Awakening Love: Reborn to Be His Duchess Chapter 332: Warnings In The Snow

"Duchess of Duskmoor."

Elowen turned and saw Flowira, the fifth princess of Nordia, standing a short distance away and watching her without blinking.

The light didn't fully reveal Flowira's expression, but there was something wild and untamed in her posture. Elowen found it more than a little intimidating.

Still, she made herself smile politely. "Princess Flowira."

Inside, she felt anything but steady.

Her Nordian was poor, and she was afraid of saying something foolish. For a moment, she considered asking Bran whether he spoke the language—or simply making an excuse and hurrying back to Cassian.

But Flowira closed the distance in long, direct strides. She looked Elowen up and down so openly that Elowen instinctively took half a step back.

Flowira either didn't notice or didn't care. She stopped a few feet away, tilted her head, and asked in clear, if awkward, Imperial, "You and the duke? Very close?"

Elowen nodded, smiling naturally. "Yes."

Flowira's dark brows drew together, as if she disliked the answer.

"But you..." She searched for the next words, then said bluntly, "You don't deserve him."

The words caught Elowen completely off guard.

Wonderful. Why is it always the fifth princess? First Maerwyn couldn't stand me, and now Nordia's fifth princess wants to tell me I'm not good enough for Cassian.

Flowira, however, seemed completely unaware of the effect she was having. If anything, she looked rather pleased with herself. Still speaking in stiff, overly formal court language, she continued, "After all, you are... breathtaking. The sort of beauty sung about in ballads."

Elowen blinked, a trace of confusion flickering in her eyes.

She wasn't worthy of Cassian because... she was too beautiful? What kind of reasoning was that?

"But you should still be careful," Flowira went on.

Her gaze drifted down to Elowen's narrow waist.

"You're very slender."

She lifted her hand and made a quick snapping motion with her fingers, her tone earnest, as if she were offering practical advice.

"You're so skinny a strong wind could blow you away."

Her tone was strangely earnest, as if she were offering practical survival advice.

For a moment, Elowen truly couldn't tell whether this was a threat, a warning, or simply the result of Flowira's clumsy Imperial. She only knew the conversation was getting stranger by the second.

That was enough.

Keeping her voice polite, she said, "Princess, the banquet isn't over, and my husband is waiting for me inside. I should return. Please excuse me."

Without waiting for an answer, Elowen took Mira's hand and made a quick retreat.

In her haste, she failed to notice the serving girl hidden in the shadow of a nearby column, pressed against the marble as she memorized every word of the awkward exchange.

When Flowira finally finished her walk and headed back inside, the girl slipped out of the shadows and ran toward the Crown Prince's Wing.

In the Crown Prince's Wing, Daphne listened as the servant repeated Elowen's conversation with Flowira. Her pale, sharp features lit up, and her eyes gleamed with anticipation.

"So Nordia's fifth princess can't stand Elowen either? Maybe she even has her eye on the duke."

The servant kept her head bowed and said nothing.

She had grown up in the palace and knew the rules. The queen had sent her to carry information, nothing more. Offering her own opinion would be dangerous.

Daphne didn't need help drawing conclusions anyway. She was already thinking ahead, fingers digging into her palm.

"Wonderful. The timing couldn't be better. If I can win the Nordian princess over, Elowen won't know what hit her."

"Your Highness," Iris said carefully, after a pause, "I fear... it may not be quite that simple. Or quite what Your Highness thinks."

Daphne shot her a glare. "You think I'm stupid? That I can't see what's right in front of me?"

Iris dropped to her knees at once. "Never, Your Highness. I only mean that you've suffered too many losses to that couple—not because you lack intelligence, but because they're cunning. I don't want you making another rash move. If Your Highness intends to act, perhaps we should first learn Princess Flowira's true intentions."

Daphne glared at her a while longer, then gave a sharp snort. "So what do you suggest?"

Iris lifted her head, speaking with care. "Perhaps invite Princess Flowira here, so you can speak face-to-face. If she truly hates the duchess and likes the duke, that could be useful to us."