When I saw Freya, who was sleeping at the table, I let out a heavy sigh.
“Freya. Freya.” I called her twice and gave her a nudge.
Freya jerked her body in an irritated manner, and then extended her arm to push me away. I didn’t quit. I nudged her again. She narrowed her eyes and pulled her body away feeling slightly irritated. Then, she jumped to her feet as though she suddenly remembered something, which gave me a fright. She looked at me with a look of terror. She trembled as she tried to explain herself: “Onii-sama?! I… I… I was just… having a short rest… I am not slacking! I was just… having a short rest…”
I pressed my hands down on her shoulders. I then tried to calm down: “It’s fine. It’s fine, Freya. I’m not reproaching you. I actually hope you can rest for a bit. You’re already so tired, so go back to your bed to sleep.”
“No… Onii-sama… We have just received the funds from Miss Nara. I need to confirm the numbers, and then send a reply. The consensus information for the population in the North has also been sent to us. Additionally, Empress Elizabeth will be coming to the North. I, therefore, need to arrange the banquet and deploy the guards…”
I frowned: “Why didn’t you tell me about all of this. Couldn’t I have just done it with you? Even though I have to look after my two wives, I’ll work properly. Why do you have to do so much work yourself? It’d be fine if I just did it.”
“No! I cannot let you!! If you do it, what will I do?!!” Freya shouted in a high-pitched voice, giving me a fright.
I almost back off. I looked at Freya, who was agitated, and in a puzzled tone, asked, “Freya, what’s wrong? Those jobs were supposed to be my responsibility in the first place. You can help me, but you can’t do everything for me. Look at how exhausted you are. Seeing you so tired hurts my heart. Go back and sleep now. We’ll finish the work tomorrow morning.”
“No! That will not do! I must do these things… That way, you will not need to do anything tomorrow and just need to spend time with the Princesses. If I finish this work tonight, then you won’t have to do anything tomorrow. If I finish the day after’s work tomorrow, then we won’t have any work the day after, and we can go to see Miss Ling Yue… I just need to finish today’s work…”
Freya pushed me away and sat down in the chair, not allowing me to question her. She then picked up a pen by the side. I watched her sign the letter with my signature upside down. I think the letter was for Nara. I bet Nara would question the authenticity of the letter after seeing that. Nobody would believe a lord that signed a letter upside down.
“Ah… Sorry…”
Freya let out a heavy sigh. She then scrunched the letter in front of her into a ball to and threw it into the fire. She then took out a new sheet to write, only to discover that I had taken her pen.
“Onii-sama, please give me the pen.”
“No.”
Freya looked at me with frustration and sighed: “Please do not joke around. This is a letter to Miss Nara. It is very important.”
I seriously said, “A reply letter to Nara in response to the funds she supplied us is a very important letter, and yet you plan to write it in your condition? Freya, are you not a bit too overzealous? You are indeed working very diligently, but can you work in your current state?”
“I have finished writing the draft. I just need to copy it again. I just need to… copy it… again.”
Her eyes virtually couldn’t stay open. I let out a heavy sigh. I placed the pen down on the table then picked up a glass of water from the side. I took out some powder from my pocket and slipped it in.
I slipped in sleeping medication Nier sometimes took when her stomach hurt so much that she couldn’t sleep. Nier’s child was relatively lively today, causing her a lot of pain. She, consequently, had to have some of the drug to fall asleep. Coincidentally, there was some left over.
I handed Freya the cup of water. She took it and drank some in a hazy state. She picked her pen up, but then immediately started rubbing her eyes before finally sprawling out on the table. She then suddenly raised her head and wrote some squiggly letters.
Let me correct myself there. They weren’t letters, but a bunch of wiggly scribbles, similar to the scribbles I made in class when I was sleepy.
I didn’t speak again. I watched Freya act half asleep, and then drop onto her desk with a heavy thud. I then stood up and took away the pen in her hand. I scrunched the sheet of paper in front of her up and tossed it into the fire. I then carefully tidied up her draft and put it away in the drawer. Then, I picked her up.
Freya was very light. I didn’t feel as though I was carrying anything. I carried her back to her room. I sighed when I saw her tightly shut eyes.
I had no idea why Freya pushed herself so hard.
“Is she pushing herself just so that I can keep Lucia and Nier company tomorrow?” I asked myself.
Honestly, I didn’t care either way. They didn’t need me by their side all the time, either. They know that I had lots of work at the moment, so I didn’t necessarily have to stick with them.
Freya pushed herself too hard.
‘Why is she working so hard?’
She worked very hard in the past, too, but never did she push herself that far. She basically worked herself into the ground now. There was no need for her to risk her wellbeing.
I didn’t ask Freya what had to be done. I planned to ask her when she woke up. I think it was after her quarrel with Tanya last time that she started to become a little strange.
‘She’s taken everything onto her shoulders, but what for? What does she want me to do? Why did she do that?’
“Tanya.”
From behind me, Tanya responded, “What are your orders, Your Majesty?”
“Watch over Freya’s room.”
She looked at me and refused without any hesitation: “Is Mr. Gerald not guarding her already? I am your bodyguard, not Freya’s bodyguard.”
“I don’t think Gerald can resist Freya. Gerald will let her go if she acts cute or comes up with an excuse. Freya must get a good rest now. You’re the only one who will ignore her regardless of what she says, so you’re the most suitable person for the job.”
I smiled as I placed Freya onto the bed. I then crouched down to remove the sword at Tanya’s waist. With a smile, I said, “Don’t use violence, Tanya. You’re supposed to watch her. You just need to stop her from leaving the room.”
“If she insists on leaving, can I knock her out?”
“Of course not!”
‘It’s obvious you’re looking for a reason to hit Freya! You’ll knock her out even if she doesn’t try to run! Tanya, Freya, can you two really not get along?!’
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