Main Dinning Room

  After was seemed like forever the eating part of the Banquette was about to start, Veronique was a bit nervous about because Mos and Bos were still there and she had never eaten with them present.

  Flashbacks of her other life and her little pup horrible manners at the table came to her mind, the constant barking and the overall indulgence from all the members of her family had made correcting that behavior impossible even after she had realized the mistake.

  She had only been able to enforce a diet near the end due to the veterinarian scaring the crap out of them all, but by then she may as well have caused more harm then good as she had been so stupid to not notice her pup had stopped eating the kibble till it was too late.

  In her defense they kept throwing out the uneaten kibble without telling her, so everyday she refilled the bowl she had been sure her pup was eating and wrote off the weight loss to the new diet.

  Her little one had always been a slow eater and would eat their fill through the day, so it didn’t rang any bell when the kibble wasn’t immediately devoured and there was a degree of denial which had made her blind to most of it.

  There hadn’t been a single soul to snap her out of it and so her pup had died at nineteen when they could have lived a few years more if only she just had been better.

  “You seem quite pensive” Prince Leonard had pointed out in a whisper, given that he outranked the Duke, he could sit next to the Duchess without causing issues, which meant Veronique ended up seated next to him.

  “It’s just Mos and Bos have never been at the table, so I am worried they will act up” Veronique had said,

  “Mos and Bos?” Prince Leonard had asked, no doubt because he had overheard Bos full name earlier and was confused

  “I mean Phobos” Veronique patted Bos on the head, then subduedly gestured towards Mos, who was at Rhea’s side of the table “and Deimos”

  “Oh don’t worry too much, I am sure they will do fine” he had reassured her “I witnessed my quite share of ill behaved dogs and yours are among the most well mannered I ever meet, you got nothing to cry about”

  “I am not” Veronique touched her eye and to her surprise she found it wet “Eh?”

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  “It’s alright, nobody noticed, you got the thank Marques Mercure’s talent in hoarding all attention to himself” Prince Leonard had said then gave her a tip “Dab it with your handkerchief or your makeup will smudge”

  “Thank you sir” he just winked at her in response.

  During their whole conversation they had whispered and never openly meet each other gaze, except for that quick wink at the end.

  The food started arriving, and like with the Dinning room, Veronique didn’t think it could get fancier then how it usually was, her eye traveled towards Bos who seemed unperturbed and then to Mos, who to her relief was the same.

  But would it last during the whole meal?

  Unlike the usual meals their respective maids were right behind them ready assist, with the exception of Lucia and Penelope since they had switched places, while the guards were spaced a few feet away from them.

  Should anything happen Veronique was sure she could get Bos to behave, but would Lucia be able to do the same with Mos?

  A nightmare scenario unfolded in her head with Mos jumping on the table to eat his fill, while Lucia had to rush over to drag him off.

  Not that Bos wouldn’t be able to do the same even if Veronique caught him by the collar, but both dogs had started to show more restraint and be gentler when she was involved so maybe that would be enough to keep Bos in check.

  ‘The Duke knows full well that I am still training them, why did he force them in the event?’ Veronique gave a suspicious look towards the Duke ‘could it be that he is sabotaging me to I stay out of the Main wing?’ she supposed but discarded the idea ‘he calls all the hits there, there is no way he would open himself to ridicule by giving me a fake chance’ her attention was called back to the meal before her ‘…I forgot which was the right spoon for this soup’

  Kitchens

  “Is Lady Veronique’s tea ready?” Isabella called out, as small tray was prepared for her containing the mentioned tea

  “There are giving it to her again?” Anne pointed out in worry, knowing Lady Veronique had drank it not even a week before

  “It’s just a small dose, just to keep everything under control” Elise had tranquilized her “You have seen how calmer she has gotten ever since she started drinking it”

  “But it’s still essentially poison, are we sure it’s safe for her?” the woman wasn’t convinced, it seemed like an unnecessary risk to the child’s health

  “Mh it must be, can you imagine the scandal if the Duke had Lady Veronique poisoned during a public event?” Elise gave a small laugh at the idea, which she dropped seeing the younger woman wasn’t amused by the joke “Besides she might not have to drink any more of it, I heard she’s been making good progress with her Skills” but Anne wasn’t even paying attention to her, her attention had been taken when Isabella had passed by her with the tray, her eyes going straight to the content of the cup

  “It looks different then usual, lighter” she immediately pointed out with a frown

  “It must be the different concentration” Elise gave a possible explanation and Anne would admit that it made sense, but it did nothing to undo the feeling of unease that was mounting in her chest “Anne you are worrying too much, they may all like talking behind Lady Veronique’s back but nobody there would be so deranged to actually do her any harm”

  “You must be right, I am just overacting” Anne ended up saying, even if she didn’t believe her own words.