《The Chronicle of Aurelia Aurelius》


 Chapter 1

    "What is destiny? Does destiny always come true? If the person is destined to die tomorrow, can that person avoid the death? Do humans just follow the flow of destiny, or can we break the flow of it?"


    That was what I always thought about the book, where I read my own fate in the book¡¯s world and became this person as ¡®villains¡¯, but it seemed I needed an obligation to follow the book¡¯s world, yet if the fate of mine was a death of me, surely I would avoid that fate, no matter what God told me to follow it.


    There were two types of fate that believers believed in: the first was the fate where humans could not change it; no matter how much humans wanted to change this fate, they would face it; it was the fate of death; and the second was the fate of a soulmate. God already decided your fate about those things¡ªwhere, when, or how you would die, or who would be your soulmates¡ªbefore human birth.


    The other fate was the fate you could change; there was a lot of this type of fate; the fate you would pass the exam depended on you; you wanted to study or not; it was not God¡¯s matter, it was your matter. You wanted to be healthy, rich,  famous, etc. It was your fate that you could change how you act.


    But there was an exception to the fate you couldn¡¯t change; the exception was that you still needed to try to achieve it. For example, if you wanted to have a soulmate or partner to marry but didn¡¯t make any effort to find one, you just stayed alone, waiting for someone to come to you. God would not unite you with fate, and if you didn¡¯t want to die fast, you needed to stay healthy, eat healthy food, and don¡¯t do something stupid. Sometimes this became a paradox: if God already knew my fate, why did I need to try to achieve it? If, at the end, God already knew about me from the beginning,


    So did the book¡¯s story like the god¡¯s fate? The character of the book could not change it, but if someone was aware of the story, it could change the story or the fate of the book. Even though I would be against the gods or goddesses in my own world. Still, I refused to go with the flow of the book or what the book told me.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    ¡­¡­


    One day in the evening, I opened my eyes and saw a ceiling¡ªa ceiling that I didn''t recognize. In front of me was my long hair. I didn''t know I had long hair. Half asleep, I tried to get up from the bed, but my hair kept sticking out in front of me. I looked around; I didn¡¯t recognize the room. There was a big mirror, a big dressing table, a big wardrobe, a big window, and a big balcony beside the bed.


    I saw the door open in my room. There was a maid who brought a bowl with a towel and entered the room. Our eyes met, and suddenly she was surprised and dropped the bowl with the towel. I raised my hand to call her, but she immediately exited the room.


    I laid back and examined what the hell was going on. Did I have this type of room before? Did I have this white hair before? I stood up from the bed to check my face and body. I walked to the big mirror beside the window. In front of the mirror, I saw someone with thin cloth pajamas; was this a body of mine? The body was small. I couldn''t believe what I just saw. I kept touching the body and the hair.


    When I heard the door open, I returned my attention to it. I saw some people entering my room. There was the maid before, a lady with long white hair, a man with short white hair, and a little boy and a little girl behind them. Their faces were so worried.


    "Is that really my Aurelia?" The lady spoke.


    The lady and the man immediately approached me and hugged me. I wanted to reply to the hug, but I didn¡¯t know what was going on; it felt awkward. The lady showed her face to me, and I saw there was a tear in her eyes.


    "Aurelia¡­ You have awake¡­How is your body?? Is there any hurt anywhere?" The lady said it to me.


    "Oh dear¡­How about you calm down for a second? It seems Aurelia can¡¯t handle a lot of thought, and look at her face; she is still in shock and pale.¡­" The man tried to confront the lady.


    The two released their hug to me.


    "I know..my dear, but to see Aurelia awake and standing makes me so happy¡­I can¡¯t hold my feelings against it.."


    They didn¡¯t hug me anymore, but there was something nagging at my leg. It was the little boy, and the little girl hugged my leg. When I saw the two carefully, they were twins with different eye colors. The girl had red eyes like the lady and white long hair, and the boy had blue eyes like the man and white short hair. The girl held a doll in her arms. They were so cute.


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    "Aurelia, you need to take a rest in bed, and you two let her leg go."


    The little two released their hug in my leg, and the lady accompanied me to the bed with everyone in back. I laid down again in bed, and she lifted the blanket.


    "How¡¯s your body??" The lady kept asking questions.


    "Au..re..li..a" I tried to say something to them.


    "What is it?"


    "You called me Aurelia, is that my name?"


    I saw everyone''s shocked faces after I asked about it.


    The man immediately shouted, "WHERE IS THE PHYSICIAN THAT I HAVE ORDERED EARLIER?" I saw his face startled.


    "She is on the way here, your grace.." The maid answered it.


    "HOW LONG? YOU PICK HER UP!"


    The maid immediately exited the room. The lady¡¯s face was startled like disbelief. I saw the two felt uneasy about it, the lady kept holding my right hand, and the man kept walking back and forth. The little two were beside the lady. The room filled with complete silence, and the lady beside me kept holding my right hand. The little two were beside my face.


    After some minutes of silence, the maid came to the room with a red-haired woman.


    The maid addressed the man "The physician has come, your grace."


    "Great..Quickly check my daughter.."


    My daughter''s words surprised me. The little two stepped back from me and let the woman come and sit in bed beside me, but the lady kept holding my right hand. I saw the physician close her eyes while checking something on my wrist. After some moments, she touched my forehead and touched her own forehead.


    The physician addressed the lady and the man, saying, "I believe there is nothing wrong with her condition."


    "Are you 100% sure about it?" The man replied.


    "I¡¯m sure, your grace."


    "But she asked about her name; it felt like she didn¡¯t know her own name."The lady replied.


    I looked at the physician, who turned her face toward me.


    "Do you know your own name?" She asked me.


    "They called me Aurelia¡­I think that¡¯s my name¡­"


    "Before they called you Aurelia, did you know your own name?"


    "I don¡¯t know.."


    "Can you remember about the past?"


    "What past?"


    "Hmmmmm¡­How about these two children behind me? Do you recognize them?"


    I looked carefully at their faces. "I have no idea."


    The lady and the man¡¯s faces became so worried.


    "Do you not know them?"


    "I''m sorry, I don''t know."


    "How about the lady that is still holding your hand right now? Do you recognize her?"


    "I have no idea," I said as I turned to face her.


    The lady¡¯s face became more anxious and worried.


    "How about your dream? Do you have any dreams when you are asleep?


    "I can¡¯t remember it.."


    The physician stood up and moved forward toward the lady and the man. I saw her whisper something to them. They followed her out of the room. After they were out of the room, there were still the two little ones in the room. I saw their faces, like they wanted to cry.


    They came to my bed, and held my right arm..


    The boy spoke first: "Sister Aurelia, do you really not know us?"


    I cannot answer his question..


    The girl spoke with shutters, like she wanted to cry "Sis..ter¡­ Aure..lia.. Are..you..real..ly¡­sis..ter.. Aurelia..?"


    Still I cannot answer the question..


    The girl showed her doll with her two hands to me "Look¡­You..mus..t..k..now..who..she..is?"


    I kept quiet. The girl seemed to not be able to hold her emotions anymore, and started to cry..The boy tried to calm her so she would stop crying, but it failed, and he started to cry too..


    I got up from laying in bed and tried to calm them down. I put my hands on their heads and started to pat them. I was just smiling at them.


    The man and the lady with the physician immediately went into the room. The lady went to the little two, and started to calm them down. The man went with her. The physician stood in front of my bed.


    The physician tried to explain to all of us, "I think it is better to let everyone know, especially my lady, about her condition." She started to make the statement, "My lady has suffered memory loss; the amount of memory lost, I still don¡¯t know, because my lady didn¡¯t recognize madam; madam was the one who gave birth to my lady; if my lady didn¡¯t recognize her own birth mother, it is possible that all the memory of my lady is lost. But there is hope in my lady''s situation; usually, when people lose their memory, they act like babies or children. My lady acted not like a baby or child; even she understood what I had said, so it would be great if she started to learn everything again. I hope that in the process of learning, my lady regains her memory."


    "It¡¯s great, but I think it¡¯s better if we start introducing ourselves¡­" The lady said, "Let me introduce myself to you. My name is Cordelia Aurelius, I am your birth mother, like she said, and you are Aurelia Aurelius." She patted the little two and asked, "Do you want to introduce yourselves on your own, or will your mother introduce you to your own sister?"


    "No..I wa..nt to Intro..duce..my..self..*sob*sob" The boy stuttered from crying, "My..name..is..*sob *sob..Aurelio Aurelius.."


    "I..am..*sob*sob¡­Ophe..lia¡­Aur..elius¡­*sob*sob" The girl stuttered.


    The lady patted their heads. I turned my face toward the man.


    The lady also turned to face the man. "Dear..I think you start to introduce yourself too.."


    "Right..right¡­I am Marcus Aurelius, I am your father¡­"


    "As you already knew, we are the Aurelius family¡­and the one who checked you is our family physician, her name is Sofia.."


    Sofia was bowing to me.


    "I think it¡¯s better for you to take a rest first, after hearing all of this¡­..Two of you let your sister take a rest¡­"


    All of them left the room¡­

 Chapter 2

    My identity was Aurelia Aurelius. I laid in bed.


    "But why can''t I remember anything?"


    I closed my eyes and tried to sleep, but I could not fall asleep as well. I got up from my bed and walked toward the balcony beside the bed..


    I opened the big glass door of the balcony, and the wind immediately blew my hair and made my wave like the wind. In front of me, a mother of Luna appeared with her full form in the sky; her appearance was so big and white. She illuminated all the places with her form. I leant on the balcony. The wind was so windy that it kept blowing my hair; it made me comfortable after the things of before. It felt like she sent me this wind and made me clear my mind. I stayed on the balcony for a few minutes while looking at the garden in front of me. After my mind was clear, I went in. I closed the curtain''s balcony door, laid on the bed, and tried to sleep, In a few minutes, I fell asleep.


    ¡­¡­..


    When I was asleep, I felt something patting my body and pushing. My vision was suddenly full of red and not dark anymore. It meant there was a light illuminated for me, so I opened my eyes. The curtain¡¯s balcony door had been drawn, making my vision blurry for a few seconds. I regained my vision and saw it was the maid from yesterday.


    "My lady, Good Morning.." The maid greeted..


    "Good Mooooooorning.." I yawned..


    "Did you not sleep well, my lady?"


    "I slept well, but from yesterday¡­it made me a little bit tired.."


    "His grace and everyone are waiting for my lady at the table for breakfast.."


    "Oh my really? I better go right now.."


    I immediately got up from the bed, and walked toward the door. But the maid stopped me in front of her.


    "My lady, I think you need to dress before you go there.."


    "Dress? It''s just breakfast, right? Why do I need to be dressed? What¡¯s wrong with my pajamas?"


    "There is nothing wrong with my lady pajamas, but it is appropriate if you are well dressed at the table."


    "But¡­they are waiting for me..It''s not more appropriate to make them wait."


    "I believe his grace and madam will know my lady''s condition.."


    "If you say like that, sure I will be dressed."


    "My lady, can follow me.."


    I was led by the maid to the dressing table; I saw there was a bowl of water, a small towel, and soap on the floor, and I sat in the chair in front of the dressing table. She took the soap and mixed it into the water in the bowl; after that, she used the small towel and washed it on my face.


    "Excuse me, my lady.." She started to rub the towel on my face.


    She finished washing my face. I saw her open the drawer of the dressing table, take out a few small jars, and put them on top of the table. The maid started combing my hair with a wooden comb. it took some minutes to comb my hair. I saw her take a powder from a small jar on the dressing table and apply it to my hair; it has a rose scent. My hair smelled like roses. I saw her take another powder from a different small jar and rub it on my face. After that, she took a cream from another jar and rubbed it too on my face.


    And she took the oily powder and mixed it with the rose scent; after that, she rubbed it on my face. Next, she applied a blush to my cheeks mixed with rose scent, and she did not forget to rub my lips with another powder mixed with honey. I thought the makeup on my face was done because she walked toward the wardrobe.


    She came back to me with a dress and some sort of stocking with a garter belt. She started to undress me. After undressing me,she crouched down to put on the stockings for me, and before she dressed me with the dress, she rubbed me some deodorant and dressed me. I looked in the mirror; my face was so different than last night; it was more sparkling. The dress was so well made and fancy¡ªit was a white dress.


    "It¡¯s done, my lady.."


    "Is it necessary to do all of this just for breakfast?"


    "Of course, it is necessary, my lady; it is my job to maintain your beauty every day."


    "Everyday? You said."


    "Yes, everyday.."


    "It¡¯s like I will go to a party if we do this."


    "If my lady prepares to go to the party, there will be more steps to beautify you."


    "Really?"


    "Yes, as my lady sees in this dressing table, there are 2 sections of drawers. What cosmetic I used for my lady is in the right section; it is just a cosmetic for daily basics, and if my lady goes to the party, I will use the drawer of the left section too; there will be more treatment for my lady¡¯s face."


    "All of this baffling my mind.."


    "My lady doesn¡¯t need to think of it; just let me do it for my lady.."


    "Right..and I am still not catching your name.."


    "My name is Adeline, my lady.."


    She had black hair and appeared to be in her twenties.


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    "I will remember it..let¡¯s go to breakfast. Can you lead me to the breakfast room?"


    "Of course, my lady."


    We left the room, and walked to the breakfast room or dining room. On the way, I didn¡¯t recognize anything from the house, and the house was huge. There were a lot of fancy ornaments and paintings on the wall. There were a lot of fancy objects too, not just on the wall. My room was on the second floor, and it took us more time to arrive at the breakfast room.


    In the room, I saw everyone in their seats already. Adel led me to my seat; it was in between the little two, Aurelio and Ophelia. She set up the chair on the table before I sat, and after I sat, she set up my chair again on the table, and she left the room. In front of us was our mother, and our father was in the middle of the table. There was still nothing on the table.


    "How¡¯s your feeling, Aurelia?" Mother said to me


    "It''s getting better. sorry for making mother so worried about me."


    "It¡¯s alright¡­I think your brother and your sister are the ones who worry you so much."


    I turned my face toward each of them and patted their heads with my hands.


    While patting their heads, I said, "Forgive this big sister; that makes my little siblings so worried."


    "I will forgive sister Aurelia, if sister Aurelia play with me" Ophelia said to me


    "Sure..I will play it with you later.."


    "UNFAIR!!..You will play with me too right, Sister Aurelia?" Aurelius intervened.


    "It¡¯s alright; I will play with all of you two later.."


    The two were so happy, but¡­


    "Aurelia will play with all of you tomorrow, today I want to introduce Aurelia to her tutor.." Father finally spoke a word.


    "Ehhhhhhhhhhhhh.." The two whining.


    "It¡¯s okay, if your father said tomorrow, it means Aurelia will be free all day tomorrow, and you two can play all day with her." Mother calmed them.


    "Really??" Aurelio was excited.


    "Aurelio¡­.Don¡¯t get excited first.." Ophelia intervened


    "Why, Ophelia?"


    The two started talking to each other secretly in front of my lap, but everyone could hear their talking.


    "It is father¡­Aurelio, do you learn something from all the things that our father said to us?"


    "What do you mean Ophelia..?"


    "Father is a cunning person¡­So we are better not to trust his word¡­"


    "But mother agrees with father, does it mean we can trust father¡¯s word?"


    The two turned their faces to their mother..


    "Mother is an ally of father¡­maybe she schemes with father to take sister Aurelia from us.."


    "It makes sense."


    Mother and father started to make small giggles from the little two''s conversation and behavior.


    "See Aurelio, they are laughing at us¡­"


    "Right, right, how about sister Aurelia, is she laughing right now?"


    They looked at me, I just used a poker face.


    "Sister Aurelia is our only ally, Ophelia.."


    "Because she is sister Aurelia.."


    "Are you aware that your father and your mother can hear your conversation right?" Father intervened.


    The two faces were surprised¡­


    "We don¡¯t try to steal your sister from you.." mother said


    "We don¡¯t believe it, right Aurelio.."


    "Yes.."


    "What will make you believe us that we will not steal Aurelia?" father said.


    "Promise to us¡­that tomorrow we will get sister Aurelia all day" Ophelia said


    "I promise you will get Aurelia all day.." Father promised..


    "No¡­Father needs to raise one of father''s hands so we will trust your promise, right Ophelia.?"


    "Yess, Father needs to raise hand.."


    Father raised his right hand "I promise you will get Aurelia all day.."


    "What will happen if father breaks the promise?" Ophelia asked


    "Yess¡­what is the consequence?


    "I will take the family to stroll in the city and take the family to shop¡ª"


    "DEALL¡­" Ophelia immediately agreed to the father''s promise.


    Mother and father were giggling..


    "Ehhhhhhh.." Aurelio was surprised and turned his face toward Ophelia "Why are you suddenly agreeing, Ophelia?"


    "Just agree with it, Aurelio.."


    "Well, Ophelia is a girl too, so it will be agreeing.." mother intervened.


    "Maybe it is inherited from you, my dear.."


    "Oh my¡­Aurelio acts more like you too, dear.."


    The little two were arguing for some moments in front of my lap, and mother and father made a conversation. But there was something important..


    "When will we start to eat breakfast? I am so hungry right now..." my thoughts..


    After a few minutes had passed, the table situation became normal again. Father clapped his hands, and immediately some maids went to the room with some plates in their hands. They served it in front of us. Finally, we were starting to eat..


    The breakfast was finished, and Adel led me to my room. Arriving in my room, I wanted to lay down in bed, immediately I ran to the bed and jumped into it.


    "MY LADY!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" Adel with a worried tone..


    "I just want to lay down in bed."


    "You are in a dress; it is not appropriate to do that.."


    "Ehhhhh¡­"


    "How about sitting on the balcony, my lady? And enjoy the view of the garden."


    "Alright.."


    I got up from the bed, and I realized there was a table and a chair on the balcony. What I remembered from last night was that there was no table or chair. There was a tea set, cookies, and cakes too. Adel set up the chair for me; I sat on the chair, and she set up the chair on the table. She started to pour tea into the cup. I took a sip of it, and enjoyed the view and the wind. Adel kept standing beside me.


    "My lady, you can eat the cookie or the cake.."


    "I will try it if I want it."


    "I am already full from breakfast; I cannot eat anything for now." My thoughts


    There was someone knocking the door, Adel immediately went to it and checked who it was. It was a butler, and I saw the butler say something to Adel, after that he went off. Adel passed the message from the butler to me.


    "My lady, his grace, wants to meet my lady in his room."


    We immediately went to my father''s room and Adel led the way. We reached in front of my father''s room, and the door was so big, I thought it must be 3 times taller than my height.


    "You can enter the room, my lady, I will wait here."


    "Are you not accompanying me inside?"


    "No, I think it will be better if my lady and his grace talking privately, it will not be appropriate for me to disturb it."


    "Alright then.."


    I pushed the door, and saw the room was so big, with a lot of bookshelves full of books, and there was my father sitting at the working desk with a lady standing in front of me. I saw the lady didn''t wear a dress like I do, but it felt like man''s clothes and had blonde hair. I walked toward my father. father''s eyes met me.


    "Aurelia, you are already here.."


    "Yes, father..Is there something that you need me for?"


    "I have told you in breakfast before, that I will introduce you to your tutor right.." Father''s eyes  went to the lady "She will be your tutor and lady in waiting for now.."


    "Greetings, my lady.." She bowed to me "My name is Octavi Claudi, I will be your tutor and your lady in waiting.."


    "Greeting too Octavi.."


    "She is from the Palace Academy, her knowledge and her ability are so excellent¡­"


    "If my father praised Lady Octavi so much, it must be true.."


    "It''s an honor to me that Lady Aurelia and his grace praised me.."


    "You two can have a tea party, so you two will know each other.."


    "Like father said, I believe there are some cakes and cookies on my balcony¡­How about Lady Octavi accompany me on the balcony and enjoy the view of the garden."


    "I will gladly accept it.."


    "I think it is better to have a tea party in the garden than enjoy it from the balcony." Father  suggested..


    "It''s a great suggestion father, I ask Adel to prepare it."


    "No, father will ask a butler to prepare it.." Father clapped his hands..


    Immediately a butler opened the door, I was amazed that the sound of father''s clapping could be heard from outside.


    "Prepare a tea party for my daughter and Lady Octavi in the garden!"


    The butler bowed and left..


    "With that, the tea party is settled, you two can go to the garden to enjoy the tee and the view."

 Chapter 3

    Lady Octavi and I walked toward the garden led by Adel. I observed Lady Octavi walking. The posture was more like a man walking than a lady, her body was strapping every step she walked.


    We arrived at the entrance of the garden. The garden was so spacious, and there was a pavilion in the middle of it. We walked toward the pavilion, and I noticed that there were 2 chairs and a table with a tea set, cookies, and cakes in the pavilion. There were a lot of types of plants in the garden with different colors, which made the garden full of color.


    Adel set up the chair for me first, after me, she set up the chair for Lady Octavi. She poured the tea for me and Lady Octavi, we took a sip.


    ¡°Lady Octavi, how old are you? Sorry if it¡¯s disrespectful to you.¡±


    ¡°No it¡¯s not disrespectful, I am 21 years old, my lady..¡±


    ¡°And my father said that Lady Octavi was from The Palace Academy, what''s it like to be in there?¡±


    ¡°Hmmmmm¡­does my lady want to enter the Academy in the future?¡±


    ¡°I still don¡¯t have any intention of thinking about going there..¡±


    ¡°Well..The Academy is huge as well, and there are a lot of nobles who roll in there.¡±


    ¡°Really a noble studies there..What type of nobles?¡±


    I saw her face and seemed surprised.


    ¡°My lady, you are aware that you are a noble too, right?¡±


    ¡°I am a noble?¡±


    ¡°Yes, my lady..Your family Aurelius Family is a distinguished family, and is respected over the kingdom.¡±


    ¡°It is a shame for me, that I don¡¯t know anything about my own family...¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright my lady, your father gave me the mandate to educate and give all the knowledge that my lady needs, and your father had told me the situation of my lady facing off¡­¡±


    ¡°If my father trusts you so much, I will trust you to educate me..¡±


    ¡°Just leave it to me, my lady..¡±


    I took a sip of tea.


    ¡°Can you tell me about my own family..¡±


    ¡°Of course¡­the Aurelius Family has a long history of being a distinguished family. The present of the family is like the present of the royal family of the kingdom. Does my lady know the meaning of Aurelius?..


    ¡°I don¡¯t know..¡±


    ¡°Aurelius means Golden, and the kingdom gives the nickname of the family as The Golden Family, the family being respected not just the name of Aurelius, but the family is well known as a sharp family. The proof is in here, does my lady know what city my lady lives in?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t aware of that..¡±


    ¡°This city is the most developed city in the entire kingdom, even the capital of the kingdom development cannot beat the development of this city, it¡¯s because of the Aurelius Family. If my lady family is such a distinguished family, does my lady have any idea what peerage of the family is?¡±


    ¡°What is the peerage? I don¡¯t know about that..¡±


    ¡°Peerage is a title granted from the kingdom to the family, it has some rank, let¡¯s start from the lowest, the first one is Baron, the baron is who oversees the village, the second is the Viscount doesn¡¯t have any land, Viscount job is not oversee a land but to help for the higher peerage rank. The third is the Earl or Count who oversees the county, The Fourth is the Marquess who oversees the border of the kingdom. The Fifth is the Duke who oversees the duchy, and the highest one is the king who oversees the kingdom¡­The Aurelius Peerage rank is the duke, the family oversees the duchy of Florence..And the family doesn¡¯t have count and baron vassals who oversees their county and their village, All the county and the villages in the duchy of Florence has been oversees by the family..¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your rank Lady Octavi?¡±


    She took a sip of tea.


    ¡°My family rank is Viscount, my lady¡­and Our family is the vassal of Aurelius¡­¡±


    ¡°So you are my vassal, Lady Octavi?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­Claudi Family has been the vassal of Aurelius for a long time, over the generations Claudi Gens are the sword and the right hand of Aurelius¡­It is a great honor to swear fealty to your family, my lady..¡±


    ¡°Well, I hope our relation is not agitated by the peerage relation..¡±


    ¡°If my lady hopes for it, I will fulfill it..¡±


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    ¡°Thanks¡­and my father said you are my lady in waiting¡­Can I ask you what is that?¡±


    ¡°Lady in Waiting is a companion a lady, my lady..It is usually in the royal court, but your family is so different and special, so it has a Lady in Waiting, beside a companion, Lady in Waiting can be a bodyguard of Lady..¡±


    ¡°To be a bodyguard, it means Lady Octavi is great with a sword right?¡±


    ¡°Well..I can swing my sword..I don¡¯t know if it is great in the eyes of my lady..¡±


    ¡°Do you mind if you show me some moves of your sword? You have the sword in your hip...¡±


    ¡°Sure, I can show it to you¡­¡±


    Lady Octavi stood up from her seat, and walked toward the open grass in front of me with her sword¡­


    ¡°My lady, While I am doing the move, I will tell you the name of the move..¡±


    She started to make a move, the first move was she raised the sword with 2 hands up in her head..


    ¡°This is the stance of Ochs or Ox, it focuses on the enemy''s face and throat, and cutting it.¡± She thrusted her sword so fast, after that swung diagonally fast.


    Next, she lowered her sword with her two hands in between her two legs, the sword pointed to the ground...


    ¡°This is the stance of Alber or Fool, it is the defense stance, as my lady sees right now, this is a provocative stance.¡± She pointed to her torso with right hand. ¡°While my sword is in between my legs, the enemy¡¯s eyes will focus this upper body because it is so wide open..as the name of the stance ¡°fool¡± it is a fool to attack right away, because¡­¡± She swung her sword upward vertically, and swung horizontally. ¡°In this stance, it is easier to counter the attacks, and easier for our lower body to move.¡±


    She brought back the sword to her sword scabbard in her hip, and bowed to me. I clapped my hands..


    ¡°I hope it¡¯s enough to impress my lady about my sword skill..and there are still some moves¡­If my lady is curious about the sword¡­I can teach my lady about it, but with my lady father''s approval first..


    Suddenly a voice of someone could be heard from behind Lady Octavi ¡°THAT AMAZING..¡±


    We turned to the voice, and it was Aurelio and Ophelia. Aurelio immediately ran to Lady Octavi with their maids.


    ¡°YOU¡­What was that?¡± Aurelio spoke to her.


    ¡°That was just a small sword move.¡± she answered.


    Aurelio started to imitate the move of Lady Octavi ¡°you doing like this..and like that¡­and with fast you doing like this..That was amazing¡­TEACH ME! HOW DO YOU DO IT?¡±


    ¡°Aurelio, you are being disrespectful in front of Sister Aurelia¡¯s guest.¡± Ophelia behind Aurelio ¡°You should introduce yourself first, before asking someone a question or making a request to a guest..¡± She lifted her skirt and greeted Lady Octavi ¡°Deeply Apologize, for my brother''s behavior.¡±


    Lady Octavi responded to the greeting and greeted back with bowing to them ¡°It¡¯s okay young lady Ophelia, and young master Aurelio, and let me introduce myself. My name is Octavi Claudi.¡±


    ¡°Lady Octavi seems to already know about our name, but we will still introduce ourselves. I am Ophelia Aurelius¡­And this is my stubborn brother¡­¡±


    ¡°My name is Aurelio Aurelius¡­¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s Lady Octavi position to have an afternoon tea with our sister Aurelia?¡± Ophelia tried to intimidate her.


    ¡°Your father has appointed me as Tutor and Lady in Waiting for Lady Aurelia, so it¡¯s my obligation to accompany her..¡±


    ¡°So you are the one who is trying to steal our time with Sister Aurelia..¡± Aurelio said.


    ¡°Well I am not aware what Young master is talking about, if the young master wants to be with Lady Aurelia, of course the young master and young lady can join us.¡±


    The little two came to the pavilion with Lady Octavi, and suddenly there were 2 chairs beside me without my knowledge. Their maids set up the seat for the little two, and lifted them to the chair.


    ¡°How do you guys know that I am here?¡± I asked them.


    ¡°Aurelio was the one who watched Sister Aurelia come to the garden from his room, and informed me that Sister Aurelia had a tea party with someone.¡± Ophelia answered.


    ¡°Yes, we want to bring back Sister Aurelia from someone who stole her from us.¡± Aurelio said with pointing his finger to Lady Octavi.


    ¡°Don¡¯t blame or accuse Lady Octavi, father has appointed her as tutor and Lady in Waiting for your sister¡­And Aurelio, before you said you wanted Lady Octavi teach you about something..¡±


    ¡°AH YES¡­YOU TEACH ME HOW YOU DID THAT.¡± Aurelio said with a happy tone.


    ¡°I can teach the young master about it, but with your father''s approval..¡±


    ¡°Really?? I will talk to my father later..¡±


    ¡°Lady Aurelia, I can teach Lady too..¡±


    ¡°I will consider it..¡±


    ¡°NOOOO!!.¡± Ophelia suddenly ¡°Sister Aurelia will become a proper Lady, with her beauty, she will become the center lady of the kingdom, so she must not hold a sword.¡±


    ¡°But Ophelia, as you can see, Lady Octavi is a lady too but she is great with a sword..¡±


    ¡°Really? May I ask you a question Lady Octavi?¡±


    ¡°Sure..¡±


    ¡°To be a tutor for Sister Aurelia, you must have an education background, may I know what your background is.¡±


    ¡°I am from the Palace Academy, and I am from the Claudi Family..¡±


    ¡°Sister Aurelia, Palace Academy is not a lady academy, it is a knight academy who wants to be a knight¡­..¡±


    ¡°So you are a knight? That¡¯s amazing.¡± Aurelio was amazed with Lady Octavi.


    ¡°Aurelio, why are you amazed by that? She is a knight but became a tutor to Sister Aurelia..¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that, Ophelia?¡±


    ¡°Why should a knight become a tutor for Sister Aurelia, it must be a lady to become tutor for Sister Aurelia not a knight.¡±


    ¡°Well, a knight can become a lady too right like Lady Octavi, let¡¯s not judge Lady Octavi, father has chosen her, it means there is nothing wrong about that.¡± I said.


    ¡°But her outfit is not a lady outfit, but a man¡¯s outfit..¡±


    ¡°But she is still beautiful with that outfit right, a real lady will be beautiful with any outfit.¡±


    ¡°I think she is cool with her outfit.¡± Aurelio said.


    ¡°See even Aurelio as boy can see the beautiful and the coolest of Lady Octavi.¡±


    ¡°Whatever..¡± Ophelia grumbled.


    The four of us continued the tea party, like eating the cookies, cakes or drinking the tea. We were having afternoon tea, until the sun almost set. The tea party was over, and Lady Octavi parted away to go home. Ophelia was still grumbling and went off without a word, Aurelio was still with me. We were walking to the second floor together with our maid.


    ¡°Aurelio, it seems you are interested in swords.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Sister Aurelia, After saw Lady Octavi¡­¡± While walking, he imitated Lady Octavi Sword¡¯s move ¡°She was doing this so fast.. And like that¡­and that was so amazing and cool.¡±


    ¡°How about we asked father, to give Lady Octavi a permit, so she can teach you in the future.¡±


    ¡°Really??¡±


    ¡°Yes, I will try to ask father about that..¡±


    ¡°Thanks Sister Aurelia..¡±

 Chapter 4

    In the evening, we had dinner in the dining room..Everyone was in there.


    ¡°How was your day Aurelia? How was Octavi in person?¡± Father asked me.


    ¡°It was great, father..Octavi seems like an amazing person, she told me about our family and peerage rank, which I didn¡¯t know, and she showed me her moves with a sword.¡±


    ¡°Whew..she already showed her sword moves¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes father..¡± I looked at Aurelio, he seemed to want to ask father about the sword ¡°And there is something I want to ask father.¡±


    ¡°What is it, Aurelia?¡±


    ¡°It seems Aurelio has an interest in sword. It happened when Aurelio saw the sword move of Octavi, and he was so impressed by it¡­He asked Octavi to teach him about sword, and Octavi with pleasure accepted it, but with father''s permission¡­Can father give Aurelio a permission to learn sword from Octavi?¡±


    Father looked at Aurelio, after that to mother..


    ¡°My dear¡­I can¡¯t say anything¡­It¡¯s all up to you dear¡­I believe in your choice for our kids education and educator..¡±


    ¡°But is it too early for Aurelio to learn sword, he is just 7 years old, dear..¡±


    ¡°Dear, I think it¡¯s okay for Aurelio to learn sword¡­Other families start to teach their kids sword when they are 7 years old..So it¡¯s okay for him to learn sword..¡±


    ¡°Okay then..if you said like that..¡± Father turned his face to Aurelio ¡°Aurelio, you can learn about sword, but you learn it from me¡­¡±


    ¡°From father? Is my father familiar with sword¡± I asked.


    ¡°Oh my¡­It seems Aurelia doesn¡¯t know about your father''s capability with a sword, dear..¡± Mother replied.


    ¡°I can¡¯t say it''s familiar, but your father is capable of holding a sword, maybe more capable than Octavi..¡± Father answered.


    ¡°Well..It is good news for you right, Aurelio..¡± I turned my face to Aurelio.


    ¡°YES..Thanks sister Aurelia for talking it to father..¡± Aurelio thanked.


    ¡°Oh my my¡­If Aurelio is so interested with sword, is my Aurelia interested too with sword?¡±


    ¡°Octavi have asked it, mother. If I am interested in it, she told me she could teach me.¡±


    ¡°Well, it is alright for you to learn sword too..¡± Father suggested.


    ¡°NOOO¡± Ophelia shouted ¡°Sister Aurelia is a lady, why does she need to hold a sword?¡±


    ¡°My my¡­It seems Ophelia is so against sister Aurelia to hold a sword, why my Ophelia against it?¡±


    ¡°Because she is a lady, her beauty will be wasted if she focuses on a sword rather than a lady thing..¡±


    ¡°Your mother has held a sword too, even great with it.¡± Father said.


    Ophelia¡¯s face unbelieve what father said ¡°Is it true, mother?¡±


    ¡°Yes it is..your mother had learnt sword since your age¡­¡±


    ¡°Why did my mother learn a sword??¡±


    ¡°Hmmmm..How can I say it¡­maybe to impress your father, your mother learnt about sword..¡±


    Father¡¯s face was so nervous..


    ¡°To impress father?¡± I asked


    ¡°Yes..to impress him, I learnt the sword, right dear?¡±


    ¡°Y..e..s.. It¡¯ right..¡± Father¡¯s voice seemed nervous.


    Mother clapped ¡°Right..How about Ophelia start to learn it too, but from your mother, and can compete with each other to raise each other''s passion in sword, who¡¯s better at sword? Right, dear?¡± Mother with a cynical smile to father..


    ¡°Ye..s it''s a great idea, dear¡­but if Ophelia agrees to it, right Ophelia?¡± Father kept nervous.


    ¡°I will think about it first, father.¡± Ophelia answered.


    ¡°Ophelia doesn¡¯t worry about being a proper lady, your mother will teach you to be a lady and be good with a sword.¡± Mother said


    ¡°Well you two are lucky, Father and Mother take their time to teach you two..Is that great?¡± I said to little two.


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    Aurelio nodded happily, but Ophelia still did not answer..


    The dinner was over. When I wanted to excuse myself, my mother waved at me. Mother led me to a room with Adel. In the room, there was a chaise lounge, sofas, some chairs and tables. In my mind, it was a lounge room, in the tables there were cookies and tea sets. Mother invited me to have tea after dinner. We sat beside each other on sofas.


    ¡°Is there something my mother wants from me? That mother invite me to have tea togehter.¡± I asked


    ¡°My..your mother just wants to have tea with you, there is nothing I want from you..¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s like that..¡± I took a sip from tea..


    ¡°Honestly¡­I want to tell you about your fiance¡­¡±


    I spurted my drink ¡°WHAT??¡±


    Immediately Adel came to me, and wiped my face and my dress with a handkerchief.


    ¡°Thanks Adel, sorry about it..¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright Aurelia..¡± Mother said.


    ¡°So what is ¡°fiance¡± about?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Well, I think it¡¯s better to tell you about your fiance since you have lost memory..so you are not nervous about meeting with him..¡±


    ¡°It means I have a fiance..¡±


    ¡°Yes..you are, it¡¯s normal for someone your age to have a fiance.¡±


    ¡°Okay, who¡¯s my fiance?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Fabian Julius, he is 2 years older than you, this year, he is 16 years old.¡±


    ¡°Have I met him in the past?¡±


    ¡°Yes you have¡­But it¡¯s alright if you don¡¯t remember it..¡±


    ¡°Does mother want me to meet him? If it can make me remember something.¡±


    ¡°No no no¡­mother just wants to tell you about him, there is no intention to arrange a meeting between you and him yet.¡±


    ¡°Well, if what mother said, Thanks mother for telling me about my fiance¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay¡­and I want to know about your day..¡±


    I started to tell everything about today to mother. I told her about Octavi, her sword moves, the meeting between the little two with Octavi, and the grumbling of Ophelia. Mother¡¯s expression was happy, and giggling when I told her about it¡­..and our tea time ended..


    Adel started to lead me to the room. On the way to the room..


    ¡°Adel, are you familiar with holding a sword?¡±


    ¡°Yes I am, my lady..¡±


    ¡°Really? That¡¯s amazing¡­Adel, what do you think of me learning about sword?¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s great my lady¡­And I saw Lady Octavi''s sword moves was amazing back then, so Lady Octavi will be a great sword tutor for you, my lady.¡±


    ¡°Maybe I will ask her about it¡­.and have you met my fiance?¡±


    ¡°Yes I have, my lady.¡±


    ¡°Can you tell me how my fiance is?¡±


    ¡°I think he is very handsome for you, and a great partner for you, my lady..¡±


    ¡°Just that? Is there something you can tell me?¡±


    ¡°I believe it¡¯s just that..¡±


    We kept walking, until we reached the room. In the room, Adel led me to the dressing table. She wanted to change my dress to pajamas because it was almost night time. I sat at the dressing table, and there was a bowl with water and towel under the dressing table. I thought she prepared it when we had dinner..She started to wash my face with it, comb my hair, and started to change my dress to pajamas..


    After it was done, I walked to the bed, and Adel started to draw close all the curtains in the room. I laid at the bed, Adel said good night to me, and I replied to her. She left the room and closed the door.


    ¡°Fiance huh??¡­¡± I started talking to myself ¡°How¡¯s my fiance? Why don¡¯t I remember anything about him? Well I don¡¯t remember my own mother, how I will remember my fiance¡­¡± I changed my sleep position to a side position ¡°...When will I remember everything?...I will just live my life without remembering anything, but try to learn new things¡­¡± I started to close my eyes, and fell asleep.


    ¡­..


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    Suddenly, I was in the middle of some ballroom. I was in white dress and there was someone beside me, it was a man with blonde hair. I could not focus on his face, it was like he didn¡¯t have a face. We walked to the middle of the ballroom, and we were dancing..


    In the middle of dancing, the man left me alone in the middle of the ballroom, he chased a woman with red hair. Everyone stared at me like they were ridiculing me and shunned me. I saw him with the woman, and once more, I couldn¡¯t see anyone''s face, it was like they didn¡¯t have any faces.


    The man and the woman were approaching me while holding each other. Out of nowhere, I felt angry at them. The women showed off their hands holding each other to me, and she was smiling cynically to me. They left me after showing off. For some reason, I chased her and tried to grab her hair¡­But out of the blue, the floor was gone, and I fell off. I felt I had fallen off endlessly, while I was falling, I heard all the people laughing at me..


    I closed my eyes¡­opened it, I was on the ground, In my eyes there was blood dripping from my forehead. My hands and my feet were being tied. In front of me, it was the woman with red hair. She looked at me and she raised her right hand in front of her face, placed all her fingers spread out, and suddenly grasped all the fingers like the claws of a bird grasping and tearing at something. Two men came to me, and put me in a sack, before I went to the sack, I saw the blonde haired man with the woman holding hands. I saw from inside the sack, they put a serpent, a cock, a monkey, and a dog in the sack with me. They closed the sack, and I felt pain from all the fighting between the animals. All the animals bit me, scratched me, pecked me, from all the pain, suddenly I felt in the air, and there was water coming inside the sack¡­..I was drowning¡­.


    ¡­¡­..


    ¡­¡­.


    ¡­


    I woke up from the dream¡­started to scream in the middle of the night because the dream..Adel was the one who came to me..I just sat in the bed and wrapped myself with a blanket, I was so scared and made my body tremble and my teeth kept shivering. Adel was beside me, trying to comfort me.


    ¡°What was happening, my lady?¡±


    I Ignored the word from Adel..


    ¡°I will inform his grace and madam, my lady..¡±


    Adel left the room..


    In the meantime, I was still sitting in the bed with a wrapping blanket.I kept looking my face down¡­.Some moments later, I saw my mother''s face in front of my eyes..her face was full of worries for me.I lifted my head, and saw it was not just my mother in there, there was father and Sofia the physician.


    ¡°MY Aurelia! How was it going on? What made you scream and cry in the middle of night?¡± Mother said with a worried tone.


    ¡°Huh..what had mother said..¡±


    ¡°You are crying right now, darling¡­Are you not aware of that?¡±


    ¡°Heh?¡­I am crying right now?..¡± I tried to wipe my eyes with my hand, and saw there was water in my hand ¡°It¡¯s true, I am crying, mother¡­¡± I looked to mother and there was a tear in her eyes ¡°but mother, you are crying too..¡±


    ¡°Yes I am, Aurelia, we are crying right now," mother was giggling "hehehe what a weird situation right?¡±


    I saw father pat the shoulder of mother.


    ¡°Dear, I think it¡¯s great if Sofia examines Aurelia first..¡±


    ¡°Yes I know, dear.¡± Wiping her tears..


    Mother gave a space to Sofia, so she could sit on the bed beside me..


    ¡°Hello, my lady, we meet again, do you still remember who I am?¡± Sofia greeted me


    ¡°Sure, you are Sofia, my family physician..¡±


    ¡°Thank you, for remembering me¡­..So what makes my lady scream and cry in the middle of night? Can you tell me the reason for it?¡±

 Chapter 5

    In front of me was Sofia, my family physician..


    ¡°So what makes my lady scream and cry in the middle of night? Can you tell me the reason for it?¡± she asked me.


    ¡°I was scared¡­¡±


    ¡°Scared? What scared my lady off?


    ¡°When I was asleep, I had a dream¡­¡±


    ¡°A dream? Is it okay for my lady to tell us about the dream?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay Sofia¡­It started in the middle of the ballroom¡­¡­¡­¡± I told everything to Sofia about the dream, mother and father could hear it.


    ¡°That was a weird dream that my lady had been dreaming about, so all the people in the dream didn¡¯t have any faces?¡±


    ¡°Yes, they didn¡¯t have any faces.¡±


    ¡°And my lady seemed to get angry at the woman for without any reason in the dream?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I suddenly felt angry at her.¡±


    ¡°The man had left my lady in the middle of dancing?¡±


    ¡°Yes, he had..¡±


    ¡°Hmmmmmmmmm, and did my lady feel anything in the dream?¡±


    ¡°Feel?¡±


    ¡°Like feel getting hurt in the dream.¡±


    ¡°I felt it¡­¡±


    ¡°Did my lady have a dream yesterday?¡±


    ¡°Yesterday?¡±


    ¡°Yes, when we introduced ourselves to my lady, after that my lady took a rest.¡±


    ¡°Oh that time, I didn¡¯t have any dreams from yesterday''s sleep.¡±


    ¡°Did something happen today with my lady?¡±


    ¡°Nothing in particular happened today.¡±


    ¡°Hmmmm¡­as you can see my lady, dreams have a lot of meaning and some sources¡­because dreams come from our memories of daily life or our physiology or the sound around the sleeper¡­For my lady to have a dream like that is so weird..because my lady has lost all the memory, it means to have a dream, where my lady doesn¡¯t have any memory of daily life, memory of something precious, or memory something bad is impossible for my lady¡­And for physiology, I think is impossible too..sometimes people had dreams because their emotions, their fear, their trauma, or their happiness..with 2 days of my lady memory, I think my lady didn¡¯t passed all of that right?? So the question is ¡®what is the source that makes my lady dream about it?¡¯.¡±


    ¡°So It is impossible for me to have a dream?¡±


    ¡°It is not impossible, it is possible for my lady to have a dream..hmmmmm..let¡¯s see, can you tell me one things that happened today?¡±


    ¡°One thing¡­hmmmmmmmm¡­maybe the meeting of Aurelio and Lady Octavi..¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­what happened between them?¡±


    ¡°Aurelio was amazed by Lady Octavi¡¯s sword move.¡±


    ¡°Great¡­so my lady memory has remember it properly of that event¡­I will tell my lady and everyone in here the amazing thing of dream¡­as I said dream come from our memories, but in the dream, that memory usually been manipulated or reconstructed by our brain, and usually emotion joined the process of manipulation or reconstruction¡­¡±


    ¡°What do you mean, Sofia?¡± Mother asked her.


    ¡°Your grace, madam, and my lady¡­let¡¯s take an example of my lady¡¯s memory about today¡­the memory is telling about the meeting between young master Aurelio and Lady Octavi, where the young master was amazed by Lady Octavi..Sometimes the dream will expose the memory as real as possible, but the dream usually will manipulate or reconstruct it with emotion of the dreamer¡­My lady¡¯s dream from that memory can be like this ¡®Young master Aurelio and Lady Octavi fight each other with their sword¡¯ or ¡®Young master had been hurt by Lady Octavi with her sword¡¯...if my lady was overprotective with young master, I believe the second scenario will be in your dream..The emotion of losing young master, or young master getting hurt will be swelling inside my lady mind, and make the memory is being manipulated and reconstructed by it..¡±


    ¡°So from your hypothesis, Aurelia¡¯s condition is impossible for her to dream about what she has said?¡± Father joined to ask her.


    ¡°Yes, your grace, the dream was far beyond the memory of my lady, and the psychology of my lady, so it is impossible for my lady.¡±


    ¡°Do you know why I had that dream?¡±


    ¡°About that¡­ehmm¡­¡± I saw Sofia turn her face to mother and father, and they turned their face to each other. I felt she was trying to neglect something, and wanted to have a private discussion with them. ¡°It will be alright my lady¡­but for right now, I think it¡¯s better for my lady to take a rest, and don¡¯t overthink it, like I said about dream, if my lady has overthinking about this, the chance of the dream appear again will be high¡­just take a rest¡­let me excuse myself, my lady.¡± Sofia stood up from the bed. She left the room.


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    ¡°It will be alright Aurelia..¡± Father said to me.


    ¡°Aurelia, just take a rest¡­¡± Mother stroked my head, helped me to lay down in the bed, and lifted the blanket to me ¡°Just don¡¯t overthink it, darling.¡± Kissed my forehead ¡°Everything will be alright¡­Good night, and have a nice dream.¡±


    ¡°For you, you can sleep in the room beside this room, I believe it is empty and has been well cleaned, so you will be the first one to know if something happens with Aurelia.¡± Father said to Adel.


    ¡°Yes, your grace..¡±


    ¡°Good night Aurelia..¡± Father and Mother said to me in front of the door.


    Father, mother, and Adel left the room..


    ¡­.


    ¡­


    ..


    .


    I tried to sleep, but just kept thinking about what Sofia said..


    ¡°Dreams come from my memory and my psychology, so how that dream could be manifested to my head..¡± I was talking alone ¡°That¡¯s why everyone in the dreams didn¡¯t have any faces, because I don¡¯t have any information nor memory about them¡­So who is this blonde man and red-haired woman? Why is there a grudge against them?¡±


    Suddenly I could hear a shout of anger from outside behind the door, it was like someone was having a conversation.


    ¡°Is that mother and father? Are they having a discussion with Sofia about my condition ... .Let''s just try to fall asleep.¡±


    I closed my eyes¡­¡­¡­¡­


    Suddenly full of bright red in my vision, I opened my eyes, and it was a light from the door of the balcony. Adel had drawn open the curtains, because it was morning already..


    She pulled my blanket, and helped me to get up from sleep. After I got up from sleep..


    ¡°Good morning, my lady..¡±


    ¡°Good morning to you too..¡±


    ¡°Does my lady have a good night''s sleep?¡±


    ¡°Well, I just closed my eyes, and suddenly it was morning already¡­¡±


    ¡°So the dream was not coming up again?¡±


    ¡°After I told Sofia, the dream was not coming up again..¡±


    ¡°Is that great, my lady?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it is ... .and last night, after my father and mother left the room, I suddenly heard someone outside shouting in anger, were they talking outside of my room?¡±


    ¡°Hmmmmm¡­I didn¡¯t recall his grace and madam talked in front of my lady room.¡±


    ¡°That was weird¡­I recalled it, that I heard someone from outside..¡±


    ¡°Maybe, it was my lady¡¯s imagination¡­How about we start the morning? I believe his grace and madam are already in the dining room for breakfast.¡±


    ¡°Yess¡­you need to transform me everyday and every morning¡­¡±


    I stood up from bed¡­


    ¡°What do you mean about transforming my lady?¡± Adel was talking to me while we walked to the dressing table.


    ¡°Is it not transforming?¡±


    ¡°No, it is not¡­It beautifies the beauty of my lady..¡±


    ¡°Right..right..right¡±


    I sat at the dressing table, and Adel started to makeup me and dressed me up¡­


    After a long time of makeup and dressing me up¡­Finally it was over.


    ¡°I am still unbelieving about this¡­¡± I was still sitting at the dressing table.


    ¡°Unbelieving about what, my lady?¡± Adel in the middle tidied up all the makeup jar to the drawer dressing table.


    ¡°That I need to have all of this every morning..¡± I took a closer look in the mirror.


    ¡°It is my lady duty to keep beautiful, and it is my obligation to maintain it.¡±


    After that, we left the room, and Adel led me to the dining room. In the dining room, there was already father and mother at the table. The little two seemed to haven''t arrived yet. Adel set up my chair, I sat in the chair, and she set it again to close to the table, and she left the room.


    ¡°How¡¯s your condition Aurelia?¡± Father asked me.


    ¡°I am fine, father..¡±


    ¡°Did you sleep well?¡± Mother asked me


    ¡°Yes, I did, mother. After I told Sofia about the dream, I slept well..¡±


    ¡°I am relieved to hear that¡­If you have a nightmare that is so real, you can tell mother, or Sofia, Aurelia.¡± Mother said..


    ¡°It¡¯s gonna be alright, sure I will tell mother if I had it.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget to tell your father too..¡± Father said.


    ¡°Of course, I will not forget about you, father..¡±


    The little two have come to the dining room. The two maids set up the chairs, lifted them up to the chairs.


    ¡°What?? sister Aurelia having a nightmare?¡± Aurelio talked while being lifted up to the chair


    ¡°Really, is it a scary nightmare, sister Aurelia?¡± Ophelia talked while her chair was set up closer to the table.


    They set up the chairs closer to the table, after that the two maids left the room..


    ¡°Well, last night, Sister Aurelia had a scary nightmare¡­¡± I said to the little two..


    ¡°I had a nightmare once, and Livia came to comfort me¡­¡± Aurelio said.


    ¡°Livia??¡± I asked him..


    ¡°She is the maid of Aurelio, who always stays beside him¡­and my maid name is Martia, who is always beside me.¡± Ophelia answered it..


    ¡°Yes, Livia always comforts me¡­She is very nice¡­¡±


    ¡°Does your maid Adel comfort sister Aurelia when sister had a nightmare?¡± Ophelia asked.


    ¡°Yes she was¡­¡±


    ¡°Was it nice?¡± Aurelio asked.


    ¡°Yes it was..¡±


    Father out of the blue ¡°Aurelia, today you¡­.¡±


    The little two turned their faces to father, immediately stood up from the chair and said ¡°ARGHHHHHH!!¡± and pointed their finger to father..


    ¡°What?¡± Father asked¡­


    ¡°Father is trying to steal sister Aurelia again¡­¡± Aurelio said.


    ¡°Father has already promised that today we will have sister Aurelia¡­¡± Ophelia said.


    ¡°Ahh¡­right¡­right¡± Father answered.


    ¡°Ophelia, think what would have happened, if father broke his promise.¡± Mother asked Ophelia with some cynical smile


    ¡°If father broke his promise, he would take us to stroll the city and do sho¡­..arghh!!!¡± Ophelia suddenly realized something and seemed to think harder about it.


    ¡°It seems Ophelia realized it, and what will Ophelia choose?¡± Mother asked..


    ¡°What¡¯s going on Ophelia?¡± Aurelio worried.


    ¡°My..my¡­*giggling* Aurelio doesn¡¯t realize it¡± Mother said.


    ¡°It is more scary that my dear asked Ophelia about my promise, it seems my dear wants it too..¡±


    ¡°Well is it because we are ladies right? Of course we want it..¡±


    ¡°Hey hey hey, Ophelia, what are you thinking about..¡±


    Ah yess, it was like yesterday, the little two had small arguments in their chair even now they were standing on the chair, Ophelia still trying to think about what was the best? Broke the father¡¯s promise or kept it, meanwhile Aurelio didn¡¯t have a clue about it..Meanwhile mother and father had their own conversation¡­and for me..


    ¡°When the food arrived¡­and what was going on with breakfast in this family?¡± my thought

 Chapter 6

    After breakfast, the little two got off from their chairs, and left the room, but Ophelia stopped in front of the dining room entrance.


    ¡°Father¡­Today you can have sister Aurelia, but this weekend you need to take us on a stroll to the city.¡± Ophelia asked.


    ¡°Heeeeeeeeeeeehhh¡­What are you doing Ophelia? Why did you let father steal sister Aurelia? He already promised us, right?¡± Aurelio was behind her, and worried.


    Ophelia just kept walking and ignored Aurelio, but Aurelio kept nagging her about it¡­


    ¡°Wheewww¡­It is so scary, that Ophelia changed her find because about strolling and shopping in the city..¡± Father said and turned his face to mother..


    ¡°My..my¡­maybe like you said, she inherited my gen..¡± Mother was smiling at father.


    ¡°Owahhhh¡­Scary¡­¡±


    ¡°Father, today, what do you need me for?¡± I asked father.


    ¡°Ah¡­about that, how about we strolling to the city?¡±


    ¡°Ehhh¡­Will it make the little two be jealous?¡±


    ¡°We sneak out from them..¡±


    ¡°Is it okay?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay Aurelia, I have sent a message to their maids, that we will sneak out to take a stroll with you, they will try to distract them¡­¡± Mother said and smiling at me.


    ¡°What is the occasion to take me out strolling the city?¡±


    ¡°About that¡­Last night, Sofia said dreams came from memory, psychology, and the surrounding sound..¡± Father said


    ¡°And we want to use that to overcome the nightmare you had..¡± Mother said


    ¡°Overcome the nightmare?¡±


    ¡°We want you to know more about the world like strolling in the city, and memories of the city, and the experience you will get.¡± Father said.


    ¡°We will invite Lady Octavi too..¡± Mother said.


    ¡°Is it better if Lady Octavi and I stroll the city? I think father has work to do, and mother maybe has something to do.¡±


    ¡°Ehhhhh¡­¡± Father seemed nervous..


    ¡°Your mother is free today, Aurelia¡­but you can¡¯t say that to your father, right dear?¡± Mother showed her mischievous smile to father ¡°Your father has some work to do but not your mother, so I will accompany you today, right dear?¡±


    ¡°Nooo, I will accompany Aurelia too..¡±


    ¡°My..my¡­I think Lady Laura will be angry at you, dear.¡±


    ¡°Lady Laura??¡±


    ¡°Aurelia, still doesn¡¯t know about Lady Laura, she is the stewardship of our family, and she is the mother of Lady Octavi, she is Lady Laura Claudi from the Claudi family¡­I believe Lady Octavi had told Aurelia about the relationship between Aurelius Family and Claudi Family..¡± Mother said.


    ¡°Yes, she had told me about that, but she didn¡¯t tell me about her family.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­I will tell you about that, Lady Laura¡¯s responsibility is to supervise arrangements, and finances, and there is Sir Kaius Claudi, he is the marshal of the army, his responsibility is to maintain the army and train them¡­and Your father¡¯s responsibility is to focus on duchy affairs¡­like diplomacy issues.¡± Mother explained to me.


    ¡°What about mother? What is mother¡¯s responsibility?¡±


    Father suddenly became so nervous¡­and mother¡¯s aura became different..


    ¡°I think you..don¡¯t¡­need¡­to¡­know¡­about¡­it¡­Aurelia¡­¡± Father said to me with a nervous tone.


    ¡°Oh my..my¡­don¡¯t be like that dear, it may make Aurelia uncomfortable.¡± Mother showed me another mischievous smile ¡°Your mother¡¯s responsibility is about intrigue..¡±


    ¡°Intrigue?¡±


    ¡°You can say, I have a responsibility to keep secrecy around us and gain secrets from enemies, and¡­¡­¡­¡± With a happy smile ¡°search some rats, right dear..¡±


    ¡°Yes dear¡­¡±


    Out of the blue, a woman came to the entrance of the dining room, she had blonde hair, and she looked in 40s like a mother, even in her 40s she was still beautiful.


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    ¡°AHHH YOUR GRACE¡­.*gasp* YOU¡­*gasp* ARE¡­*gasp*IN¡­HERE¡­¡± The woman said.


    ¡°What a coincidence, you are here..¡± Mother said..


    ¡°Huh??¡± The woman was confused.


    ¡°Let me introduce her, she is Lady Laura Claudi the stewardship ... .and Lady Laura, this is my daughter Aurelia Aurelius..¡± Mother introduced her and me.


    ¡°Arghh!¡± Lady Claura noticed there was me, and immediately tidied herself up ¡°Nice to meet you, Lady Aurelia..¡± She greeted me.


    ¡°Nice to meet you, too Lady Laura.¡±


    ¡°Ah yess¡­It is great that you are here¡­¡± Father said..


    ¡°What is that, your grace?¡± Lady Laura replied.


    ¡°Today, I will take a leave from the office.¡±


    ¡°WHAT!!!!!¡± She screamed ¡°Apologize for my sudden scream..¡± She cleared her throat ¡°*Ehmmmm* What is the occasion that your grace needs to take a leave today?¡±


    ¡°We want to take Aurelia strolling in the city¡­I think it''s a great excuse, right Lady Laura?¡±


    ¡°We? Does it mean madam takes a part too?¡± She asked mother.


    ¡°Yes, Lady Laura..I will come with them to take a look in the city.¡±


    Lady Laura took a deep breath ¡°*Sighing* Alright then, your grace can take a leave for today¡­but tomorrow your grace needs to catch today''s work.¡±


    ¡°Many thanks, Lady Laura¡­¡± Father Said..


    ¡°And¡­one thing Lady Laura¡± Mother asked her ¡°If the little two ask the whereabouts of us, can you distract them or take a little bit of a lie?¡±


    ¡°I thought the young master and the young lady would take part too..¡±


    ¡°No they are not, it''s just with Aurelia because she is under circumstances as you already know.¡± Mother said.


    ¡°Understand, madam¡­I will try my best¡­¡±


    ¡°Last thing, Can you tell your daughter that she will join us to stroll the city?¡± Father said.


    ¡°My daughter??.....Arghh! For accompanying Lady Aurelia, Surely I will tell her about it.¡±


    ¡°Can you tell her now?¡±


    ¡°*Erghhh* right now, your grace?¡±


    ¡°Yes, because we will take a leave after this..¡±


    ¡°*Sigh* Understand, your grace.¡±


    ¡°You are the greatest, Lady Laura¡± Father appreciated Lady Laura


    But, it did not seem to be received well in Lady Laura¡¯s ears..and she took a leave from the entrance to tell Lady Octavi.


    ¡°It seems Lady Laura felt upset from you, father¡±


    ¡°Upset? Why did you say that, Aurelia?¡±


    ¡°Well, Aurelia has good eyes, she felt upset because your father kept troubling her.¡± Mother said.


    ¡°Arghhh! I see.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that, dear? You make our daughter just believe what you said.¡±


    ¡°It is just the truth, dear¡­You kept troubling Lady Laura with your work¡­¡±


    ¡°Did father always keep troubling Lady Laura?¡± I asked to mother.


    ¡°Yes, he did and always has been¡­As you can see, Aurelia, your father''s appearance is a sturdy person, and everyone thought about him as a competent person, right?¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes he is, mother.¡±


    ¡°And how does your father talk like a competent and cool person, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes he is, mother.¡±


    ¡°But if it is about work, that nature changes backward, your father will become careless about his responsibility, and keep delaying all the work¡­That¡¯s why Lady Laura is always angry at him, and she is the one who does the work at times.¡±


    ¡°I see now, mother..¡±


    Felt embarrassed about what the mother said ¡°Right¡­right¡­right¡­How about we take a leave now, I think Lady Laura has told her daughter, so she will wait at the entrance of the house.¡± Father said..


    ¡°It¡¯s okay father¡­I know your feeling is embarrassing about it¡­But I will keep cheering for you, father.¡±


    ¡°Thanks Aurelia¡­¡± Father just kept his cool, and left the room..


    ¡°After hearing that, I believe your father is so happy, but he just kept his cool¡­¡± Mother said.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, mother,  if father still can¡¯t show the feeling about that, at least, now I know more about my father from what mother told ... .How about we take a leave now and follow father?¡±


    Mother and I left the room, in front entrance of the dining room, Adel was in there. Three of us followed father to the house¡¯s entrance. On the way I asked Adel


    ¡°So, Adel gets informed about the stroll to the city.¡±


    ¡°Yes, my lady¡­Lady Laura informed me about that ... .I think she informed the coachman of the carriage, and she even informed her husband too..¡±


    ¡°Hahahaha *giggling* If it is about a family trip, Lady Laura always informs everyone to ensure everything went well, she even informs her husband, she is concerned about the security too, although it is just a stroll to the city.¡± Mother said.


    ¡°Is that great, mother¡­that she cares about us.¡±


    ¡°Care, huh??¡± Mother smiling.


    ¡­¡­¡­In the entrance of the house, there was Lady Octavi waiting for us. This was my first time seeing the front of the house, it was so spacious and full of gardens, in front of the house there was a roundabout, and in the center of it, there was a huge tree full of white flowers. The distance between the house and the entrance gate was a little far..


    There was a white carriage in front of the house, and I noticed there was the coat of arms of the family. It was hard to explain, but it was a black shield carried by the body of an eagle, but the eagle had 2 heads, it was the eagle¡¯s head, and the lion¡¯s head. And there was the head of a snake in the middle of it, but the body of the snake wrapped around the body of an eagle. The color of the eagle¡¯s body was red and blue, where half of the eagle¡¯s body was red, and the other one was blue. The eagle''s head was red, the lion''s head was blue. The Snake¡¯s body and head was black. The side of the emblem was brown. In the middle of the shield, there was a symbol like Iris and Pupil of eye, the pupil color was white, and on the edge of the iris color was white. In the pupil, there was a dot of white color, and made all of that like an eye.


    We went into the carriage, but Adel and Lady Octavi not went into the carriage. They were sitting in front of the carriage, it was on the coachman side, so the coachman was sitting between Adel and Lady Octavi. We started the journey to the city.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    On the way, I saw a lot of wheat fields, sometimes there was a windmill in the middle of it. After some minutes, we arrived at the city¡­and there was the sign name of the city, it said Florence¡­I remembered from Lady Octavi said, this was the duchy of florence, maybe this city was the capital of the duchy so the name was same with the duchy¡­


    We entered the gate of the city¡­All of the buildings already used roof tiles, there were buildings that used stone, and there were used wood. The main road was made like concrete blocks. The block was organized systematically so it was like there was no gap, and there was a sidewalk.Lady Octavi lowered her body to the window side of the carriage.


    ¡°Your grace, where will be the first destination?¡±

 Chapter 7

    ¡°Your grace, where will be the first destination?¡± Octavi asked from the coachman''s side.


    ¡°Hmmmm..Let¡¯s go to the town square first, we can see a lot of entertaining people there...¡± Father said..


    ¡°Right on, your grace¡­¡±


    I saw Lady Octavi pass father¡¯s said to the coachmen, we went right on to the town square. On the way there, I saw a lot of people in the city. There were some buildings with some symbol sign on their board, there was an anvil symbol with 2 hammers crossed above it, a glass with some foam on the upper lips of glass, a weighing scale with an object on one side making the scales unbalanced, a fork and spoon crossed each other, and a scissor¡­


    I was so curious about these signs, so I asked mother and father.


    ¡°Father, Mother, what¡¯s about the sign in front of some buildings?¡±


    ¡°Ahh¡­Aurelia, It shows what the building is¡­¡± Father answered..


    ¡°An Anvil with 2 hammers crossed is a blacksmith, a glass is a tavern and Inn, a weighing scale is a trade market, a fork and spoon is a restaurant, and a scissor is a salon and tailor or boutique.¡± Mother said..


    ¡°I see¡­¡±


    And there was a unique and more complex sign than other signs. It was a person riding a horse with a sort of banner in his hand and a sword in his other hand.


    ¡°And what about that sign? It is more unique and complex than other signs.¡±


    ¡°That sign¡­It is an army insignia..¡± Father said.


    ¡°Insignia?¡±


    ¡°Or you can call it The Army Sign, that sign you saw is A Cataphract unit.¡±


    ¡°Cataphract?¡±


    ¡°It is an mens at arm unit, where it is an armored heavy cavalry, and it is our best unit¡­¡±


    ¡°Is there another building like that?¡±


    ¡°Yes there is, I think you don¡¯t need to be concerned about it¡­¡±


    After some minutes of riding and seeing a lot on the road, finally we reached the town square. It was so spacious, there was a statue of a long-haired woman with a half wing in her back. There were a lot of people, some performers, and some street merchants. There was a juggler who jungling anything that people threw at him, A singer who sang some romantic poem, a trobairitz who composed a rhythm and melody with the singer beside her.


    ¡°Aurelia, you can stroll around with Lady Octavi, and Adel. Your mother and I have something to do.¡± Father said


    ¡°Sure, father.¡±


    Mother and Father went alone to somewhere on foot leaving us behind, there was no one who followed or escorted them. We were strolling around the town square, first I went to the statue and wanted to look closer. I realized it was so tall until I was in front of it, I assumed it was 3 times the height of Lady Octavi.


    ¡°Who is she, Lady Octavi?¡±


    ¡°She is Gennaia..¡±


    ¡°Gennaia?¡±


    ¡°She is one of the goddesses from the god¡¯s realm, she is the most timid goddess, and other gods and goddesses stamped her as the weakest among the gods and goddesses..¡±


    ¡°Why does she have one wing in her backpack instead of two wings?¡±


    ¡°Because of the incompetent of her being a goddess¡­¡± Adel suddenly spoke.


    ¡°Well there is a lot of meaning from the wing, and there is some people believe about it was the sign of the weak and the incompetent of Gennaia, and there is some people believe it was the sign about the freedom of Gennaia. Gennaia is the timid goddess, so she usually does not hang around with other gods and goddesses, it means she never does some of the sins of all the gods and the goddesses do, she still be pure as white, and she is the most freedom goddess in god¡¯s realm, where she usually visits the human realm and playing in there, instead in god¡¯s realm. Because she usually transformed into a human, her wings paid the price of the transformation, she lost one of the wings¡­¡± Lady Octavi explained.


    ¡°So is there any reason for this statue here..?¡±


    ¡°Because she usually came to this city, when she went to the human realm, that¡¯s why there is a statue in here.¡±


    After some took a look at the statue, we went strolling around the town center, we watched the juggler juggling anything from the people throwing anything to him. He juggled  bags, balls, and hats. The sound of melody and rhythm attracted me. I went to it and saw it was two girls around 17¡¯s, one was the singer and one was the composer.


    ¡°What is the thing that emits a sound in that girl''s shoulder?¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­that¡¯s a Vielle, and she is a trobairitz..¡±


    ¡°Trobairitz?¡±


    ¡°Trobairitz is a girl or woman who plays instruments to compose a poem¡­if it¡¯s a man or boy it is called troubadours.¡±


    We were enjoying the performance by the two girls until they finished the performance. After it finished, the singer started to walk around with a small bag in her hand, and people started to give a spare coin to the bag. I didn¡¯t bring any coins¡­


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    ¡°Do you bring any coins, Adel?¡±


    ¡°Of course, my lady¡­¡±


    ¡°Let me give them the coins, my lady, it is your first time to stroll around here..¡± Lady Octavi said.


    The girl in front of us, and I saw the lady Octavi gave some white coins to the small bag. I saw the girl¡¯s face unbelieve what she received. Our eyes met each other, and she lifted her skirt and greeted me, making everyone¡¯s eyes look at us. I was just smiling at her. The other girl saw what was going on and went to us, and she lifted her skirt and greeted me too.


    I just waved at them, and started to leave the scene. They waved back at me. I asked Lady Octavi what was going on.


