?

　　“You want me to go on dates with them?” I grimaced. “This is no time for jokes, Gideon.”

　　“How else are you expecting to get close to them?”

　　“Over tea? Maybe lunch? Dinner could work too, I suppose.” I shrugged.

　　Gideon sighed. “It would seem that our beloved princess has no romantic outlook on things, Anne.”

　　Anne sighed as well. “Oh whatever shall we do, Lord Gideon.”

　　“Hey! I’m right here!” I fumed. Getting slightly offended by their reaction. “If you have a plan, Gideon, then would you kindly share it aloud instead of making me play the guessing game?”

　　“Of course. It’s simple really, by going out with the alphas you are showing your interest in them, you don’t necessarily need to force yourself to have any feelings towards them, all you have to do is pretend.”

　　“You want me to pretend to like them?”

　　Gideon nodded. “That is how everyone in high society acts. As you know princess, whatever you and the three alphas are doing right now is nothing out of the ordinary when you compare to all the politics involved with arranged marriages and marriage of convenience. The word love or affection do not exist in the slightest because all they want to achieve is power.”

　　“Somehow, I feel as though you are teaching me things that I am not supposed to know.” I said, even though I knew for a long time that love was very rare when it came to the members of royalty and high society. I paused for a second as I was reminded of something. “Love hardly offers any rewards. It’s sheer existence is to push people to the brink of insanity.” I said aloud, quoting a famous author who wrote a controversial novel about a cursed man and an innocent maiden falling in love.

　　The novel was a phenomenon which divided the kingdom into those who supported the author’s message and to those who did not. People were quick to see the metaphorical connections between the main characters to alphas and omegas. The public were quick to shun those alphas who would dare approach omegas on their free will and I would like to think that those very people were the same ones who are opinionated about my claim to the throne. Those who absolutely loathe omegas.

　　“Is that R. Vitale’s novel that you are quoting?” Gideon asked.

　　“His first and only book.” I nodded. “The Tale of Traitorous Love.”

　　“Oh, it came and went at an incredible pace.” Anne muttered in regards to how the books were burnt from outrage, which caused production to cease.

　　“It’s good that you brought this book up, princess.” Gideon nodded.

　　“Why?” I asked curiously.

　　“In the book, the maiden, Annaliese, was forced to wed the Cursed Prince to save her family from ruination. But she refuses to fall in love with him due to his cruel nature.”

　　I nodded. “Yes, she said that she would rather die as a wretched and lonely soul than to ever grow affection for the prince.” I said, remembering the storyline as though I had read the book only yesterday even though I was an adolescent when the book was released. I then frowned. “I hope you are not going to compare me to Annaliese.” I huffed.

　　Gideon laughed. “You are mistaken. I am merely talking about the plan she came up with.”

　　“The plan?”

　　The white-haired man nodded. “She meticulously came up with a plan to make the prince tolerate her so they would have a peaceful relationship instead of one of hostility and mistrust. She carefully studied the prince’s likes and dislikes and eventually they became close confidants.”

　　“Ah, I see. So you are saying that I should follow her lead so I could grow a peaceful relationship with the three alphas?”

　　“Exactly.”

　　“Pardon me for interrupting, Princess Cordelia, Lord Gideon.” Anne spoke out, causing us to look at her. “But the novel ended in tragedy, did it not? Are you sure it is a good idea to use it as reference?” she asked hesitantly.

　　“My dear Anne, I am merely giving the princess an example.” Gideon reassured her.

　　“Oh! Is that so…” she muttered bashfully. “I apologise for interrupting. Please excuse me.” She said as she rushed out of the study.

　　“What a sweet girl.” Gideon chuckled before turning back to me. “Well princess, what do you think? Are you able to control your true feelings and behaviour long enough to grow befriend Augustus, Cassian and Isaiah?”

　　“You make it sound fairly easy, Gideon. But you must know that this is not going to work if it is a one-sided relationship.”

　　“Naturally, they would need to be open to the idea of improving your relationship as well but at least you will be the one to initiate.”

　　I let out a dramatic groan. “I am now regretting asking three men to marry me.” I grumbled as I leaned back on the backrest of the chair.

　　“We are already too far into this plan to back away now, princess.”

　　“I know but somehow I do not feel so good about this idea.”

　　“Are you afraid you will fall in love?”

　　I straightened my posture so fast that I could feel my brain shift in my skull. I glared at Gideon who was smiling happily. “I would rather die.” I blurted out mindlessly.

　　Gideon laughed. “You are truly starting to sound like Annaliese now,” he joked.

　　“Hush now, Gideon!”

　　“Yes, yes, I offer you my sincere apologies, Your Highness.”

　　“Well now, how do we approach this?” I asked, wanting to change the subject. “Do I just go up to one of them to ask them out?”

　　“Princess, for someone who has read a plethora of romance novels, you surely do not have a romantic bone in you.” Gideon teased.

　　My frown deepened. “Gideon, don’t make me banish you.”

　　Gideon raised his hand in surrender. He then stood up and approached my desk. He then gathered the paperwork away from in front of me and set them aside. He pulled out an empty parchment and placed it before me.

　　“Let’s start with writing down everything we know about the three alphas, their likes and dislikes and from there we shall form the perfect dates for each of them.”

　　I sighed. “This sounds like a hassle.”

　　“Now, now, princess. No one said romance was easy.” He beamed.

　　*

　　After a week of non-stop work and mountains of paperwork, I was finally getting a few days to myself and yet I could not even enjoy my leisure time for myself because I had to go along with Gideon’s plan.

　　It was a lovely morning and I had just finished breakfast with my mother and brother. I was now walking around the palace in an attempt to find at least one of the alphas. According to Anne, Isaiah should be at the training field with the knights as usual. Cassian had left the palace early in the morning to visit some acquaintances and Augustus was spotted by the gazebo in the gardens.

　　I entered the gardens since it was closer than the training field and made my way to the gazebo. I was starting to get nervous the closer I got, thinking of possibilities such as Augustus or even Cassian and Isaiah refusing to accept my offer to spend time together but Gideon was pretty insistent that they would not reject me. Somehow, my gut instincts were telling me otherwise.

　　When I finally approached the gazebo, I spotted Augustus immediately. He was quietly seated on the bench provided with his gaze fixed on the book in his hand. His beautiful long silver locks were braided to the side, resting over his shoulder. He wore a white long sleeved shirt paired with a dark waistcoat and dark trousers. The dark colours contrasted with his hauntingly pale skin.

　　As I looked at him from afar, admiring his beauty, I had completely forgotten what I came here to do for a long minute. I nervously smoothened down the skirt of my dress and took in a deep breath before making my way towards the gazebo. The moment I took a step on the low stairs, Augustus’ gaze flicked from the pages to meet my eyes.

　　For a moment, I stood there frozen. I wanted to blame the nerves getting to me but then again, I could also easily blame those gorgeous grey eyes of his peering into me. “Hello, Prince Augustus.” I greeted, somehow not daring to get up the stairs. My voice sounded foreign on my tongue.

　　“Hello, Princess Cordelia.” He bowed his head slightly. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?”

　　“I heard that you were here and I wanted to talk to you.”

　　“Talk? I do not believe we have anything to talk about.” he said bluntly.

　　I let out an awkward laugh, praying that that was his attempt at a joke as I finally pushed myself up from the stairs and onto the gazebo. Augustus did not even move to stand up when I approached him as he looked at him lazily.

　　Maybe commencing the plan with Augustus was not the smartest thing to do as his indifference was starting to frustrate me.