The Baroness Misbehaves
Chapter 271: Special Event

Chapter 271: Special Event

Five Months Later...

In the late afternoon at the upper East quarters, warm sunlight gently filtered through the opened window, penetrating into the room and casting a warm orange glow on the beautiful woman who sat at the vanity table. A mild smile graced her lips as she meticulously added the finishing touches to the delicate ring she had crafted, her obsidian orbs reflecting memories that felt bittersweet as she gazed at the Heart-shaped ring.

The room was nicely adorned with gemstones, tools, trinkets, and each one held a special reminiscence to her heart. Placing the ring in a small white box, she wrapped it up neatly in a red leather wrapper before handing it to the anxious Elian.

"Done!" She grinned and eagerly handed it to Elian who received the beautifully wrapped up gift. He had seen the ring himself, and he didn’t know if he should marvel in secrecy or praise the woman for her lovely work.

"You’re one in a million Maddie, I never believed I’d use that word till today. You know I’ve been thinking, why don’t you open a jewelry store?" He suggested with a genuine mind, leaning his back against the vanity table. "With your talent, I’d say you can make easy cash. The residence of the upper East quarters are like rich spoilt humans who have nothing valuable to do with their money. You could earn a lot from this! Such talent shouldn’t stay hidden, don’t you think?"

"Well, I already began, but it’s a slow process." Madeline smiled as she crossed her arms on the table, "Mrs Johnson already requested a ring for her daughter who is getting married soon. I do not wish to overwork myself, at least till my baby is born."

"Mrs who?" Elian’s brow knitted in puzzlement.

"Mrs Johnson, our neighbor who moved in a month ago, she lives two blocks from our home." Madeline explained, "she’s been coming by to assist me once in a while with her daughter. Very nice family, even Inna fancies their company. Once I give birth, I’ll focus on making a career for myself, no dulling at all." She promised.

Madeline had to agree that being pregnant wasn’t an easy job at all, and she praised all Mothers for being able to endure it with a smile. Her appetite had increased over the passing month and her mood swings had heightened greatly. The ones who suffered it most were Elian and Orson, sometimes Inna, but she always made sure to apologize to them later onwards. Sleeping had become stressful and most times her back would hurt, fortunately, she had Elaine and Adeline who were there for her, and Fredrick was there to solve her appetite.

The thought of delivering brought fear to her heart as the months drew closer, but with it came another feeling of anticipation, the feeling of seeing her child. Elaine had explained to her what it felt like when she birthed Cas, and it was an encounter Madeline was eager to experience, despite her anxiety of dying through childbirth. She didn’t want to die, she wanted to be with her baby.

She was going to take care of her child, and shower it with all the love she could offer. She wasn’t going to be miserable, she would fight through as always.

"That’s the spirit." Elian encouraged as they shared a hi-five, and he couldn’t be more than relieved to see her smiling like her usual self again. "By the way, what do you intend on giving Inna for her birthday? She’s been so busy with etiquette classes I barely find her around these days." He uttered, knowing half of his reason for coming over was to steal Inna away for a leisure walk, and just at the mention of Inna, they could hear the carriage ride into the front yard, and a knowing smile reached Madeline’s lips.

"Speak of the she-devil." She whispered teasingly, and Elian cleared his throat awkwardly as he immediately hid the ring box in his pocket. Inna’s lazy footsteps could be heard as she dragged her feet all the way from the stairs till she showed up in Madeline’s workstead.

"I’m home." Inna announced her presence as she opened the door, carelessly tossing her bag in a corner without caring to glance at its direction.

"Are your etiquettes class really doing any self improvement on you?" Madeline seriously joked, taking note of how her behavior and appearance held not a slight difference to her usual blunt self. Inna didn’t respond and hurried to the vanity table where Madeline sat. Crouching down, she felt the baby bump that had grown bigger in Madeline’s abdomen.

"I came to see how my nephew is doing." She grinned to herself as she rubbed Madeline’s stomach lightly. "Did you miss Auntie? Did you? Oh my! He kicked! Can’t wait to come out and see Auntie? Good, you should feel this way."

Madeline simply shook her head as Inna continued to talk to her baby bump. If Inna wasn’t having her classes or spending quality time with Oliver, she would be here having long chats with her unborn baby, and it made Madeline feel a bit jealous, as it seemed Inna loved her baby more than her.

"Hello, when did I become invisible?" Elian questioned the young lady who eventually glanced at him.

"You weren’t invisible my dear Elian, I was ignoring your presence on purpose." She ruffled his hair, further annoying the red-haired vampire who scowled as he gently slapped her hands away from his hair.

"We need to talk, privately."

"But I just got back, It’s important I–"

"Now." Without letting her finish what she had to say, he held her wrist and took her out.

"Hold on, I need to grab my hat, where’s your fashion sense?"

Madeline chuckled at their bantering, and she could almost feel bad for Elian. Left alone in the room, she helped herself up and went to stand by the window. A few neighbors she had interacted with over the month passed by, and they had greeted her with a smile.

"What could be better than raising our child in a healthy environment?" A bittersweet smile crossed her lips as she continued to gaze out. She felt satisfied with the way things were moving, Orson received a promotion, and he’s been more occupied than everyone else.

If Cassian was here, he would have been proud. The months have been peaceful, no news of abduction, or people missing overnight, but there were still some corrupt officials that needed dealing with.

"Lady Madeline, it is time for your evening exercise." She could hear Frederick call her all the way from downstairs.

That evening, they were all invited to the royal Palace by Alaric for a special event. Strangely, the letter didn’t state what event will be held in the Palace, it was only written that their presence would be needed for the event to fully commence, and that was a strange thing for someone like His Highness to do, but regardless, they were here at the Palace.

Orson had helped her out of the carriage, and everyone had gotten down as well. Madeline had plans of staying back with Frederick and Adeline, but Orson had insisted she come.

"The palace never gets old." Inna on the other hand, was excited to enter whilst Elian hooked her arm around his to prevent the scheming lady from disappearing from his line of sight.

"Shall we?"

"Indeed we shall." She answered coquettishly.

Together, they both stepped into the magnificent Palace as the guards let them through, and Madeline followed Orson who kept her entertained with his accomplishments after his promotion.

"Isn’t the Palace a little quiet for an event?" Madeline had asked Orson who shook his head at her innocent inquiries.

"It’s a light event for special people, do not worry." He assured her, and Madeline’s anxiety lessened.

Stepping into the large ballroom that was revealed behind the big double doors, Madeline looked up in the hopes of finding the place crowded, but instead, only a few guests were present. Elaine, Richard, King Alaric, his lovely wife and....

Madeline’s pupils dilated when the figure who had his back facing her turned around, and she lost her breath.

"Cassian?!"