    ¡°What Lady Octavi give to them until they greeted at us?¡±


    ¡°I just gave them 8 silver coins¡­¡±


    ¡°How precious that is?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­the average inn cost for a day is 10 copper coins with 3 meals, and the luxury inn cost for a day is 40 copper coins with 1 meals, and 1 silver is about 100 coppers coins, so 8 silver coins equals 800 copper coins, 800 copper coins equal 80 days in average inn with 3 meals¡­Is it not enough, my lady? I can give them the gold coins if my lady wants..¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s enough, but is it okay for Lady Octavi to give that much coins?¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about, my lady? Silver coins have no meaning for us..¡±


    ¡°Ehhhhhh..?¡± I was unbelieve what she said..


    ¡°Let¡¯s ask Adel how many coins his grace and madam gave for you my lady, Adel how many coins his grace and madam gave for this occasion?¡±


    ¡°It is about 50 platinum coins¡­¡± Adel Answered.


    ¡°What are the values of those coins?¡±


    ¡°The lowest one is copper, silver, gold, and platinum. 1 platinum coin equals 100 gold coins, 1 gold coin equals 100 silver coins, 1 silver coin equals 100 copper coins, so 1 platinum equals 100 gold coins or 10.000 silver coins or 1.000.000 copper coins, and Adel has 50 platinum coins¡­¡± Lady Octavi explained.


    ¡°Ehhhhh¡­Why did father and mother give me so many of those coins?¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s just small things for them¡­¡± Lady Octavi said.


    ¡°Ehh! Small things? That much coins is a small thing.¡±


    ¡°Yes, it is.¡±


    ¡°EHHHHHHHHHHHH"


    We continued strolling around the town square. Now, we went to the street merchant. I saw a lot of pendants, hair clips, and many ornaments in the ground in front of the merchants. I looked around at them.


    Suddenly, I heard a noise behind me, I saw Adel grab a little boy back who passed behind her. The boy was around Aurelio''s age and had shabby and dirty clothes.


    ¡°I felt a little hand itching my hips, and I found the little hand of it.¡± Adel said while lifting the little boy with one hand.


    The boy kept struggling in the air ¡°RELEASE ME! RELASE ME!¡±


    ¡°Hooohhhh¡­there was someone who tried to steal from us..¡± Lady Octavi said with a scary face and her hand readied in his sword.


    The boy¡¯s face was so scared and he wanted to start crying..


    ¡°What are we gonna do with him, my lady?¡±


    ¡°First, lower him from your hand..¡±


    Adel lowered him and started to release the boy from her hand¡­¡­Suddenly, the boy started to run, but Adel''s fast hand could grab him before he ran. He was still trying to run, while Adel was grabbing him.


    ¡°OI¡­LITTLE BOY! ARE YOU DARE TO RUN FROM ME¡± Adel with a scary tone said to the boy.


    ¡°Waaa¡­waaa..¡± The boy started to whine.


    I went in front of the boy, lowered my body, started to calm him down..


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± I said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have it¡­¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have a name?¡±


    ¡°I think he is from the street, my lady¡­where some of the people threw their kids to the street, so they don¡¯t have any name¡­or know their own name.¡± Adel said.


    ¡°Hehhh!, what a horrible thing to do¡­¡±


    ¡°Wait, my lady¡­I think that kind of street is gone, so there are no kids living in the streets anymore¡­¡­.YO BOY ARE YOU TRYING TO LYING?¡± Lady Octavi said.


    ¡°Ehhh..ehh..ehhh¡­No I am not lying to you¡­I am living in the streets¡­¡±


    ¡°So why are you stealing from us..¡± I said


    ¡°Because we haven¡¯t eaten for two days¡­¡±


    ¡°WE? What do you mean about that?¡±


    ¡°There are my little sisters¡­¡±


    ¡°You have little sisters?¡±


    ¡°They are, but they don¡¯t have any blood related to me, they are just like me, thrown by parents in the street¡­¡±


    ¡°So you took care of them, and protected them, what a brave boy¡­¡±


    The boy was blushing..


    ¡°Can you show me where you stay and I want to meet with your little sisters?¡±


    ¡°What are you going to do with us? Are you going to sell us?¡±


    ¡°Of course not, I just want to see where are you staying? Do you mind?¡±


    ¡°......Okay¡­.then you can come¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s amazing¡­¡±


    Lady Octavi came to me and whispered at me..


    ¡°Are you sure about this, my lady?¡±


    ¡°I whispered back ¡°It¡¯s okay..¡± I said to him ¡°Okay, boy, she will release you, but you must not run, and lead us to where you stay.¡±


    ¡°Alright¡­¡±


    ¡°Adel, you can release the boy¡­¡±


    Adel released the boy, and the boy was well behaved, he was not running from us. He started to lead us to the street he came from. The place was a little bit far from the town square, and it passed some weird and dark alley far from the public.


    We arrived at the street where he lived. It was in the cramped and dirty street, and I didn¡¯t see any little girls in there.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see your little sisters in here, boy¡­¡± I said


    The boy put his fingers in his mouth, and started to blow it, making the sound of whistling. Suddenly, 3 little girls came from the dark corner, we went there, and saw a lot of papers in the ground, it seemed they were used as their mattress.


    The 3 little girls had brown hairs, and brown eyes. The boy had black hair and black eyes..

 Chapter 8

    The three girls were scared about our presence around them, and the boy tried to calm them down. I walked behind him, and started to approach the girls closer. I got down and talked to the girls.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name, little girls?¡± I asked them


    They just shook their heads, the boy answered for them..


    ¡°They don¡¯t have names like me..¡±


    ¡°My!!!!¡± I was surprised ¡°Since when do they live in the streets?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know since when, but I found them in the streets, so I brought them here.¡± The boy answered.


    I put my hand to his head and started to pat him ¡°What a kind and amazing boy you are.¡±


    The boy was blushing with my pat. I stood up, and turned my face to Adel and Lady Octavi.


    ¡°This type of case where children are being neglected on the street, is it common here?¡± I asked them.


    I saw that their faces seemed hard to answer.


    ¡°I believe not, my lady¡­It is so rare for children to be neglected on the street, it¡¯s almost impossible..¡± Lady Octavi answered.


    ¡°Back then, Lady Octavi said ¡®that kind of street is gone, so there is no kid living in the street anymore¡¯ why can you say that?¡±


    ¡°Because it is what it is, my lady. His grace, my lady father, has fixed this problem.¡±


    ¡°Fixed? How did my father do that?¡±


    ¡°I believed his grace provided a foster care and orphanage for these children.¡±


    ¡°Foster care and orphanage?¡±


    ¡°His grace built some orphanages in this duchy to take care of these children..¡±


    ¡°What about foster care?¡±


    ¡°His grace built some training centers for people who want to treat these children, and become their foster parents, so these people were trained and capable to take care of these children in their home or in the orphanages..¡±


    ¡°If my father did all of that, WHY ARE THERE STILL 4 children being neglected in front of me right now?¡±


    ¡°That is the one I didn¡¯t know, my lady.¡±


    ¡°What If there are more children in the streets than these 4 children?¡± I asked and tried to cool my composure from being angry..


    ¡°I think it¡¯s impossible, my lady..¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s possible too¡­I will talk with my father later about this matter¡­but right now, what are we going to do with these 4 children?¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s good for them if we take them to the orphanages..¡±


    I was thinking about it for some moments.


    ¡°NO! I want to bring them home..¡±


    Lady Octavi and Adel¡¯s faces were surprised..


    ¡°My lady¡­is my lady¡¯s act little selfish?¡± Adel said..


    ¡°Little selfish, What do you mean about it Adel, huh?¡±


    ¡°I know, my lady is worrying about these children, but to take them, I think it¡¯s a little selfish of my lady. Surely my lady wants to save all the children in the streets, taking them is not the answer my lady, what happens if there are 8 children, will my lady take them all?


    ¡°So what are you suggesting about this matter, Adel?¡±


    ¡°Like Lady Octavi said, it¡¯s better if we take them to the orphanages..¡±


    ¡°Orphanages? I know it will be great, when I heard what Lady Octavi explained about it, but to see 4 children in front of me, I ask myself, why did my father''s plan about this matter fail?¡±


    ¡°I believe His grace¡¯s plan will not fail, my lady..¡± Lady Octavi said.


    ¡°Yes it will not fail, Lady Octavi, but once more, I will ask you from this mouth, why are there 4 children in front of me?¡± Suddenly I felt a little bit emotional and angry inside me.


    Lady Octavi¡¯s face showed fear ¡°Ab¡­ou..t¡­tha..t¡± Lady Octavi stuttered with her words and couldn¡¯t face at me ¡°I¡¯m afr..aid..I..don¡¯t¡­Kno..w.¡±


    ¡°Even a Claudi Family member cannot answer it to a person who they swear allegiance to.¡± For some no reason, I said that..


    ¡°My lady¡­I think it¡¯s inappropriate to talk like that to Lady Octavi¡­¡± Adel said¡­


    For some no reason, my body walked closer to Adel¡­


    In her face ¡°So how must I talk to my subject who swear their allegiance to me, huh Ade?¡±


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    Lady Octavi tried to separate me from Adel¡­


    ¡°Forgive my words, my lady, but they swear their allegiance not to my lady, but to his grace, and Lady Octavi just got ordered by his grace to take care of my lady, so she is still not your subject, my lady¡­¡± Adel said.


    Lady Octavi was surprised by what Adel said.


    It felt like I could not control my body and my mouth¡­I grabbed Lady Octavi¡¯s hand in my chest who tried to separate me with Adel, and threw her hand. I moved closer to Adel until my face was in front of her¡­


    ¡­¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­.


    ¡­..


    I blinked my eyes, and suddenly in front of me was just Lady Octavi on kneeled lean it at her sword, her clothes were in a mess, and there was some bruise on her face, her hair was in disarray. I turned my back to the children, and I saw Adel hug them, Adel¡¯s clothes were in a mess too, and there was some bruise on her face too..


    ¡°What was just happ¡ª¡± I felt sucked out from the world¡­..and black force came to my vision¡­.


    I heard Lady Octavi kept calling me, and suddenly¡­that calling was gone.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­¡­


    ¡°You¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Are an interesting mortal¡­¡±


    ¡°But¡­.¡±


    ¡°Who¡­and what¡­Are¡­You??¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t¡­Recall¡­that¡­there¡­is¡­a¡­interesting¡­mortal¡­like¡­you..¡±


    ¡°You¡­are¡­worthy¡­to¡­be¡­oversee¡­by¡­me¡­mortal¡­¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­


    ¡­¡­¡­


    ¡­..


    I opened my eyes, and suddenly there was a headache in my head. I looked around, I was in my bedroom, and it was already night. I tried to get up. When I got up from laying down, I saw Adel was sitting on the couch in front of my bed, and our eyes met¡­¡­Suddenly she was surprised, and made a haste to leave the room¡­


    ¡°Adel¡¯s face seems fine right now¡­¡± I tried to recall what was happening. ¡°I believe in that street, I saw Lady Octavi and Adel¡¯s got some bruises on their face and their clothes¡­¡­after that my vision was gone¡­¡± Suddenly I remembered something ¡°I heard some voices in blank vision¡­¡± I tried to remember what I heard from it¡­But it hurt my head.


    After some moments, I saw there was father, mother, Sofia, and Adel rushed to my bed.


    Mother was the first to hug me ¡°My Aurelia, you finally awake¡­¡±


    I saw there were tears in her eyes¡­


    ¡°I am alright, mother¡­¡±


    ¡°Are you sure, darling?¡±


    ¡°Of course¡­..Can I know what was going on?¡±


    ¡°You were unconscious, Aurelia¡­¡± Father said..


    ¡°I was unconscious..?¡±


    ¡°Yes, you are, Aurelia ... .Can you recall what was going on before you were unconscious? ¡± Mother said.


    ¡°I was in the street, and met 4 children¡­..Ah yes, what about the children? Are they alright?¡±


    ¡°The children are alright, right now they are in the servant''s quarter¡­¡± Mother said..


    ¡°It''s a relief that the children are alright..¡±


    ¡°Can you continue your story?¡± Father asked..


    ¡°Right..After met 4 children, I had a discussion with Adel and Lady Octavi about what happened with the children. I made up my mind to take the children, but Adel and Lady Octavi prevented me from doing that, and we exchanged words about it. Suddenly I blinked my eyes, Lady Octavi already kneeled on the ground with some bruises, and Adel was behind me hugging the children and she had some bruises too. After that I felt sucked out from the world, and a blank vision came to me..¡±


    ¡°Do you not remember what was happening? Why could Lady Octavi kneeled on the ground?¡± Mother said.


    ¡°I can¡¯t recall anything about that..¡±


    ¡°Adel and Lady Octavi told me that you lost your control, and they saw you like your mother¡­¡± Father said.


    ¡°Like mother?¡±


    ¡°Yes, your mother is so scary, if she loses cont¡ª¡± Father said¡­


    Mother turned her face to father and smiled ¡°I think it¡¯s exaggerating that I am scary, when I lost control.¡±


    ¡°But Adel and Lady Octavi recalled Aurelia in back then like Madam¡­right Adel?¡± Father turned his face to Adel..


    Adel didn¡¯t answer it and turned her face to somewhere.


    ¡°Ehmmm¡­In other words, you could not remember anything about why Lady Octavi kneeled on the ground.¡± Father said.


    ¡°Yes, I am, may I know what happened there?¡±


    ¡°You lost your composure, Aurelia, and made Lady Octavi and Adel hurt¡­¡± Mother said..


    ¡°How could I hurt Lady Octavi and Adel?¡±


    I saw mother and father trying to avoid the answer..


    ¡°There is time, your father and I will tell you, right now It¡¯s better for you not to know.¡± Mother said


    ¡°But I had just hurt Lady Octavi and Adel, I want to know how I could hurt them.¡±


    ¡°I believe there is time for you to know, but not now, it¡¯s better if you are getting better first.¡± Mother said ¡°And there is Sofia in here, she will examine your condition..¡±


    Sofia walked forward beside mother¡­


    ¡°Hello my lady, we meet again¡­¡±


    ¡°Hello to you too, Sofia..¡±


    ¡°Can I examine your condition, my lady?¡±


    ¡°Sure..¡±


    Mother went back, and Sofia was sitting beside me..She examined me like checking my pulse, my temperature, and my tongue..


    ¡°Does my lady have something bothering you?¡±


    ¡°Bothering me?¡±


    ¡°Yes, When my lady was unconscious, is there any memory, any feeling, or anything that my lady experienced, while in blank vision.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t recall anything like that happening while I was unconscious¡­.¡±


    ¡°Right¡­if¨C¡±


    ¡°But I felt there was something weird about me today..¡±


    ¡°Weird?¡±


    ¡°Yes, when I exchanged words with Adel and Lady Octavi back then, it seemed I could not control my body and my mouth..¡±


    ¡°So what my lady did back then, was out of control of my lady, and my lady¡¯s words too.¡±


    ¡°Yes, and while I was unconscious, I felt there was a voice emitting in my head.¡±


    ¡°Was that voice Lady Octavi calling my lady?¡±


    ¡°No, I didn¡¯t recognize the voice..¡±


    I saw everyone¡¯s faces was surprised¡­


    ¡°My lady didn¡¯t recognize this voice, and what was this voice emitting had to my lady head?¡±


    ¡°I cannot remember all of it, but I believe there was a word ¡®mortal¡¯ that was emitting in my head.¡±


    It seemed Sofia was shocked about it..


    ¡°Mortal?? It was weird to hear while in unconscious..¡±


    ¡°Does Sofia know about this?¡± I asked


    ¡°Hmmmmm¡­¡±


    I saw Mother¡¯s hand tapping Sofia¡¯s shoulder..


    ¡°I am sorry, my lady, that I don''t understand and know about the voice that was emitting in my lady¡¯s head¡­Don¡¯t worry, I will try to find out about it, my lady¡­May I excuse myself to search about this matter, my lady?¡±


    ¡°Sure, you can excuse yourself..¡±


    Sofia excused herself and left the room¡­Mother was sitting beside me¡­


    ¡°Aurelia, you need to take a rest right now¡­¡±


    ¡°Mother, do the little two know about this matter?¡±


    ¡°No, they don¡¯t know, when you were brought back to the house, their maids distracted them to bring them in the garden¡­so they didn¡¯t know about this matter.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a relief then¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t think too much, just take a rest¡­¡± Father said.


    ¡°Yes, just take a rest, darling¡­¡± Mother said and kissed my forehead..


    Mother stood up from beside me. They were walking toward the door..


    ¡°Wait!! Adel¡± I said to Adel..


    ¡°What''s the matter, my lady?¡±


    ¡°I want to say, I¡¯m sorry that I hurted you back then¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, my lady, it was my fault too that I couldn¡¯t control my words to my lady¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s my fault, Adel¡­so I¡¯m sorry¡­¡±


    ¡°No my¨C¡±


    ¡°I think there is no one fault here, it was just an incident where everyone got hurted..¡± Mother intervened ¡°Just take a rest Aurelia and don¡¯t overthink about this matter, Good night..¡±


    They left the room and closed the door. I backed to lay down in bed, and tried to sleep


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    ¡­¡­¡­..


    ¡­¡­¡­


    But, I could fall asleep, I kept overthinking about what had happened back then.


    ¡°You cannot fall asleep, huh??¡± An unknown voice came from in front of the bed..


    I got up from laying in the bed¡­


    ¡°Who are you?? And where are you?¡± I asked


    ¡°Hmmmm I wonder who I am¡­¡±


    I took a look in front of me, and I saw a figure in front of me. I tried to focus on that figure¡­

 Chapter 9

    ¡°You cannot fall asleep, huh??¡± An unknown voice came from in front of the bed..


    I got up from laying in the bed¡­


    ¡°Who are you?? And where are you?¡± I asked


    ¡°Hmmmm I wonder who I am¡­¡±


    I took a look in front of me, and I saw a figure in front of me. I tried to focus on that figure¡­


    ¡°Don¡¯t try to focus on me because¡­.-¡±


    I was surprised when I could focus on that figure..


    ¡°I don¡¯t have any appearance..¡± it said.


    I just saw a bright white human figure without any appearance..


    ¡°What are you?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Hoo, you changed the question from who to what, after you saw me..¡±


    It came closer to me..every step from it closer to me, made me so anxious..Until it reached beside me, and it leaned in front of my face..


    ¡°You are an interesting one¡­¡± It said..


    Suddenly, I saw a dark smile in it faceless face¡­made me freak out and wanted to scream of fear.


    Immediately the figure shut my mouth with its hand, I kept struggling to let its hand off me.


    ¡°Just relax, don¡¯t be scared of me, I¡¯m here not hurting you.¡±


    For some no reason, suddenly I felt so relaxed¡­after that it released its hand from my mouth


    ¡°So, what are you? What are you doing in my room?¡±


    The figure walked out from me, and toward the center of the room.


    ¡°I¡¯m here, because I just want to look you closer and observe you a little bit..¡±


    ¡°Look at me? and observe me? What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°Hmmmm ... .maybe¡ª¡± the figure slowly disappeared into thin air ¡°Hope we meet again, because my time is going up¡­.Aurelia or ot¨C.¡± The figure was gone without a trace in front of me.


    ¡°What the hell was happening? And what was that figure?¡± I laid back down in the bed ¡°it said to look closer at me and observe me, what did it mean? What is it going to do to me?¡±


    I tried not to overthink about it, and closed my eyes¡­.


    ¡­..


    ¡­.


    ¡­


    In these 6 days had been passed, nothing happened. The nightmare never came back in these 6 days, even Sofia kept asking me if the nightmare came back or not, I just answered it. My dream was about strolling in the city, when my mother and father invited me. The voice that emitted inside my head did not come back too, and Sofia kept asking about that too..The important one was the figure, it never came back to meet me again even if it said hope to meet me again..


    For 6 days, first I apologized to Lady Octavi for hurted them, and she kept saying that it was her fault¡­and I just learnt about anything from Lady Octavi¡­I was aware of how the calendar worked. It used NE or New Era, right now it was on 754 NE¡­A year consisted of 12 months with each month consisting of 30 days..


    The condition of the 4 children was better, right now, they worked as servants in my household, they lived in servant¡¯s quarters with other servants. When they were introduced to the little two, immediately the little two were really well accepted. The oldest boy was named Felix, he was the same age as Aurelio.


    The girls were named Aelia, Alicia and Alecia, and they were triplet, because they were identical to each other, they were given an accessories ribbon. The triplets put the ribbon on different places from each other, Aelia put the ribbon in her chest, Alicia put the ribbon in her neck, and Alecia put her ribbon in her hair¡­Alelia¡¯s ribbon color was green because her personality was more mature than the other two, Alicia¡¯s ribbon color was blue because her personality was more calm and possessive than the other two, and Alecia¡¯s ribbon color was red because her personality was more active and more courage than other two. They were 6 years old.


    In these 6 days, the little two''s behavior changed, they didn¡¯t come to me anymore, but they played with these 4 children¡­Aurelio was friends with Felix, even Aurelio asked father to invite Felix to train with a sword..Ophelia was friends with the 3 girls, but sometimes Alecia went to Aurelio and Felix when they trained sword, and asked to join the train¡­Father granted it.


    The 4 children were being educated in the same class with little two in the household. Aelia was more active about knowledge, Alecia was more active about sword, Alicia was more active about something, Felix was more active about knowledge and sword.


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    ¡­.


    ¡­


    ..


    In my sleep, suddenly I was feeling heavy in my body¡­I slowly opened my eyes, there were the little two above me¡­


    ¡°Wh..at¡­are..yo..u..doing?¡± I asked while half awake.


    ¡°Sister Aurelia, you need to wake up now..¡± Aurelio said.


    ¡°YESS, YOU NEED TO WAKE UP NOW..¡± Ophelia said with a loud voice.


    Their hands kept pushing my body¡­Suddenly I saw the door was opened, it was Adel, Livia, and Martia with the 4 children¡­Livia and Martia rushed to the little two, and lifted them out of me..While being lifted, they grumbled about it¡­


    I got up from bed¡­Adel drew open the curtains of the balcony¡­I turned my face to the little two.


    ¡°Why are you so early in my room¡­and suddenly above me?¡±


    ¡°Because¡­¡­today¡­it¡¯s so important¡­so we woke up early¡­and immediately went to Sister Aurelia room¡­wanted to..wake..Sister¡­up.¡± Ophelia said.


    ¡°Today is an important day?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it is, it¡¯s the day where father fulfills his promise, invite us to stroll the city¡­¡± Aurelio said with a cheerful tone.


    ¡°Ahhh right!! It¡¯s today¡­..So do you two also invite them too?¡± I pointed to the 4 children..


    ¡°Of course, we are¡­¡± Aurelio said..


    ¡°That¡¯s great¡­but¡­..¡±


    ¡°But¡­what, sister Aurelia?¡± Ophelia said.


    ¡°You two have said father was a cunning person right? What if Father is lying to you, today, and not inviting us to stroll the city?¡±


    The little two¡¯s faces suddenly changed from happy to sad¡­and immediately they ran out the room¡­Followed by Livia, Martia with the 4 children..


    ¡°It¡¯s hard for Livia and Martia to keep the movement of the little two¡­¡± I said to Adel..


    ¡°I think it¡¯s because you, my lady, told a young master and young lady a nonsense about his grace, and made them afraid about it..¡±


    ¡°Well, when I saw them lately, Iit felt like I wanted to tease them a little bit more¡­¡±


    ¡°Is it because my lady felt lonely, they have friends and not annoyed my lady anymore for playing with you..¡±


    ¡°Hehehehehe¡­Maybe I feel like that..¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s time for my lady to do the morning routine¡­¡±


    ¡°Right..¡± I stood up from the bed..


    I walked to the vanity table¡­and Adel started the morning routine for maintaining my face¡­In the middle of it, I saw from the mirror the door was opened, and the little two appeared¡­Immediately came to me¡­


    ¡°FATHER said he will fulfill the promise today, even he told Lady Laura to prepare it¡­¡± Aurelio said..


    ¡°That¡¯s great¡­¡± I said, with Adel kept doing to maintain my face.


    After some moments, I saw Livia and Martia come to my room with some heavy breathing, it must be hard for them to keep these two..


    ¡°You two, need to control and behave yourself..¡± I said to little two.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Ophelia said.


    I pointed my hand to Livia and Martia ¡°You make Livia and Martia tired in the early morning, because you two.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, my lady..¡± Livia said to me with her trying to hide her heavy breathing.


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a usual thing for us¡± Martia said, trying to relieve herself.


    ¡°See, sister Aurelia, they are fine..¡± Ophelia said¡­


    ¡°Hehh¡­Even though they said fine, you guys need to control yourself and pay attention to the people around you..¡± I said..


    ¡°We know, Sister Aurelia..¡± They answered


    ¡°Great¡­how about you two wait for me in the dining room for breakfast..¡±


    ¡°Yes, sister.¡±


    I saw them like they wanted to run toward the door.


    ¡°NO RUNNING, just walking to the dining room..¡±


    ¡°Yes, Sister..¡± They answered it like they grumbled about it.


    I saw them from the mirror, they were walking toward the door followed by Livia and Martia, but ... .In front of the door, they started to run¡­before Livia closed the door..


    ¡°What the¡­they¡¯re doing¡­¡± I felt a little angry.


    ¡°They are children overall, it¡¯s normal for them to be active.¡± Adel said.


    ¡°It¡¯s great to be active, but I feel more like them if they are well behaved in certain conditions.¡±


    ¡°Right¡­¡± Adel said.


    After some minutes, Adel finished it, and we immediately went to the dining room. In the dining room, I saw the little two already sitting in their seats..For the entire breakfast, I ignored the little two, even though they talked to me¡­I just grumbled and ignored them¡­


    After breakfast, Father, Mother, Little two and I went to the entrance of the house followed by Adel, Livia, Martia and the 4 children behind us. On the way there, the little two kept talking to me and asked why, I just kept ignoring them¡­


    In front of the house, there was Lady Octavi and Lady Laura waiting for us with 5 guards. Lady Laura already prepared 6 horses and 2 carriages¡­One carriage was for father, mother, Lady Laura, and I inside¡­The other carriage was for the little two and the 4 children inside¡­Adel was in my carriage coachman¡¯s seat, Livia and Martia were in other carriage coachman¡¯s seat.. Lady Octavi and other guards rode the horses.


    After everyone was ready, we went to the city with Lady Octavi on her horse, 2 guards on each side of the carriage on their horses, and 1 guard in the back of the carriage with his horse.


    On the way to the city, Mother and Father seemed curious about something from me..


    ¡°Aurelia, why did you ignore the little two this morning?¡± Mother asked.


    ¡°Hmmm..Because they were against my advice..¡±


    ¡°Advice??¡± Father asked.


    ¡°In the early morning, they were so active, running around, and made Livia and Martia feel so tired, so I told them to control themselves, and told them to walk toward the dining room¡­But when they were in front of my room, they just ran¡­¡±


    ¡°Well they are children, so they are more active and more rebellious..¡± Father asked..


    ¡°Apart from that, why did Lady Laura come with us to the city?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Because there is something I need to do in the city as a substitute for his grace.¡± Lady Laura answered..


    ¡°So father didn''t do his job well, made Lady Laura as substitute for him..¡± I looked at my father.


    ¡°You are so mean, Aurelia¡­Lady Laura became a substitute for me because you guys, I will be with you guys in the city, so I cannot do my job if I am with you, so Lady Laura became a substitute for me.¡± Father answered¡­


    ¡°Well, I love it if Father does the job than with us the entire time in the city¡­¡±


    Father felt unhappy from what I said..


    ¡°And why are there some guards for us to go into the city? Is it because there are the little two and 4 children?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Ehmmmm¡­It¡¯s not because of that, Aurelia..¡± Mother said ¡°it¡¯s because the event happened to you when we went to the city, it happened because of our neglect, so we want some guards to oversee us, if we are not in there with you guys.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if father and mother are so worried about me¡­I will try to calm down as much as possible¡­¡± I said¡­


    ¡°Just don¡¯t overthink about it, Aurelia¡­Just have as much fun as you want in the city especially you need to make up with your siblings, and have fun with them..¡± Mother said.


    ¡°I will try to do that..¡± I said

 Chapter 10

    We arrived at the square of the city¡­and we made a scene on the spot , with 2 carriages and 5 horses, surely it made people stare and make a scene¡­But it was not, the people did not make a scene about it.


    When I wanted to get out of the carriage, suddenly in front of the door there were already the little two, waiting for me, with some sorrowful faces looking at me. I tried not to look at them, and kept walking out from the carriage, but my shoulder was patted by my mother behind me. I looked at mother behind me, and saw her smiling at me. It felt like my mother wanted me to make up with them. After everyone and I was on the ground, the little two were in front of me immediately with mother and father behind me.


    ¡°*sigh* Is there anything that you two want from me?¡±


    They heard it and they contemplated it.


    ¡°We want to say something, Sister Aurelia.¡±


    ¡°What is that?¡±


    ¡°We want to¡­..¡± They looked at each other, seemed to be trying to throw each other, who wanted to say it..


    ¡°What are you two gonna say to me?¡±


    For some reason, people around us stared at us¡­


    ¡°*sigh* Can you two say it fast? Before we make a scene here..¡±


    The little two just kept silent in front of me..


    ¡°You know, that you two who want to stroll in the city, and right now, you are just standing in front of me, you said you want to say something, here your sister in front of you, and you two just keep silent. Do you two really want to stroll in the city or just want to stand here all day? How about this?¡± For no reason I keep talking at them ¡°I can do both, I can stand in here all day until you two say what you want to say, because it is not me who want to go out, it is you two who ask father to go out, and in here, you two wasted it, because you two cannot say it to your own sister, even she in front of you¡­¡± For no reason, I felt similar inside me ¡°Your father has prepared all of it from carriages, and guards, even he spared his time for us, and so we can be in here, and here I am stuck in front of my two little siblings, who cannot say something to me¡­¡± The feeling was more boiling inside me, and for no reason my face was in front of their face ¡°HEY!! Is your sister really scary in my sweet little siblings'' view? It¡¯s not scary right? If it is, your sister will be so sad, but it will be even more sad if her sweet little siblings cannot say something even when she is in front of her sweet little siblings¡ª¡±.


    Suddenly I felt there were 2 hands on my shoulders. I looked at it, and it was mother, but my arms felt tightened, I looked around me, there was Lady Octavi and Adel beside me, for some reason they gripped my arms...For some reason I didn¡¯t realize their presence ¡­.And I turned my face at the little two, they were so scared¡­


    Mother turned my body to face her, and pulled my head in front of her face ¡°Aurelia!!! Remember they are your little siblings, grip your emotions and keep your composure, surely I ask you to make up with them, but it doesn''t mean like this.¡± she said with a worried tone.


    ¡°Huh??¡± I didn¡¯t know what had happened.


    Livia and Martia took Aurelio and Ophelia to father, away from us.


    For some reason without my knowing, people around me were unbelieve and scared¡­


    ¡°Can mother let it go your hands from my head, please?¡± I asked mother..


    ¡°No, until you are calm.¡± she said.


    ¡°I am already calm, mother..¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I am, can you lower your hands?¡±


    And mother lowered her hands from my head¡­but Lady Octavi and Adel gripped still in my arms..


    ¡°Can you lower your grips?¡±


    They lowered their hands from my arms¡­on the contrary, their hands were in my two hands, and they were holding my hands.


    ¡°What I mean lower, it¡¯s not like this, it means to take it off from my arms.¡± I said.


    ¡°They will keep holding your hands, until we get home¡­¡± Mother said..


    ¡°What!¡± I was surprised ¡°Is it a little too embarrassing for me?¡±


    ¡°No, It¡¯s not.¡±


    ¡°But, two people holding my hands seems too much, how is one person holding my hand?¡±


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    ¡°No, they will hold your hands, no matter what will happen.¡±


    ¡°*Sigh* right..¡± I tried to shake their grip from up and down, left and right, pull and push¡­Their grip was so strong, it could not let it go.


    ¡°I apologize, my lady, but it is an order from madam, so I must obey it..¡± Adel said.


    ¡°Yeah¡­¡­¡­¡±


    I looked at father, Lady Laura seemed to whisper something to father, and Immediately Lady Laura made an excuse for herself to do work as a substitute of father.


    We continued the stroll in the city. After what had happened, the little two kept their distance from me, even the 4 children too¡­On the way, father was with the little two and 4 children, and mother kept beside me. 3 guards followed us, and 2 guards stayed to oversee the carriages and the horses. In the square, we watched some performers, even the last trobairitz and the singer when I came here, were in the square to perform¡­I saw the little two and the 4 children from behind, were so entertained by all the performers in the square¡­and I saw father gave coin more generosity to the singer and the trobairitz, than us when we were here¡­


    Afterwards, we walked in the streets toward our first destination, and it was a boutique with some fancy design..It had a glass of window, where glass was so expensive and it was classified as luxury items..When I heard it from Lady Octavi from the tutoring, I was amazed by it, because the house was full of glass of window. I looked around the street where the store was, there was no store that used glass beside this store. All the stores didn¡¯t use the glass as a window, they just used wooden shutters.


    The guards stayed outside, and we stepped our foot to the boutique, and Mother and Ophelia changed suddenly..They immediately charged the clerks, and asked about these and those clothes that were in the store. In the meantime, father already took a seat on the bench inside of the store. It seemed he was already used to this situation.. Because it was my first time at the store, I was walking and looking around in the store¡­All the dresses and clothes were so fancy, because there was nothing to tell the price, so I went to one of the clerks and asked about the prices¡­She asked me to follow her, she led me to every row of dress and clothes, and started to tell the prices¡­


    And I was dumbfounded and unbelieve from what the clerk said about the prices. There were 8 rows of dresses and clothes, these rows grouped because of the material, and the motif of the dress and clothes¡­The most expensive of material was silk, followed by linen, cotton, and wool..and there were 4 rows where all the dresses and clothes were not produced locally, and grouped with the material it used. The most expensive rows were from these 4 rows where the products were not produced locally, and grouped with the material it used. The other 4 rows where the products were produced locally by the women in their household..The price was so expensive, the cheapest row was with a silver coin price tag, and the most expensive row was with a platinum coin price tag. The dresses and clothes used with silk worth gold coin minimum, if it was not local, it was worth platinum coin.


    I saw mother in the 4 rows not locally, meanwhile, Ophelia was in the local rows¡­and they were in the silk row¡­For some reason, I wasn¡¯t interested in all the dresses and clothes in the store..So I took a seat on the bench with father¡­Aurelio and 4 children were with Ophelia followed by Livia and Martia, so it just Father and I with Lady Octavi and Adel holding my both hands on the bench. I saw father was so surprised when I sat on the bench, then looked around¡­


    I was more surprised about Lady Octavi, where she usually wore a knight dress more like a man''s attire than a woman''s attire.


    ¡°Lady Octavi, are you not interested in dress or clothes?¡± I asked her..


    ¡°I am not that interested in that, and I am more interested in you, my lady.¡± She answered..


    ¡°Right¡­.¡± I turned my gaze to Adel ¡°How about you, Adel? Are you not interested?¡±


    ¡°Like Lady Octavi, I am more interested in you, my lady..than clothes..¡±


    ¡°Right¡­¡±


    I saw father beside Adel, giggling, made me turn my gaze to him.


    ¡°How about father? Are you not interested too?¡±


    ¡°Like Adel and Lady Octav¡­.¡± Seemed he tried to hold on without giggling with a cool face ¡°Father is more interested in you, than clothes¡­¡± Father was giggling in the end..


    I felt teased by all of them¡­And I saw mother from a distance, she was walking toward me with a woman beside her¡­


    After mother was in front of me with a woman beside her ¡°What are you doing sitting in here, Aurelia?¡± she said..


    ¡°I am just sitting with father¡­¡±


    Father was still emitted small giggling, Mother turned a small gaze to him, and immediately Father stopped it¡­


    ¡°You cannot sit around here with your father, you will follow me with this lady¡­¡± she said.


    ¡°Who is she, mother?¡±


    ¡°She is the owner of this store¡­and she will be trying to find the dresses that suit you with her workers..¡±


    ¡°But, as you can see mother¡­¡± I showed my 2 hands in front of mother where Lady Octavi and Adel were still holding it ¡°With these, Can I wear or try a dress?¡±.


    I heard a small giggling from father, again mother turned a small gaze to him, and he immediately stopped again..


    ¡°There is no excuse, Aurelia¡­You will come with her, and Mother will follow to watch you¡­¡±


    For a sudden, Lady Octavi and Adel were standing, making me stand too¡­Mother and the owner walked out from the bench, Lady Octavi and Adel followed them, I tried not to follow them, but their grip was so strong, it made me forcefully just follow them..


    They led me to the corner of the store, where there was a big mirror¡­There was a table and chair with some drinks and snacks, where mother was sitting in there, while she was watching me¡­There were 3 workers beside the owner¡­They measured my size of my body, and other workers went out to take dresses who seemed suit for me¡­And they brought an entire row of dresses¡­and they brought a fitting rooms, where it was curtains circling with big diameter who could fit 2-3 people inside the circle¡­


    They started to dress me all the dresses inside the fitting rooms, where Lady Octavi and Adel switched up holding hands, when the worker tried to dress me because the grip disturbed it¡­When I held Adel,I thought her grip weaker than Lady Octavi, but I tried to pull the grip, it didn¡¯t make a single flinch¡­


    Forcefully, I gave up¡­They dressed me with various dresses, after they dressed me, the curtains were opened, and showed it to mother with the owner standing beside her¡­Mother just kept whispering to the owner, everytime she looked at the dress in me¡­After some dresses, suddenly the spectators in front of the curtains increase, there was father, the 4 children and the little two followed by their maids, there was 1 table and 2 chair more for the little two, and father sat with mother. When they showed me to them, they started to discuss it with each other, while I was standing in front of them with some snacks and drinks on their tables¡­

 Chapter 11

    After I finished trying all the dresses they brought, I sat at the chair where mother sat with father in front of me. Mother was still busy shopping, now it was the little two turns to try on the dresses. But they did that not in the same place as me, they did it at the other corner of the store, where it was close to the children section. We still could see them from a distance.


    The clerks brought a new tea set for me, and new snacks for me, the tea set that mother used, they took it from the table. Immediately, Adel poured some tea in it, because of all the commotion of trying on dresses, I felt a little bit thirsty and hungry.


    ¡°Can you two let my hands go? I want to drink that tea..¡± I asked Lady Octavi and Adel who were beside me, still holding my hands.


    Adel said ¡°No, we can¡¯t do that, my lady¡­But I can bring the cup to you, so you can take a sip of it¡­¡± she brought the cup in front of my mouth with her right hand.


    I felt so thirsty, so I took a sip of the cup¡­


    Lady Octavi said ¡°How about some snacks, my lady?¡±


    After I took a sip from the cup, Lady Octavi brought the cookie in front of my mouth with her left hand. I took a bite of it, because I was hungry, I was munching it while frowning my cheeks¡­


    Lady Octavi said ¡°How about another one, my lady?¡±


    She kept bringing the cookies in front of my mouth, I kept taking a bite of it, and munching it with frowning cheeks. While munching it, I took a glance at father, and saw him smiling big at me..


    I asked with munching ¡°*munch* Why are *munch* you smiling like that *munch*, father?¡±


    ¡°It''s just cute to see you being spoiled by them¡­¡±


    ¡°*gulp* How about my dear father, tell them to let go of their hands??¡± I changed my face to smile more at him.


    ¡°Me?? Tell them to do that? No way!!¡±


    ¡°Why??¡±


    ¡°Because your mother, who ordered them, not me..¡±


    Lady Octavi kept putting cookies in front of my mouth..


    ¡°But *munch* you are my father *munch*¡­¡±


    ¡°But¡­I cannot do that, Aurelia¡­Because your mother¡­¡±


    ¡°How about her *munch* *munch*?¡±


    We looked at mother from a distance¡­


    ¡°She will be angry at me, If I order them to let go of their hands from you.¡±


    ¡°But this cute daughter *munch* is so helpless with *munch* *munch* this holding hands, *munch* *munch* Am I better than the mother angry *munch*?¡±


    ¡°Oh my daughter, you don¡¯t know how scary your mother i¡ª¡± Suddenly Mother took a glance fiercely at us¡­


    ¡°*gulp* *gulp*¡±


    I took my face near to father..


    I whispered ¡°What was that, father? Did she hear it?¡±


    ¡°That is your mother, Aurelia..¡± He whispered back ¡°It¡¯s better not to talk about her now..¡±


    ¡°Right¡­¡±


    There was no conversation between us, it was just me eating the snacks with help from Lady Octavi, and taking a sip of tea with help from Adel, and Father just smiling at me, enjoying my condition. At some moment, I caught mother talking with the little two, and they suddenly went off like they were finding something..


    A few minutes later, they came back to mother, and immediately mother turned her gaze at me, it seemed she ordered them something. Suddenly they came to me, in front of me, they were being shy¡­They were hiding their hands behind them, I didn¡¯t want to speak a single word to them..


    ¡°Sister¡­Aurel..ia¡± Aurelio said with a shy tone.


    I ignored it¡­


    They looked at each other¡­


    They said simultaneously ¡°We, here¡­¡±


    ¡°Wanted¡­¡±


    ¡°To give¡­¡±


    ¡°You something¡­¡±


    I said ¡°Give me something?¡±


    They looked and nodded at each other, and showed their hands in front of me¡­


    I saw it was a white hairpin and a necklace with white gems.


    ¡°These are our presents to you, sister..¡± Ophelia said


    ¡°These presents are our apology to you, sister..¡± Aurelio said.


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    ¡°So we apologize about what we did, and hope Sister Aurelia can forgive us.¡± They said


    I said ¡°Adel, put your hand on Aurelio''s head..¡±


    She put her hand on his head.


    ¡°And started to rub him¡­¡± Adel rubbed Aurelio¡¯s head ¡°As you can see, mother ordered them to hold my hands until we get home, so I ordered Adel to do this, to show how¡­Happy¡­I am¡­that my little siblings can realize what they have done, and ask forgiveness.¡±


    Their faces suddenly became happy¡­


    ¡°What about me?¡± Ophelia said..


    I ordered Adel to do that to Ophelia too¡­


    ¡°You can put your presents on the table..¡±


    They put the presents on the table, and hugged me. After that they were walking toward mother, and hugged her¡­


    ¡°Is that great?¡± Father said with a big smile on his face..


    I ignored him and asked Adel ¡°Can you keep these presents until we get home?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Adel answered.


    After an hour, We finished shopping. Mother just bought me an entire row of dresses, when I didn¡¯t know if It was suitable for me or not, but it was suitable from mother''s point of view. Because of the amount of what we bought, the owner said they would send all the purchases to the home. We continued to walk in the street, I didn¡¯t know where mother and father would take us next. In the street, I saw the little two in front with father holding hands, and seemed genuinely happy about today.


    From a distance, I could see a huge building, where the building was above a platform made of concrete, so there were two stairs in corners to get to the buildings. Because of my curiosity about building, I asked mother who was beside me.


    ¡°Mother, what is that building?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the temple¡­¡±


    ¡°Temple?? Are we going in there?¡±


    ¡°Yes we are, Aurelia..¡±


    In front of the platforms, I realized how tall it was, ten times taller than my height. I saw father tell the little two something in front of me, and after that, the little two went off from the buildings with the 2 guards, their maids, and the 4 children. Seeing that, I went to father¡­


    ¡°Where do those two go?¡±


    ¡°I just told them to go have fun in the city..¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s like that, I will come with them..¡±


    I went away from father, and tried to come with them, but the holding hands restrained me from going with them. My mother was smiling mischievously, even my father was smiling too. Mother came beside father..


    I turned my face to both of them ¡°*sigh* Let me guess, mother and father want me to go to the temple.¡± Looked at Lady Octavi and Adel ¡°and ordered you two restrain me from going anywhere..¡±


    ¡°Forgive me, but it is madam who ordered us to do this.¡± Adel said.


    ¡°Right¡­¡± I looked at father and mother ¡°*Sigh* So what¡¯s the occasion for me to go there? Even mother¡¯s smile became scarier than before, there must be something you two hiding from me.¡±


    ¡°My!!! Was I smiling?¡±


    ¡°Yes, you are, mother, and it was scarier than before..¡±


    ¡°It must be my habit to smile, and it made me smile accidentally ... .BUT You are so mean, Aurelia¡­My smile is not that scary, right dear..¡± Mother smiling at father..


    Father said with a nervous tone ¡°Yes¡­..mother¡¯s smile is beautiful, Aurelia¡­it¡¯s so mean ... .to say that her smile is scary¡­¡±


    ¡°*sigh* huhhhhhhh¡­just let¡¯s go to the temple and make this as fast as possible¡­if you don¡¯t want to tell me the reason why we are here..¡±


    I went to the stairs, Lady Octavi and Adel followed me, so I could move to the stairs¡­Mother and father followed behind me¡­After we reached the top of the platform, I was magnified by the building. It was so huge, the building was surrounded by a lot of columns, and It was super mega huge, tall, and spacious. There was a building on each side of it, and it was surrounded with columns too. I saw there were a lot of statues. On the edge of the entrance platform there were 6 statues of women as tall as me with different poses, and there were 3 statues above the building.


    ¡°Who is she as the statues in here?¡± I asked..


    Lady Octavi said ¡°She is Delios, my lady..¡±


    ¡°Delios?? What is she?¡±


    ¡°A goddess from the god¡¯s realm..¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute¡­In the square, there is a Gennaia statue, she is a goddess too, why her statue not in here?¡±


    ¡°Ah..about that Gen¨C¡±


    Suddenly Adel said ¡°Because she is not a worthy goddess¡­¡±


    ¡°Not worthy, what do you mean, Adel?¡±


    ¡°Gennaia is a freely Goddess, where she doesn¡¯t care about her responsibility, and just went off to the human¡¯s realm to play around, and the god¡¯s realm was angry at her, making her lose one of her wings.¡±


    Lady Octavi said ¡°But she is the only Goddess, who interacts with humans, whereas other goddesses are apathetic about humans, and just only care about themselves.¡± seemed she was not happy about what Adel said.


    ¡°Interact with humans, it doesn¡¯t mean to blend with humans. There is a line where the goddess needs to know about themselves. Their entity is greater than humans, for what reason a goddess plays with humans, we humans are not an asylum for a goddess who runs away from her duty ... .What is she? A child?¡±


    ¡°It was the god¡¯s realm who shunned her in the first place, made her sick of the god¡¯s realm, and went to the human¡¯s realm..¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s her fault because she got shunned in the first place, she was so obsessed with humans, even she wrote something about how the goddess or gods can be in relationship with humans that it was a taboo to think about that, and made her get shunned¡­¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that!!! They are a great entity, and they want to have a relationship with humans, what will happen to the next generation from their relationship? They will not have a place to call home, because they are neither human nor god, and they will live long as god, they will suffer from that because they will see all the people they loved and adored around them passed away, making them heartbroke many times from it. Just imagine how many times they will see people around them die, and make them realize it is a curse to be born from the relationship between human and god¡­.¡±


    ¡°But Gen¡ª-¡±


    Suddenly the hands of mother in their face¡­


    ¡°You two, Cut it out¡­And start moving to enter the temple.¡±


    ¡°But mother, I am still curious about why there is no Gennaia statue in here?¡±


    ¡°Because it is Delios¡¯s area, so there is no Gennaia statue, simple¡­.Now let¡¯s go to the temple¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it???¡±


    We were moving on to the temple, and started to climb the entrance stairs of the temple¡­When we were inside the temple, It was a chamber with a lot of columns inside of it and there were two giant statues of Delios with brave poses. We passed the chamber, moved to the other chamber. In the next chamber, there was another Delios statue with 2 bonfires beside her, but it was bigger than the statue before, and she sat on some sort of throne. In front of it, there was a platform the size of a human..


    2 people came to us, and led us to the platform. There were 2 other people at each bonfire. On the platform, One person served me a drink with glass. I looked at mother..


    ¡°Accept it, Aurelia¡­¡± Mother told me.


    I accepted the drink¡­the 2 people at each bonfire lit it, and the blue flame appeared. The person beside us asked me to drink the drink she offered..


    ¡°Drink it, Aurelia..¡± Mother told me..


    I drank it..a few seconds later, I suddenly felt sleepy¡­The one who offered me the drink, requested me to lay down on the platform¡­But¡­..before I did that¡­.suddenly I collapsed¡­In half unconscious, I still felt there was hands who withhold my body from collapsing to the ground, and they brought me to the platform¡­


    ¡­¡­¡­Suddenly¡­¡­..I opened my eyes¡­¡­and realized ... .I was somewhere¡­¡­not on the platform anymore ... .I looked around¡­..there was nothing¡­..It was empty ... .In this nothingness, I stood up¡­and started to walking¡­.I walking¡­.kept walking¡­kept walking¡­kept walking¡­And¡­..I saw a figure from far away¡­.I ran at it¡­I kept running¡­running¡­But¡­I realized¡­the more I chase it, the more it became far away¡­I stopped to chase it¡­.And took a breath¡­.When I turned my face from the ground¡­¡­Suddenly¡­the figure was in front of me¡­I took my face up¡­.and saw¡­

 Chapter 12

    In the emptiness of white, I turned my face from the ground and saw¡­a woman figure in front of me¡­She had blonde short hair, wore a white robe¡­She was smiling at me, somehow I felt the smile was so warm and different from other smile I received¡­I looked closer to her face, she had two different color in her eyes, in her right eye it was blue eye, when I looked at it, I felt like in the middle of the ocean, hearing the sound of the waves, and the wind of the ocean. the left one, it was green eye, when I looked at it, I felt like I was in the middle of the woods, hearing the sound of nature¡­


    I took a step back from her, and immediately she took a step in front of me, and it kept going on, until I asked her.


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°Who I am? How about you guess it?¡±


    ¡°Are you Delios?¡±


    Suddenly she was in my right and leaned her face in my right ear ¡°For what reason I impersonated her..¡±


    I turned my head to the right ¡°So who are you?¡±


    She was circling around me ¡°So who I am, you said I was Delios..there is no merit, I am impersonating her..¡±


    ¡°Before, I was in the temple of Delios, so I thought you were Delios..¡±


    Suddenly she stopped in front of me, and turned her face at me..


    ¡°You really don¡¯t know me, huh?...Let me show you something¡­¡±


    I watched her put her 2 hands in her chest, and for a few moments, there were golden lights emitting out from her, especially in her back¡­The golden light seemed fade away, she wore a long gold cloak, and she was different from before, her hair become more longer, curly, and more bright gold, she wore the white dress robe with golden ornaments around it from the white plain robe, now she wore a gold leaf pattern circlet with blue and green emeralds in the middle of it, wore like a winged sandals from plain feet, a lot of golden bracelets in her hands, and some of golden and silver necklaces in her neck. Most importantly was in her back, the golden lights faded away and transformed a giant wing twice taller than her, a clean and pure white wing full of fur, but there was only one wing in her back, not in pair¡­


    From that wing, I realized who she was..


    She came closer to me and said ¡°Human, with this, surely you will know who I am..¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­I..am..¡± Suddenly I felt so nervous..


    ¡°Great..but for ensure it and formality, let me introduce myself¡±


    She took a step back and flapped her wing..


    ¡°I am Gennaia¡­as you already know I am one of the Goddesses..¡±


    I bowed down to her ¡°This lowly name is Aurelia Aurelius, It is a high honor to meet The Goddess Gennaia¡­¡±


    She snapped her finger in the air, and suddenly a stone round table with two chairs appeared out of nowhere in front of us..


    She said ¡°How about we take a seat?¡±


    We took a seat..


    She offered ¡°Do you want to drink? Or perhaps a snack?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright for me, I don¡¯t want to bother the Goddess.¡±


    ¡°Bother me?? Huh nonsense..¡± Again she snapped her finger in the air, and a tea set, a lot of treats and snacks appeared out of blue on the table ¡°I am a Goddess, of course this small thing is not bothering me¡­you can take a sip and the snack too..¡±


    I took a sip of the tea, because she asked to.


    She asked ¡°How about you taste the snacks too?¡±


    I took a bite of the snacks..


    ¡°How about the taste?¡±


    ¡°Well It¡¯s tasty..¡±


    ¡°Glad I heard that, now¡­..¡±


    While I was munching the snacks, I heard something odd from her..


    ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°I am Aurelia Aurelius like I have introduced myself..¡±


    ¡°NO! Let me ask you again, who are you??¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t quietly follow your question.¡±


    ¡°It seems you aren''t aware of it¡­¡±


    ¡°I am Aurelia Aurelius from the Aurelius Family..¡±


    ¡°Sure, it''s who you are, but how about..¡± She stood up and walked toward my right side, she snapped her finger again, and a woman appeared beside her. ¡°How about her? You recalled her?¡±


    I looked closer at the woman, she had short black hair, she wore something weird. I have never seen the clothes that she wore. There seemed to be 3 layers of clothes on the woman, and her pants seemed more thick than any pants I have ever seen, her shoes were weird with black and white color. All of the garments she wore were thicker than any garments I have ever seen...


    ¡°I don¡¯t recall anything about her..¡± I said.


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    ¡°You sure about that?¡±


    ¡°I am really sure..¡±


    ¡°Alright then..¡± She snapped her finger again, and the woman disappeared, but she came toward me.


    ¡°Excuse me¡± She stuck out her finger toward my forehead, and touched it ¡°This may hurt a little..¡±


    Immediately I was surprised ¡°What!!¡±


    I saw a light emitting from her finger toward my forehead..


    After the light was gone, she pulled her finger from my forehead, a few moments later, suddenly


    ¡°*cough* *cough*¡± I spitted out blood from my mouth, and my nose seemed to emitted blood¡­


    ¡°What....*cough*hav..e..yo*cough*..u..do..ne..to..me?¡± I asked her with struggling blood in my mouth.


    ¡°I gave you something that belongs to you¡­¡±


    ¡°*cough* be.long..s.to..me?¡±


    She snapped her finger again, and the previous woman appeared beside her..


    ¡°Now, can you see the woman figure one more time?¡±


    ¡°Like..I..had..sai..d..I..don¡¯t¡± I turned my head toward the woman ¡°re..call..he¨C*cough*¡± and suddenly more blood was coming out of my mouth¡­


    ¡°Take a deep breath¡­It¡¯s gonna be alright¡­¡±


    ¡°*sigh* what are you trying to do to me..¡±


    ¡°Like I have said, I gave back something that belongs to you..¡±


    ¡°What is this thing that belongs to me..¡±


    ¡°Memory..¡±


    ¡°Memory?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t give you all of it, because it can kill you, so I placed a ¡®dianoia¡¯ on you..¡±


    ¡°What is that?¡±


    She started to circling around me ¡°It makes you remember your memory, but it takes a time for the memory to appear in your head, because your brain still can¡¯t take all of the memory you had, so it takes time for this memory to be implemented in your brain¡­If I planted all your memory right now, your brain could not handle it and became shutting down..¡±


    ¡°And why am I spitting blood?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the side effects of it, dianoia knows when is the right time to plant your memory to your brain, your brain will become more developed and the space of the memory become more expanded each day, so in this time, dianoia will implement this memory to your brain. Because of the sudden memory being implemented, your brain becomes aware of it, and reacts to it by flowing the blood from your body to your mouth and your nose because of this small malfunction of the brain..¡±


    ¡°THAT¡¯S NONSENSE!¡±


    She stopped circling and suddenly on my right side ¡°My existence itself should be nonsense if you think that is nonsense..¡±


    Suddenly the area around us slowly faded away..


    She seemed angry ¡°Cihhh They forced you to wake up¡­..but it¡¯s okay¡­I have given you the dianoia¡­and for you, don¡¯t ever tell anyone about our meeting¡±


    At the last second, before the area faded away, she said ¡°Be careful from NONA, she started to make a move from your action..and I will keep to stay beside yo¨C¡± and the area around me crumbled into deep darkness¡­


    ¡­


    ..


    .


    I closely opened my eyes¡­slowly I saw mother in front of my face, with a worried face, it seemed she tried to hold cry¡­She saw me open my eyes, and immediately she lifted me a little and hugged me. I looked around me, there was my father, Lady Octavi, Adel, and 4 people from the temple before, and I was still on the platform in front of the Delios statue..I looked at my dress, there was a stain of blood in there and there was blood in my mouth and nose too..It seemed I had vomit a blood while in sleep like I did in that area.


    Mother finally said a word ¡°Are you alright, Aurelia?¡±


    ¡°Yes I am alright, mother¡­¡­before that, mother..I want to ask you¡­¡±


    Mother released her hug from me ¡°What is it, Aurelia?¡±


    ¡°Why did mother and father try to poison me?¡±


    Their faces were surprised, and mother said ¡°We not trying to poison you, darling..¡±


    ¡°But¡­that drink.. They¡± I pointed to the 4 people from the temple ¡°gave to me, made me sleep without my consent, did that count as poisoning?¡±


    Father took a step to me, and said ¡°Aurelia, they didn¡¯t try to harm you¡­¡±


    ¡°But what they did count as poisoning right?¡±


    I saw father and mother looking at each other..


    ¡°Aurelia, it seemed it was our fault..¡± Mother said..


    ¡°Yes, Aurelia..it was our fault, the 4 people from the temple were innocent, we who ordered them to give you the drink..¡± Father said.


    ¡°WHY? Mother and father tried to poison me..¡±


    Mother rubbed my head ¡°Listen, Aurelia..We didn¡¯t have any intention to harm you or poison you¡­we just want to find something from you..¡±


    ¡°Find something from me?¡±


    ¡°Do you remember? When you said you have heard some voices that said something about mortal?¡±


    ¡°Ah! I remember that..¡±


    ¡°At that time, Sofia advised us to go here, and seek advice from the temple..¡±


    ¡°And that advice poisoning me?¡±


    ¡°No, my darling¡­we told them about everything that had happened to you, from the nightmare you had, the voices you heard, and the sudden loss of control you experienced.¡±


    ¡°And¡­¡±


    ¡°They advised us to make a bridge of communication between you and the goddess, so we went here..¡±


    ¡°Is that absurd, mother?¡±


    Suddenly one of the 4 people from the temple went forward to me, and I saw it was a woman


    She said ¡°We deeply apologize, my lady¡­but what had you experienced from the madam story, we believed that my lady received some divine revelations¡­¡±


    ¡°Divine revelations¡­you are not joking right?¡±


    ¡°No, my lady¡­your physician Sofia had visited here and asked about some divine revelations¡­so his grace and madam had visited here after Sofia''s visit, and from their story and Sofia¡¯s story, we assumed it was divine revelations..¡±


    ¡°Because of these divine revelations you made me sleep, and tried to make contact with the goddess..¡±


    ¡°Yes, my lady¡­¡±


    Mother asked ¡°Does it work, Aurelia??¡±


    I could not tell them the truth¡­¡±I think it¡¯s not, mother, It was just pitch black..¡±


    Their faces were shocked¡­especially mother¡­I saw mother stared fiercely at father..


    Father nervously said ¡°Are you sure about that, Aurelia?¡±


    ¡°Yes I..*cough* am..¡± It seemed the coughing was still in me..


    Mother¡¯s face turned angry, stared fiercely toward father and said ¡°I think that¡¯s it, dear¡­¡± Mother immediately stood up and waved her hand toward Lady Octavi to come..she came to mother, mother asked ¡°Can you lift Aurelia to the carriage?¡± and she just nodded..She immediately tried to lift me up, but..


    I saw father try to speak up ¡°Hold up, dear¡­I think  there is something that we need to ensure about, before we bring Aurelia back..¡± Lady Octavi seemed confused about lifting me after hearing from father.


    ¡°Ensure!! You said, what do you want to ensure about, dear? I felt I had done something horrible to her by offering her that drink¡­¡±


    ¡°But, dear¡­They said it was safe for her to drink it, it just made her sleepy¡­¡±


    ¡°SAFE!! SLEEPY!!¡± Mother walked closer to father ¡°You saw it with your own eyes right, dear¡­your daughter, Aurelia, spitted a lot of blood in her sleep, and you were just standing there without doing anything, before I ordered them to wake her up¡­¡±


    I saw Lady Octavi beside me confused about what to do, she was being ordered to lift me up, but father ''s intention was different...


    ¡°That must mean something, dear¡­¡±


    Mother raised her voice ¡°ENOUGH!!¡± made everyone stunned silent¡­mother gave a sign to Lady Octavi about lifting me up to the carriage¡­immediately she lifted me up before father spoke¡­


    Mother said ¡°Dear, I think we need to talk about this matter in the home privately...¡± she turned her view toward Lady Octavi and Adel ¡°You two may go and escort Aurelia first to the carriage, my husband and I need something to do in here¡­.and can you try to hide this thing from the little two? I don¡¯t want them to worry so much..¡±


    ¡°Yes, Madam..¡± they answered at the same time¡­


    Lady Octavi, Adel and I left the place first, on the way left the place, I saw mother angrily kept arguing to father and the 4 people in the temple..

 Chapter 13

    We went out from the temple, where I saw Adel lend her ear to Lady Octavi, and they exchanged some words that I didn¡¯t hear..After the word exchanged, their faces looked and nodded at each other. Suddenly Adel ran to the carriage''s direction alone, while Lady Octavi carried me walking to that direction. Somehow I was impressed by Adel, with that long skirt she could run so fast without getting slip from his skirt..


    Being carried in her hands like a bridal carry or princess carry was so embarrassing, all people¡¯s eyes were towards us especially with some blood in my gown. Some people were shocked, surprised, confused, and pitied about me. We just kept walking toward the carriage¡¯s direction, I saw Lady Octavi¡¯s face, her expression showed no emotion.


    ¡­


    All of a sudden, I spotted Adel in the distance, she was riding a horse. After some moments, there were the carriage and 2 guards riding horses beside the carriage,  following the carriage. After we spotted her, Lady Octavi stopped and seemed to wait for her, than walked towards her. Well it was more embarrassing than walking, more being seen by pedestrians. Finally the carriage was in front of us, and more people were surprised. Before I was taken inside the carriage, I heard a little conversation from people around us.


    They were talking about me, ¡°Is that the duke''s daughter?¡± ¡°So she is one of the Aurelius Family..¡±


    Lady Octavi laid me down to the couch of the carriage. After I was inside the carriage, I thought it would immediately go, but still I saw Lady Octavia talk with the 2 guards. Inside of the carriage, I was still laying down. And I heard the door closed beside my head, my head being lifted by Lady Octavi, and she took a seat with my head in her lap. I saw her knock the wall between the coachman, and immediately the carriage went off at a faster pace than our departure from home to the city.


    On the way¡­I asked her.


    ¡°What had you talked about with the 2 guards before?¡±


    ¡°We just had a short brief about the situation, my lady..¡±


    ¡°And I saw your horse, Adel is the one who is riding it¡­I don¡¯t know she can ride a horse with that clothes..¡±


    ¡°She can do anything, that''s why she is your personal maid.¡­¡±


    ¡°Maybe I will try to learn how to ride a horse..¡±


    ¡°Why out of the blue did my lady have thought about that?¡±


    ¡°If my maid can do that, it makes me want to do it, so I don¡¯t feel pointless about it..¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­great..my lady has that spirit¡­¡±


    ¡­


    ¡°How about the little two, are they alright if we leave first?¡±


    ¡°Well, I believe Adel took care of that, like madam ordered...and my lady can take a rest¡­¡± After that I took a short rest..


    ¡­


    ..


    .


    Unexpectedly, I felt a hand shake my body while I took a rest..I slowly opened my eyes, and Lady Octavi said.


    ¡°We will arrive at the front gate, my lady¡­¡±


    ¡°That fast¡­¡±


    We arrived at the front gate, and passed it through. After some moments of passing the front entrance, we arrived in front of home.


    ¡°My lady, let me carry you to the bed!¡±


    ¡°Ehhh, I can walk with myself..¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s better if I carry you like the madam said..¡±


    ¡°*sigh* alright then..¡±


    She immediately stuck out her left hand toward the back of my thighs, while her right hand was on my back¡­after that she lifted me up like it was nothing, while she was still sitting..The door of the carriage was opened from outside, and she stood up with me being carried in front of her, while Adel was preparing a small stair for the carriage, the stair was from behind the carriage, it was stored in there..We came out from the carriage..


    I saw in front of us, there were some servants and guards who were waiting for us, and among them, there was Sofia. Lady Octavi walked down the stairs, after she stepped on the ground, immediately Sofia went to us..


    ¡°Are you alright, my lady?¡± With worry, Sofia asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m alright..¡± I simply answered.


    Lady Octavi said ¡°Forgive me, it¡¯s better for my lady to clean all of this and go to the bed, so you can freely examine her..¡±


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    ¡°Yes..yes¡­that¡¯s great..¡± Sofia answered..


    We walked toward the inside of the home with Adel in front of us and Sofia followed behind..We kept walking to the bathroom..When we arrived at the bathroom, there were some servants who were already in there. I saw Sofia leave us alone¡­Lady Octavia put me to sit on the stool, and immediately all the servants in there including Adel undressed me. After that Lady Octavia lifted me again, put me in the bathtub, and she left the room. The servants started to wash and clean me, from tip of toe until the tip of my hair. My whole body and the bathtub were full of soap foam¡­After it was done, they put me back on the stool. There, they were drying me with a towel, and dressed me back with a clean white pajama¡­Without notice, without signal, without a sign, Lady Octavi came into the bathroom again when I was done with everything..


    She carried me again, and now walked toward my bedroom with Adel following us. Arriving in the bedroom, I saw Sofia was waiting inside, Lady Octavi laid me down on the bed, after that I saw her exchange some words with Sofia. While exchanging words, I saw Sofia''s expression of guilt and worry. It was depicted by her hand gesture, her face was faced down with her hand gripped hard, at some point she covered her face with her hands.. They were done, and Sofia walked beside the bed, while Lady Octavi and Adel were standing in front of the bed.


    And out of the blue, she kneeled beside the bed ¡°I AM APOLOGIZE, MY LADY!!¡± she said it out loud, she reached my left hand, and held it tight ¡°This lowly is the one who caused all of this, please forgive this lowly life, my lady!¡±


    I was more confused about it ¡°Before you apologize for something, can you care to explain it to me? I don¡¯t catch anything from your words.¡±


    ¡°Right, my lady¡­Honestly I didn¡¯t know if something like this would happen toward you¡­As physician of this family, I try my best to find a great solution or cure for this family¡­and my lady¡¯s case is so different from other cases in this lowly experience¡­and after I heard that there was a voice emitting in your head while sleeping, and said ¡®mortal¡¯...I was hasten toward the temple library and asked the people in there about your case¡­they said to bring you to the temple for make sure¡­after that I tried to convince his grace and madam¡­at first time, his grace was convinced, but madam found it ludicrous¡­after some time from his grace convincing, finally madam agreed¡­so all of this is coming from this lowly, it is my fault and my incompetency for this family physician..¡± She said while her face was struggling to look at me..


    ¡°So all of this is your idea, Sofia?¡±


    ¡°Y..e¡­sss¡±


    ¡°It seems people around me are so interested in my dream, can you care to explain it to me?¡±


    ¡°Sure..my..lady¡­like I had explained to you, dreams are coming from our memories, psychology, and sound around us, but that explains just for enhypnia¡­¡±


    ¡°What is that?¡±


    ¡°Enhypnia or called uninteresting dream is a dream of our habits, our memories, or our feelings¡­Like people who are hungry or thirsty will dream about eating a lot of food or drinking a lot of water..and someone who overstuffed with that will dream about they are vomiting or choking, if someone has a lover will dream him with his beloved one, but sometimes he will receive dream of his beloved one with someone else because his fear of his beloved one left him¡­So that¡¯s Enhypnia¡­.¡±


    ¡°I see¡­is there any beside it?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it is Oneiroi¡­it is a dream that predicts the future¡­there are 2 methods to know of this dream..the first one is theorematic Oneiroi, a method where a dream that predicts like the dream shown, for example a dream of being shipwrecked mean that you will experience a shipwreck¡­The second one is allegorical Oneiroi, a method where a dream that predicts have some kind of meaning in different way, for example a dream of being shipwrecked can be mean that you will be released from bondage or released from slavery.¡±


    ¡°So, a dream from the other day that I have experienced has some kind of meaning..¡±


    ¡°It can be¡­¡±


    ¡°But how should a temple resolve this problem?¡±


    ¡°The voice emitting while you were sleeping, was a sign of something else¡­Honestly I don¡¯t believe that sort of thing¡­¡±


    ¡°What you mean?¡±


    ¡°I believe a dream is not given by divine things or gods¡­but my lack of knowledge about what had happened towards my lady, so I went to the temple..¡±


    ¡°I see, now I understand some of it¡­and I am alright right now, there is nothing for you to examine me¡­you may take a leave¡­¡±


    ¡°But¡­my lady, do you forgive me?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I am¡­¡±


    She stood up, and walked toward the door. After she left the room, Aldea turned to come towards me and said to take a rest for me..and they left the room¡­I took a rest¡­


    ¡­..


    ¡­.


    ¡­


    After some rest, I was woken up by Adel, and she said it was dinner time¡­Immediately I went to the dining room with pajamas. In the dining room, I was surprised, because there were only the little two sitting on their seats, the seats of father and mother were absent, maybe because of what had happened today. I took a seat in my seat, after I sat in my seat, Adel suddenly clapped, and some servants came out with some food. I saw Adel acting on behalf of my father who was absent in the dining room. I noticed that the little two were quieter in the dining room than usual, maybe the absence of our parents in the dining room made them quiet. They were eating the food faster than usual, and they finished it before me. They left the table and the dining room without saying a single word, while I was still eating my food.


