I Want My Way

"Campy!"

The person who was a year older than Rad had been near the door and hurried over upon hearing Rad's call.

"Tell Bree, my father and her brother will come." Rad had forgotten to convey the message to Aima, as he had been too busy in the past few days.

"Shouldn't you be the one to tell the Duchess yourself?" Campy suggested it with a bow.

"Since when are you bold enough to give suggestions to me about this?!" Rad growled.

Campy remained smiling. He was too accustomed to Rad's anger and showed no sign of fear.

"I will do it, but I still believe it would be better if you told the Duchess yourself, Your Grace."

"Oh, come on!" Rad sighed in displeasure.

"Do I have to talk to her?" Rad wanted to limit his interactions with Bree. Rad disliked the feeling of being unable to ignore Bree's presence. He wanted to stay as far away from Bree as possible. She complicates things.

"Of course, you need to talk to the Duchess. Surely, you remember the purpose of this marriage. You cannot achieve that goal by avoiding Duchess."

"I know, but I don't want to get close to her!" Rad complained. He would always regret the fever incident. He had been too impulsive and didn't want to repeat it. The likelihood of a recurrence would increase if Rad got closer to Bree.

"Then, the goal will be impossible to achieve because Duchess is not an easy woman. She won't agree to sleep with you without a sincere effort on your part to woo her." Campy continued his suggestion.

Rad took a deep breath, looking increasingly frustrated. "Why can't she just be easy like others? Usually, women come closer on their own without me making an effort."

"You just need to approach her more gently."

"Hmph! I'm not sure being gentle with a wild cat will make it calmer. She's ready to scratch and bite every time I approach her," Rad complained.

Campy smiled. "If you want to succeed, then you have to make a concerted effort to win her over. This is your duty as a Valois descendant."

"I actually don't want this plan to succeed."

Campy turned pale. "Don't say things like that, Your Grace. Your life is at stake in this matter."

Rad tapped his fingers on the table. Rad resented being dictated to. And this plan felt like coercion. Rad hated this obligation.

"It's really troublesome!" Rad exclaimed.

"Completing this necessary task is crucial for the sake of your future." Campy bowed deeply. He acknowledged that his suggestion was bold, but it was crucially tied to Rad's life. Rad couldn't just ignore it.

"You talk a lot today!"

Rad grumbled, then returned to focusing on the documents on the table. However, his mind wasn't there. He was contemplating how to approach Bree after their prolonged cold war.

"Oh, my God!" Rad looked up when he heard Campy's surprised exclamation.

Campy fixed his eyes on something outside the window, towards the field where Bree practiced.

"Why?" Rad cast a glance over there. Bree was late again today; he hadn't seen her yet.

"Your Grace..."

Rad shifted to get a clearer view of the field because he hadn't spotted Bree yet. His eyes widened when he saw what had prompted Campy's exclamation.

"What is she thinking?"

BRAK!

Rad slammed the table, then grabbed a hooded cloak from the chair and leaped out of the window. To avoid turning around to reach the adjacent field.

***

Bree walked faster, her conversation with the guests making her late.

But luckily, Edmond was the one teaching today, not Rad. Edmond never scolded Bree for being late. Edmond was too kind; he never reprimanded Bree for being late.

From a distance, Bree saw Edmond standing, preparing the straw opponent for today's training. Bree ran towards him, greeting Edmond.

"Sorry, I'm a bit late because earlier..."

"Oh, my God!" Edmond exclaimed in shock upon seeing Bree and immediately bowed.

"Duchess, I apologize." His apology was because he saw Bree wearing trousers.

If earlier, the female guests just looked at her in surprise, now Edmond wouldn't even look at Bree. In Edmond's imagination, Bree was wearing pants, just like Bree was only in her underwear. This, of course, panicked Edmond.

"Why are you like this?" Bree understood why Edmond acted like that but was still annoyed by Edmond's reaction. Edmond's reaction annoyed Bree due to its exaggeration.

"But you... it... you can't..." Edmond stuttered, stepping back from Bree.

"What can't I do? Come on, Ed! I'm not naked, and you can't even see my legs. These pants are loose, Ed. You don't need to be like this!" Bree moved in front of Edmond, forcing him to look at her.

But Edmond turned away again, refusing to look at Bree. "Don't be like this, Duchess; I'll get into trouble later!"

"It's going to be a problem!" Someone shouted heavily.

Bree jolted and turned around, squinting as she saw Rad approaching with a hood covering his head.

"What are you actually doing?!" Rad hissed with a stern face, stopping in front of Bree.

"I apologize!" Edmond, without thinking twice, hurriedly excused himself and ran away from the field. He didn't want to get involved in their case.

"Wait, Ed! We haven't practiced yet!" Bree tried to reach for Edmond's back to prevent him from leaving.

However, Rad quickly brushed away Bree's hand, allowing Edmond to escape unharmed.

"I need to practice!" Bree was angry and glared at Rad.

"Do you still think about practicing? Can't you see your appearance? What's wrong with you?" Rad stared at Bree from head to toe.

"What's wrong, exactly? Did I do something wrong?" Bree challenged boldly.

"Wearing clothes like this, you say you did nothing wrong?!" Rad scolded her in frustration.

"I wear clothes according to what I want!" Bree spread her arms beside her, patting her body.

"Stop touching your body! I don't care if it's loose or not; it's inappropriate! Why exactly are you wearing clothes like this?!" Rad shouted, growing even more annoyed at Bree's protest. Bree's movement of patting her body made her scent spread through the air again. That scent easily affected Rad's body, causing annoyance for him.

"And why can't I wear clothes like this? You can wear them!" Bree pointed to the trousers Rad was currently wearing.

"Do I look vulgar and inappropriate when I wear them?" Bree added.

"It's about culture and etiquette!" Rad scolded.

"I consider that culture nonsense! Why should I be different? The notion of impropriety is actually foolish! If you men can wear trousers without being called naked, then I can too." Bree fiercely defended her opinion.

"Do you want to prove something?" Rad tried to understand Bree's purpose.

"I don't want to prove anything! I wear these clothes because they're more practical. Have you ever tried riding a horse or practicing swordsmanship in a dress? If you can endure doing that, I'll willingly bow to you!" Bree challenged.