Chapter 222
Chapter 0222
At the banquet that night, I sat beside Julian same as always, but other than the most basic of greetings,
we had not spoken to each other.
“Hello, Piper.”
“Hello, Prince Julian.”
Fortunately, Veronica and Tiffany seemed fine with talking with Julian in my stead, and Julian himself
made no attempts to talk to me either.
my attention
Instead of speaking with him and risking an undoubtedly awkward conversation, I let my
wander down the table some, where Nichs was speaking with Lilliana and Olivia.
With only 8 candidates left, the servants had shortened the table, removing many of the empty chairs.
This brought us all closer together and made the space feel much more intimate.
Nichs was giving both of the girls his undivided attention, looking at them as they spoke and
responding when they asked him a question.
I had never minded where I sat before, but with the tension between Julian and me, I wondered why
Nichs had never asked me to sit beside him. I supposed it had something to do with the optics. After
all, Lilliana was supposed to be Nichs’s favorite, as I was supposed to be Julian’s.
I still felt a twinge of jealousy, however, watching him.
“Piper,” Tiffany said, reiming my attention. “Don’t you feel any same? You have spent all night staring
at Nichs while you are sitting right beside Julian. It’s super rude.”
“Very rude,” Veronica said.
“We all know both princes selected you, bute on. Julian’s right here.” Tiffany waved at him.
Julian waved back at her, and she blushed.
“While I greatly appreciate your desire to defend me,dies, Piper is allowed to do whatever she wishes,”
Julian said, smiling. “It is her free spirit that draws me to her.”
“Still… Tiffany mumbled unhappily.
“It’s no great care to me whether she chooses to scope out thepetition,” he added.
“No,” I said, with a small shake of my head. “I’ve been rude.” Looking at Julian, I gave him a small,
apologetic smile. “I’m sorry, Prince Julian.”
Julian blinked at me. He almost seemed… surprised. But the wide–eyed look was gone in a minute.
“I wasn’t offended,” Julian said. “I’m sure you had your reasons for wanting to look away from me.
Though I’m hoping that, whatever those reasons were, they can be forgotten.”
Ah. This wasn’t an apology from him exactly, not that he needed to give one. This was more an olive
branch. An offer to forget what happened and move forward like nothing had.
Relief flooded through me at once. I was eager to move forward. “Consider them forgotten.”
His smile softened. “Thank you.”
I should have been the one thanking him, but I didn’t want to correct him in front of the girls, or the
Queen, who wasn’t all that far away anymore.
Julian foo
Confusion still lingered with me, when I thought on Julian too long. He was an enigma, who kept his true
feelings deeply hidden. Maybe I would never know what his true intentions were in that sitting room. Had
he meant to kiss me? Or had he just been teasing me?
I supposed it didn’t matter.
The King cleared his throat, and we all turned in our seats to face him at the head of the table.
“A quick announcement. The details of the event have already been given to you, but now we know the
date. The fundraising event will happen in three days‘ time, so as to give you girls the chance to prepare
your gowns. Have you more to say, dear?”
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At the other end of the table, closer to me, the Luna spoke up. “Fashion ys a major part in helping to
win over benefactors, so prepare well. You must consider modern trends or you will not be taken
seriously. That is all.”
“Beautifully said, my Queen,” the King said.
I kept a dull smile on my face, but inside I began to stress. I knew nothing of modern fashion trends. If it
were up to me, we’d all be wearing jeans and t–shirts. But I highly doubted that would win me any favor
with the benefactors.
For the sake of the children at the orphanage, I had to do well. Hopefully Charlotte knew something of
fashion. She’d always guided me before. Or I could ask Susie. Or both.