?

　　“Now, let us all calm down before we do something rash.” Gideon said, causing everyone in the room to turn their attention to him. I had to stop myself from sighing out my relief the moment I spotted him by the entrance. He turned to the three alphas and greeted them with a polite smile.

　　“Did you have something to do with this, Gideon?” Lady Marie asked. “Allowing Cordelia to offer herself out in such an unruly manner?”

　　“I do not believe this is any of your concern, Lady Marie. And besides, by the way I see it, the princess has not broken any laws by merely inviting these gentlemen over for a marriage interview.”

　　I shared the same confusion with the alphas at Gideon’s words but we remained silent as though we all did not want to deal with Lady Marie and her children spitting out accusations any longer.

　　“Marriage interview? Why could you not have said so sooner?” Lady Marie glared at me. She did not even wait for me to reply when he suddenly stood up. “Forgive me, esteemed guests, for the misunderstanding and exchange of heated words.” She bowed slightly to the alphas.

　　“It is quite alright, Lady Marie. Things like these are bound to happen when there is someone with severe anger issues present.” Cassian said, glancing towards Isaiah.

　　Isaiah clicked his tongue, about to argue back but Gideon was quick to interject. “Now then, Princess Cordelia, I have arranged the interview to happen in the next room. Gentlemen, please make yourselves comfortable until you are called upon.” He said. He gestured for me to follow him out the door. I stopped myself from looking at any of the three alphas present as I followed Gideon out.

　　“What do you mean by interview?” I asked the royal advisor in a low voice as we walked down the hallway to the next room. “Did the contents of the letter not state that if they were to accept then we will proceed with the marriage?”

　　“Well, the circumstances have truly changed when three appeared, do you not think so, princess?”

　　“Yes but…what if they refuse to go through with the interview? And what are we even going to ask them? How are we going to pick which one to be my future spouse?” I bombarded him with questions.

　　Gideon stopped walking and turned to me. “Take a deep breath.” I did as I was told, inhaling as much air as I could and holding my breath before exhaling softly. “If our guests do not feel comfortable with the idea of going through an interview, they would have voiced out their concerns earlier. But as you can see, they want the mutual benefits you have to offer so they have no choice but to go through with this.” He explained calmly.

　　“Sounds like you have everything planned out,” I sighed.?

　　“Naturally. We must always think two steps ahead.” He nodded as he turned to continue walking, approaching the door of the room.

　　“So you had a feeling that there would be more than one suitor?”

　　“Of course not.” He said as the door was pulled open for us. “I simply saw the possibility of this happening. That is all.”

　　I stayed quiet after that, somehow all the feelings of worry slipped away as long as I had Gideon by my side. I wonder if this was what father felt since they were close confidants for many years. Gideon is not only intelligent but the more he keeps his composure through chaotic situations is something everyone needs in life.

　　The common room mirrored the room we were in just a moment ago, with a pot of tea and an array of desserts placed on the small table between two sets of couches. Gideon took a seat facing the door and gestured to me to sit beside him. He passed me three documents and upon scanning through them, I recognised it to be the papers with a brief introduction to the three alphas. The very same papers I had studied during that night when we were picking potential suitors.

　　“Shall we begin with Augustus Grey?” he asked.

　　I pulled out his document. “The youngest son of the Grey family.” I confirmed.

　　“Yes, the Grey family governs the Northern Kingdom, hence giving him the strong title of prince.” Gideon waved at the attendant who was standing by the door. He nodded once and exited the room. “What are your initial thoughts about him?”

　　“He was awfully quiet or actually, the other two were extremely loud compared to him.” I recalled how I had only heard his voice once throughout the mess that was our first meeting.

　　“Perhaps his circumstances caused him to be reserved.”

　　“Do you mean the reason he is dubbed the? Ghost Prince of the North?” I asked as I suddenly remembered the rumours about him. His pale skin, silver hair and grey eyes are not due to genetics at all. He sticks out like a sore thumb among his own family members, with some even not believing him to change the same blood.

　　“He does not leave at the main palace with his family.” Gideon told me. “His father gifted him a plot of land where he has his own extravagant manor.”

　　I turned to Gideon and gave him a surprised look. “I did not know that. Did his other siblings get their own land as well?”

　　Gideon shook his head. “As far as I know, he was the only one to be bestowed such a generous gift.”

　　“Why is that? Could it be nepotism by his father?” A knock on the door caused me to flinch.

　　“We will find out soon enough,” Gideon spoke softly as the door was pushed open.

　　Augustus entered the room with elegance and grace seeping through his person. His long silver hair which resembled starlight fluttered as he walked towards us.

　　“Have a seat, Prince Augustus. Thank you for agreeing to this sudden change in our agreement.”

　　“I understand that the circumstances have changed.” He said, sitting down opposite us. his grey eyes flickered up to mine, lingering for a solid second before turning to Gideon.

　　I had completely forgotten the reason I was here when that happened, getting lost in those almost translucent orbs of his. He is beautiful in every sense of the word, an almost fragile kind of beauty. Even though his skin was pale as though he had been deprived of sunlight, he had a lean and fit build. Although that could be an illusion from the heavy clothing he wore.

　　“Are you comfortable in that many layers of clothing, Prince Augustus?” Gideon asked, as though he had read my mind.

　　“I am used to wearing these heavy clothes since I reside in the Northern atmosphere. Do not mind me, Lord Gideon, as I am as comfortable as I can get.”

　　“Very well then. Let us start the interview, if the both of you are ready?” Gideon asked, glancing between the both of us.

　　“Yes.” I nodded.

　　“Please, ask your questions and I shall try my best to answer them.” Augustus said with an indifferent expression.

　　“I would like to believe that you have read and understood the contents of the letter and the reason being this?” Gideon started.

　　“Of course.” His eyes darted to mine again, holding my gaze. I unconsciously swallowed a stare lump that formed in my throat. There were no words to truly describe the strange effect Augustus’ stare had on me. Could it be that I was intimidated by him or the fact that I could not sense his sincerity through his deadpan stare.

　　“Then my next question is, why did you agree to the letter of proposal?”

　　He lazily looked over to Gideon once more. “I admit that there is no scheming on my part nor is there any grand reasoning behind my choice. I agreed to the letter solely to prove my parents wrong.”

　　“Pardon?” Both Gideon and I said in unison.

　　“Are either of you not curious as to why I am called the Ghost Prince?”

　　“…aren’t those just baseless rumours? Besides, there is no need for you to share information about yourself if you do not want to.” I said.

　　“How disappointing of you to say that. Not only are there some fragments of the truth in rumours but I also firmly believe that if you are to wed a complete stranger that you must be aware of their deepest and darkest secrets. Do you not agree, Lord Gideon?”

　　The air in the room had shifted completely with the change in Augustus’ tonality. My grip tightened against the papers in my hands.

　　“Yes, I agree with your statement, Prince Augustus.” Gideon said after a pause. “Hence, tell us why you are called the Ghost Prince. And tell us why your parents gifted you an entire manor to yourself.”

　　I was certain that the edge of Augustus’ lips twitched ever so slightly.