"What are you still doing here, Orion? I thought you had already taken your bath. We need to head to the Palace Manor to pick up Mother and then go to the Garden," Crystalia said, her expression carrying a deep frown as she glanced at Orion, who stood naked.
Her gaze then shifted to Celeste, who was topless, with the other end of her nightgown barely covering her voluptuous buttocks.
Hearing Crystalia's words, Celeste frowned and turned her attention toward Orion. "Where are you planning to go, the Palace Manor and then to the Garden?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at him.
Before Orion could respond, Crystalia interjected, "This is something related to the royal family, so there's no reason for you to know. Don't worry, though. It isn't going to be dangerous for Orion, at least," she assured.
Hearing Crystalia's words, Celeste frowned. 'What are you saying, Crystalia? Weren't you present at the family gathering yesterday?' she retorted, narrowing her eyes at Crystalia with folded arms.
Though Celeste admitted that she didn't get along with Crystalia, it was only because Crystalia was a princess who didn't take others' words into consideration and always acted as she pleased.
In fact, the only reason Celeste hadn't disciplined Crystalia yet was because of how disgraceful such an act would be for her.
"Humph! Of course, I was present during yesterday's family gathering and heard everything discussed. However, I am not saying anything because this information does not affect our family in any way. This matter only concerns the Prismerion Royal family and the Prismerion race itself, so I see no reason to explain anything," Crystalia responded with a snort.
Celeste furrowed her brows again as her frown deepened, hearing Crystalia's words.
Though she had been careful not to pry too much into what was happening, preparing to give up after a short banter with Crystalia as she was aware that each of her sisters had some secret which they only shared with Orion.
However, after learning that the matter concerned the entire Prismerion Royal family and its entire race, she immediately became concerned about what was happening.
Fortunately, just as Celeste was about to open her mouth and ask another question—
Orion cleared his throat loudly, "Ahem! I'll explain what's going on," he said, inwardly sighing.
He knew how long and intense the banter between his mother and Crystalia could go, so he preferred to halt it before it worsened.
Crystalia immediately snapped her head towards Orion and focused her piercing eyes on him as though she dared him to say another word.
Celeste smiled, a smirk emerging on her lips as she shifted her attention away from Crystalia and focused on Orion, "Alright, go on then, I'm listening," she said.
Seeing that both women were focused on him, Orion avoided Crystalia's stare and began to explain the matter. He had already promised his wives he wouldn't hide something from them, so it felt much better to start with something like this and see how it goes.
As Orion finished his explanation, a look of realization immediately appeared on Celeste's face. She then shifted her attention and focused it on Crystalia.
Crystalia had thrown her gaze in another direction as though she was unaware of what was happening before her.
"Crystalia, is everything Orion said the truth?" Celeste questioned.
Though she knew that the Prismerion race had some issues which had led to its king's death, Celeste never expected that the matter would involve the Queen in such a manner and would also be so complicated.
Crystalia, however, remained silent, gritting her teeth in annoyance.
Celeste sighed deeply, witnessing the scene before her, before walking towards Crystalia. She wrapped her arms around her, pulling Crystalia into her embrace.
"Why didn't you tell me or any of us about this? Even if you are a princess, you are still like every woman in this home. I don't think it's right for you to be carrying such burdens on your shoulders alone when everyone is sharing theirs," Celeste asked as she slowly brushed her hand against Crystalia's crystal bangs.
Within a few seconds of hearing Celeste's words, a small buildup of tears began to form in Crystalia's eyes, causing her to bury her face on the side of Celeste's shoulders.
"Sniff! Sniff! We... aren't sure if she will make it. There's a chance that something bad might happen to her," Crystalia whispered.
The more she spoke, her tears grew, causing her to weep profusely in sadness.
"Shhh! It's okay. You can cry it all out," Celeste said soothingly, stroking Crystalia's back as she waited for her to calm down.
Orion observed the scene and couldn't help but exhale in relief. Though he knew there wasn't any real hate among the women, except for some slight differences they disliked about each other, he was glad he had managed to stop the banter between the two of them in time.
As for Crystalia, he knew she was currently emotionally unstable, so it was not safe for her to keep such information to herself without sharing it with the other women to help ease her emotions.
After a few minutes, Crystalia stopped crying and regained her composure. She wiped her eyes clean and freed herself from Celeste's grasp.
"Are you feeling better now?" Celeste asked, her gaze filled with warmth.
Instead of responding, Crystalia turned her head to the side, faking her annoyance before nodding silently.
Watching the exchange, Celeste chuckled warmly and gently reached out to pinch Crystalia's cheeks. "You'd be cute if you didn't have such a snobbish and aloof personality," she remarked, a fond smile gracing her face.
Crystalia snorted in response. "Whether I'm cute or not, your opinion doesn't matter," she retorted.
Orion exhaled in defeat as he observed the interaction. At that moment, he realized that their relationship might not be salvageable.
Nevertheless, before they could resume their banter—
"I'll be going to take my bath," Orion said, grabbing an extra towel and towel before exiting the room and heading towards the bathroom.
With Orion gone, Celeste and Crystalia exchanged a brief glance before snorting simultaneously. They then proceeded to leave the room.
