Marquess Samed's first class every single day was always with the Royal Princess and her playmates.

Therefore, when he had arrived at the Palace today, he had brought along the same practice test papers he had prepared for Yvonne last night.

His most diligent pupil had turned into a slacker in the time that they had not met so his aim was to ensure that the other girls had not followed a similar path.

Therefore, he had made a few of his closest servants stay up late with him to make copies of the papers he had prepared for them.

While the original papers written by Marquess Samed were currently in Yvonne's hands, the copies made by the servants were handed over to the Princess, Glennise, and Rika earlier this morning.

Once he had announced that the entire bundle of papers needed to be done within the span of a single month, he continued with their lessons and left soon after.

He had sensed the troubled heart of Rika Kiron who had the slowest learning pace in the group but this was for her to improve so he stayed firm in his decision.

Before he left, the Governess in charge of looking after the children's progress had mentioned a few words of praise to him which was also why he had been delayed for his next class which happened to be with the daughter of the St. Claire family.

Usually, after their class with the Marquess ended, the three girls would often enjoy a short break in the Rose Palace with snacks and tea before their next classes could commence.

However, today's break was a dull and distressing one after the news they had heard from their tutor.

In the pavilion, Glennise and Felicia were trying to comfort Rika who was the most worried about the task assigned to them.

The young girl was panicking about how she would manage to complete so many papers in such a short amount of time.

This was when the Governess had stepped in and succeeded in stopping the little girl from ruining her hair any further.

"Rika, why don't we all study together for an extra hour every day?

" The Princess suggested after a short moment's contemplation.

This was the best solution she had come up with to soothe Rika's worries and at the same time, doing so would help them as well.

If they studied together for an hour longer then they might help each other complete the assignment given to them by their tutor.

Rika and Glennise looked at the other girl and after a moment, concluded that this solution was practical and easy.

"And when you get back home, you can ask your brother to help you out if you do not understand anything.

" She added which made them nod once again.

Everyone knew that the Kiron family boys were geniuses.

The eldest son, their future heir, was a successful and much-revered professor at the Royal Academy, one of the youngest they have ever had.

The second son was the one who was now in charge of handling their family businesses as Marquess Kiron was often busy with the tasks assigned to him by the King.

Finally, the third son, Jacob Kiron, was also an intellectually acclaimed pupil who topped his grade when he graduated from the Royal Academy two years ago.

Hearing these ideas made Rika feel better as even if her first two brothers weren't easy to meet these days due to their excessive workload, her third brother would always make time for her.

'He will be more than happy to help.' She surmised that since Jacob admired the Marquess, he would be ecstatic to hear that she had test papers created by that same man.

"Princess can ask the Prince or even your uncle!

" She retorted with a suggestion of her own.

Princess Felicia chuckled and nodded in acceptance, indicating that she had already thought of doing just that if she were to be stuck in any part of her studies.

The two chuckling girls shared a bonding moment but soon stopped when they realized that something was wrong.

Glancing over to the other playmate who was also with them, their smiles faded completely when they found Glennise seated with her head lowered.

Rika Kiron had three elder brothers and a sister while Princess Felicia had an elder brother and an uncle.

These members of her family, closer to their age, doted on them immensely.

However, in the Brodie family, Glennise had no one to fill in that role for her.

No siblings and even her relatives from the branch families weren't too close to her.

Thus when she was hearing her friends talk about those who they could depend on when they needed help, Glennise came to the realization that she had no one who would do the same in her life.

This had brought a gloomy air around the girl, making the other two grimace at what they had done.

Rika and Felicia were well aware of Glennise's family situation and also about how cold her father was towards her.

Due to this reason, they often tried not to speak too much about things that could ruin the pleasant environment and bring sadness to their friend.

Earlier, it was Princess Felicia and Glennise who were trying to comfort a panicking Rika but now it was time to reverse some roles.

Rika and the Princess shared a glance and nodded, coming to a consensus on what needed to be done.

"Miss Glennise, would you be attending the tea party at the Tanner family this week?

" The youngest daughter of the Kiron family inquired with curiosity written all over her face.

Their tactic was to distract Glennise and what better way than to bring up what would be coming soon?

Since most of the noble families had returned to the Capital, social life at Amarthea was bound to return to its previous pomp and glamour.

There had already been talks of tea parties being held in the coming weeks, causing many to be busy during this period.

"My mother is already planning her party.

" She added while chuckling as she loved to help her mother plan such parties the most.

Glennise Brodie raised her head upon hearing that query being directed towards her and thought about it for a moment.

"I'm not sure.

" She replied honestly as she had not heard about receiving an invite from the Tanner family as of yet.

This answer stunned Rika for a moment before she stuck her tongue out in an indication that she had made a blunder just now.

"My mother and the Duchess were talking about the party but the invites have not yet been sent out, I guess.

" She explained the cause of her strange expressions.

How could one Duchess host a party at the beginning of the social season and not invite the other Duchess?

Whether they would be attending was secondary as the main aim was to invite them.

Failing to do so, would be akin to declaring war on the other in their social circles.

Rika did not want to cause a misunderstanding and was glad that she recognized what might have happened.

The invites had not yet been sent out and it was only Marchioness Kiron and Duchess Tanner who were still in the process of discussing how it would be held.

Glennise nodded in understanding as even her mother was preparing to host one but had not yet sent out any invitations since that was always the last step to be done.

Anyway, the two Duchess would attend the other's party without fail so she would also make an appearance.

"You should attend the one we're hosting later as well!

" Rika insisted with a bright smile as she wished her friends to meet her other friends as well.

Glennise only interacted with Rika and the Princess, she barely had other friends in their society.

The girls she interacted with were acquaintances at best and Rika hoped to help her expand her circle so that she might have more people who cared about her.

The two girls were now busy discussing the parties that would be soon hosted and debated which ones would be more interesting than the other.

Princess Felicia sat at the side, a silent spectator in this conversation.

The only times she had left the Palace grounds was on the days when they visited the Temple of the Great Asmodeus Del Ovin, their God and Creator.

She had never been to any of the parties held outside the Palace grounds, making her wonder if she would ever get the chance to do so in the future.

A Princess could step outside the Palace grounds, albeit sparsely, only after her coming-of-age ceremony.

There were still a few years for that so all she could do right now was sit and observe her friends, wishing for time to pass quickly until she could turn sixteen.

Governess Lester had been watching over them ever since they arrived at the pavilion.

Therefore, she could sense the flicker of impatience and sadness that had passed through the Princess's eyes.

Everyone thought that being a member of the Royal family made life easy for them.

While they did enjoy luxury of all kinds, loneliness accompanied them throughout their lives.

They could not mingle with people freely without doubting their intentions for getting closer to them, nor could they move anywhere they wished.

Trapped inside a lavish Palace where they had everything they could ever desire.

However, would that be enough to take away the loneliness that was buried deep within their hearts?

After all, no matter how much they tried to suppress it, it would never go away.

'Like my little cousin…' The Governess looked away into the distance, reminiscing the lovely face of her cousin who had chosen to live a life of solitude for the sake of being close to the one she had given her heart to in the past.