    After I finished my food, I left the dining room¡­on the way to my room, I noticed the little two were standing in front of our parents bedroom¡­The master bedroom for our parents was on the first floor. I was watching them from a distance with Adel beside me. They knocked on the door, and there was no sign from inside of the room.Their maids seemed to have said something to them, made them walk away from the room, and walked toward us. I tried to hide with Adel behind some ornaments of the hallway, after that they passed us. I kept following them with Adel.


    They went to the third floor, and went to one of the hallways, where there were 2 doors facing each other. I saw Ophelia and Aurelio standing in front of each of the doors. They knocked on the doors at the same time..After some moments, there was a sign from both doors, and the door was opened..Surprisingly, the door that Aurelio knocked was opened by mother, and the door that Ophelia knocked by father, because the door was facing each other, father and mother¡¯s eyes were meeting each other. I saw their expressions that seemed to dislike each other, and hustle up to make Aurelio and Ophelia come inside their room..While their maids left them and walked away..


    I found no word from that event, so I went back to my room. On the way to the room.


    I asked Adel ¡°Why is mother and father on the third floor and in those rooms?¡±


    ¡°Those rooms are for his grace and madam¡­sometimes when they were in a quarrel, they usually used those rooms to clear their minds..¡±


    ¡°So the little two are trying to make their relationship better¡­.Hope they are going well..¡±


    After I arrived in my room, I immediately continued my rest in the bed, and Adel went back to the room beside my room.

 Chapter 14

    The next morning, I was woken up like usual by Adel. Immediately we went to the vanity table for the usual morning..After the usual morning was done, we went to the dining room for breakfast. Arriving there, I was surprised that father and mother were not absent. It seemed the little two work were paid off, but they still seemed to keep their distance, because mother sat not in the usual seat, the seat was more distant than usual, it was 1 seat away from father.


    I took a seat in my seat, and after that, father clapped like usual, some servants came like usual. Everything was like usual with 1 thing different, the room was too quiet. There was no exchange of words between father and mother, even the little two not exchanging some words. The first one who finished the meal was mother. Immediately she left the room, but I saw her plate, there was some leftover, the usual she didn¡¯t leave any food on the plate. After mother, it was father who finished the meal, followed by the little two. I was surprised by everyone¡¯s act, especially because they left some food on the plate, usually their plate was so clean.


    I finished my meal, and left the room. I went to my room. Like usual in my room, there was a table and chair with a tea set and some snacks. They were in there all of sudden after breakfast, before breakfast there was nothing in there. I was sitting there with Adel beside me, she poured me tea. In the balcony, I could see the little two were in the garden with the 4 children and their maids.


    It seemed they were trying to find some flowers. I saw them collecting a lot of flowers with different colors, and the maids showed them how to string all of it to become some headbands. After showing it to them, all of them started to string all of it. They kept struggling to make the headbands.


    ¡°It is adorable, they are trying to make a headband from flowers..¡± I said to Adel.


    ¡°Maybe, my lady can join them¡­¡±


    ¡°Maybe or maybe not¡­¡±


    ¡°I think the headbands are for his grace and madam..¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s so adorable of them, that they are doing all of this just for father and mother to make up..¡±


    ¡°Well, you can follow them, and find something for his grace and madam..¡±


    ¡°I think my own health is great for them. If I go out without them knowing, I think it will make the situation worse..¡±


    I kept watching them from a distance. The one who finished the first headband was Aelia, followed by Felix, Alicia, Ophelia, Aurelio. Alecia was the only one who couldn¡¯t finish the headband..I thought she could finish it, but she found it boring so she didn¡¯t want to finish it..After that they went inside the home.


    ¡°My lady, you want to follow them and watch it?¡± Adel asked me because what I had done yesterday.


    ¡°I think no, Let¡¯s just wait in here and take a time waiting Lady Octavi come for tutoring.¡±


    I kept waiting on the balcony for some time until Lady Octavi came to the room. At some point, Lady Octavi came inside the room, and started to tutor me. While in tutoring, it was so odd, the sound of clashing wooden swords was not heard like usual from outside the garden. The tutor was so short this time, not like usual, so it finished quickly.. After the tutoring, Lady Octavi became my lady-in-waiting from my tutor. We took a seat on the balcony to have a tea time, and we noticed in the garden, there was Alecia alone without the maid attire but plain clothes with brown pants. She kept swinging her wooden sword from her hand.


    ¡°It seems father is absent to teach her some sword lesson..¡± I said to Lady Octavi.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s not his grace that the only one who is absent, madam, is absent too to teach for Alicia and Aelia..¡± She answered.


    ¡°Really?? I feel bad for that..¡±


    ¡°On my way in here, I saw the young master and the young lady went to the third floor with some headbands in their hands..¡±


    ¡°Ahh, the headbands that they made¡­¡±


    I watched Alecia keep swinging her sword alone, watching it I asked Lady Octavi.


    ¡°How about we go to the garden and Lady Octavi, can you be her sword tutor¡± I pointed at Alecia in the garden ¡°for today?¡±


    ¡°If that is what my lady wishes, I will be obliged to fulfill it..¡±


    We stood up from the seat, and immediately went to the garden. Arriving in the garden, I took a seat in the pavilion, while Lady Octavi took a wooden sword at the side of the garden, and approached Alecia. They spared each other with the wooden sword, while I was watching them in the pavilion. I saw Alecia was so aggressive toward Lady Octavi, meanwhile Lady Octavi only used her left hand, not her prime hand to block all her attacks. I was the one who was not familiar with swords, and didn''t know how Alecia performed.


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    I asked Adel, who was beside me, ¡°Adel, What do you think about Alecia?¡±


    ¡°I think she is great, she may be better than the young master..¡±


    ¡°Really! It¡¯s great that she finds something interesting for her, even though it is a sword that interests her, beside being left alone in the street...How about the other two?¡±


    ¡°I think Aelia finds interest in his grace affairs, and Alicia finds interest in madam affairs..¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if Alicia finds interest in mother¡¯s affairs, I find her more timid and more shy..¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why she is interested in madam affairs..¡±


    After watching some sword clashes between Lady Octavi and Alecia, I thought about something..


    ¡°Adel, you said you are familiar with holding a sword, how about you replace Lady Octavi as sparring partner?¡±


    ¡°If that is what my lady wants, I will oblige.¡±


    Adel walked toward them, Lady Octavi noticed Adel walked toward them, and gave a signal to Alecia to stop the spar. Adel exchanged words with them about my wish. Immediately Lady Octavi looked at me, tapped Alecia''s shoulder, and whispered to her, while Adel walked toward the side of the garden to retrieve a wooden weapon, not a short sword, not a rapier nor a longsword even an axe, but a simple short dagger.


    Adel went back to Alecia, and Lady Octavi walked toward the pavilion..Adel started her stance with her dagger, it was different from Lady Octavi stance, it was more relaxed and light with a left hand that held the dagger in the air, while she disabled her right hand in the back..


    When Lady Octavi took a seat in the pavilion, I saw Alecia start to move at Adel, immediately she dashed toward Adel, and swung her sword. But, in a quick time, her sword was on the ground, I saw Adel like not make a great single move, her stance didn¡¯t change. I turned my look to Lady Octavi that beside me, she just put her hand on her head. I heard a little cussing from her..


    ¡°What the hell is she doing? Not even hold a single bit toward that child..¡±


    Alecia immediately took her sword, started again, and again, and again.


    I asked Lady Octavi what was going on ¡°What was going on with Alecia sword?¡±


    ¡°It got deflected then she parried it..¡±


    ¡°With that quick time¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    Alecia kept trying to get a hit at Aldea, but immediately her sword was on the ground, again, again, and again¡­I thought I watched it enough..I walked at them with Lady Octavi beside me..Adel noticed it and immediately gave a sign to Alecia to stop..


    I said to Adel ¡°I think it¡¯s enough, it was great you showed me your familiarity with the sword..¡± I looked at her left hand ¡°I think it¡¯s more familiar toward the dagger.¡±


    She just nodded at me..


    I turned my face to Alecia who was lying on the ground, that was exhausted from the one sided spar..


    I bended down at her face ¡°Great work from sparring¡­¡±


    ¡°*sigh* than *sigh* k you..¡±


    From their sparring, suddenly I had an idea, and I looked at Aldea and Lady Octavi..


    ¡°You two¡­how about you spar each other? So Alecia can learn from your sparring¡±


    Their expressions immediately changed, and looked at each other..


    Lady Octavi the first said ¡°Hohhhhhooohoo¡­I think it¡¯s great idea, right Aldea?..¡±


    ¡°I agree¡­¡± Aldea answered¡­


    ¡°Great¡­¡±


    After some moments for Alecia adjusted her breathing, Alecia and I went to the side, and sat there, not in the pavilion, for a clearer view¡­Aldea walked toward Alecia, took her wooden sword, and threw it at Lady Octavi¡­


    In front of the wooden sword, Lady Octavi turned it down, kicked out the wooden sword, and looked at Aldea ¡°Come on, Aldea!! You know there is some better way than this wood..¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± with a flat tone, Aldea answered it.


    ¡°Don¡¯t pretend you don¡¯t know what I¡¯m talking about...¡±


    ¡°Honestly I don¡¯t know about what you mean, Lady Octavi.¡±


    ¡°Is it because my lady is here?¡±


    Aldea didn¡¯t reply to it..


    Lady Octavi immediately unsheathe her real sword from her sword sheath in her hip belt.


    Lady Octavi showed some smirk ¡°Don¡¯t be so blunt, Aldea!¡± It seemed Lady Octavi was looking down on Aldea.


    Aldea started to raise her wooden dagger with her left hand..


    It made Lady Octavi agitated, and she looked at me ¡°My lady, can you order her to unsheathe her weapon out?¡±


    I found her words confusing ¡°What weapons are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°It is beneath her skirt, there must be a weapon for her..¡±


    ¡°How do you know about that?¡±


    ¡°I always notice it while we are walking together¡­Can you please order her to take it out, my lady?¡±


    ¡°Alright if you say that¡­¡± I turned my face to Aldea ¡°If what Aldea said it¡¯s true, I think it¡¯s great if you take it out, Aldea uses her own sword, It¡¯s not alright if you use that wooden dagger..¡±


    Lady Octavi smirked toward Aldea, and Aldea frowned her face toward Lady Octavi..


    ¡°*sigh*¡± Aldea lifted her skirt, and showed some daggers beneath it, attached with her garter belts, while she was taking one of the daggers ¡°Lady Octavi, you know that I hide these weapon for a reason right.¡±


    She raised the dagger with her right hand, and took a stance different when she sparred with Alecia..She raised her right hand with the dagger in the air, and her left hand was not disabled, but it raised the same as her right hand..


    Lady Octavi said ¡°Finally you show it, and it¡¯s in front of my lady..¡± while swirling her sword, after that she immediately took a alber stance with her sword pointing to the ground in front of her hip..


    ¡°Lady Octavi, honestly I don¡¯t want to hate you¡­but I think this time you are beyond the line¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, I know your reason why you hide the weapon, because it¡¯s your job, work in the shadows, right?¡±


    ¡°I think that¡¯s enough Lady Octavi, if you keep going beyond the line, it can make me hate you more than ever¡­¡±


    ¡°So you mean it¡¯s alright for your liege that you serve without knowing you, especially your form¡ª¡±


    Suddenly a dagger flew fast paced, passed beside Lady Octavi¡¯s head, made some of her hairs fly and pierced the wall of the home¡­


    Adel showed an expression that I had never seen before, it felt she was beyond angry, and beyond anger from what Lady Octavi had said..


    ¡°I know you are a viscount, and you are Claudi Gent who stay side by side under my liege family Aurelius, but there is some boundary that you should not seek in your liege family especially their servant, your word was beyond that boundary, I am here as servant and personal maid for my lady, it means my liege that you served acknowledged and recognized me for this duty, no matter what past and background I have where my liege knew from beginning, you who questioning my background, it means you questioning the one who you served¡­Octavi..¡±


    It seemed this sparring became more personal, maybe it would become deathly, should I stop this?

 Chapter 15

    In front of me, there was a plan of sparring between Lady Octavi and Adel from me, but the sparring became more personal to each other, even Adel called Lady Octavi without honorifics. Each of their faces was so angry with each other.


    Adel the one who opened the sparred, she dashed fast to Lady Octavi, saw Adel came to her at full speed, made Lady Octavi took a step back for keeping the distance between Adel and her. In front of Lady Octavi, Adel took her right feet in front of her, and swung her dagger horizontally at Lady Octavi¡¯s neck. *clang* In response, Lady Octavi blocked the swing with her sword where her two hands gripped it tightly. Seeing Lady Octavi both hands in the sword, Adel''s skirt suddenly lifted up, I saw some sheaths of dagger in her thigh, and her left foot flew at the head of Lady Octavi..


    Lady Octavi sensed Adel¡¯s foot, made her lose the sword grip with just her right hand in the sword, her left hand immediately repelled the attack from her left side. Knowing that her position was not suitable like Adel, Lady Octavi suddenly lost the clash with the dagger on purpose, so the dagger got pushed to the neck of Lady Octavi. But the swing of Adel''s dagger in Lady Octavi¡¯s neck just swung a wind, Lady Octavi saw the chance in Adel¡¯s right foot, her body now focused on her right foot. Lady Octavi descended her body, she swung Adel¡¯s right foot horizontally. Seeing the threat, in quick response, Adel jumped to the back with frontlipping, and completely landed.


    I was dazed by the two, I thought it was not just me, Alecia who beside me was amazed by it. The sound of the dagger and the sword clashed roaring in the area. I saw their faces become more intense in the spar. After some moments, suddenly there was Alicia and Aelia beside me, and I turned my back, there were some servants who watched the spar. More servants came to the garden because of the roaring of the clashes between sword and dagger, even the little two came to the garden with their maids and Felix. However, their maids¡¯ faces seemed not happy, not just their maids that showed not happy faces, but all the maid¡¯s faces showed non happiness or anger toward the spar.


    While I was looking at everyone behind me, their faces were changed to shock, there must be something in the spar, I turned back to the spar and was surprised. Their weapon color was changed, from silver steel to blackest. It was not just the weapon, their hand that gripped the weapon slowly became black like the weapon until the elbow. After their hand became completely black, a glowing light appeared in their hand and formed a sort of rune.


    After everything, they readied to exchange their swing, they dashed to each other, at the same time a white dagger appeared in the middle of the ground out of nowhere from the sky. They stopped immediately and dropped their weapon, I saw they were frightened and trembling to see that dagger, not just them, every servant around felt the same. I looked at the house to find out where the dagger came from, there was no trace from the house.


    I looked at Adel and was just standing there, not moving a single inch. She just looked down. I stood up and walked toward her. On the way to Adel, Livia and Martia, the maid of little two passed me and immediately grabbed both of Adel''s arms. Seeing that, I quickly ran.


    ¡°What are you two doing with Adel?¡± I asked them.


    ¡°We just want to borrow Adel for a moment, my lady..¡±


    ¡°To where? And what for?¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t inform my lady about that..¡±


    ¡°BUT SHE¡¯S STILL MY MAID, you need to tell me where and what you want to do with Adel..¡±


    ¡°Still we can¡¯t inform you..¡±


    ¡°NOO!¡± I grabbed Adel¡¯s waist with both hands.


    But still they kept bringing her with them while I grabbed Adel¡¯s waist. The little two, Ophelia and Aurelio blocked them in front of them, and grabbed Livia and Martia¡¯s legs.


    ¡°Let go sister Aurelia¡¯s maid!!¡±


    ¡°Yest let her go..¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t do that¡­can you two release our legs?¡±


    After some exchangin words between the little two and their maids, Adel finally spoke but with a flat tone ¡°I can walk on my own..you can release me¡­and I know what I am doing..¡±


    ¡°Okay then..¡± They released their grab on Adel¡¯s arms.


    I immediately grabbed Adel¡¯s hand ¡°Now, let¡¯s go back to my room and Lady Oc¡ª¡± I turned my view to Lady Octavi, surprised, there was already Lady Laura in there.


    She looked at me and said ¡°I will borrow my daughter for a moment, my lady..¡± and they left the garden. Meanwhile, Livia and Martia exchange some whispers with Adel, and Adel just nodded toward them..


    Within a few seconds ¡°So my lady, let¡¯s go back to my lady¡¯s room..¡± Adel came back to normal..


    On my way to the house with Adel, I saw Livia and Martia went to Alecia, Alicia, Aelia, and it seemed they were talking about something. The kid¡¯s eyes were towards me. While walking towards my room, I felt Adel¡¯s not the same as usual, she gripped her hands tightly and seemed frightened or nervous about something.


    We arrived in my room, and we went to the balcony again. I was surprised there was only one chair in the balcony, that before there were 2 chairs for Lady Octavi and me, and now there was only one. Was there someone in my room? I took a seat in my chair. Adel tried to pour tea into my cup, but out of the blue, there was no single drop of tea in the pot. Adel made an excuse to refill the teapot.


    ¡°My lady, May I excuse for a moment to refill the tea?¡±


    ¡°You may..¡±


    Adel left the room.


    After a while, I was waiting for Adel to refill the tea, but she wasn''t coming. In a second, the door was opened, however it was not Adel, it was Alecia, Alicia, and Aelia who brought the tea with. They walked toward me with uneasy faces. In front of me, I asked them while Alicia was pouring tea in my cup..


    ¡°Where¡¯s Adel?¡±


    The three seemed didn¡¯t want to answer it, until Aelia, the one who answered it.


    ¡°Ms Adel¡­she..is..in her.. quarters..for a reason..¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the reason for her? Is she sick?¡±


    ¡°She is fine, my lady¡­she..is just..in there..for a reason¡­¡±


    ¡°So what''s the reason for her being there? Can you ju¡ªI see..I want to talk with mother..¡±


    I immediately stood up from my seat, but Alecia prevented me from standing up, by withholding my body to sit.


    ¡°What are you doing, Alecia?¡± I kept insisting to get up.


    ¡°Forgive me, my lady..but you need to wait here until dinner¡­¡± Alecia kept holding my hands to prevent me from getting up.


    The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°Who is the one ordering you to do this?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s from madam, so please, wait here..¡±


    I turned my face to Alicia ¡°Is it true what she said?¡± because Alicia was the one that was closer to mother than others.


    Alicia just nodded..


    ¡°FINE THEN..¡± I withdrew my hands from Alecia and just kept sitting in the seat.


    ¡­


    ..


    .


    After some cups of tea I drank, a sound of knocking doors was heard. Aelia went to the door, while the others stayed standing behind me. In a second, Aelia went back and brought a message that it was time for dinner. Finally they let me stand up, and we left the room with the three following behind me.


    Arriving in the dining room, I saw everyone already in their seats, even the little two. The three prepared my seat like Adel usually did, and I took the seat. After I put my body to the chair, father immediately clapped his hands, not like usual. While the servants were serving the foods on the table, I looked at my mother, and asked.


    ¡°Mother, perhaps do you know where Adel is?¡±


    She didn¡¯t make any eye contact with me, just ignoring me. So I turned my attention to my father, and asked the same question..Father turned his gaze to mother, and ignored me..After I didn''t get any response from both of them, I just kept silent. I sensed there was something in both my hands, I checked it, and it was the little two hands, they were holding my hands. The food had been served on the table¡­


    __________


    For 2 days and 2 nights, the three had been my personal servants, and my mother still didn¡¯t tell me anything about Adel. the three did what Adel did, like the usual morning, the three did everything with my appearance, combing my hair, tending my skin. It was not just Adel who was absent on usual days, Lady Octavi as my tutor and my lady-in-waiting were absent too, so there was no tutoring for the past 2 days. The relationship between mother and father became better, because of the effort from the little two in these past 2 days.


    At the dinner, my mother and my father became to talk to each other, the silence of dinner slowly being gone. While we were in the middle of eating dinner, mother said.


    ¡°Aurelia, about your personal maid, Adel¡­She will be absent for some weeks..¡±


    I immediately dropped my fork and my knife after hearing that from my mother.


    ¡°What about Lady Octavi?¡± I asked


    ¡°That matter is your father''s responsibility.¡± Mother turned her gaze to father ¡°you need to ask your father..¡±


    I looked at father ¡°Will she be absent for some weeks too?¡±


    ¡°I need a confirmation from Lady Laura for that¡­for now I don¡¯t know how long she will be absent..¡±


    ¡°So what¡¯s the reason for them to be absent? Is it because of the spar 3 days ago?¡± I asked my mother.


    Mother asked ¡°That spar, is it you who ordered them to do spar?¡± while moving her knife and fork to eat.


    ¡°Yes¡­.It was me who ordered them¡­¡±


    ¡°For what reason, you ordered them to spar..¡±


    ¡°It was for Alecia, I saw Alecia was training with her sword from my balcony¡­¡±


    ¡°Then?¡± while moving her knife and fork


    ¡°I came to the garden, and asked Lady Octavi to become her spar, while they were sparring, I remembered Adel had said that she was familiar with sword, so I asked her to replace Lady Octavi..¡±


    ¡°Then?¡± while moving her knife and fork


    ¡°But it seemed Lady Octavi didn¡¯t like how Adel sparred with Alecia, and Alecia was exhausted from sparring with Lady Octavi and Adel, at that time, I got an idea that they were spared each other.¡±


    ¡°Was you the one who ordered them to spar with a real weapon?¡±


    ¡°Yes it was me¡­Is there any problem with that?¡±


    Out of the blue, father said ¡°It seems Aurelia clueless about what had happened.¡±


    ¡°What does father mean?¡±


    Father looked at mother ¡°Dear, I think it''s a great time for the three to know it..¡±


    Mother put down her cutlery and took a deep breath. ¡°*Sigh* alright then¡­¡±


    She looked at us and started to explain ¡°Your maids are not the usual maids, they have made a pact to me your mother, maybe you know your maids as your personal servant that innocence or obedient, but your maid has come under maids guard, this maids guard was under my charge¡­¡±


    ¡°What is this maids guard?¡±


    ¡°Maids guard is created by me, to protect all of you under shadow, because your maids will come along with you anywhere, and anytime. These maids come from different backgrounds, for example Marta Ophelia¡¯s maid and Livia Aurelio¡¯s maid come from man-at-arms even though they are women, because there was no waging of war anymore, so they put their sword and served to us. Adel Aurelia¡¯s maid came from a restricted background, she was a member of the Order of Assassin¡­¡±


    I dropped my fork and knife again, after hearing that ¡°WHAT! So Adel was an assassin.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, she is a former assassin that your father brought to me after his triumph..¡±


    ¡°Triumph? It means father caught her..¡±


    ¡°Indeed, your father caught her when she was 14 years old I think¡­¡±


    ¡°Do all the servants here come from that background?¡±


    ¡°Only the servants under me came from that background, the servants in this house come under two, under me and under Lady Laura.¡­¡±


    ¡°I see¡­but there is something that is in my mind..¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡± Mother said while moving her cutlery.


    ¡°When the two sparred, their hands and swords became black and there were sort of words or symbols in their hands, what is that?¡±


    ¡°Ah that¡¯s..¡± Mother turned and looked at me ¡°That¡¯s¡ª¡± suddenly she dropped her cutlery.


    I saw her expression of shock, followed by father¡­She pointed at me with her fork. I didn¡¯t know what she meant, and then she said..


    ¡°YOUR MOUTH AURELIA!!¡±


    My mouth? I put my hand to my mouth, and checked it¡­I was surprised that there was blood¡­after seeing that, a surge of coughing was coming in my throat¡­made me cough..my vision became blurry, I saw my mother and my father was changed by someone that I didn¡¯t know, I looked around, the tables, the chairs, and the decors was changed to something that I didn¡¯t know.


    The table was a circle and smaller than usual, the chair was more simple than usual, I looked at my plate, there was sort of white things on top of my plate and there was no knife, just a spoon and fork, the food itself was so different, there was some that I had never seen before. Behind the dining room, there was a small sort of kitchen, but there was no firewood for fire nor the furnace for cooking, all of the things in the kitchen were weird like the stoves. I turned to beside me, there was no Aurelio nor Ophelia. I saw them in front of me, were talking to me, but their language, I didn¡¯t know..


    I looked above, there was no chandelier anymore, but there was like a small ball thing that was brighter than any chandelier or candle I have seen. The ceiling itself was shorter than usual. I realized that the table was made from glass when I touched it. I saw the people in front of me stood up, and came to me. They touched me, and the woman¡¯s face was in front of me, it seemed she said something to me. I pushed her face from me. The woman¡¯s face seemed not pleasant about what I had done.


    They were dragging me out of the chair, I was resisting their dragging.


    ¡°Let go of me!!!!¡± I said.


    But they just spat some gibberish.


    The man carried me¡­and he brought me out of the dining room. He carried me somewhere in the house, while he was carrying me, I was shocked that the house was changed. The house was more weird than usual, there were no ornaments nor paintings in the house, there were a lot of weird objects, even an object that emitted a sound. Even the side of the stairs was made of glass, he brought me to the second floor. The hall in there was so different, there was nothing in there, in usual there was some vase and ornaments on the wall, but there was nothing. We entered one of the rooms in the hall, the room was so different indeed. There were some dolls that I have never seen, the desk itself was so different, the beds, the wardrobe, the carpet, everything in the rooms was different..He put me down on the bed. Immediately, I felt the bed was more comfy than usual, he put the blanket on, and it was so warm than usual. After he put me to the bed, they left the room..


    Immediately I got up from the bed, and walked around the room. There was a doll that looked like a bear and a sort of white box on the table. I walked at it, and I bumped the desk, making the bear fall. I picked up the bear from the floor, and it was so fluffy, while holding the bear in my chest, I was walking around the room and checked everything, there was no balcony. I opened the wardrobe, and there were no dresses but some weird clothes or garments. I walked back to the desk, and opened the desk drawer. There was no jar of the powder for the morning routine, but there was a weird tiny thing and some weird thing. I looked at the white box that seemed so slim, there was a sort of symbol on top of it. I tried to push one of the symbols, but suddenly the other box lit up with a painting of the ocean, and all of the symbols lit up with a lot of colors..


    I heard the door open, I turned my back and saw a weird woman with white robe come to me..and grabbed both of my shoulders, her face was in front of me, it seemed she said something to me, but I only heard some gibberish from her. Out of the blue, my vision became blurry for once more¡­the woman in front of me changed to Sofia, and there was mother and father behind her. I looked around, I was in my room, I was holding a doll but after I looked at it again, there was nothing that I held, however my both hands were in blood. I turned my face to her and asked.


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    Sofia just answered ¡°That¡¯s the question that I want to ask to my lady..¡±

 Chapter 16

    My both hands were in blood. I asked Sofia


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    Sofia just answered ¡°That¡¯s the question that I want to ask to my lady..¡±


    She was kneeling and holding both of my bloods hands, while looking at me. I saw behind her, there was mother and father, looked beside me, there was a broken vase on the floor with some blood.


    ¡°Is it me who broke the vase?¡± I asked Sofia.


    While she was wiping each of my hands with her handkerchief, she said ¡°Yes¡­my lady who broke the vase¡­if you pleased, can you tell me what had happened to you?¡±


    I started to tell her about what I had experienced, each story that I told to her, I showed the location, I walked to the table beside my bed, and told, on the table, there was a white box, and a doll like a bear. I explained the white box that was bright, no candles nor lamp I had seen.


    I grabbed Sofia¡¯s hand, and started to walk out of the room followed by mother and father. In the hall, I told there was no this and that, it was just plain but it felt appealing. We moved on to the stairs, I explained the side of the stairs were made of glass, not wood like this. I saw some servants in the house were curious, so they followed us. In the dining room, I told them the table¡¯s shape was not a rectangle like this but a circle made of glass. I pointed to the chandelier, and described it as a ball of light that was hanging, but it was brighter than any chandelier or candles that I had seen. Everything I explained to them, the decor, the walls..


    Even in the dining room, I said ¡°Ah! Mother and father also were changed by someone that I didn¡¯t know, even the little two were not in there¡­and then the man who changed father dragged me from the seat¡­carried me to the room¡­after that there was an unknown woman who approached me with a weird white robe.¡±


    Everyone was stunned by what I had said. I saw mother and father''s expressions of unbelieve, then Sofia told me to go back to my room. When Sofia and I walked toward my room, mother and father stayed for a moment in there, and seemed to inform the servants there. Arriving in my room, the broken vase on the floor was gone, Sofia took me to the bed, and I sat on the bed.


    ¡°My lady, perhaps you were hallucinating¡­¡±


    ¡°Hallucinating? But what I had seen was real, even I felt when I touched..¡±


    ¡°How do I tell you about this¡­but the truth is..


    Sofia explained to me what really happened, the man who dragged me was not an unknown man, but my father. She told me that father was so worried about the blood in my mouth, so he carried me to the bed. The little two were there the whole time, even they followed father to my room, but they were scared and worried about me, so after father took me to the bed, they stayed in their room. The thing that I hugged was not a doll but a vase, she told me, so that was why my hands were in blood and there was a broken vase on the floor. And the woman who approached me was Sofia¡­


    ¡°You are lying, right Sofia? That¡¯s not true..¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the truth, my lady¡­¡±


    ¡°What about the white box that was so bright, I remember that I touched it and it became bright as the sun..¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s not such a thing like that..¡±


    ¡°But..but..but..I touched it and felt it¡­that¡¯s no way I was hallucinating..¡±


    The door had been opened by mother, mother and father came to the room and walked toward me. Mother immediately sat beside on the bed, while father was standing beside Sofia, Mother embraced my head and my body.


    Father asked Sofia ¡°What had happened to Aurelia?¡±


    ¡°I believe she was hallucinating¡­but my lady kept denying it..¡±


    ¡°Is that true, Aurelia?¡± The sounds from mother beside me..


    ¡°Because I felt it was so real, when the man dragged me out of the seat and carried me, I felt the sturdy of his body. When I hugged the doll, I felt the fluffy of the doll. It is unreal if that was a hallucination.¡±


    Father said ¡°Well, it¡¯s what Aurelia believes¡± and asked Sofia ¡°but what¡¯s the cause why she experienced all that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s hard to define the cause of my lady¡­but there is some possibility¡­the first possibility is the imbalance of the four humors, before the event, your grace said to me that some bloods came out from my lady¡¯s mouth¡­maybe the lost of blood from one of the four humors could make her experiencing the hallucination¡­especially some days ago, she already lost some blood¡­¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the other possibility?¡± Mother asked.


    ¡°The other could be that the soul of my lady was obstructed by demonic spirits, if this is the cause, the people that my lady saw could be the spirits themselves, manifest in her brain, and the last one, maybe hard to tell to your grace and madam..¡±


    Father said ¡°What is it? Just say it, you are the physician not us.¡±


    ¡°It is a divine punishment¡­¡±


    Mother and father were stunned, especially mother was so shocked.


    ¡°This divine thing again¡­¡± Mother said ¡°How many divine things that Aurelia will bear..¡±


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    ¡°Madam, even myself don¡¯t believe in the divine, but it could be a possibility that it is a divine punishment¡­maybe it was a punishment from what had happened in the temple before¡­¡±


    ¡°What had happened in the temple, it was not Aurelia¡¯s fault, even though she was the one who was suffering from it¡± Mother said.


    Father asked ¡°If it''s the cause of Aurelia, are you suggesting we take Aurelia back to the temple?¡±


    ¡°Dear, WHAT HAVE YOU SAID?¡± Mother became more agitated and stared at father angrily ¡°I will not give you the permission to take Aurelia back to that temple..¡±


    ¡°But dear, if it can make Aurelia better, is it great for her to go to that temple?¡±


    ¡°NO WAY, I will not let Aurelia take a single step there¡­if the Goddess of that temple wants to take Aurelia¡­she better be vis-¨¤-vis with me before she lays a finger on my daughter..¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s what you want, dear, I will not force her to go¡­but for now, let¡¯s settle and not immediately diagnose the cause of Aurelia¡­¡±


    ¡°I think what your grace said is right, we need to see more in the future about my lady¡­for now, I suggest my lady to take a rest, and hope this thing does not happen again..¡±


    __________________________________________


    2 weeks had passed, where a lot of things had happened. The three children Alicia, Alecia, and Aelia now became my personal maids, where Adel was still absent. Lady Laura, the one who became my tutor, where her daughter Lady Octavi was still absent.


    In these 2 weeks, I had experienced 5 hallucinations like before, because of this, I stayed in the room all the time. When it was dinner time, the servant brought the food in front of the door, and one of the three children took it. First, the hallucination appeared in 4 days, then 2 days, then 3 days, so it appeared randomly. Like before, I spit some blood from my mouth and came out from my nose as well.


    When I was hallucinating, I walked around and explored every corner of the world of my hallucination. I even went out of the room, and started to walk everywhere, but someone unknowingly always prevented me from going. After hallucinating, Sofia told me everything that I had done, and I told her what I had experienced. The three children that always were beside me, did not appear in my hallucinations.


    Each hallucination was different to another, sometimes the bear doll appeared in the hallucination, sometimes the white box already opened, and sometimes it was closed. Until, in the third, I had experienced this, there was a book on the table. I opened the book, and the words on that book were so strange, I could not read what was written there¡­but in the next hallucination, the words from the book were changed to something that I could read¡­the first page was still unreadable, but the next page was readable.


    | 20/01/2005


    |           Today, it¡¯s the first time I write something in this book. My father gave me this book, he said ¡°it will be fun if you write something in this book everyday¡­¡±. I don¡¯t know what the fun of writing something in this book is, but he called it ¡°Diary..¡±...¡±


    I turned to the next page and read every page, some pages were torn apart. Everytime I read it, something would appear. The bear doll appeared in a clean and untouched condition not like before beside the book, after I read..


    |           My uncle gave me a doll, it¡¯s a teddy bear. He said it came from overseas, so I need to take care of this doll..


    So the doll was called a teddy bear. A weird stick appeared hanging on the wall with a lot of sort of snares, after I read


    |           My first day in the club was so harsh, the coach always ordered me to run back and forth, even though he was not letting me play, if it¡¯s like that for what father gave me the racket¡­


    On every page, something in the room would appear. I read the book until some pages became unreadable again. I closed the book, and started to look around the room again. I didn¡¯t take anything from the hallucination, because Sofia warned me, and didn¡¯t want the broken vase incident repeated again.


    After the last hallucination in these 2 weeks, I immediately told the three children to bring mother to me. Some moments later, mother arrived, and sat beside me on the bed.


    She asked ¡°What¡¯s the matter Aurelia?¡±


    ¡°I have a favor, mother..¡±


    ¡°What is this favor?¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡­is hard for you¡­¡±


    ¡°Just tell me your favor¡­¡±


    ¡°Can you bring me to the temple that we had been to?¡±


    Her face became frowned.. ¡°Why do you want to go there?¡±


    ¡°There is something that I want to know¡­¡±


    ¡°Why in there? Is Sofia not capable of that?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like Sofia is not capable, but I want¡­to..try¡­communicate¡­again¡­¡±


    ¡°Communicate? You mean the goddess in that temple?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sort of like that¡­¡±


    ¡°But you said you were experiencing nothing there, exactly what you wanted there..¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s harmless to try it again, right mother?¡±


    ¡°Harmless? Back then, you spat a lot of blood¡­how was that harmless??¡±


    ¡°Come on, mother¡­I am in this room for 2 weeks without getting out, moreover in these 2 weeks, I haven''t seen a single face of the little two¡­It¡¯s like a cage in here..¡±


    ¡°Aurelia! You can¡¯t say that, why do you say your room is a cage..¡±


    ¡°But mother, is the truth right? That in these 2 weeks, I was forbidden to leave the room..¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not forbidden, but it''s better for you¡­..your favor, I will think about it again with your father¡­but for now, you will stay in the room..¡±


    ¡°But¡­.¡±


    ¡°No but¡­¡±


    She stood up and left the room, after she left, I immediately laid back on the bed..


    On the next day¡­Father and mother arrived in my room, and they brought a splendid news that they would bring me to the temple. The three were preparing me for the occasion. For 2 weeks, I have not stepped a single step on the first floor even out from the house¡­In front of the house, a carriage had been prepared and 2 horses for the 2 guards.


    After arriving in the city, the carriage immediately went to the temple, not in the square like the last occasion. In the temple, we immediately went in with father and mother holding my both hands. Inside of it like before, I was offered the drink by one of the people in the temple. I drank it, and in a moment, I became dizzy and sleepy. I went unconscious, and someone carried me to the platform in the middle of the room.


    ¡­


    ..


    .


    I opened my eyes, and found I was in the emptiness again. I started walking in the emptiness. After some walking, I spotted a figure from a distance, I immediately ran at it.


    Behind her, I said ¡°Gennaia!!¡±


    She turned around, and it was not Gennaia¡­When I looked closely, she had long red hair, an orange eye in her right eye, and red eye in her left eye.


    I was surprised and took a step back, but she walked a step forward, everytime I stepped back.


    ¡°Who are you, mortal?¡± she said.


    I said ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°This is my realm and my domain¡­why are you here?¡±


    ¡°Your domain and your realm, Does it mean you are Delios?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it is me, Delios¡­so what reason do you bring here?¡±


    ¡°I want to meet Gennaia¡­¡±


    ¡°Why do you want to meet her?....ah you are the anomaly.¡±


    ¡°Anomaly??¡±


    ¡°She didn¡¯t really tell you about that huh¡­¡±


    She immediately snapped her finger like Gennaia did, a table and a chair suddenly appeared in front of us.


    She said ¡°Pleased, take a seat first¡­I will tell her about your arrival here..¡±


    Out of nowhere, she disappeared in front of me..

 Chapter 17

    I was sitting while waiting for Delios called Gennaia. In front of me, there were some snacks and drinks for me. I looked around and it is really empty of white. Took a sip of drink in front of me, and some bites for the snacks. Gennaia appeared in front of me with Delios, with me still sipping the drinks. They walked to the table, each of them snapped their fingers and chairs appeared for them with different styles or patterns, especially on the backrest of the chair, each of it has a different kind of symbol, Delios¡¯s symbol was like in the temple, but Gennaia was so unknown.


    They took a seat on their chairs, their position was face to face.


    ¡°Is the drink and the snack quite good to you? Because it¡¯s from Delios.¡± Gennaia asked me.


    I saw Delios a little bit irritated about it, I just nodded while chewing the cookie.


    Gennaia teased Delios ¡°Is that great Delios? Finally a mortal likes what you have made, not like other mortals.¡±


    ¡°Shut it!¡± Delios said..


    ¡°Right right, I just like to tease Delios, therefore I think I know why you are in here, but for ensuring, I want to hear from your own mouth the reason you came here.¡±


    I said ¡°Your thing ¡®dianoia¡¯ is quite horrible and made my day horrible, I don¡¯t understand which is real and fa¨C¡±


    ¡°Thanks for the compliments about it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not trying to compliment you, *sigh* I know the woman that you showed to me when we first met.¡±


    ¡°You only know? Not remember..¡± Gennaia snapped her finger.


    The woman appeared in front of the table..


    ¡°I know her, and her name..¡±


    ¡°You even know her name, I don¡¯t know ¡®Dianoia¡¯ will be working that quiet fast¡­¡± Gennaia was surprised.


    ¡°Ainur Nala, that¡¯s her name..¡±


    ¡°How do you know her name?¡±


    ¡°I read the diary from the hallucination that was caused by your dianoia¡­¡±


    Delio put her cup of drink, and asked ¡°therefore, do you remember anything about her?¡±


    I was confused ¡°What do you mean by remember?¡±


    ¡°You really don''t remember a single thing from the hallucination you got? This is quite a problem¡­¡± Gennaia said.


    I saw Delios was staring and frowned her face to Gennaia.


    Suddenly Delios slammed her cup to the ground and broke it ¡°You told me¡­that..your thing will resolve HER¡­, why ..does it not resolve anything about her?¡± Delios asked Gennaia with an unsatisfied tone.


    ¡°Shhhhshhhh, why did you ask about it? She is still here..¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care about it¡­I think I have found a way to resolve this¡­¡± Delios suddenly turned her face to me. ¡°HEI YOU mortal, that woman..¡± she pointed her finger at the woman ¡°Is you¡­simple..that¡¯s where your essence should be..¡±


    After hearing that from Delios, I looked at Gennaia, she just put her hand to her face¡­


    I asked ¡°Am I misheard about it? Or someone cares to explain it to me.¡±


    Delios said ¡°WAHT! You still don¡¯t understand, you¡­are¡­her¡­it¡¯s simple¡­¡±


    I was still confused about it..


    ¡°Let me explain it to her, you''re just making her more confused..¡± Gennaia tried to calm Delios down.


    ¡°Whatever, but I hope Nona doesn''t find out about it..¡±


    ¡°Well her own act is adequate for Nona to wake up¡­so in a short time or a long time, she will find out¡­and come to us¡­¡± Gennaia turned her face to me ¡°What Delios is trying to say is that your real body is that woman..¡±


    I rubbed my own body, and looked at myself, ¡°This is my real body, not that¡­If that is my real body, so whose is this body?¡±


    Gennaia explained ¡°Someone¡¯s body¡­when Cordelia Aurelius was pregnant, the essence of the unborn baby suddenly changed to something unknown, and this was unnoticed by us¡­we noticed that something was wrong after the fate of these 4 children were altered, it was you, and we saw something wrong with you¡­the essence was different, we seeked the real essence of it, and found it, this woman was your real body.. ¡±


    ¡°So if that woman is my real body, what are you gonna do? Put my soul to that body..¡±


    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it            ¡°That¡¯s impossible, because we can¡¯t reach the real body¡­¡±


    ¡°And why do you two tell me about this? Because there is no merit for you two from it, you can just be silent, and let me do everything that I want¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the problem¡­honestly it¡¯s not my problem, but it¡¯s Delios¡¯ problem as the overseer goddess of your region..¡±


    ¡°Therefore what¡¯s the problem?¡±


    ¡­.


    Out of blue, a scroll of paper in front of Delios.


    Delios said ¡°You have made some problems in my report, that your actions have altered fate to other directions, especially in your directions..¡±


    ¡°Altered fate? Me?¡±


    ¡°Yes, for example, the 4 children you brought to your house like Gennaia said, when you brought them to your house, you have altered the fate of those children¡ª¡±


    ¡°Is that great? They have the shelter, they wanted more than to live in the streets¡­what¡¯s the problem about it?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not your fate to help these 4 children¡­¡±


    ¡°So whose fate is to help these 4 children??¡±


    ¡°Let me see¡­¡­..it¡¯s the paragon of Nona to save those 4 children..¡±


    ¡°And when will this paragon thing help the 4 children?¡±


    ¡°About 3 years from now¡­¡±


    I was surprised ¡°You mean, these 4 children will live in the street for 3 years and wait for this paragon to help them¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s the fate of them¡­we can¡¯t modify or alter it¡­¡±


    ¡°You Goddesses are crazy and cruel, to let 4 children live in the streets for 3 years, where you have power to help them¡­and who is this Nona?¡±


    They looked at each other, after I asked about Nona..


    Gennaia the one said it first ¡°Nona is the one who writes this fate to humans, basically she is the Goddess of Fate¡­¡±


    ¡°What do you mean about waking her up?¡±


    Delios explained ¡°When fate flows like her writing, she will be in deep sleep, but when something altered the fate, she will be woken up by it¡­.she will immediately fix it, by fix it, means something that you can¡¯t imagine.¡±


    ¡°So you two in here, want to tell me to follow her writing, not alter it..¡±


    They just nodded.


    ¡°And why do you try to help me, to regain my memories from that woman¡¯s body or life?¡±


    Gennaia said ¡°Because it resolves the anomaly problem, and hope that you will follow the real fate of your fake body from your real memories.¡±


    ¡°That''s the body''s memories, have memories of fate in this body, and hope for me to follow everything about it, that¡¯s what you want¡­¡­¡­but what happens if I don¡¯t follow any of that?¡±


    They immediately stopped from taking a sip of drink and took a bite of a cookie, and looked at each other¡­They were shocked and surprised about it ¡°AH!¡±.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you don''t think about it, and don¡¯t realize it??¡±


    They didn¡¯t answer.


    I put my hand on my face ¡°I don¡¯t know that goddesses are so imbecile like this, what will happen to the world if they are this imbecile¡­¡± I stood up from my seat ¡°I think it¡¯s time for me to leave¡­thanks about the sign for my life..¡±


    Gennaia tried to say something ¡°Wait wait wait!, before you leave, are you willing to follow the flow of fate from your real memory?¡±


    ¡°About that¡­If I have the memory about this fate, I will try to follow that beneficial for me¡­and thanks for the treat, Delios, it¡¯s quite delectable..¡± I immediately slapped hard to my own face¡­


    ¡­


    ..


    In a moment, I woke up in the temple. Mother was standing beside the platform while holding my hand, father was waiting behind mother, while the others took distance from the platform.


    ¡°Aurelia, you woke up¡­¡± Mother said.


    ¡°Yes I am¡­¡± I was slowly getting up¡­and sitting on the podium with my mother beside me.


    Father was slowly walking in front of me, after in front of me, he said ¡°What happened in your sleep?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s great¡­¡±


    ¡°Did you meet someone?¡±


    ¡°Yes I am¡­¡±


    Everyone in the room was surprised and shocked¡­


    ¡°But it¡¯s better for all of you not to blindly follow the goddess..¡±


    I saw everyone tried to come closer at me, but they seemed afraid.


    ¡°What do you mean you said, Aurelia?¡± Mother asked..


    ¡°I thought goddesses are smart because they are divine, but after I met them, it¡¯s not what I imagined¡­and still there is no clue from her¡± Where I met them twice¡­I looked at mother ¡°I just want to go home because of this..¡±


    ¡°Alright, Aurelia¡­it seems like a waste of time again, to go here.¡±


    Mother led me out of the temple. While mother was leading me, I saw the people from the temple were curious about what happened to me, and wanted to come closer, but father behind us was not letting that happen. They followed us to the front of the temple, and saw us go to the carriage. We left the temple without giving any explanation to the people of the temple.  On the way home, mother and father tried to ask me about what had happened in my sleep, but I just answered that I didn¡¯t want to say it.


    After some moments later, the carriage suddenly stopped. Father asked the coachman what was going on, the coachman answered there were 2 women in front of us. Mother and father checked it out with 2 guards standing by. I stuck my head to the carriage¡¯s window to see what was going on¡­I was shocked and surprised to see those 2 women.


    Uncontrollable, I raised my voice ¡°AH!!¡± because I was shocked.


    Mother immediately came to me ¡°Is there something wrong, Aurelia?¡±


    ¡°Nothing¡­so who are they?¡±


    ¡°They said they were wanderers, wandering to seek new knowledge..and it seemed your father took interest in it..¡±


    ¡°Does that mean they will come to our house?¡±


    ¡°Mostly¡­¡±


    After the conversation between father and the 2 women was done, father was walking back to the carriage with the 2 women behind him. I saw the 2 women and was familiar with them. One had long red hair with orange eyes, while the other had blonde short hair with blue eyes. In front of me, they smirked at me. Father came back into the carriage, while the 2 women sat in the front of the carriage with the coachman.


    I don¡¯t believe they will come to me¡­


    On the trip..


    I asked father ¡°Why father bring that 2 women to house?¡±


    ¡°Because I think it will be great for the house, they can be your tutor, or substitute tutor for the 4 children, if mother is absent for them ... .And their knowledge seemed great for Sofia, to learn more about physicians in different views.¡±


    Of course they have that knowledge, because they are goddesses.


    ¡°Is there anything in your mind about them?¡± Mother asked.


    ¡°Nothing¡­If father thinks it¡¯s beneficial for the house, it''s enough to assure me.¡±


    Suddenly I saw their faces behind mother and father, on the small window between the coachman and the passenger, they looked at me with smirk faces¡­father and mother immediately turned back, and their faces immediately gone¡­


    We continued the trip home.

 Chapter 18

    Arriving at home, the 3 children welcomed us in front of home. After I left the carriage, I immediately went to my room, and the 3 children followed behind me. I ignored the women that father brought. On my way to my room, I saw Lady Laura went to mother with an envelope in her hand, which I saw had a yellow seal and some pattern around the seal. I stopped for a second, from afar, I saw my mother receive the envelope, and opened it. It was a letter, and her face seemed surprised by the content of it, followed by father behind her.. After that, I continued to my room.


    In my room, I could not immediately go to bed, because of the gown. I just went to the balcony like usual, enjoyed the tea and the fresh air. After some moments, there were knocks on the door. Aelia went to the door, and checked it. It was Sofia and one of the women that father brought or the goddesses. Sofia and her walked before me. In front of me, Sofia told me the information that was bad for me.


    ¡°My lady, may I introduce this young woman to you?¡±


    I looked at the woman, while taking a sip of my drink. I put the cup ¡°What''s the reason you want to introduce this young woman to me?¡± and continued sipping my drink.


    ¡°This young woman will be your personal physici¡ª¡±


    Hearing that, I immediately bursted my drink ¡°WHAT!¡± I slammed my cup to the table, and stood up in front of Sofia¡¯s face ¡°Does my father dismiss you? I will talk to him, just stay here!¡± I tried to walk out, but¡­


    Sofia immediately grabbed my right arm, and said ¡°You don¡¯t need to do that, my lady, because his grace doesn¡¯t dismiss me..¡± She went behind the woman, grabbed both of her shoulders, and said ¡°This young woman will become your personal physician, is that great?¡± She peeked her head from the woman¡¯s body.


    ¡°But you are my physician, why do I need her beside you??¡±


    Meanwhile, the table was spilled with the drinks and some minor messes, Alicia and Aelia tried to clean the table and tidied up it.


    ¡°I am the family physician, but with her, you have your own personal physician, is that great for you, my lady? Especially at this time.¡±


    I took closer to the woman that I knew from the beginning, but I wanted to see her human form closer. The woman just kept her poker face, but when I looked closer at her face, she suddenly gave me a smile, and I took it personally.


    ¡°May I introduce her to you, my lady?¡± Sofia asked.


    ¡°Surely, I am curious too, what¡¯s the name of the woman that father took interest in..¡±


    ¡°Her name is Gena¡­.¡± Sofia kept explaining her skills and ability, but I didn¡¯t hear all of that.


    What! She just takes her own name, from Gennaia to Gena, what about Delios?


    ¡°My lady, perhaps you don¡¯t hear me?¡±


    ¡°I heard you¡­so this is Gena..¡±


    Gena bowed, raised her skirt, and introduced herself to me ¡°This Gena will be your physician, my lady..¡±


    ¡°Raise your head, Gena..¡±


    She raised her head and looked at me..


    After that, Sofia took a leave from the room¡­but Gena didn¡¯t follow her, she just stayed beside me..


    ¡°Why you not follow Sofia? And why are you still here?¡±


    ¡°Because I am your personal physician now¡­so it¡¯s my obligation to stay beside you, my lady..¡±


    ¡°Right..GENA!¡±


    The table was already cleaned and tidied up, Alecia and Alicia took their work well done. Aelia poured the tea into the new cup. When I wanted to take a sip of it, Gena suddenly said.


    ¡°My lady, I think you have enough tea today..¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± I was confused..


    ¡°May I take a look at your tea?¡± She immediately took the teapot from Aelia¡¯s hands, opened the lid. She showed a small smile on her face while looking inside the teapot, ¡°My lady, perhaps do you consume this type of tea everyday?¡±


    Aelia answered ¡°Yes, she drinks the tea everyday, is there something wrong?¡±


    ¡°This type of tea is not healthy for my lady body..¡±


    ¡°Is that true, Gena?¡± Aelia asked.


    ¡°Yes, maybe this tea can be one of the causes, my lady''s health deteriorates..¡±


    ¡°You are making this up right?¡± I asked, but the 3 children¡¯s faces took it seriously, and their faces were horrified about it.


    Immediately they bowed down at me, asked forgiveness from me. I just forgave them, they took the cups and the teapot from the table, and they left the room, leaving me and Gena alone.


    ¡°Look what have you done!!¡± I said to Gena.


    ¡°I just did what was the best for you, my lady..¡±


    ¡°Cut your chase and your fakery, there is no one around here¡­..Why you two follow me? Even disguised in human form.¡±


    ¡°We thought it would be more fun than watching you from afar.¡±


    ¡°*Sigh* Just do whatever you want, but don¡¯t lay your single finger on the people in this house, especially I don¡¯t want any information about concubines.¡±


    ¡°You just gave us a great idea, I like it..¡±


    ¡°HEI!...and that¡¯s body, how old is it?¡±


    ¡°This body? I think I disguised myself as a 24 year old woman..¡±


    ¡°So you are younger than my mother¡­¡±


    ¡°Really? That''s a great opportunity¡­But her beauty is undeniable, when I saw her for the first time, I didn¡¯t believe it, if she is a human from her beauty..¡±


    ¡°And about your tea commotion, you were making it up, right?¡±


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    She just showed her smile without a single word coming from her mouth.


    ¡°You know, your words will make a big commotion, especially in the kitchen..¡± I said.


    ¡°I think it will be alright..¡±


    ¡°Why are you so confident about it?¡±


    ¡°Because¡­.¡±


    ¡­.


    ¡­


    ..


    .


    ¡°Ah! Aurelia, finally you are in here, we are waiting for you, this dinner will be different because Delia will be the one who cooks it¡­¡± Father said at the dining table.


    I froze at the entrance of the dining room, like she said ¡°Because Delios already took over the kitchen..¡± and like Gena, her fake name is like her real name, Delia and Delios..


    ¡°Why do you keep standing there? Come and take a seat!¡± Mother said..


    I went to the dining table, and took a seat..


    ¡­


    After dinner was done, there was only father left at the dining table. I asked father ¡°Why did you let this Delia cook?¡±


    ¡°Because your mother likes her cooking..¡±


    ¡°Mother likes her cooking?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­I believe your mother came across Delia cooking something in the kitchen, she tasted it, and found it delicious¡­Immediately she let Delia take the kitchen..¡±


    ¡°Just like that? Mother let a stranger take the kitchen..¡±


    ¡°Well, she is not a stranger anymore¡­and about your tea, I was shocked to hear that from your personal maids¡­for now, Delia and Gena will be providing everything that is best for you¡­¡±


    ¡°Hehhhhhhhh¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t grumble about it, and your mother said to me that she wanted to meet you, you can ask your maids about that, and they will lead you to your mother.¡±


    I just nodded at my father, and left the dining room. Outside the dining room, the 3 children already waited for me. Without speaking to them, they led me to my mother. It was the same room, when Adel led me to my mother. Mother waved her hand to me, and I sat beside her on the sofas.


    She showed the envelope from Lady Laura early, and said.


    ¡°You need to read this..¡±


    I took the envelope, opened it, and read the content of it.


    It said


    Dear Duke and Duchess of Florence


    On the behalf of The Royal Highness, The Crown Prince of Fotia. We would like to inform, The Crown Prince will take a visit to your duchy tomorrow as this letter arrived. I hope his Grace Duke Marcus Aurelius and her Grace Duchy Cordelia Aurelius have prepared for The Crown Prince''s arrival. The Royal Highness has a desire to meet his fiance Lady Aurelia Aurelius. We hope The Lady will present as The Royal Highness visit.


    Yours Sincerely


    Courtier of Court His Royal Highness, The Crown Prince of Fotia.


    After I read it, I looked at mother, and said ¡°Is this true?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Aurelia¡­The seal of the envelope is real¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if my fiance is from the Royal Family, especially the Crown Prince¡­Mother just told me his name..¡±


    ¡°I forgot to tell you about it¡­Aurelia, do you have a desire to meet your fiance or not?¡±


    ¡°Huh??¡±


    She hugged me. ¡°If you don¡¯t have the desire to meet him, it¡¯s okay¡­we will find another way, but if you have the desire to meet him, we will allow him to see you¡­¡±


    ¡°Why are you asking me that?¡±


    ¡°Because your mother wants the best for you, beside this betrothed¡­¡±


    ¡°Does mother object to my betrothed to him?¡±


    ¡°Not quietly object to it, but more not supporting it.¡±


    ¡°Why??¡±


    She released her hug to me ¡°It¡¯s just¡­a personal¡­matter¡­your mother with the royal family¡­beside that, what is your answer to this letter?¡±


    ¡°First, I want to look into my fiance more, so I will present when he arrives.¡±


    ¡°If you say so¡­¡± She suddenly clapped her hands, and in a second, I was surprised, two figures that I knew appeared on the entrance. ¡°They will stay beside you in this circumstance, because the 3 children still do not have experience about the royal''s arrival¡­but they will stay beside you, so in this circumstance you will have 4 personal maids and 1 Lady-In-Waiting.¡±


    It had been over a few weeks, and I didn''t see them¡­ I got up from the sofas, walked towards them, and hugged them.. ¡°Welcome back, Adel and Lady Octavi..¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s an honor to see you again, my lady..¡±


    Mother said ¡°You two better not show feuds with each other again¡­


    ¡°We knew our mistake, madam¡­¡±


    ¡°And once more, Aurelia, Lady Octavi will not be your tutor again, she will be just Lady-In-Waiting, your new tutor will be Gena¡­¡± Mother said..


    ¡°Hehhhhhh..¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, my lady¡­to see you and with you, it¡¯s enough for me¡­¡± Lady Octavi said.


    ¡°You better get rid of your grumble trait..¡± Mother said ¡°All of you can dismiss and leave the room..¡±


    Outside the rooms, Adel and I went to my room followed by the 3 children, but Lady Octavi separated away. After arriving at my room, Gina was already waiting there, I could not see her as human, every time I was seeing her, I saw a goddess. Gina told me that she would be conducting an examination of me from Sofia¡¯s order. Before I laid down to the bed, the 3 children undressed me and dressed me with pajamas.


    I laid down on the bed, and Gina started to examine me, like Sofia, she checked my pulse, temperature, and my tongue. After the examination, she leaned her mouth to my left ear, and said.


    ¡°You better be in bed tomorrow..¡±


    I was surprised, because tomorrow I needed to be present, I could not be in the bed. We exchanged whispers with each other.


    ¡°WHAT!! Why??¡± I asked by whispering.


    ¡°The dianoia will react tomorrow¡­the specific time, I don¡¯t know about it, but I guarantee it will react to your mind, so it will be great if you stay in bed.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t do that¡­Tomorrow I need to be present, my fiance will come to the house. Is there anything you can do about your thing? That is somehow inside my mind.¡±


    After she heard that, she pulled her ear from my face, and showed me a little smirk. ¡°I think it''s just that, I see there is nothing wrong with my lady¡¯s body¡­.¡± Immediately she walked out from me, and left the room..


    That woman¡­

 Chapter 19

    Tomorrow morning, I was woken up by Adel. Immediately she led me to the Vanity table with the 3 children beside her. I sat there like usual, and they did like my usual morning routine, but I saw Adel opened all of the drawers, like she had been telling me, if there was something important for an occasion or party, she would use the left drawers section. Now, she opened it and used it. It was similar like usual powder, but the scent was stronger, and more fragrant than usual. Even the oily powder was more glowing in my face than usual. Everything from those drawers were more impactful to my face and my body than the right drawers.


    After they had done with my face and my body, they didn¡¯t take any gown or dress inside my wardrobe. Instead Aelia went to the door, and opened the door, immediately some women went to the room, I saw some similar faces, especially one woman, it was the owner of the boutique that I previously visited. They brought an entire gowns row in the clothes rail, the gowns seemed so expensive, and I never saw those gowns in her boutique.


    She showed me some gowns, while I was sitting on the chair at the Vanity table.


    She asked ¡°Which gown is pleasing to my lady¡¯s eyes?¡±


    ¡°Everything is pleasing in my eyes, but I still can¡¯t decide which one I will wear.¡± I turned my gaze to the 3 children in front of the door ¡°How about you three take a look at those gowns, and tell me which one catches your eyes?¡± and I didn¡¯t forget about Adel ¡°Adel, you take a look too.¡±


    The 3 children were surprised, they with Adel started to take a look at all the gowns.


    The owner beside me asked ¡°Are you pretty sure about this? They are children, maybe they will pick something that is weird or mismatched for you, my lady, especially this occasion is very important for you.¡±


    ¡°Well, sometimes children''s opinion can be a good idea, they see something that I can¡¯t see or maybe the adult can¡¯t see, their view about glamorous, exquisite and pretty are unique and different, than adults, even myself can be viewed as child..¡±


    A few moments later, they had made a choice, and I asked them to show it to me.


    Alecia showed me the red gown, with patterns and ornaments¡¯s color orange, I asked her why she chose it? She just said assertions of domination, courage and bravery.


    Next, Alicia showed me the blue gown, with patterns and ornaments¡¯s color of green. I asked a similar question to her. She just said it symbolizes loyalty, faith, sincerity and trust from you, the fiance.


    Next one, Aellia showed me the purple gown, with patterns and ornamenst¡¯s color of dark yellow, like the color of gold. I was surprised, she didn¡¯t pick a dress like her green ribbon. I asked her same question. She just said it¡¯s the color of royalty. I asked the owner beside me, was it true? She just nodded at me.


    The last one was Adel to show me what she had picked. She showed me the black gown, with patterns and ornaments¡¯s color of white. I asked her the same as everyone else, she said my dresses and gowns were full of white ones, because my white hair, but how about the black ones, the opposite of white, it would be balanced, between my white hair and the gowns.


    In a few seconds, I was thinking and made up my mind. I said ¡°All of your amazing gown suggestions, and heard your thoughts about it. For this occasion, I will choose the suggestion¡­..from¡­. ADEL¡­Like she said, my dresses in the wardrobe are full of white ones, therefore black color will be amazing.¡±


    After I decided on it, the people from the boutique, even the owner, immediately dressed me up, and tidied up. In a few minutes, they were already done dressing me up. I looked at the mirror from the vanity table behind me, and it was really suitable for me, the black gowns. I took the hairpin and the necklace from the drawer of the vanity table, it was white hairpin and necklace with white gems, from the little two. I asked Adel to put the hairpin on my hair, so I sat back in the chair, Adel put the hairpin on my hair and tidied up. Finally the special morning routine was done, the people from the boutique and the owner excused themselves, and left the room.


    Adel asked me to go to the dining room for breakfast, I just nodded at it. She led me to the dining room with the three behind me. On the way to the dining room, I saw all the other servants astonished and amazed by me. When I arrived at the dining room, I saw everyone was already there, and their faces were fascinated. The little two who already took a seat in their seats, immediately jumped down, and walked toward me.


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    Ophelia, the one who said first ¡°Sister Aurelia, you are so beautiful today like you are the lady of this kingdom¡­and the black gown is perfectly suitable for you..your white hair has its own spotlight, and the black gown has its own spotlight¡­Therefore you have two of beauty¡­¡±


    ¡°Haha, Thanks for the compliment Ophelia..¡±


    Aurelio spotted the hairpin and the necklace, and asked ¡°Are those the things we give you, the hairpin and the necklace??¡±


    ¡°Ah these! Yes, they are the gifts from you. I wear them to show my little siblings affection and can make me beautiful and pretty too.¡±


    They were blushing from that.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go back to the table, and eat breakfast.¡± I asked them.


    Immediately they went to their seats with me. We took our seats. After I sat on the chair, father gave me the information about today ¡°The Crown Prince may arrive at noon.¡± I just nodded at him.


    I asked my mother and father ¡°What do I need to do about today?¡±


    Mother answered ¡°You don¡¯t need to think about that, Adel will lead you, you just accompany the Prince and have conversation with him.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t quite understand, what mother just said?¡±


    ¡°Adel will lead you to the spot for you and the Prince, and everything will already be prepared, for example¡­let¡¯s see¡­.an afternoon tea in the garden, Adel will lead you and the prince to the garden, and in the garden, everything already be prepared like the table, the chair, especially the tea, and the snacks, so you don¡¯t need to do anything beside talking and have a conversation with him.¡±


    ¡°I see, and what topic, the Prince like?¡±


    ¡°I think the prince will be the one that gives you the topic, Aurelia¡­is that right, dear?¡±


    ¡°Yes, it is¡­usually on this occasion, the gentleman who starts the conversation, and try to sway the lady¡­You don¡¯t need to think about what he likes, he will tell you by himself about what he likes, to impress you, so you just follow him or don¡¯t follow him, if you find his topic not impressive for you¡­Immediately he will understand, if he is a great gentleman, he will apologize and avoid that topic again.¡±


    ¡°I apprehended it¡­¡±


    ¡°Great, and once more, Aurelia¡­your sickness is still secret from the public even in a noble court, so I hope today, there is nothing wrong about you, and try to keep it as secret as possible, if you suddenly feel not well, just excuse yourself immediately, Adel and Gena in quick will know what is going on, and try to prevent the prince even their entourage to see your sickness..¡±


    ¡°I understand, father..¡±


    ¡°Good, now let¡¯s enjoy our breakfast..¡± He clapped his hands, and liked usual the foods came.


    After breakfast, I went back to my room, while waiting for the prince to arrive. I asked Adel and the other three that I wanted to be alone in my room, and if he arrived, just informed me. I sat in front of the vanity table for a while, alone. Suddenly, in the reflection of the mirror, I saw two figures behind me, immediately I turned around and it was¡­¡­Gena and Delina.


    ¡°How on earth can you come into my room?¡±


    ¡°Well, we are not human, I can show it to you..¡± Gena walked to the vanity table, stuck out her hand toward the mirror of the vanity table, and her hand pierced the mirror like the mirror didn¡¯t exist. ¡°With this, we can walk or come in wherever we want, because there is nothing that can stop us.¡±


    Seeing that I immediately touched her arm that stuck out to the mirror, and it was full of solid arm, my arms did not go through her arm. She pulled out her arm from the mirror.


    ¡°So what do you two want?¡±


    ¡°Nothing, I just want to check you, especially since it is a big day for you.¡± Gena said ¡°and it is my obligation to treat you and stay beside you, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know it¡­but how about her¡­¡± I pointed at Delia ¡°What do you do in here?¡±


    ¡°Same as Gena, I''m just checking you.¡±


    ¡°What for? Or from what?¡±


    ¡°Maybe about the diet that I cooked for you, is it too much for your diet or not??¡±


    ¡°Just tell me the real reason, you are here, don¡¯t blabber something like the diet.¡±


    ¡°Maybe about how beautiful you are in that gown, so I am checking you?¡±


    I didn¡¯t buy it, and stared at her fiercely.


    ¡°Hehhhh¡­¡­¡­¡­because Gina told me today is gonna be great and amusing, so I will follow her to see that..¡±


    Hearing that Gena immediately turned her gaze to Delina.


    ¡°Great and amusing? Why?¡±


    ¡°Maybe you will act¡ª¡±


    Out of the blue, Gena closed her mouth with her hand.. ¡°We will excuse ourselves, my lady..and hope today will be great for you, not amusing like this woman said..¡± Gena said, and dragged Delina out of my room, with her hand still on her mouth. They pierced through the wall, and like that they left the room. But a few seconds later, Gena stuck out her head on the wall, and said ¡°One more, my lady, we sense something from your prince¡¯s entourage, maybe you better be careful.¡±


    I immediately asked ¡°What have you sensed?¡±


    Yet, she pulled her head without giving me an answer about my question.


    They must be knowing something.

 Chapter 20

    I kept waiting in my room, while sitting in front of the vanity table. The words from Gena kept shadowing inside my mind. She said she sensed something from the crown prince¡¯s entourage, what could it be? That Goddesses could sense it.


    After waiting for more moments, I looked out the window, and now the sun was already shining above our heads. Finally, I heard a sound from the door knob, and when the door opened, I turned my body to it, and saw it was my mother who opened the door. Mother walked to me, and gave me the information.


    ¡°The entourage had already passed our gate..¡±


    I stood up, and mother led me to the entourage. We left the room, immediately Adel and the 3 children who were waiting in front of my room, followed behind me. On the way to greet the entourage, I was so nervous, suddenly I heard my mother say to me while walking.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous Aurelia¡­and don¡¯t grip your hand like that, that¡¯s so inappropriate for you¡­¡±


    Without my knowledge, I gripped my hand with my other hand, maybe because I was too nervous.


    ¡°Remember one thing, Aurelia¡­You are in your home, not in his home¡­For what, you need to be nervous in your own home..¡±


    ¡°I will keep your word, mother¡­¡±


    ¡°Great, that''s the Aurelius spirit you need to show...Show him about your family¡¯s name¡­¡±


    After some walking, we arrived at the entrance of home. I saw everyone was there, even Felix, I hadn¡¯t seen him for a while. Immediately, my mother led me to the front of everyone. In front of everyone, there was Father, the little two, and Gena already waiting. Mother placed me in front with Gena and Adel beside me.


    I saw three carriages come to the entrance of my home, two carriages were normal carriages, the one in the middle was different, it was white and full of ornaments like golds. I assumed it was the royal carriage.


