This little girl maybe around nine or ten, wore a beautiful pink dress with a ribbon on her neck. She has long curly blond hair. She is quite elegant and graceful even at a young age.
“Good day, Your Grace, I am Astrea Clifford, Count Clifford’s daughter. Is there anything I can do to be of service to you today?”
We, except for Finnian, all stared at her but her attention is only focused on Finnian. Maybe she did not notice who we are since we are wearing disguises, even the twins and Nix changed their hair color.
“Flizeria, what do you want to eat?” Finnian calmly asked me, ignoring the girl who just greeted him.
The children, especially the older ones, waited for the girl’s reaction to Finnian’s lack of response to her. We even heard whispers from their maids at the corners of the room.
“Was he not raised with proper manners?”
“Well, I heard he was not loved by the duke.”
“Maybe he did not have any etiquette classes.”
“Or maybe he was not given any education, for that matter.”
These maids really do know how to gossip, especially when there are no adults here, though Niveus is with us. They pay her no mind though.
“Your grace?” Astrea called to him again, her face all red.
“Oh, we are so sorry, Miss.” Niveus tried to reach out her hand to the girl.
“Who gave you permission to try and touch me?!”
Astrea slapped Niveus's hands away.
“And why are you sitting there, aren’t you supposed to be with the other maids on the corner?”
“Hey! You are rude!” Ashwin stood up and started to walk towards her but Ashnor stopped him.
“And who are you? Why are you even with the young duke? I bet you are just the sons and daughters of one of his servants. Why is he even treating you all nicely?”
Astrea looked at Finnian again, but still, Finnian is only focused on reading the menu and showing the pictures of the food to me.
Astrea could not call Finnian out since he’s a son of a Duke while she’s only a daughter of a Count. She kept on looking at Finnian and then at the people staring at our table. Her face became even redder, and her hands are clenched in a fist.
Nix stood up and calmly touched Niveus's hand which Astrea slapped earlier. He looked at it and sighed, “I can’t believe I was once like this. This is so embarrassing.” Nix shook his head as he looked at Astrea up and down.
“I believe you are already ten, right Astrea?”
“Don’t use my name so casually, you filthy commoner.”
“You lack manners. You are not fit to be called a lady, you are not even graceful. The way you curtsied earlier was wrong. Even my maids can curtsy better than you.”
So, even though she looked so elegant earlier, it was wrong?
“Y-your maids? What do you mean your maids.”
Ashnor also stood up and sighed, “Let’s go, this is a waste of time.”
With that, Finnian also stood up and started to carry me but Astrea stood in front of us preventing us from walking outside.
“Your grace, shouldn’t a maid be the one carrying that-“ She looked at me with disgust.
Why does almost everyone look at me like that? I’ve seen myself in the mirror, and I know I am not that ugly.
The atmosphere inside the room became heavier compared to earlier. Finnian finally looked at her but his expression became dark.
How can this five-year-old boy make that kind of expression?
I looked at the twins and Nix, they too have the same expression, but Finnian’s expression was scarier than the rest.
Astrea stepped backward, shaking. She even stumbled and fell down as Finnian stared at her menacingly.
No one inside the room moved, or more like everyone is holding their breaths, afraid to make a sound.
Are children capable of making this kind of atmosphere? Or, as always, is it because they are of imperial blood?
Finnian carried me in between his arms as he walked passed Astrea. Astrea could not even look at us anymore, she kept on shaking and staring at the floor.
Poor girl, maybe she will be traumatized for life after this. I noticed that the feeling the boys gave, although it’s saner, is the same feeling I felt from the boy from last night. And the feeling I felt from the boy is the same feeling I felt from the people I spent time with within the organization in my previous life. All of the test subjects radiate the same atmosphere especially during training and during a mission. Is there some connection between this life and my previous one?
We left the parlor quietly and as we walked outside. The atmosphere became lighter as we walked beside the road, heading to nowhere in particular. Then, we saw a carriage with a dragon emblem on it, but it was quite different from the emblem the imperial family used. Although there’s a dragon, it has a snowy mountain range as its background.
“It’s the North’s emblem.” Nix calmly came forward as the knights open the carriage door.
“Why are you here?” Niveus asked one of the knights.
“We were tasked to pick you up. The duchess wants to hold a dinner for the children together with the duke.”
“Is Father here already?” Nix asked one of them.
“He will be arriving very soon, Your Grace.”
Niveus looked at us, waiting for our own decision.
Nix looked at us with a shy look on his face.
“It’s okay... if you don’t want to. I’ll just tell..”
“We will go,” Ashnor spoke up.
“Right, yes. I understand that you won’t. After all, we just became close-“
He stopped mid-sentence and looked at us.
“You.. will?” Nix’s eyes became wide as a smile crept on his face.
“We are going?” Ashwin asked Ashnor.
“Yes.”
“Okay! I can’t wait to see what their mansion looks like. Do you have a playground Nix?” He asked Nix excitedly.
“We have one,” Nix answered shyly as he scratched the back of his head.
“But is Young Lord Orientem okay with it?” Nix looked at Finnian and me.
Finnian looked at me as if waiting for my own response so I just smiled at him.
So he just nodded at Nix without saying anything.
“Okay, let’s go!” Niveus happily led us inside the carriage.
*****
As night fell, Astrea Clifford with an angry look on her face, stared at nothing as she remained seated on a couch in her room.
“Is the young lady alright?” One of the maids whispered.
“It seems she is still in distress after what happened earlier in the parlor.”
One of the maids approached her.
“My lady, dinner is ready.”
Astrea looked at the maid with anger in her eyes.
“Is Father home already?”
“I’m sorry my lady, the count has more pressing matters to attend to.”
“Did he not know about what happened earlier?”
“He was informed.”
“And?”
The maid remained quiet since her father’s response was simply nothing.
“He does not care, does he?”
“It’s not like that my lady, he is working very hard for you and for your little brother.”
The maid tried to console Astrea but nothing seems to work.
“Those children humiliated ME! And he said nothing about it. I am fully aware that my father can do something about it, but he just doesn’t care about me!”
Astrea’s voice went up as she stood up and grabbed the nearest object and threw it away.
“Why is he like that?! All he cares about is his title! All he cares about is Astray! Him being an heir!” Tears started to stream down her face as she continued screaming.
“I even put up my own business just to have his attention, but still nothing!”
“If it was Astray, he would have done something about it. But because it’s only his daughter he turned around as if... I am nothing!”
Then someone knocked on the door. A man although, in casual attire, looks like someone with authority. He smiled at the maids and nodded, telling them to leave the two of them alone.
When the two of them were left alone he approached Astrea with fake concern.
“What seems to be the problem, my lady?”
“What are you doing here? Father is not here yet.”
“I know. I am not here for your father. I am here for you.”
He sat next to Astrea as he stroked her hair.
“I have heard what happened earlier. I can do something about it. Just say the word and I’ll have someone do it for you.”
Astrea looked at him, her tears stopped flowing.
“What do you mean?”
“What do you want me to do to those who mocked you?” The man smiled evilly.