Lady Freya

NATHAN

"Freddie, who might this be?"

"Brother, haven't I already requested you not to call me that name in public?"

"It's just a shorthand of your name. Does it offend you so?"

"Yes, it does. It would so many nobles to disrespect the royal family if I am also addressed like that by others."

"Always so stiff, this little brother of mine. Fine, I will not address you like that again…in public. But who is this lovely little lady?"

"This is Winifred. I am in the process of adopting her as my offspring."

"So, she's an orphan?"

"Yes."

"Why does she wear a veil?"

"She was concentrated by the church. She is also blind so I'll urge you to be careful around her, brother."

"Are you trying to say I'm boorish?"

"Yes."

There was a faint resemblance to be seen between the two brothers. Faint, as in, it was only their hair. They both had white hair like the king, their father. Aside from that, it was obvious they had nothing more in common.

This brother of his obviously didn't possess his intelligence. The slyness seemed to be hereditary, however. The brilliance of light magic I saw in Prince Ferdinand was missing in everyone else, even in the king.

"Hello, Winifred. You must be an exceptional little lady, catching the eyes of my brother. You're wearing such a beautiful dress. It's a pity you cannot see it."

Those words were rude, obviously but everyone that knew Winifred were curious about her reply.

"I think it's obvious that I cannot see my dress but I know how to appreciate beauty, even without sight. I think people possess Beaty through their words as well and I can tell your highness is slightly attractive."

"Oh, thank you for the compliment."

Prince Ferdinand turned away to hide his laugh, disguised as a cough. She really didn't disappoint with her words and most importantly, didn't insult him directly. Those psychological tricks of hers might be worth learning after all.

"There are many other children of nobles here. If you move around, you can socialize with them. Socialization in high society is very important for your future, especially as a royal child. Well, I'll be taking my leave now. Take care, Winifred."

I waited for him to leave before finally telling Winifred he had gone.

"Your highness, I'm glad for you."

"Why?"

"I think the kingdom still has a chance of survival with you as a heir. If someone like that were one, I would be considering my fast exit from this kingdom."

"Scathing words, as always. I don't believe that is a compliment for me, is it?"

"What do you think?"

Eventually, the prince had to leave to socialize and we were left to the side. I found a dark corner for us to hide in and led the children there. I found a seat for Winifred and brought them food. Sending Darryl there would make him look like a servant, seeing as he was already being ignored and treated like one by the vast majority.

"In situations like these, I'm glad to be blind. I can't imagine how annoying it is to meet so many people. Royal child, my arse."

"Saying such words is out of place for a young child, Winifred. At least try to act like you belong."

Darryl chuckled, feeding her a piece of cake. She ate it grudgingly and I could tell she was glaring at me through her veil.

All of a sudden, we hear a stomach gurgle. It couldn't be any one of us since we were eating and there wasn't anyone close to us. Or, so we thought.

"Lady, are you hungry?"

Darryl turned back to ask a young lady I didn't even notice was standing there until now. She had no magic aura or presence, like a shadow. Her face was pale and we heard her stomach gurgle again, so we knew it was her.

"Do you want cake?" Darryl offered.

"Don't feed my meal to strangers."

"Be nice, Winifred. It's a noble lady. She must be starving if she's hiding here," I say, staring at her. Something about her interested me and I was willing to find out what.

"I'm so sorry for interrupting you. I didn't know my stomach would make such a loud noise. I'll find another place to stay."

"No, please, come sit with us. It's obvious you were here first."

"So? We sat here before she did. I don't care if she was here first," Winifred said again.

"Winifred, are you annoyed because she's wearing a blue gown? We didn't set this up, if you must know."

"…whatever," she huffed. I chuckled and turned back to the noble lady. She looked conflicted but she came to sit beside Darryl nonetheless.

"Here, have some," Darryl offered her cake again. She took it but not without hesitation.

"Do you all hate parties too?"

"Well, this is our first time at one and we're not sure we like it so much," Darryl replied.

"I understand what you mean. I usually hide at parties like these if I have no other choice but to come. I don't have any friends and no one would really talk to me."

"Why? You seem charming."

"Thank you, Lord…"

"You may just call me Sebastian. "

"Lord Sebastian. To these people, I am nothing more than pebble by the side of the road. I have no magic, you see so I am useless in this society, garbage, if you will."

"The only person who has the right to call themselves garbage is the one who invented that foolish system you speak of," Winifred suddenly said, shocking us. I didn't know she was capable of saying nice things to strangers.

"Yes, I suppose you're right. By the way, I have been rude and have not introduced myself. My name is Freya Grayson. It's a pleasure to meet you all."

Grayson. That name was familiar. Ah, I got it. She's…

"The first daughter of Grand Duke Grayson? You don't have a baptismal name?" Winifred asked, turning to look at her.

She shook her head. Well, if she had no magic, it made sense that she didn't have a baptismal name as well. If she failed her light consecration, then she would not be accepted as a child of Oriel.

"You know who I am, young one?"

"To an extent."

"Ah, I suppose so. I've heard plenty rumors about me circulating the capital. I won't say most of them are untrue though. Those were rather…dark days. I have put them behind me now though. But it's hard to escape my father's house."

"If you've introduced yourself, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Winifred. I was adopted by Prince Ferdinand and I will become the Saintess in the future. I also happen to be looking for a maid."

"Winifred! You can't just say that!"

"Oh, this is Darryl. He's mine. You can't have him but you can look at him."

"Winifred! Apologize to the lady!"

"Why should I? I offered her a way out. Is that something I should apologize for?"

"You're being rude to a noble!"

"Nobles can be rude to nobles, you know? You're a noble too so, keep your chin up! If you don't, I'll reinvent my threats."

"Fine, fine! I am so sorry for her behavior, Lady Freya. She can be very…willful."

"No, I'm not offended. I'm impressed. This young lady is more intelligent than I will ever be. Let's hear your proposal."

Duke Grayson, the most powerful noble in the kingdom, with power probably equal to the king, was having his daughter scouted by a narcissistic child. I never thought I would see the day.

"His highness, Prince Ferdinard, has somehow come up with the brilliant idea that I need a friend. We are not going to question his thought process..."

No one was questioning his thought process before she mentioned it.

"...but I don't want him bringing some idiot that would keep asking me stupid questions all day. So, I need someone as a friend and well, a caretaker. You're the daughter of a duke so you must know manners. Oh, I know! You could be a governess! I know it's insulting to make the daughter of a duke a maid, so, a governess would do. Besides, I don't want the labor of having to train you from the ground up to take care of me."

"That's a wonderful idea. I'll talk to my mother. She's been asking me to get out of the house anyway."

I think it was time for me to accept that it was Winifred's world and we were all living in it. I have never seen such smooth recruitment in my life. How can someone so mean bring someone so powerful to her side?

Wait.

"What's going on here?"

"Greetings, your highness," She stood and curtseyed before him. Her manners were actually impeccable.

"Lady Freya? I didn't know you were here. Why are you next to Winifred? What did she say to you?"

See, even the princeling is suspicious.

"I think it's insulting that you think I would say something out of place to the Lady. I only gave her a suggestion and she said she would consider it."

"Winifred, Lady Freya is the first daughter of the most powerful Duke in the kingdom. What could you possibly have suggested to her?"

"That she become my governess. Thankfully, she has already agreed."

"You did WHAT?!"