CHAPTER FOUR: SHADOW OF AMBITIONS

Leonard expressed his reluctance to marry Clarissa to his father. "I can't marry her. Do you know the rumors spreading about her?"

"That she's a whore?" Marcus inquired.

"No, it's about her bad attitude and being spoiled. Perhaps her elder sister would be a better match," Leonard explained.

"I would have preferred that too, but his majesty has mentioned her, so there's nothing that can be done," Marcus replied.

"I'm very sure this mansion won't have peace once she steps into it," Leonard's mother, Selena, remarked, and Leonard sighed in frustration.

"Just know we're doing this for the good of the family," Marcus reassured.

"But why is the edict with them and not us?" Selena questioned. "That witch will never give up things like that. As soon as the emperor finished writing it, she rushed to collect it. I had no other options," Marcus explained, continuing, "you have to be free this weekend; we are all going to their mansion for a proper introduction."

Leonard sigh and excuse himself.

**Lady Mirabelle's Mansion**

Maids hurriedly prepared for the arrival of Lord Marcus and his family. Lady Mirabelle supervised everything to ensure they felt inferior. Meanwhile, Clarissa was dressing in her chamber when Vivian entered.

"You look beautiful," Vivian complimented. "Thanks very much," Clarissa replied, smiling in the mirror.

"I brought this for you," Vivian said, placing a cup on the table. "What is this?" Clarissa inquired.

"It's a specially made medicine to calm you down in case you're nervous," Vivian explained. Clarissa smiled and thanked her, she then pretended to have taken a sip from it.

Lord Marcus and his family arrived, were welcomed by Lady Mirabelle and her husband, and then led to the hall. In the hall, the families introduced themselves, and Mirabelle instructed a maid to summon Clarissa to present herself.

After a while of waiting, Vivian entered and introduced herself to Leonard's family. "What are you doing here? I asked for Clarissa," Mirabelle questioned.

"Mother, Clarissa isn't feeling well, so she won't be...." Before Vivian could finish, Clarissa entered, mesmerizing everyone with her beauty. Facing her parents, she apologized, "Mother, Father, I'm very sorry for coming late; I was just adjusting my dress."

"But she was just trying to say something else, right now," Selena remarked. "Well, my daughter doesn't seem to be in her right mind today, please do not mind her," Henry explained, signaling the maid to drag Vivian out. After Vivian was removed, Leonard and Clarissa were introduced to each other, and Lady Mirabelle asked Clarissa to show Leonard around and they both headed out of the hall.

"You seem very different from what I heard about you," Leonard remarked. Clarissa smiled and replied, "I don't believe in rumors because they are full of lies. They can damage innocent people's images, so I choose to ignore them."

"That's absolutely right," Leonard agreed. Clarissa secretly stole a glance at him, admiring him. Just then, Vivian rushed back, falling on her knees, begging Clarissa to spare her life, claiming she was only trying to help since Clarissa didn't like Leonard.

"What the heck are you talking about? When did I tell you that I do not want to marry him?" Clarissa said, smiling at Leonard. "But you definitely told me they are our enemies, and you do not wish to have anything to do with them," Vivian insisted. Clarissa, outraged, slapped her, yelling, "When did I say such a thing? How dare you try to ruin my reputation!" Feeling ashamed, she rushed to her chamber. Vivian then turned to Leonard, apologizing for Clarissa's behavior, however, Leonard reassured her, "It's fine, but my lady, I know you admire me, but I've agreed to marry your sister, so I hope you will move on and find a better match. What happened here today won't change my mind about the marriage, so I hope such won't happen again. You have a good reputation outside; I'm really surprised you would stoop so low and do such a thing." Leonard left, leaving Vivian on her knees, tears rolling down her face, and she blames Clarissa for making Leonard see her as a bad person.

Leonard inquired about location from the maid and finally located Clarissa's chamber. Standing by her door, he said, "It's me, Leonard. Pardon my manner for coming here, but I want you to know that I already know you are hiding your true self when we talk. Truthfully, I also against this marriage but I still admire you for trying to change yourself for me, so that alone is enough for me and I promise not to change my mind about this marriage." He paused and then waited for Clarissa's reply but she didn't say anything. "I also want you to know that if I leave today, we won't be able to see each other again until our wedding day. Are you okay with that?"