    When the royal carriage came closer, I saw two glimpses of figures inside of that carriage. Maybe the Prince brought someone in his carriage like his sibling, I assumed. I looked to my mother behind me, it seemed my assumption was different from my mother''s and she was irritated. Suddenly, she was beside me, and whispered something to Adel. Adel changed position with her, now Adel was behind me.


    The three carriages stopped in front of my house, especially the royal carriage in front of me. The guard on the coachman from the royal carriage went down, took the stair from behind the carriage, put the stair in front of the carriage door, and opened the door¡­In a few second, the prince showed, but for no reason, my mother was covering in front of me, like she tried to hide me from him..I just saw a glimpse of him, he wore white clothes and white robes like a royal robes, with gold yellowish ornaments, and his hair was blonde¡­


    I tried to peek from my mother¡¯s body, and found someone else still inside the carriage beside him. He stopped in front of the carriage door, and lent his hand to a girl from his carriage, so she could step down. I saw a glimpse of the girl, she had red hair. I noticed my mother¡¯s hand seemed to be giving a signal. Immediately I was pulled out from there by Adel who grabbed my hand. When I was going to be pulled out from there, I looked at Gena''s face and was quite shocked.


    After we went behind everyone, Adel grabbed me and led me out from there. It seemed she led me back to my room. It was just Adel and I who left from there, even the three children not following me, and Gena seemed astonished about what happened. On the way, I asked Adel while she led me.


    ¡°Why did you pull me back from there, and it seemed you wanted to lead me to my room again?¡±


    ¡°It is madam¡¯s order, my lady¡­¡±


    ¡°I saw mother whisper something to you, may I know what she had whispered to you?¡±


    ¡°Madam, just whisper about this order.¡±


    ¡°May you perhaps know who she is beside the Crown Prince?¡±


    ¡°My lady, you did see her, I have no clue about her, even I haven¡¯t been informed about someone beside the Crown Prince, especially another girl in his entourages.¡±


    ¡°So I may not see my fiance today?¡±


    ¡°That depends on Madam''s order.¡±


    ¡°What about father? Does he acknowledge anything about this?¡±


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    ¡°I think his grace will follow madam.¡±


    ¡­


    We arrived in my room, inside of it, I just came back to sitting in front of the vanity table, while Adel was outside staying beside the door. Some moments later, I heard the sound of the knob of the door, I turned my body to it, and saw the door was opened by Gina followed by the three children. Gina walked towards me, while the others stayed beside the door. When Gina was in front of me, I asked her.


    ¡°What is going on down there?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a mess, your mother, madam was furious about the Prince''s entourages.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps you didn¡¯t see it? Your fiance brought another girl in his carriage, to see you.¡±


    ¡°I saw the glimpse of the girl, but I thought she was his sibling or one of his family, so I didn¡¯t find a big problem there.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t find it a problem until you heard this¡­that girl is not his sibling nor one of his family.¡±


    I was surprised ¡°Oh my!! So who is she?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what the madam wants to know¡­Therefore, she threatens the entourage to go back, not allowing the Prince to see you even a single strand of your hair..¡±


    ¡°Well, mother is scary if she is angry..¡±


    ¡°And about that, my lady¡­it seems your father is not that scary compared to your mother, even he didn¡¯t say anything when your mother was furious at one of the courtiers from the entourages¡­and this nature seems to pass down to your little brother, Aurelio.¡±


    ¡°Even though he is not as capable like mother, he still does his job well¡­and I noticed you were shocked back then, what made you shocked like that?¡±


    ¡°Ahhhh! About that..¡± Gina suddenly was nervous ¡°I will te..ll you about that in another time¡­Right now, you need to prepare..¡±


    ¡°Are you blind or what? Look at me! Am I not prepared in your eyes?¡±


    She looked at me from bottom to top ¡°Not that outfit or appearance¡± she pointed at my chest ¡°but prepare your heart..¡±


    ¡°My heart?¡± I put my hand to my heart.


    ¡°What would happen if the girl he brought was his lover, when he had you? Do you have a feeling of jealousy, if that happened?¡±


    ¡°Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm¡­I don¡¯t know what I would feel if that happened, I think it because I still don¡¯t have any feelings toward the prince, I don¡¯t recall any memories with him, so the word jealousy will not appear in my mind.¡±


    ¡°Hehhhhhhhhh that¡¯s not fun¡­there will be no conflict in the royal¡¯s love then¡­I want to see, you in front of the prince say ¡®This betrothal is over..¡± like that..¡±


    ¡°Tell me! That you are joking right now..¡±


    ¡°No I am not jok¡ª¡±


    Suddenly the knob of the door opened, we turned our body to it, it was mother and father. Immediately Gena stepped aside from me after seeing them..They walked towards me.


    Mother was the one who said first to me ¡°Aurelia¡­¡± and suddenly she hugged me for no reason.


    ¡°What¡¯s the matter, mother? Why do you hug me like this?¡± I asked while she was huggine me.


    She released the hug from me ¡°Do perhaps not feel angry or jealous, darling?¡±


    ¡°Why do I need to feel those?¡±


    I saw mother take a gaze toward Gina.


    ¡°Did Gina tell you about it?¡± Mother said.


    ¡°It?? Ah! You mean the girl that the Prince brought, yes she had told me, I thought she was one of his siblings or one of his family.¡±


    Father walked forward, and said ¡°Aurelia, perhaps have you not felt itching or stinging inside your heart?¡±


    ¡°Father¡¯s question is like Gina¡¯s question, but I will answer it the same, I don¡¯t have any feeling like that or jealousy when I see the girl.¡±


    Mother and father just looked at each other..


    ¡°May I know who this girl is?¡± I asked them.


    Mother answered ¡°The Prince introduced her, she is the daughter of count, and he didn¡¯t tell us anything about how he met her¡­You must have already known about the peerage rank¡­In this occasion, this girl is impossible to know the Prince especially close to him with her status as daughter of count.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t quite follow it, mother, I know about the peerage, but she is impossible to get close with the Prince, I don¡¯t quite catch it¡­¡±


    Father tapped mother¡¯s shoulder ¡°I think it¡¯s not great for Aurelia to know about this, dear, just let her evaluate or judge about her bethroral¡­how about we ended this conversation, and ask her a question about her bethroral..¡±


    Mother looked at father ¡°Sorry, dear¡­maybe it¡¯s my habbit.¡± and she turned her face to me ¡°So darling, I give the Prince a chance to meet you, but this chance is up to you, you can easily give us a signal, that you want get out from the Prince, we will easily obligate the signal¡­and kicked out that Prince¡­so do you want to meet him or not?¡±


    I nodded at her and said ¡°I will meet him..¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s your words, I will withdraw the three children as your maid for today, but there will be Lady Octavi, so you will have Adel, Gina, and Lady Octavi stayed beside you¡­with this, you can easily give them a signal or a word, and they will immediately do it.¡±


    ¡°I understand mother¡­¡±


    ¡°Great, now let¡¯s meet this person..¡± said.


    I left the room with my mother and father followed by Gina. Outside the room, I saw Lady Octavi already in there. Mother and father led me to the living room followed by Adel, Gina, and Lady Octavi¡­after arriving in front of the living room, I saw some people in front of the room. Mother and father stopped in front of the room, and I went to the room followed by Gina, Adel, and Lady Octavi. In the room, I noticed there were 3 guards each on the corner of the rooms. I walked toward the sofas, where the Prince took a seat. When I passed him, the girl was sitting beside him. I took a seat in front of them. Now, I could completely see their appearances. The girl had short red hair, and the Prince had short blonde hair. Importantly they wore  the same color of dress, white.


    The girl started to say ¡°It seems my lady Aurelia needs a lot of attention from the servants, that they follow you in here, it¡¯s like you need them because you feel not well. May that be the reason to bring them in this great meeting between you and your fiance?¡±

 Chapter 21

    I was quietly surprised by what the girl just said.


    Lady Octavi, who was behind me, started to walk beside me and said.


    "*Ehem* May this young lady introduce herself before speaking like that towards my lady?"


    "Hmmm? How do I need to introduce myself to you, servant? Surely, you need to apologize to me with that attitude, servant.."


    "I think you need the one for apologizing, young lady¡­"


    "HA? My lady Aurelia, perhaps you do not train your servant well. This disgraceful servant dared to emit a single word in this great meeting."


    "About th¡ª"


    Immediately, Lady Octavi stuck out her hand in front of my face and said, "No, my lady, you don¡¯t need to speak a single word toward them before this young one apologizes."


    "Is this how the Aurelius Family, a gold family that makes all the nobles envy it, serves the guests? Why does my Lady Aurelia just keep quiet about this behavior?"


    "If you know well about the Aurelius Family, surely you know well whether the servants are or not."


    "Aurelia!" Finally, the Prince spoke the words, "Control your servant, Immediately!! If you let this continue, she will stain my honor."


    "I don¡¯t mean to stain your honor or your renown, Crown Prince... I know you are a man of honor and a man of valor in the academy¡­You are my underclassman; surely I know you... But this is a disgrace for my lady and for me."


    "I am your underclassman???" The Prince seemed to take a closer look at Lady Octavi "Don¡¯t tell me, you are the Hawk?"


    The Hawk? Was that how Lady Octavi was called in the academy?


    "I don¡¯t quite like that nickname, but yes, like your highness thinks, I am Octavi Claudi, and I am a daughter of VISCOUNT from the Claudi Family; maybe your highness knows me well in the academy¡­"


    "I don¡¯t know if you are from the Claudi family¡­You had great sword movement back in the academy, and you achieved a perfect score on your graduation¡­"


    I looked at Lady Octavi, I didn¡¯t know that she was that amazing.


    "Your words are an honor to me, but the one who sits beside you, needs to apologize first for her words towards my lady and me... How dare she show that disgraceful attitude toward my lady and me, who have a higher peerage rank than her¡­And I am lost for words to know she could sit beside you; even I couldn¡¯t sit beside my lady like that."


    "I apologize for my disgraceful behavior toward my lady Aurelia and Lady Octavi, where I didn¡¯t acknowledge and was mistaken as a servant. May this apology be pleasing to both of your hearts." Lady Anna apologized.


    "I accept your apology." Lady Octavi said.


    But, again, Lady Anna said something surprisingly "How about, Lady Octavi apologize on behalf of my lady Aurelia, who brought a servant behind her with daggers in her thighs.."


    At once, all three guards in the room took a stance of guard¡­


    I was shocked beyond words that she knew it, and even though I just knew about the maid''s guard recently, I believed even the little two didn¡¯t know about it. How an outsider from the family knew about it


    "Is that true, Aurelia?" the Prince asked.


    "It¡¯s true¡­ Adel, you may take out your daggers and remove them. I answered


    Adel removed the ties from her daggers, and at once, I could hear all of her daggers fall. She picked them up and brought them to the guard. After that, she came back behind me.


    "Now, I need to know, who is this lovely one that could sit beside my betrothal?" I asked the girl.


    "My name is Anna Justina; maybe my lady has been informed about me as the daughter of a count; well, I will not introduce my title again¡­"


    "So it is Lady Anna then; you may call me Lady Aurelia, I am a little bit uneasy if a noble called me ¡®my lady¡¯, beside my subjects¡­I believe Lady Anna knows it well, right?"


    "Ha ha ha *small giggling* Surely I know it well, and it is an honor for me too, Lady Aurelia¡­"


    "Great¡­ There is something in my mind: how does my betrothal know Lady Anna?"


    When Lady Anna wanted to answer it, out of sudden Lady Octavi leaned her mouth to my ear and whispered.


    "It would be great if this conversation happened in the garden, my lady, to relax the atmosphere.."


    I looked at her and said, "That''s a great idea, Lady Octavi.." and I turned back to them and said, "How about we bring this conversation to the garden. Surely I am glad to hear Lady Anna''s story about my betrothal in the garden with a nice and relaxed atmosphere, rather than a dull and tense atmosphere here."


    We stood up from the seat, and went to the garden. I walked side by side with the Prince, followed by Adel, Lady Octavi, and Gina behind me, but Lady Anna was not walking behind the Prince; rather, she was walking beside the Prince. I could feel the tension in the house, sort of angry. Even the servants we passed by were so irritated. First, I thought the black dress from Adel¡¯s advice was great, but after I saw they wore the same color dress, white, this dress seemed to have faded away.


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    Suddenly, I heard words from Lady Octavi in my right ear.


    "My lady, you need to keep walking and stay side by side with the Prince¡­"


    I realized that I was left behind; they were already in front of me¡­I tried to catch them, but somehow my foot, even my body, couldn¡¯t catch them¡­Gina on my left said.


    "Are you alright? Perhaps you are not feeling well, my lady?"


    "Thanks for the concern, Gina. I am alright, but... but¡­I don¡¯t know¡­Why does my entire body not want to come near them?"


    "So you are irritated by them.."


    "Irritated? How come I was irritated by someone I don¡¯t know well about, even though I don''t recall any memories with him?"


    "That¡¯s your mind thinking like that, but your heart is different, my lady¡­That¡¯s why I said, Prepare your heart."


    "Nonsense!!" I tried hard to catch them. "Nonsense!! Nonsense!! Nonsense!!"


    Unfortunately, until I arrived at the garden, I stayed behind them.


    ¡­


    In the garden, especially in the pavilion, a table was already prepared for us. They walked with me behind them. On the table, there were some snacks, a teapot, and cups of drinks. There were four seats on the table, which meant Lady Octavi was included. They took the seats, again side by side, but I took a seat opposite the Prince. After I sat on the seat, Lady Octavi whispered to me.


    "My lady, you need to sit in there... So you can sit side by side with the prince; let me sit on that seat you are sitting at."


    "No, I will sit here... You can sit there, Lady Octavi."


    "But, my lady¡­"


    "Don¡¯t let me repeat my sentences!" Immediately, Lady Octavi took a seat, and after everyone took all the seats, Adel started pouring the drink from the tea pot into all the cups.


    "Now, I want to hear Lady Anna¡¯s story back then... How did this lovely lady meet my betrothal?"


    Lady Anna explained how they got to meet each other. It started at the Palace Academy, where she went, because they were in the same group, so they bumped into each other every time. They started to know each other.


    "That was amazing. If I could hope that I was in the academy as well, but I still have a great tutor like Lady Octavi and Gina who are behind me. Wait a second... Is Palace Academy for knighthood? I heard it from my little sister¡­It means Lady Anna is a knight. Does it mean Lady Anna knows how to handle a sword?"


    "A little bit, Lady Aurelia¡­but if you compare me with Lady Octavi, I am way beyond the bottom of her."


    "It¡¯s alright, Lady Anna, because I have watched her in the match, and even with someone¡­surely, it is hard to catch the stage of Lady Anna¡¯s sword.."


    The prince was surprised and said, "Who is the one who can even be with her?"


    "The one who poured your drink, Prince.." I answered it.


    They looked at Adel, who was beside them at the table.


    "We surely had an even match between each other, but we lost to my lady¡­" Lady Octavi said.


    "I don¡¯t know if you learn about swords, Aurelia.." the Prince said.


    "Is that when Lady Aurelia tried to save the four children? That Lady Octavi and this servant lost to you." Lady Anna said.


    I was shocked again; it was not just me that saw Lady Octavi¡¯s and Adel¡¯s faces; their faces were astonished after hearing from her.


    "What do you mean about that, Anna?" the Prince asked Anna.


    "I heard from the wind rumor that Lady Aurelia almost defeated both of them in the alley when she tried to save the four children in there.¡­"


    How could she know about that incident? Again, the only ones who knew about the incident were the people from the family or the residence.


    "That wind rumor surely told everything, maybe it will tell about the end of the world tomorrow, right? My lady," Lady Octavi said, like it was just a joke to me.


    "Tomorrow is the end of the world; it may be overexaggerated, Lady Octavi, but a rumor about Lady Aurelia leaving the Delios temple with a lot of blood stains in her dress, may be overexaggerated; is that right? Lady Aurelia," Lady Anna said while taking a sip of her tea.


    "Ha ha ha! *small giggles* Yes, it is overexaggerated; how could the rumor be like that?" I just answered.


    "Maybe the rumor could be true sometime?"


    Out of the blue, I heard in my right ear, words from Gena.


    "It is not good, my lady¡­You need to excuse yourself right now¡­"


    "Why?"


    Lady Anna took a sip of tea and looked at us. "Is there something wrong, Lady Aurelia? Or maybe the rumor that you are in a state of not feeling well is true too?"


    "It''s just a rumor, Lady Anna. Everything is fine, I am here in healthy condition, it means the rumor is just a rumor, right?"


    "I hope so, Lady Aurelia.." Lady Anna said this with a little smirk on her face.


    Gena continued to say, "I felt the dianoia reaction¡­I thought it would be amusing to let this dianoia reaction go without telling you, but after I saw her right now, I changed my mind.."


    "What do you mean by that? Explain it to me!"


    "No time, my lady¡­"


    "Just explain it to me! Right now!"


    "It¡¯s really that there is no time¡­"


    "I th¡ª*cough*" Like Gena said, suddenly I coughed and blood came out from it. "*Cough* *cough* *cough*" The blood stained the table.


    I saw everyone standing up except Lady Anna, who was still sitting, I looked at her, and she showed me some smirks and smiles.


    Gena, Lady Octavi, and Adel immediately surrounded me and asked "Are you alright, my lady?".


    "Yeah¡­ I a¡­m¡­al..r*cough¡­i.g¡ª" I blinked my eyes, and suddenly the faces of Adel, Gina, Lady Octavi, and others were gone from my sight. Their faces changed to those of someone I didn¡¯t know. I looked around, I was not in the garden anymore, but¡­

 Chater 22

    But¡­¡­The sound surrounding me slowly became different...My vision became clearer than before, I was stranded where the surroundings of me were strange, I had never seen this place before¡­I was sitting at the round table.


    The place was full of books with a lot of bookshelves, it was like the father''s room, or maybe the family library. Nevertheless, there were some things that emit light, brighter than any candle or source of fire, I have ever seen¡­Before, Dianonia usually brought me to someone''s room, but now, it brought me to some library¡­I noticed there was talking in front of me, there were 3 girls with same attire each of one, it was white on top, and blue on bottom, with like a blue necktie¡­I checked myself, I wore the same attire like them, it was like an uniform¡­


    I could not understand a single word from them ... .They kept talking while I was silently and confused by them, but at some point, a single word came from them, and I knew the word, it was Ainur¡­They looked at me, and kept talking with word of Ainur in front, it was like they tried to call me or ask me¡­One of them, slid a book to front of me, I could not read the title of the book, but I opened the book¡­Firstly, I couldn¡¯t read a single word inside the book, but out of sudden, the words were constructed into words that I understood, except the title¡­


    I read it, and noticed, there was one character from the book that was similar to me¡­The book just told a story about me as the main protagonist, it never told the name of this ¡°me.¡±. The character of this me was struggling with a character similar to me. She was being bullied, harassed, and blustered by a character similar to me¡­I assumed the character similar to me was the main antagonist¡­Even the four children on the alley; Felix, Alecia, Aelia, and Alicia were in the book, they were being saved by the main protagonist, but they weren¡¯t being saved on the alley, but on the orphanage, their names were not Felix, Alecia, Aelia, and Alicia, but someone else.¡­I kept reading the book, until a glimpse of the ending appeared, the brutal ending for the character similar to me, because she was being accused of killing her own father¡­So she was punished with putting her in the sack full of animals, after that drowned the sack. I was surprised and shocked by the book.


    I was thinking, was this the book Gena and Delio talking about? But in this book, they were not written, even the Nona the Goddess of Fate, they were talking about, did not appear in the book. I was feeling dizzy after reading this book. One of the three girls came to me, and said something, but I didn¡¯t understand a single word. She put her hand toward my forehead, like Sofia usually did to me, and she looked at the others, she nodded to them. Immediately I was dragged out of the chair, and from the room. While being dragged out by them, I passed by some rooms that I had never seen before, even the lights were everywhere¡­


    We arrived in some room, where there were three beds in that room. Immediately they dragged me to one of the three beds¡­they lifted me to the bed, and I laid on the bed¡­Out of sudden, I was feeling sleepy, which made me fall asleep in some minutes later.


    ¡­.


    ¡­


    ..


    In my sleep, the long dream where I was in the ballroom resurfaced in my mind¡­All the faces were still unidentified, except one face, it was the blonde hair guy, he was the Crown Prince¡­The dream was still same, but I knew one character who put me to the sack, it was the Prince¡­the girl beside him, still unidentified.


    I was waking up¡­and suddenly I was laying on the bed in my room¡­alongside me was my mother who was sleeping¡­her hand was still holding my hand¡­I got up from laying on my bed, immediately mother was waking up¡­I looked at her, her face was red, and there were some traces of tears in her face¡­She suddenly jumped the hug to me.


    ¡°AURELIA!!!¡± Her words were so loud¡­


    The sound of the door knob being opened could be heard. There was Father, Gina, Sofia, the little two, and Adel who came from the door¡­Their faces showed some worries, and some traces of tears in their faces, especially the little two, their faces were still red¡­The little two quickly jumped on beside my bed, and the others surrounded my bed.


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    Mother immediately ordered Gina and Sofia to examine me, and the little two were being told to get out from beside my bed, but they kept insisting there. I was being helped by Gina to get up from laying down, and Sofia started to examine me.


    While she was examining me, I asked her..


    ¡°What happened today?¡±


    I saw Sofia looking at mother, and mother just simply nodded at her.


    She started to answer ¡°It is not today, what my lady is referring to, but three days ago.¡±


    ¡°What you mean about that?¡±


    ¡°You have been unconscious for three days¡­¡±


    ¡°THREE DAYS!! You are quite amusing Sofia¡­¡±


    Mother said ¡°Aurelia, what Sofia said is true, you have been on the bed for three days..¡±


    Sofia was done examining me.


    ¡°That is quite hard to believe, mother, three days¡­So what happened in the garden, in that time?¡± I asked mother.


    ¡°.......about that¡­¡­the Prince was surprised about your condition¡­..because you didn¡¯t wake up on that day¡­The Prince decided to go back with his entourage to the capital..¡±


    ¡°Is there any word from him?¡±


    ¡°No, Aurelia¡­what a waste of a day, then¡­¡±


    ¡°Your grace and madam, can I have a private moment with you?¡± Sofia asked to father and mother.


    They agreed with Sofia, and they started to leave the room.


    While they were talking outside, the little two started crawling to my bed.


    ¡°Sis..ter..Aur..elia..Are you going to leave us?¡± Aurelio asked with some whine in his tone.


    ¡°Leave you?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­Am..I..not..able..to see you again?¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about Aurelio, your sister will never leave you¡­¡±


    Gina walked beside me, and said to them ¡°Your sister will never go anywhere, and she will be healthy and recover very soon¡­¡±


    ¡°Rea..lly¡± Aurelio asked Gina.


    ¡°Yes..¡±


    ¡°You! Your name is Gina right? I heard you are the assistant of Sofia, you better be watching and treating my sister Aurelia..¡± Ophelia said to Gina..


    ¡°Of course, I will do my best¡­How about the young master and young lady take a rest, because it is already late..¡±


    ¡°NOOOO! I want to be with sister Aurelia..¡± Aurelio said, while grabbing my bed of sheets.


    ¡°IF HE WANTS TO WITH SISTER AURELIA, SO I AM..¡± Ophelia said, and did the same as Aurelio.


    ¡°*sigh* How about this? If you are well behaved, and I am recovered, how about we go to the city again?¡± I said and offered to them..


    ¡°Pro..mise?¡±


    ¡°Promise, we will go to the city after I recover.¡±


    ¡°No, promise me, if sister Aurelia is recovered again and healthy again.¡±


    ¡°I promise ... .Now, how about you two go to your own room and take a rest¡­I see there are no Livia and Martia, how about Adel leading you to your room?¡±


    They got out of my bed, Adel led them to the door, and left the room.


    ¡­


    There was Gina and me in the room.


    I simply said with a low tone to Gina ¡°I found the book¡­¡±


    ¡°Repeat it again?¡± Gina asked.


    ¡°I found the BOOK¡­¡±


    ¡°What book?¡±


    ¡°The book that you two are talking about¡­¡±


    ¡°You mean the real book?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­but there was no you or Nona you talked about in the book..¡±


    ¡°You read the book¡­¡±


    ¡°Of course I was, I didn¡¯t read the whole of it, but I took a glimpse at the end of the book..¡±


    ¡°What was your first reaction with that book?¡±


    ¡°I was finding it suprising¡­The book just told me about the same character like me¡­as the ¡°Villain¡± that the book wrote about¡­this Villain was a bad one or evil one¡­¡­¡­¡±I realized it ¡°Wait!!!..........Don¡¯t tell me!!!! My existence is inside that book¡­.it means¡­¡­this world, and my life is just a story of a book..¡±


    ¡°Every life is a story of a book, that we call fate¡­Even before humans were born into this world, we already had a book about them, we already known what happened to that humans, in few years later, or until they passed away, we already known everything, and their lives were following the story of these books.¡±


    ¡°Wait wait wait wait! So what I had been hallucinated the entire time, was in the world of Gods?? So the people I had seen in that hallucination were Gods or Goddesses?? Is that why I saw a lot of things that are not from this world I know?¡±


    ¡°Wait! You still don''t understand at all? You have read the book and you already know the name, and you still don¡¯t understand at all¡­..That¡¯s weird¡­We traced everything to you, but why you still don¡¯t understand even knowing about yourself.¡±


    ¡°What you mean knowing about myself?¡±


    ¡°There must be some mistake, I need to meet Delia, about this¡­so may I excuse myself?¡±


    ¡°No you are not..¡± I said to her, but she just kept walking toward the door, ¡°I said, you may not excuse yourself..¡± She ignored me, and left the room..


    ¡­


    A couple seconds later, mother and father came back to the room. They just told me that I would be in my room for an entire week or maybe a month, to recover¡­So it was like before¡­Before they left the room, I asked them..


    ¡°Can I have a blank book?¡±


    Father asked ¡°What for, Aurelia?¡±


    ¡°I want to write something in that book..¡±


    ¡°Ah! Is it like a diary you want to write?¡± Mother said..


    ¡°Yes¡­it¡¯s like a diary..¡±


    ¡°Sure, I will find the book in my room, Aurelia¡­Your father has countless books, surely there is a blank book..¡± Father answered..


    After that, they left the room..

 Chapter 22.5

    Tomorrow morning¡­


    After what had happened yesterday, I was just laying on the bed for the entire day. Adel came into my room, with the breakfast in her hands, and went beside me, she told me she had a message from father..


    She delivered a message to me, where it was hard to believe for me. It was Gena and Delia, they went wandering again, so Lady Octavi would be assigned as my tutor again. I found them left without notice or telling me, it was baffling and strange¡­There would be no one to tell me, when Dianonia reacted again.


    After she delivered the message, she immediately tried to feed me, but I insisted on eating breakfast by myself¡­She just said, it was my mother''s order to feed me..Like or not, I let her feed me. I was still laying on the bed, with a pillow pad on my back, so my body could get up a little¡­I finished the meal, Adel brought the dish to the outside room, and put it there.


    A moment later,Lady Octavi came into my room to tutor me, she brought a small table too, where she put the table in front of my body, and above my foot, she started tutoring me, and . Adel was waiting beside the door, while Lady Octavi was tutoring me. After she was done, she kept sitting beside me, and accompanied me. Sometimes she talked about the Academy, the Capital city, or the events around the city¡­An hour later, father came into my room, he brought a book, a reddish book¡­


    ¡°Here, Aurelia¡­The book you wanted¡­¡± He gave me the book.


    I received it ¡°Thanks, father..¡± I opened it, the first page contained my name, after that, all the blank pages¡­ ¡°Father, may I ask you something?¡±


    ¡°Go on, Aurelia!¡±


    ¡°Why Gena and Delia leave without telling me?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s!!...They were quite hard to tell me why, but for some reason, suddenly I felt it was best for them, for wandering.¡±


    Did they just hypnotize father? Or maybe they hypnotized father at their first meeting¡­


    ¡°Father, may I sit there?¡± I pointed at the balcony..¡±


    Father looked at where I pointed and said ¡°Sure¡­I think Mother just told me to not let you out of the room, and the balcony is still inside the room, so you may sit there.¡±


    ¡°Thanks father..¡±


    ¡°Is there anything else?¡±


    ¡°I believe, for now, there is nothing more..¡±


    Father excused himself, and left the room.


    After he left the room, I asked Lady Octavi to sit together on the balcony..She agreed, I put the book on the table beside my bed. Immediately Adel went to me, and led me to the balcony¡­


    At the balcony, I could see Alecia, Felix, and Aurelio in the garden, they seemed to be playing or training swords between each other¡­What I had watched, Aurelio was the weakest among them, and Alecia was the strongest¡­In the pavilion, there was Ophelia who sitting at the table with Alicia and Aelia¡­Seemed everyone enjoying their own life.


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    A few minutes later, father came to them, and trained them, while Ophelia was watching them. Some moments later, I saw Ophelia noticed me, and waved at me. I answered back her waving, next Aurelio noticed me and waved at me, again I answered back his waving¡­


    I kept watching them for hours, until the sun was almost set¡­Adel told me to go back to the bed, because Sofia would come to visit¡­She led me to the bed, after I was laying on the bed, Lady Octavi excused herself, and left the small table¡­Moments later, Sofia came into my room, and did usual examination to me, asked me about how I feel today¡­I answered all her question, after everything done, she excused herself, when she opened the door, there was a glimpse of the little two in front of the door¡­


    Immediately they went to my room, after Sofia left¡­Behind them were the four children; Felix, Alecia, Alicia, and Aelia, and the two maids; Livia and Martia..They ran to me, and they seemed to want to jump to the bed, but quickly, Adel stopped them before they jumped. Their faces were grumpy about it, and started to walk beside me¡­They leaned to my bed, and started to talk about today, or the book they read, or the thing they got learnt today¡­


    At some point, Adel told them about the dinner, and maybe they could excuse themselves, but for some reason, they didn¡¯t want to. They pulled the blanket off my bed, and demanded to have dinner with me..The four children kept trying to pursue them, but it failed, even their maids; Livia, and Martia couldn¡¯t pursue them.


    Suddenly, the door opened loudly, it was my mother. Her face was angry.


    ¡°SO IN HERE, YOU ARE!!¡±


    Their faces seemed so scared ¡°Gehh!¡±


    Mother walked to them, in front of them, and said ¡°Do you know how long your father and I are waiting for you to come to dinner?¡±


    ¡°B..ut¡­we want to have dinner with sister Aurelia..¡± Ophelia said with a low tone..


    ¡°Your sister needs to recover first, do you want to disturb your sister''s recovery phase? Just let your sister get well first!!¡±


    ¡°But¡ª¡± Aurelio tried to speak, but got scared..


    Mother¡¯s face became scarier¡­Made the little two follow her, and they left the room with everyone¡­Seconds later, a knock could be heard, Adel opened the door, and it was the dinner meal for me. She brought it to me, and fed me like in breakfast. After it was done, she brought the dish outside the room, and put it there.


    I saw the mother of lunar full appearing on the sky, making the room bright of white. I took the book from my father beside me. I asked Adel to put the small table from Lady Octavi above my foot, and bring the writing tools too. I put the book on the table, and started to write about the book, that I read when I was in Dianonia¡­I wrote what I had remembered from reading the book¡­After I had done writing it on the book, I put it back on the table, and took a rest¡­


    ¡­¡­


    ¡­..


    ¡­.


    ¡­


    ..


    All these happened repeatedly for 7 years¡­For 7 years, I kept struggling with Dianonia, that made me locked inside my own room, For 7 Years I kept read the book of my story in someone¡¯s room, in Dianonia¡¯s state¡­For 7 years, I tried to recollect everything that I remembered from reading the book of my fate¡­For 7 years, I kept writing it into my book¡­For 7 years¡­..For 7 years¡­.and For 7 years¡­I watched my little two grew, every day, they visited me to my room, told every story, every what had they learnt, everything about their daily¡­


    For 7 years, finally a letter that made my mother angry, and my father puzzle, appeared like in the book¡­A paper that ordered me to come to royal¡¯s court as the royal''s courtier¡­Now, I was 21 years old, already known what would happen to me, finally took a step to my own story of my fate¡­

 Chapter 23

    Finally a letter from the Capital, especially the Royal family, came to my room, brought by my mother, where her face was not so happy¡­I was still laying on my bed¡­she came beside me¡­she didn¡¯t give it to me, but recited it to me¡­I didn¡¯t hear clearly about their opening, seemed some rubbish in my ears, but I heard the important parts..


    ¡°Royal¡¯s decree to bring Aurelia Aurelius as Royal¡¯s courtier, and to develop a bond between the Crown Prince with Aurelia Aurelius¡­..¡±


    Developed a bond? Maybe I could do it or not¡­


    I didn¡¯t realize, mother had already finished reciting it to me, because I didn¡¯t not pay attention to the letter, because I already knew it..


    Mother leaned to me and said ¡°Sorry, Aurelia, you will go to the capital, because those Royals¡±


    ¡°It seemed mother and father hate the Royal¡­¡±


    I saw her face was baffling, she pulled her face to me¡­


    ¡°Hear me, Aurelia!! Never trust anyone from those people, in that court¡­that court is disgusting, and dirty, than you can imagine, perhaps, Lady Octavi already taught you about my terms of disgusting and dirty.¡±


    ¡°Yes she did¡­¡±


    ¡°Great, so don¡¯t let you be drowned by their words.¡±


    ¡°But still, that¡¯s not the answer to my question..¡±


    ¡°The reason is simple, Aurelia¡­they are envious of us¡­they try everything to get involved in our own territories and businesses. You may already know that the capital of Florence is more developed and richer than the capital of the Kingdom¡­and they dared to try to bring their people to be our Count or our vassal¡­who do they think they are? Try to intervene in Aurelius¡¯ hands¡­¡± Mother stood up, and walked back and forth, while she was talking crap about the royals¡­at some point, she stopped and said something unbelievable ¡°Your bethoral is their opportunity to meddle in our hands¡­We agreed to them, for exchange, they stopped send their people to our territories as our vassal. Somehow I felt Ophelia would be unsafe in the future..¡±


    ¡°Is that why? In these 7 years, the Crown Prince never visit me again?¡±


    ¡°We just said to the Crown Prince, you are not in a good state ... .Just that, we didn¡¯t prevent him from visiting you again, but we didn¡¯t know why he didn¡¯t look at you anymore after that incident¡­What a great chivalry from the Crown Prince!¡±


    ¡°When I depart from here, to the capital?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps, did you not hear well from my reciting? Aurelia Aurelius shall depart tomorrow, As this letter received¡­So you went to the capital tomorrow¡­¡±


    ¡°Do Ophelia and Aurelio know about this?¡± I couldn¡¯t call them little again.


    ¡°They will know, by dinner time¡­I will try to tell them¡­¡±


    ¡°Who shall accompany me to the capital?¡±


    ¡°Adel is the primary to accompany you anywhere and anytime, and Lady Octavi will be present to the capital, but not the same as you, she will come behind, after some preparation¡­¡±


    ¡°What about Sofia?¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately, she will not be with you, but she has taught some of her knowledge to Adel, so Adel can do some of what she did¡­..I think that¡¯s everything¡­If I continue this conversation, maybe you will watch me keep talking about the Royals... ¡±


    Mother excused herself, and left the room..


    ¡­


    ..


    .


    Dinner was already over, Adel brought my dish to the front of my door like usual, when she opened the door, I heard rushing steps towards my room, and immediately their faces appeared, they were Ophelia and Aurelio¡­they rushed into my room, while the door was opened by Adel¡­They immediately were beside me, leaned to me, and started to talk¡­


    ¡°What mother said it¡¯s not true right, sister Aurelia?¡± They kept saying it a lot of times.


    I just kept quiet and silent, until they stopped asking the same question repeatedly.


    ¡­¡­


    After a few minutes, they were exhausted after asking the same question, and became quiet.


    ¡°Now, you two are quiet enough for me, so I will answer your one question¡­¡­Yes, what mother said it¡¯s true¡­Tomorrow I will be departing to the capital, with Adel¡­¡±


    ¡°BRING ME TOO, SISTER AURELIA!!¡± Aurelio said with a loud tone.


    ¡°Why you want to tag along with me?¡±


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    ¡°Because¡­..I kept watching sister Aurelia, alone in this room¡­¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about? I was not alone, Aurelio¡­there were you, Ophelia, Adel, and Lady Octavi, who made my day¡­and kept moving to another day¡­¡±


    ¡°NO! What I meant is the Crown Prince¡­¡±


    ¡°Huh??¡±


    ¡°How that man never visited you for a single second, minute, hour, even one day in his spare time, in the last 7 years???¡±


    ¡°Maybe he had business as cro¨C¡±


    His voice became louder ¡°AND NOW, HE TRIED TO SNATCH YOU FROM US!! THIS IS SO UNFAIR..¡± I was baffled about his behavior this time¡­he kept talking about the Prince ¡°HOW DARE HE!! THOSE ROYALS!! IT FEELS ¡­. I¡­ W ¡­ANT ¡­ TO ¡­ PUNCH ¡­HIM ¡­WHEN ¡­ WE¡­MET¡­AGAIN,¡± His hands were trembling and gripping hard¡­


    Wohohoho, I didn¡¯t know Aurelio would say that¡­ ¡°You are 14, Aurelio, and Prince is 23, how do you beat him?¡± I said.


    ¡°JUST¡­WAIT¡­IT¡­Sister¡­This¡­hand¡­will¡­be in his face, one day¡­¡±


    ¡°How about you save it for your sister beside you?? Ophelia is more fragile than me, even mother felt insecure about Ophelia''s safety in the future¡­I am far beyond to get help from you, Aurelio.¡±


    Ophelia was surprised and asked ¡°What you, sister, mean about mother feeling insecure about me?¡±


    ¡°You are 14 like Aurelio, and you one day, will become a target like me, a target of betrothal¡­some people will find this opportunity to get close to you all¡­So you two need to help each other behind¡­¡±


    ¡°What about you, sister? Are you perhaps not happy with your betrothal?¡±


    ¡°Hmmmmmmmmm, I don¡¯t know how to answer that question, but for now, I will try to seek the answer from your question¡­¡­..For now, how about you two, especially Aurelio, go to your own room, to clean your minds¡­¡±


    They excused themselves, I saw Aurelio¡¯s hands still gripping hard¡­


    They were already grown¡­I took a rest, for tomorrow morning.


    ¡­


    ..


    .


    In the morning, I was woken up by Adel. She immediately told me to do the morning routine, where I didn¡¯t do it for 7 years¡­She immediately led me to the vanity table, I sat at the vanity table¡­I said to Adel..


    ¡°How amusing it is, somehow I miss the feeling of sitting here, and face to face with a mirror ... .It is better than getting washed on the bed for 7 years¡­¡±


    ¡°It''s really relieving to sit at the vanity table again, my lady?¡±


    ¡°Surely, it is, Adel¡­When I sit here, it means I will leave this room¡­¡±


    Next, Adel did the morning routine like usual, but she used every drawer on the table, like she did it to me, when the Crown Prince visited¡­After it was done, a sound of knocking from the door could be heard, Adel walked towards it and opened it, it was another servant bring stack of dresses¡­Adel came back to me with the dresses, and showed it to me¡­


    She said ¡°Because, all your dresses surely don''t fit you anymore, we will use madam old dresses this time, and we will bring some old old dresses to you for living in the capital..¡±


    I looked at it, there was no huge skirt around it, or the arms were not big as I used to wear¡­maybe it was an adult dress, so all of that was gone¡­Adel put on the dress for me, after it was done, I checked it from the mirror¡­Adel said..


    ¡°You look like madam with that dress, my lady¡­¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    She went to my bed, and took some sort of big suitcases from under the bed¡­She started to put everything that was useful from the room, especially all the old dresses from mother to the suitcases. I told her to put the book on the table in the suitcase¡­She just thought the book was my diary..She put all the things from the vanity table to the suitcases..


    A few moments later, while I was sitting and waiting at the vanity table, the door knob could be heard, I turned my body to it, and it was my mother¡­She came into my room to check me, I saw her face show some unwillingness¡­


    She said ¡°Look at you, you look like me¡­¡±


    ¡°Surely, because of your dress, mother..¡±


    ¡°I hope, in there, you can act like me, don¡¯t even trust a single word from them¡­¡±


    ¡°I will keep all of your words in my mind and my heart, mother¡­You don¡¯t need to worry too much about me¡­¡±


    ¡°Hmmm¡­but I just couldn¡¯t relieve all of my thoughts about you living there¡­¡±


    I looked at Adel, it seemed she was done, put everything in the suitcases.. I said to mother ¡°When will I be departing, mother?¡±


    ¡°Why are you in such a hurry?? Perhaps, you now don¡¯t like to live here anymore?¡±


    ¡°Not like that, mother¡­it is just not polite for them, if I am late in their time.¡±


    ¡°Like I give a single damn about them¡­.*sigh* Everything has been prepared, the carriage is already  waiting for you in front of the home¡­But¡­how about we take breakfast first? While your suitcases are laid in the carriage by the servants.¡±


    ¡°Gladly I am¡­¡±


    I stood up, followed my mother, and left the room¡­We walked toward the dining room for breakfast. It has been 7 years, I haven''t stepped a single step outside my room, even to the dining room¡­In there, I saw everyone already in there¡­There were no single words before we started the breakfast¡­After the breakfast, mother told me, all my belongings and suitcases already in the carriage¡­I went to my room, for the last time, to check everything¡­I said farewell to my room and went to downstair followed behind me, Adel.


    When I was downstairs, I saw everyone went to the front of the house; father, mother, Ophelia, and Aurelio were there¡­I walked toward the front of the house¡­Before I said farewell to them, Ophelia and Aurelio surely gave me something wrapped as gift, and an envelope..They told me to open and read it, after I arrived to the capital¡­I gave her farewell hug to them, and pat their head for the last time¡­Mother gave her last kiss on my forehead for the last time, and hugged me¡­Father gave me his hug, and pat my head¡­Everyone just said take care yourself to me..I walked toward to the carriage, and went into the carriage, Adel went to the coachman side¡­There was no guards who will be guarding the carriage, so hope this would went well¡­I waved farewell to them, and the carriage started to move¡­Slowly the carriage passed the gate of the house. The story had already begun. I hoped I could meet with Gena and Delia again, to show them¡­

 Chapter 24

    The sun already was on top of our heads. On the trip, I noticed a road sign, where there was a small town nearby. When I realized the name of the town, I remembered it in my book. Immediately I told Adel by the gap of holes between the passenger and the coachman. on the coachman side, to go to the town¡­First, Adel was refused my order.


    ¡°We just rode for 6 hours, and my lady wanted to stop by in this small town¡­I am sorry but we need to continue the trip..¡±


    ¡°NO!!! Go to that small town quickly¡­we don¡¯t stay at night there, just a small stop by.¡±


    ¡°My lady, again¡­the trip is 5 days¡­It is better to not waste any time, especially since it is a royal decree for us to go there as quickly as possible.¡±


    ¡°I know about that, but just this time¡­you need to cooperate with me¡­¡±


    I showed my pitiful face to Adel, to convince her..


    ¡°*sigh* huhhh okay then¡­but just a small stop by..¡±


    ¡°I know¡­now let¡¯s go there..¡±


    ..


    A few minutes later, there was a crossroad, and we turned to the small town¡­


    I said to Adel ¡°Can you find the tavern in this town? And stop in front of it.¡±


    ¡°A tavern? What business do you want to go there, my lady?¡±


    ¡°Just do it¡­you will see after we are inside there.¡±


    The carriage went to the town slowly, Adel took a look around to find a tavern symbol. A moment later, she found it, immediately went there..It stopped in front of it..Adel opened the door of the carriage for me, and I went off from the carriage.


    ¡°Now, let¡¯s go inside the tavern..¡±


    Adel whispered to me ¡°Be careful, there my lady..¡±


    ¡°Well, you are staying beside me, of course, there is nothing I am afraid of.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not about th¨C¡±


    ¡°Cut the talk, we go inside.¡±


    I walked toward the door, I opened the door¡­Immediately people inside of the tavern looked at us..I kept walking toward the counter of the tavern and Adel was behind me..Step by step, people kept staring at us..


    In front of the counter, I took a seat, and it seemed the master of the tavern took a stand in front of me.


    ¡°What you want, little lady?¡± He said.


    ¡°Little lady?? It¡¯s that for me..¡±


    ¡°Who else?¡±


    ¡°I will take that as a compliment¡­¡±


    ¡°So what you want?¡±


    ¡°Nothing, I just want to wait here for a few minutes..¡±


    ¡°Any drink? Or else?¡±


    ¡°Ahhh¡­hmmmmmm¡­¡± I turned to Adel behind me, and said ¡°What tavern always has?¡±


    Adel answered ¡°Usually they have for drinks; Wine, and beers, and for foods; Stew, bread, cheese, or anything that tavern has, tavern usually serves as they have as their ingredients.¡±


    ¡°Hmmmm, it¡¯s better to ask him, then..¡± I turned to him ¡°So what you got, old man?¡±


    ¡°First of all, I want to ask you something, little girl, it seems you are noble, and you are with your maid, which family are you from?¡±


    Adel quickly whispered to me ¡°Don¡¯t tell anyone, about your real name, or the family name, my lady!¡±


    I nodded at Adel, turned my head to him ¡°Just ordinary family, old man¡­what business do you want to know about me? Now just tell me! what you have?¡±


    ¡°Like your little maid said, we have beer, and wine for drinks, Stew, cheese, bread for food..¡±


    ¡°Then I order stew, and is there anything besides beer or wine for drinking?¡±


    ¡°Milk, we have that for little girl like you..¡±


    ¡°Great then, I''ll take that..¡±


    The man got out of my sight, and went back¡­


    I kept looking around, and all the people were still staring at us.


    I said to Adel ¡°These people kept staring at us, from when we entered the tavern until now, what is going on?¡±


    ¡°I think they are mercenaries¡­¡±


    ¡°So why do they keep staring at us?¡±


    ¡°Maybe we are the easy target for them..¡±


    ¡°Hehhhhhhh¡­and you, Adel, what about you take a seat, than standing in there.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t do that¡­¡±


    ¡°Yes, you can¡­and maybe this stop by can be longer than I expect..¡±


    ¡°And why did my lady want to go here for the first time?¡±


    ¡°You will know later..¡±


    Moments later, the man brought the stew and a glass of milk to my table, before I took a spoon of the stew, Adel stopped my hand¡­She took the stew, she examined it and for some reason, she smelled it first, after that she put back the stew. She whispered to me.


    ¡°Don¡¯t eat that!!¡±


    I whispered back ¡°Why? Is there any poison?¡±


    We exchanged some whispers.


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    ¡°The poison is not that harmful to the body, but it can make you asleep in an instant.¡±


    ¡°What about the milk?¡±


    ¡°There is nothing in there..¡±


    I took a sip of the milk¡­and left out the stew..Now we waited..


    ¡­


    ..


    .


    An hour later, we were still waiting inside the tavern, and Adel kept standing..


    Adel asked me ¡°How long, we need to be here?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know..¡±


    ¡°But my lady¡­we will be out of the plan if we stay here..¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay..¡±


    A few seconds later, I heard someone, and I recognized the name.


    Someone shouted ¡°WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO, CASSIUS? WE DON¡¯T HAVE ANYTHING LEFT.¡±


    I immediately took a glance at the voice, there I found it..


    ¡°There, Adel¡­our purpose..¡± I said to Adel.


    I stood up from my seat, and walked toward the voice¡¯s table. On the table, there were two people in there, a woman and a man. The woman had a short sword on her hips, and the man had a greatsword on his back.They seemed to be in their 25s, they wore a small leather armor on their shoulders, and plain white clothes, they both had black hair. When I was in front of them, the woman asked.


    ¡°WHO ARE YOU? AND WHAT DO YOU WANT?¡±


    ¡°I just saw what was going on with the loud shout.¡± I said.


    ¡°Just cut the chase, your attire is a noble, there is no such thing, noble, disturb someone just a merely nothing.¡±


    ¡°I just thought, you two are in trouble..So I may offer you something..¡±


    The man said ¡°Offer us? You just need something from us, just tell us!!¡±


    ¡°It seems you two are impatient people, so I will tell you¡­I am still on the trip to the capital city, so I heard you guys are still in distress or trouble, I offer you some sums of coins as my escorts to the capital..¡±


    Adel quickly grabbed my shoulder and said ¡°My lady, are you insane?¡±


    I ignored Adel for a moment, and asked them ¡°So what is your price for my escorts to the capital?¡±


    The man said ¡°That''s a 5 day ride from here¡­¡± suddenly he showed a smirk smile ¡°What about 3 gold coins?¡±


    ¡°Just that! I can do that¡­so do we have a deal?¡±


    The man looked at the woman, they exchanged looking at each other, and nodded at each other. The man said ¡°Sure, we have a deal..¡±


    I offered him the handshake, when he wanted to handshake me, Adel quickly grabbed my hand, and said ¡°NO!! We don¡¯t need them..¡±


    I said to her ¡°We need them, Adel..¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t approve of it..¡±


    The woman said ¡°You are just a servant, let your master decide it¡­¡±


    Adel took a heavy glance at her, saying ¡°I can accept it, if you two can prove it..¡±


    ¡°Wohohoho a servant just said like that..¡± The woman said ¡°Surely, we can use the backyard of the tavern to test our strength..¡±


    They stood up, they walked toward the back of the tavern, and we were following them, but Adel took a stop on the counter, the man of the tavern gave her a small knife. We arrived at the back of the tavern..The woman went first, they walked toward the center of the yard¡­


    The woman used her short sword from her hip, and Adel used the kitchen knife from the tavern¡­The woman first mocked her for using the kitchen knife..The woman who dashed out first to Adel, she swung her sword to Adel¡¯s right side..Adel used her knife not to block, but to bend the attack..The woman with fast countered it after got bend to the right side, she swung with fast to Adel. Adel immediately lowered her body to dodge the swing, and did a high kick to her hand, making the woman lose the grip of the sword, the sword thrown away.


    I saw their faces surprised, but the woman walked to the sword, and took the sword back. Suddenly her right hand became red, with her sword turned red, I saw it, immediately remembered the spar between Lady Octavi and Adel, their hand became black, with their weapons.. I asked the man.


    ¡°Why her hand become red with her weapon?¡±


    ¡°Do you not know about that?¡±


    I nodded..


    ¡°It¡¯s Transmutation, it makes the grip of the hand more proficient, and more agile. there are five levels of transmutation, it could be told by the color of the transmutation¡­First level is Green, Second level is yellow, Third level is orange, Fourth level is red, and fifth level is blue¡­¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s cheating¡­if she is against someone who doesn''t use that..¡± I turned to Adel, and shouted ¡°Use it, Adel!¡±


    ¡°That will not be necessary, my lady..¡±


    ¡°Just use it!! So it''s a fair fight..¡±


    ¡°Bu¨C¡±


    ¡°JUST USE IT!!¡±


    ¡°*sigh* Huh..okay then¡­¡±


    Adel¡¯s hand that held the knife slowly turned black, with a glyph rune¡­When I looked Adel¡¯s hand and looked at the woman, In the woman¡¯s hand, there was no glyph rune. I looked at their faces, their faces were so shocked, immediately the woman said..


    ¡°I YIELD, I YIELD, I YIELD¡± She put her sword to the ground, and turned the hand back to normal.


    The man turned his face to me and said ¡°Who the hell are you?¡±


    ¡°Someone from an ordinary family??¡±


    ¡°You said that from an ordinary family?¡± He pointed at the hand of Adel.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with that?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know it? I can''t even believe what I just saw. When I said there are five levels of transmutation, there are still two other transmutations, but these two are so rare, they are black transmutation and white transmutation..And now, I see her use the black transmutation, there is no way, you are from ordinary family.¡±


    ¡°Ahhhh¡­about that¡­how do I tell you¡­just forget about me¡­do we have a deal??¡±


    ¡°I think you don¡¯t need us to escort you, your servant is just enough to escort you¡­¡±


    ¡°No..no¡­I need you guys..¡± I looked at Adel, and said ¡°So, Adel! What do you think about them, now?¡±


    ¡°Disappoint, my lady..¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk like that!!¡± I turned my head back to him ¡°Just don¡¯t listen to her words, so can we have the deal? I can make 5 gold coins, if you want....¡±


    The man walked toward the woman, it seemed they whispered at each other¡­In a second, the man came back to me, and said, ¡°We agree, but we just need a gold coin..¡±


    ¡°Huh?? Why do you lower it??


    ¡°After saw, your servant, I think our escort will be worthless, so we lower it..¡±


    ¡°I will give you the three gold coins like you said before..¡±


    ¡°But¨C¡±


    ¡°No but¡­¡± I offered a handshake.


    ¡°Whatever¡­you get us..¡± He took the handshake.


    ¡°Great¡­¡± I turned to Adel, and said ¡°Let¡¯s go back to the carriage, we''re done here¡­and can you pay everything? Give these people three gold coins, and whatever in the tavern¡­wait..¡± I looked back to him, ¡°We still don¡¯t know each other''s names.¡± Except I knew you from the beginning, but for formality..


    He said, ¡°My name is Cassius, and her name is Valerie.¡±


    ¡°My name is¡­wait a moment..¡± I looked at Adel, and said ¡°Can I use my name with them?¡±


    ¡°Just do whatever you want, my lady..¡±


    ¡°Okay then..¡± I turned back to him, and said, ¡°My name is Aurelia¡­Aurelius¡­and she is Adeline, you can call her Adel.¡±


    Again their faces were shocked, Cassius said ¡°YOU¡­from the Aurelius family??¡±


    ¡°Yes I am¡­¡±


    ¡°So that¡¯s why you have her as your servant.¡±


    ¡°Now let¡¯s get out of here, and back to my carriage¡­¡±


    I walked back inside the tavern, Adel followed behind me with Cassius, and Valerie..


    Adel whispered to me, ¡°Why you need those two?¡±


    ¡°I need them on my side..for some reason...You don¡¯t need to know it..¡±


    ¡°Alright then, but I will keep my eyes on them..¡±


    ¡°Sure, whatever you want, Adel..¡±


    Before we left the tavern, Adel had some talk with the master of the tavern, it seemed Adel paid just for the milk, not with the stew..          But he refused it, Adel kept insisting to pay just for milk, and said he put some sleep poison on the stew..He couldn¡¯t say anything about it, and accepted the payment.


    We left the tavern, Cassius and Valerie surprised, because it was only me and Adel in the carriage on the trip to the capital without any guard.¡­They sat on the coachman side with Adel, and I came back inside to the carriage..We continued the trip to the capital¡­I had two keys people from 12 keys right now¡­surely it would be an advantage for me.

 Chapter 25

    We continued the trip to the capital, I felt the coachman side was so awkward. Adel sat in the middle of Cassius and Valerie, and I couldn¡¯t hear them exchange some words to lighten the trip. ¡­


    On the trip, at one point, I felt the carriage suddenly stopped for no reason..I asked Adel.


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    She answered ¡°Some animals disturb us..¡±


    ¡°Animals?¡± I stuck out my head from the carriage, and looked at what animals Adel said.


    It was a pack of wolves¡­where there were 6 wolves¡­Cassius and Valerie immediately went down, and faced them..Yet, Adel kept sitting and watching them..


    I asked her ¡°Why you not come down? And help them?¡±


    ¡°Why I need to do that? My lady has paid them, surely it is their job to do that..¡±, suddenly Adel raised her voice, ¡°IF I HELP THEM, SURELY THEY DON¡¯T NEED THIS JOB..¡±


    ¡°But¨C¡±


    Suddenly Cassius raised his voice, ¡°IT¡¯S ALRIGHT, WE CAN DEAL THEM¡­¡±


    I felt Adel raised her voice, and not lending them a hand was on purpose¡­To irritate them? But, I would not let them go away from me.,,


    Some minutes passed, Cassius and Valerie settled them up, without using their transmutation. I watched Cassius walk toward me. In front of the carriage¡¯s door, he asked.


    ¡°Do you need their pelt? Or anything from their corpses?¡±


    ¡°Pelt?? You can take all of it, for you..I don¡¯t need it.¡±


    Instantaneously, Adel said, ¡°We don¡¯t have any time to loot some animal corpses..¡±


    Valerie, hearing that walked toward the carriage, and Cassius jumped to the coachman''s side, I saw their face quietly disappointed, to leave all the wolves'' corpses behind. We proceed with the trip.


    ¡­


    ..


    .


    The sky shrouded with bright orange, and the sun almost set. Adel told me, we would stop to make a camp for staying the night. Few moments later, the carriage stopped at the riverside close to the river. I could hear Cassius and Valerie already putting their feet on the ground, followed by Adel. Adel opened the door, and I walked out from the carriage..


    After I was on the outside, I saw Adel immediately take something from above the carriage¡­Cassius tried to help her, but she ignored the help from him. Adel took the thing from the carriage, I looked at it, it seemed like a tent, but it was a small tent.


    I took a seat at the carriage¡¯s stairs, because there was nothing to do for me. Adel tried to build the tent, Cassius and Valerie seemed to take a walk around the spot, to find dry wood. To decrease my boredom, I took a walk to the river, throwing some small stones or whatever to the river. In a moment, Adel called me, saying that the tent was done..


    I checked it, and it was a small tent just for one person, with a mat to sleep in. I asked to Adel,


    ¡°Where will you sleep?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry me, my lady¡­I can find some way to do that.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°Quietly sure, just enjoy, take a good rest on your night¡­and we need them to come back, so we can have dinner..¡±


    ¡­


    Cassius and Valerie arrived with some dry wood. Instantly they arranged all the woods, lit the woods, and we had our fireplace. Before I sat on the ground, Adel put a mat for me to sit on. Adel walked to the carriage, unloading some from it. It seemed like some cooking tools and some ingredients..She used the fireplace to make dinner meals, but¡­


    I saw she used a few ingredients where there were four people in here. I asked her,


    ¡°Is that enough for all of us?¡±


    ¡°Huh?? All of us??¡±


    ¡°Yes, all of us; you, Cassius, Valerie and me..¡±


    Adel immediately looked at Cassius and Valerie, turned back to me, and said, ¡°Why we need to provide food for them too? They can find it by themselves.¡±


    ¡°Come on, Adel!! Make another meal for them too.¡±


    ¡°But, my lady¡­if we make the meals for them too, the supply will not be enough¡­¡±


    ¡°We sure can manage that or replenish in the next town¡­¡±


    ¡°Bu¨C¡±


    ¡°Just make it for them..¡±


    ¡°*sigh* huh¡­alright¡­¡± Adel stood up, stared fiercely at them, and walked to the carriage to retrieve some ingredients.


    I looked at them, and said, ¡°I apologize for her behavior..¡±


    Cassius said, ¡°It is alright¡­honestly¡­what she had said is true¡­usually the mercenary or escort does not eat the meal from the person who hired them, we just find it by ourselves or bring it on ourselves¡­¡±


    ¡°But¡­you look like you don¡¯t bring any food or supplies..¡±


    ¡°We can hold the hunger, and hope on the trip to find something to eat...¡±


    If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°I feel bad¡­if you hold the hunger, when I have the supply to share..¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Cassius and Valerie were surprised, he said, ¡°This is different from what the wind said.¡±


    I quite didn¡¯t hear what he had said, ¡°Hmmm?? Did you say anything??¡±


    ¡­


    Adel came back with some ingredients to cook, she cooked for all of us. We had dinner together. After we finished dinner, I went to my tent to take a rest..Somehow, I could sleep well in the tent and on the mat.


    Tomorrow morning, Adel woke me up, and I got up from my sleep. In front of my tent, I saw Cassius and Valerie were tidying up. Adel asked me to go to the riverside to wash my body with her help. I agreed with that. Adel brought a bucket with some body wash..At the riverside, she helped me wash my body, while Adel and I were washing our body, Cassius and Valerie were patrolling around it¡­After everything was done and all the tools brought back to the carriage, we continued our trip.


    ¡­


    ..


    Nothing happened on the second day of our trip, we took a break at noon to have lunch, and we settled at the riverside again, before the sky became dark. On the third day of our trip, nothing happened, but the relations between Adel, Cassius, and Valerie became more lightened than they first met. At dinner, Adel told us we needed to stop by a town or village, to replenish our supply, because we almost didn¡¯t have any left. I agreed with her.


    ¡°Is there any town or village around here?¡± I asked them.


    Cassius answered, ¡°There is, three or five hours on the road, we will come across a small town, but¡­..¡± His face became worried.


    ¡°There is something wrong in that town?¡±


    ¡°Sort of¡­¡­but with your servant staying beside you, maybe it¡¯s not a problem¡­¡±


    ¡­


    Tomorrow morning, we decided to stop by the town, Cassius told us, to replenish our supply.. On the way to there, Cassius gave me a suggestion,


    ¡°How about the carriage not entering the town, but stopping outside the town?¡±


    ¡°Why??¡± I asked him.


    ¡°To prevent something unwanted from happening.¡±


    ¡°You can ask Adel about that..¡±


    Adel answered she would keep the carriage entering the town, not staying outside the town¡­Cassius tried to persuade Adel to let the carriage outside the town, but Adel still insisted on entering the town. Whether he wanted it or not, he accepted.


    The crossroad had been in sight, the name of the town could be seen. Malitia.. Did I misread the name of the town? The town name was Malitia..We turned to the town, and entered it. Cassius guided Adel to the local store he knew, to buy some supplies..In the town, I looked around from the window of the carriage, everyone¡¯s eyes were on us.


    The carriage stopped in front of the store. Adel told Cassius everything he needed to buy, and gave him some coins. Cassius jumped down from the carriage, and walked to the store. Again, I felt everyone¡¯s watching us, it was like being supervised by someone¡­and I heard something disturbing from Valerie, she said to Adel,


    ¡°We have been marked..¡±


    ¡°Which way?¡± Adel asked Valerie.


    ¡°On your left¡­¡±


    I turned my gaze as Valerie said to Adel. I saw some people gathered, but I looked at them as ordinary people. How could Valerie know them?


    We kept waiting for Cassius to come out from the store, and he came out. He told Valerie to help him, bringing the supplies to the carriage. Valerie jumped down from the carriage, followed him to the store. They went inside to the store, leaving Adel alone on the carriage.


    In a moment, they came out from the store with supplies in their hands. They put it above the carriage..After all the supply on the carriage, and they climbed up to the carriage, we immediately went off from the town..On the way, Valerie told Cassius about being marked..He just said..


    ¡°Again¡­that¡¯s why I hate that town!¡±


    We came across the crossroad again, and continued the trip¡­Yet, after some minutes riding from the town, I was still feeling like I was being followed by someone. I looked back, and saw some horses chasing us..I immediately told Adel,


    ¡°THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE CHASING US!!¡±


    ¡°WHAT!¡± Adel looked back, immediately made the carriage go faster, and said to Cassius and Valerie, ¡°You two know these people who are chasing us?¡±


    Valerie said, ¡°That¡¯s why I said, we had been marked.¡± She looked back, ¡°Those crap people surely love to chase people..¡± And she turned her gaze to Cassius, ¡°What do we do about them?¡±


    ¡°Just be ready, I don¡¯t want to deal with them, let¡¯s just persuade them.¡± Cassius said.


    In a moment, the group were beside the carriage, there were ten people riding the five horses, with two persons in each horse. They seemed to be surrounding the carriage from all positions, where there were two horses in front of the carriage. I thought they would stop the carriage, instead one horse beside the door of the carriage tried to open the door..Adel heard the door try to be opened, immediately said to Cassius,


    ¡°YOU!Take control of the horses..¡±


    Cassius and Adel switched seats.


    I saw the door being opened by them, immediately I stayed back from the door..One person tried to jump inside the carriage, when he jumped to the carriage, suddenly Adel from above the carriage kicked him, made his body throw back to the horse, and the horse with the rider fell off. She went inside the carriage..


    They changed the position, now there was one horse with two persons in each direction. I was surprised, Cassius yelled something to them,


    ¡°YOU IMBECILES, WHAT YOU WANT! STOP YOUR HORSES, AND WE CAN TALK.¡±


    After his yell, I saw all the horses beside and behind the carriage pass us, they stopped in the distance in front of us¡­In a moment, we stopped in front of them. All the riders got off their horses..I noticed their equipment was the same as Cassius and Valerie, light leather armor and short sword. Cassius jumped down from the carriage, and walked toward them..


    Adel said to me, ¡°Wait here, my lady..¡± and she left the carriage.


    I watched her walk toward all the riders. I saw Cassius and Adel seemed to have a discussion about them, after Cassius came back from them¡­I didn¡¯t know what they were discussing, but suddenly Adel laughed so hard, her laugh was so loud, even I was inside the carriage could hear it..I saw her walk toward them. In front of one of them, instantaneously, I saw something flying from them, it was¡­¡­¡­.one of their head.


    In response, they used their transmutation to fight Adel. I noticed a different color from their hand. The highest one was the same as Valerie, Red or fourth level, and the lowest one was Yellow or second level. They started to surround Adel, and engaged her¡­But¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­their engagement, and their fighting were nothing in front of her, in a seconds, I could see all of their heads went flying with clean cut..,and their bodies were lying down. Adel covered in blood, Cassius in there did not make a single move or single step toward them, instead Adel finished all of them before he moved a single finger..


    Seeing her covered with blood, in the middle of lying bodies, made me remember what mother said, Adel was a former assassin, who got captured by father, and got trained in the home. I wondered if Martia and Livia, the maids of Aurelio and Ophelia, were the same like her, or maybe all of the servants in the house were the same like her. Suddenly, the two persons who got thrown away and fell off from their horse back there, got passed and were beside the carriage. They were seeing all that, immediately they turned back their horse, and started to run away, but¡­two daggers flew from Adel, toward them, hit on their heads¡­Instantaneously they fell off from the horse, and the horse ran away.


    I heard from Valerie said something to me,


    ¡°Your family, surely a monstrous family¡­.¡±

 Chapter 26

    After the event, Adel walked toward the carriage with some blood stains in her clothes, and Cassius followed behind her..Her face was straight as hell, there was no show of remorse, guilt, or anything, just as usual. Unlike Cassius, before he followed, Adel went to the carriage, he went to all the corpses. He seemed to show some respect toward the dead bodies, he crouched, and liked to pray to all the dead bodies.


    Adel let Cassius steer the carriage, and she sat in the corner. The carriage continued the trip, and passed through all the dead bodies. I even felt it, when the carriage ran over the bodies, shook the carriage. I asked Cassius to stop by a nearby river, so Adel could clean herself, and change into another outfit.


    ¡­


    In a few hours, we stopped at the riverside..Adel took some things from above the carriage, it seemed like another outfit and towel. She walked toward the river. I opened the door of the carriage by myself, and followed her to the river..


    ..


    While Adel washed herself, I started a conversation with her,


    "This is my first time seeing you like that, Adel.." I said to her,


    "Does my lady feel scared of me, now?"


    "I don¡¯t¡­have feelings like that¡­I just find it surprising¡­I heard from my mother that you are a former assassin¡­so what had you done back there¡­not surprising for me¡­but¡­Are Martia and Livia the same as you?"


    "Their paths are different from mine, they are former guard and mercenary¡­but for skill and prowess, we are the same¡­"


    "That''s more relieving then¡­it is assuring that those two will be safe¡­¡­.take your time to wash yourself, Adel.."


    I excused myself from there¡­


    At night after dinner, I felt uneasy and not well¡­I thought it would be coming¡­I immediately came out of my tent, and went to Adel. I grabbed her clothes, and she turned her head toward me. Immediately, it was coming..


    *COUGH* *COUGH*


    She saw me coughing, and instantly brought me back to the tent..While she was carrying me back to the tent, I could see Cassius and Valerie''s faces¡¯ stagger to see me coughing blood. At the tent, Adel laid me down on the mat, and she immediately went to the carriage to take something from Sofia. While she was gone, I kept coughing blood, slowly my vision became blurry ... .and in a second, I lost my vision¡­it was blank¡­there was nothing¡­there was no hallucination like usual¡­just blank space.


    The next morning, I woke up by myself, but Adel didn¡¯t wake me up. I left the tent, and I saw something surprising¡­Adel was in a bad state, she had bruises on some of her face and her arms..I quickly went to her, and asked what had happened..she just kept quiet, and silent. I turned my gaze to Cassius and Valerie. They like Adel kept quiet and silent about Adel. I quickly realized something and remembered it, and said,


    "IS IT ME? WHO DID THIS TO HER?"


    They lowered their faces and didn¡¯t say anything to me..


    The first time I did this to Adel, was when I tried to help the four children from the street. I managed to take down Adel and Lady Octavi at the same time, unconscious. In the past seven years, the same things have kept happening. When I was unconscious because of the crap that Gena planted on me, sometimes I managed to wreck everything around me¡­After I regained my consciousness, I tried to ask everything, to my mother, Adel, even Sofia. Yet, they just kept silent and quiet, and didn''t give me a single word of explanation¡­ I told Cassius and Valerie to lay Adel down in my tent..They carried Adel to my tent, and laid her down on my mat.


    ¡­.


    ¡­


    ..


    .


