NoGift

ARGENT stared at her shivering sister. There were no part of her that wasn't wet. A sudden anger filled Argent's chest. Since she took over the identity of Argent Blackbourne, she had never allowed anyone to bully her sister this way. She might not know what exactly happened here, but all she cared about was the fact that these people humiliated her sister. And that was all that mattered.

Argent wiped the water on Aurum's face, then she took a calor stone from her space ring. It was a gift from Finn for her last birthday. It was a special stone that could not be mined just anywhere. When a person touched it, it automatically produced a heat that could instantly warm a person's body. She asked Finn why he gave this to her. He just said that if she ever felt cold, she could just use the stone to warm her up. Now, Argent's was kind of thankful to Finn for this present.

Argent held her sister's hands and put the stone in her palms. "Hold this for me."

Considering that she couldn't just carry off her sister right this instant, this was the best thing she could do to prevent Aurum from catching a cold.

"It's warm," Aurum whispered then looked up at her brother. "How come you're here?"

"I told you, didn't I? That if something happened to you, I'll definitely come running."

Aurum softly smiled. All her grievances instantly disappeared. It's like her brother's words just chased all the coldness she was feeling and filled her with infinite warmth. "Thank you, Brother."

The other people in the garden stared at the young duke who just came out of nowhere. If they're not mistaken, he just jumped off from a tree.

The Duke with his soft silver hair, amethyst like eyes, delicate white skin was beautiful. That was the first thought that came to the three young women's mind when they saw him. They all saw his interview and they already knew how beautiful she was, but not to this extent. It's like they were looking at someone surreal.

Callista, on the other hand, couldn't help but stare. It was like she went back in time and was looking at a young Dorian Blackbourne. The hair, the eyes, almost all the young duke's features were similar to his father. And seeing him caring about his sister was like seeing Dorian taking care of that barbarian bitch. Her anger was ignited again.

"Lord Hanover, coming to a ladies' tea party unannounced is highly inappropriate," the Queen shouted.

Argent turned her head. Her cold, indifferent gaze swept the three young women - all almost instantly felt a chill down their backs, like a sharp sword has just been pointed at them. Then Argent settled her gaze on the Queen. Was this woman stupid? She was talking about rules when she just used her Gift on Aurum? Argent knew the Queen was an S level water Gift user. That was the main reason the King picked her as his queen. So she was the only one here who could have done this to Aurum.

"Your Majesty, what is highly inappropriate here was you using your Gift on my sister," Argent coldly replied.

Being looked at by those cold purple eyes only made Callista more frustrated and angry. "I only punished her for being disrespectful. Do you see this tea stain on my dress? Your good sister controled Lady Therese's body so she could make her splash her tea on me. Do you expect me to just stand here and let it slide?"

"No, as a wise Queen, I expect you to gather evidence first before you accused my sister of anything, Your Majesty," Argent said, almost sarcastically. Then she moved her gaze to this so-called Lady Therese.

Therese's whole body shivered in fear. This time, it was for real. No matter how beautiful the Duke was, being stared at by him was like being stared at by a beast. A beautiful beast that would not hesitate to kill her if she so much as move.

"You say my sister controlled your body?" Argent asked.

"Y-yes."

"How can we be sure that you're not lying?" Argent asked again.

"I-I--"

Icelyn went forward. "Lord Hanover, Lady Therese hardly has any reason to lie."

"Really? I can think of plenty. For example, she's jealous of my sister so she made this stupid play just to get her in trouble." Argent turned to the Queen. "I can't believe you're making this insipid girl make a fool out of you, Your Majesty. I guess you're not so wise after all."

Callista's face flushed in embarrassment. Just when she was about to speak, the servant's around them suddenly bowed their heads towards a certain direction. They all looked in that direction and saw the King coming with some of his guards.

Arthur stared at the scene in front of him. He wondered why Hanover suddenly ran out of his study. But soon, he found out the reason why. One of the courtiers ran to his study and told him of what's happening in the garden. He wasn't sure how the young duke knew that his sister was in trouble, it probably has something to do with them being twins. That's why he immediately went here as fast as he could before his wife made irreparable damage. But from the looks of things, he might be just a tad bit late.

His whole expression couldn't help but darken.

Argent looked at the King. "Your Majesty, you came at the perfect time. As you can see, my sister is being accused of something she did not do and the Queen didn't hesitate to humiliate her because of it. So now, I'm asking Your Majesty if you could ask someone to bring a veritas stone to see if that lady over there was really telling the truth."

