Freya was placed under house arrest; she was aware she couldn’t defy Lucia. She was just a stranger to others, but Lucia was His Majesty’s beloved wife. Further, Lucia had given birth to his children. Despite her children being girls, His Majesty really loved them, and vassals weren’t in a position to comment. As such, Lucia was basically a treasure.
If Freya angered Lucia, Lucia could easily confiscate her of her authority. As a Regent, Lucia had more authority than Freya did. The people around would also support Lucia as opposed to her.
Freya curled up into a ball on the bed. Lucia sternly and righteously told her Troy wasn’t dead yet. Her brother was still alive, but she didn’t believe it. She never believed it for a moment. How could her brother cheerfully leave, taking his gentle smile with me from her and not even leave a single piece of clothing behind?
As Freya lied there on the bed, she silently griped, “My brother disappeared. He disappeared right before me. I miss him day and night, hoping he returns to my side. Why hasn’t he come back? These women then began to bicker amongst each other and never asked for my opinion, acting as though my brother was their belonging and as if my brother had nothing to do with me. They quarrelled about where my brother went, yet nobody ever cared about me. When I gave my input, they insulted me and claimed I wasn’t worried about my brother. Those women were no different to a group of hyena, fighting for my brother, while I clearly love my brother and worry for him so much. All I could do in the end was stand to one side and blankly watch.
What right do they have to do that? What right do they have to be so overbearing? My brother isn’t just their husband; he’s also my brother!! They’ve never considered me his sister! They’ve never respected me!! Nobody in the North loves me! My brother was my only blissful home, yet I have nothing now. They don’t understand how important my brother is to me! They can’t part with him, but neither can I!!’
Why does nobody understand how I feel? Why can’t we build a statue of my brother when he’s so great? Why are people, instead, calling me crazy and wilful? If they don’t acknowledge me, I shall commemorate my brother in my own way. Is there a problem with that? Why are those women the only ones allowed to commemorate him? They can inherit all of my brother’s belongings and everybody will comfort them. How about me? My brother is gone, and I can’t even continue to live in the North. How am I going to commemorate my brother if I can’t even leave behind my mark?
A North without my brother is meaningless. A world without my brother is meaningless. So what if I ruin the North? My brother can’t see a perfect North. He can’t see his own place of hope. If they don’t think well of me, why should I have to be nice to them? Nobody has even been nice to me, so why do I have to be nice to this world and them? Only my brother loves me. My brother was the only one who was kind to me. I, therefore, will only be gentle with him. I love only my brother. If he’s no longer around, what purpose do I have left? That group of women keep blabbering about how much they love their husband, yet not a single one of them notices how much I love my brother.”
“Brother… Brother… Brother…” sobbed Freya.
Freya missed her brother whenever she has nothing to do. She missed him, his voice, smile and face. And, whenever she thought of her brother, her body would suddenly feel weird. She found herself unable to resist the urge to reach down below her dress. She didn’t know why she wanted her brother to embrace her whenever she thought of him. She looked forward to experiencing what she experienced that night again. She felt she had hanged. Her body became strange after that experience. She grew addicted to the sensation after that night.
“Why do I look forward to what happened that day happening again – where I didn’t even the energy for dinner – after what he did to me in the office? Why do I keep looking forward to it? I hate that sort of stuff, yet why was I hoping that I could experience it one more time…?” pondered Freya. She prayed, “My body and tears are crying out. My body and memory are all so empty. I miss my brother so much. I don’t believe what Lucia said. I hope she was telling the truth, nonetheless. I really hope to see my brother return.”
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Lucia gently stroked Vera’s head. Castell sat opposite Lucia. She considered Castell the epitome of humanity’s sly nature. However, he was the only one who could help her at the time. She didn’t like him, but her husband did trust him; so accordingly, she reasoned there wouldn’t be a problem.
Castell was the same as he was in the past. It was as though time had stopped for him. Even his smile hadn’t change after all those years. He softly chuckled: “Miss Lucia, it really has been a long time. Although I have already stayed in the North for some time, I have been to plenty of other places, too. However, this is the first time we are speaking. You are the same as you were in the past, but your child… Mm… is very similar to His Majesty.”
