“If that’s what you want, Your Highness.” Sera gave in since the princess insisted. There would be no problem because she already finished her basic education and she was given a week-long break before her new teacher would arrive.
“Thank you, Lady Sera!” Eli smiled and hugged her. “I’ll be preparing a tea for you tomorrow so please look forward to it.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.” Though she didn’t know why the princess had shown her favor, she was happy.
The princess went on to talk with her friends seated at the same table and Sera remained silent since she didn’t know any of them. There were others who gave her curious gazes but she chose to ignore them to avoid any bothersome relations or annoying complications.
“There you are, Eli.”
Sera heard a boy’s voice from behind her. Judging by the timbre of the voice, the guy would be at least younger than Xander
After Sera left the table, the whole table was silent. Even the princess who was bubbly just a while ago didn’t speak a word after her brother left. The other noble ladies already knew that the princess was just trying to be more friendly because of the young lady of Fiore. Now that she was no longer around, she was back to giving them the silent treatment. “Your Highness, are you planning for another tea party tomorrow?” Tiana, the daughter of Marquess Gale, asked. “No.” One word. She received a one-word reply right after she had been talking right in front of Lady Sera. Was there something about the Fiore lady that even the princess wanted her attention? She knew that the lady’s existence was amazing but it wasn’t even her own achievement. Why would they even like her that much? After a while, the princess once again stood up to look for Sera and they were once again left on their own. Why were they even hanging around the princess when they
“Do you want to go?” Alejandro asked his daughter after handing her the letter of invitation coming from the imperial palace. He expected his daughter to be uncomfortable so he wanted to make sure that she would go there on her own accord. “If you don’t want to, I could just tell His Majesty to ask the princess to invite you on a later date.”Sera took a deep breath and smiled. “I’m going, Papa. It’s not like I would die if I go to the palace, right?”Alejandro smiled when he saw his daughter’s determined face. The way her eyes shined in determination reminded him of his younger self. He was sure that Sera would face a lot of difficulties especially since she wasn’t his heir. But still, he wanted to make her feel secure. He wanted her to know that no matter what she would be going through, her family would be there for her.“Then I’ll go there with you.” Alejandro messed his daug
“Can you just not leave yet?” Eli held on to Sera, trying to stop her from going home. Even though the duke was already there and the duke said that he would allow Sera to be her playmate, she still didn’t want her to go that day. “Why is the day so short?”Sera smiled at the princess. “Then you can just invite me again next time. I’ll come earlier so I can spend more time with Your Highness.”“Really?” Eli’s eyes sparkled when she heard Sera’s proposition. “Can I invite you again tomorrow?”“I’m afraid you can’t do that, Your Highness,” the princess’ attendant butted in. “You have a scheduled lesson tomorrow for the whole day.”“Can’t I study with her?” Eli tried to reason with her attendant but the attendant shook her head.“You still need to talk with His Majesty about it. It would take a while to
Sera opened her eyes in the middle of darkness. She could feel her cold sweat flowing from her forehead and her heart felt heavy when she realized that she couldn’t see anything.Where was she? She tried to remember what happened a while ago and she trembled when she realized her situation. She felt so secure that she asked her father to fight alongside the knights. However, as soon as her father left her side, a man suddenly appeared from the shadows and pulled her in. After that, she lost consciousness and woke up in her current state.“Papa…” she mumbled as she tried to stop the trembling. “It’s okay, Sera. Papa will rescue you.”She tried to console herself and calm her nerves. She knew that her family loved her and that they would come looking for her.Her father was probably mobilizing his knights to look for her while her brothers were also doing their best to find her.“You will be saved, Ser
“Now tell me, where did you guys hide my sister?” Xander’s icy voice echoed in the room. He lent his hand to Andrei and the latter immediately understood what he wanted and placed the knife on his hand.“I didn’t know.”Xander’s brows furrowed as he raised his hand that was holding the knife so the man immediately shouted.“But I can tell you a little information about their hideouts!” The man shut his eye tightly. Afraid that the knife would cut his skin again. “She could be in one of those.”“Talk.” Xander sounded impatient as he sat in front of him and crossed his legs. “I wouldn’t want to waste my time on you but it would make our search for Sera faster, I’d gladly give you some of my attention.” He gently slid the knife’s blade on his face so the man trembled in fear. “Now talk and stop wasting any more of my time, okay?”&ld
