in excitement.
✦ ✦ ✦
In the heart of Liberta stood a somber structure, casting a long shadow over the royal castle; it was dedicated to a grim purpose. This was the Liberta Stockade, a place marked by austere walls and vigilant guards, both inside and out—a place no one ever hoped to find themselves.
Within these walls, prisoners awaited their trials. In a stark room labeled “Visitation” sat Lily, looking haggard and forlorn on a wooden stool, caged behind cold steel bars. She waited impatiently for the arrival of a particular visitor and her lawyer.
Detained on charges of battery and unlawful confinement of her sister, Chloe, as well as for siccing her guards on royal knights—an act teetering dangerously close to treason—Lily had been confined here for nearly three weeks.
“Isn’t my mother here yet?” she snapped at the guard nearby.
His reply was terse and indifferent. “Do I look like I would know?”
Lily clicked her tongue in frustration. Three weeks in this dim, dank dungeon... Her imprisonment was nothing short of a profound insult to her dignity. While her noble status had afforded her some small comforts, it was a far cry from the opulent lifestyle and lavish attire she was accustomed to. Now, dressed in a simple smock and subjected to the fare of the common folk, she longed for the luxury of her home, the indulgence of a three-course meal, and the elegance of her exquisite dinner dresses.
I’m innocent, she seethed. So why am I being treated like this?!
In Lily’s mind, her detention was a gross miscarriage of justice. Like her mother, she had always believed Chloe to be cursed, justifying her cruel treatment. The incident at the hotel, in Lily’s eyes, was nothing more than rightful punishment for Chloe’s audacity in leaving the family home. And Lloyd, who had thwarted her attempts, was merely an obstacle to be overcome. Make no mistake, the importance of the rule of law was not lost on the Kingdom of Rose as a whole—just this particular eldest daughter of a provincial noble.
The guard spoke up again. “Lily Ardennes, you have a visitor.” The door creaked open on the opposite side of the bars, and a man and woman stepped into the dimly lit room.
“Mother!” Lily exclaimed.
“Lily!” Isabella echoed with equal fervor. She rushed to the steel bars, their hands clasping tightly in a long-awaited reunion. “Oh, my sweet Lily. To be put up in a place like this, you poor, poor thing.” The look of pained love in Isabella’s eyes was something Chloe had never experienced—a mother’s affection, reserved solely for Lily.