    After a long day''s trip from home, some events had happened, and we finally arrived at the capital city entrance¡­We arrived at the front gate, and there was a long line of carriages waiting to enter the city¡­Most of the carriages lining up were traders'' carriages, and there were a few personal carriages¡­Because of the long line, Adel couldn¡¯t take it..She climbed down from the carriage, and walked toward the gate..


    While waiting for Adel, I tried to ask Cassius and Valeri about their future in the capital.


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    "We have reached the capital, so your two escorts will be ending¡­what will you do now?" I asked them.


    "Hmmm?" Cassius answered, "We still haven''t decided anything or thought anything after this.."


    Valeria asked me, "And what are you doing here? Someone from Aurelius, without guard, goes to the capital alone, surely you have a reason to go here."


    "Just meeting my betrothal.." I didn¡¯t know I could say I came here, because of the royal decree, but meeting my betrothed seemed like a great reason.


    "Your betrothal? From which family could betrothe someone from the Aurelius family?" Valerie said.


    "Surely you know about it¡­which family dares to seek it from my family."


    "There will be no family who dares to do that, unless the roy¡ª WHAT!!! Don¡¯t tell me it is the royal family." Valerie said.


    "Who else??"


    "Which one?"


    "The eldest one.."


    "The eldest one, huh..so The Crown Prince¡­... .wait a minute¡­... .that is different from what I read and saw.."


    "What you mean about that?"


    "Perhaps you don¡¯t know it??? The rumor and the news, around the news board over the kingdom, there would be one paper or one picture about them."


    "Again what''re you talking about?" And what is ¡®them¡¯?"


    "I can¡¯t tell you clearly about it, but how about we try to look at it in the city, Surely there will be something about it on some news board.."


    In the meantime, Adel came back from the gate with three people wearing some heavy armor, two were wearing the helmet, and one didn¡¯t wear it. The two people were checking the carriage, while one person kept talking with Adel. They checked that there was nothing wrong with the carriage, and Adel gave them the permit, the stamp, and the emblem from my family, to confirm the identification of the carriage and me.


    In a few seconds, they let us derail from the queue, and rode the carriage beside the queue with the three kept beside us. We passed the gate with a short escort from the three guards without waiting in line, courtesy of my family. I wanted to confirm and know what Valerie meant back then, so I instantaneously asked Adel,


    "Is there a news board around here?"


    "News board? What a wind that my lady wants to see on the news board."


    "I just heard something interesting from Valeri, and I want to see and read it.."


    "Something interesting huh?" Adel turned her gaze fiercely toward Valerie.


    "So is there one around here?"


    "Surely there must be one around here, let me look around.." Adel looked around, and spotted one news board on her right, "there is, my lady, on our right."


    Adel turned the carriage to the right, and rode toward the board. There was a crowd of people in front of the board. We stopped beside the road and in front of the board, and before Adel climbed down to open the door for me, I heard her words to Cassius and Valerie.


    "Prepare yourself [blabbering; I couldn¡¯t hear it properly..]....drive away the people." She said,


    What she meant about preparing yourself for Cassius and Valerie. She climbed down, and opened the door for me. I left the carriage, and walked toward the board with Adel, Cassius, and Valerie behind me. I passed some crowds, until I was in front. I read the board, the board itself was huge and wide, there was some writing and painting on the board; some writings about a job, some writings about a missing person, some writings from the official, and some paintings about some events¡­¡­¡­However, I spotted one section of the board that was full of crowds, especially girls, in front of it on my right. I walked toward it, but Adel didn¡¯t follow me. She looked like she was telling Cassius and Valerie something.


    Every step closer toward the section, I heard from the girls, like so romantic, they were so lovey dovey, they were so fond of each other, and anything else. I was more curious about what was on the board¡­¡­In front of it, I found, shockingly, what had been written and painted on the board¡­


    It was the story¡­of the crown¡­prince..with¡­lady¡­Anna. I kept reading, one by one, their stories. The newest one was yesterday''s writing, it was written that they seemed like lovers.


    I asked one girl from the crowd,


    "Excuse me, can I ask you something? What do you think about their relationship with each other?"


    "Surely they are betrothed, but¡­I don¡¯t know why they do not proceed further.."


    Betrothed? What she was talking about¡­ "And when did this rumor start?"


    "Are you perhaps not following it? Or do you start to follow it now? But I can tell you, it started seven years ago, somehow someone started to write about them, and a few months later, a painting was published about their closeness to each other."


    Seven years ago¡­so they started to stay with each other for that long, and this was why¡­the crown prince¡­never¡­stepped a foot¡­in my home¡­again¡­or took a look at me¡­in these past seven years¡­


    After hearing that, somehow I felt angry, annoyed, and irritated, everything inside of me. This feeling, somehow I remembered it, it was the same feeling, back then when I saved the three children. I gripped both of my hands hard, and suddenly I started to laugh in a low tone.


    "Ha..ha..ha..ha..ha..ha..ha..ha¡­"


    Small and slowly laughing, suddenly became louder.


    "HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA.."


    Anyhow, Adel suddenly was beside me, she grabbed my shoulder and my hand, and it seemed she said something,


    "Calm down¡­my lady¡­it is just words from someone¡­just keep calm¡­"


    "I know it¡­Even though I don''t know him well, BUT¡­¡­¡­¡­.I felt irritated about it, Adel¡­"


    "Perhaps it¡¯s the feeling of jealousy."


    "NO!! I DON¡¯T¡­JEALOUS ABOUT HIM WITH LADY ANNA¡­¡­" Unconsciously, I threw Adel away with my hand; she was thrown some meters away..


    The crowds were scared and shocked. Cassius and Valerie went to Adel, and tried to help her get up..They were shocked, to see Adel¡¯s right hand in a black state with a gold glyph symbol, it meant she used her transmutation, yet she was still being thrown away..Adel got up, and walked towards me, while Cassius and Valerie tried to make the crowds stay away from me.


    "That¡¯s the feeling of jealousy, my lady¡­it is okay if you feel like that¡­but to let you drown in your emotion¡­Is that okay, my lady?" Adel said while walking toward me.


    "HA HA HA HA SO THIS IS A JEALOUSY" Suddenly I laughed so hard and lost control of my body, "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA" I went insane..


    "CRAP!¡­THIS IS BAD!!¡­THIS IS BAD!!¡­" Adel spat some words,

 Chapter 27 Audience with The Queen

    I slowly opened my eyes¡­the first thing I saw was a ceiling¡­I was not in front of the board anymore, but sort of a room¡­I was lying down on the bed, slowly I got up from laying down..I looked around me..it was neither my room nor my house..When I tried to stand up from the bed, the knob¡¯s door could have been hear. Slowly the door was opened.


    An unfamiliar face came inside the room. From what she wore, it seemed she was a servant of the house...Our eyes met, and she was surprised¡­When I wanted to ask her where I was, she immediately left the room..I stood up from the bed, walked around and looked around the room..The room was way smaller than my room in my home, there was neither a window nor a balcony¡­There was only one wood table and one wood chair in one set¡­After looking and walking around the room, I sat at the table, while waiting for someone to come.


    A few moments later, I could hear a lot of footsteps from outside¡­I got up from my seat, to prepare for who would come inside¡­..The door was opened by the servant before, but I saw her behind, there were five guards..I asked her,


    "What is going on? Perhaps you can tell me?"


    The servant just stayed quiet and silent..


    Yet, someone from the guards stepped in, his military attire was different from other guards in there¡­I assumed he was the one who commanded them..


    "Lady Aurelia¡­Her Majesty Queen is waiting for you, she wants an audience with you¡­"


    "Her majesty wants an audience with me??


    "Right now, you are under house arrest¡­"


    "HOUSE ARREST???" So this room was for house arrest, which explained why the room didn¡¯t have any window, "Why am I on house arrest??"


    "The Queen will tell you the reason for that, and your servant and your escorts were the same as you, they are under arrest...but more harsh than your room.."


    "NO NO NO NO, I WANT TO KNOW FIRST, BEFORE SEE THE QUEEN, AND I WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE OTHERS TOO; SURELY THIS IS A MISUNDERSTANDING.


    "I am so sorry, but I can¡¯t answer all your questions right now, because her majesty is still waiting for you...."


    I couldn¡¯t be panicked and just stayed calm, "Well then, if it¡¯s what it is, you may lead me to the majesty.."


    "You may follow me, and keep staying beside me¡­"


    ¡­


    So right now, I was in the palace. He led me, and I followed him, and stayed side by side with him. Behind us were the four guards and the servant before¡­After we passed the stairs, we were immediately in the hall, and I could see some servants walking back and forth. I realized the house arrest was beneath the palace¡­We kept walking, and I looked around, there was no difference in ornaments, and decorations between my house and the palace..


    We arrived in front of the big door, and suddenly I remembered the big door from my father''s room¡­The two guards from behind us, walked forward, and opened the door¡­The view of the throne room could be seen¡­From a distance, I could see two throne chairs; one was vacant, and on the other, the queen was sitting on it. The queen had long blonde hair. with someone beside her, a man with short red hair¡­There were six pillars in the room, with red and goldish carpet from the door until in front of the throne¡­


    While I was walking toward the Queen, I saw Adel, and others beside the carpet¡­Their hands got cuffed with a wooden cuff¡­In front of the throne, the guard made a small audience about my arrival with the Queen¡­After that, I moved forward, I bowed, and showed some attitude toward the Queen.


    Suddenly, the man standing beside her spoke, "Aurelia Aurelius, you are in charge of public disturbance, endangering the public, and damaging public property¡­.." the man kept talking, and I didn¡¯t follow all of his words..


    I didn¡¯t remember who the man was; even in the tutoring session with Lady Octavi, she didn¡¯t tell me anything about him¡­


    The Queen suddenly said, "Stop it for a second, Cato¡­It looks like Lady Aurelia doesn''t follow your words.."


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    The man immediately stopped as the Queen ordered, so his name was Cato¡­


    The Queen asked me, "Is there something in your mind, Aurelia? That makes you not follow his words.."


    "Forgive me, your majesty¡­I''m just wondering, who is the man beside you?? I don¡¯t recall anything about it.."


    "Really?? It¡¯s quite shocking to hear it from you.." The Queen turned her gaze to the man and said, "You may introduce yourself to her.."


    "As you wish¡­" The man took one step forward, and said, "My name is Cato Justina, here, I am the royal regent¡­I am here because the King is still absent because he is still traveling¡­"


    Regent, it meant he was in power to govern the kingdom, when the King was absent¡­... .and his family¡¯s name was Justina, it meant¡­he was Anna¡¯s father¡­That was why she could be close with the Crown Prince¡­But a regent should be someone who has some power or equal power with the king, how could a count could be a regent? Where there was some duke or duchess who had more power than him..


    "Thanks for the introduction, now I am well aware of him¡­" I said.


    "About the charge, Aurelia¡­" The Queen said, "Do you remember what you did yesterday? Or Are you aware of it??"


    "I apologize, but I don¡¯t know what you are talking about?? I don¡¯t remember anything about it, the last I remember, I was reading on the board¡­After that, I don¡¯t remember anything."


    "You know, that you came in here, to become courtier of the royal right??"


    "Yes I am aware of it.."


    "But how the first thing you came here was like this¡­you havocked the public board, made a disturbance, endangering the people around¡­Is this what Aurelius taught you to behave?"


    "Once more, forgive me, your majesty, I don¡¯t remember anything about endangering people around me¡­but if it was true, I apologize, and may you forgive me about my behavior¡­"


    "Somehow, for some reason, when I saw your long white hair, and your blue eyes, it made me jealous¡­¡­"


    "Pardon, your majesty??"


    "Your beauty is the same as your mother, and it bothers me¡­the difference between you and your mother is just the eyes¡­you have blue, and your mother has red ... .somehow, it irritated me to see that white hair¡­"


    "I think your blonde hair is beautiful too, your majesty.."


    "Really???" The Queen immediately touched and stroked her own hair, saying, "But it is not as beautiful as yours¡­¡­" She slowly looked at Adel and the others and asked, "Is she your personal maid? And the others, their attire and their clothes are not like that of your family."


    "Adel is my personal maid, and the others are just mercenaries I hired for the escorts¡­"


    "Mercenaries??? It is hilarious, the Aurelius family hired mercenaries for the escorts¡­"


    "My family did not hire them, but it was myself who hired them¡­"


    "Heeeeee¡­¡­" she slowly turned her face to me, "about your charges, I will dismiss it.." The man beside her was shocked, and she continued saying, "But¡­you will be under surveillance, and I will appoint one person to do that¡­"


    I heard footsteps behind me, slowly the footsteps stopped beside me..I looked to my right, it was the guard who led me here..


    "He will be your personal escort, you can make it like that, he will stay around you, whenever, whatever, and wherever you go, starting tomorrow ... .Is that clear, Aurelia??" The Queen said..


    "Myself understand.."


    I saw her raise her right hand, and immediately two guards walked to Adel and the others. They released their wooden cuffs..


    "All of you, may excuse yourself from here¡­"


    Before everyone was leaving the room, they showed a small bow, and showed gratitude toward the Queen¡­Yet there was one question, from myself to the Queen..When everyone was already turned back even the Queen wanted to get up from her chair, so instead I took one step toward the Queen..Seeing me took one step, she got to sit up again, and asked me,


    "Is there something else you need?"


    "Is your majesty aware of the wind rumor circulating around the crown prince?"


    "Which one? Surely there are some rumors circulating around the royal family.."


    "The rumor where he is in a relationship with another woman.."


    She took a few seconds, and said "Ah!! You mean him with Cato¡¯s daughter¡­¡­.I am aware of her being close with him.."


    "Is their relationship an intimate relationship??"


    "Intimate?? I saw them not as intimate as you asked, why could you ask like that?"


    "Forgive my sentences and my words, but what I have seen for the past seven years is that the Crown Prince never ever set foot again in Aurelius territory, or even took a peek at me, and to see that he is in a relationship with another lady, surely the royals don¡¯t take the agreement seriously.."


    "You need to watch your words, Aurelia¡­we take the agreement between your family and us seriously¡­but the action of Fabian is by his own.." she showed some smirk expression, saying, "We still tried our best to prevent him; as you could see, he is the crown prince of the kingdom; surely there are a lot of eyes on him.."


    "How did the royals try their best for these seven years? If the wind rumor keeps getting stronger and circulating among the people¡­even the people themselves think they''re bethroral¡­If it keeps going like this, surely it breaks the agreement¡­"


    The Queen and Cato looked at each other for a second. Suddenly her eyes, her smile, and her sound tone became different. It was like she tried to lure me into this¡­


    Her posture became more arrogant with her head leant to her right hand, and she said "So Aurelia¡­¡­If you want to break the betrothal and agreement between the Julius family and the Aurelius family, I open wide the door for you to do that. You are already 21 years old, which is the age at which women commonly marry. Surely, I will take your words as seriously as Aurelius words¡­¡­Therefore what will you choose??"

 Chapter 28 The Decision

    Was this a chance to break everything? Would I take this? If I accepted her offer, and broke the betrothal, what was the point of being here? What was the point of the royal decree? What was the point of the royal family inviting me to become the royal courtier? So the story of mine in the book would end. I would not die in the future neither my father. My family would be saved.


    I looked at her, and said, "YE¨C" but suddenly I stopped in the middle of it, because when I looked at the Queen, I felt something fishy about it¡­Was it worth it for me to break the betrothal? Yet, it would save my life and my family''s. Again, the agreement was created to prevent the royals from intervening in my family''s territory and business¡­Did the Queen expect me to break the betrothal so they could intervene in my family territory?


    "What¡¯s the matter, Aurelia? Are you going to accept my offer or not?" The Queen asked.


    I was silent for 5 seconds, looking down. After that, I lifted my face to her, and said "No, your majesty¡­This bethoral shall be continued¡­"


    "If that¡¯s your answer, surely the royal family will accommodate the best for you in the courtier and support your relationship."


    "I¡¯m thankful, your majesty.."


    I left the room; everyone was waiting for me outside the room. We were escorted by the guards to leave the palace. Outside the palace, my carriage was waiting; the stuff above the carriage was gone. I immediately wanted to go inside the carriage, but the guard who got ordered by the queen told me that the surveillance of me started tomorrow. After that, I went inside the carriage, and the others¡ªAdel, Cassius, and Valerie¡ªhopped to the front of the carriage. We left the palace.


    In the carriage, I was questioning my decision about the bethroral¡ªwas it right to maintain it?


    ¡­


    The carriage was stopped, and the door was opened. We were in front of a big house. When I took a step to the ground, Adel said,


    "Welcome home.."


    "Is this my residence, when I am here?"


    "Yes, how about my lady go inside.."


    I walked toward the door. In front of the door, there were some stairs. While I was walking up some stairs, I heard something on the carriage. I looked behind me, and it was Cassius and Valerie; they were walking away, trying to leave. I saw they were leaving, so I turned around and started to chase them. I lifted my skirt and ran toward them.


    I shouted, "WAIT!!"


    Their heads turned around, and they stopped walking.


    In front of them, I asked, "Where are you going?"


    Cassius answered, "The job is done, so we will leave from here, trying to find another job.."


    "I will rehire you, not as my escort, but as my guards; how about that?"


    Valerie said with a high tone,"Listen here!! You have a capable person, or I can say a monster, behind you¡­" suddenly her voice became lower, "or inside of you.." and back to normal, "So why do you still need us to be around you? You are Aurelius; the people around you are more capable than us.."


    I didn¡¯t want them to leave me; I still needed them to survive.


    "Surely people around me are capable and strong, but they are hired by my parents, not me, or trained by my parents¡­You two, are the first people that I hired, not my parents, I need you two to stay with me¡­and you two are the only outside persons, that I know; maybe you two have more common sense, knowledge, and hear rumors than people around me¡­So I need you, you can live inside the house¡ª"


    Suddenly, Adel behind me wanted to interrupt me, after she heard they could live inside the house.


    I said to her, "It¡¯s alright, they can live inside the house.", and turned my head back to them, "Not just you two can live inside the house; you two get the monthly wages too, and you two who evaluate the wages¡­¡­Do you accept my offer??"


    They looked at each other for a few seconds, without speaking; Cassius just stretched out his right hand toward me. Seeing that, I was so happy; they were not leaving me. I immediately shook his right hand.


    While shaking his hand, I said, "About the wages, you can talk it out with Adel¡­She will arrange it for you.."


    .


    We were walking back to the front of the door. I opened the door, and after the door was opened, I was greeted by some servants in the house. One of the servants walked toward me, and introduced himself as the one in charge of the maintenance of the house. I counted all the servants in front of me, it was a total of eight servants. I told him about Cassius and Valerie, who would live inside the house, and arranged for them. He started to lead us around the house; he showed each of the parts of the house to me and the others. The last room he showed us was my room; it was on the second floor. The room was the same as my own room¡ªthe bed, the furniture¡ªeven though there was a big glass window beside the bed, all of my belongings were already in the room, which was why there was nothing above the carriage. After the tour, I told Adel I wanted to get some rest and knocked on the door when it was lunchtime. Everyone left the room.


    I walked beside the bed and found the book sitting above the bedside table. I took the book and brought it to the desk. I sat at the desk, read it, and checked it. The first event of the book was 761NE this year; the month was the seventh month of the year; that was this month, but the day was still in two weeks. Today''s date was 761 NE-07-12, so the book started at 761 NE-07-26. I started to read what would happen on that date from the book.


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    There would be a party in the ballroom, and the main character of the book would start trying to get closer to the crown prince because her status was low. She tried to get closer to the royal guard in the ballroom first; the royal guard¡¯s name was Milo. Her action in the book was to be hapless to get attention from the royal guard, which made the crown prince see her hapless being and take care of her. In the book, there was no mention of the main character¡¯s name. It was just mentioned as "I", not a name; every time her name was mentioned, I could not read it from the hallucination book. Later,  people called her Paragon, not her own name. So I needed to know who this main character was. I kept reading it; what would have happened that day?


    Some time passed by, and I finished reading it. Now, I needed to make a choice between letting what was written in the book happen or preventing it. If I chose to prevent it, I needed to find Milo, the royal guard, and, of course, the identity of the main character of the book needed to be known. It raised more questions when I thought about unraveling the identity of the main character. What I needed to do if I knew her name I knew the person who would kill me in the future and my family; was it necessary to bring them eye to eye for this one?


    I took a deep breath and said, "*Sigh* I don¡¯t want to take that path, just because she tried to get closer with my betrothed, even though the crown prince is closer wit¡­¡­¡­¡­..Wait a second, is her name or her family mentioned in the book?"


    I checked page after page, and there was not a single page that mentioned Justina. The position of regent was kept vacant in the book until the king, who chose my father as regent at one point in the book, asked, So where did this family¡¯s name come from? Even Lady Octavi never told me about the regent position in her tutor past these seven years; did the royals purposely keep the regent''s position secret? And the book didn¡¯t mention the goddess or the transmutation. Why was there a difference between the book and the real world? Was it because of my action and my consciousness of the book? So it was different. When I found out about the book, they were gone.


    The most important one was, "who is Ainur Nala? And what the hell is the world she is living in?".


    Somehow her existence was so important to Delia and Gena. They didn¡¯t provide me with any information about her, except for showing me her appearance. They just wanted me to follow what the book wrote, but when I finally read the ending of the book, somehow they were gone without a word. Ainur Nala, the realm you lived in, was so strange to me. Did she live in a magical realm? Where the chandelier and candle were brighter, where words from the book were perfectly aligned with each other, where a dead object could emit a bright light...


    Suddenly, I could hear the sound of doors knocking. I got up from the desk, walked toward the door, and opened it. It was Adel; she informed me that it was lunch time.


    I looked around and asked, "where is the meal??"


    Adek was confused and said, "Does my lady want to have your lunch in your room? Or you can come down to the dining hall to have lunch?"


    "Ah!! Yes, this is not home anymore, and I don''t need to eat my meal in my room again¡­ " For seven years, I ate my meal in my room; surely it would become a habit for me, "Let''s go down and have lunch¡­ "


    I left the room, and Adel and I went to the dining hall. I arrived there, and it felt empty. The wide and long table only had one chair; it was just for me. Surely it was the same as when I ate my meal in my room. Before I took a seat, I got an idea to fill the emptiness of the room. I looked at Adel and asked,


    "Where are Cassius and Valerie??"


    Adel answered, "I think they are in the backyard¡­. Is there anything you need from them?"


    "I just want to invite them to have lunch with me here¡­ "


    "Why do you want to invite them?"


    "It is empty here; it is just me who eats here¡­Will you bring them here? So we can have lunch together.."


    "But¡ª"


    "There is neither a father nor a mother in here; surely you will obey my words, right, Adel?"


    At once, Adel left the room and searched for them.


    ..


    A few minutes passed, and Adel brought them in front of me while I was still standing beside my seat. They wore plain white clothes, and their faces were confused. Valerie asked me,


    "Do you need something from us?"


    I immediately looked at Adel; she avoided my gaze. From her question, I assumed Adel didn''t tell them to have lunch together.


    I said to them, "I don¡¯t need anything from you¡­I just want to have lunch with you two.


    Their faces were shocked¡­


    "Have lunch with us?" Cassius asked.


    "Yes¡­As you can see, there is only me beside the servants in this house; surely having a meal will be empty and lonely... Now you are staying in this house with me as my guards. I want to have lunch with you to fill the emptiness of this house. All of you can take a seat. Including you, Adel¡­"


    Adel pointed to herself with her finger and said, "Am I too, my lady??"


    "Yes¡­.." Suddenly I realized a crucial thing and asked Adel, "I invite all of you to have lunch with me all of a sudden; will there be enough meals for all of you?"


    Adel answered, "You don¡¯t need to worry about that, the kitchen will have enough food, no matter what the situation is.."


    "Great then¡­"


    I took a seat in my seat, followed by Adel who took a seat beside me. After I was seated, Cassius and Valerie still stood up..


    "What¡¯s the matter between you two? Why do you not take a seat?" I asked them.


    Valerie answered with a nervous tone, "About¡­that¡­is this¡­really¡­okay?? For us to sit with you and... have lunch with you..."


    "It¡¯s alright¡­ Don''t be nervous with me.


    After hearing from me, Valerie kept asking and insisting.


    Contrary, Cassius took a seat. It made Valerie irritated, and they started to exchange some arguments.


    "What are you doing??"


    "What am I doing? She ordered us to take a seat and have lunch with her; surely I obligate it.."


    "Are you a fool or what?? Your status and our status are different from hers. Why do you casually just sit like that?"


    "Because she asked for it. You are the fool one in here. The woman of the house asked you to take a seat, pleased to have a meal with her, and here you are standing and rejecting, you surely a fool¡­"


    "YOU¡ª"


    Their arguments became obnoxious and loud.


    I asked her for the last time, "Valerie, this is the last time. I will ask you, do you want to take a seat and have a meal with me or not? If not, you can excuse yourself from here.."


    She immediately pulled the chair up and took a seat.


    "The fool finally realized the merit.


    "YOU¡ª"


    "Can you two please stop? And don¡¯t argue at the table." I said to them..


    After they became quiet¡­ I did what my father did every time we had a meal on the table. I clapped¡­ At once, the servants came out and brought the food. and we enjoyed our meal.

 Chapter 29 First Day at Palace I

    Day passed, to another day¡­


    761 NE-07-13


    Adel woke me up¡­I got up from the bed¡­like usual, she led me to the vanity table to do my morning routine. While in the morning routine, Adel gave me the information that in front of the door, the one who got ordered to watch me had come; right now he was in the living room, waiting for me.¡­He already came when I just got up from bed... The usual morning routine had been done. I stood up and looked at the mirror¡­The more I looked at myself in the mirror, the more I could see my mother in the reflection¡­Maybe because all the dresses were my mother''s old dresses¡­It was a one-piece, tight-fitting dress with sleeves and a V-Neck¡­The skirt itself was so tight to my body¡­It was so different from my old dress, where it had a voluminous skirt¡­


    Adel asked, Perhaps you want to have breakfast first? Or meet this guard first?"


    "I want my breakfast first¡­"


    We left the room, and walked toward the dining room, ignoring the guard. In the dining room, Cassius and Valerie were standing. I walked to my seat, and after that, I asked all of them to take a seat like yesterday. We had breakfast together.


    After I had breakfast, I walked to the living room to meet the guard. When I put my foot in the living room, he immediately got up from his seat¡­I asked him to take his seat back, and I also took a seat¡­After each of us sat down, he started to explain what I would do in the palace according to the Queen¡¯s order¡­According to his explanation, I would be assigned under the Arch-Treasury, and there would be 4 people. For the surveillance, he would stay side by side with me the entire time until dusk.


    I asked, "Can I bring my own guards?"


    "Your own guards?? Ah!! Those people who were with you¡­sure, you can bring them, but they will not stay beside you; instead, they will stay on the training ground." His intention changed to Adel, "And your maid beside you¡ªthe Queen takes an interest in her, and wants her to stay with your guards in the training ground¡­"


    I was surprised, and said "WHAT!! She will stay beside me¡­why does the Queen want her on the training ground?"


    "She didn¡¯t inform me of the reason for that; I am just a guard; I do what the Queen ordered without asking.


    I looked at Adel, who was beside me, and said to him, "But, I still need her with me¡­"


    "You don¡¯t need to worry about anything in the palace; surely there are still some servants that can help you¡­¡­¡­I think that is everything, and now we can depart to the palace¡­"


    He got up, left the room, and immediately went to the front door. I told Adel to explain everything to Cassius and Valerie; they would come to the palace with me¡­At once, she left the room, while I was waiting in the living room..A few minutes later, Adel brought them in front of me¡­


    I asked them, "Do you already know why you are here?"


    Valerie answered, "Your maid told us everything, we know it already.."


    "Great, then¡­now let¡¯s depart there.."


    I got up from my seat, and proceeded to leave the house, followed by the others. In front of the house, the carriage was already prepared, and the guard rode a horse¡­I immediately went inside the carriage; the others, like usual, went to the front of the carriage, and we departed from the house to the palace with the guard, who rode a horse beside the carriage.


    ¡­


    Arriving in front of the palace, the carriage was stopped. Adel opened the door, and I left the carriage. After I left the carriage, I saw the guard get off his horse and bring the horse¡¯s rope to another guard.


    He walked toward us, and said, "You can leave the carriage in here; there will be another guard who will take care of it¡­¡­now you can follow me; I will show you the way¡­"


    We went to the palace, led by the guard¡­While walking, I noticed that the attire of the guard was more extravagant, elegant, and different from another guard of the palace; the biggest difference was the blue robe behind him.


    In the distance, I could see two people in the intersection of the hall. The closer we walked to them, the clearer I saw. They were a sort of maid of the palace and a guard.


    Arriving in front of them, the guard said, "This is where you need to separate¡­" He introduced me to the maid, "She is one of the servants here; her name is Flavia, and she will be the one who will help and accommodate you while you are in the palace¡­" She lifted her skirt, and greeted me. She had long, brown, curly hair. What I had seen from her was that her age was maybe the same as Adel''s.


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    He introduced the guard to the others, saying, "He is one of my men, he will lead you to the training ground, so you need to follow him¡­he will introduce you to everyone on the training ground¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­Now lady Aurelia can follow her; she will lead you to the room, where you had been assigned; surely I will still accompany you."


    Flavia, the guard, and I turned right, and the others went the opposite of me¡­She led me to a different hall, so we walked to a different side of the palace¡­In this hall, I could see a lot of people with extravagant attire walking around..I assumed they were the nobles who were in the court¡­When we were walking in there, their eyes focused on me. I saw some of them start to whisper to each other, and I just ignored everything from them.


    .


    We arrived in front of a room, I looked up; there was a sign saying "Arch-Treasury.". It was the room I had been assigned. Flavia opened the door, and I could see inside the room. It was a chancery room, and there was a lot of paperwork in the room. The size of the room was the same as the size of my father''s room. There were five people in the room; two were ladies, and the others were gentlemen. They were sitting at their own desks. Flavia led me to the desk in the center of the room.


    At the desk, there was a middle-aged man who took a seat. The guard who was behind me, immediately in front of me,


    The guard said, "This is Lady Aurelia; the Queen ordered her to be here to help the treasury."


    The man was quite surprised and said, "AURELIA!!! IS SHE FROM THE AURELIUS FAMILY??"


    Everyone in the room was surprised after hearing it from the man.


    The guard answered, "Correct, she is Lady Aurelia from the Aurelius Family¡­"


    I lifted my skirt and greeted him¡­


    "Where is the order? You talked about¡­I WANT THE PAPER ABOUT THIS.." The man said to the guard..


    The guard took out a paper, and gave it to him. The man read it, and a few seconds later, his face was disbelieving. Seeing that, everyone in the room rushed to the desk and took turns reading the paper. I was confused. What was the big deal for me to be here?


    The guard said to the man, "As you can see, Lady Aurelia will be assigned here, but there is an addition from the paper that is not written in there¡­I had been assigned as the guard of Lady Aurelia by the Queen¡¯s order; I hope you allow my presence inside the room to stay beside her."


    I was surprised; he introduced himself as my guard, not as the person who was surveying me. The man and everyone in the room became more surprised.


    The man said with a worried tone, "Is the Queen aware that a guard is prohibited from staying longer inside one of the courtrooms?"


    "You need to ask that to the Queen for the answer¡­I am here just by her order¡­"


    "Arghhhh!!! Sure, sure, I will make an exception for you to stay beside her in the room. The man pointed at Flavia and said, "And how about her? Is she her personal maid, so she needs to stay beside her?"


    "She is just the servant of the palace; she is not her personal maid, so she knows the rules." The guard answered.


    The man looked at me, and said, "So Aurelia¡­Let me introduce myself. I am Livio Atius, the one who is in charge here¡­" He turned to the others and said, "All of you need to introduce yourself.


    One by one, they introduced themselves,


    The first man introduced himself "My name is Marco Atius, and as you can see from my name, I am his son¡­" He pointed at Livio.


    The second man introduced himself, "I am Tito Julius¡­", He had blonde hair and blue eyes like the royals.


    Julius?? I immediately asked him, "Julius?? Are you related to the royals?"


    He answered, "Yes, I am. I am the third¡­"


    I said to him, "So you are his brother¡­"


    Now, it was the ladies'' turn to introduce themselves.


    The first lady introduced herself "I am Clara Alliena. nice to meet you, Lady Aurelia..". Clara''s appearance was more feminine, and her dress was more glamorous. When I saw her dress, it reminded me of my dress when I was 15 years old.


    The second lady introduced herself "My name is Hillaria Antia; it¡¯s an honor to be acquainted with you, Lady Aurelia¡­". Hillaria¡¯s appearance was like Lady Octavi''s; her dress was more like a man''s attire with the pants she wore.


    I introduced myself to all of them, saying, "My name is Aurelia Aurelius; I hope my presence here can help all of you, and I hope we can get along with each other.."


    After all the introductions, Flavia left the room, Clara led me to my desk, and the guard was still beside me. At the desk, Clara explained everything to me, how to handle the paper, how to bring the paper, and other things.


    She finished explaining and asked me, "Lady Aurelia, may we have tea time together after this?"


    I answered, "I gladly accept your invitation, Lady Clara.."


    She came back to her own desk. I took a seat at my desk, and beside my desk was Tito''s desk. He passed me a note about what I needed to do for today. For today, I just needed to sort the fund papers for each category¡­While I was working, I felt a little bit uncomfortable because the guard kept standing behind me. Sometimes, I took a look around, and everyone just kept staring at the guard.


    Time had passed, and suddenly I could hear a bell. I saw everyone suddenly become more relaxed and hand out their work. Clara and Hillaria walked toward my desk.


    In front of my desk, Clara asked, "It¡¯s over, Lady Aurelia¡­Now may we have a tea time together??"


    "Ah! So that bell works for¡­"


    "That is a sign bell¡­"


    "How about the paper? Where do I need to hand these?"


    "You can leave them at desk, someone will take them.."


    "Well, if that¡¯s the case¡­"


    I got up from the desk¡­

 Chapter 30 First Day at Palace II

    Lady Clara and Lady Hillaria led me to leave the room, followed by the guard behind me. Outside the room, Flavia was already in front of the room, waiting for me. She walked to me and asked me..


    "May I know, where are you going, my lady??"


    Clara and Hillaria were surprised. Clara said, "Is she your personal maid, Lady Aurelia?"


    I answered them, "No¡­she is not my personal maid¡­she is one of the palace¡¯s servants, who got ordered to be my maid, while I was here¡­." I turned my face to Flavia and said, "These ladies are leading me to tea time."


    "Tea time, may I prepare that for you??"


    "Thanks for that, but I don¡¯t know the place; you may ask them.."


    Flavia walked toward them, and I saw Clara say something to her¡­Flavia immediately excused herself and told me that everything would be prepared when we went there. As she walked away from us, Clara said to me,


    "You are really a special one, Lady Aurelia¡­"


    I asked, "What do you mean by that?"


    "You have special treatment from the palace; they allowed you to have a guard behind you; now they gave you one of their servants to serve you¡­"


    "Are people here allowed to bring their own servant?"


    "Yes, we are allowed, but there is a restriction inside this hall; only servants from the palace are allowed to be in this building, so my personal maid can¡¯t be here¡­"


    "And now where is she?"


    "She is in the garden with the others¡­usually she will prepare tea time¡­"


    "Our tea time will be in the garden.."


    "Yes¡­It is so spacio¡ª"


    Suddenly, I saw Hillaria lightly push Clara¡¯s right arm with her elbow..


    Clara said, "It seems Lady Hillaria is impatient to have tea time with you, Lady Aurelia¡­so may we continue to walk there?"


    We continued to walk. Arriving at the garden, it was so spacious. There were some pavilions in the garden; under them were a table and some chairs. There were a lot of ladies nobles with their maids in here, some of the pavilions already occupied by them.


    Clara said, "Now let¡¯s search for our spot¡­" She was looking around and finally found it: "There it is¡­¡­.." She pointed at it and said, "And my maid is in there too, with Lady Hillaria¡¯s maid¡­"


    I looked in the direction she pointed and noticed that everything was more lavish than the other pavilions. We walked toward it. While we were walking there, I felt a lot of staring from the ladies in here, but most of their stares focused on the guard behind me¡­


    Arriving at the place, Flavia prepared my seat, and the other maids prepared their seats. We each took our seats. After we took a seat, for a few seconds, there was silence between us. Lady Clara had a small cough and looked at me¡­I didn¡¯t know what her signal or her meaning was..More seconds of silence passed by, and Lady Clara said to me,


    "Apologize, Lady Aurelia¡­ But you need to start the tea time with a small bite or small drink, so we can enjoy it¡­"


    "I am the one who started it? But are Lady Clara and Lady Hillaria the ones who invited me here?"


    "Well, there are a number of rules, so Lady Aurelia needs to start them first.."


    "Rules???"


    "The lower peerage rank will not take a single bite or a single drop of the tea, unless the highest peerage rank in the table takes it first. In this table, Lady Aurelia is the highest one, so Lady Hillaria and I are waiting for you to take it first."


    "I am not aware of those rules, and, if this offends both of you, I apologize, but what is your peerage rank?"


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    "Both of us are the daughters of a count, so we are pretty much low nobles... Did Lady Aurelia have tea time before with other nobles??"


    Did having tea with Lady Octavi count? I answered, "I usually have tea time with my tutor¡­so I am not aware of this rule¡­"


    "May I know this tutor¡¯s name? The one who teaches Lady Aurelia should be an amazing tutor."


    "Lady Octavi¡­"


    Lady Clara was surprised, and then asked, "And what¡¯s her family name?"


    "Claudi¡­Octavi Claudi¡­"


    Suddenly the atmosphere of the table was quiet for a moment, until Lady Clara put down her tea and burst her face in front of me, she said¡­


    "LADY OCTAVI CALUDI, you said¡­"


    Her maid was panicking, and said to her "My lady¡­my lady¡­ please watch your manners to Lady Aurelia¡­"


    Immediately, she pulled her body away from me, back at the seat, and said, "Forgive my burst behavior, Lady Aurelia¡­I am just surprised that Lady Octavi is your tutor.."


    I knew Lady Octavi had a nickname in the academy; even the crown prince admired her so much.


    I asked her, "Is she really that amazing??"


    "Does Lady Aurelia not know it? She is popular in the capital, especially among the ladies nobles. Her elegance, her swordship, her cool, and she is the best of the best in the academy of the palace."


    "Well her appearance is similar to Lady Hillaria¡­" I pointed at Lady Hillaria and said, "Surely, Lady Hillaria is popular too.."


    Lady Clara¡¯s face became frowning, she pointed at Lady Hillaria without looking at her, and she said to me, "Look closely again, Lady Aurelia¡­"


    I looked closer to Lady Hillaria¡­I found some crumbs in her face and dress; even her mouth was still full of snacks.


    "She may look the same as Lady Octavi with her manly dress like that, but she is so obsessed with treats, and that makes her like that.."


    Lady Hillaria said to Clara with her mouth full, "You *munch* shut up *munch*...Sugar is *munch* important, you know.."


    I said to Clara, "I see, if Lady Hillaria is quiet, she is like Lady Octavi, but... in front of snacks, she is changed."


    "Usually she doesn¡¯t act like this, because we are the ones who prepare the table, so everything on the table is limited¡­but this time, the palace servant who prepared it, on Lady Aurelia''s behalf, surely everything is more than usual for us."


    "So that makes Lady Hillaria like that."


    Lady Clara turned her face to the guard behind me, and said, "Talking about Lady Octavi, I remember the rumor that she is the senior of the crown prince and the leader of you, Mr. Guard."


    Huh? The leader of him, I was confused. I looked at him; he seemed to try to avoid Lady Clara''s eyes and mine. I said to him, "Ah! I still don¡¯t know your name."


    "Lady Aurelia doesn¡¯t know his name?"


    "Yes. May Lady Clara know him?"


    "Everyone here knows his name and him¡­He is the lieutenant of the blue order, Milo¡­"


    MILO!! Found it!! I didn¡¯t need to search for him. From the beginning, he was right in front of me. He had short, curly brown hair.


    "Blue order??" I asked.


    Lady Hillaria put everything down¡ªthe tea and the treat¡ªand explained, "There are orders scattered among the kingdom. The blue order is the regiments of the royals; I believe Lady Aurelia¡¯s family has it too; I think it¡¯s the white order."


    "My family has it too??" Around me, no one ever told me about it.


    "Yes¡­I am curious: does Lady Aurelia bring this order here as your escort?? Or maybe Lady Octavi, your tutor, is the one who escorts you?"


    Lady Clara immediately asked me, with her face closer to mine, "Does Lady Octavi come to this capital?" Again, her maid tried to make her behave properly..


    I answered it, "I was not aware of this order until Lady Hillaria told me; there was no one from the family who escorted me; it was my personal maid¡­¡­¡­and surely, Lady Octavi will come to the capital in the next couple of days, after my arrival here."


    Lady Clara said, "Really, she will come to the capital; you need to introduce me to her, Lady Aurelia." She was so thrilled after hearing that..


    Lady Hillaria was surprised and said, "Is it really just you and your maid, Lady Aurelia??"


    "On the trip, I hired two mercenaries to become my escort, and right now they are my own personal guards, and I brought them in here. They are on the training  ground."I turned my face to Milo, and said, "With my maid for some reason."


    "It makes me curious, what type of person you hired¡­May we go there?"


    Hearing that, Lady Clara showed some rejection: "Heeeee... why do we need to go to the training ground??"


    I said, "Can we go there???"


    "Surely we can; how about we go there, right now??"


    "Sure¡­I want to check them too¡­"


    "Come on, why do we need to go there? Look at the table; there is plenty of everything¡­" Lady Clara tried to find a reason to stay.


    Lady Hillaria and I got up¡­Seeing us get up, Lady Clara had no choice, so she got up¡­


    We left the garden, and they led me to the training ground, followed by Milo and Flavia behind me. Behind them, I could hear what Lady Clara and Lady Hillaria talked about.


    "You need to control yourself this time¡­" Lady Clara said.


    Lady Hillaria answered, "I know, I know. Just don¡¯t tell me again about this.."


    "You said that every time, I told you about it¡­and every time you were out of your boundary, and made a mess.."


    Lady Hillaria just ignored her..and we kept walking toward the training ground.

 Chapter 31 First Day at Palace III + Invitation

    Arriving at the training ground, I could see some of the equipment of the guard: short swords, spears, longswords, and some light armor. I saw there was a commotion on the training ground, and immediately Milo followed me, walking past me and toward it¡­While I was looking around the area, I noticed Adel was sitting on the bench, beside the training ground. At once, I walked toward her, with Lady Herallia and Lady Clara following beside me..


    While I was walking toward her, she noticed me, and her head turned toward me. At once, she stood up, and came to me¡­


    In front of me, she said, "My lady, you come here??"


    "I am curious about what all of you are doing, so I come here¡­" I introduced the people beside me to her, "This is Lady Herallia and Lady Clara with their maids behind them¡­.and this is my maid, Adeline¡­"


    Adel greeted them¡­


    After the introduction, I asked her, "What is that commotion? Why do a lot of people gather there?"


    "They are just watching a sparring match between Cassius and the other guards.."


    "Cassius??"


    Lady Herallia asked, "Who is this Cassius, Lady Aurelia??"


    "One of my two guards¡­"


    Her face became happy and showed a little bit of mischievous, "Hoooo¡­" She immediately went to the commotion¡­


    "Not again¡­" Lady Clara spoke with a low tone, and followed her..


    When I wanted to walk toward the commotion, Adel stopped me and grabbed my right hand¡­


    I asked, "What¡¯s the matter?"


    She said, "This Lady Hillaria, my lady better be careful of her.."


    "She is my acquaintance, Adel¡­" I released her grab of my hand, and walked toward the commotion. Flavia and Adel followed behind me.


    ..


    At the commotion, I could see Cassius and someone else at the center of it. They exchanged some swings between each other; Cassius was more defensive than the other guy. But he could find the parry and counter of the other guy swinging, and in just a second, he could disarm the other guy and win the spar.


    While I was watching, suddenly Valerie was right beside me, and said,


    "You come in here??"


    I answered, "I want to check all of you¡­"


    "Like you have seen, the guards in here just want to spar with us¡­and that¡¯s the fourteenth spar from Cassius in a row.."


    I was shocked, "Fourteenth in a row?? He must be tired¡­How about letting him take a rest?"


    "We tried, but the captain is not letting him out of the center of the ground."


    "Who is this captain? And where is this captain?? I want to talk about it"


    "Follow me!!"


    Valerie guided me out from the commotion..While I was following Valerie, I saw Lady Hillaria go to the center of the ground with a sword in her hand..It seemed she would spar with Cassius, but I kept following Valerie, and not watching the spar.


    Her leading end, there were two men standing, it was Milo and another man.


    Valerie pointed at the other man, and said, "He is the captain¡­"


    I walked toward the man; they noticed my arrival and looked at me.


    In front of them, I asked him, "Why do you let my guard spar fourteen times in a row, without any rest?"


    He turned his body to me, and said, "This is my training ground, girl¡­so everyone needs to obey my own rules in this ground.."


    "YOU WANT TO KILL MY GUARD OR WHA¨C"


    Suddenly the crowd was louder; I was curious and immediately checked it¡­I was surprised by what I had seen. Cassius was down with some bruises, but he was still conscious. Where there were no bruises before the spar between him and Lady Hillaria, Valerie immediately was beside him to take care of him and brought him out of the ground. I went to Cassius, and asked about his condition. Valerie told me to let him take a rest first.


    Lady Hillaria suddenly appeared beside me, and said, "My apologies, Lady Aurelia¡­"


    "I know, Lady Hillaria, I will not make this a grudge or feud between us¡­"


    When we tried to leave the training ground with Valerie helping Cassius walk and Adel behind me, the captain suddenly stopped us and said to me,


    "There is an order from the Queen, about your maid; she needs to spar with another guard.."


    I insisted on the order from the Queen, and said, "BUT, SHE IS NOT MY GUARD,  WHY DOES SHE NEED TO SPARRING WITH YOUR GUARD?"


    "I just followed an order, girl¡­now order your maid to the ground at once.."


    I looked at Adel, and gave her a sign to get to the ground..Adel went to the ground. First, I thought it would be another guard, but the one who stepped to the ground was Milo.


    Adel and Milo were on the ground with swords in each of their hands. Everyone in the crowd thought Milo would be the winner, because his opponent was just a maid. But the captain¡¯s face showed a different thought¡­The spar began; Adel was just standing without taking any sword stance, while Milo took a distance with Adel in sword stance. In a quick second, Milo dashed out to Adel, but in a quick second too, Adel¡¯s sword was in front of Milo¡¯s neck, touching a little of his neck, and his sword was on the ground, not in his hand anymore.


    I could not see what had happened there, and the crowd couldn¡¯t see it either. Suddenly her sword was just in front of Milo¡¯s neck, but I saw Lady Hillaira, and her face showed a big smile¡­I felt she would try to challenge Adel, like she did with Cassius. I immediately said loudly to the captain,


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    "WITH THIS, EVERYTHING HAS BEEN SETTLED; WE HAVE FULFILLED THE ORDER... WE WILL TAKE A LEAVE FROM HERE."


    "Girl, surely everything has been settled and fulfilled, but still, this is my training ground, so¡­" The captain¡¯s voice suddenly became loud, "IF THERE IS SOMEONE, WHO WANT TO CHALLENGE HER,


    "WHAT!!!" Immediately I watched Lady Hillaria, and like what I had felt, she took a step to the ground¡­


    Lady Hillaria and Adel exchanged some words, Lady Hillaria said, "You are surely a strong maid; that answers my question in my head. Why did the Aurelius family let their precious daughter come here with just one maid? Not bring their order or the golden sword family... I don¡¯t know; their maid will be like you..."


    Adel said, "I am gladly thankful; you have become an acquaintance of my lady¡­I hope you will still be her acquaintance after this¡­"


    They started the sparring, and like Milo, Lady Hillaria made a distance with Adel, yet Adel didn¡¯t move at all. Lady Hillaira, the first to dash at Adel, exchanged swings. Adel couldn¡¯t do what she did with Milo, so she divided the movement of Lady Hillaria¡¯s sword to be beside her. But when Lady Hillaria¡¯s sword passed beside Adel¡¯s right side, she immediately turned her body around and made a full swing to Adel¡¯s left side. Adel held the full swing, making Lady Hillaria back off. More swings had been exchanged, where both sides were not losing, but I could see Adel was on another level from Lady Hillaria. Her footwork didn¡¯t show any single move; contrary to Lady Hillaria, she used a lot of footwork, but she couldn¡¯t find an opening for her.


    Suddenly the captain shouted, "USE YOUR TRANSMUTATION, HILLARI.."


    At once, Lady Hillaria¡¯s hand transformed to become blue, like Cassius¡¯s transmutation, but a golden rune appeared at the center of it, like Adel¡¯s and Lady Octavi¡¯s transmutation. Yet, Lady Hillaria¡¯s transmutation did not transform the weapon; it just transformed her own hand. Different from Adel and Lady Octavi, their transmutation transformed the weapon and the hand¡­


    Valerie suddenly said to me with a worried face, "No matter what happens, don¡¯t let your maid show her transmutation¡­"


    I was confused and surprised by what she had said to me. I asked Valerie,


    "Why did you say that?"


    Valerie immediately leaned her mouth to my right ear and whispered to me.


    I was shocked, and after hearing it from Valerie, I asked her, "Are you really sure about what you had said??"


    She just nodded at me..


    If what Valerie said was true, I was trapped, even though I knew how strong Adel was compared with Cassius and the other blue transmutation bandits¡­


    The captain said to me, "Girl!!! Order your maid to use her transmutation in this spar...to make it even¡­"


    I looked at Adel, and her expression showed no worry or remorse; she was just standing there like nothing would happen. I asked her from the side of the ground,


    "Is it necessary for you to use transmutation, Adel?"


    Adel walked toward me, and in front of me, she just answered, "If my lady orders me to use it, I will use it, but if my lady does not order me to use it, I will not use it."


    "But¡­¡­I want to know, in your view about this spar, do you or do you not need to use the transmutation?"


    Adel looked at Lady Hillaria for a few seconds, turned her face back at me, and said, "It¡¯s not necessary to use transmutation, my lady¡­"


    Hearing that, it relieved me¡­But again, everything was set up; no matter if Adel used it or not, the information would be easily known. Lady Hillaria, apparently from what Valerie said, had her blue transmutation at the edge, as shown by the golden rune at the center of it; the rune indicated the final transmutation in that stage. If Adel beat her without transmutation, it indicated she was stronger than the final blue transmutation, so she must have had a higher transmutation, and it was a black transmutation... Cassius told me that black and white transmutation were so rare, and Valerie whispered to me that there was a chance that the palace wanted Adel to show her black transmutation, so the Queen took her to the training ground.


    What I needed to do, the outcome of this spar would be the same. The identity of black transmutation would be revealed in different ways¡­¡­.


    "WHAT IS GOING ON HERE??"


    Suddenly, I heard the familiar voice of a man from behind the crowds; everyone immediately turned their view to the voice¡­I saw everyone make a way for the person, and after that, I could see clearly who it was; our eyes met. It was the crown prince, with Lady Anna beside him. At once, he walked toward me and said,


    "Aurelia, I don¡¯t know you are here??? And who are they?"


    I was surprised that the Crown Prince didn¡¯t know I was invited to be in the palace..


    Wait!! I could talk to him, and to stop the spar, I said to him, "As you can see, your royal highness, they are my guard; one of my guards is in back condition because the captain of this ground.."


    "What did he do?"


    "He ordered my guard to spar for the fourteenth time in a row, and now he wanted my maid to spar, even though she is not my guard.."


    "What!!! They can¡¯t do that¡­" He raised his right hand and shouted, "HALT THIS SPAR!!" He walked toward the captain..


    While the crown prince and the captain exchanged some words, I sensed someone watching me. I searched for it, and it was Lady Anna grinding her own teeth. Her intention was not only at me, but at Cassius and Valerie too, most of it at them rather than me...


    A few minutes later, the crown prince came back and ordered Adel and Lady Hillaria to step off the ground. At once, they stepped out from the ground; Adel went to me, and Lady Hillaria went to Lady Clara... The crown prince walked toward me¡­


    In front of him, I showed some gratitude and said, "I am so grateful for your help and your kindness in this matter, your royal highness..."


    "It¡¯s nothing¡­ Aurelia¡­ Don¡¯t be stiff at me; you can call me by my name."


    I was shocked; it seemed he had changed. I said, "I can¡¯t do that for now¡­We will excuse ourselves from here; my guard needs to be treated."


    "Wait, Aurelia!!! There is something; I need to say it to you."


    I was surprised, turned back at him, and asked, "Surely,


    "There will be a party at the palace in two weeks¡­¡­"


    Hearing that, I knew where this would be going, and I saw Lady Anna beside him, who seemed more anxious about it, grinding her teeth more, and biting her own finger.


    "Will you be my partner in that party??" He asked me¡­


    Immediately, everyone at the training ground was shocked into silence.


    I asked him back, "I thought of your royal highness.." I took a glance at Lady Anna,  "Already had a partner for this party¡­"


    At once, he held both of my hands and said "Do you decline my invitation, Aurelia? Or do you already have a partner?"


    I looked around, everyone seemed surprised. From everyone in here, I could see our betrothal was still a secret, not made public.


    I immediately released his hands, and said, "I do not decline your invitation nor have a partner; I gratefully accept your invitation, your royal highness¡­We will excuse ourselves... to treat my guard."


    I was leaving the training ground¡­


    The crown prince asked, "Wait, Aurelia!! How long will you be here??"


    I stopped for a second and looked at him, "You can ask that with her majesty¡­" I continued walking out from the training ground with everyone, while Valerie was helping Cassius to walk¡­


    While I was walking out of the palace, in the hall, Milo came to me¡­He told me that his duty would be over until dusk, so he would come with me to the house. I just told him, Do whatever you want to do.


    At the front of the palace, my carriage was already there, so I asked Cassius and Valerie to go inside the carriage. They went inside with me, while Adel went to the front to steer the carriage, and Milo went to his horse. We left the palace that afternoon.

 Chapter 32 Twisted

    Arriving at home, We had been greeted by the servants, and I asked the man in charge of the home to treat Cassius¡­While I was talking with him, Adel whispered me,


    "How about that guard, my lady?" She looked at Milo.


    "I don¡¯t really care much about him now; just tell him to do whatever he wants."


    Adel just nodded at me, and went to him..


    Some servants helped Cassius to walk, with Valerie beside them. They took Cassius to the living room, and let him lay down on the couch¡­The man in charge of the home told me, the physician was on the way..


    I checked at him; his bruises were pretty bad..


    He said to me, "


    Honestly, I wanted to know about this transmutation thing, and what Valerie whispered to me before, surprised me. The royal tried to set up Adel.


    I asked Cassius, "There is something I want to know from you, Cassius¡­.The first time you saw Adel¡¯s black transmutation, you said black and white transmutations are rare¡­can you tell me about these two transmutations? Why did Valerie say, the training ground wanted Adel to show it?"


    Cassius tried to get up from lying down, but Valerie and I stopped him, I said, "You can tell me while you''re lying down.."


    Cassius said with some spacing tone, "Some people said transmutation is a gift or a curse from divine beings¡­¡­the five stages, I told you¡­.are the transmutation achievable for normal people¡­it can be achieved with training¡­or heritage it¡­BUT The transmutation from your maid, is a special one¡­Even the existence of people who had these transmutations is believed to be zero. So when I saw your maid had this transmutation, I was disbelieved to see it in front of my eyes¡­Valerie was lucky at that time, she immediately gave up¡­If she tried to fight her with her own transmutation, she would be dead in a second¡­You had seen it, right?? How your maid easily swept an entire band of bandits without transmutation, even I couldn¡¯t defeat them¡­Black and white can¡¯t be achieved with just training¡­Normal people like me and Valerie, or the woman who beat me at the training ground, can¡¯t achieve that stage¡­"


    I asked, "Why??"


    "You need to ask that with your maid, or the person who raises and trains her¡­"


    The person who trained and raised Adel was mother, was it mother who could make Adel have black transmutation? Or did Adel already have it when father found her?


    Cassius asked me, "Tell me the truth!!! How many people have you seen that have these transmutations?"


    I answered, "For now, I just know two people who have black transmutation, and I have seen them fight each other¡­"


    Cassius and Valerie were shocked, Cassius said, "Fight each other???"


    "They fought each other without the transmutation, but when they used it, the fight was disturbed by a white dagger that pierced the ground... and they immediately stopped.."


    Valerie asked, "This white dagger, who threw it??"


    "I don¡¯t know about that¡­"


    Suddenly, the servant told us that the physician was in here¡­


    "Great¡­You may treat this man here¡­" I said to the physician, "I shall leave him to you¡­"


    Before I left, Cassius said something to me, "I have two pieces of advice for you, don¡¯t let people know about the black transmutation of your maid, and¡­¡­this one is for you¡­¡­ don¡¯t ever get away from your maid¡­"


    I got his first advice, but the second one raised a question, I asked him, "Why do I need to stay close with Adel??"


    "It¡¯s for your own good¡­"


    I said, "I will take your advices...just take your time to recover¡­"


    I exited the room, where Adel was already waiting at the door. Outside the room, I could see Milo standing and leaning on the wall¡­I passed him, and he just stared at me while I was walking toward the stairs, to the second floor¡­My gut told me, he listened to everything from my conversation with Cassius¡­


    I went inside my room. Inside my room, while I was walking toward the desk, Adel said a chill thing to me while standing beside the door, "Do you want me to take care of Milo, my lady??" I stopped, and turned around to see her. This was my first time hearing something from her¡­


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    I asked her, "What do you mean by taking care of him, Adel??"


    "You know that I don¡¯t need to explain it to my lady; I can make it clean and secret."


    I said, "I don¡¯t need you to do that¡­"


    "But he listened to everything; you talked with Cassius¡­"


    "Just let it¡­"


    "What will happen, if he reports it to the Queen?"


    "Let him report it¡­¡­But there is something I want to know from you, Adel¡­"


    "Is it about my transmutation, my lady??"


    "Yes¡­I want to know about that¡­"


    "Forgive me, but I can¡¯t tell you about that¡­without madam''s permission¡­"


    I walked toward her, and in front of her, I asked, "Why do I need my mother''s permission? Are you my maid? You shall answer my question, and you shall obey me¡­"


    "My lady should know about all of this, even though I am your maid and your servant, his grace and madam are the ones who are above all of this¡­"


    "So mother is the one who made you have that transmutation??"


    Adel just stood there without a word¡­Seeing her, not willing to answer my question, I walked away from her, and said,


    "Enough of today; I want to be alone, you may leave the room¡­"


    When she held the door handler, I told her,


    "Wait, Adel!! About Milo, I want you to leave him alone, and inform me when it¡¯s dinner time, you shall leave¡­"


    When she left the room, I immediately sat at the desk¡­At the desk, I checked the book again¡­There were two names that I needed to know: Lady Clara and Lady Hillaria¡­I turned pages after pages¡­I found their name in the book.


    Lady Hillaria was from the Antia family, which focused on the military campaign. The Antia family was one of the fifth royal swords. In the book, Lady Hillaria is described as quiet and deadly; her obsession with treats and tea time made Aurelia feel deceived. In this book, I thought she was part of mine, but her family was one of the fifth royal swords. Her fealty and royalty were just for the royal family, not for me.


    Lady Clara was from the Aliena family; her family was on a different path than the Antia family. The Antia family focused on influencing the royal family. The family was not part of the fifth royal swords. Yet, the work of this family could be called worse than that of the Antia family. Blackmailing, intimidation, and kidnapping were the focus of this family. Every hook, they spread in the kingdom, waiting for the nobles to grab that hook. When they found the fish of a noble because of their hook, it was time for them to make an influence on them.


    There was one problem in this book with a reality of mine: the meeting between us, happened in the ballroom of the party, where it would happen in two weeks. Again, the prediction of the book was different from the real world, but the court of them was the same as the book they had assigned to the Arch-Treasury. Yet, I was not assigned to the Arc-Treasury in the book; I was assigned to the chancery...


    How was this different? Did my fate become twisted in a different direction? Because of my awareness. It was like someone or some divine being twisted it. Or everything in the book was completely false..So I didn¡¯t need to follow everything in the book.


    ¡­¡­¡­


    761 NE-07-14


    A new day has begun...


    Adel woke me up like usual. Everything was done as usual, from the morning routine until breakfast. Everyone was there for breakfast. The condition of Cassius was better. I told him to stay at home, but he insisted on coming with me. Milo had already arrived early, like yesterday, and waited in the living room.


    I met him in the living room, and he told me there were some changes from yesterday. Hearing that, I felt he had already reported it to the Queen, so there were some changes.


    He said, "There are some changes from yesterday¡­¡­¡­ First of all, the captain of the training ground delivered an apology letter to you about what happened yesterday¡­" He gave me the letter..


    I just passed it to Adel and told her to bring the letter to Cassius¡­Adel immediately left the living room.


    Milo continued speaking, "Second, about your maid¡­" Hearing that, I was preparing to ask if Adel would be separated from me, and he continued, "......She¡­will keep staying with you in the palace¡­"


    WHAT!! They didn¡¯t want to separate me from Adel. Instead, they wanted to keep her with me. I asked him, "What do you mean by staying with me in the palace? I heard that servants could only stay in the garden. Is that the case?"


    "No, your maid has been granted access and permission to stay with you in every corner of the palace¡­"


    What was going on here? Why did they suddenly do that to me?


    He continued, "Third one about your two guards. They granted access to the palace like your maid, so they can stay beside you¡­¡­¡­¡­because of this, you are no longer under royal surveillance, so my order to stay with you until dusk will no longer exist¡­"


    No restriction of Adel, Cassius and Valerie in the palace, and now they dismissed the surveillance of me¡­Surely there was something behind all of this¡­We got up from our seats, and left the living room, toward the entrance of the house..We walked out of the house, the carriage was already there. Because Milo was no longer watching me, he went off immediately with his horse. Before he left, he said,


    "Keep staying with your maid, my lady!!", and he left.


    I found it baffling, what he had said to me¡­In a few seconds, Adel, Cassius, and Valerie came to me. I informed them of everything. The first word from Adel was,


    "My lady, you want me to inform you at home about this?"


    I asked her, "Why do I need to inform my mother and father about this?"


    "Because it is weird, my lady¡­they surely can¡¯t do all of this without any reason, unless they have something behind all of this."


    "You are just so paranoid about this, Adel¡­Surely there will be no harm in these changes¡­It¡¯s not so urgent that we need to ask for help from home¡­ There are you, Cassius, and Valerie in here¡­¡­Let¡¯s just depart for the palace¡­"


    We went to the carriage; I went inside, and the others were in front of it.


    ¡­

 Chapter 33 The Rumor

    Arriving at the palace, I sensed something different than yesterday¡­I went inside the palace with the others behind me..Eyes were flying toward us; the servants, the guard, even the nobles were looking at us..While we were walking to the other hall, Flavia was waiting for me in same intersection of the hall, like yesterday. We approached her..


    In front of her, Flavia said,


    "My lady, I will keep staying while you are in the palace¡­"


    I was surprised that the palace¡¯s servant still needed to accompany me in the palace, so I asked, "Is that necessary, Flavia? Or is your companion an order from the palace?"


    "My lady is right; the order to stay beside you is still ongoing; even your maid and your guards are allowed to stay beside you, wherever you go in the palace¡­Still, the palace wants one servant to accompany you, my lady¡­"


    I looked at Adel behind me, and she kept silent about this. I turned back to Flavia and said, "Well then, you may stay with me.."


    We continued to walk to the other hall, Flavia was walking in front of us¡­


    Arriving at the other hall, the first thing we felt in there was the heavy stare from the other nobles in the hall. While we were walking in the hall, I could hear some of them talking badly about me¡­


    I went beside Flavia, and asked, "May you tell me, which peerage rank all the nobles are in here?"


    "Most of them are count, and the highest peerage rank in here is marquis¡­if it¡¯s about peerage rank, I think my lady is the highest one in this hall¡­"


    What!! I was the highest one in here; why could it be like that? How did the royal court not have a higher peerage rank than me?


    In front of the Arch-Treasury door, the door was opened by Lady Hillaria and Lady Clara. After knowing the truth about them, I felt a little bit different about them, like I wanted to distance myself from them.


    "Good morning, Lady Aurelia¡­" Lady Clara greeted me.


    "Good morning, Lady Clara and Lady Hillaria¡­" I answered her greeting.


    Lady Hillaria was looking at Adel; after that, Cassius, from the tip of the bottom until the tip of the top..


    At once, Lady Clara lightly bumped Lady Hillaria¡¯s arm with her own arm, and I could hear a small tone from Lady Clara.


    "Do what I tell you!!"


    Lady Hillaria bowed at me and said,


    "Lady Aurelia¡­I offer you my apology; may you forgive me after what I did yesterday to your guard¡­"


    "I have told you, Lady Hillaria¡­Don¡¯t make this matter a feud or grow a grudge between us¡­I accept your apology, Lady Hillaria¡­May you stand up right now; it is quite embarrassing for a noble like you to do like this¡­"


    I looked at Lady Clara and Lady Hillaria, and said,


    "After what happened yesterday, let¡¯s not let our relationship stretch, grow a grudge between us¡­and not let our tea time be disturbed by this..¡­May we go inside, and do our best?"


    Lady Hillaria and Lady Clara went back inside with me and the others. I went to Livio¡¯s desk. In front of it, Livio looked at us, and said,


    "Why are there new faces here? And where is the other guard, who was with you yesterday?"


    I said, "These people will stay with me, and the other guard is no longer with me¡­"


    Livio pointed at Adel, and said, "She can stay with you, and the others can¡¯t¡­"


    "But the palace allows them to stay with me, wherever and whenever I am in the palace¡­"


    "Sure the palace allows it, but in this room, I don¡¯t allow it¡­"


    I looked at Cassius and Valerie, and said "Well, you two can stay in the garden, and you can find Flavia the maid before, ask her to prepare for me, she will know it.."


    They left the room, I went to my desk, and started to do my job¡­


    ¡­


    In just a few hours, the bell could be heard, and the job was done. It was just three hours¡­Like yesterday, Lady Clara and Lady Hillaria invited me to have tea time¡­We left the room and went to the garden¡­


    At the garden, Flavia had prepared it for me, in there, Cassius and Valerie already waited for me¡­I went to them first, and asked,


    "What did you do, while waiting for me?"


    Valerie said, "We were just waiting you in here, while hearing some bullshitery from the other nobles..."


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    ¡­


    While in the tea time, Lady Clara asked me,


    "Have Lady Aurelia heard about the rumor??"


    "The rumor???"


    Lady Hillaria said, "I hope the rumor does not affect you, Lady Aurelia¡­"


    "May one of you tell me about this rumor?"


    Lady Clara asked me, "Is Lady Aurelia aware of the rumor of the crown prince in a relationship?"


    "Ah!! With Lady Anna, I am aware of that rumor¡­"


    "That rumor has been circulating around the kingdom for seven years¡­" Not into my territory or my home apparently. "But the rumor had been disturbed by you, Lady Aurelia¡­"


    "By me???"


    "Yes¡­You know, the crown prince''s invitation to you, yesterday, was big news around the capital¡­"


    "Big news??"


    "People thought the crown prince¡¯s partner would be Lady Anna, but they thought Lady Aurelia stole him from her, and you have a higher rank than Lady Anna¡­"


    "May I ask a question to both of you?"


    "Sure, go ahead¡­"


    "What do both of you think about the relationship between the crown prince and Lady Anna?"


    They were looking at each other, and before answering it, I said, "You can tell me truthfully."


    They were so eager not to answer it¡­but still, they answered my question..


    First Lady Clara said, "I think their relationship is like a friendship¡­I don¡¯t find any intimacy or romance between them¡­but the public sees it differently; they see their relationship as intimate and romantic. Even though there is a rumor that both of them are in bethroral¡­"


    I turned my gaze to Lady Hillaria, and asked, "How about Lady Hillaria? What do you think about this??"


    Lady Hillaira said, "I don¡¯t really care about their relationship¡­"


    These two were on the royal side; what would happen if I told them about my betrothal with the crown prince? Would they believe it?


    I looked at Adel, and waved her to come at me¡­After she was beside me, I whispered to her,


    "Can I tell them about my bethroral?"


    Adel answered, "I advise not to tell them¡­"


    "Is there any reason for that? Or will it break the bethroral if someone knows?"


    "It¡¯s not about that, my lady¡­their families were on the royal¡¯s side¡­Are you sure you want to tell them about this?"


    "Well, if it will harm me, I will try to think about it later, but for now¡­I think, it won¡¯t harm me.¡­"


    "If my lady insists, I can¡¯t do anything to stop you¡­at least, I have advised my lady about it."


    "Thanks for your advice¡­"


    Adel went back to Cassius and Valerie.


    Lady Clara asked, "Is there a problem, Lady Aurelia?"


