<div style="text-align: center">Overall, there was disappointment among the LaCroix for various reasons. While Edmond is a father who cares about his daughter's well being, he also knew how important this alliance was. Varus' father and him were friends for a long time, which Felicia admitted as something she didn't like, but she had to think without biased preference. Varus' family gave a great support to the LaCroix. But this situation is making things far more difficult than they believed.<br/>
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Shortly after she got the gift from Varus from the maid, Alissa sighed as she looked at the box and headed towards Ellanore's room. When she opened the door, she was startled for a moment when she saw Ellanore sitting on the bed, but she still remembered that she probably wanted to return quickly to her room. "It's kind of gross. One of the reasons why I prefer women a tad bit." Alissa said in a lighter tone so Ellanore wouldn't be completely gloomy about his stupid and grand unnecessary gestures just to show off.<br/>
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Ellanore turned to look at her handmaiden as Alissa walked over to the vanity and pulled a box from underneath. She opened it and inside were many gifts, mostly jewelry of all kinds. Without much care, Alissa just dropped the box inside, closed it and shoved it with her foot back where it belonged. The Princess couldn't help but smile. "He probably wants my parents' favor.<br/>
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"Don't be ridiculous. He's thinking only of himself. He has stopped doing little things long ago. He's doing now everything so his gestures could be seen. Your relationship is only a public thing." Alissa stated as she walked over to Ellanore, sat next to her on the bed, but she allowed herself to collapse back on the rich bed sheets that smelled of the Princess, even though it was freshly changed. "You know, it's usually people who have arranged marriages that have secret partners. Some couples have the decency to agree on having a secret partner which they'll hide from the public, in order to be happy."<br/>
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Ellanore looked back at Alissa and chuckle, shaking her head. She stood up and waked to the vanity as she began taking off her earrings. "Are you saying that I'll cheat on Varus? Do you really think of me like that?"<br/>
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Alissa turned on her stomach and looked at her. "I don't condone cheating, but if he makes you miserable like this and I can't bust his head open, then yes, you've every right to do so, because I know you'll end up killing someone, if not him." the handmaiden said with a grin. "Or maybe have secret meetings with the Beta, whatshisname."<br/>
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Ellanore frowned and looked at the handmaiden. "Come on, Alissa! You're exaggerating!" <br/>
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The brunette barely gave any room for Ellanore to defend herself. "Ah, shush Ellanore, I know you since we were kids. I bet on my money that, if you had the opportunity just for even one meeting, you'd have a secret, hopefully romantic meeting, you'd go without thinking. He's your type, I can tell. You always would get flustered around men with hidden aggression within them." Alissa wiggled her eyebrows as the Princess gave her a scowl.<br/>
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It didn't last long. She burst into laughter. "Like I said, you're saying too much. That won't happen. There's too much at stake and our differences would cause far too many issues."<br/>
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Alissa stood up and whispered to her. "There were rumors that your grandmother had a secret relationship with a werewolf, even though there's no proof to back it up, people would accept it eventually." she said and pointed to one of the books on the bookshelf and Ellanore wondered, since she knew what Alissa meant. "And everyone knows that history repeats itself. Fake allies always will show their ugly face, whether you caused it or not." Ellanore looked at Alissa with a puzzling look, for a moment she thought she listened to Donovan himself, it was ridiculous how these two were alike. Alissa smiled and gave her a wink before walking towards the door. "I'll leave you to your thoughts, my Lady! I'm sure you're busy tonight with signing some papers." Alissa closed the door after herself and Ellanore turned her head to the desk where she usually signs some papers and responds to friendly letters that were sent personally to her from allies. With a sigh, Ellanore changed into her robes and dug herself in work until the dawn arrived and the Princess went to sleep she needed, she'll need a lot of energy for the court next evening which can either be nauseatingly uneventful or extremely stressful.<br/>
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When the dusk arrived, the servants once again came to prepare Ellanore and take all the paperwork and letters she's finished during the evening and began to prepare the Princess for the night. She wasn't going to go as extravagant for the court, especially after she was informed that Donovan had to leave because he got the news that they found a suspect he was after. This will certainly be a stressful evening, and Ellanore cold care less about makeup and told them to hurry up. They simply tied her hair up and didn't do much with her makeup as they usually would. Once Alissa arrived to dress her up, Ellanore chose a long simple black dress, with a low cut down her back and against her skin was a big golden serpent, attached onto golden chains that were on the fabric of the dress.<br/>
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Once there was a knock on the door, Ellanore in front of a mirror with her back turned to the entrance while she did some last touch ups on her. "Alissa, please open the door." she politely commanded as the handmaiden walked towards the door and opened it.​</div>