Being pointed at, Therese's whole body trembled in fear. She only did what the first princess suggested because she said nothing like this would happen. It didn't take long for the first princess to convince her, because she does hate Aurum Blackbourne. There was a gossip spreading across the aristocratic circle that Aurum was the King's first choice to be the second prince's fiancee. Even if that wasn't the case, that was enough for Therese to hate her.

Therese has liked Winter from the moment she first saw him. It didn't matter to her if he's illegitimate or not. Her father supported her fascination because he knew that the King would most likely passed on the crown to Winter. But she didn't care about all that. She just wanted him. And then Aurum Blackbourne came along. They all said she's a sweet angel when she's all nothing but. That's why Therese grabbed the first chance she got to make trouble for her. She just didn't expect this end.

Therese glanced at the first princess. Her eyes collided with a pair of cold blue eyes. There was warning in those eyes, as if silently telling her that if she pulled Icelyn into this mess then the princess would make sure that she would regret it.

Therese bit her lower lip. If someone really brought a veritas stone here, it would easily prove that she was lying. Having all that happened in front of the King, she could just imagine how terrible the ending would be. But if she admitted her wrong first and asked for forgiveness, then there might be a bit of hope for her.

And that's what she did.

Therese didn't hesitate to bow deeply. "I'm sorry, Your Majesties! I lied. I didn't mean to. I was filled with jealousy towards Lady Aurum. I'm really, really sorry." She turned to Aurum Blackbourne. "I'm sorry, Lady Aurum. Truly."

Arthur looked at the foolish girl and sighed, he already felt a headache coming. "Your father will be informed of your indiscretion. I will make sure to ask him to punish you for your foolish action today." He then turned to Argent. "Would that be enough?"

"No," Argent answered straight. "I want her majesty to punish her the same way she did to my sister. Then after that, I want her majesty to apologize to my sister for her lack of good judgement."

"You--!" Callista was already embarrassed enough because of how Therese played her and now this. A duke asking a Queen to apologize? Preposterous!

"Do it," the King said to the Queen.

Callista rounded her eyes in disbelief. "Are you out of your mind, Arthur? You'll allow this boy to humiliate me?"

The King's expression didn't change as if he didn't hear what the Queen said. "Do it."

The Queen gritted her teeth in anger. She pointed her hand on Therese's direction and a much bigger stream of water poured down on her. Then Callista turned to Aurum. "Sorry," she said, almost gnashing her teeth.

Aurum gave a bright smile, as if mocking her actions. "I accept your apology, Your Majesty."

Then the Queen stormed off out of there.

Arthur let out a deep breath. Sometimes, he really thought that marrying Callista might be the biggest mistake of his life. "Noelle, please bring Lady Aurum to your room and let her change clothes before she catches a cold."

"Y-yes, Father," Noelle immediately answered. She was still in a bit of a daze because of everything that just happened. She didn't even have time to admire Argent Blackbourne. Because the whole time, she was in fear of him. She couldn't believe that he didn't even hesitate to call out her mother for being wrong. Even her eldest brother would never do that. And he did it all because of his sister. She admits, that was kind of amazing. Because she was sure none of her brothers would ever do that for her. She walked towards Aurum. "Let's go, Lady Aurum."

Aurum looked up at her brother, silently asking if she should go or not. Argent nodded, giving her permission. Before she left, she whispered to her brother, "It was the first princess' ruse."

When the two left, the King ordered the servants to bring Therese - who was dripping wet and looked like she was still in shock - back to her family's estates. Then he turned to Argent. "I hope this incident won't cause a crack in the relationship between our two families."

"Of course, Your Majesty," Argent said insincerely.

Hearing that, the King also left. Leaving Argent and the first princess, along with some servants, in the garden.

Argent looked at the calm princess. She believed that the princess was not foolish enough to stage all these just so she could make trouble for Aurum. Because for one, the plan has a lot of loopholes. The veritas stone alone could solve the problem. Unless her real target was that Lady Therese. If it was, then she accomplished her goal beautifully.

"I don't like it when people use my sister for their own agenda," Argent said, full of hidden meaning. "You might have gotten out of this unscathe, but I promise you, if you do something like this again, I will bury you alive."

There was a ripple in the princess' calm blue eyes. Argent didn't wait for her to answer and just walked away from there.

Looks like the royal family has a lot of free time in their hands. She probably should do something to make them busy.