    I answered, "There is nothing, I just asked her something¡­Apart from the crown prince and Lady Anna rumor, there is something that I want to tell you about¡­"


    Lady Hillaria put her treats and her tea together and said, "It must be something important; Lady Aurelia needs to confirm it with your maid¡­"


    "I don¡¯t know if this is an important matter or not, like Lady Hillaria said¡­but¡­I want both of you, to keep it secret, until it becomes public."


    Their faces were preparing for what I would tell them, while I took one sip of tea before telling them..


    I put down my cup, and said, "What will happen if I tell both of you, the crown prince and I are in bethroral?"


    ¡­


    There was silence for a few seconds on the table¡­Both of them kept stirring their tea spoons in their cups¡­Lady Clara finally said,


    "Is that sort of a pun, from you, Lady Aurelia??"


    I said, "It¡¯s not a pun, It¡¯s the truth¡­"


    Lady Hillaria asked me, "Is there any merit to Lady Aurelia telling us this matter?"


    I was confused by her words, I looked at her, and said "What do you mean by merit?"


    "I just feel there is another reason why Lady Aurelia told us that to us; for example, you want us to influence you in the palace."


    "Why do you have a thought like that, Lady Hillaria??"


    "Because of your family¡­ All of the nobles in here are not the same as you, Lady Aurelia. You are the highest noble in this hall, or, I can say, in the court. So I think your statement is a tool or chance to influence another noble, to be with you¡­or you are in here, is a chance for your family to influence the royal court."


    "For what merit does my family need to influence the royal court?"


    "Well¡­there is some of it¡­your family occupied a quarter of this kingdom, while the royals themselves occupied less than your family¡­All of the direct royal vassals are viscounts and counts, and the royal itself doesn¡¯t have a duchy; all of the royal lands are counties. So a duke can easily take over or influence all the royal vassals with his power¡­This kingdom consists of eight duchies, but still, the biggest influence and power is in your family, not in the royal¡­So to tell us, you are in bethroral with the crown prince, and there is still no publicity about that. It feels like you were trying to influence us to go on your side, not on the royal  side."Suddenly, her tone became different, and she stared at me fiercely. "¡­..or your family is trying to seize the kingdom¡­"


    There was a tense on the table..


    Lady Clara tried to decrease it; she said, "Wellllll... I think Lady Aurelia will be suitable for the crown prince if the betrothal is true. and to say seize the kingdom, I think that¡¯s too far to be true¡­"


    Lady Hillaria said to Lady Clara, "Clara, you are from the Aliena family; why do you act like that?"


    "Because I want my relationship with Lady Aurelia to become distant¡­"


    Like the book said, Lady Hillaria was on the royal side, but Lady Clara seemed to be different, or she tried to spread her hook toward me¡­


    Their faces were suddenly different; it seemed they were shocked by something. I heard Lady Clara say,


    "There is blood in your mouth, Lady Aurelia¡­"


    "Blood??" I touched my mouth, and there was blood.


    Suddenly Adel, Cassius and Valerie were beside me. Adel told me to go back home immediately. I got up from my seat with Adel¡¯s help. While I was trying to get up, Lady Clara asked,


    "Is there something wrong, Lady Aurelia??"


    Adel just said, "She is just not in great condition¡­"


    I answered, "I am alright, Lady Clara¡­ Thanks for your concer¡ª-*Cough* *Cough*" I started to cough blood¡­


    At once, Cassius lifted me into his front, and we left the garden. It seemed Cassius was in a hurry to take me home. Everyone¡¯s eyes were on us, at the garden or at the palace.


    I heard Valerie and Adel exchange some words before my vision became more blurry and my hearing became unstable.


    Valerie said, "Will she be like before??"


    Adel answered, "This one, there is no trigger for this¡­if you are talking about that incident, that incident was because she got triggered by the rumors¡­but this time, it is just a weekly or daily state¡­"


    "So is it safe then??"


    "Yes¡­I can handle it this time¡­if she is lost in control.."

 Chapter 34 The Encounter with Nona

    I was carried by Cassius and escorted by Adel and Valerie¡­We rushed to leave the palace¡­I tried to maintain my consciousness¡­After we left the palace, we couldn¡¯t find the carriage¡­


    Valerie said, ¡°Where is our carriage??¡±


    With blurry vision, I could see Adel go to one of the guards and ask about our carriage¡­I didn¡¯t know what the guard said; unfortunately, it made Adel furious¡­She punched the wall beside the guard¡¯s head, easily making the guard frightened¡­


    Suddenly out of nowhere, I could see the crown prince alone, riding a horse, to us¡­after that, I lost my vision, and I was unconscious¡­


    ¡­.


    It was pitch black and dark¡­but


    There were a lot of whispers around me. I was surrounded by the whispers of voices that I hadn¡¯t heard before..I was swallowed by their whisper..It felt like I was falling for their words, deep in the darkness..I kept falling into the pit of darkness until I stopped at the bottom of the pit.


    I tried to stand up, and looked around me.


    ¡°This is different from the Dianonia I had experienced¡­What is going on? And what are those voices?¡±


    It was pitch black, there was nothing but blank space..But the whispering kept coming around me..I walked around to reduce the whispering at me..I kept walking until, at a distance, I could see a glimpse of a chandelier light. I walked toward it..Slowly, I was walking to it, and slowly, I could see something laying on the ground.


    I finally could see what was on the ground, and I was shocked. My heart became more aching after I saw them..


    ¡°WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU TWO?¡±


    Aurelio and Ophelie were lying on the ground with some blood in their mouths. Aurelio slowly lifted his right hand in front of me, and pointed his finger at me..


    Slowly he said to me, ¡°It..was¡­¡­yo..u¡­sis..ter¡­¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about, Aurelio?¡±


    Instantly, in front of me, there was what had happened toward them..It was me, which is why Aurelio pointed at me. It was in the garden of my home. I put something in their tea while Aurelio was training his sword, and Ophelia was playing with the three..After their exhaustion, they drank the tea, which instantly made them cough and felt to the ground. The event made the house execute some kitchen servants for treason and poisoning.


    ¡°It is a lie¡­ There is no way I am doing that¡­¡±


    Suddenly another glimpse of a chandelier light appeared on my right, I walked toward it, leaving the little two on the ground..I saw a glimpse of the body on the ground, and I recognized it, immediately. I ran to it...


    ¡°MOTHER!!!¡± while I was running.


    In front of her lying body, I said ¡°what has happened to you, mother?"


    ¡°What¡­have..I. ..done. .to ..you,. .Aurelia? Th.at ma..kes you do some..thing li..ke this..¡±


    Like the little two, it showed me that I was the one who did all of this to my mother..I was the one who stabbed her on her back..yet again, another servant got executed for the murder.


    Another light appeared, my heart became more aching, and I prepared another body to lay on the ground. I walked toward the light¡­Slowly


    ¡°FATHER!!¡±


    Unexpectedly, the bodies of mother, and the little two, suddenly were moving beside me..glimpses of lights appeared surrounding me, and under the lights were bodies. The bodies of Adel, Lady Octavi, Martia, Livia, Lady Claudi, and the others, where they had ties with my family..


    I looked around me,


    ¡°THIS IS NOT TRUE!! THIS IS NOT TRUE!!!¡±


    I found it hard to believe that everyone who was so close to me, was lying down on the ground, with blood all over them.


    I realized,


    ¡°THE BOOK???? ALL OF THIS IS NOT WRITTEN IN THE BOOK, SO IT SHOULDN¡¯T BE TRUE AT ALL!!¡±


    Suddenly all of the bodies were gone, and I heard a recognizable voice..


    ¡°MY LADY!!¡± It was Gena¡¯s voice coming from out of nowhere¡­


    ¡°Huh??? Gena, is that you?? Where are you??"I looked around to find Gena¡¯s voice.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have time to tell you that, but listen to me carefully¡­What have you seen in this space? It¡¯s neither a future nor real. You don¡¯t kill all the people around you in the future..So control your heart¡­like I had said to you earlier¡­Prepare your heart¡­¡±


    ¡°Then what is all of this?¡±


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    ¡°It is Nona effort; she has already awakened from her eternal sleep because of you, my lady... This past seven years, she ordered her paragons to start moving. One of them was the one who twisted some of it from the book to your life.


    ¡°So everything was set up for me, and wait¡­you said ¡®one of them''; how many of these paragons are there?¡±


    ¡°Myself don¡¯t know about it¡­but, I know one of th¡ª¡± Suddenly, her voice was gone..


    ¡°*clap* *clap* *clap*¡± Suddenly the sound of clapping and footsteps could be heard from behind me.¡­I turned around¡­Slowly, the figure appeared. It was a tall lady, almost twice my height. She had long white hair like mine, skin white as snow, clothes with white and blue, and a blue tiara in her head. I looked closely at her; she had blue eyes, but her pupils were white, not like a normal human. She walked slowly toward me.


    I tried to stand up, and said ¡°YOU!!! WHO ARE YOU!!¡±


    ¡°The one you bothered¡­ You had bothered my  sleep.


    Suddenly majestically, full of wings appeared in her back; the right side of her wings were white, and the left side of her wings were blue..


    ¡°Your sleep?? SO YOU ARE NONA...That Gena and Delia were talking about...¡±


    ¡°Gena and Delia???? So that¡¯s their name as humans¡­¡±


    I saw her head turn back and say, ¡°Nice to meet you, Delia..¡±


    Suddenly she threw away someone from her right hand to me; it was Delia¡­Delia was full of brushes on her body; her clothes and even her feather wings were scattered around.


    I immediately went to her, checked her, and said, "Are you alright, Delia?¡±


    ¡°I¡­am¡­al..right¡­my..lady..¡±


    ¡°What an interesting thing! You call a mortal with the ¡®honorific''my lady¡¯.¡± Nona kept walking, circling around us, ¡°But, you abandon me *hiks* *hiks* you chose a mortal more than me¡­Even though I keep caring for you¡­and your worthless friend, ¡®GENA¡¯....still you keep following her path..I just gave you a small task about that mortal in front of you right now¡­Instead, you call her like she is your master¡­¡± Nona stopped her circling around us, instead, she walked toward us, grabbed Delia¡¯s hair, and lifted it. ¡°Tell me! Delia¡­What I had done to you! That makes you like this..¡±


    In response, Delia just spat in her face.


    Nona threw her again, and cleaned her face from Delia¡¯s spit, ¡°You are really following her path..I am very sad *hiks* *hiks*...


    ¡°WHAT YOU WANT, NONA?¡± I asked her.


    ¡°What do I want??? HA HA HA HA HA, Perhaps you are an idiot or what? Or those imbeciles don¡¯t tell you..I want a good rest, and sleep, where everything follows the flow of fate, but you¡­you¡­are the problem of that flow..¡±


    ¡°And why did you show all of that?¡±


    ¡°Show all of what??¡±


    ¡°The death of people around me..¡±


    ¡°Ha ha ha, perhaps you know your own fate from the book, but¡­the one who knows the fate better than anyone else, is ME¡­So what happened if what I showed you was real? If your fate is to die, shall I bring that fate to you? You can¡¯t run from that fate in my sight¡­¡±


    She walked toward me, and in front of me, she raised her hand, slowly emitting a light toward me..


    ¡°You are in my sight right now¡­it is so impulsive to erase your existence right now¡­¡±


    I closed my eyes¡­but I opened my eyes, and she lowered her hand.


    ¡°But still, I have the dignity of a goddess in this world; I will not interfere with the problems of mortals... Let mortals kill other mortals, and let goddesses kill other goddesses. Is that right, Delia? Slowly, I love that name, Delia, more than Delios..¡±


    Delia struggled to spit her words to Nona,¡°Scr..ew¡­you..No..na!¡±


    Nona walked toward Delia. I immediately ran toward Delia, and intervened.


    ¡°STEP ASIDE MORTAL!!¡±


    ¡°I will not let you hurt her anymore..¡±


    ¡°Fine¡­I will spare that useless one for you¡­Perhaps you already got the two people from the twelve, and those three children you took, but¡­that is not the end of all things¡­the end of these things will be your death. and you¡­..¡±


    She walked out from us¡­I stood up and shouted at her,


    ¡°AINUR NALA!!¡±


    She immediately turned her head around to me, and with an angry expression, she said, ¡°WHAT DID YOU SAY?¡±


    ¡°Ain¨C¡±


    Suddenly, she dashed out to me, grabbed my neck, and lifted me¡­I grabbed her hand, trying to release myself.


    ¡°Don¡¯t ever you speak that name again, in front of me!!¡±


    I was hardly able to emit my voice, ¡°So¡­yo..u¡­kn¡­ow¡­thi..s¡­name..¡±


    She threw me out¡­I was trying to breathe again, and adjusting my breath again¡­I could see her feet in front of me while I was looking down to breathe. She leaned down her body to me, looking at me, and asked,


    ¡°Where do you know that name?¡±


    I didn¡¯t answer her question¡­


    ¡°Let¡¯s change it. Did you see her appearance?¡±


    Again, I didn¡¯t answer her question¡­


    Her face became more frowning because she didn¡¯t get the answer from me¡­She turned her face in another direction; it was Delia¡­She slowly walked toward her¡­In front of her, she said,


    ¡°I believe she was the one who showed you that appearance??¡±


    She crouched down at her, grabbed and lifted her hair in front of her face, and said, ¡°Do you show her, about that appearance?¡±


    With a lot of bruises on Delia¡¯s face, she didn¡¯t answer Nona¡¯s question; she just spat again at her face¡­Nona cleaned her face with her other hand, and threw down Delia¡¯s head¡­She stood up¡­


    Suddenly, I felt so scared¡­The more I looked at Nona, the more fear I got¡­I turned my face around, and out of nowhere, a lot of mists appeared around us. I was horrified suddenly, after I took a glance at Nona¡­The pressure around her changed.


    Her appearance was changed; her white and blue clothes changed to black and red clothes; her white hair changed to black hair; her eyes changed to red eyes with glowing red; her wings changed to black wings. A black light of a circle and a sword at the center of it appeared at her back. She showed her mischievous smile; that smile was so much scarier than mother''s smile..


    I saw Delia¡¯s mouth moving, but I couldn¡¯t hear all her sentences, yet I heard some of her words that were disturbing me enough.


    ¡°WHO ARE YOU?¡±


    Four black swords appeared above Delia, targeting her¡­


    ¡°Like I said, mortals kill other mortals, goddesses kill other goddesses." Her smile became bigger and wider, and her red eyes became more glowing. ¡±So long¡­¡± She said that and snapped her finger. At once, all four swords pierced Delia''s torso. Delia spat a lot of blood from the pierced swords. I saw her finger still tingling around. Seeing that..


    Four black swords appeared again¡­


    I would not forget what I had seen: two swords pierced in her neck and two swords pierced in her head. Her finger wasn¡¯t tingling anymore.


    A circle on the ground appeared around Delia¡¯s corpse. From that circle, a giant door appeared; it opened immediately. From the bottom of the ground, a lot of hands grabbed Delia¡¯s corpse and pulled her body... After her body was gone, the door was closed, and the circle disappeared. She changed her appearance back to normal. and walked toward me. The closer she was to me, the more scared I was after witnessing Delia¡¯s death. I closed my eyes.


    ¡­¡­

 Chapter 35 Biggest Fear

    I cautiously opened my eyes, afraid in front of Nona...I anticipated seeing Nona''s face in front of me...Thank the gods, or perhaps I shouldn''t thank the goddess again after that, but Nona wasn''t in front of me. Instead, it was a ceiling I was familiar with...I was lying in my bed...


    My hands were still trembling...Even though Nona wasn''t directly in front of me, I was still terrified by her presence.Suddenly, I noticed some tears pouring from my eyes...I had no idea I was crying right now... My hands trembled uncontrollably as my thoughts returned to Nona. Her presence haunted me, even if she wasn''t physically present. I recognised this as tears flowed down my cheeks. Depth of my fear and how it had affected me emotionally.


    When the door was opened, I instantly cleansed my face, particularly my tears. I didn''t want anyone to see me crying. After washing my face, I looked at the door and wondered who had unlocked it...Lady Octavi, I had an unexpected visitor...Seeing her here meant that my father and mother had sent her for a cause...


    She dashed up to the side of my bed, knelt, and whispered, "You have woken up, my lady.."


    I said with a faltering tone, "La..dy¡­Octavi¡­you..are¡­here¡­¡­"


    "Are you alright, my lady?" she inquired, her face concerned.


    "I¡­am¡­alright¡­"


    It was her eyes that looked at me, and she asked a question I didn''t want to hear, "Were you just crying, my lady?"


    "I¡­wasn''t¡­"


    "You can just tell me¡­" She sat alongside me on the bed, held both of my arms, and murmured, "It''s okay..."I am with you..."


    ¡°I¡­was¡­¡ª¡±


    The door was suddenly opened. Some familiar people appeared: Valaria, Cassius, Adel...and...Crown Prince?


    I observed the crown prince''s...I kept staring at him, and it reminded me of Nona. I could see her terrifying presence, her smile, and her awful presence beside him. He approached me step by step, and hearing his footsteps reminded me of hers...His appearance began to mirror hers as we drew closer, which horrified and panicked me. As the Crown Prince neared, his features began to take on a terrifying similarity to Nona. Fear and panic gripped me even tighter as memories of her ominous presence flooded my thoughts. I couldn''t shake the feeling that something sinister was about to unfold.


    "AHHHH!!" I yelled as I pointed at her. SHE''S ON HER WAY!! SHE''S ON HER WAY!! "SHE''S COME FOR ME!!" I drew my blanket over my head to hide from her...


    Lady Octavi''s voice came to me, and she murmured quietly, "My lady..."Is something wrong??"


    "GO AWAY!!" I just kept yelling.


    "But¡­He is the Crown Prince, and he has come to meet you..."


    "JUST TELL HER TO GO AWAY!!"


    "It''s the crown prince, my lady...To whom are you referring?"


    I continued telling her to leave...


    I heard footsteps exit the room a few moments later...I peered out from under my cover to see what had happened to her and the crown prince...Only Adel and Lady Octavi remained...I covered my face with my blanket...I looked at Lady Octavi; her face was concerned... "Are you all right?" she inquired gently. "What made you want the crown prince to go?"


    "........I''M¡­..SCARED¡­"


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    "Scared?? What frightens my lady? What are you afraid of?"


    "SCARED OF DIE.."


    "Die?? Who is going to die?"


    "I AM¡­"


    Lady Octavi and Adel were both taken aback.


    "WHO''S THREATING YOU IN PALACE, MY LADY?"


    ..


    "NO ONE¡­I''VE ONLY SEEN MY OWN DEATH..."


    Adel realized what was going on and asked, "Did my lady have a nightmare like seven years ago??"


    "Nightmare??" Lady Octavi asked at Adel.


    "She had a nightmare one night about her dead scenario."


    "Is that true, my lady?" Lady Octavi questioned me, turning to face me.


    I just remained silent in there. When Lady Octavi noticed this, she rose up and exclaimed,


    "Perhaps it''s best to bring Sofia here...my lady, she is the one who knows and treats well...However, it will take her five days to arrive. That isn''t enough time..."


    Is there not enough time? What was she on about? "Why does it mean ''not enough time,''" I inquired.


    "I almost forgot to tell you, dear lady...That you have been unconscious for a week."


    I was a bit startled. "A WEEK??"


    "Yes¡­And there will be a party in the palace in three days...I heard you received an invitation from the Crown Prince...That''s why I say Sofia doesn''t have enough time to come here..."


    The party...Did I have to go in there? At first, I tried to keep the main character from becoming too close to the crown prince. However, after witnessing what Nona did to Delia...I was afraid to deviate from the book.


    Lady Octavi was at the front of the door when she left the room. "DO YOU BELIEVE IN FATE, LADY OCTAVI?" I questioned.


    "Pardon, my lady?" she asked.


    ¡°DO YOU BELIEVE IN FATE OR DESTINY?¡±


    "What is this fate you''re talking about?" she said as she went back towards me.


    "For instance, the fate of death¡ªdo you believe it?"


    "If it''s my fate to die, of course I believe it¡­"


    "But what if you know you''re going to die? Do you want to alter it or prevent it?"


    "Does everyone always change their own course of fate, my lady?"


    "What do you mean?"


    "A lot of people have already changed the course of their own fate, like people are trying to make a sum of coins to change their own lives."


    "That''s quite different...Our fate of death is in the hands of the goddess, therefore if you already know your fate of death, do you want to change or avoid it? Even the goddess has made it clear that you will die tomorrow."


    "If it''s for my own survival, of course I will try to prevent it¡­"


    "Even if you face the goddess, whom will try to kill you?"


    "Of course, even though in the end I will die, whether old age or killed, I have altered my own death¡­"


    "Thanks for the answer, Lady Octavi¡­"


    ¡°Everything for you, my lady, and how about the crown prince?¡±


    ¡°Tell him! I need some time and some space¡­I will be absent from court for now¡­¡±


    ¡°What about the party?¡±


    ¡°I will rethink it again¡­For now, I want to be alone¡­¡±


    ¡°And about Sofia?¡±


    ¡°You can call her to come here¡­Is there anything again from you?¡±


    ¡°I believe that¡¯s it, my lady¡­¡±


    Lady Octavi left the room, where Adel still kept staying inside my room. I told Adel, to let me alone in the room and bring the meal to my room, when it¡¯s time for breakfast, lunch, or dinner¡­Right now, I wanted to stay inside my room¡­


    Adel nodded at me and left the room¡­


    On the bed, I just laid on it. After watching, the death of one of the goddesses was surreal for me. The divine being or deity was just easily killed like a mortal in front of her. If a divine being could be easily killed like that, how about a mortal being? Yet, Nona told me that letting mortals kill other mortals meant her paragons would come to try to kill me. Whether they would kill me like in the book or instantly kill me even if it was not written in the book.


    I got up from lying on the bed when I realised something.


    ¡°In that time, Gena mentioned ¡®her paragons¡¯, which meant Nona has some of her people as paragons in this world.¡± I looked at the book on the desk and said, ¡°What happened if all twelve figures are the paragon from Nona, It mean Cassius and Valerie are very likely paragons of Nona¡­Was I making a huge mistake by recruiting them?¡±


    As I pondered over the possibility of Cassius and Valerie being paragons of Nona, doubts began to creep into my mind. What if I had made a grave error in recruiting them? Could they potentially turn against me, just like the characters in the book? These questions weighed heavily on my conscience, leaving me uncertain about the choices I had made.


    Even though there were some differences between the book and reality, the most obvious were transmutation and the presence of the goddesses. Did all of these bind each other? There would be no transmutation if there were no goddesses. Maybe I needed to learn about this transmutation for the future; I couldn¡¯t always rely on Adel, even though she was so strong, according to Cassius and what I had seen. As I contemplated the significance of transmutation and the role of the goddesses, I couldn''t help but wonder if my reliance on Adel was hindering my own growth. Perhaps it was time for me to embark on a journey of self-discovery and learn to harness the power of transmutation myself.

 Chapter 36 What had happened when I was unconscious?

    Two days had been passed, Adel and Lady Octavi constantly told me to meet the crown prince, where he always visited me. I just kept telling them, I want to be alone right now¡­


    Yet, with party in the palace was on schedule tomorrow. I found myself in between two of choices, whether to attend the party or not. With feeling scared to Nona, surely I wouldn¡¯t attend the party, but again, for my survival, I needed to attend the party¡­.Well, screwed about Nona¡­I was already in deep down with her¡­Whether I attended it or not, in the end would be same¡­


    When Adel came on my door in the evening to deliver my food, I opened it. Adel''s gaze was perplexed because I hadn''t opened the door in two days. Adel let the food to remain in front of the door, and I accepted it. After I completed my dinner, I returned everything to the door, and Adel collected the dishes.


    In front of the door, I told her, ¡°About the invitation from the crown prince, I will attend the party¡­¡±


    Adel found it surprising, and asked ¡°Are you serious, my lady?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I am serious¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a delightful news from you¡­¡±


    About tranmsutation, it was better if I asked her or Lady Octavi, which I had seen their own transmutation.


    I said, "May you or Lady Octavi teach me about this transmutation?"


    When I looked at Adel, her countenance was horrified and startled at my desire to study this transformation...


    When I saw her expression, I said, "Is there anything wrong with me learning this transmutation?"


    ¡°Actually, my lady¡­¡± It seemed Adel was struggling to tell me the reason of it, and she asked, ¡°How about I bring Lady Octavi to you, maybe she will tell you how you learn the transmutation, my lady?¡± I nodded, grateful for Adel''s suggestion. "Yes, please bring Lady Octavi to me. I am eager to understand the intricacies of transmutation and why it has such a profound effect on you." Adel nodded and quickly left the room to fetch Lady Octavi. As I waited, a sense of anticipation and curiosity filled me, wondering what secrets this transmutation and how it would change my life.


    A few seconds later, I heard a knock on the door and told it to come in...Lady Octavi was there...She approached me. "I have been informed, my lady is looking for me," she remarked in front of me.


    I looked at Adel, who was standing behind Lady Octavi; it appeared she hadn''t told her.


    "Yes¡­I''m looking for you...There are several things I want you to know..."


    "Gladly, I will hear it¡­"


    "First and foremost, I shall attend the party...with the crown prince...So you may tell him about it..."


    Lady Octavi nodded and responded, "Of course, I will notify the crown prince of your attendance at the party." Is there anything else I can do for you?"


    I stopped for a time, carefully pondering my next words. "There is one more thing," I murmured, leaning in closer, "I want...to...learn...about...the...transmutation..."


    Lady Octavi''s visage, like Adel''s, was altered...She gave Adel a quick glance...


    I said, "So, is my desire to learn the transmutation hard to achieve for me?"


    She returned her gaze to my and replied, "No...my lady is capable of learning it...But¡­" She was striving to say it to me once again...


    ¡°Is there any hurdle or barrier for me?¡±


    ¡°There is no such those things for you¡­Yet, my lady, do you still remember when we first met with the four children?¡±


    ¡°The four children? Ah! You mean Alecia, Alicia, Aelia, and Felix¡­Of course, I remember it¡­¡±


    I saw they looked at each other, after that, Lady Octavi said, ¡°In that time, my lady was unconscious for some reason.¡±


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    ¡°Yes¡­¡±


    ¡°Before unconscious, do you remember anything?¡±


    I tried to remember it, and I remembered it, before I was unconscious, Lady Octavi and Adel were bruised, even Lady Octavi kneeled in front of me. I said, ¡°You and Adel were bruised, and you were somehow kneeled in front of me¡­While Adel was trying to protect the children.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right¡­the truth is my lady¡­¡­¡­you had used your transmutation in that time¡­and it was your first time¡­¡±


    Disbelief what she said, I was so surprised and shocked, ¡°WHAT!! You mean I used transmutation? But I''ve never even attempted it before! How is that possible?"


    ¡°Eventually, my lady, after that incident, you had used it a lot of times¡­¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by a lot of times?¡± asked me.


    ¡°I hope telling this to you, my lady¡­not make his grace and madam furious to me, but I think it¡¯s better to tell you the truth behind everything had you experienced¡­..The truth is after you had the illness, you were hallucinating, and sometimes you used your transmutation, even made people around you got hurt.¡±


    I gasped in shock, unable to comprehend what I was hearing. So that was why, everytime I got conscious sometimes Adel was bruised¡­Wait, if Adel and Lady Octavi could have been bruised by me¡­


    ¡°Two of you are in black transmutation stage, how the hell could I hurt you?¡±


    Again, they were eye contacting¡­Lady Octavi said, ¡°Because of your transmutation, my lady¡­¡±


    ¡°My transmutation??¡±


    ¡°You have been inherited from madam, so¡­Your transmutation is powerful than ours¡­¡±


    ¡°My mother has transmutation too¡­¡±


    ¡°Of course, madam is the one who taught us about it and how to use it¡­¡±


    My assumption was right... So, it was my mother who had taught them about black transmutation and how to use it. It seemed that she was the one behind their powerful transmutation abilities.


    For over seven years, I tried to ask everyone who came to my room, what had happened to me, after I was unconscious. They just simply answered, they didn¡¯t know anything. Adel, who always stayed beside me, even she didn¡¯t answer. It felt like they treated me like a child, the old Aurelia, the fifteen years old Aurelia, who kept staying inside her room for seven years..Not kept staying, but locked in her own room, to think it like that, it made me sad.. I yearned for answers, desperate to understand the mysterious circumstances surrounding my unconsciousness. The isolation and secrecy only deepened my sadness, leaving me feeling trapped in a never-ending cycle of unanswered questions.


    I didn¡¯t know how do I feel about this, being sad towards me or being angry towards them for keeping this matter a secret from me¡­ It was a confusing mix of emotions that consumed me, leaving me torn between blaming myself for not knowing and resenting my family for their silence.


    I asked them, ¡°So when the queen charged me with damaging property, it meant at that time when I knew about the Crown Prince and Lady Anna, unintended I used the transmutation and wrecked everything, was it really the happened?¡±


    Adel took step forward and answered, ¡°Yes, my lady¡­that was really happened¡­¡±


    ¡°It means emotion can affect the transmutation..¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right..¡± answered Lady Octavi.


    I asked again, ¡°If Valerie transmutation is red, shown by her weapon became red when he used it, Cassius is blue, shown by his weapon became blue. You two somehow are different, the transmutation from you two can make your wrist fully become black too with the weapons. Why is it different?¡±


    ¡°Valerie and Cassius are in the normal stage of transmutation¡­Which black transmutation is a little bit special one¡­And couldn¡¯t be achieved with a normal method like the normal stage¡­¡±


    ¡°What about my transmutation?¡±


    ¡°My lady has been inherited from madam, so you¡­have¡­a white¡­one¡­¡±


    I had white transmutation? She said, I have been inherited from my mother, ¡°Does that mean mother has white transmutation?¡±


    ¡°Yes, madam has it¡­I think all Aurelius family members have it¡­¡±


    I was suprised, ¡°It means the little two have it too?¡±


    ¡°I believe it so¡­¡± I realised, when Adel was on the training ground, Valerie asked me to not reveal her transmutation, why? So I asked, ¡°Are these transmutations a secret from my family?¡±


    ¡°Why my lady ask that?¡±


    ¡°I have been advised by Valerie to not reveal Adel¡¯s transmutation, when he was sparring with Lady Hillaria¡­¡±


    ¡°Lady Hillaria?¡±


    ¡°Hillaria Antia¡­¡±


    ¡°Ah! Antia family, the military family from the royal family¡­Well¡­there is a feud between Aurelius family with Julius family the royal family¡­surely, there are some family who want to know how strong your family is, my lady?¡±


    ¡°Do others family have people who have black and white transmutation?¡±


    ¡°No¡­Only Aurelius who already knew how to achieve it¡­so, you know what it means, right, my lady?¡±


    So these black and white transmutations were so powerful, and only my family who knew how to achieve it¡­


    ¡°What will happen if others family know that Aurelius family already achieved it?¡±


    Lady Octavi face¡¯s became more serious and intense, she said, ¡°The worst scenario is faction war¡­¡±


    ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°It will start with the royal family, the royal with the other family behind them will say to the council and court, that Aurelius family is betraying the kingdom¡­It will make a conflict between the four vassal which consisted most powerful and influence vassal of the kingdom¡­Your family is one of the four, so there is high chance the others family will jealous, and start to see your family as enemy¡­After that, my lady will know it...And once the other families see your family as an enemy, it will be difficult to regain their trust and restore peace within the kingdom. The consequences could be devastating, leading to a long-lasting division and chaos among the vassals."

 Chapter 37 The Publicity of Our Bethroral

    761 NE-07-26


    Tonight was the party in the palace¡­Yesterday was  .Which I knew the truth all of what I had experienced, especially the transmutation¡­I didn¡¯t know I possessed that power for these entire years. When I asked Adel and Lady Octavi about teaching me the transmutation, they refused to become my mentor of it. Instead, they wanted me to learn it from my mother¡­Yet, they offered some willingful to teach me to hold swords. To learn it from my mother surely would be different.


    Even though the party was in five hours, Adel was already doing some preparation for me¡­She took me to the bath, and was taking bath me, which I was always doing it alone, but this time she was doing it for me. After finished the bath, she brought me back to my room, to choose dress. I told Adel to choose dress where the colour was the opposite of the colour of the crown prince¡¯s dress. Then, she chose the black dress again, because the crown prince always wore white dress.


    This was my first time attending a party, as I remembered. Yet, someone told me that I had attended a party; it was my debut party when I was twelve years old¡­Because it was my first time attending a party, I asked Lady Octavi to come beside me at the party.


    I was surprised to find out, Lady Octavi didn¡¯t wear a dress or gown, instead she was wearing a man attire like a military uniform. Three hours before the party, she started to teach me about the manners in the party. She had taught me the basic manners, so it was   . Next, she did a rehearsal of dance with me. Before we started the dance rehearsal, she told me,


    ¡°Let me become the lead of the dance, my lady..¡±


    So we started the rehearsal; like she had said, she became the lead, and I just followed her steps¡­While we were dancing, she said,


    ¡°Your dress actually make you easy to move, my lady¡­¡±


    We finished the rehearsal of dancing, and she said to me,


    ¡°The crown prince should be the lead of the dance, so my lady shouldn¡¯t worry about the dance¡­Just follow his steps¡­¡±


    A few moments later, a knock on the door and the news could be heard: the crown prince had arrived¡­


    I came to downstairs. In front of me, he immediately grabbed my hand, and show some affection into my hand with a kiss. I just let it, and I didn¡¯t see any other woman in his current entourage. When he met me seven years ago, he brought Lady Anna in his entourage.


    ¡°Shall we go there now, Aurelia?¡± He offered his hand for me to hold it.


    I said ¡°Sure..¡° I ignored his hand, which he wanted me to hold. I just walked toward the entrance,


    In front of the house, there was the royal carriage with six men wearing full plates of mail and their horses around the carriage. I could see their blue robe behind them; it meant they were the blue order, like Milo. I went into the carriage. Fabian was sitting beside me, while Milo and Lady Octavi were in front of us. On the trip, I kept silent¡­There were no single words inside the carriage.


    The carriage stopped, and a few seconds later, the door was opened by one of the guards..At once, Milo and Lady Octavi went out first, followed by Fabian. Again, Fabian wanted to show some affection towards me by lending his hand to me, and I was about to get off the carriage. I ignored his affection for me and just got off the carriage without any help. Especially, my dress was not so big like what I had worn seven years ago, when I was 15 years old, so it made it easy to move..


    As I stepped out of the carriage, I was looking around; there was no other carriage in front of the palace. We walked inside the palace. We were walking with Fabian beside me, followed by Milo and Lady Octavi behind us, but there were the four guards from the six still escorting us inside the palace.


    I asked Fabian,


    ¡°Is this type of escort really that necessary?¡±


    Fabian answered, ¡°For safety¡­¡±


    ¡°What about Milo? Is he not capable enough for you, that you need additional guards?¡±


    ¡°Well sometimes, you need to be prepared¡­¡±


    From a distance, I could see a door with two guards. Instead of going to the door, we turned right¡­


    ¡°Why we turned right? Not entered from that door?¡± asked me.


    ¡°That door is just for the normal guests¡­We will enter the room with another entrance.¡± answered Fabian.


    ¡°Another entrance?¡±


    Finally we arrived to another door, it was much bigger, taller, and extravagant than the previous door. In front of the door, the four guards immediately dispersed¡­The two guards of the door didn¡¯t open the door immediately. We kept standing there,


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    Again he offered his right arm to me; he wanted me to hold his arm. I ignored it¡­


    ¡°Is there something in your mind? That makes you ignore everything from me.¡± asked Fabian.


    ¡°If your royal highness wants to receive my affection, surely, your royal highness needs to look to the past of yours.¡±


    ¡°What these pa¡ª¡±


    Immediately, the door opened¡­


    ¡°The door was opened, your royal highness¡­Surely, we don¡¯t want everyone waiting for us¡­¡±


    We entered the ballroom, as we stepped in. There was an announcement of our arrival in the ballroom, ¡°His Royal Highness, The Crown Prince of Fotia, Fabian Julius has arrived,      with his partner, The Eldest Daughter of Aurelius Family, Duke of Florence, Aurelia Aurelius¡­¡±


    Immediately, all the eyes were on us¡­The music suddenly stopped¡­Fabian led me to the centre of the ballroom, or the dance floor. While Fabian and I were walking to the centre of the ballroom or the dance floor, Milo and Lady Octavi were standing on the side of the dance floor..All of the eyes that were looking at me reminded me of my nightmare. Yet I wanted to overcome that nightmare. We stepped our foot on the dance floor, and at once, every guest on the dance floor stepped aside from it. It was just Fabian and me on the dance floor.


    The music at once started to play, and Fabian offered his hand to me. I grabbed his hand, and immediately he led the dance¡­While we were dancing on the dance floor, Fabian asked me,


    ¡°I want to ask you about earlier, what do you mean by looking at my past, Aurelia?¡±


    ¡°It is not my obligation to tell you about it, your royal highness¡­¡± said me.


    ¡°You can¡¯t cut the honorific of me¡­just call me by my name.¡±


    I ignored it and we kept dancing on the dance floor. Again, he asked me,


    ¡°Is there anything from me to you, to you open for me?¡±


    ¡°If your royal highness wants my affection and my gratitude towards you, again you need to look at your own past¡­¡±


    ¡°You need to tell me about it, Aurelia¡­¡±


    ¡°*sigh* Okay then, I am a little bit disappointing and angry to you¡­¡±


    The music kept playing, and our dance kept going.


    ¡°Disappointing and angry? Am I really doing something to you?¡± said him.


    I was disbelief and confused, why did he say that?


    ¡°Is your royal highness playing dumb? Please forgive me about my words..¡± said me.


    ¡°Genuie, I don¡¯t have any clue about it¡­¡±


    ¡°Does your highness aware about the rumor that circulating around you, this seven years?¡±


    ¡°A rumor about me?


    For a second, I didn¡¯t know to believe his words, that he didn¡¯t aware or know about the rumor about him with Lady Anna, or he was just playing with me¡­


    The music stopped, and we ended our dancing. Again, Fabian held my hand and kissed it¡­We left the dance floor, and Lady Octavi was waiting for me with drinks in both of her hands. She brought the drinks to us..I drank it.


    Immediately, a lot of nobles came to us to greet us. They introduced themselves and started to praise our dancing, our matching outfits, or everything about us..Every five or ten seconds, another noble would come to do the same thing. I was just smiling¡­Until Lady Hillaria and Lady Clara came to us, they greeted and praised us like the other nobles. Then, Lady Clara said to me,


    ¡°Lady Aurelia, can I have a favor from you?¡±


    ¡°Favor? What is that?¡±


    Suddenly she leaned her head towards my face, ¡°Can I have a shake hand from Lady Octavi?¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s just that¡­Sure¡­¡± I waved at Lady Octavi to come here beside me. I told her, that Lady Clara wanted to have a shake hand from her. Lady Octavi raised his hand, and Lady Clara immediately shaked her hand..Her face was so happy, that she had a shake hand from her¡­


    It turned of Lady Hillaria, she asked, ¡°Can I have a favor from you too, Lady Aurelia??¡±


    ¡°What is that?¡±


    ¡°Can you let Lady Octavi have a spar with me?¡±


    I immediately answered, ¡°NO¡­¡±


    Her face was so sad to hear that.


    They moved out from us¡­


    After some minutes, greeting some nobles, all of them had been greeted to us¡­I found out all of the nobles in this ballroom were viscounts, counts, and marquesses. There weren¡¯t duke or son of duke or daughter of duke, or maybe it was just only me with the peerage rank of duke in this ballroom. Where were all the eight dukes? I wondered if the absence of the other dukes was a deliberate choice or merely a coincidence. It seemed unusual for such a prestigious event to be lacking in ducal presence.


    Out of the blue, the music had stopped, and the atmosphere of the ballroom became quiet. An announcement could be heard; it was the announcement of the queen''s arrival. She arrived on the balcony of the ballroom. It was only the announcement of the queen; it meant the king was still absent from the throne. She was looking around, and our eyes met. I saw her showing me a smile.


    She started her speech on the balcony of the ballroom, ¡°Glory for our kingdom¡­In here, in this pary, I want to share a great news for our kingdom. The news is about the crown prince of this kingdom¡­¡­


    I suddenly felt like I knew what she was going to say...


    She continued, ¡°As we can see right now, our kingdom is built in truss between each other¡­So make the truss better, we, royal family offers the betrothal of the crown prince, Fabian to the Aurelius Family, its eldest daughter Aurelia Aurelius¡­.


    At once, everyone''s eyes were on me again¡­


    ¡°Hope in this betrothal, our kingdom trusses between each other become more and more solid and stronger, making the kingdom more prosperous, than before¡­This union will not only strengthen the bond between our families but also ensure the stability and prosperity of our kingdom for generations to come....Let us all embrace this betrothal with hope and excitement for a brighter future together." The room erupted in applause, signaling the unanimous support for this alliance.


    Our betrothal was being public just like that¡­I asked, whispering Lady Octavi beside me,


    ¡°Can they make this bethroral public without any consent of my family?¡±


    ¡°I believe not, my lady..¡± replied her with whispering.


    ¡°And why the queen easily make it public?¡±


    ¡°I believe it¡¯s her plan to start jealousy¡­¡±


    ¡°Jealousy?¡±


    ¡°Remember, the rumor about Lady Anna and the crown prince¡­maybe with that rumor still circulating around the kingdom, this bethoral will become an obstacle to them, and blame will be on Aurelius family, for obstructing their relationship¡­¡±


    ¡°I see, but the crown prince himself said he don¡¯t know about the rumor around him..¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s weird, my lady¡­¡±


    ¡°I found it weird too, maybe he is playing with me, right now..¡±


    ¡°Surely, he is¡­My lady needs to be careful right now, with the announcement of the bethroral surely some faction will start to targeting you, whether harrasing you or trying to convince you to join their faction¡­¡±


    ¡°Thanks for the advice¡­¡±

 Chapter 38 The Commitment of The Crown Prince

    After the publicity of my bethoral, the atmosphere in the ballroom significantly changed. Everyone kept staring at me while I was with Fabian, the crown prince¡­I realised that all of the guests in this ballroom were direct vassals of the royal family, so that was why there was no other duke or duchess in this ballroom...


    But right now, I must stay focused on the main character of the book. Tonight, she would reveal herself...She would try to get closer with Milo; right now, Milo was staying beside Lady Octavi. They were staying closer with us¡ªFabian and me...We were enjoying the treats and drinks of the party...Sometimes Fabian asked me to call him by name, not with honorifics or royal highness.


    "Aurelia...May you cut the honorific for me?" said Fabian.


    "Again, your royal highness, you still keep asking me that..." said I


    "Because it''s for us, you can just call me by my own name to make this relationship better..."


    "Well, to make this relationship better, you need to look your own past, royal highness."


    "What past this are you talking about?"


    "May we just enjoy the party? I am not talking about this matter.."


    When I wanted to get other treats, I walked to the other side..


    He immediately stood in front of me and blocked me, "No! you need to tell me about this past."


    I tried to pass him and went to the other treats section...Yet, when I passed him, he suddenly grabbed my left hand... "May your royal highness release my hand?" said I, trying to pull my hand away.


    "I apologise, but I can''t let go just yet," he replied, "I want to know the root; why don''t you want to call me by my own name?"


    "Well, it''s not that I don''t want to call you by your name; it''s just that I prefer using a more formal title when addressing someone of your stature," I explained, hoping to diffuse the tension. "Besides, it adds an air of respect and honour to our conversations...So may you release your hand before we make a scene?"


    "Don''t play with me, Aurelia... That''s not the reason for you to keep using honorifics towards me...Just tell me the truth!!" His grip became stronger, and I felt a little bit hurt by his grip...I tried to pull and push to let the grip go, but it didn''t work until Lady Octavi saw what happened. She intervened,


    "May your royal highness release my lady''s hand?" said Lady Octavi..


    Still, Fabian didn''t lose his grip on me...Again, Lady Octavi asked him, "You need to release my lady''s hand, your royal highness..."


    Fabian''s face contorted with anger as he refused to let go of my hand. The tension in the room grew palpable, and I could sense Lady Octavi''s concern for my well-being...


    I sighed and said with a loud tone, "FINE!! IF YOUR ROYAL HIGHNESS WANTS TO KNOW THE REASON, RELEASE MY HAND AND I WILL TELL YOU.." I was so furious about Fabian''s behavior. Lady Octavi looked at me with a mix of surprise and worry, her eyes silently pleading for me to calm down. The room fell silent as Fabian finally released his grip on my hand..


    "Great, now...We make a scene at this party...Thanks to you, your royal highness," I said, realising the consequences of my outburst. Everyone''s eyes were on us, and I could feel the weight of judgement in the room. Taking a deep breath, I tried to gather my composure and find a way to salvage the situation.


    Lady Octavi quickly intervened, her voice steady and soothing, "Let''s find a more private space to talk, away from prying eyes."


    "Fine with me.." said Fabian. He waved to Milo, and at once he was in front of Fabian, "Milo, lead us to a place more private!"


    Milo nodded and led us out of the ballroom and into a quieter hallway. I could feel the tension slowly dissipating, replaced by a sense of relief that we were no longer under the scrutiny of others....At the hallway, Lady Octavi and Milo made a distance between Fabian and I...


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    "Now, you may explain the reason why you keep resisting to call me by my own name." Fabian asked me..


    "First, I want to ask you...Is your royal highness aware of the rumour about you?"


    "What is this rumour you are talking about?"


    I hesitated for a moment, unsure of how to proceed. Finally, I decided to take a deep breath and speak my mind. "There have been whispers and news across the kingdom about your relationship with Lady Anna for the entire seven years....All the courtiers and the people think you, your royal highness, are betrothed with Lady Anna..Not me..." I said cautiously. Fabian''s eyes widened in surprise, and I could see a flicker of unease cross his face, "So, is your royal highness aware of this rumour?" asked me.


    Fabian''s expression shifted, his brows furrowing slightly as he processed my words, and he was walking back and forth in front of me. After a moment of silence, he sighed. "I had suspected that there were rumours circulating, but I did not realise they had reached such a level of certainty," Fabian admitted, his voice tinged with frustration. "It seems that the courtiers and the people have taken our close friendship and mistaken it for something more. This misunderstanding could potentially complicate matters for both of us."


    "It doesn''t complicate matters for me...As we know from the beginning, our betrothal is merely an agreement between our parents... and has no bearing on our personal feelings towards each oth-"


    Out of the blue, he leaned towards me, and his face got closer to mine.. I could feel his warm breath on my cheek as he whispered, "But what if our personal feelings have changed? What if this misunderstanding has made us realise that there is something more between us?" The intensity in his eyes made my heart skip a beat..


    I pushed him to get away from my face. I realised he was changed...He was not like seven years ago, when we met back in my home...I didn''t know his change was a genuie change or just playing with me. There must be something that happened that made him change like this...Or there was something that happened between him and Lady Anna...


    "Well, if your royal highness''s feelings towards me change, you need to regain my trust in you..."


    "Is there anything I can do for that?"


    "I want you to sincerely apologise to me..."


    "Apologise?"


    "Yes..For the these entire seven years, your royal highness has never visited me...While I was lying down on the bed..Instead, you have spent your time with others..." Actually, it was a chance for me, to attract all the paragons to me with this chance; instead of looking for them, let them look for me...Surely, it was a high risk...I continued, "To prove your sincerity towards me, I want your royal highness to write this apology and be seen by the public on the board across the kingdom.."


    Fabian''s expression changed from surprise to hesitation. He seemed unsure about the consequences of such a public display of apology. He opened his mouth and said, "You know this public apology will be bad for the royal family...It will be seen, like the royal family knelt to the Aurelius family...Is there any other way to prove my sincerity to you?" Fabian''s concern for the reputation of the royal family was evident in his hesitant expression... He worried that a public apology would create an image of subservience for the Aurelius family, which could potentially damage their standing in the kingdom...


    "I am afraid there is no other way, your royal highness...If you really want to prove your sincerity, a public apology may be the only option...If there is nothing more you want to say to me, it''s better we go back to the ballroom..."


    Fabian''s words hung in the air, emphasising the weight of the decision...He knew that a public apology would not only demonstrate sincerity but also send a strong message to the kingdom about their commitment to this bethoral... However, he couldn''t help but worry about the potential backlash it might bring from those who viewed it as a sign of weakness...Especially the sign of weakness from the royal family and the sign of dominance from the Aurelius family...


    He sighed, "Fine...I will make an apology and announce it on board across the kingdom..."


    "You have my gratitude, and I will keep my words, your royal highness...Now shall we go back to the party??" This time, after hearing those words, I offered him my hand to hold...He grabbed my hand, and we were holding each other hands back to the ballroom..


    As the night progressed, the atmosphere in the ballroom grew more enchanting. The soft melodies of the orchestra filled the air, creating an ambiance that heightened everyone''s anticipation. Despite the grandeur of the event, I couldn''t help but feel a sense of nervousness as I awaited the main character''s grand reveal. It was as if her presence alone held the power to captivate every soul in the room....I kept watching Milo, if there was someone to try to meet Fabian , the crown prince...As the time passed and the party reached its end...There was neither a single lady nor a woman who tried to get close with Fabian, or with Milo as an intermediary...


    Was it because I had anticipated it? It made them or the main character of the book know if I was waiting for her...Or the main character was one of the nobles in the ballroom, where they had introduced themselves and greeted Fabian, earlier...In the end, I didn''t have a single clue about the main character of the book¡ªthe appearance, even the name of her...At least I had made Fabian, crown prince to write an apology, and announced it across the kingdom..

 Chapter 39 The Warning from The Third Prince Tito

    After the party and going home, I checked the book in my room again. To find out what would happen next, and what would this main character do next? I eagerly flipped through the pages, my curiosity growing with each passing moment...And found the answer: in the next three weeks, there would be a hunting gathering where all the nobles in the kingdom would be attending. All the dukes and duchesses of the kingdom, including my father and my mother, would attend this gathering...Which of the main characters in this book would try something to get attention from one of the four dukes...It seen as the main character was trying to get influence from one of the four powerful dukes to contend...So I memorised the date of the hunt gathering, 761 NE-08-17..I closed the book and went to sleep...


    ...


    The next day, I went to the palace with one addition Lady Octavi, so there would be Cassius, Valerie, Adel, and Lady Octavi. When I was in the palace, everything changed. The atmosphere in there changed, maybe because of the publicity of my betrothal with the Crown Prince... In front of the arch-treasury room, Lady Hillaria and Lady Clara congratulated me on my betrothal with the Crown Prince... I thanked them for their kind words and smiled. As we walked further into the palace, I couldn''t help but notice the curious glances and whispers from the courtiers, making me realise that my betrothal had indeed become a topic of great interest among the nobility...


    Tito the third prince of the kingdom, who was at his table beside me, congratulated me too. "Congratulation on the betrothal with my brother," he said.


    "Thank you, Prince Tito..." I replied graciously. "I am truly honoured by your kind words.".


    "It seemed my dear brother, was preparing something for you; is that right? He stayed up until morning last night."


    I chuckled softly, ""~My~ I don''t know if he would stay up until morning..Well, Prince Tito, your brother has always been known for his dedication and commitment. Perhaps he was simply caught up in the excitement of our betrothal."


    Tito nodded knowingly, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Ah, I see. Knowing my brother, there must be something extraordinary planned for you. Even, you are my colleagues in this court, I know you have a fractious relationship with my mother. Right now, I don''t want to mendle in that matter, but if I find out you are trying to make my brother or manipulate him, whose act will diminish the royal family power and influence, I must warn you that such actions will not be tolerated, and you will become my enemy. I value loyalty and integrity above all else, and anyone who threatens the stability and reputation of my family will face severe consequences. My brother''s well-being is of utmost importance to me, and I will do whatever it takes to protect him from any harm or manipulation."


    "The purpose of betrohal is like the Queen said in the party, This union will not only strengthen the bond between our families but also ensure the stability and prosperity of our kingdom for generations to come...If it''s your brother''s action, surely you will support him, and you need to know the reason for his action..."


    "It''s like Lady Aurelia, knowing what my brother is doing and why he was staying up until morning."


    He must be trying to make the apology..."You are the brother of the Crown Prince, Prince Tito, even my dear little brother and my dear little sister, always asking me everything I do. How about you ask him? I think we need to finish our conversation and start with these papers..."


    "I will try to ask my brother...Just remember what I said, Lady Aurelia: Don''t ever diminish the name of the royal family.."


    We proceeded with the paper...Until the bell could be heard and we finished the paper...Like usual, Lady Hillaria and Lady Clara invited me to have tea time together...I thought it would be like usual with the addition of Lady Octavi at tea time...


    Yet, that was wrong; the garden atmosphere was different, and all the ladies in the garden acted so weird, where all of their eyes were focusing on one table...I tried to see which direction they were looking...And not surprising for me, it was my table, where the Crown Prince, Fabian, and Lady Octavi had already taken a seat at the table, with Cassius, Valerie, Milo, and Adel standing around them; even the maids of Lady Hillaria and Lady Clara stayed away from the table...I must be knowing this better about this after that betrohal and the change of Crown Prince; surely he would try to get close with me...


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    As I approached the table with Lady Hillaria and Lady Clara, Adel guided me to my seat at the table, and their maids guided Lady Hillaria and Lady Clara to their seats at the table...I could see Lady Clara''s face was a little bit weird, so maybe she was feeling like she did not belong at the table. Yet, Lady Hillaria was Lady Hillaria; after taking a seat, she just took some bites of the treats on the table...


    Adel poured the tea into our glasses, and I took a sip of it. I took a deep breath and started to ask the Crown Prince, "What is the occasion for your royal highness to come here?"


    As I awaited the Crown Prince''s response, I noticed Lady Clara discreetly fidgeting with her napkin, her unease palpable...The Crown Prince smiled politely and replied, "Well, is it what the bethrorals do, right? spending time with the betrothal... " While took a sip of tea..


    "But, your presence here will make a little change to the atmosphere of the garden. Even Lady Clara is feeling unease at this table..." said to the Crown Prince.


    Lady Clara was startled after hearing my words. She suddenly leaned her mouth to my ear, and whispered, "Actually, Lady Aurelia...It''s not his royal highness who makes me uneasy...."


    "What?" I was confused...


    The Crown Prince said and explained it to me, "It seems you still aren''t aware of why the atmosphere in this garden changed...The reason is not me, but..." He pointed someone at the table, "It was her..." it was Lady Octavi who the Crown Prince pointed at.


    I knew Lady Octavi had great presence and influence. With her skill and her appearance, surely all the ladies in the palace were looking at her coolness. Her elegance and grace were unmatched, and she commanded attention wherever she went. It was no wonder that her presence alone could shift the atmosphere in an instant...


    "Well I don''t know or am aware that Lady Octavi''s presence and influence are more popular and better than those of his royal highness..." said I.


    The Crown Prince said, "Are you mocking me with those smooth words of yours, Aurelia?"


    I chuckled softly, sparkling with amusement. "Oh, I assure you, your royal highness, I speak nothing but the truth. Lady Octavi''s allure is simply irresistible, captivating all who cross her path...and I heard that you were her underclass or her junior; even your guard Milo was under her, back in the academy..."


    Suddenly, all the ladies in the garden were whispering and talking to each other after hearing that...It seemed like what I said would be a big deal for lady courtiers..


    "I think it''s enough, my lady...Everyone has different talents and skills. I believe his royal highness and his guard, Milo, are exceptional in their skill...Surely, we can''t just be blind in that matter..." Said Lady Octavi. She continued, "Besides, it is not uncommon for individuals to excel in different areas. Just because someone is a junior or underclass does not mean they are any less capable or deserving of recognition." Lady Octavi''s words resonated with the other courtiers, and the whispers of the ladies in the gardens began to fade...


    Suddenly, Lady Hillaria asked what I was scared of: "Then, may Lady Octavi spar with me?" with some treats on her face.


    "Well in that matter, you need to ask my lady beside you, Lady Aurelia is my liege and I am just a vassal... If she has agreed to let me spar with you, surely I obligate and love to have spar with you..." said Lady Octavi.


    Lady Octavi''s response was met with a mix of surprise and admiration from the courtiers. Lady Hillaria, taken aback by the unexpected turn of events, looked to me for approval. The tension in the gardens grew as all eyes turned to me, waiting for my decision...


    I took a moment to consider the situation, especially the Cassius incident and the secret of their transmutation. Surely, I needed to consider all of that before agreeing to the spar...I thought Lady Octavi would be okay, her skill of swords was admirable and formidable among the kingdom; surely everyone would think it was her pure skill, unlike Adel. Adel was just my personal maid; if someone saw her beat someone stronger with transmutation, surely there would be a lot of question...


    I took a deep breath and said, "Lady Hillaria, you may have spar with Lady Octavi..."


    ...


    In just a few minutes, we got up from our seats and started to walk to the training ground for the spar...Followed by a lot of people from the palace, to watch the spar...

 Chapter 40 The Spar Between Lady Octavi and Lady Hillaria

    We were walking towards the training ground, and every lady in the garden earlier was following us¡­At the training ground, the knight and the armies there were shocked by the commotion and the crown prince arrived with everyone behind him¡­Especially it wasn¡¯t because of the Crown Prince, rather it was because of Lady Octavi¡­Milo immediately went to the commander of the training ground, to halt all the training sessions, with the reason, there would be a sparring between Lady Hillaria and Lady Octavi¡­He granted it¡­


    Lady Octavi asked Lady Hillaria, ¡°Do we need to use a real sword or a training sword?¡±


    ¡°Of course, real sword¡­¡± answered Lady Hillaria.


    They took the swords on the stash of sword side of the training ground¡­Before they took a step to the platform of the training ground, I said to them the basic rule of this spar, ¡°NO TRANSMUTATION FOR BOTH OF YOU¡­¡±


    They nodded, and they walked towards the platform¡­Everyone was gathering around the side of the training ground¡­Fabian, the Crown Prince, invited me and Lady Clara to the front of the ground...There were already some seats in there...We took a seat in there, as I was looking around the training ground, a lot of ladies were already taking a spot and watching the sparring between Lady Octavi and Lady Hillaria...


    They went to their side and started to show a small swing of their sword as if they were warming up with their sword... The crowd grew more excited as the sparring began, with cheers and applause filling the air, especially from the ladies after showing Lady Octavi was playing with her sword...These ladies surely idolised Lady Octavi a lot in my mind...


    Lady Octavi took the Alber or Fool''s stance, in which she opened her upper body wide open, and gripped her sword between her lower body in one hand with her sword pointed at the ground...Yet, she took her right foot back, it was different from the first time she showed me the stance seven years ago...On the other side, Lady Hillaria raised her sword with her two hands high, as if her sword were in front of her face...I sensed Lady Octavi being more relaxed about this spar than Lady Hillaria, who was more excited...


    The spar began with Lady Hillaria who plunged first...She dashed with fast, precise movements, her sword slicing through the air with a powerful grace. I saw Lady Hillaria focusing on the throat of Lady Octavi, as like Lady Octavi told me back then, Alber''s stance was provocative...The response from Lady Octavi was just a simple move...When Lady Hillaria''s sword almost touched her throat, she quickly swung her sword upward vertically, diminishing the plunge from Lady Hillaria...


    Lady Hillaria''s sword got neglected upward and wasn''t giving up; she regained her grip from a strong swing from Lady Octavi...She took back her sword and spun her body...As she tried to deliver another swing to Lady Octavi''s right side...Her swing was quick, yet I saw Lady Octavi''s eyes quick-dart to the attack...Her eyes and hands were well coordinated in just a second and again blocked Lady Hillaria''s swing...Their steel sword sparked like fire, and the sound echoed through the training ground...The crowd began to cheer, their excitement filling the air. They witnessed some seconds of the duel between Lady Hillaria and Lady Octavi, which was captivating in their eyes...


    Lady Octavi didn''t show any expression, yet Lady Hillaria showed some excited expression as if she were enjoying the spar...Lady Hillaria took some steps back after her plunge got denied...Letting Lady Hillaria take some steps back, it could tell Lady Octavi wasn''t on the offensive side yet, but on the defensive side...


    As the duel continued, Lady Octavi''s defensive manoeuvres grew more impressive, skillfully deflecting Lady Hillaria''s attacks with ease...I looked at her feet was like she didn''t move a single inch from her spot... Lady Octavi''s footwork was so precise and controlled that it seemed as if she were rooted to the ground...The intensity of the duel grew as Lady Hillaria started to barrage her swing towards Lady Octavi...Above, bottom, left side, and right side, she swung her sword with relentless fury, determined to break through Lady Octavi''s impenetrable defence. The clash of their blades echoed through the air, each strike sending sparks flying in all directions...I didn''t know who was the most amazing one, the defence of Lady Octavi or the relentless offence of Lady Hillaria...


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    The training ground held their breath, and I saw Fabian seem to be talking with Milo...I moved my seat a little bit to hear what they were talking about...I heard that they remembered the past as seeing Lady Octavi on the ground right now...


    Lady Hillaria seemed out of breath with her nonstop swing towards Lady Octavi...I sensed a tingling in my spine as I looked at Lady Hillaria at the corner of her side...


    Adel who was beside me, said to me, "I think you need to stop the duel right now, my lady..."


    I kept watching Lady Hillaria on her side of the ground...I realised why Adel asked me to stop the duel, cause Lady Hillaria started to use her transmutation. Against my words in this duel...When I wanted to get up and halt the duel, all of a sudden, Lady Octavi plunged towards Lady Hillaria in a quick dash...She brought a simple swing towards Lady Hillaria''s sword and Lady Hillaria''s sword was thrown away...Lady Octavi swiftly disarmed Lady Hillaria, leaving her defenceless with her sword pointed at Lady Hillaria''s head...


    Lady Octavi''s movement was caught off guard by the crowd...As I looked at everyone, especially Fabian, Milo, and the training ground commander, their expressions were unbelief and shock, with their eyes wide with astonishment... Some seconds later, after the crowd processed what was happening, they realised Lady Octavi had won the spar, so they erupted into applause and cheers. Lady Octavi gracefully sheathed her sword and bowed to the crowd, acknowledging their admiration. Meanwhile, Lady Hillaria stood there...Seeing that, Lady Octavi offered a hand as a gesture of respect...Both of them took a handshake, and the crowd became more louder...


    ~~


    After the spar ended, the crowd of ladies started to disperse...They walked towards us... As soon as they were in front of me, Lady Clara immediately went to Lady Hillaira, it seemed she was concerned about her condition after the spar...I saw a great friend relationship between them...I changed my eyes towards Lady Octavi, and said, "You have shown me a great spar, and I am honoured and grateful that I can become closer to you, Lady Octavi..."


    Lady Octavi smiled warmly and replied, "It''s not my lady''s honour to become closer to me, but it''s my honour to stay side by side with you, my lady..." her view changed towards Lady Hillaria, "I know it''s your dream to have a spar with me...Lady Hillaria, I hope you are feeling better after our spar..."


    Lady Hillaria nodded, her eyes filled with admiration. "Thank you, Lady Octavi. Our spar was indeed a dream come true for me. I am feeling exhilarated and grateful for the opportunity to test my skills against the famous Golden Sword of the Aurelius Family...It''s an honour..."


    I looked at Fabian and Milo, they seemed to try to avoid Lady Octavi after the spar... I wondered if they were intimidated by their past with Lady Octavi or not, yet I still didn''t know what their relationship was when they were in the academy... As I pondered their behaviour, Lady Octavi approached them with a warm smile and said with a warm tone, "Milo, how about we do a spar like the old times?"


    Milo hesitated for a moment, his eyes darting between Lady Octavi and Fabian. Eventually, he replied, "It''s an honour to have a spar with you, Lady Octavi, like the old times, but I can''t     How about you have a spar with your royal highness? You have more spar with him than me, right?"


    Fabian quickly replied, "WHAT! How dare you suggest such a thing? I am not worthy of sparring with Lady Octavi. She is far superior in skill and experience."


    Lady Octavi chuckled, "Oh, don''t be so modest, Your Royal Highness. Milo and I have sparred countless times before, but it would be a refreshing change to spar with you instead..."  Hearing their conversation, I only assumed Milo and Fabian were a little bit scared of Lady Octavi...


    Out of a sudden, a big man was approaching us... He had a menacing look on his face, and his muscular physique seemed intimidating...Caught off my guard, Lady Hillaria called him, "FATHER!!". She immediately walked towards her father, and started to introduce him, especially me, saying, "He is my father, his name is Kaeso Antia, and he is the commander of this ground..."


    I started to show some respect towards him, "It''s an honour to meet and know Lady Hillaria''s father..."


    Kaeso Antia nodded in acknowledgement and replied, "The pleasure is mine. I''ve heard much about you..." Suddenly his eyes showed some menace, and he continued, "I heard that His Royal Highness said he not worthy to spar with Lady Octavi with her vast superior skill...It just doesn''t sit right with me. I believe in equal opportunities and fair competition... How about we arrange a sparing equal skill with Lady Octavi on this ground?"


    Fabian replied, "Equal skill with Lady Octavi, whose is the one that is capable of doing it?"


    I knew what he wanted to do...He said, "Well, Your Royal Highness, the one who is capable of doing it is with us right now..." His eyes went to someone from one of us..."It''s other than her..." He pointed at someone...

 Chapter 41 Unexpected about Sparring

    The father of Lady Hillaria, Sir Kaeso Antia, the commander of this ground, knew about someone equal to Lady Octavi...Before he pointed to someone among us, I knew whom he would point at about the person... Slowly, he raised his hand and pointed at someone beside me, it was Adel...


    It didn''t surprise me if he pointed at Adel, because I, myself, watched it with my own eyes. Lady Octavi and Adel sparred with each other... The last spar between Lady Hillaria and Adel, surely caught the attention of everyone, like the commander of the ground...Yet, the Crown Prince, Fabian, didn''t show up or attend it, so he didn''t know how capable Adel was...


    "It''s her..." said Sir Kaeso, while pointing at Adel...


    Before I disowned it, I saw Lady Hillaria and Lady Clara have a concerned face, like they didn''t want to go along with him, out of fear of me or being friends with me...I didn''t know it...Yet the first one to ask a question about it was Fabian...


    "What do you mean by her? She is just a maid..." asked Fabian to him...


    "Your Royal Highness, it seems you weren''t here when my daughter had a spar with her...She showed some excellent moves and great skill, even my daughter with her transmutation outmatched her...It showed how monstrous she was if she could beat easily my daughter with her transmutation, so she should be equal with Lady Octavi in terms of skill..."


    "Still, what you asked was a maid; it was unethical to ask a maid with a proper knight, especially from the White Order. What are you thinking about?"


    I was caught off guard when Fabian referred to Lady Octavi as a knight of the White Order...I just knew about the order not long ago, yet I didn''t know she was part of it. I didn''t know that; it showed me how fragile or foolish I was past these years...Was I ignoring all of that or being ignored by everyone around me?


    "If your royal highness doesn''t believe me, may my daughter tell you about her capability and skill? Hillaria tells the royal highness how monstrous she is..." said Sir Kaeso, and persuaded Lady Hillaria to tell about Adel''s skill when they had sparred to Fabian...


    Still, I saw Lady Hillaria hesitant to tell about Adel in front of me, took a lot of glimpses of me as her father started to talk about Adel...As if she were scared of me or being friends with me, she was hesitant or didn''t want to tell me about Adel in front of me...


    Her father kept persuading her and telling her to tell him about Adel, yet she didn''t budge and didn''t open her mouth...Seeing her daughter, who didn''t open her mouth, Sir Kaeso went to another, Lady Clara...He tried to persuade her to open her mouth about Adel, but yet again, she didn''t budge and didn''t open her mouth... Out of options, he looked at Milo. As with others, Milo didn''t open his mouth...As if everyone wanted to keep Adel''s skill in secrecy, or they were afraid of me especially my family, and Lady Octavi with me, it indicated the influence of the Aurelius Family was in front of them...


    "As you can''t provide me with the evidence about Aurelia''s maid, it indicates you are lying to me...It''s a shame that a commander like you is lying to me, especially when comparing someone''s maid with a proper knight... It''s not like the usual of you...If you want a great show of spar, how about you, as commander, have a spar with Lady Octavi? It surely will be a great show to show everyone, I am with pleasure scheduling it for you..." said Fabian, the Crown Prince. I felt some of the tension in his words, even from outside, I saw he was so composure and calm...


    "I deeply apologise to Your Royal Highness," replied the commander, his voice filled with regret. "I assure you that there must be some misunderstanding... I would never intentionally deceive you. As for the spar with Lady Octavi, it would be an honour for me to participate and showcase my skills in front of Your Royal Highness." as he was talking, bowing towards Fabian...


    "Very well, yet I need to have permission from Lady Octavi..."


    "Your royal highness, I think the permission should have been from my lady, Lady Aurelia, not from me."


    As Fabian tried to seek permission from me for Lady Octavi to spar with Sir Kaeso, somehow I felt a strong pressure from Sir Kaeso''s gaze on me, as he like wanted me to let Lady Octavi have a spar with him. Yet, somehow I felt it was a bad decision to let her spar with him. I was silent completely for some seconds, thinking about the possibility and this bad feeling. Adel was tapping my shoulder and whispering,


    "You may politely decline it, my lady...".


