“Onii-sama!!”
“Sorry, sorry, it was indeed my mistake. It was my mistake. Yesterday, Mommy Vyvyan and I went back to get changed and took too long. That’s why we were late… Sorry, sorry. I’m to blame.”
Freya stood in front of me. She was absolutely fuming. She angrily exclaimed, “Yesterday was the first banquet in the Imperial Palace, yet you, the master, was almost two hours late! Onii-sama, what exactly were you doing?! What could you possibly have done with Her Highness for two hours?! What, were you having a secret tryst?!”
I knew that Freya was just using that as a figure of speech, but she still nearly scared me to my knees. Mommy Vyvyan didn’t appear odd whatsoever yesterday. She showed off her grace and majestic aura as the Elven Queen and kept our relationship strictly within the boundaries of mother and son. She acted as though nothing happened prior.
The only thing Mommy Vyvyan was unhappy about was that I couldn’t hold myself back and ended up ripping her evening dress. That was the reason we wasted two hours. After our little tryst, we rushed back to the room to change and then rushed to the venue. Unfortunately, we were still two hours late. Freya nearly exploded when she saw me.
Freya couldn’t go off at me at the venue, since everybody was present, so she had to patiently finish the banquet. After the banquet ended, however, I quickly found an opportunity to slip away, giving Freya no chance to scold me. But nevertheless, I was aware that I had to bear the brunt of it eventually. And it eventually came.
When I woke up, Freya blocked me off at my door and gave me an earful: “Onii-sama, you cannot behave that way!! You are the ruler of the North. You cannot continue being so slack this way now that the Princesses have come! You still must focus primarily on the North. If you start to be lazy, how do you expect the North to develop? Do not tell me you plan to have me work alone, while you stay in the harem flirting around! If that is your plan, then I think Troy City suits you better! You are now the lord of an entire region, not the master of a city! You are now responsible for substantially more things!”
I looked at Freya with a helpless smile as I let her continue to scold me.
“My word, aren’t you senseless.”
A voice came from behind before I said anything. I thought to myself that this was bad. I turned my head around to see Tanya standing behind me, wearing her hat and looking at Freya with nothing but hatred. While maintaining an expressionless look, she said, “You don’t seem to understand where you stand. You’re just His Majesty’s vassal. What right do you have to scold His Majesty? What right do you have to criticise him? If His Majesty needed to personally do everything, what would be the point of having you? But I guess there is no point in keeping you. You’re useless next to His Majesty.”
“What nonsense are you babbling about? The entire North is my masterpiece. I was the one who laid the foundations for Onii-sama’s North. Onii-sama entrusted me with the North without any qualms, which proves that he trusts me. What about you, though? You’re just a guard at Onii-sama’s side, while I am his sister. As his sister, I have the right to criticise his errors, whereas you have no right to criticise Onii-sama or me!”
“What tripe is that? Where were you when His Majesty led the expedition in the North? You laid the foundations for the North? Please. The North was captured with His Majesty’s and my blood and efforts. I went through life and death with His Majesty. I was the one who beheaded that Panther, Marvel. Weren’t you hiding at the rear, in Troy City, when I was fighting in the North with His Majesty? I was the one who protected His Majesty when he was in danger. As for you, what good are you?”
Tanya looked at Freya who was practically about to explode and mercilessly continued taunting her: “It sure is easy being a sister, huh? You just need to let His Majesty protect you and wilfully asked to be spoilt. I’m the one who protects His Majesty. You should just obediently run along to your office or room to quiver.”
“You!! You dissatisfied with something?! You’re just a guard, what right do you have to have a go at me?!”
“His Majesty also said that if I want, he can be my brother, too. In other words, we’re on equal footing. What right do you have to be criticising me? By the way, don’t you have work to do? What are you still doing here blabbering rubbish for? You’ve blocked His Majesty for too long. Hurry and move aside if you know what’s good for you!”
Tanya stood in front of Freya.
The two of them were still kids. They were still kids in terms of age and size despite having gone through so much. The two girls arguing with each other in front of me only came up to my chest in terms of height. I couldn’t help but want to look at them with the doting gaze of a parent. I couldn’t do that, though.
I highly doubt the two would be willing to acknowledge they were kids. It was the same as how animals tried to intimidate their prey by creating a larger image of themself. That was why the two definitely want to make themselves appear larger than the other.
I looked at the two of them and smiled helplessly: “Hey, can’t you two get along well? I admit that it was my mistake yesterday. Mm… I was late yesterday, so I’ll work overtime today to make up for it. Freya, stay and work with me.”
Tanya was surprised, while Freya was suspicious. Freya asked, “Onii-sama, I have a question. Why do I have to work overtime when it was clearly you who made a mistake? Also, do you not need to go back and see the Princesses? Is it truly a good idea for you to work overtime today?”
“Uhm, it’s fine. Mommy Vyvyan can help me look after Lucia and Nier now. I’m very reassured with her by my side, so I’ll do some more work today to make up for my tardiness yesterday. Instead of saying that I’m making you stay behind for overtime work, I would say that I want you to keep me company.”
Tanya coldly looked at Freya who was clearly excited. She coldly said, “What are you excited about? You won’t be alone with His Majesty for overtime. I’ll be present, as well.”
“Can you stop acting like a dog and following Onii-sama? Since you’re a dog tasked with protecting him, behave like one. What does what we do have to do with you? Shouldn’t you just obediently stay at the door, you stray dog?!”
Tanya’s gaze suddenly turned ice cold. She had a short sword up against Freya’s neck in what appeared to be an instant. Tone cold, she stated, “I can’t kill you because of His Majesty, but don’t push it. You’re just trying to get attention and flaunting yourself in His Majesty’s name. I’ll have a legitimate reason to kill you sooner or later.”
Freya pressed her hand onto the short sword and challenged her: “I’d like to see you try. We’ll see who kills who first.”
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