Castell felt he should refrain from speaking out of place. However, Lucia didn’t mind. She looked at Vera with a benevolent smile and gave her forehead a kiss. She softly responded, “She is my husband’s child. Her father obtained his handsome appearance from Queen Vyvyan. I remember the pain of giving birth to her as if it was yesterday, so you need not say anything else. Mr. Castell, I called you here, hoping that you could help my husband.”
“Assisting His Majesty is my duty.” Despite giving Lucia a direct response, he revealed his sly smile again. Without waiting for Lucia’s response, he went on, “Assisting ‘His Majesty’ is my duty; however, where is His Majesty now? No, I am not trying to ask about where he has physically gone. What I mean is that your husband is not my ‘His Majesty’ right now. He is now the ruler of the North, the King of the North. He is not my ‘Prince’, so I have no obligation to help him. Of course, that is not due to some displeasure or ulterior motive on my part. Princess Lucia, I am Her Majesty’s personal vassal. I am a vassal of humanity’s Rosvenor Empire. How can I participate in your politics? I cannot involve myself with your internal politics. What would I be considered, otherwise? Am I dipping my hands into the internal affairs of the empire of the North? This could be the spark for a war between nations. It is a very serious matter. Therefore, Miss Freya only had me help with menial tasks even when she asked for me to come to assist. She decided on all political affairs. It had nothing to do with me.”
He smiled helplessly, and then carried on: “I know you need a human to come and maintain the North, but you really cannot ask me to take up the post. If the North was humanity’s territory or a vassal state of the Rosvenor Empire, then I would most certainly help. But not now, though. His Majesty’s nation and Her Majesty’s empire are two nations on equal footing. If I was to control your internal affairs, I would be executed. Be it His Majesty or Her Majesty, they will execute me.”
Lucia hesitated for a moment before responding, “I am not asking you to act as the administrator for the North. I believe my husband would not want to return to see this. Unfortunately, Freya has truly gone crazy. If I were to continue allowing her to control the North, the North is bound to face trouble. Castell, I hope you can round up the things that she plundered and send them back to their rightful owners so as to put the people of Troy City and the North at ease. That will put to rest the ridiculous affair. Once Freya has returned to normal and is no longer so crazy, I still need you to stay with her. Bring her under control when she tries to enact such policies again.”
Castell smiled. He had a sip of tea. He then placed it back on the table and answered, “That is fine. With that said, you must bear one thing in mind, Princess Lucia, I cannot interfere with policies that Miss Freya lays down. Did you know that? If Miss Freya does this a second time, I still cannot stop her, because I am not a vassal of the empire of the North. I can send those things back, but I hope you sign a series of documents, and do not mention me. I can only help you with this much. I will have to return to Hilles City afterwards, though. I am already very disappointed in you, for you let Her Majesty go missing. I believe she will definitely return to Hilles City. I must return there to wait for her. I can understand Freya’s thinking. His Majesty and Her Majesty are everything to us as vassals. We belong wherever they are. I am fortunate, in that Her Majesty is always present, but I can understand Miss Freya, who has lost her home, very well. Princess Lucia, I will never be the one who can control Miss Freya; you are the one with power to control her. You must let Miss Freya know she has others who are worth protecting aside from His Majesty.”
Castell’s response rendered Lucia dumbfounded. Castell stood up, and then saluted her with a smile” “I shall go and handle the returns now. To be frank, it appears that Miss Nara has already grown slightly unhappy and is coming for her money. If I do not hurry, I would not put it pass Miss Nara to come and rob the North. Princess Lucia, you must make sure to go and set Miss Freya straight. I cannot help with that. I am very sorry. Goodbye.”
Lucia blankly watched Castell leave. Vera looked at her mom with puzzlement. She grabbed her mom’s face.
“Vera… Mommy is bad at this sort of stuff, after all, just as Mommy thought… I don’t know… how your dad views him… Mommy feels that what he said was meaningless… But your dad could understand him… What must Mommy do to turn Freya back to normal…?”
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