    I whispered to her back, "Why?" and we started to exchange some whispers in front of everyone.


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    "It''s just my guts that are telling me it''s a bad idea to accept the spar..."


    Adel had the same feelings as me about this decision, yet why? "Why do your guts tell you to decline the proposal?" I asked her.


    "Well, my lady, you have already known about the transmutation of Aurelius Family. It may be his scheme or someone''s scheme to reveal the secret of your family to the public."


    "Yet, Lady Octavi is so capable and strong. Is there someone in the area who is capable enough to make her use her transmutation?"


    "I believe not."


    "It''s better to ask herself¡­" I turned my view to Lady Octavi, and asked her, "What do you think about this proposal to have to spar with you? Do you have any objection?"


    "For myself, I hand over it to my lady decision¡­" Answered Lady Octavi.


    All the eyes immediately were on me, after hearing what she had said. I could feel the weight of their expectations as I stood there, contemplating Lady Octavi''s response. It was clear that everyone was curious to know my thoughts about this proposal from Sir Kaeso. Taking a deep breath, first in my mind, was hoping my decision not lead to a bad path. I finally spoke up, "I grant it, Lady Octavi to have a spar with Sir Kaeso Antia.".


    "Very well, then¡­If Aurelia has granted permission to let Lady Octavi have a spar with you, Sir Kaeso, so may I pla¡ª"


    "I will take the charge of planning the sparring." Suddenly a voice came out of nowhere. At once, we turned our body to the voice. Surprisingly, it was the Queen, yet my sight was not focusing on the Queen, it was the person behind her, Lady Anna.


    Knowing it was the Queen walking towards us, immediately everyone around me kneeled in front of her, except Fabian the Crown Prince, Adel, Lady Octavi and me. I, just slightly bowed to her and raised my skirt followed by Lady Octavi and Adel.


    Fabian went to the Queen, and asked "Dear mother, why are you here? Are there any important affairs that you are coming here?"


    "No, my dear son, I just came here because I heard commotion from all the ladies. So I want to check it out. Surprisingly, you want to plan something extraordinary which sparring Lady Octavi a knight from the white order with Sir Kaeso the commander of this ground from the blue order. I want to make that sparring into a grander show." Fabian''s eyes widened in surprise as he processed his mother''s words. He had only intended for the sparring match to be a small event, but now the Queen wanted to turn it into a grand spectacle.


    "What do you mean by a grander show?"


    "In three weeks, there will be a hunting event which our master of the hunt is organizing. Yet, all the guests arrive in the capital a week earlier. How about we show this grander sparring between two knights from different orders on a grander stage, and make it a spectacle that will leave everyone."


    As for me, I was surprised after hearing that from the Queen. At once, Adel tapped my shoulder and whispered at me as Fabian and the Queen were in conversation.


    "You need not let Lady Octavi''s skill shown to the public, my lady." Whispered Adel to me with some concerned tone in her voice. "It might be best to keep her a secret for now, especially with all the guests arriving early, especially the other dukes and duchesses," she advised.


    "I know the concern about this transmutation out to the public, yet if Lady Octavi can handle it by herself without showing it, it will be okay. And, it should be Lady Octavi''s consent whether she wants to take the sparring or not. She seems not feeling any objection about it." I replied in a whisper, and again I asked Lady Octavi about her consent in the sparring to make sure. She still answered it the same way as before, it depended on me.


    The Queen and Fabian finished their conversation, and immediately they came to me. As the Queen was walking towards me, I could feel the weight of her gaze upon me. She looked at Lady Octavi and then back at me, her expression unreadable. I knew that whatever decision I made here would have consequences that could potentially shape my life.


    As the Queen in front of me, she asked me, "What do you think? Is the grander show a good idea for them?" I felt her tone was condescending as her words went into my ears.


    I answered, "Certainly, it''s a great idea¡­Yet, Your Majesty¡­" I looked at her with both eyes to make me stay composed.


    "YET?" Her eyes wide opened, and her brows furrowed in curiosity.


    I needed to make this show not include transmutation. I took one step to regain my courage "I want to make a single thing proposal about the sparring¡­"


    "What is that?"


    "This sparring, I want both of them to show their raw skill, so I want a ground rule for the show; they can''t use their transmutation."


    Slowly, she walked towards me as she said, "Well, is it not interesting if both of them hold it back? It wouldn''t add an element of suspense and unpredictability to the sparring match. The audience wouldn''t be on the edge of their seats, wondering how the fighters would adapt and strategize with their usual transmutation abilities." Until she stopped in front of me, just an inch from me, she leaned her face in front of mine, and she said something unimaginable for me with her soft voice and mischievous smile. "Perhaps, you are worried about the truth about Lady Octavi¡­" she whispered, as her words sent a shiver down my spine.


    I was startled as hearing the word of truth and Lady Octavi made me immediately question her motives and wonder what she knew. I couldn''t help but feel a knot forming in my stomach as I anxiously awaited her next words. Yet she didn''t finish her sentence; she just showed a simple smirk, and she took some steps backwards from me.


    Quick in reaction, I said, "Without disrespecting, it''s my proposal for this sparring, Your Majesty. In my memory, I believe it will be the first time our white order shows their skill in public. I hope you are considering my proposal about this sparring or..."


    "Or???"


    "Or I will not let Lady Octavi take a part of this grander sparring."


    I fiercely stared into her eyes, and she was just simply smirking at me.

 Chapter 42 The Envelope

    On the carriage going home, there was silence between me, Lady Octavi, and Ade inside the carriage. Until¡­ Adel spat out some words in front of my seat,


    "That was surprising, my lady¡­"


    "Surprising?" I was puzzled by her words, "What do you mean by that?"


    "You easily let Lady Octavi partake in the Queen''s plan¡­"


    "Me? Easily? Why did you say it like that?"


    "Was my lady not recognised or not realising her intention? She tried to pry you, and my lady easily reacted to her intention."


    Adel''s words struck a nerve, causing me to furrow my brow in confusion, "Yet, Lady Octavi was fine on the grander sparring." I looked at her, where she sat in front of me, "You are fine to partake in this event, right?"


    Lady Octavi answered, like before, "It''s up to my lady; I will obligate your words¡­"


    "See! My lady, she just followed your words, so it''s up to you, how you observe and see around, and what will happen in the future. My lady needs to know that¡­"


    Immediately, Lady Octavi reacted to Adel''s words with a brash tone, "Insolent! Are you doubting my lady''s judgment? Or perhaps do you question my skill? There is no need for further questioning. Do we need to test each other? Because the last time we were just warming up¡­"


    "I am not questioning your skill or my lady''s judgement about this grander sparring¡­We all know how great and formidable you are¡­Yet, is it alright not to tell her, the person you are obligated to protect and serve, what lies ahead? She needs to be informed of potential risks and challenges to make well-informed decisions. But you, Lady Octavi, are just accepting everything that my lady asked¡­"


    I saw Adel kept stay composure and calm without showing any emotion, after what she had just said to Lady Octavi. On the other hand, Lady Octavi seemed taken aback by Adel''s words, her expression momentarily faltering. Lady Octavi took a deep breath and replied with a thoughtful tone,


    "I believe my lady is capable enough to decide and make decision¡­And she is now twenty-one years old; at that age, she is quietly mature¡­"


    "Here is a thing, Lady Octavi¡­ Maturity does not always equate to wisdom or the ability to make great decisions. Age alone does not guarantee great judgment, which requires experience and knowledge. So when she asks you about what you think about something, you should give her your insight and what would happen in the future, not just blatantly say ''It depends on you, my lady.''."


    I sensed some heat from Lady Octavi, and immediately she slightly stood up from her seat, and looked at Adel with an irritated face and said


    "IMPUDENT!! You know what you said, right? You assume your master, whom you serve, is incompetent and incapable of making great decisions¡­"


    Adel''s face didn''t change at all; she still showed no emotion and was calm. She took her gaze on me, and addressed me, "As for you, my lady, I apologise if my words came across as disrespectful to you." Her face turned back to Lady Octavi, "I am not assuming; my lady is incapable and incompetent, yet I stand that my lady needs guidance enough to ensure she is not making bad decisions. However, you, as the sword''s of the family, have a duty to protect and advise her; it''s not about against your master or my lady; it''s about advising. After we gave all the possibilities and advice to her, it depends on her to choose, but you just put everything towards her without giving any advice. That''s the one I don''t like about you, Lady Octavi¡­"


    I saw Lady Octavi gripping her hand hard as if trying to control her anger. Suddenly I could see Lady Octavi want to swing her right hand towards Adel¡­


    Quickly, I screamed "STOP!", and suddenly the carriage stopped too. In quick, Cassius opened the door and asked, "Is there something wrong with the way you screamed?".


    For some moments, I ignored Cassius, and addressed Lady Octavi, "May you control your anger?


    Lady Octavi said, "Forgive me for my outburst¡­.¡±


    ~~~


    As soon as we arrived home, I could sense that there was still tension in the air between them. After our foot stepped on the ground from the carriage, Lady Octavi immediately excused herself to go to her room. I granted it because I understood that she needed some time alone to calm down. Suddenly, I could hear a whistle from Valerie, it was like a surprised or impressed whistle. From the coachman''s side of the carriage, Valerie said, "It seems your sword is in a bad mood¡­"


    I said, "Lady Octavi just needs some time to cool her anger¡­"


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    "Well, I am more impressed with the person who dares to make your sword in a bad mood like that¡­" Said Valerie.


    I continued to walk towards the front door. When I was in front of the door, Cassius suddenly called me, "My lady¡­"


    "Do you need something, Cassius?"


    "I heard that you want to learn about transmutation¡­" Hearing that, I was taken aback for a moment as he continued, "May I offer myself to be your instructor?"


    I was surprised by what he said. For now, I didn''t know who would be my instructor for this thing; the closest one was Lady Octavi, and after that, Adel. Yet, for Cassius, he was a completely unexpected choice. After learning what had happened when I was unconscious, this task may have been difficult for him. I said to him, "That''s an amazing offer from you, Cassius. Yet I need some time to decide¡­"


    "I appreciate it, my lady¡­" answered Cassius.


    "The sun is already setting; you should take a rest now, Cassius," I said to him.


    ~~~


    The next morning, I was woken up by Lady Octavi, who gently shook my shoulder. She informed me that breakfast was ready and that I should hurry downstairs. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I thanked her, and she helped me quickly get dressed with my morning routine. On the way to the dining hall, suddenly the atmosphere around the home was different. I sensed the other servants seemed different, like usual; they


    Even in the dining room, I found it surprising. Cassius and Valerie were in the dining room, yet they didn''t sit at the dining table. They usually didn''t attend breakfast; however, this time, they were here. It was unusual to see them here. Adel immediately set up my seat, and I took a seat in there. As I sat down, I couldn''t help but notice the tension in the air. It was clear that something significant had happened, but no one seemed willing to speak about it. First, I offered Cassius and Valerie to take a seat at the dining table. Yet they refused it.


    I couldn''t stand the atmosphere of the room, so I decided to break the silence, "What is happening here? Why everyone is so different today? Is it about the offer of Cassius?"


    Everyone in the room took a glance at each other, and Lady Octavi who took a seat at the dining table, finally spoke up. "My lady, before I explain to you what is going on, may I ask you something?"


    "Sure¡­"


    "Did my lady ask something from the Crown Prince?"


    I was taken aback by Lady Octavi''s question. Confused, I replied, "Ask something?"


    "Yes, did my lady recall that you asked something from the Crown Prince?"


    Suddenly I remembered that I asked something of the Crown Prince at the party.


    I could see suddenly that one of the servants behind Lady Octavi seemed to be giving her an envelope. After the envelope was in Lady Octavi''s hand, she immediately brought it to me at the table and said, "May my lady read the letter inside this envelope?"


    Curiosity piqued, and I cautiously took the envelope from Lady Octavi''s outstretched hand. As I opened it, my eyes scanned the elegant handwriting on the letter inside, and a sense of unease washed over me. The content of the letter was a confession of the Crown Prince''s past seven years towards me and a confession of the Crown Prince''s desire towards the agreement of our betrothal. As I read until the end, my heart raced with a mixture of shock and disbelief. I couldn''t believe he did it.


    Lady Octavi said, "As my lady has read it, this letter is a testament to the Crown Prince''s sincerity and commitment towards your betrothal. Not just that, it showed the guilt of the Crown Prince towards you for the past seven years."


    Wait! Back then, I asked him to show his sincerity across the kingdom. I asked her, "Is this confession being shown across the kingdom?"


    Lady Octavi nodded solemnly. "Indeed, my lady," she replied. "The Crown Prince''s confession was not only shared with the entire kingdom but also publicly displayed in every corner, ensuring that his sincerity and remorse were known to all."


    Yet, it wasn''t the answer to why everyone acted differently today; this confession surely was a great deal for me: "Is this why everyone in this room acted differently?"


    Lady Octavi paused for a moment and hesitated to answer, but finally, she spoke, "This confession is a deal-breaker across the kingdom¡­"


    "What do you mean?"


    "First, your betrothal is announced to the public, so it sparks some power balance and political alliances. I believe the other dukes will not be happy with this betrothal being announced now. Second, this confession shows how the royal kneels before your family. The guilt feeling from the Crown Prince shows how incapable the royal is towards an agreement and shows how big control Aurelius'' family has across the kingdom."


    Lady Octavi''s words hung heavy in the air as she carefully considered her next statement. "Furthermore, this confession could potentially ignite tensions between rival factions within the kingdom. The other dukes'' families may perceive it as a threat to the four powers in the kingdom. They might view it as a challenge to their own influence and attempt to assert their dominance. Additionally, this letter could also lead to speculation and rumours about the true intentions of Aurelius'' family, because this letter showed how willing the Crown Prince was towards Aurelius'' family."


    Everything happened like what the Crown Prince told me at the party when I asked him about this. Yet, I saw another servant give Lady Octavi another envelope. Immediately, the second envelope was brought in front of me. As Lady Octavi said, "This envelope is the reason why we act different today, my lady¡­"


    I became more curious about the inside of this envelope. I eagerly opened the second envelope, my heart pounding with anticipation. And I found it just a flower, a sprig of flowers; the flower''s colour was yellow. I asked Lady Octavi, "Who is the person sending this?"


    "It''s from the third prince."


    "The third prince? I don''t know if he will send me a sprig of flowers¡­"


    I saw Lady Octavi''s face was confused, and I turned to the others; they showed some confusion too. Lady Octavi asked, "Does my lady know this flower?"


    "I don''t know anything about this flower. May you tell me about this flower?"


    "Well, my lady¡­" Lady Octavi seemed hesitant to tell me, and I didn''t know why, finally she continued, "This flower is a Tansy flower¡­and¡­if a person gives someone this flower¡­it means¡­" I could see her somehow struggling to say the meaning of the flower.


    Seeing her like that, I said, "Just say it!!"


    Lady Octavi took a deep breath and finally revealed, "If someone gives you a Tansy flower, it signifies that person hates you so much, and not forgiving you¡­And it can be¡­an unofficial declaration of war¡­"

 Chapter 43 The Precaution

    "Declaration of war??" Immediately, I threw the flower and was taken aback after learning the meaning of the flower: "This is not the declaration of faction war, right?"


    Lady Octavi shook her head, her expression serious. "No, it''s not about the declaration of war between the royal and your family, my lady. It''s just a personal problem between you and the third prince. Giving someone a Tansy flower is a way of expressing deep animosity and a refusal to reconcile."


    "So it will be a problem between me and him¡­" Well, back then, he had given me a warning about Fabian, the Crown Prince¡­I didn''t know he would react this fast¡­ I asked Lady Octavi, "Do my parents know about this envelope?"


    "Which envelope, my lady? If it is the first envelope, I believe they will know it, yet for the second envelope from the third prince, it depends on their informant around this house¡­"


    "Wait! What? So they have an informant inside this house¡­" I was surprised. I never thought my parents would have informants in this home.


    Lady Octavi looked at me with a knowing smile and said, "My lady, it is not uncommon for noble families to have informants in their households for various reasons. It ensures their safety and helps them stay informed about any potential threats or alliances. Especially, it''s your parents, my lady, so it''s natural to have another ear around you¡­"


    Yet, I couldn''t help but feel unease around me because my parents kept hearing and seeing me.


    "Do you think they will be upset with me for receiving such a gift like this flower?" I inquired, feeling a sense of unease. Lady Octavi paused for a moment before responding, "It''s hard to say, my lady. Your parents may understand the complexities of the situation, but they could also be concerned about the potential consequences it may bring."


    "On this matter, what do you think I must do?" After what happened yesterday, would Lady Octavi give me some advice or not? Or just said it depended on me¡­


    There was a pause in the room, and I could see Lady Octavi''s glance behind me. Immediately, I knew she was looking at Adel. Lady Octavi''s gaze lingered on Adel for a moment before she finally spoke towards me, her voice filled with caution.


    "My lady, I believe it would be wise to keep my lady inside this house until your parents arrive for the hunting event."


    "Why?"


    "With Sofia arriving tomorrow, I believe everything you need is in the house. And with this situation, I believe the palace isn''t a safe place for you. Our concern is with the envelope from the third prince, which can be a threat to your safety. It would be best to stay here until


    "Ah, yes, I almost forgot that Sofia would come here¡­" I looked back to Adel, and asked her, "What do you think?"


    Adel answered, "I agree with Lady Octavi; this matter is serious; maybe it can be a threat to you, my lady¡­So


    Finally, both of them could come to an agreement with each other. I asked them, "Does this plan make me a weak and helpless Aurelius?"


    Lady Octavi said, "You have a great view towards this matter, my lady. Yet, it can also be an intriguing plan. I believe the other nobles, especially the royals, won''t assume we are weak or helpless." Adel added, "On the other hand, they will assume we are planning something, which they won''t or don''t have the guts to do first. All of them will wait until the hunting event."


    "I see¡­" While waiting for my parents to come into the capital for the hunt event, I needed to do something, I remembered my desire to learn transmutation: "While I am waiting for my parents to come here, there is something I want to do¡­"


    "What is it, my lady?" Asked Lady Octavi.


    "I want to learn this transmutation¡­"


    Lady Octavi seemed to take aback after what I had said, her eyes widening in surprise. "I know my lady is eager to learn it, yet are you sure?"


    "Yes, I am certain," I replied confidently.


    "The best instructor for you is madam, your mother, yet madam isn''t here. And I heard Cassius offer himself to become your instructor on this matter; in my view, it''s a bad idea¡­" As Lady Octavi said that, I looked at Cassius; he seemed not happy hearing that.


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    "For me, I think it''s not a bad idea to let Cassius teach me about this transmutation¡­"


    "Why my lady say that?"


    "Mother taught and raised Lady Octavi and Adel until both of you achieved black transmutation, yet both of you were familiar with sword technique or how to fight; like Lady Octavi, you were a graduate of the Knight Academy, and Adel was a former assassin¡­" Spontaneously, everyone was surprised after I said Adel was a former assassin with all eyes on her. I was confused and asked Adel, "Is your background a secret among family?"


    "Well, my lady, it isn''t a secret anymore; my lady has told everyone in this room¡­" Said Adel with a flat tone.


    I continued to talk to everyone. "That''s interesting, right? I have a former assassin maid¡­Forget about that part, so what my mother taught Lady Octavi and Adel maybe isn''t a basic thing but more a specialised skillset for fighting and sword technique. However, for me, I don''t have anything; I don''t have any basic skills, footwork, or technique. In conclusion, Cassius teaches me  that transmutation isn''t a bad idea because he will teach me the basics, not like my mother, who teaches both of you more advanced."


    Lady Octavi said, "I understand your view, my lady. You are right; what madam taught and raised for us is more advanced; even the academy has not taught it to me. I agree with Cassius about becoming your instructor¡­However, inside of you is way stronger than Cassius, so on this matter¡­" She turned her view to Cassius, who was standing, "I want to ask Cassius himself, I believe you have faced my lady in a state of uncontrol, yet at that time there was Adel and that woman," Lady Octavi pointed at Valerie, "Who were beside you back there. If that''s happening again, in the middle of teaching her, you need to understand the risk. Even if Adel is beside her, it may not be enough to prevent any potential harm to you, who is the closest person. Are you aware of that? And still want to offer yourself as her instructor?"


    I saw Cassius seem hesitant to answer. I was waiting for him to answer her question, to ensure his determination.


    Immediately, I saw his mouth open and spoke, "I offered myself as an instructor, fully aware of the potential risks involved. After seeing my lady in a state of uncontrollability, I realised that someone needed to step in and help her. I understand the dangers, and I am willing to take on the responsibility¡­"


    "Well, if you are aware of the situation, I approve of you as her instructor¡­Yet, I want you to teach her the theory of transmutation fundamentals and the basics of sword technique. And Adel needs to be beside her all the time of learning." Lady Octavi turned her face to me and said, "All of that is alright in your mind, my lady?"


    I asked as puzzled after all of that "Why do you approve him just to teach me a theory? Why does not everything about that matter after you asked him that?"


    "The problem is that the thing inside of you is unique, my lady. Even I don''t know how I will teach you to regain what is inside of you to out from you, and you can control it. Do you remember who teaches and trains your brother?"


    "My father¡­"


    "Correct, I believe now that the young master is still undergoing learning transmutation under his grace. And I will not allow Cassius to teach you how to control transmutation because only his grace and madam possess the knowledge and ability to bring out what is inside Aurelius'' children. They have been trained in this matter throughout their dynasty, making them the only ones capable of imparting this skill. A single misstep in learning to control transmutation can be extremely dangerous and can result in Cassius losing his life; if he is lucky, he will lose some of his limbs. So I hope my lady understands about this matter."


    "I understand the consequence, so I will follow your advice on this matter¡­"


    I saw Lady Octavi, and Cassius nod at me. "Great with this, we have taken precautions in this matter, and the plan of my learning for transmutation." I looked and waved to Cassius and Valerie, "May you two take a seat at the table? So we can have breakfast together."


    They came to the table and sat at the table. As soon as they took a seat, Adel made a clap, and some servants came in to serve the food to the table. And we had our breakfast after all of this matter.


    As I watched Valerie and Cassius eat at the table, suddenly I remembered about the twelve key figures beside them. As I was eating my breakfast, I was asking myself, "Do I need to gather all of them at once before she meets them all?". Yet all of them were scattered around the kingdom, and luck was on my side when I met Cassius and Valerie. I looked at Lady Octavi and asked myself, "Do I need to order someone to find them?" There was a good chance that this would have a negative impact on Aurelius'' reputation¡ªto bring these people in front of me without their consent. And again, a great question appeared in my head, "Are Nona Paragons aware of my fate? Do they know about these twelve figures? Does Nona share the book with them to make sure everything follows as the book says?" If they were aware, this was a race between me and them. Wait a minute, if Nona shared the book to make sure everything followed as the book said, so her paragons couldn''t change or alter everything from the book, like get ahead to recruit these twelve figures. That meant they would wait for everything, as the book said.


    Yet, a time when the figures appeared and the real-world time was so different, so right now, I didn''t know exactly where all these figures were right now. BUT¡­Cassius and Valerie''s case was different; they came from that town, so when Adel and I passed their town, we sought the tavern to know their whereabouts, and luck was on my side. And the book didn''t give me more detail about the figures'' background or which location they came from.


    ~~~~~


    "What? My lady, are you serious?"


    "Yeah, I am¡­"


    "Why do you need me to find this stupid byname?"


    "Just help me find this byname, okay? You may seek it at all the taverns in this capital¡­"

 Chapter 44 Strolling Around

    In the afternoon, I felt bored in my room; there was nothing I could do in this room¡­How about the practice and the lesson from Cassius started today, so there was something that I did. I decided to leave the room¡­I went straight to the first floor and started to search for Cassius. First, I checked the courtyard behind the house, but no one was in there. Then I scattered around the house to search for him. Until I met Adel in the middle of the hallway, our eyes met each other. I ignored her and continued to find Cassius. Yet, I could hear her footsteps behind me all the time after we met in  the hallway. Adel kept following me until she asked me,


    "May I know why my lady walked around the house? It''s like you trying to find something¡­"


    While I was walking, I answered, "Where is Cassius?"


    "Why does my lady need from him?" We were talking while we were walking.


    "Of course, the lesson and the practice¡­"


    "I thought the lesson would start tomorrow, not today¡­"


    Immediately, I stopped and turned around, "What? Why? So what do I need to do today? I can''t go to the palace to do my job, and now it''s still noon, so¡­" Surprisingly, I remembered something, so I walked towards her, "Wait a second, Adel¡­Do I need to send a letter to the palace about my absence?"


    "I believe you don''t need to do that¡­Because the palace will immediately know the reason why you don''t go to the palace¡­"


    "That''s assuring me¡­So where is Cassius right now??"


    "I believe he is accompanying Valerie¡­"


    "WHAT?" I started to whine about it "ARGHHHHH!!!!!"


    "Why does my lady act like this?"


    "Because I am bored¡­There is nothing to do¡­"


    "Well, perhaps you can go to the garden and enjoy the view¡­"


    I immediately had an idea, "Speaking of view, how about we walk around the city?"


    "I believe that''s not a great idea¡­"


    "WHY?" I leaned my face against hers¡­


    "Because¡­.and I believe, Lady Octavi will not let you go outside from this house¡­"


    "Nonsense¡­"


    ~~~~


    At Lady Octavi''s room, "Rejected," Lady Octavi said while sitting at her desk.


    "HEEEHHHHHHHHH¡­." I exclaimed in frustration, unable to believe that Lady Octavi would deny me the opportunity to explore the city. "But why? I''m so bored here!" I pleaded with her, hoping she would change her mind.


    "Deep apology, but to ensure your safety and concern for any danger, I cannot allow you to venture outside the house," Lady Octavi explained calmly.


    "Yet, I am the lady of this house, right? So may you obligate my words?"


    "As my lady knows, I don''t obligate from your words; instead, I am obligated in his grace and madam''s words, their words are ''to assist you, and protect you¡­''." Lady Octavi''s response left me feeling frustrated¡­


    "Come on!!! There will be no one who dares to touch me if you two come along with me in the city¡­Right?"


    Lady Octavi sighed, her expression softening¡­ "*exhale* fine¡­"


    I immediately jumped out, "YEAY¡­"


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    "BUT!! You need to wear something else besides your dress¡­"


    "Why do I need to do that?"


    "Your presence now is a big deal in the capital. It''s not just among the palace but among the public. The publicity of your betrothal to the people is like a stab into the people... My lady maybe knows about the rumour between Lady Anna and the Crown Prince¡­"


    "Of course, I know it, or maybe I can say that all the people know it¡­."


    "The rumour is so popular among the public that every corner of the kingdom will have stories and news about them. Yet, these rumours have been changed by your betrothal. So I am scared that the people will have hatred for you¡­"


    "Why do people love and adore their relationships?


    "Well, because Lady Anna comes from the peerage of Count, and you come from the peerage of Duke.


    "I see¡­It''s like a great tale of Romans¡­So the public loves it¡­"


    ~~~~


    In my room, Adel brought me some simple garments¡ªa plain white top and brown pants. She helped me take off my dress and helped me wear the clothes. As I changed into the simple garments, Adel went outside of the room. I looked at myself in the mirror. I saw a reflection of a different person staring back at me. Yet it wasn''t that bad¡­


    After that, I went outside of the room, and Adel was already waiting in different attire. She didn''t wear the usual clothes, but instead, she wore a simple garment. While observing her, I realised her usual clothes were way different than those of the maid or servant from the palace or Lady Clara''s maid. As far as I knew, the maid''s attire represented how well their household worked. When I looked at the other servant or maid from a different household or palace, the contrast was way different. Somehow the maids in my family, especially Adel, wore more extravagant clothes than the others.


    Suddenly I could hear Adel''s voice, "Is there something wrong with my clothes, my lady?"


    Snapped back, I replied, "No, there''s nothing wrong with your clothes¡­You just look different¡­"


    "Well, you looked different too, my lady¡­"


    ~~~


    We walked outside. Arrived outside of the house¡­ I couldn''t see my carriage; as usual, it waited for me. Instead, I saw two brown horses, with Lady Octavi holding both of their reins. Her clothes were the same as mine, with plain white garments at the top and brown pants. Even with those clothes, her usual aura was still the same, or because she always wore men''s attire.


    I walked towards her with Adel following me, as I was in front of her, Lady Octavi said, "For this time, we won''t use the carriage, because your family emblem is on the carriage, so people will realise it¡­Instead, we will ride these horses to maintain a low profile."


    "I don''t mind about it¡­" I replied to her.


    At once, Lady Octavi helped me mount the horse. As I settled onto the horse''s back, she immediately jumped onto the horse behind me as I was in front, and she was behind me while Adel used the other horse. We began to go to the city.


    ~~~~


    As we were walking with the horses around the city¡­


    Yet I found the street was different from the city of Florence, where it was not crowded and seemed to lose some activity or touch. The atmosphere felt quieter and more subdued compared to the bustling city of Florence. Was it why the royals were envious of how my parents developed their city, Florence? Even with the royal palaces, easily be seen, the city we were in lacked the same vibrancy and energy. It made me appreciate the efforts my parents had put into creating such a lively and thriving place in their city. As there was nothing to see or interesting, I asked Lady Octavi  who guided the horse, "Can we go to the square?"


    She replied, "Is there any reason why my lady wants to go to the square?"


    "I want to check the square; is there any difference between home and this capital?"


    "Well, if you insist, surely we can go there¡­"


    ~~~~


    We arrived at the town square, and the first thing I took an interest from far away was the statue at  the centre of the square. It was a grand and imposing figure, while the surrounding of the statue wasn''t bustling out of people, yet empty. There weren''t any people, performers, or street merchants around the statue or in the square, like the square in my home. It was vastly empty.


    I asked Lady Octavi, "May we go down?" I wanted to see the statue closer.


    Lady Octavi looked at me and nodded her head. She jumped out of the horse first and helped me get off the horse. As my foot stepped on the ground, I immediately walked to the statue, with Adel and Lady Octavi following me, and holding the reins of the horses.


    As I was slowly getting closer to the statue, somehow I became familiar with the figure in the statue. It was a woman figure with two graceful wings that extended from her back. After Lady Octavi was beside me, I asked her, "May you tell me who the figure of this statue??"


    Lady Octavi answered, "This figure is different than my lady''s home city. In the home city, the figure only has one wing or half wings, and it''s Goddess Gennaia¡­Yet, in this figure, it can be said as the opposite of that goddess, it''s Delios¡­"


    I never realised it, as back in my city, I had seen her statues at the temples when I was there and met them for the first time. Yet, at that time, I didn''t know you, now seeing your statue here, somehow it was different. You had been immortalised by your people, and the people would never forget you, even though you were not alive anymore. Your legacy lives on through these statues, forever remembered by those who worship you.

 Chapter 45 Embracing Myself

    Suddenly, I felt a tap on my shoulder and heard, "Are you this believer, my lady?"


    From the sound, it was Lady Octavi. I just said quietly, "Maybe I am, or maybe I''m not, yet this statue stands graciously in the middle of this square even without anyone around it."


    Lady Octavi chuckled softly and replied, "Without anyone around, her presence, which symbolises this statue, should be enough to remind us of her greatness and the impact she had on the people¡­" I heard her footsteps to my side, "So, why does my lady want to go outside? It''s not about admiring this statue, right?"


    Slowly, my head turned to her, and our eyes met. "No, it''s not about the statue," I said with a smile. "I want to find Cassius¡­"


    "Cassius? What''s the matter that you want to find him?"


    "It''s not that important, but since he is with Valerie, I am curious about it¡­"


    "Well, to find him in the capital is surely hard, if it''s not that important, how about we go home?"


    Hearing that, I shook my head. "Come on! We just barely got out for a moment, and now you just told me to go home," I insisted. "It''s bothering me."


    She sighed but nodded in agreement, "So where does this called ''your curiosity'' lead us?"


    "Well, if he is with Valerie... So we must check the tavern in the city¡­"


    "Why do you know they will be in the tavern?"


    "I just gave Valerie a light errand for me; therefore, it may be in the tavern."


    "There is a lot of tavern in the city, my lady¡­You want to check them all?"


    "No, we can start with the most crowded or lively ones first. We can consider checking the others if we don''t find him there."


    "If that''s your plan, we need to go now; there will be no time to check all the taverns in the city¡­"


    We went back to our horses and started to go, leaving the statue. As Lady Octavi and I were on the same horse and slowly distancing ourselves from the statue, somehow I kept looking at it until I couldn''t see it anymore.


    ~~~


    As we were on the trip, I heard Lady Octavi spit some words at me, which became a conversation while riding on the horse.


    "May I ask you some questions regarding Cassius and Valerie?" Asked from Lady Octavi.


    "Is there any problem with them?"


    "No, no, it''s just why my lady brings them to your household."


    "I bring them for my needy¡­"


    "Needy? Is Adel not enough for you?"


    "She is more than myself; I am so grateful she is always with me¡­Yet¡­ Somehow, I want more people around me who are not on the orders of my parents¡­"


    "I understand that; however, will his grace and madam allow this? They may not be happy with this issue, my lady, for bringing some strangers to your household¡­"


    "They aren''t strangers; I hire them¡­"


    "I know, yet without any background check or without knowing their true intention, it can lead to potential danger or harm to you¡­"


    Or lead towards my doom if I didn''t recruit them before any paragon could find them, I said to Lady Octavi, "Even I didn''t know their background¡­" Or I know, "I will keep insisting on hiring them¡­"


    We arrived at the first tavern. Adel went off from her horse and checked inside, while me and Lady Octavi still kept staying on a horse, and our conversation continued.


    Lady Octavi said, "The worst thing¡­They know about the family''s transmutation and the black transmutation¡­The information may lead to someone''s hand from them; do you not anticipate if that happens, my lady?"


    "Of course, I am not anticipating all of that¡­". The reason was that I didn''t know anything about the family''s transmutation thing.


    "Why? My lady acted like that¡­"


    "Because¡­Everyone around me¡­"


    "Around you?!"


    "I barely know everything; I didn''t know that these transmutations were a big deal because no one ever told me about it, or I could say I didn''t know anything about them. The first thing I knew about it, was when Adel tested Valerie about her power. Valerie used the transmutation, and because of my idiocy, I told Adel to use it too from the little fight between you and Adel¡­At that time, Cassius told me about these transmutations¡­" I paused momentarily, "So, of course, I am not anticipating all that because of my selfishness and idiocy. Is that right, Lady Octavi as the tutor of mine?"


    I couldn''t see Lady Octavi''s face because she was behind me, however, I felt she liked being pushed away by my words and took some seconds to say something like, "About¡­that¡­"


    Hearing her say that she couldn''t speak some words, I paused for a moment to tell her something, "I believe, it''s not your fault that made me this ignorant and idiocy about this thing¡­For me, you granted me great information and knowledge around me, however, as time passed, I realised there was something beneath around me. Everyone felt like keeping something behind me; I believe it wasn''t their fault to keep it behind me like you and Adel. It must be an order from my parents to keep this secret behind me until they can find a time to tell me¡­"


    "I¡­am¡­just¡­."


    "You don''t need to speak more words and feel guilty about my mistake; you just follow an order. You told me about my transmutation, and I know it would be so hard for you to disobey the rules and tell me the truth. The problem of Cassius and Valerie and the other things going on in me¡ªlet me try to handle it, as Adel told you when you two argue about the spar¡ªis something I need to figure out on my own after you give me some advice. I must be resolving this matter with my parents."


    During the trip, Lady Octavi and I were quiet after the conversation, and we became more distant. I felt Lady Octavi became more gloomy because she was my tutor as if it were her guilt for me not to know about all of these. Yet it wasn''t her fault entirely, it could be my fault too because I wasn''t aware of my surroundings. However, it was so hard to know from around me, and they didn''t tell me a single thing. All of these are rooted in my parents, regardless of their concern about me losing my memory, so they acted out of fear and kept me sheltered under their protective wings.


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    ~~~


    After five or six taverns had been visited, Adel finally came back from the tavern to bring a piece of great news: Cassius and Valerie were inside the tavern. Lady Octavi immediately went down from the horse to help me get off the horse. The tavern was located in the suburbs of the capital, it was very distant from the city square, yet the street surely was busier there¡­


    Adel quickly guided us through the bustling street towards the tavern. As we walked towards the tavern in the street, I could see it being more lively than the capital. I was wondering why the centre of the capital wasn''t so lively, whereas in the suburbs, everything was so lively with people coming and going, merchants selling their goods, and children playing in the streets. It was a stark contrast to the quiet and deserted city square we had just left behind.


    At last, we went inside the tavern. The smell of hearty stew and beer filled the air as we entered, and the sound of laughter and chatter enveloped us. However, I could hear a familiar voice from behind the tavern. Adel led us to the voice, and as we reached there, it was Cassius and Valerie sitting and sharing at the table with someone else in front of them. As I went near them, I looked closely at the person sitting with them, he had darker skin than us with a sturdy body, and he had curly black hair, however, at the top of his hair, there was some medium brown hair. From his appearance, he seemed older than any of us, or maybe older than my parents with his beard.


    We approached them and stood beside their table. At once, Cassius immediately stood up and wanted to address me with formality, however, quickly, Valerie beside him grabbed his hand to stop him and sent an eye signal towards my dress, which was a commoner dress.


    I looked at Cassius, seemed difficult to call me without formality. Seeing that, I started to say something to Valerie, "It seems you have found the person, Valerie¡­"


    "Yeah, however, this man doesn''t want to come and consider your invitation¡­" Answered Valerie.


    Hearing that, I heard a whisper from Adel, "Don''t tell me, you want to invite him like Cassius and Valerie?"


    I ignored her whisper, immediately sat in Cassius'' seat before he had stood up, and stared at the man. As I stared at him, he started to open his mouth, "It seems, you are the one who wants to invite me" he took a glimpse at Valerie, "Not her¡­"


    I stared at him and asked, "Why did you decline her invitation? She offered you a sum of gold, even though she had that sum of gold right now."


    The man answered, "I came to this capital not to seek gold or fortune¡­"


    "What about, I double the original offer from her, or maybe triple it, as long as you accept the invitation to come with m-" Immediately, I felt a hard grip on my shoulder. It was Adel. Yet, I saw Lady Octavi keep her distance, and it seemed she wouldn''t intervene in this matter because of the earlier conversation. Adel''s stern expression warned me to not invite him.


    The man said, "As I had said, I came to this capital not to seek gold or fortune¡­However, I found you odd, you dared to double or triple the gold. You seemed like someone who didn''t come from that dress and robe, " as his fingers pointed at my dress, "which indicates you must be from a noble family. Is there something you''re not telling me?"


    I said, "You may find it later¡­"


    "Why do you want me to join you?" He looked around me, "You have more than enough of this man, my time has passed to be involved in chaos or clash."


    Adel immediately told me in my left ear, "You mustn''t take him into your household¡­" As she was whispering it at me, I saw the man''s eyes directing into Adel.


    The man said, "You should hear your servant''s words. I can''t accept your invitation¡­"


    "Adel, tell me why I shouldn''t invite him! Don''t whisper to me, but speak it so he can hear it, Cassius, Valerie, and Lady Octavi over there can hear it." Said I.


    Adel hesitated momentarily before responding, "This man seems not to be from this kingdom, as indicated by his appearance, his sturdy skin with his hair indicates he is from a coastal area, which our kingdom doesn''t have. A person from a coastal area is wandering in this kingdom, it''s a rare occurrence. People from the coastal area went here for trade, they were in groups. However, this man is alone. He must have something or an intention that is so important to seek in our kingdom."


    The man took a glimpse at Adel, and said, "You...aren''t from this kingdom either. Your black hair and skin are slightly different than hers, you must be from a different region as well, like me¡­It seems you have disguised your true identity¡­ "


    I didn''t know her background from the coastal area, her skin tone somehow didn''t like him but liked me, yet he could see the truth of her skin tone. I asked Adel, "So what is your gut feeling about this man''s attention?"


    Adel answered, "The biggest fear is my former occupation¡­"


    "Really?" However, I knew what the man was searching for in this kingdom. Yet, to tell him directly seemed like it couldn''t be convincing to him; it could be backlashing to me because his true intention was precious and full of sadness. Must I say I will help you to him? Even though he would accuse me and my household of the thing that happened to him.


    I began to talk about something else, "When I was 14 years old, I met four children on the street. They were in horrible condition, three were girls and triplets, and one was a boy. The boy, as the oldest, pickpocket to get some coins so they could buy food to survive¡­" I looked at everyone''s faces, they were confused about why I was talking about this, I continued, "One of my attendance told me there shouldn''t be any kids on the street because the orphanage should take care of all the kids. Yet, in reality, I found four children on the street, and without hesitation, I decided to take them to my household. Seven years later, nowadays, they have found their interest¡­" I glimpsed the man, who had been listening intently and saw a look of understanding dawn on his face. I addressed him, "You seem to have a fondness for children, shown by your face¡­"


    I put my hands on my hood, and seeing what I was doing, Adel and Lady Octavi immediately stood beside me. It seemed they tried to block the other side''s view by revealing my hair, so all the people on the other side couldn''t see me. I took down my hood, revealing my long white hair to the man. The man''s eyes widened in surprise as he took in my appearance.


    Without the hood, I changed my posture and acted like it was a formal meeting, I made my body sturdy and straightened my shoulders, projecting an air of confidence and authority. "May I introduce myself¡­My name is Aurelia Aurelius, the first daughter of the Aurelius family, the Duke of Florence¡­" I continued, "The reason I am in here is you¡­"


    The man asked, " What do you mean by that? Why does the Aurelius family want me?"


    "It seems my household''s name has carried to other kingdoms that you know my family. The one who wants to invite you is me, not my household. However, my invitation comes with privileges; you will live in my household."


    "Young lady, you still have not answered one question from me¡­"


    The reason was that I didn''t want to die, yet I couldn''t say that, "The reason is that I am still naive¡­"


    "Naive? You have great people around you; they are way better than me at guiding you¡­"


    "I may have great people around me, yet they are my parents'' people, the only people I hired are her and him¡­" I pointed at Cassius and Valerie and said, "They were mercenaries, and I hired them¡­" My face went back towards the man, "My gut is telling me that you have a lot of experience in your past, and I know the precious information that you seek¡­"


    The man was set back after hearing that, and his hands on the table started to grip harder. He said with a soft tone, "Is the story of those four children actually connected?"


    I said with a soft tone, "Yes¡­The real reason they were on the street, actually connecting with someone you seek¡­"


    The man''s eyes widened in surprise as suddenly he smacked his hand on the table, off-guarding everyone around me, especially me. He started to stare heavily into my eyes, and said, "Are you and your family the ones who are behind all of this? Because you knew what I sought, surely, you must be involved in some way."


    I tapped Valerie, who was beside me, and ordered her to give me the sum of gold that I had given her. Valerie quickly handed me the gold, her eyes widening in confusion. I put the bag of gold in front of him, and said, "Receive these golds and find me; the name of Aurelius will surely be easy to find¡­The gate of my house in this capital is wide open for you. The gate of hope, you have tried to seek it for seven years¡­Come into my house and meet me, I shall tell you everything, however, my family and I don''t have any involvement in this matter, yet a family in this capital tried to cross into my household territory." I put on my hood again and stood up. Before leaving him, I told him, "You need to hurry because you will race with my parents. If my parents arrive here before you come to meet me, the gate of hope will be closed, you may have less than a week¡­So be hurry, Bo¡­"


    With those words, I turned and walked away, followed by everyone, leaving the bag of gold with the man alone.

 Chapter 46 Im Not Alone

    ~~~


    On the way home, Adel steered her horse towards near my horse. Adel said, "What had just happened, my lady?"


    I answered, "What do you mean?"


    "Are you really letting that man into your household like Cassius and Valerie?"


    "Of course¡­I felt there was no harm about him¡­"


    "However, my lady, will his grace and madam allow this?"


    I looked at her, "That''s why I told him to find me before my parents arrived."


    "Even, if that happens, they must be so angry and furious about your choice, that you have invited three strangers into your household without their concern¡­"


    "Are you really going to lecture me about this Adel, like Lady Octavi? Lecturing me about my ignorance and idiocy."


    I saw Adel looking at Lady Octavi, who was behind me, steering the horse, and Adel said "I see, that''s why you were being quiet back in the tavern, not trying to prevent her from inviting strangers, you have tried to lecture my lady about this, and realising it was your own mistake."


    Lady Octavi remained silent, I said, "There is no one mistake, Adel, you are the same with her, you didn''t tell me anything either and led my idiocy. I know that you two just followed the order, so I passed it¡­" Adel and Lady Octavi exchanged a knowing glance, understanding the weight of the situation.


    ~~~


    As we arrived home, Adel immediately took care of me to change the dress to my casual attire. I tried to relax in the living room without any plans or anything to do on that day. Adel brought me a tea set with the tea and some snacks. As I sat in the living room, Adel stood across from me, pouring tea. After pouring the tea, Adel went off from the room.


    Soon I realised that I had lived here for weeks in this house, and never paid attention more to this living room. Surely, I had been in there when met Milo, yet in that time, I didn''t pay any attention in this room. I got up from my seat. I started to wander around the room. As I was walking around, I could see a lot of things like a lot of tapestries, a family''s coat of arms, a pair of daggers and a pair of swords, and lastly, a giant portrait of my family with me and my parents. I was standing in the middle of my parents, and my mother was right beside me while sitting, while my father was standing behind us.


    I took some steps towards the portrait and looked closer at it. Somehow, I felt different and eerie, as I kept looking at myself, who was still a kid like 6 years old. The portrait of me seemed to be staring back at me, almost as if it were alive. The most eerie thing was that my expression in the portrait seemed sad yet I was scared with that expression. I turned my gaze to my parents, their expressions were as mine in the portrait, full of sadness, yet somehow their sadness made me scared and shivered my entire body.


    I couldn''t shake the feeling that something was unsettling about the portrait. I was wondering what my family faced at that time. Unfortunately, I lost my entire memory that day, so I didn''t remember anything behind this portrait or why I was sad about it.


    Suddenly, I could hear someone''s voice say, "Excuse me, my lady¡­" from behind me. I turned my body and saw Lady Octavi at the entrance of the room. As our eyes met, she said, "May I come in?"


    I nodded and said, "You may come in¡­"


    Lady Octavi entered the room gracefully, she was walking towards me, and as she approached, she said, "I see, my lady is still admiring the portrait¡­"


    Admiring wasn''t the word, I asked her, "This portrait, may you know anything behind it or the story of what happened when this portrait was painted?"


    "Unfortunately, I am not the right person to say that because, at the time of this portrait, I was still in the academy¡­"


    "Well, that''s unfortunate¡­"


    "Is there something bothering you about your family portrait, my lady?"


    "The expressions¡­ Do you find the portrait quite sad, like melancholic?"


    I saw Lady Octavi take one step closer to the painting, and look at it closely. She turned her head towards me, and said, "I don''t see anything like that, my lady. Rather than sad, I see the great family with joyful and content expressions." Lady Octavi smiled softly as her eyes reflected the warmth and love she saw in the portrait.


    That was odd. I said, "Is that really what you are seeing?"


    "Yes, it is, I said what I saw, the portrait with my lady and my lady''s parents has joyful and content expressions."


    I couldn''t help but feel a sense of unease at the stark difference in our interpretations of the portrait. Lady Octavi''s response only deepened my confusion, as I couldn''t shake the feeling that something was amiss. It was as if we were looking at two completely different paintings altogether. I saw the portrait as full of sadness yet full of eerie feelings; however, Lady Octavi saw the portrait as full of joy with content expressions. Without any memory of anything before that day, it made me wonder and curious about the story behind this portrait of my family. The six-year-old me and my parents, and what had they faced in that time that had those expressions, or was all of this my illusion or misinterpretation of the painting? I couldn''t help but feel a sense of urgency to uncover the truth behind the conflicting emotions portrayed in the portrait as if it held the key to unlocking a long-buried family secret.


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    As I kept focusing on the portrait, Lady Octavi said, "Do you have time, my lady?"


    Her words snapped me out of my trance, and I turned to her and said, "Well, I have a lot of time until dinner¡­"


    "There is something that I want to ask you, may I have a moment of your time?" she asked hesitantly.


    I nodded, "How about we take a seat, and you can tell me what''s on your mind?"


    We took seats, and Lady Octavi hesitated before finally saying, "From whom is my lady running?"


    I was taken aback by her question, unsure how to respond, "What are you talking about?"


    She took a deep breath for a second and started to talk, "After you went off to the capital from home, your actions became different. Somehow, it felt like you were trying to run from something, so you started to hire people, such as Cassius and Valerie. Now you wanted to hire that person at that tavern¡­However, the most intriguing thing for me is that my lady keeps saying to them, that people around you were hired by your parents, so you seek someone outside the circle of your parents. Is there someone who is targeting you inside the household that you seek someone outside?"


    I was quietly shocked that Lady Octavi could observe me and find an amazing conclusion. Yet, it wasn''t just someone who was targeting me; rather, it was the deity and their followers. Hearing what she said, I had a thought in my mind, did I need someone to know what would happen to me in the future¡ªabout all of this book and the meeting with the goddesses?


    As I pondered this, Lady Octavi continued to speak with another, "At that time in the tavern, my lady seemed to know that man from the beginning, like ordering Valerie to find this person. Even though you never met the man, somehow at the tavern, you already recognised him. The most shocking thing for me was that my lady already knew the man''s name¡­Is my lady running from something or someone, after you left your home?"


    I couldn''t say anything, for some reason, I felt being pressed with two possibilities, reveal it or not. If I revealed it, I didn''t know what would happen in the future, however, it could be a good thing that I had someone who could advise me about this sort of event. But if I kept it to myself, people would start to question everything about me, like right now, Lady Octavi questioned the behaviour of mine towards Cassius, Valerie, and the man.


    The air around the room started to feel heavy with tension as I struggled to decide whether to share my secret or keep it hidden. Lady Octavi''s piercing gaze of curiosity about me made me realise that my choice would have consequences. As time went on, I took a deep breath and cleared my mind.


    I had decided, I would tell her about it, and I said to her, "It isn''t running from someone, but running from time, or I can say it, fate¡­"


    Lady Octavi was taken back, her face showed a mixture of shock and intrigue. She asked, "What do you mean by time or fate !?"


    I answered, "It means I am running from my own death¡­"


    Her face became more shocked, "Your own death??? Is this about the dream you had the dream?"


    "Yes¡­That dream was shown about my own death, which was a horrible death¡­"


    "But my lady, it''s just a dream, why my lady was so scared about this particular dream?"


    "Sure, it was just a dream, however, the next few days, I¡­" I paused as I was scared to continue because I would reveal about the meeting with the goddess to prove that the dream wasn''t just a dream but a divine intervention to me about my own death, I tried to move my lips, and slowly words came out, started to talk about the meeting between Gennaia in the temple for the first time, when my parents brought me to the temple. It wasn''t just that, I explained to her about the thing Gennaia planted inside my body, that made me sick, and I told her too about my "hallucination." I told her about the other world which was so weird, I talked about the book which showed more details about the future of mine. I revealed the meeting between Delios and Gennaia, and about Gena and Delia that they were the goddesses. The last thing was I told her about Nona which I saw with my own two eyes, Delios perished from her wrath which made me scared of the Crown Prince.


    Hearing all of that, Lady Octavi was astonished. I felt like she couldn''t believe everything that I had told her. She stood up and started to walk back and forth around the room as if she tried to calm her mind after hearing all of that. Lady Octavi finally stopped pacing and turned to me, "What about Cassius, Valerie, and that man?"


    I told her about the twelve figures; those were the key figures of my downfall.


    She said, "So that''s the reason why my lady wanted to hire them, you want them on your side, and you want to avoid the certain event that leads to your downfall from them." She walked towards her seat and sat back, saying, "Still, I couldn''t believe it, my lady. May you tell me about the event of your own death?"


    I started to tell her about my own death, that I would be inside a sack with animals, and drown.


    Suddenly, Lady Octavi smashed the table with her own hand. The force of her blow caused the table to splinter, sending shards of wood flying in all directions. She looked me straight in the eye and said, "That''s impossible, there is no way that my lady could do it towards his grace. There must be someone who influences it."


    I said, "I know about it, however, in the meeting with Nona, I saw all of the family members, not just my father, there were my mother, my brother, and my sister lying around on the ground with blood." My hands started shaking on their own, "Which my mother told, me that I was the one who did it towards them." Suddenly, I felt scared to remember that moment, and I couldn''t shake the feeling of dread that lingered in the air. The memory of that particular dream still haunted me, especially Nona.


    However, I felt something touching my hand, jolting me back to reality. It was Lady Octavi''s hand, she was kneeling in front of me while holding my hand. She tried to comfort me, who was scared, she said, " It''s just a dream, my lady. You aren''t alone now; I will keep staying beside you, no matter what happens. I understand, that witnessing your own death will be painful, and even more painful is witnessing someone you loved die because of you, yet it isn''t real; it was just a dream."


    Soon I realised, that maybe revealing the secret of mine, would help me feel less burdened. Now, I had Lady Octavi beside me who I could rely on.


    "You are right, now, I''m not alone. I appreciate your support, Lady Octavi," I said, feeling a weight lift off my shoulders. Lady Octavi smiled warmly, her presence giving me the strength to face my fears and my future.

 Chapter 47 Practicing Sword and My Feeling

    Sharing my secret with Lady Octavi, made my shoulder lighter than before. Lady Octavi''s understanding and support made me feel like some weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I knew that with her by my side, I could get some bits of advice from her. The day had passed, and now I wasn''t alone anymore.


    On the new day, I woke up as usual with the help of Adel. As she was helping with my morning routine, I was looking at her as I thought, do I need to tell her about my secret too? However, somehow I felt surely Adel would know it when I told it to Lady Octavi; she may have overheard it because she must be at the front of the living room. Knowing Adel, she would only say something if I asked her directly. I decided to keep it to myself for now and see how things in the future.


    After Adel finished my morning routine, we went to the dining room to have breakfast. As usual, everyone had arrived before me. At breakfast, Cassius told me that the practice would be after breakfast, and Lady Octavi told me about the arrival of Sophia; she would come maybe around evening. Everyone seemed as usual, and we had breakfast as usual.


    Once breakfast was over, everyone excused themselves from the table including me. I went to my room to change my dress, because it was my first time practicing sword. As usual, Adel helped me to change and adjusted me to attire that was easy to move, which was like the attire that Valerie usually wore. After changing, I made my way to the courtyard, where Cassius was waiting for me. Once I arrived there, I could see Cassius and Valerie, where Cassius was standing at the centre of the courtyard and Valerie was sitting on a bench nearby, watching intently.


    Their eyes immediately went into me; I could see their faces seemed to be surprised. At the bench, Valerie said loudly, "Wow, you look ready for battle with that attire! Then your usual dress."


    Hearing that, I didn''t know she was meant to say something like that or just mockery towards me. I changed my look to Cassius from Valerie, yet I could see Cassius seemed to be stunned. I slowly walked towards him to the centre of the courtyard, while Adel was waiting at the bench beside Valerie.


    As I was in front of him, I could see that his face was so


    I said to him with a soft tone, "Cassius?"


    He immediately shook his head and seemed to come back to reality. His eyes widened in surprise, and he stammered out a response. "You look amazing," he finally managed to say, "My apologies, I felt like I lost direction, after seeing my lady in that attire¡­"


    "Really?" I looked at my attire, a simple white cloth like Valerie usually wore. "Thank you," I replied with a smile, feeling a rush of warmth at his compliment. My words seemed to take him aback, as he blushed slightly and looked away.


    From the distance, Valerie shouted, "HEI! Stop your flirting!" Cassius quickly composed himself, turned towards Valerie with a serious expression, and said, "Just shut up!"


    Oh, it was a flirting attempt, I never thought Cassius would try to do that to me. I said to him, "So? Are we going to start the sword''s practice?"


    Cassius chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah, let''s get started," he replied, his cheeks still slightly flushed from embarrassment. I couldn''t help but smile at his reaction, eager to begin our training session. He handed me a wooden sword.


    We began the practice session. In this first time practicing the sword, Cassius tried to teach me about stance and footwork. As I tried to grip my sword, Cassius immediately corrected me, as his face was so close to mine. I could feel his warm breath on my cheek as he whispered instructions, that my grip should be firm yet relaxed, and he moved my grip, especially the hilt of the sword, close to my body with his hand, and his other hand guided my stance. He told me the hilt must be close to my body, and that keeping the hilt close to the body helps protect the hands and allows for better control and leverage when making strikes or blocks.


    As my grip was correct, I thought I would learn how to attack with the sword, however, that wasn''t the case. Now, it focused on my feet. Before going to that, Cassius asked me, "My lady, which one is your lead foot?"


    My lead foot? I didn''t know about that. I answered, "I don''t know¡­"


    "Well, my lady can you hand the sword to me? We will start an easy test about it."


    I handed the sword to him, and he told me to lean towards him until I fell. As I leaned forward, I noticed that my right foot naturally moved forward first. Cassius then explained that the foot I naturally stepped forward with when initiating an attack or defence was my lead foot, and that it was important to understand this to maintain balance and stability during sword fighting.


    Once I knew my lead foot, he handed the sword back to me. Then, he started to tell me about the footwork, in which the lead foot pointed towards the opponent and the rear foot angled outwards, last one was keeping the feet shoulder-width apart to maintain a strong and stable base. First, he showed me the correct position. Immediately I started to do what he told me, and after that, he started correcting my feet before he was doing it, he said to me, "Excuse me, my lady".


    He moved my foot with his hand to the correct position, and immediately, from a distance, I could hear a voice saying, "HEI CASSIUS! Be careful, where you touch¡­" It was a loud voice from Valeries, and I felt she was trying to tease him. However, Cassius didn''t respond to it.


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    Once, my footwork was correct, next he told me about the knees, saying that my knees should be slightly bent; however, my legs must be relaxed but ready. I pushed down my knees slightly, and somehow Cassius wasn''t correcting me, which made me feel a sense of accomplishment, or the words from Valerie before made him back off to correct me.


    Next, he focused on my upper body. He told me that my torso must be slightly inclined forward, however, my shoulders must be relaxed. He showed me the correct position first, and then I started to mimic it. As I adjusted my upper body positioning, Cassius nodded in approval, indicating that I was on the right track or that the tease from Valerie still backed him off from correcting me.


    Finally, Cassius moved closer to my arms and hands, giving me pointers on how to position them properly for optimal performance. While he was correcting me, somehow I felt a sense of tingling towards him, as if his touch was mesmerising. It was a strange sensation that I couldn''t quite explain, it made me lose focus on his guidance. As I struggled to regain my composure, Cassius said, "Are you following me, my lady?"


    I quickly snapped out of my daze and replied, "Yes, I''m following you now."


    "It seems, you aren''t following me." Slowly, he reached out and gently adjusted my hands, his touch sending a shiver down my spine.


    Next, he told me to do some basic steps. He showed me how to advance and retreat in a fluid motion. In advancing, he told me to move my lead foot first, followed by my rear foot, yet in retreating, it was the opposite, first was the rear foot, followed by the lead foot. Immediately, I tried to mimic it. As I kept mimicking it, Cassius told me to do it ten times. Without any habits, sometimes I advanced with my rear foot or retreated with my lead foot. After a few tries, I finally got the rhythm of it and was able to smoothly advance and retreat in the correct sequence.


    After basic steps, he told me about lateral movement, which was side steps. Same with the basic step of advance, to move the lead foot first. He showed me some demonstration of sidestepping; he was doing it to the right and the left. I tried to mimic it, side step to my right side was easy, maybe because my lead foot was my right foot; however, the side step to my left side was different. I struggled a bit with the left side step at first, eventually stumbling. Quick, Cassius lent his hand to me, before I fell to the ground. His face was so close to mine, and again, I felt mesmerised by his smile and intense gaze.


    "Are you okay?" said he, "It takes time to get the habit, take your time, my lady¡­"


    I regained my body to stand, and said, "I am okay¡­" and slowly, he released his hand from me.


    As I continued practicing, slowly, I understood it. Cassius told me to do a repetition drill, doing basic steps and lateral movements in sequence, yet in random sequence, as Cassius said. I stumbled a few times, but with each repetition, I became more confident in my movements. At first, I was confused, it seemed my body didn''t understand which foot to move. As time passed, I finally understood. Cassius''s words became faster, and I found myself keeping up with the rhythm. With each repetition, my muscle memory kicked in, and I was able to execute the steps more fluidly. My confidence grew as I realised that practice truly does make perfect.


    Time passed, however, and suddenly, Cassius said, "My lady, you are different¡­" out of the blue. I was taken aback by his words, which made me stumble. Immediately, Cassius noticed my reaction and held my hand before I fell to the ground. His hand held my back while his other hand held my hand, and he looked at me with a different gaze. I couldn''t explain it, but his gaze captivated me.


    As his face was in front of mine, I said, "Different? You mean, I quick learn?"


    " No, my lady," Cassius replied softly, "Your eyes are different¡­"


    "My eyes?"


    "Yes¡­Somehow, your eyes are telling the truth about yourself¡ªinnocent and kind. I could see it in your eyes," he continued, "It''s different than other nobles'' eyes, when we were at the palace, all of those nobles'' eyes were somehow lying, looking at everywhere, even your acquaintances, yet your eyes are genuine and sincere, always looking at someone you are talking. It''s different and captivating mine¡­"


    "You have a pure heart, my lady," Cassius added, his voice full of admiration. I blushed at his words, feeling a warmth spread through me. Somehow, I felt his face slowly come closer to mine, his eyes locked with mine, and¡ª


    *Clap! A sound clap of hands could be heard beside us. We looked at it; it was Adel with Valerie behind her.


    Immediately Adel said, "I think the flirting is out of line, and look at the sun; I think the practice is over. Now, my lady needs to clean herself." with a smile. I could see Valerie''s expression behind Adel, which seemed to hold a hint of amusement. With that, we finished the first practice of mine.


    Adel walked me out of the courtyard. As Adel and I were walking off from the courtyard, I took a glimpse behind and saw Valerie seeming to be teasing Cassius about what had happened. Once Adel and I were inside the house, Adel turned to me and said while walking, "My lady, are you really letting Cassius have done all of that?"


    I asked, "Do what?"


    "Did all of that flirt towards you? Remember, you are on betrothal with the Crown Prince!"


    "Of course, I know. However, somehow it''s a different feeling¡­"


    "MY LADY!!!"


    "Hear me first! My feelings towards the Crown Prince are like a force in nature, how do I describe it, However, I feel like I don''t want to lose him to someone, no matter what will happen to that person. Like seven years ago, when he went to my house with Lady Clara, at that time, I felt I didn''t want that lady to take him. Seeing they wore the same attire with the same colour, somehow¡ª"


    "Jealous?"


    "No, I am not really that jealous; I don''t have any memories with the Crown Prince, so the feeling of that shouldn''t be in my feelings. It''s more like a protective instinct, or a sense of possession over him¡­"


    "Well, how about Cassius?"


    "Cassius seems¡­Warmth¡ªI don''t really care if someone will take him, yet somehow I really want that warm feeling around me. I think it''s more about feeling comforted than possession over him."


    "Interesting, so it seems like your feelings towards the Crown Prince and Cassius are quite different. However, my lady needs to understand, that you are on betrothal with the Crown Prince, so you need to make some space."


    "I know; I will keep that in mind."


    After that, we went into the bathroom, and Adel helped me take a bath. As soon as I finished taking a bath, Adel helped me get dressed in a simple gown. I went to the living room to relax, and while waiting Sophia arrived. As usual, Adel brought me some snacks and tea at the table, and of course, she left me alone to relax.

 Chapter 48 The Search of Daughter

    As I was relaxing in the living room, Adel came to me with a piece of news about Sofia had arrived.


    I came to the front of the house, to greet her. Once we greeted each other, at the front of the house, Sofia said, "There is someone in front of your house gate, my lady¡­Acting suspiciously¡­"


    Could it be him? I wondered. I asked her about his description, and she answered what I hoped for. Without wasting any time, I immediately asked Adel to bring this person to the front of the house gate to come in. Sofia''s face was so confused that she asked, "Is this person your acquaintance?"


    "Sort off¡­You may be tired because of the journey. You should take a rest, Sofia¡­"


    Sofia went into the house and headed to her room with the help of some servants. As for me, I waited in the living room for Adel to bring this man to me. While I was waiting in the living room, I saw Lady Octavi come in. Without any word, I knew Lady Octavi wanted to know about this thing in the book.


    We were waiting, until Adel brought the person, it was the man in the tavern yesterday we had been met. The man''s eyes kept glaring around in the living room. I said to him, "You may take a seat with me¡­"


    After he took a seat, I said, "So, have you considered my offer?"


    "Your offer is actually quite generous¡± He replied, ¡°however, as before, I came here not for wealth nor fame. However, I found something odd about you, young lady. How did you know my name???"


    I couldn''t say that I knew his name from my dream, so I found another reason, "We are Aurelius, surely we can find any information we desire."


    The man''s face suddenly changed to a serious gaze with a hint of suspicion, and said, "So, your family is the one who took what belongs to mine."


    I could feel the tension in the air, especially from him as I chose my next words, "My family didn''t do anything towards you; however, another family is keeping under our sleeves to do in our territory¡­"


    The man asked me, "If you already know my name, I want to know how much do you know about me¡­"


    I began, "Your name is Bo, which means ''to live''. You are a former retinue of the royal guard; however, the name isn''t royal guard in your kingdom. As time passed, you found peace in your mind and left your position as a retinue, living in a coastal area, to become a fisherman. You created your crew and sailed towards the North Sea. The sail always took time for a year, so you left your family and met them once or twice a year. However, seven years ago, you found your village and your settlement had been raided. In your home, you found only your wife laying¡ª"


    Immediately, he shouted, "Enough!!!" and he continued, "I think I have found your information is actually correct, which must be right about what I am searching around¡­"


    Lady Octavi who had been listening quietly, asked, "So what is he searching for seven years?"


    "His precious daughter.¡± I answered, ¡°He believes she¡¯s still alive because she wasn¡¯t found among the dead¡­¡±


    "You mean she was kidnapped by the raiders?" Lady Octavi asked, her voice filled with concern.


    "Yes¡­and he has been tirelessly searching for her ever since that tragic day."


    Lady Octavi nodded in understanding, realising the depth of the man''s grief and determination to find his daughter.


    Bo interjected, "I said enough about my past, now, I want to know where she is now¡­"


    I kept my composure and said, "I believe your daughter is in my family territory, the city of Florence¡­My father has a vision about kids in the street, so he built an orphanage, that should be taking care of these street kids. However, seven years ago, I found some kids in the street, as I had told you in the tavern. There is a high chance that the orphanage is not doing what was supposed to be planned by my father¡­"


    Lady Octavi immediately refuted my words, she immediately stood up and said against me, "My Lady!!! Are you accusing the orphanage of hiding this man''s daughter?" her expression stern.


    "I am not accusing the orphanage of hiding this man''s daughter, but a lot of some father''s daughters too¡­"


    Lady Octavi''s face became stern as she interrupted me, "I refuse to believe it. The orphanage has always been dedicated to the welfare of all the children under its care."


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    "Then, why were Alicia, Alecia, Aelia, and Felix on the street? The orphanage had been involved with another family."


    Suddenly, I saw Bo was trying to get up from his seat, I said to him, "Where are you going?"


    "I want to see my daughter¡­" he replied angrily.


    "You can''t go right now¡­"


    "Why?"


    "Because you need my family''s approval first to go there¡­"


    "I don''t need any of that, If I want to save my precious daughter, I could just break in the orphanage¡­"


    "I know you are a former retinue of the royal guard; however, if you can beat her¡­" I pointed at Adel, "Then you can see your daughter in the orphanage."


    Immediately, Bo looked at Adel. Suddenly, his desire to leave was dropped. Maybe he knew what was behind Adel because he was a former Retinue of The Royal Guard, surely his experience and gut would tell Adel wasn''t just an ordinary servant.


    Still, I reasoned him, "The thing is, I want to help you as soon as my parents arrive. I want to tell them about this situation. So can you wait for them until they arrive? I promise I will send someone as soon as possible after I resolve this situation with them."


    "What are you thinking? How do I possibly wait any longer after learning that my daughter is in the ring of traffickers?"


    "I know that, however, I can''t just let you go there alone, or send someone there." I asked Lady Octavi, "When will my parents arrive?"


    She answered, "Around in 2-3 days¡­"


    I tried to make a reason again to Bo, "In just 2-3 days, can you just wait for them to arrive before taking any drastic action? I understand your urgency, but it''s important to consider all possible outcomes before making a decision that could potentially put your daughter and all the people in this ring at risk."


    Bo hesitated momentarily, yet his heart couldn''t change, "What will happen if we are too late? Because we are waiting 2-3 days."


    I couldn''t say that her daughter would mostly be safe if the story from the book was correct. However, the daughter would get rescued in a few months, not now. So this time would be the same with the four children; Alicia, Alecia, Aelia, and Felix, that I altered their fate in the book. But, Nona and her paragons must play by the rules not to alter any fate, that meant, Bo''s daughter would mostly be fine this week until we could rescue her.