“What did you say?” Alaric dropped the documents in his hand when he heard what his secretary said. “Did you just say that the young lady of Fiore was kidnapped?”Alaric’s expression turned serious. He knew it. As soon as Sera’s existence was brought up, her life would be threatened. Was it only because she was the duke’s sole daughter or was it because his father also showed his interest in her?He clenched his fists. How could he sit still after knowing all that? He felt as if he was also at fault for the threats in her life so he had to do something. He had to make sure that nothing like that would happen ever again.“What did you say?” Eli, who just barged in the room, asked him with guilt all over her face. “Did she get kidnapped after she spent time with me?”She looked like she was about to cry so Ric walked towards her and pulled her to a hug.“It wasn’t because o
“How did you get strong in a span of a week?” Sera asked Rupert after she lost in their sparring duel. It had been a week since the kidnapping incident and she was required to recover before she was allowed to enter the training grounds again.“It’s because I had to protect you, my lady.” Rupert clenched his fists as he remembered how helpless he was back then. “I don’t want to be a burden to the lady I am serving.”Sera somehow felt guilty, but she chose not to console him. If that failure would be the reason for him to grow strong, then it would be better for him to remember that failure until he got over it.“Then let’s get stronger together, Rupert. I won’t let myself be outdone by you!” Sera laughed as she picked up her wooden sword. “Let’s have another spar!”“That’s enough, Sera.” Xander butted in as he took the wooden sword on Sera’s h
“There was a report of an underground auction that sold slaves in the market,” Xander said nonchalantly as he browsed the documents on his table.“My lord, that is not something that you should be concerned about.” Simon sighed. He had been pestering the Baron about his response to his father’s orders but it seemed like he would keep on dismissing the topic. “Won’t you even give me a reply regarding the questions about your marriage?”“Marriage?” Xander let out an exasperated sigh. “Why would I get married when I am not even betrothed to anyone?”Now it was Simon’s turn to sigh. “How would you be betrothed if you don’t even send a marriage proposal to anyone?”Truthfully, Simon wanted to ask himself when did his master start to be stubborn. Ever since he was young, he was always a sharp boy who always thought of the duchy’s future. That was why he remaine
“Sera, it’s time to go home,” the duchess called for her daughter who stood in front of the big tree in the middle of the ranch.“I’ll be leaving now, Tyrone. Wish me luck and I hope that you’re not jealous up there.” Sera giggled as she stood up and waved the tree goodbye. She walked towards the carriage and smiled when her mother hugged her tight.“That would be the last time that you’ll get to visit him, right?” Stephanie asked her daughter. She thought that she would be crying like she usually did, but she faced her with a warm and gentle smile.“I could still visit him from time to time, but I don’t think it would be as often as I did before.” Sera let out a sigh.“You’re lucky that your husband is not a jealous man.” Stephanie laughed as she let her daughter lean her head on her.“I’m not yet married to him.” Sera blushed so she h
The three of them ran towards the stable and mounted three horses. Since the assassins seemed to be endless, they needed a safe place to go. Tyrone was sure that the marquis wouldn’t hide his attacks anymore because he was caught and he was threatened not just by his own son but also by the Fiores.Xander was in the front while Tyrone chose to be on the tail so that they could both protect Sera. They spent almost half an hour riding their horses back to the duke’s estate but the assassins kept on chasing them.Just when they were just half a kilometer away from the estate, an assassin shot Xander with an arrow.“Brother!” Sera went down her horse to help her brother who fell from his horse. She looked at the bleeding wound and took a deep breath.“Don’t you dare heal me, Sera!” Xander said in a serious tone. He remembered that magicians only transfer the poison to their bodies every time they heal poisoned victims
“Sera…” Tyrone called her with a pleading tone. He tried to look to her eyes but she wasn’t looking his way. Though he was hidden, he saw her tremble a little.Though she heard him, Sera didn’t want to listen. Was it all a ploy to lure her out? She shouldn’t have followed her useless emotions!“Don’t you dare call her name with that filthy mouth of yours!” He really wanted to cut his neck at that moment but he restrained himself. He didn’t want to break Sera’s heart out of his anger.“Sera… Please, listen to me.” He tried to take a step towards her but Sera took a step back as if she already closed her mind about him. She just said that she would trust him!But how could he trust her words? She knew that Sera went through a lot. She had a terrible trust issue and he was lucky that she trusted him. He should’ve told her earlier. He should’ve told her before Xa