Clarissa quickly opened her door and said, "No, I don't want that,"She then invited him in. "Won't it be inappropriate for me to enter your chamber when we're not married?" Leonard asked.

"Why does that matter when we are getting married in a few weeks?" she replied, and Leonard entered as she closed the door.

***Royal Palace***

The 5th Consort,Mira, visited Consort Beatrice in her quarters. Finding Beatrice with her sons;the first prince, Luthur and then tenth prince, Llythor. Mira greeted them and princes decided to take their leave, allowing privacy for their conversation.

"You're here, have a seat," Beatrice invited, and Mira took her seat.

"I was thrilled to receive your message. It's been too long since we've spent time together like this," Mira expressed joyfully.

"Yes, that's true. I missed you a lot, which is why I sent for you," Beatrice replied, and they both laughed. After sharing some jokes, Beatrice brought up palace rumors.

"I haven't heard anything. What's going on?" Mira asked curiously.

"It's about the empress, so you have to keep it a secret," Beatrice whispered, making Mira agree to secrecy. Beatrice revealed that there were rumors about the empress carrying a forbidden child from the demon realms. Astonished, Mira asked if it was true, and Beatrice confirmed. They both agreed to keep it hush-hush, smiling at each other. After a while, Mira took her leave, bidding Beatrice farewell.

"Do you think she will spread the rumors?" Cara asked. "Of course, she will. That's what she's good at. She just needs to spread it out, and then our empress will be called out to explain herself," Beatrice said, smiling.

Angry on her way to her chamber, Mira's maid inquired about what happened. In frustration, Mira exclaimed, "Who does she think she is? How dare she try to use me to slander the empress? Does she think I'm a fool?" As she muttered to herself, Mira encountered Llythor playing with his maids, blindfolded and chasing them.

Approaching him, Mira remarked, "Your Highness seems to be enjoying himself."

Llythor uncover his eyes and greeted her. Mira continued, "It's such a pity your brother hasn't been made the crown prince. I and Her Highness talked about our heartache. If only the empress were to be removed from her position, then he would have a chance."

"But I heard they can't select the crown prince; his name has to appear in the sacred water," Llythor said.

"Do you really believe such rumors? They are all lies; the water is fake. They are all waiting for the Empress to have her son and name him as the heir," Mira dismissed, leaving Llythor feeling helpless. Noticing his distress, Mira suggested, "But there might be a way to sort this out. I'm not sure if you can do it."

"Which way? I can do anything for my brother," Llythor declared eagerly.

"Well, your mother heard a rumor that the empress is carrying a monster, and it seems the child belongs to the demon realm," Mira revealed.

"Why don't we inform the lords and father and have them investigate this?" Llythor suggested. "It's not that easy. Do you think they will believe your mother? They will say that she's just jealous and trying to slander the empress. She might even be punished, and that won't be good for you and your brother," Mira explained.

"What can we do then?" Llythor asked. "Maybe if there's someone who can spread the rumors around until the lords and the Emperor hear of it and in that way, no one will no the source of the rumors," Mira proposed. Llythor worriedly questioned what if he is caught, and Mira assured him that he won't be, urging him to do it for his brother.

***Lady Mirabelle Mansion***

After all the guests left, Clarissa went to Vivian's chamber with her maids and commanded them to drag her out.

"What do you think you are doing? Are you not scared if Mother finds out?" Vivian said as she was being dragged by the maids.

"Don't worry about that; she and Father are quite busy and won't have much time to care about this," Clarissa replied.

"What do you want? You already have him, so just leave me alone!" Vivian retorted, and Clarissa laughed loudly.

"You should have expected this when you decided to play that little trick on me. Don't worry; I just want to give you a short warning so you won't dare to mess with me again," Clarissa said and then gave orders to have Vivian stripped.

Vivian was stripped of all her clothes, left naked. Cold water was poured on her, and she trembled with tears streaming down her face while being mocked by the maid.

After Clarissa was satisfied, she asked the maid to stop and then moved closer to Vivian, saying, "You should remember this and make sure you know your position in this house." She then left with her maid, and Vivian's maid quickly helped her cover her body.

"How could she do this to you," Bella, Vivian's maid, said

"I will remember this humiliation and make sure I pay you back ten thousandfold, Clarissa," Vivian vowed.