    I said to him, "I assure you, your daughter will be fine¡­"


    "Why? Why? How? You can say that?" Bo looked at me with desperation in his eyes, but I could sense fear and anger simultaneously.


    I calmly replied, "I couldn''t say it right now¡­" Suddenly I got up from my seat, standing up and meeting his gaze with determination, "However, this matter will be resolved, and your daughter will be safe. I promise you that."


    Bo''s expression softened slightly, "Your eyes show me that you truly believe what you''re saying. You are truly different, young lady, I could see it from your eyes¡­" A glimmer of hope appeared in his eyes as he took a seat and nodded in understanding, "For now, I will hold your words close to my heart and trust that you will do everything in your power to help my daughter."


    I nodded in return, and said, "As of now, you will live under this roof, and under me. You should take a rest¡­" I told Adel to guide Bo to his new room.


    Before Bo and Adel left the room, I said to Bo, "There are two people from outside of my household that I hired, you may have seen it at the tavern, you should get close to them. I think their room is beside your room, that will be convenient for all of you. This way, you can have some company and support during your stay here." Bo nodded in understanding and followed Adel out of the room.


    As they left the room, Lady Octavi came to me and said, "To confront your parents will be hard, my lady¡­Saying, the orphanage is a ring of traffickers will be hard to believe for his grace and madam. How do you plan to approach them about this?" Lady Octavi''s concern was evident in her voice, "And with your situation, like the problem between you and the third prince, the confession of the Crown Prince, and now you hired three people from outside, you are in a bad position to confront them, my lady."


    I took a deep breath, knowing that Lady Octavi was right.


    ~~~


    As time passed, waiting for the arrival of my parents, I kept practising sword with Cassius after breakfast, which was just the basic footwork. Bo just kept waiting in his room except for breakfast and dinner, meanwhile, Valerie and Cassius tried to make him more relaxed, but it didn''t work. His patience for just two days would be like a year for him. The surprising thing was the thing that Gennaia planted on me, it felt nothing, it meant I didn''t have any hallucinations any more, since the meeting between me and Nona, and of course, the demise of Delios would make me remember it every day.


    ~~~


    On the day while I was practising sword with Cassius, Adel informed me that my parents had arrived at the entrance gate of the capital. I immediately stopped the practice, and informed Cassius, to bring Valerie and Bo to stay in the courtyard until I ordered them to come in. I didn''t want my parents to see them immediately, however, they would already know because they had their eyes inside the house.


    Adel immediately guided me to my room, to change my attire to a normal dress. As Adel and I walked towards the stairs, somehow Lady Octavi was standing in front of the stairs with a concerned look on her face. She whispered to me that my parents had arrived, and they were waiting for me in the living room immediately. Lady Octavi quickly ushered me towards the living room, reminding me to compose myself before facing my parents. I took a deep breath and entered the room, ready to greet them with a smile despite my nerves.


    As soon as I put my foot in the living room, I could feel the tenseness of the room. I could see my parents sitting on the couch, their expressions unreadable, while the little two hadn''t been seen around. However, I could see Alicia, Alecia, Aelia, and Felix standing around the living room with a flat expression.


    My mother was the one who said first, "Stop standing in there! You may take a seat, Aurelia¡­"


    I quickly obeyed, taking a seat opposite my parents. It was so weird and different, that I was still wearing my training attire with my parents, who wore their best dress. The tension in the room was palpable as my parents finally broke the silence. "We need to talk," my mother began, her voice stern. I could sense that this conversation was going to be about everything that I had done.

 Chapter 49

    The tension in the room was palpable. Seeing my parents with unreadable expressions made me nervous about what they were going to say. My eyes couldn¡¯t look directly into their eyes, so I kept my gaze down and around, anxiously awaiting their words.


    After a few seconds, I could see my mother would begin to speak. ¡°You have been living in the capital for just two weeks,¡± she said, pausing to take a breath. ¡°However, in those two weeks, it somehow felt like a year... This means what you have done should take a year. Honestly, I don¡¯t know where to start talking about you.¡± Her words hung in the air, heavy with unspoken implications.


    As my mother finished, it was my father¡¯s turn. I could see the concern in his eyes as he struggled to find the right words. Finally, he spoke softly, ¡°What we want is simple: your safety. Of course, you will feel left alone by everyone around you because it was my order. We kept your transmutation hidden to ensure your safety. However,¡± he continued, his tone changing, ¡°it doesn¡¯t mean you can do whatever you want and cross some lines. The first thing is about your betrothal. I knew the Queen would announce it at that party, but why did the Crown Prince announce it across the kingdom? That¡¯s not how we wanted things to unfold. The Crown Prince wouldn¡¯t do it because of his mother¡¯s order; it must have been someone who could corner him into doing that¡ªso it was you. Now, we must deal with the consequences of your actions. The other side of the four powers will start to question our intentions.¡±


    My father paused for a moment before continuing, ¡°Next is your approval of sparring matches between Lady Octavi and Sir Kaeso Antia. This sparring is dangerous. We know Lady Octavi is more capable than Sir Kaeso, but allowing them to spar could lead to the exposure of our family techniques. It must be the palace¡¯s plan to push Lady Octavi to use them and expose them. If this happens, it will create a faction war. And lastly...¡± He looked at my mother, ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk about it. You may tell her, my dear.¡±


    My mother took a deep breath and clapped her hands. Immediately, Valerie, Cassius, and Bo were escorted into the room. She said, ¡°So you hired these people?¡±


    After that, I looked at Bo and remembered my promise to confront my parents about the orphanage. I knew this was my chance to finally bring it up. I took a deep breath and spoke, ¡°My apologies, dear father and mother. May I have a chance to answer?¡±


    My father and mother looked at me, surprised by my sudden request. My mother said, ¡°You must have a great reason and great answer for this¡­¡±


    I calmly replied, ¡°I won¡¯t deny what I¡¯ve done, but I will stand by the people I¡¯ve hired. I want them to stay around m¡ª¡±


    ¡°Aurelia!¡± My mother interrupted sternly.


    My father asked directly, ¡°Give me one good reason why we should allow those people to stay around you!¡±


    I answered calmly, ¡°The reason is simple, dear father. I feel they don¡¯t leave me alone. As you said, the people around me left me alone to ensure my safety. Somehow, I felt Adel and Lady Octavi were not for me, but for you. This led me to hire these people, wanting people around me who I know and who care for me.¡±


    ¡°Care? You just met these people once, and you say they care about you?¡±


    ¡°Dear father, I understand your concern, but I have a gut feeling about them. I believe that sometimes intuition can be more powerful than logic. You must trust me about these people.¡± I looked into my father¡¯s eyes with determination, knowing that these people were the ones who could prevent my death.


    ¡°Aurelia, you... Argh! I can¡¯t say anything bad about you, but your gut feeling is not always reliable. Our family¡¯s stake is at risk if these people reveal our transmutation to other families. Do you even consider that?¡±


    ¡°It isn¡¯t entirely my fault, dear father and mother. My idiocy and ignorance led to this, not me. As you said, the people around me kept everything hidden, so I didn¡¯t know anything about it. If only I had known sooner, I would have taken action to protect our family¡¯s secret. However, even if I had known sooner, I would still have hired these people.¡±


    My father sighed, realising the impact of keeping everything hidden from me. He looked at me with a mixture of disappointment and understanding. ¡°Fine, I will let you have these people under you, but you are still in big trouble. The grand sparring between Lady Octavi and Sir Kaeso is next week, and the hunting event is the week after. As punishment, you must stay in your room. You will be allowed out only for these two events.¡±


    ¡°I understand, dear father.¡± As my parents stood up to leave, I continued, ¡°Before you leave and I go to my room, there is one more important matter.¡±


    My father remained standing, while my mother sat back down. She asked, ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°I want this matter to be heard by father.¡±


    ¡°Is there a difference between your mother and father on this matter?¡± my mother asked.


    ¡°Yes, because this matter is connected to father¡¯s vision of Florence.¡±


    My father looked intrigued, while my mother seemed puzzled.


    I took a deep breath and began to explain my thoughts about the orphanage being a ring of traffickers. My father¡¯s expression changed to one of concern, while my mother¡¯s eyes widened in shock.


    However, my father said disbelievingly, ¡°I find it hard to believe that such a thing could be happening in our city. There is no way the orphanage operates that way...¡±


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    I said, ¡°As you look at Alecia, Aelia, Alicia, and Felix here, seven years ago, they were living on the street. At that time, Lady Octavi told me they shouldn¡¯t be there; the orphanage should take care of them. However, that wasn¡¯t the reality. I beg you to investigate this and send someone to the orphanage.¡±


    ¡°Aurelia, there is no way the orphanage would do such a thing...¡±


    ¡°I am really begging you, dear father, because I promised the person over there,¡± I said, looking at Bo, ¡°that his precious daughter is probably in the orphanage.¡± My eyes pleaded with my father, hoping he would understand the urgency of the situation.


    My father, who had already stood up, began to walk back and forth. He finally stopped pacing and turned to me, ¡°It¡¯s still impossible...¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s possible,¡± I answered. ¡°We have an example of it in this room.¡±


    My father looked at Alecia, Aelia, Alicia, and Felix, then turned to me and said, ¡°However, it¡¯s a different case. Operating a ring of traffickers inside the orphanage, where...¡± He continued, ¡°Lady Laura Claudi, mother of Lady Octavi, oversees it. It¡¯s impossible she wouldn¡¯t notice.¡±


    ¡°Or she let it happen right under her nose,¡± I finished his sentence.


    ¡°That¡¯s still impossible. Lady Octavi would never allow such a thing to happen,¡± my father responded firmly.


    Out of the blue, my mother said, ¡°I am with Aurelia on this one. Whether Lady Laura knows it or not, we need to send someone to the orphanage immediately.¡±


    I didn¡¯t expect my mother to agree with me so quickly. However, my father persisted in not jumping to conclusions or acting immediately.


    ¡°It¡¯s not about concluding everything, dear,¡± my mother said. ¡°It¡¯s about saving someone. Even if Aurelia¡¯s information is false, and there is no trafficking ring, it¡¯s alright; there is no harm. However, if we don¡¯t act immediately and Aurelia is right, those children at the orphanage are in grave danger.¡± She continued, ¡°If you don¡¯t want to act immediately, I will send someone from my people.¡±


    Despite my mother¡¯s insistence, my father remained hesitant. However, my mother immediately called one of her maids and instructed her to gather more information discreetly about the orphanage. The maid quickly left to carry out her orders, and I could see the determination in her eyes. I turned to Bo, who looked relieved, knowing we were taking action to help his daughter and the orphanage.


    This was the second time I altered the fate of the book. I hoped this alteration would lead to Bo¡¯s daughter being rescued, like Alecia, Aelia, Alicia, and Felix. After everything was done, I immediately left for my room, as punishment from my father. However, this punishment didn¡¯t feel like one because I had been in the same situation for seven years straight, not just a week.


    ~


    While relaxing at my desk, I heard a knock on my door at night. I knew it wasn¡¯t Adel bringing dinner, so who could it be? I cautiously approached the door, wondering who could be visiting me at this late hour. As I tried to open the door, a voice suddenly said, ¡°You don¡¯t need to open the door, my lady.¡±


    From the sound of the voice, I recognised it¡ªit was Cassius. ¡°What brings you here at this hour, Cassius?¡± I asked.


    He replied, ¡°I thought you need someone to talk¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s still just a day, I am in the room... I don¡¯t really feel like that.¡±


    ¡°I thought you might feel lonely, my lady.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve done this before, not just a week, but a year,¡± I continued. ¡°However, since you¡¯re here, I want to ask about the house situation.¡±


    ¡°What about it?¡±


    ¡°How are you and the others since yesterday?¡±


    ¡°Nothing has changed, yet our room has been relocated to another quarter. However, we are grateful that your family is still accommodating us.¡±


    ¡°How about my little brother and sister? Are they here?¡± Yesterday, I didn¡¯t see them, even in the room with my parents. However, the presence of Aelia, Alecia, Alicia, and Felix was there. If they were here, so should my little brother and sister.


    ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t know about your little brother and sister, but I saw someone sparring with the one who has black hair and a maid girl. I think they were in the living room that day.¡±


    ¡°You mean Felix and Alecia?¡±


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know their names, but I assume it was them. They were sparring with someone with the same hair colour as you, and they seemed to be getting along well.¡±


    ¡°That must be him, Aurelio, my little brother. He loves to spar with Felix or Alecia.¡±


    ¡°Alecia?¡±


    ¡°One of the triplets¡ªyou saw them in the living room yesterday. They are triplets; to identify them, you can see their ribbon colour. Alecia has a red ribbon, Alicia has a blue ribbon, and Aelia has a green ribbon. It¡¯s based on their personalities.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind,¡± he continued. ¡°However, my lady, your little brother seems to exceed my expectations for a kid of that age.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not just your little brother. The person you called Felix and Alecia are also remarkable. Even, I would lose to one of them. They are all very talented and intelligent for their age. Yet, your little brother is beyond them.¡±


    ¡°Well, since he was a kid, he loved swords. I think it¡¯s because he saw Lady Octavi demonstrate her sword skills. How about my little sister? Is she here?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t see her in the courtyard, so I can¡¯t say anything.¡±


    That was odd. ¡°How about the other triplets, Aelia and Alicia?¡±


    ¡°I saw them with your parents, one with your mother, and one with your father.¡±


    So Aelia and Alicia weren¡¯t with her. It would have been impossible if she wasn¡¯t here and stayed back home. I didn¡¯t have any thoughts about her whereabouts. It was strange she wasn¡¯t with one of the triplets. However, I hoped she was fine.


    Cassius said, ¡°Since I¡¯m here, how about I tell you some information because we can¡¯t have any sword practice?¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± I answered.


    Cassius started to explain the basics of transmutation. Transmutation was weapon mastery, and every person had a different weapon mastery. Cassius believed it was from birth that every person had this weapon mastery, so it was like destiny for someone to have a specific weapon mastery. Cassius¡¯s transmutation was a greatsword with blue transmutation. If he used a shortsword or longsword, he couldn¡¯t use his transmutation, and in some cases, the transmutation would decrease from blue with a specific weapon to red with other weapons. Adel¡¯s transmutation was a dagger, Lady Octavi¡¯s was an armsword, and Valerie¡¯s was dual-wielding.


    I asked him about dual-wielding, and Cassius explained that it was basically using two shortswords. Many people felt a shortsword had many disadvantages compared to an armsword¡ªthe reach, the power, and the versatility¡ªso it was rare for someone to pursue shortsword transmutation. Yet, many people used dual-wielding with shortswords. I asked if it was possible to dual-wield with an armsword. He explained it was possible, but it had more disadvantages than dual-wielding shortswords; an armsword was heavier, so the maneuverability would be bad. An armsword was common as a single sword, especially with a shield. There was a reason why Lady Octavi used an armsword because it was the standard for knights. I asked about my little brother, Felix, and Alecia, and what their weapons were. Cassius answered from his observation: My little brother used a longsword, Felix was the same as Valerie, and Alecia used a greataxe. I was surprised Alecia used a greataxe, which was so heavy.


    After all the explanations, Cassius excused himself and told me he would visit me again. I thanked him for the information and the time he spent with me, even though the door separated us. With that, I heard his footsteps fading away as he walked down the hallway. I immediately went to bed and took a rest.

 Chapter 50 A Retaliate?

    A few days passed, and every night Cassius visited me with new information about what had happened around the house and something new to learn about transmutation, which was about emotion. As the sun roared above my head, I heard a knock on the door. Just as I tried to get up from my desk, the door was opened unexpectedly. It was Adel. Adel, who had never shown any expression, yet this time, somehow I could sense something was wrong; it was like a sorrowful feeling from her. However, her face didn''t show it; she was just calm as usual. She just told me that my parents wanted to meet me, they were waiting for me in the living room.


    I followed Adel to the living room. As I entered the room, I saw my mother sitting on the couch while my father walked back and forth. The room was filled with heavy tension, and I could tell something serious had happened. Was it about the orphanage?


    "Aurelia, you need to sit down¡­" My mother said it to me.


    Immediately, I obeyed her words and took a seat in front of her. As I sat down, my father stopped his back and forth. He stood in front of me, his expression grave. "Tell me, Aurelia!!! From who or where do you know about the orphanage?"


    I couldn''t tell him the truth, however, I still didn''t understand what was going on. I asked, "What is going on? May my father tell me???"


    My parents exchanged a look before my father finally spoke, "What you told us about the orphanage is true¡­The maid your mother had sent there, saw it and came back to tell us everything¡­" He stopped.


    That was relieving, and with that, Bo''s daughter should be safe. However, why was the room so tense? It should be a relief that the truth was finally out, and the children were safe.


    Suddenly, my father continued, "However, by she saw it, it means¡­ that she witnessed something¡­"


    I asked, "What do you mean, my father?"


    My father hesitated before responding, "She saw something heinous¡­"


    "Heinous?" I was confused¡­


    "I can''t go into more detail about it, but I will try to say it to you as best I can. She found there are no children in there¡­" I could see my father hesitated, yet I couldn''t wait for it.


    So I asked him, "What do you mean by there are no children in there? It''s the orphanage¡­"


    My father showed a pained expression before finally saying, "There are no children because they become lifeless¡­"


    The word lifeless immediately sent a chill down my spine. Unbelieve it, it was supposed not to happen because the book didn''t say anything about that. "Lifeless? What do you mean by lifeless? Are they sick or something?"


    "No¡­" as my father seemed so hesitant to answer it to me. I saw my mother show an expression of empathy towards him.


    My mother began to say something to my father, "Let me say it to Aurelia, my dear! You may need some time in the courtyard or take some of your lone time, maybe it makes your head cool down a bit." With that, I saw my father leave the room with a troubled look on his face.


    Once my father was out of my sight from the living room, my mother began to explain, "The reason your father couldn''t say it to you, is because of his vision. You may know that the orphanage is based on your father''s vision and idea of the city. Knowing, his vision is being stained, he couldn''t be himself right now¡­"


    I said, "So what is happening inside the orphanage?"


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    "As your father has said, there are no children because they are lifeless," My mother took a deep breath and her expression changed to one of deep concern, "The maid who I have sent to go there, found the orphanage was empty, there was no one in there; the children, even the people who worked there, were nowhere to be found. As she looked around the building, she stumbled upon a secret door that was camouflaged with the floor, leading to an underground chamber where she found¡­" she stopped and hesitated to continue, as she finally spoke, her voice trembled, "The camber was burnt to a crisp, with ashes scattered everywhere. It was as if a fire had ravaged the underground, leaving nothing but destruction. As she walked around the chamber, she found some charred b¡­odies, from the size of it, they were the c¡­ harred bodies of children." my mother finally revealed it, her voice trembling with fear and anger.


    With that revelation, my heart sank, and a chill ran down my spine. It couldn''t, "No¡­no¡­no¡­no, that mustn''t be true¡­" I immediately remembered Bo''s words about the wait of two days for my parents to arrive; at that time, I should have heard him and acted immediately, "That wasn¡¯t supposed to happen¡­" Was it my fault? "I¡­I¡­I ki¡­lled them¡­" The guilt and self-blame consumed me as I struggled to come to terms with the devastating reality. Tears streamed down my face as I realised the weight of my inaction, "I thought they wouldn''t do that, " I whispered to myself, "It was entirely my fault¡­" The guilt consumed me, and I kneeled to the floor.


    As the feeling of guilt consumed me, somehow, I couldn''t focus on everything around me. Even, I couldn''t see my mother clearly, who was in front of me. The sound around me slowly faded away, changed into sounds of my own thoughts and regrets. You should act immediately, you were so naive that you believed the book too much, and now looked at what has happened, as a lot of these thoughts kept swirling in my mind.


    As I lifted my head to look at my mother, suddenly everything around me was gone, and I found myself alone in emptiness. I kept looking around; there was nothing in there. Feeling the same experience in this emptiness, I decided to get up from my seat. Started to walk around. While I was exploring and walking around, I was preparing for the worst, as what would this emptiness show me? I noticed this wasn''t dianoia from Gennaia, but rather a feeling of my guilt. When this emptiness showed me the despair and the pain of the people and the children in the orphanage, they were like being in the underworld of a full inferno, I could hear their screams echoing in my mind. Firstly, I tried to close my ears with two hands, however the screams only grew louder and more haunting. In an effort, I closed my eyes, as I kept saying that it wasn''t my fault for countless time.


    As time passed, I tried to open my eyes while I was preparing for the worst that was still in front of me right now. In a second, I opened my eyes and saw¡­a familiar ceiling. It was the ceiling of my room. I got up and looked around, and yeah, it was my room with a bright beam of light from the moon to my window. Was I unconscious? From the afternoon until now. I got up from my bed and started to walk to my desk, where the book was kept hidden in the desk drawer. I picked up the book from there and started flipping through the pages as I sat at the desk.


    Out of the blue, I saw the ink smudging. It was my tear that made the ink smudging, immediately I tried to control my emotions. While I was controlling my emotion, I realised the first tear dropped onto the name of the perpetrator. Despite the ink of the name smudged because of my tears, I still could read it, it was the name of the perpetrator, which was my acquaintance''s family. It was the Alliena family, however, this family was the one who did the trafficking, was this family the one who burnt it? Or was Lady Clara one of the paragons so she ordered to burn it so I couldn''t alter the fate? Or someone in the Lady Clara circle or around her was the paragon.


    Just then, It caught me off guard, the door of my room was open as I turned around. However, there was no one in there and no indication of someone coming inside. I was looking around, because of the mystery why the door was opened by itself. I went to the door and left the room. I looked around the hallway to check if someone had been in front of my room. When I looked down, I saw a piece of paper. Without hesitation, I picked the paper, and there was writing on the paper. It just said meet me at the courtyard. I wondered who was the one behind this paper and what their intentions were. Curiosity piqued, and I decided to head to the courtyard to see who wanted to meet me. Was it Bo? Or was it Cassius?


    Once I took a step out of the house to the courtyard, I saw someone in front of tree which was the biggest tree in the courtyard. I couldn''t see this person clearly as the shadow of the tree covered this person and the light from the moon couldn''t reach this person. I cautiously approached, and step by step I walked towards it. As I got closer, I could make out the silhouette of a figure standing under the tree. The mysterious person turned around slowly, revealing a familiar face that I hadn''t seen in years. Not a person exactly, however, I was relieved that she was here.

 Chapter 51 Confronting

    Seeing her in front of me, without any hesitation, I ran towards her. Slowly, the moonlight illuminated her, and it was Gennaia in her human form. Immediately, I stopped in front of her, overwhelmed with emotions and guilt, I showed my tears in front of her and started crying a little bit. While I was crying, I said, "I¡­killed¡­them¡­It was my fault¡­I¡­wa..s¡­so naive¡­"


    Gennaia reached out and embraced me, whispering softly, "It''s not your fault. You didn''t know." Her comforting words eased some of the weight of guilt that had been consuming me.


    As I had stopped crying and regained my emotion, I asked her, "Why??? The fate of the book was different this time¡­"


    "It was different because you tried to change it¡­" Gennaia looked at me with understanding in her eyes and replied, "As I had said, Nona would do anything to keep the flow of fate the same. However, you had changed some of the flow, and you altered the fate of the four children seven years ago, the fate of two mercenaries, and the fate of the former retinue.".


    "BUT, without me, the four children wouldn''t have their name, their own interests, their own life¡­".


    "No, they will¡­".


    "Yes, I KNOW, in a few years later, they will have it. However, to let them live on the street for a few years when you have a chance to save them is a bit of a cruel fate to impose on them.".


    "That was their fate from Nona''s flow of fate. The more you try to alter fate, the more Nona will retaliate for the change¡­You need to know that the book is the book, not real life. You will see a difference between the book and real life. When you see the book as real life, you make a big mistake because it doesn''t have something controlling it. As you live in real life, something is controlling it. It''s Nona. "


    "Well, if Nona is controlling it, why doesn''t she take my own life right now and right here?"


    "Controlling fate doesn''t mean dictating someone''s fate; controlling fate means protecting the flow of fate. The flow of fate in you is going to die at this certain time because of this reason. As you tried to alter fate, like recruiting the two mercenaries and helping the four children, and now that you have recruited Bo, you have altered the flow of your fate and these people. In that altering, there will be retaliation, which comes from who controls it. However, this retaliation isn''t directly coming from Nona, instead, it''s coming from another mortal, her paragons. These paragons have the same book as you and will try to make the course of fate the same as in the book."


    "Does it mean the perpetrator of this incident indirectly is Nona?"


    "You can say it like that¡­Because it''s the retaliation from Nona¡­"


    "THAT''S OUTRAGEOUS FROM GODDESS¡­HOW DID SHE¡ª"


    "Nona doesn''t try to change the flow of your fate only; instead, she is trying to protect the flow of the fate of this world¡­ You may see your actions as just for yourself, yet, your actions are affecting others. You may change the course of someone''s love, and this person will never meet his soulmate because of you. You may change the destiny of a family, where generations to come will be impacted by your choices. Or you may make a newborn never be born. That''s why I call you an anomaly in this world. In just three weeks after the book started, you made much impact, yet this impact isn''t as visible as you can see."


    "What must I do then? Not altering it? And waiting for the doom¡­"


    "That''s the answer; you must find it by yourself. Sometimes waiting is the best, and sometimes taking action is the best¡­" She continued, "I can''t be here for any longer¡­"


    "Wait, I thought you would be here with me¡­"


    "No, there is something I need to do. Do you remember the time Delios perished??? The moments before she perished, she said, ''Who are you?'' to Nona. That was odd¡­Nevertheless, I come here to tell you something."


    "What is that?"


    "There is another paragon or anomaly that I have encountered; I could say this person is the paragon of Nona and an anomaly at the same time because it''s like you but a different problem. This person knows the whole book, yet this person discards it and follows a different path entirely. When you tried to follow the other path not to die, this person tried to follow the other path to pursue love."


    Suddenly, I saw her body start to emit a glow of lights. Slowly, her physical body started to fade away like a wind.


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    At the last second, I could hear her voice saying, "Just believe in yourself, Aurelia!¡±


    As she disappeared, I heard some footsteps rushing towards me, immediately I turned back and it was Cassius. As the mother lunar was above me, I was wondering why Cassius was in the courtyard right now. Did he see everything? Cassius looked at me with a mix of confusion and concern, "What are you doing here at this time, my lady?"


    I tried questioning him with the same question.


    He answered, "Well, usually, I walk in the courtyard at this time to get some fresh air¡­"


    "At the middle of the night?"


    "Yeah¡­So what are you doing here? I heard you are not feeling well¡­Yet, you are in here with your bed attire, I guess, and without any footwear."


    "Same as you, I guess¡­"


    "Same as mine? If my lady wants to get some fresh air, is barefoot really necessary? You are just¡ª" Suddenly, Cassius walked closer to me, as close as possible, and he¡­carried me with his two hands.


    While I was leaning on his chest, "What¡­.what¡­are you doing right now?"


    "It''s not appropriate for my lady to walk barefoot, it can hurt your feet and spoil the beauty of them."


    I was blushing at his words, and then he carried me towards a nearby bench, where we both sat down.


    "You really didn''t have to do that, I can walk by myself that distance¡­" I said, feeling a mix of embarrassment and gratitude.


    After that, he put some stretch in front of me as he said, "Sometimes, you need someone, my lady, even though you can do it yourself because it''s not always about capability but also about care and consideration."


    "Well, if that''s the case, does it mean you really care about me?"


    He chuckled softly and replied, "Perhaps I do, my lady. Perhaps I do." He turned at me, "So what''s the root that makes my lady like this?"


    "What do you mean?"


    "You may keep it as long as possible, and the people around you will consider it your secret; however, if you keep it like that, there will be no one to help you, my lady." Suddenly, he leaned his face in front of mine, "Right now, I could see a hint of something, your cheeks show a trace of a fountain of sadness. The biggest hint is in your eyes. The eyes that always show your innocence, kindness, and determination, however this time, was different, your eyes were filled with a feeling of deep sorrow¡­"


    His word was¡­"Ha¡­ha¡­ha" I softly chuckled at it as I looked down, avoiding his gaze, "How do you know me so well, Cassius?"


    "Maybe, because I love to pay attention to you¡­"


    While I was still looking down, "Have you received the news???"


    "What''s news?" with a tone of concern and curiosity.


    I finally met his gaze, and said, "I¡­I¡­I have killed some people¡­"


    His eyes immediately opened as wide as possible, and his expression turned from concern to shock. "What do you mean, you''ve killed people?" he asked¡­


    "I¡­have known about a place where there was a place for the trafficking of children, however, I did not choose to act quickly, instead, I waited for my parents to¡­to take action¡­" I continued, "With that, it was too late, and the children had already been harmed," as I looked at both hands, "and their blood feels like it''s in my hands right now¡­"


    Cassius said softly, "However, it''s not your fault, my lady. You did what you thought was the best at the time."


    "I KNOW THAT!!!" I exclaimed, "Yet, I was so naive¡­ to think that waiting for my parents to take action would solve the problem. I should have acted sooner and taken matters into my own hands¡­and now, I¡­I¡­I don''t know how to tell or say it to Bo¡­"


    "Why do you need to tell Bo?"


    "Because his precious daughter was in that place, and I promised him with my determination to save her, but I failed miserably¡­"


    "At least you have tried, yet fate speaks in a different language¡­"


    Fate huh? Felt it wasn''t fate. I said, "May you deliver the news to Bo?"


    "Are you sure about that, my lady? If I am the one who tells him the news, it will show your weak-mindedness. It''s better for you, the one who tells him the news, to show that you have tried your best¡­"


    "I don''t care about that. I¡­I¡­just¡­I don''t know what to say¡­Just tell him, okay!!!"


    "If you insist on that, I will deliver the news¡­"


    I expressed my gratitude towards him, and tried to walk back inside¡­However, as I stepped for the second step, Cassius immediately carried me in the same position¡­


    "You know that I can walk by myself¡­" I said while Cassius was carrying me¡­


    He didn''t say anything and just walked towards the door¡­


    When we were in front of the house''s door, the door was suddenly being opened¡­Shockingly, it was Adel who opened the door. With a plain expression, she showed it to us¡­


    I said, "Uhmm¡­Cassius, just try to carry me to the house because I am barefoot¡­"


    Adel answered, "If that''s the case, he can take my lady down right now, because¡­Cassius and the others are forbidden to be inside¡­"


    At Once, Cassius dropped me. Before he walked off, he told me to have a great night. He walked away while I watched it.


    As Adel and I were inside the house, we walked towards my room. Immediately, I was confused by Adel''s words. If Cassius was forbidden by my parents to come inside the house, how did he go to the front of my room and have a conversation with me?


    While we were walking back towards my room, in the hallway, I stopped and called her. At once, she stopped in front of me.


    I asked, "Did you let him in, Adel?"


    She answered, "Pardon?"


    I was walking towards her, and I said, "Did you let Cassius in? Did you let him be in front of my room?"


    "I can''t recall anything about that, my lady¡­"


    "Come on, Adel! There is no way he could have gotten inside without you knowing. You must have let him in. And there is no way Cassius overpowered you, so there is no other way than you were letting him in."


    She started to walk without saying anything, and I followed her as I said, "You are the one who warned me to take a distance from him, and now you let him in this time."


    Adel''s expression was unreadable as she continued to deny any involvement. As we reached her room, she turned to me and said, "I just believed that what I did was best for you, my lady¡­I hope you have a great night¡­Sofia will check on you tomorrow

 Chapter 52 Aftermath

    The next day, my parents came into my room along with Sofia after I had finished my morning routine. At once, Sofia checked on me as usual, just like she did seven years ago.  She reassured me and told everyone in the room that I would be okay. After that, Sofia showed everyone my medicine and gave it to me. However, I saw that the medicine she gave me was slightly different from what she had given me seven years ago.


    I asked her, "Is the medicine different than before?"


    "You recognise it, my lady¡­Yes, the medicine is different¡­"


    My father immediately asked, "Why is it different?"


    "The medicine is different because the cause is different. Right now, the cause is your mental, this medicine reduces my lady''s stress level and relaxes her."


    My father nodded in understanding, and Sofia excused herself from my room. As she left, my father started moving closer to my bed and me. He asked me about the orphanage, how I knew everything circling the orphanage, especially the trafficking site. I couldn''t answer his question straightforwardly because I knew it from the book. I tried searching for an answer but couldn''t think of anything else. With that, I just told him that I knew it because of the four children I encountered seven years ago, since then, I have questioned myself that there must be something wrong with the orphanage.


    My father''s expression turned serious as he listened to my explanation. He nodded slowly, before finally speaking again. "So it''s your guts, who told there was something wrong about the orphanage. Maybe your guts actually lead to the right path, and hope your guts are on the right path about the people that you have hired."


    As he received my answer, he excused himself from my room. As he left, my mother went to me and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder, telling me to get well soon. She excused herself from my room, but before she stepped out of my room, I called her, "My dear mother¡­"


    She answered, "Yes, darling?"


    "Is Ophelia staying here?"


    "Your little sister?" She paused, looking slightly puzzled. "Yes, she is coming with us, and she is in here¡­" She seemed to hesitate, continuing, "Just take a rest, Aurelia, you need that¡­" Then, she left my room.


    That was odd; my mother seemed to be trying to hide something about Ophelia. As I remembered my conversation with Cassius, Cassius told me that he didn''t see Ophelia around the house. It was strange that my mother was being evasive about Ophelia''s whereabouts; if she were here, Cassius would tell me she was around the house because Ophelia, whom I knew, wanted her presence to be known like a lady. I couldn''t shake the feeling that something was off, but I decided to trust my mother for this time.


    As time passed for two days, there were some knocks on my door. At first thought, it must be Cassius, however, for these past nights, Cassius didn''t visit me. I walked slowly towards the door from my bed. Once, when I was in front of my door, a voice could be heard. It wasn''t a voice of Cassius¡­It was Bo¡­Why did Bo come here?


    He called me thrice in front of the door. I answered, "Is that you, Bo?"


    He answered, "Yes¡­It is me¡­"


    "What''s the matter that you are coming here?"


    "Cassius came to me and told me to come to you¡­"


    "Cassius? Why did he tell you that?"


    "He just told me that there is something you want to talk about for me¡­"


    A spike immediately went through my heart, as Cassius didn''t do what I just ordered. Instead, he told Bo to come here; it made me tell him by myself. I knew the best way to tell him was by myself, however, telling him about my failure to save his precious daughter. I couldn''t do that¡­


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    While I was thinking about what to do, Bo said, "Is it about the orphanage? If it''s about that, what has happened? Are the children safe? And what about my daughter?"


    I took a deep breath, trying to steady my voice before responding, "Bo, it is hard to tell you about this, however, I hope you can take it with strength and as calm as possible. I regret to inform you that despite my best efforts, I was unable to save all the children in the orphanage."


    After that, I couldn''t hear anything from the other side of the door. The silence was deafening, and I could only imagine the anguish Bo must be feeling. I waited, and suddenly a smashing wall sound could be heard, followed by Bo''s muffled sobs. Out of a sudden, I could hear his growling of despair.


    "WHYYYYYY!?"


    I knew that Bo was devastated, and it was entirely my fault. I said something to him, "I am really sorry, Bo. You


    Out of nowhere, "You are really naive, young lady¡­" Said Bo, and I was taken aback to hear it from him, "You have known it all along, that the orphanage was the ring of traffickers¡­" Bo''s words hit me like a ton of bricks, "You have a lot of opportunity to take action¡­HOWEVER, WHY DID YOU NEED TO WAIT YOUR PARENTS TO RESOLVE IT??? WHY DID YOU NOT CONFRONT IT WITH YOUR PARENTS BEFORE LONG AGO??? WHY??? WHY!?" Suddenly, his tone softened, followed by his sobs, and some knocked on the door, "Why, why, you just took action as I was in front of you¡­It was like you¡­you¡­you¡­were using me¡­or¡­there must be another intention towards me for you¡­"


    Separate with only a wooden door, it was like separating from another world. I realised then that Bo felt betrayed and hurt by my inaction, and I knew I had to make things right. I said, "Bo, the reason why I couldn''t confront my parents earlier is I don''t see any path or I feel uncertainty in that path¡­As of right now, I¡­I¡­I¡­I don''t know how to tell you¡­However, right now, I am facing something bigger than myself. To confront my parents sooner, could lead to my own danger¡­As I heard the news about the orphanage and the unfortunate children, I could see a despairing path in my eyes, whether I told my parents sooner or not the path would be the same¡­ I need to figure out how to navigate this situation in a way that doesn''t put myself or others at risk in the future¡­Yet, this was the first time I failed, which led innocent people and children, especially your precious daughter, to lose their lives. Again, Bo, I am very sorry."


    For a few seconds, I couldn''t hear anything behind the door. Suddenly, I could hear footsteps stepping away from the door. At once, I opened the door. I could see Bo walking away, his shoulders slumped in defeat. I felt Bo would never be here again, so I said, "The house of Aurelius will always be open to you, Bo. My offer is always at the table for you, no matter what happens¡­Ple..ase¡­ come back soon." With a heavy heart, I watched as Bo disappeared around the corner.


    ¡ª-


    Two days later, my feeling was right, Adel brought me a message that Bo had never been seen in his room or around the house. While Adel was in my room, I wanted to know the situation around the home, so I asked her about it. She told me after the incident at the orphanage, my father was still in his solitude and had not come out of his room. In return, my mother took control of the situation, she organised everything on behalf of my father and pursued everything to know what had happened at the orphanage, who was the preparator, and what the motive was. The grandeur sparring was close to two days away, and I asked will my father come to that event to Adel. She didn''t know whether my father would attend the sparring or not.


    As my morning routine was almost done, I asked about the thing that always lingered in me, it was Ophelia. I wanted to know her situation and her whereabouts. First off, Adel showed a lot of hesitation in answering my question about Ophelia. I pressed her more and more to tell me about her¡­


    I asked her, "If you don''t answer my question, I will assume Ophelia is in a frightful situation."


    Adel finally relented and said, "It isn''t in a frightful situation, my lady. Your parents don''t want the young lady being a target¡­"


    "Being a target?"


    "Yes, His Highness and Madam believe after the hunting event, there will be court presentations. As you know, after the event there will be a feast and ball in the palace. His Highness and Madam don''t want to take the risk of the young lady, Ophelia, being the subject of court presentations."


    "So Ophelia isn''t in here?"


    "I believe yes, she is staying at home¡­"


    "If that''s the case, my parents are afraid there will be another betrothal, beside me."


    "You are right, my lady. If the young lady, Ophelia, is in the court presentations, it may attract unwanted attention and potentially lead to another betrothal being arranged. It''s a delicate situation that His Highness and Madam are trying to navigate carefully to protect Ophelia''s future."


    "What''s about Aurelio? Why did my parents allow him to come?"


    "I believe His Highness and Madam want to introduce the young master, Aurelio to the court not as a potential suitor, but as a young power of Aurelius. If the young master could win the hunting event, it would solidify his power and his influence. Especially, this is the first time, the court and the nobles will see the young master."


    "I hope the plan will be going well with the sudden event of the orphanage¡­"


    ¡ª-

 Chapter 53 A Facade Show Before Grandeur Sparring

    As the sun and the moon had been dancing two times, finally the day of the grandeur sparring had come. I didn''t know what the sparring would be shown, was it just the sparring between Lady Octavi and Lord Kaeso, the father of Lady Hillaria?


    In the morning, as usual, Adel helped me with my morning routine. Nothing had changed; everything was the same as Adel usually did for me. Afterwards, Adel led me to the living room to wait for my parents and my brother to join us. As I waited, Aurelio was the first to arrive, with Felix and Livia behind him. This was the first time we had met without any distractions in seven years. Aurelio greeted me warmly, breaking the awkward silence that had settled between us. I tried to fill the empty room by asking him about his recent swordsmanship. Surprisingly, Aurelio''s answer felt so cold and distant; he wasn''t the Aurelio I knew, and he wasn''t the same as he had been three weeks ago when I departed from home. Then, I told him about my sword practice. To my surprise, he turned his face to the other side, avoiding any contact, and it felt like he didn''t like it.


    Soon, my parents arrived with great attire, especially my father, he brought a cane with a lot of decoration and jewellery in there. I heard from Lady Octavi while she was tutoring me, that my family had some regalia; one of them was a cane, a symbol of status and power. This was the first time of mine seen this regalia. After both of us greeted each other, we walked outside. The sun shone brightly, making the jewels on my father''s cane sparkle.


    In front of our home, there were three carriages, each one more luxurious than the next. The first carriage was for my parents, the second one was for Aurelio, and the third one was for me.


    As we approached the carriages, some of the maids took their seats as coachmen. Each carriage had two maid coachmen; the triplets were in my parents'' carriage and Aurelio''s carriage, with Felix inside Aurelio''s carriage. For me, it was just Adel.


    We departed from home to the palace grounds. This was the first time my family needed three carriages and a heavily armoured escort. The last time I was in a carriage was seven years ago when my family and I went to the city. Back then, we used only one carriage and a few unarmoured guards. Now, this was different. I went behind the coachman, finding a small gap to talk with Adel.


    I asked Adel, "Why do we need so many carriages and army this time?"


    Adel responded, "It''s for security reasons, my lady. But that''s the secondary reason, not the main reason; the main reason is showing authority and power to other nobles. As my lady knows, the Aurelius family as Duke doesn''t have any vassals as Count to maintain their land, so these carriages and the armies will be as show to tell others."


    ¡ª-


    In front of the palace, there were already several carriages of nobles waiting to get inside the palace grounds. However, these carriages weren''t as extravagant as ours, and their escorts were fewer men. The buzzing wasn''t just the carriages; there were a lot of ordinary people who tried to get inside the palace grounds on other passages. Seeing that, I asked Adel if the grandeur sparring was made for the public too, and she answered the sparring was made for the public too; however, there was a designated area just for the public, and there was a designated area just for the nobles.


    As I glanced around outside from my carriage, suddenly there was a man heavily armoured without a helmet coming to my parents'' carriage. I could see there was a conversation between him and my parents on the door of the carriage. When the man walked away, suddenly the carriages led outside the waiting line of noble carriages. With that, our entourage passed all the nobles'' carriages that were still waiting in line to enter the main courtyard.


    In the main courtyard, I could see there were a few carriages in there. However, these carriages were much grander and more ornate than the ones we had passed. As our entourage almost reached the main entrance, I could see a glimpse of the Crown Prince at the main entrance. Slowly, the Crown Prince wasn''t alone; I could see Her Majesty, Queen, beside him.


    In front of the main entrance, the entourage stopped, and firstly, my parents stepped out of their carriage, and immediately their carriage left the main entrance. Next, Aurelio''s carriage pulled up in front of the main entrance. He stepped out, followed by Felix, and immediately, the carriage departed. Lastly, my carriage, in front of the main entrance, stepped out from the carriage. At once, the entourage left from the main entrance with the armies. As I made my way towards the entrance and rejoined with the others.


    From the distance, we could see the Crown Prince and the Queen. They were standing in front of the entrance to the inside of the palace. As this would be the first time, I saw my mother meeting with the Queen. Slowly we were walking to the entrance, and at once, the Queen put a smile on me. Seeing that, I could see my mother put on a smile too; however, somehow I felt their smile was forced and insincere.


    As we exchanged greetings with them, we did not show any courtesy or bow. I overheard the Queen and my mother exchanging words that suggested they were thrilled to meet again after such a long time. It was clear they were putting on a show. However, there was no one around to witness this performance.


    As for the Crown Prince, he merely exchanged handshakes with my father and Aurelio. To me, it seemed like a facade, a performance meant to uphold appearances. However, when the Crown Prince took my hand and kissed it, I questioned if it was also part of this facade. And where were the third prince and His Majesty, the King?


    After all that facade, finally we went inside, and immediately there were some maids in front of us. At once, they were leading us somewhere, passing some hallways. Finally, they led us to a room, and I didn''t know why we were inside the palace; I thought the grandeur sparring would be taken outside. As we entered the room, there were some nobles. They all turned to look at us, their eyes filled with curiosity and intrigue.


    Out of nowhere, there was a feminine voice, "Finally, the Aurelius is here¡­"


    I saw my father startled hearing the voice. As I looked at the source of the voice, it was a beautiful woman with brown hair standing not dressed in a gown but in light armour adorned with intricate designs. She approached us with a confident stride, her gaze fixed on my father.


    As she was in front of us, she looked at Aurelio and me, and said, "Where is the other one?" Her attitude towards my father was so carefree as if my father were just another acquaintance. She even easily tapped my father''s back, and she went into the middle of my father and my mother, bumping my mother out.


    Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.My mother suddenly said, "Oh, is it Lady Eliana? As always, Lady Eliana never has any courtesy¡­"


    Eliana was her name. I tried to remember that name because neither Adel nor Lady Octavi was here, so there was no one to ask. I tried to remember when Lady Octavi taught me about the kingdom''s peerage. While I was trying, suddenly her face was in front of mine.


    "Is she the Crown Prince''s Bertorhal?" She asked it so casually¡­


    Suddenly, I remembered it¡ªthe name of Eliana. She was Eliana Aemilia, the Duchess of Romgardia. Lady Octavi told me that Her Highness Eliana, known for her carefree and lack of courtesy in her court or other courts, even though she had a bad nature like that, had been known for her courage, bravery, and Platina of her heart. She was also rumoured to be a skilled swordswoman; the rumour believed she was the strongest one without transmutation, which indicated her skill and her mastery of the sword. However, the shocking one from Lady Octavi was that she believed Lady Eliana and my father never continued their sparring or 1on1 duel without transmutation again after countless times because both of them didn''t want the other side to score; the score between them was rumoured to be tied at an impressive number, as hundreds more. As they kept duelling, Lady Eliana saw my father not like other nobles; it made her more carefree in front of him.


    My father answered her, "Yes, she is¡­" As Lady Eliana stood up in front of him, "How about you find someone to be your betrothal, to cure your bad nature?" Ah yes, I forgot that she was still single at her age, which made her lead her court alone by herself. As my father chuckled at her teasing, suddenly she said something odd and unexpected.


    Suddenly, she said, "If the match is you, maybe I will consider it¡­"


    My mother quickly responded, "Add the word ''like'', Lady Eliana¡­If the match is like ''you''¡­"


    Lady Eliana laughed and replied, "Very well, if the match is like you, maybe I will consider it."


    My father responded, "Maybe you need to start wearing some great dress, not armour, to attract someone¡­"


    "I thought wearing armour would attract someone like you, who appreciates strength and courage," Lady Eliana retorted with a smile. My mother and father exchanged amused glances, knowing that Lady Eliana was not one to conform to traditional expectations.


    Her sight changed to Aurelio, and she said to my parents, "This is the first time Aurelio will be known in the royal court¡­" My parents nodded in agreement.


    After all of that, we walked to the crowd with Lady Eliana beside us. Slowly, we greeted guests one by one, while we were greeting them. I noticed a huge thing, these guests weren''t ordinary nobles. My parents called their names or they introduced themselves to us, as their names were a huge deal. All of them were Dukes and Duchesses; all eight dukes were in the room. However, the crowds were being divided into two; slowly I recognised it; it was the divide of power. Yet, my parents didn''t join any of these two groups, instead took a distance from them, and Lady Eliana kept around us. At once, I knew there were three groups now; that was why Lady Eliana kept around us because she was by our side.


    It meant the eight dukes were divided into three powers; one side had 2 Dukes, one side had 4 Dukes, and lastly, our side had 2 Dukes. After a few moments, finally, there was an announcement from the main door, that the royal family would enter the room. The announcement told the Queen, the Crown Prince, the Second Princess, and the Third Prince would enter the room.


    As they entered the room, half of the Dukes didn''t take any courtesy or bow to them; however, the one side with 4 Dukes showed their courtesy and bowed to them. The royal family''s entrance was met with mixed reactions from the dukes, showcasing the dividing authority and power. Suddenly, I could feel some gaze pierce towards me. I tried to find these gazes, and they were the Second Princess and the Third Prince, who were staring intensely at me. It was the first time I saw the Princess; she had long hair and the same piercing blue eyes as the Queen. The Third Prince had a stern expression with everything that happened and the letter, while the Second Princess seemed curious. As they continued to watch me, I tried to avoid their gaze.


    The Queen clapped her hands once they were in the middle of the room. The room fell silent as the Queen began to speak, her voice commanding attention.


    She started to speak, "Welcome everyone in this great hall¡­" The Queen''s voice echoed through the room, "May all of you forgive me for the sudden invitation to gather here today. I have called all of you and the other nobles to watch a magnificent show, where it''s the first time that everyone in this kingdom will witness." At once, the Queen''s gaze pierced towards me, "Firstly, I need to show my appreciation towards the eldest daughter of Aurelius, Aurelia Aurelius, for the magnificent idea and the approval." With that, all the eyes were on me, yet the Queen''s speech wasn''t over. "This show will be seen as the first step of the betrothal between the Crown Prince and Aurelia Aurelius, solidifying the relationship between our two families and bringing prosperity to our kingdom for generations to come."


    Immediately everyone in the room clapped their hands while looking at the Crown Prince and me. However, it was a charade from them; the speech from the Queen showed my family, who gave the idea of the sparring; otherwise, my family and I were being shown as needing attention from the Royal Family.


    I could see the Queen showing a little wave of her hand towards me as if to signal me to join her alongside the Crown Prince. As I wanted to take a step forward, suddenly my mother grabbed my arm tightly, silently warning me to stay. My father and Lady Eliana exchanged a knowing glance, understanding the underlying situation.


    Out of the blue, Lady Eliana took some steps towards the centre of the room and said to everyone, "May I have the room? I see everyone in here wearing their great dress, yet I am wearing my light armour. Maybe it''s just me who wants to watch the show as I am wearing this armour. While all of you are wearing the best dresses to come here, maybe everyone in this room really wants to have a tittle-tattle. So are we here to have a tittle-tattle or watch a show? If we are here to have a tittle-tattle, I will leave this room and join the public who have been waiting outside for hours."


    The room fell silent, and trying to control the room, the Queen responded, "What some words, you have said Lady Eliana. As Lady Eliana has said, let''s come to the palace grounds, and enjoy the show¡­"


    The Queen and the others left the room, followed by all the dukes. Before leaving the room, my mother showed gratitude towards Lady Eliana.

 Chapter 54 A Deep Layer of Grandeur Sparring

    As everyone made their way to the palace grounds, the Queen and her entourage were announced by the master of ceremonies. The crowd erupted in cheers as they made their way to their designated seats. Unlike the Queen, the dukes¡¯ names weren¡¯t announced by the master of ceremonies. They graciously followed behind, taking their seats without any need for introduction. When I noticed the designated area for the dukes, some people were already seated there. As for my family''s area, Adel, Felix, and Livia were already present, standing beside the seats. They greeted us warmly as we approached. I realised that the nobles'' seating was divided by vassals and their liege. The seats around the Royal Family were occupied by some of their vassals, and I spotted a familiar face¡ªLady Clara. In contrast, our family''s area stood out, with no vassals around our seats, leaving a noticeable gap with empty seats that could have accommodated five or ten people. These seats should have been occupied by the Claudi Family, but Lady Octavi''s parents were at home, and she herself was participating in the upcoming sparring.


    The master of ceremonies announced the beginning of the event, outlining the series of events, with the finale being the sparring between Lady Octavi and Lord Kaeso. The first event was a speech by the Queen. Similar to her previous speech, the Queen used my name and my family name to emphasise the importance of unity and loyalty among the noble families. While this speech meant little to the public, it was a significant issue for the nobles.


    The Queen concluded her speech with, "May our unity be as strong as the steel of our swords, and may our loyalty be unwavering like the stone walls of ours." The crowd erupted into applause, eager for the sparring match to begin.


    The master of ceremonies then announced the first match, a jousting competition. The grounds had no barrier between the jousting knights, showcasing the skill of each knight in handling their horse with speed and control. Each knight, assisted by their squires, prepared their horses and donned their helmets as the final touch. They raised their lances, ready for the impending clash. The crowd waited in anticipation for the master of ceremonies to give the signal. When the signal was given, the knights charged towards each other with thundering hooves, creating an exhilarating atmosphere for the spectators. The clash of lances echoed through the grounds, captivating everyone''s attention¡ªthough it was clear that the nobles were less impressed. After several intense clashes, one knight emerged victorious, eliciting a roar of cheers from the crowd. The defeated knight graciously accepted his loss, bowing to his opponent in a show of respect.


    With that, the master of ceremonies announced the next event: melee combat. Initially, I thought it would be a duel, but it turned out to be group combat. The melee involved multiple knights fighting simultaneously alongside their squires. Some knights were on horseback, while others fought on foot. The master of ceremonies explained the goal of the combat: to unhorse or defeat the commander of the opposing team. The crowd erupted in excitement as the melee began, with swords clashing and shields blocking. The knights displayed great skill and strategy as they fought to unhorse the opposing commander. As the combat continued, some knights were knocked out, prompting their squires to drag them out of the fray. Finally, after a fierce battle, one knight emerged victorious by successfully unhorsing the opposing commander. The crowd cheered as the victor raised his sword in triumph. However, despite the crowd''s enthusiasm, the nobles remained unimpressed, and even my parents showed little interest.


    As the melee combat ended, the master of ceremonies announced the next event: foot combat, culminating in the grand finale sparring match. The foot combat consisted of three rounds: the first between the pupils of the palace academy, the second between knights from the Blue Order, and the final between Lady Octavi and Lord Kaeso. Foot combat differed from melee in that real, sharp swords were used, unlike the blunted ceremonial swords used in the melee.


    The master of ceremonies called the first match of the foot combat. Two participants¡ªa boy and a girl, both appearing to be the same age as Aurelio¡ªentered the arena. The boy was quick and agile, while the girl took a more strategic approach to combat. As they clashed swords, the audience watched in anticipation of who would emerge victorious in this intense battle of skill and strength.


    Suddenly, my father spoke, "So this is where Kaius'' daughter ended up¡­"


    My mother replied, "She insisted on enrolling there¡­"


    "It¡¯s a waste of time if the result is what we¡¯re watching now¡­"


    "Well, she didn¡¯t go there for what we¡¯re watching now; she went there for social interactions¡­ The results have been quite impressive."


    Hearing their conversation, I realised they were talking about Lady Octavi. I hadn¡¯t known that Lady Octavi insisted on enrolling in the academy. I asked my mother, "Mother, you said she insisted on enrolling there¡ªdoes that mean her family didn¡¯t want her to go?"


    My mother turned to me and said, "It¡¯s not that they didn¡¯t want her to go, but they saw it as a waste of time¡­"


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    "A waste of time?"


    "Look at the two in front of you¡ªthey¡¯re pupils from the academy, and they¡¯re about the same age as Aurelio. Their skills are impressive, but by our standards, they aren¡¯t enough. Lady Octavi had surpassed them in every way possible by the time she was 11. So, you see, it would have been a waste of time for her to attend the academy."


    "I see. But you mentioned she went for social interaction¡ªdoes that mean she only went to interact with others?"


    "Correct. Lady Octavi was alone at that age; you were only 4 years old, and we have no other vassals besides the Claudi family, so there was little interaction with other nobles. Lady Octavi, at age 11, found herself isolated, with no one her age to socialise with. That¡¯s why she insisted on attending the academy. The results have been staggering¡ªpeople know her name, nobles under the royals know her name, and even the Blue Order knights know her name. She¡¯s recognised throughout the kingdom, which is why this sparring is such a noteworthy event."


    I nodded, but then my father suddenly said, "It¡¯s not just noteworthy; it¡¯s a major concern."


    "A major concern?"


    "Yes, it¡¯s a major concern between our family and the royal family. Even though the Queen emphasized unity, the outcome of this event might suggest otherwise. I believe Lord Kaeso is the commander of the Blue Order. If Lady Octavi defeats him, there could be a significant shift in the order''s power. On the other hand, if Lady Octavi loses, the Claudi family risks losing their status as the Golden Sword of Aurelius, given her recognition throughout the kingdom. It''s a no-win situation."


    "Why is it a no-win situation? If she wins, we don''t lose anything."


    "The problem is the perception of the spectators, Aurelia. The eight dukes are present here. If Lady Octavi easily defeats him, it suggests a power imbalance, where the royal order is weaker than our family. This could lead to tensions, with our family potentially seeking more power and authority from the royals. That''s why the Queen thanked you earlier for the idea and approval of this sparring match. Lady Octavi''s victory could be seen as a challenge to the royal family''s authority, sparking further power struggles and tension. The royals want to appear as the victims here."


    I hadn¡¯t considered any of that when the Queen asked me about the sparring. I thought it would just be a small match for entertainment. I asked my father, "What will Lady Octavi do in this situation?"


    Out of the blue, Aurelio answered, "She¡¯ll go for a draw¡­" Simultaneously, the crowd began to cheer as if something significant had happened. I immediately turned my attention to the sparring. Surprisingly, the academy pupils had started using transmutation. Seeing that, I looked at the Queen, realising she had broken the agreement between her and me. The sparring suddenly became more intense with the use of transmutation, and the sound of clashing metal filled the air.


    Watching this, Aurelio said, "The boy¡­ he¡¯s holding back¡­"


    "Holding back?" I asked.


    "His footwork¡­ He could get closer to her with his footwork, but he¡¯s limiting himself as if he¡¯s being forced into a defensive position."


    "This is a sparring match," my father said, "It¡¯s just for entertainment. Right now, they¡¯re putting on a show. The winner of this sparring match was likely decided before it even began."


    As I continued watching, I still didn¡¯t understand what Aurelio meant by a draw. I asked my father, "Why would a draw be the choice for Lady Octavi in this situation?"


    "A draw is the only choice, but it¡¯s not the best solution," my father explained. "This sparring match isn¡¯t about public opinion; it¡¯s about the opinion of those on our side, not theirs," he pointed at the public seats. "A draw could be seen as a balance of power and skill between both sides. However, Lady Octavi needs to time it right to ensure the match ends in a draw."


    "What does that mean?"


    "If she makes the match a draw too quickly, it might seem like she¡¯s deliberately aiming for a draw. She needs to make sure the outcome appears genuine, showcasing her strength and skill without making it seem forced or intentional. She must tread carefully to maintain her reputation and credibility in the eyes of both sides."


    "What will happen if she prolongs the match?"


    "If she prolongs the match, it reveals her true nature. She¡¯s facing a commander, and the longer the match goes on, the more insight these sides will gain into her nature as if she is toying with the commander."


    Suddenly, the crowd erupted into loud cheers¡ªthe match was over. The girl had won. The girl''s victory was met with thunderous applause, but behind it all, the match had been a charade for the public.


    The master of ceremonies began to announce the next match. Surprisingly, it was two people I knew: Lady Hillaria and Milo. That explained why I only saw Lady Clara in her seat. They immediately took their positions, and the crowd fell silent in anticipation of the upcoming battle. Like in the sparring with Lady Octavi, Lady Hillaria was the first to take the offensive, striking with precision and grace. Milo, on the other hand, showed incredible agility and skill in defence. It was different from the last match; the sound of metal clashing was more frequent. Lady Hillaria kept pushing Milo back, but he managed to hold his ground with impressive footwork, avoiding any strikes to his body.


    "Is she your acquaintance, Aurelia?" my mother asked.


    "Yes, mother. She is the daughter of the commander."


    "Ah¡­ I see. What about the other side?"


    "I believe he is Milo. He is the lieutenant."


    Lady Hillaria and Milo continued to exchange blows. The intensity of the battle was palpable, with both fighters determined to emerge victorious. Watching them, I began to doubt whether this match was a charade. As each side circled the other, Lady Hillaria suddenly revealed her transmutation without Milo noticing. In an instant, she dashed toward Milo, who was caught off guard. Yet, he responded with an impressive parry and strength in his defence. The loudest clash of swords yet echoed between them, and Lady Hillaria¡¯s eyes widened in surprise as Milo¡¯s skill and strength matched her own in her transmutation.


    "Hooo¡­That was interesting," my mother said with a grin.


    As they exchanged blows, Milo maintained a calm and focused expression, showing no signs of fatigue or fear in the face of Lady Hillaria''s transmutation.

 Chapter 55 The Turn Around of The Event

    As Milo and Lady Hillaria kept exchanging swings with each other, Milo seemed to take a defensive position and let Lady Hillaria take the offensive. Swung after swung, Lady Hillaria threw at him, yet, parry after parry, Milo showed at her. The crowd began to cheer louder and louder, amazed by the skill and strategy displayed by both fighters. It wasn''t just the public crowd, now, the nobles'' side started to show signs of interest in the match. Everyone was amazed as Milo didn''t use his transmutation yet could hold his own against Lady Hillaria, who used transmutation.


    "Is this what she wants to show?" My mother said with a grin¡­


    My father said, "I don''t believe her; this''s half-wit¡­"


    "Well, even she isn''t half-wit. Surely, this is an interesting one¡­A knight who can outstand a daughter of the commander, even using the transmutation. Showing this to the entire kingdom, does she want to show her order power?"


    "Perhaps, however, if the purpose of grandeur sparring is showing him to the entire kingdom, what is the purpose of the finale, Lady Octavi with Lord Kaeso?"


    "Showing him in this state gives Lady Octavi much room to breathe."


    Hearing the conversation between my parents made me wonder how easily my parents were referring to the Queen even with depraved. However, when my mother said, ''Showing him in this state gives Lady Octavi much room to breathe'', I immediately thought about the draw option. If Milo had shown his true skill above the transmutation of Lady Hillaria, it meant Lady Octavi could use that advantage to secure a nice and clean match without shattering her or her family''s reputation.


    As the match continued, Lady Hillaria slowly showed some signs of struggle as her swings began to slow. On the other side, Milo remained composed and focused, showcasing his superior skill. Milo had the upper hand now, and he saved a lot of breath and stamina by being in a defensive position. After exchanging some swings between each other, clanking sounds could be heard for each second, with Lady Hillaria, who seemed to be running out of breath. Surprisingly, she threw her weapon and knelt on her knee as a symbol for her surrender in this match. Milo graciously accepted her surrender, showing respect for Lady Hillaria''s courage and determination. He walked towards her sword, took it, and gave it back to her, acknowledging her bravery in the face of defeat. The crowd somehow was silent as the master of ceremonies announced Milo''s triumph as the winner.


    As Milo walked out from the grounds, the crowd started to whisper to each other about what had happened, especially at the nobles'' side. Milo could outstand Lady Hillaria, who was using transmutation, and her transmutation was on the edge. It led people to speculate about the extent of Milo''s own skills and how he was able to overcome Lady Hillaria''s transmutation.


    Out of the blue, a sound of handclapping could be heard while Milo was leaving the ground. The mysterious clapping caught everyone''s attention, causing them to turn and see who was clapping; it was Lady Eliana, the only person who clapped for the match and the triumph of Milo.


    "I knew it; she will appreciate him¡­" My mother said with a smile, "That halfwit needs to protect him more after this match, or she will get him¡­"


    "Hahahaha" My father started to giggle. "Now, the finale. With the crowd focussing on that young man''s skill, the finale won''t feel like the finale."


    The master of ceremonies announced the next match, the finale of the grandeur sparring. As their names were being announced by the master of ceremonies, the crowd somehow felt didn''t care about it. The names of Lady Octavi and Lord Kaeso didn''t get any attention from the crowd. Instead, all mouths and ears were fixed on Milo, who had just won his previous match with such finesse, overshadowing the finales of Lady Octavi and Lord Kaeso.


    As Lady Octavi and Lord Kaeso took their positions, the crowd seemed to lose interest in the match. When I looked around at the crowd as the crowd lost interest, surprisingly I saw the master of ceremonies and walked towards the Queen. They seemed to have a small and quick talk with each other, and the master of ceremonies walked back to his position.


    Lady Octavi and Lord Kaeso began their match, but the attention of the crowd remained on the other thing. Even though the crowd lost interest in the match, Lady Octavi still took an act as though she was giving her best performance, on the other side, Lord Kaeso seemed to give his full performance of his towards Lady Octavi. The match was like the previous match, like daughter like father, in which Lord Kaeso took the offensive and Lady Octavi defended with grace and skill. While Lady Octavi took an act, her movement of parrying and deflecting remained graceful as she danced around.


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    While Lady Octavi danced around Lord Kaeso with her sword, I thought about how long Lady Octavi would take an act with the crowd who lost interest in the match; surely she needed to finish the match quickly before the crowd started to see the real of her. Out of a sudden, my mother said with calm, "It''s over¡­"


    As Lady Octavi swiftly ended the match with a decisive strike, the crowd still didn''t take any interest in the match. With Lady Octavi''s sword pointed at the throat of Lord Kaeso, the master of ceremonies who kept an eye on the match announced the winner of the match. However, I saw the similarity in the spar between Lady Octavi and Lady Hillaria. The way Lady Octavi finished the spar, the same as her spar with Lady Hillaria, plunged towards the enemy with a quick dash. I asked my mother, "Why does mother know the match will be going to end?"


    My mother replied, "A sense, I guess¡­"


    "What''s sense?"


    "A sense or like an instinct, where Lord Kaeso would use transmutation. As I felt this sense, I believe Lady Octavi felt it too. With that, she must have ended the match quickly before he used his transmutation."


    So that was the tingling sense; I had felt it before when Lady Octavi and Lady Hillaria had a spar. If it was like that, it meant Adel could feel it too, because she was the one who warned me to end the spar at that time.


    As both sides walked out from the grounds, the master of ceremonies announced something shockingly into my spine: "As Her Majesty, the Queen has requested, there will be an additional match. This additional match emerges because of the lack of enlivening at the finale between Lady Octavi and Lord Kaeso. Her Majesty wants to ensure that the spectators and the public are thoroughly entertained and satisfied with the grandeur sparring. As in the previous match between knights Milo and Lady Hillaria, the crowd was erupting as one side displayed an exemplary skill. In consideration of that, the additional match will be between Milo and Lady Octavi, who have both shown exceptional prowess in their previous bouts."


    Hearing that, I was disbelieved as the Queen did behind my back. In a second, the crowd erupted into cheers and applause, with Lady Octavi walking to the grounds again. However, suddenly, she shouted, "HALT!" The crowd fell silent; she continued, "As a knight, I need approval from my liege because this additional match is being done behind my liege''s back." She started to walk at our side. As she was in front of us, she didn''t say anything. I couldn''t say anything because there were my parents, who acted as the true liege. The tension was palpable as Lady Octavi and my parents exchanged a knowing glance; it wasn''t just that, I spotted my mother and the Queen exchanged a glance between each other. At the end of their exchange, both my mother and the Queen showed a sneer and smirk as both sides wanted to outwit. At once, my mother called Lady Octavi to come beside her. As she was beside my mother, I saw my mother whispering something to Lady Octavi. Lady Octavi''s eyes widened in surprise, but she quickly composed herself and nodded in agreement.


    Lady Octavi walked back to the ground and told everyone that my family approved of the match. At once, the master of ceremonies announced the additional match between Lady Octavi and Milo. The crowd erupted in excitement as Milo stepped forward to the ground. Both sides were on the ground, and the master of ceremonies started the match followed by cheers of the crowd.


    Lady Octavi and Milo started circling each other, as in the previous matches, both sides played defensive positions. With that, in a few seconds, there was no other side who started the offensive first. Immediately, Milo took a few steps forward and launched a swift attack on the left side of Lady Octavi. With quick, she deflected it to her left side and thrust her sword''s hilt towards Milo''s face. He dodged it and tried to regain control of his sword after getting deflected. He had regained control and swung Lady Octavi''s sword to the bottom of her right side. With Lady Octavi''s stomach widely opened, Milo tried to change his grip and used the sword''s hilt to thrust into her vulnerable spot. However, Lady Octavi anticipated his move and took a step back, narrowly avoiding the attack.


    Both sides started circling each other again. While they were doing that, I saw their lips moving as if they had an exchange of conversation, but I couldn''t hear their conversation because of the crowd. The tension between Milo and Lady Octavi was palpable as they continued to engage in a deadly dance with the same outcome.


    Out of the blue, my father said, "Are you sure about this, dear?" to my mother.


    "What are you talking about?" my mother answered.


    "Come on! Even though you whispered it to her, I know what you tell her as I am watching her performance right now. This isn''t the usual of her."


    "Well, dear. I just don''t want to deal with the royal family, especially the Queen. With that, I want to give her a present and hope, which she has shown to us." As my mother kept talking, the match between Lady Octavi and Milo became more intense: "A hope for her people¡­..A tale for her people¡­.A new gate for her people¡­.Where finally her people have it¡­." Suddenly, the crowd erupted and massive applause could be heard, where a shocking moment had been reached in the match that I couldn''t believe it¡ªa sharp point sword pointed at the throat of Lady Octavi, "A breakthrough of the royal order¡­" Immediately, Lady Octavi showed a gesture of respect towards Milo, however, I could see Milo''s face; he seemed not to be happy after winning a match. With Lady Octavi''s reputation, surely he must be happy; however, he was standing there with just a plain expression. My mother said, "With this, the light of this theatre will be focussing on that young man¡­".