After that, Alaric went back to the palace while the duke told his family – except for Sera – about what he heard. The three were enraged and the duchess had to stop them from killing Tyrone who was waiting for the duke to open the gates for him.How could he be so brazen to request an audience with their father? They entrusted their precious sister to him because they believed that Sera chose the right man but he was the one who almost brought her to her deathbed!Xander sat beside Sera and tucked a few strands of her hair to her ear. “Wake up now, will you?”He bit his lips. Though the priest said that she was out of critical condition, she still needed to be monitored. They were also instructed not to wake her up because her body needed to recover from the stress and the poison.“If not for Mother, I would have killed that bastard out there,” Andric said in gritted teeth. Did they have fun trying to lure Sera out of
“I finally found the evidence that the prisoner talked about, Your Imperial Highness.” Andrew gave his master the documents that he asked to take as evidence.Alaric smirked. “Did you say that this is from the House of Gale?”“Yes, Your Imperial Highness.”Alaric put down the documents and clenched his fist. How dare them? How could they send their son to seduce her and attempt to take her life from the shadows?“The lady has to know about this.” Alaric stood up and prepared himself to visit the Fiore Duchy.On the other hand, Tyrone stormed into his father’s office with clenched fists and gritted teeth.“My Lord, you shouldn’t do this!” The butler tried to stop him but he just pushed the old man away.“What is this commotion about, brother?” Tiana asked when she saw the fuming Tyrone being held back by his father’s knights.
Sera woke up the next day with a bright smile on her face. She was in a good mood because she would be having a date with Tyrone that day.“You seemed inspired today, My Lady.” Mary teased her.“Well, I’ll be out on a date today.” Sera giggled in excitement.“Then I should make you the loveliest girl in the empire today.” Mary laughed as she prepared her bath.“I don’t think I need that anymore,” Sera said confidently. “I bet I’m the loveliest in his eyes no matter how I look.”“I bet he’s just a blind man in love.” Andric entered his room and sat on her bed.“What are you doing here, brother?” Sera asked before she entered her bathroom.“I just went to check on you before my morning training.” Andric stood up and walked towards the door. “Sera, be careful always, okay?”“Don’t worry. I
Her brothers were worried when she went home that day. They thought that Sera wouldn’t have the courage to reject Prince William or that she would have no choice but to marry the crown prince instead. They were mad when they thought that it was a ploy of the emperor to marry her into the imperial family.That was why they were all shocked when Sera returned with a grin on her face.“What happened?” Xander asked with his left brow raised when he saw how happy Sera was.“I’m going on a date tomorrow.” Sera smiled and continued walking inside the manor.“You’re going on a date with the second prince? I thought Lord Tyrone was your lover?” Andrei exclaimed loudly that even the servants looked in their direction.“What are you talking about, brother?” Sera asked him in surprise. “Why would I go on a date with the His Highness William? Of course, I’ll go on a date with Tyrone!&
The duke sent a reply asking for permission to visit the palace instead of just simply sending a letter as an answer. When Sera’s brothers heard about the sudden proposal, they rambled about how the princess only saw Sera as a mere tool that would give them an advantage in their power struggle.Because of that, their view of Tyrone became better. They believed that Tyrone would treat Sera better than any other guy because he only saw her as her and not as the duke’s daughter.“You better give him a piece of your mind, Sera,” Andrei said with a gentle smile.“I think smacking his head would be better,” Xander suggested.“No, brothers. She just needed to tell them to stop bothering her and tear the proposal right in front of him,” Andric added.Sera laughed awkwardly. Just why were her brothers suggesting she do something that would send her to the palace dungeons?“Don’t mind your br
“We’re done!” Xander laughed as he laid himself on the grass. He hugged his sheathed sword and rolled around to go towards Sera.“Brother, why are you playing around?” Sera crouched down and messed her brother’s hair. “You’re not your usual mature self.“Give me a break from time to time, will you?” Xander chuckled as he closed his eyes, savoring the warm touch of his sister. “You’re grown up now so I could relax a little more.”Sera sat on the grass and moved Xander’s head on her lap. She didn’t know how to express her gratefulness towards the brother who gave her his time to teach her the sword. She knew it wasn’t an easy task knowing that he was also training with the sword and training as a successor.“Thank you, brother.” Sera smiled as she continued to brush his hair with her fingers.“Why are you thanking me suddenly?” Xand