Chapter 164 - Uninvited Guest
The four of them were enjoying the delicious food while sharing their stories with each other. Nigel and Rhea were also enjoying the aged grape wine along with their dinner. Nigel told Adeline how Rhea was his teacher and how they slowly developed feelings towards each other. He was going on and on about what a wonderful fighter Rhea was and how beautiful and intelligent she was.
Rhea also shared how the gentle nature of Nigel made her fall head over heels for her husband. They didn't go into the details but they mentioned how the King of Aberdeen had acknowledged their marriage and had given them his blessings.
Adeline, on the other hand, shared how Prince Edwin had fallen sick out of nowhere. And she also mentioned how she had gotten along with Raphael and Alan. But she didn't tell Nigel about the other half-siblings of hers and what they had done to her.
Nigel let out a quiet sigh when she told him that she had befriended two of the brothers. He thought that at least she wouldn't feel lonely after he returned back to Aberdeen again. And Nigel said after taking a sip of his wine, "I am glad that you've grown closer to them and they gave company to you."
Adeline frowned and clicked her tongue, "Tsk… I thought you would be jealous to hear that."
Nigel tried his best not to show his sadness and said while smiling, "Oh, I am jealous. But I am also happy that they made you feel less lonely in my absence."
All of a sudden, Fenris dragged his chair very close to Adeline's and took Adeline's hand in his. And then he spoke in a slurred tone, "Adeelineee! Do you even know how much I waaant you in my life? Why do you always pushhh me away?"
Nigel face-palmed himself and kept on closing his eyes trying to control his anger towards his cousin. "And I thought he would behave himself," he thought.
Adeline noticed a bottle of wine by his side which was almost empty. She tried to pull her hand away but surprisingly, his grip was very firm for a drunk man. "Fenris! Did you sneak that bottle of wine and finish the whole bottle by yourself? Should you even be drinking when you can't handle it?"
Fenris's cheeks were pink already and when he heard Adeline asking questions as though she cared for him, he couldn't help but blush even harder. He tilted his head to get a better look at Adeline's face and asked with a grin, "Are you worried about me?"
"Tch!" Adeline could not believe her ears. She pulled her hand away from his hold and sneered, "I wouldn't be worried about you in a million years."
"Behave yourself Fenris. Is this how you treat a lady?" Nigel raised his voice at his wasted cousin.
Rhea knew the reputation that Fenris had back at Aberdeen. He was known as the ladies' charmer. But seeing Fenris begging Adeline made her want to laugh at the renowned Prince. And she thought it would be best to just focus her attention on anything else that was not Fenris.
She trailed her eyes around the room and that was when her eyes caught something peculiar. She saw a dark mist hovering at one corner of the room. She tried to smell that mist from where she was sitting but the aroma of food and wine that covered the air of the room didn't make it easier for her.
And she thought of warning Nigel but he was too occupied scolding Fenris, "Don't spoil this beautiful dinner, Fenris! Adeline put so much effort into making us feel welcomed and you are wasted like this!"
"Right! I shouldn't be behaving like an arse." Fenris swung his head as though he was nodding. "Adeline, I am sorry for behaving this way. But I just cannot help it!" He paused as though he was deciding whether to say it or not but then he decided to say whatever was in his mind, "I am so in love with you Adeline. But you don't even look at my way."
Adeline raised her brows in astonishment and sat very still, not sure how to react to that drunken confession from Fenris.
Fenris sat sideways on his chair so that he was now facing Adeline completely, "Tell me, Adeline… is there someone else who is in your heart? Or are you just rejecting me because you are very heartless?" However, before he could hear Adeline's answer, he dropped his head on the table and passed out.
There was an awkward silence in the room for a while. However, the silence didn't last for long. The whole room was filled with the tapping of loud footsteps. Everyone shifted their glance towards where the sound of footsteps was coming from.
And Adeline and Nigel were shocked to their core; Adeline because she did not expect that person to show up and Nigel because he was a little scared. Yes, it was Theodore.
"Theodore!" A whisper escaped Adeline's lips. She nervously wiped her mouth and hand with the napkin and gulped a whole glass of water.
Nigel, on the other hand, got up from her seat and then gave a slight nod to the Devil Prince, "Prince Theodore! Haven't seen you in a while."
Theodore gave a gentle smile and spoke in his calm voice, "Hello puppy! I am happy to see that you have finally returned from Aberdeen. Your sister was bawling the day you went away."
"Oh! Is that so?" Nigel nervously smiled and wished that he wouldn't have called him a 'puppy' in front of his wife but then who was he to stop the Devil Prince?
But Rhea was lost in her own imagination. She was wondering who this unexplainably beautiful man was and why he had the dark aura around him. Also, she didn't hear the door of the dining hall opening and she questioned herself, "How did he enter the room?"
Theodore bent his head to get a clear view of Rhea and said, "Hmm, there's a new puppy here. Who is she?"
Adeline darted her eyes at Theodore and at Rhea. She had suspected her sister-in-law to be a werewolf. And now that Theodore called her a 'puppy', her suspicion was confirmed.
Rhea came out of her daze when she heard that question. And she was shocked when he addressed her as a 'puppy'. "Why is he calling me a puppy? Does he somehow know that I am a werewolf?" She wanted to ask what he was, just like she had blurted that out in front of Adeline but before she did so, Nigel introduced her to that man.
"Prince Theodore, this is my wife Rhea," Nigel said shyly. It felt very weird to call Rhea his wife when he was used to addressing her as his teacher.
Theodore raised his brows, "Your wife? Interesting!" He was amused by that news.
And Nigel quickly turned towards Rhea and gestured her to greet him while saying, "And Rhea, this is Prince Theodore."
Rhea got up from her seat and then gently bowed to Theodore thinking he was one of the many siblings of Nigel. "Pleased to meet you, Prince Theodore."
But a devilish smirk curved upon Theodore's lips, and he said to Nigel complainingly, "Puppy, you forgot to mention to your wife that I am the Devil Prince."