“Your Majesty, I think you should be more attentive of Freya.”
I turned my head to look at Tanya. I smiled helplessly and said, “Tanya, I don’t quite understand why your relationship is so poor. Freya can be considered a child who has helped me. She’s been assisting me in many ways for a long time. I trust her very much, so you two should get along.”
Tanya looked at me and replied, “No. Your Majesty, to be frank, I do not think you have cared about Freya. If you paid attention to her as I do, you would notice that there has been some problems with her as of late. I want to find her faults, so I pay particular attention to her. You have given her too much authority. I am worried that she will abuse it. However, I think that her problem has been most evident the last few days.”
I was a little confused.
We didn’t head straight to Ling Yue’s home, yet. Instead, we chose to make some prior preparations. I was just about to head to Ling Yue’s place to check out the current magic machinery.
I wasn’t too sure about what Tanya claimed, as I had virtually always been by my wives’ sides the last few days and had not bothered with Freya, while Freya seemingly continued to work as per usual. Tanya, who was with Freya, paid attention to her, though. Although she went to Freya to find evidence against her, you could say she kept an eye on Freya.’
Tanya looked at me and explained in a serious tone, “Freya has been too serious with work recently. She was very serious in the past, too, but she has been working late into the night the last few days. Further, she has set very high requirements. She didn’t hesitate to punish any who didn’t complete the work she set.”
“Isn’t that a good thing? Freya has always been a serious girl, but she told me that there was no work recently. I could’ve helped her if I knew there was so much work.”
Tanya shook her head: “That is why I am very worried about that, Your Majesty. I would believe that she did not have any ulterior motives if we were in the past. Although I have always wanted to find evidence against her, she would always seek your opinion for everything in the past. However, she has stopped seeking your approval for her work as of recent. She might have started to develop ulterior motives.”
I shook my head. I would never believe that Freya would do something for herself. There was no way Freya would think of betraying me, because I saved her. She was my sister I looked after. She wasn’t a mere vassal to me, but a younger sister. She approached me at first for the sake of reviving her household; nevertheless, at some point, Freya stopped mentioning her household’s revival. Perhaps it was because Freya truly considered herself a member of the Rosvenor household and my biological sister.
“Freya won’t have any ulterior motives. I trust her. Tanya, we met amidst danger, and you’ve helped me with plenty of things. We’ve been through life and death for so long, which is I believe that you would never harm me. The same applies for Freya. I trust the both of you.”
I scrubbed Tanya’s head. She shut her eyes a little and raised her head up as she enjoyed it. She then opened her eyes to look at me and solemnly said, “Your Majesty, you can trust her, but you must also find out why Freya is working in this manner nowadays. What is she trying to achieve by working in this manner? In my opinion, no normal person would go all out with work as she is, and yet not tell you. The North is under your control, so what is she trying to achieve by working so diligently?”
I nodded: “Uhm, I’ll go and ask her. I’m not asking Freya because I don’t trust her. I’m just asking, as I’m a bit concerned. Her health is going to deteriorate if she works at that rate. Being earnest with work is fine and all; however, it’s not worth risking your wellbeing for. I can help her, too. Freya has no need to do this.”
Tanya nodded: “Uhm, all right.”
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‘All will be well if I do this…’
‘All will be well if I do this…’
‘All will be well if I work harder…’
‘I must prove my worth. I must prove that I am the most useful person at His Majesty’s side. That girl thinks she’s all that, because she protects Onii-sama? She thinks she’s useful because she protects Onii-sama? What Onii-sama needs isn’t a bodyguard, but me. Me!’
‘I’ve served Onii-sama for so long. She’s just come to Onii-sama’s side. What right does she have to be fighting over Onii-sama with me? She has no idea how important I am to Onii-sama, yet she still tries to steal Onii-sama from me. She wants to steal my Onii-sama!!’
‘Therefore, I must prove to Onii-sama that I am the sister he needs. I am the Freya he needs. I just need to prove that. Onii-sama isn’t stupid. He will choose the sister who is useful to him. If I help him finish all his work, then he will have time to spend with his wives. Then, he will realise that I am the best younger sister, and the younger sister who can help him.’
‘I just need to do this… I just need to continue giving my best to finish all the work. I need to make Onii-sama rely on me. I need to stop Onii-sama from leaving me. The more His Majesty relies on me the better. His Majesty must rely on me. I must convince him to never leave me and stay by my side. I must make Onii-sama rely on me. I must!’
Freya lifted her head up out of the ice-cold water. She watched the water trickle off her face in the mirror. She had determination written all over her face. She had lost her family once; she lived the life of a slave in the underground of the church. Nobody acknowledged her identity despite being at His Majesty’s side. They all claimed that she was a contemptible girl who tried to curry favour with His Majesty because of his status. Not even Her Majesty thought well of her. However, His Majesty was different.
His Majesty never bothered with other’s criticisms of her. He treated her as though she was his biological sister. He always thought of her, looked after her, kept her company, and bought all sorts of things for her despite them not knowing each other previously.
‘I felt the warmth I knew in the past from His Majesty. I have given up my original goal I had in mind when I approached him. I now only wanted to be an understanding sister forever, but was I not even going to give myself this last chance? Is my final blissful feeling going to be taken from me, too?’
‘That was Tanya’s declaration of war. My stupid Onii-sama might not understand, but I do. Tanya declared war on me. She challenged me. I cannot back down, and I cannot cower. This is my meaning in life. I will not allow others to take a share of my treasure.’
‘My brother can only be my brother alone. I won’t share with anyone. I will never give my Onii-sama away! Never!!’
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