Who…?He was a long-built kid. His eyes are deep blue, like the depths of an abyss no one has ever touched. Those eyes are not as brilliant as Ashanti’s but they shine on their own.“You have been staring for a while.”Cassey flinched. His voice was deeper than anyone else, but she felt it was really familiar. It must be because she met him already before.“I am sorry. This humble servant could not help but stare at your eyes.”He lifted the end of his lips.“I know who you are, and that you are not a humble servant just like what you claim to be. So, be at ease, Lady. We are here for a cooperation.”“It seems that you have known each other already.”“We haven’t, Headmistress.”“The lady was right. It was
“You are worthless.” When I was nine, my mother said words that affected my whole life. It was the first time I have heard of those words, but I’m sure they aren’t nice. After learning what those words meant, I worked hard to find my worth. In this world, humans are divided into three classes: the nobility, the clergy, and the peasants. My family belongs to the noble lineage of Timmerhaus, an honorable clan made by outstanding instructors and philosophers. Count Seloriett Moroan Timmerhaus. The esteemed head of the house, who excels in hunting and agriculture. He unified the ideas of Eastern Lorelei and the Empire of Marluke to create an excellent farming culture. Countess Corsant Liracyntia Maharlika- Timmerhaus. The top instructor of a renowned academy
After having a talk with the physician and settling the early fees with the accountant, I was finally going home. It’s almost midnight, surely the guests have returned to their respective estates. However, to be sure, I’ll just enter using the back door. “Miss Cassey, your things have been unloaded. I will now bring them inside.” “Thank you Fred. Please use the back door just as I have said.” He bowed and started moving. I fixed my hair and bit my lips to gather some blood and hide my paleness. I must look presentable, at least to Ashanti. She must have been very happy to be proclaimed as the esteemed daughter. Thinking about it makes me smile. I should greet her later. “Lady Cassey...” I stared at the woman in front of me. Her silver wavy hair shines in
“A marriage proposal has arrived, Cassey.” “A marriage proposal? Who? And to whom?” Mother ignored my questions and proceed to father's room. "Morga, please assist them," I commanded Morga, my mother's lady-in-waiting. "And Morga, prepare tea for us afterwards. It's been so long since we had tea together." "As you wished, milady." The living room in the master’s bedroom is spacious, with enormous paintings of red roses that my mother loved so dearly. In the middle of all these roses is the biggest painting in the estate – a family portrait. Mother and the Count looked so young back then, since it was painted on their wedding day. A
Cassey has been staring into the dark for a long time. Her neck’s been stiff, and the soles of her feet are numbed. She took off her heels and ran down the stairs all the way to the garden. The garden has everything: a bench, a table with two chairs, a statue of a mythic eromance goddess, a dancing fountain, and a wide sky full of stars to gaze. “Everything in this garden is made for lust,” she uttered as she examined the statue in front of her. Germela was described as the romantic goddess who fell for a man. But the man she loves had someone else in his heart, and they are soon be blessed with an offspring. Germela offered all the wealth and power she had if the man chooses her. But at the end of the story, the man chose to marry the woman she loves and rejected the goddess forever. The goddess, who was touched by their love, dedicated a whole garden for them as a wedding gift and left. “Do you believe in Germela?” the low voice startled her. He was wearing a
At tea parties, noblewomen use their words as weapon. When men plan their schemes, they use the top secrets to either slander or blackmail their targets. In any situations, the bullet to their guns is information. Where could you get that fresh meat? At information guilds. Among the information guilds, the pub that sells cupcakes at night is the best guild, with infinite connections within and outside of the empire. The leader of that guild is the high society playboy, Markus Febrez.“So what made you visit my dwellings in this time?”“You have houses at the capital. This aren’t one of them.”I examined his visage. Sultry lips, deep eyes, and his nose stands proudly on his pinkish skin.“Would you like to marry me, Markus?”Markus was red. Ugh, I knew it was stupid.“Sorry that was a strange thing to ask.”“W-What has gotten into you? That was sudden.”&ldq
VI. FiestaThe capital was crowded than ever. Nobles are visiting one store to another, buying expensive souvenirs and jewelries to boast when the time comes. Commoners took this opportunity as a chance to sell their handmade products. Their children are out of sight, busy running errands for the higher ranks. Women, noble or not, are on their best dresses and behaviors. On their preferred seats, they await for their ‘prince charming on a white horse’ to take their hand. With all the grand decorations and the presence of the royalties, this is not bad for the day of fiesta.Cassey Timmerhaus rode on her horse, a swift and elegant black mare. Cassey is wearing an equestrian uniform in light pink color. Her mother chose that color for her. Her silky black hair was tied on a clean bun, exposing her sharp jaws. Noblewomen who prejudiced her for having black hair and eyes were infatuated to her sword- cut features, and often compare her side profile with their l
Today, I woke up in tears. Mother and I had a quarrel early in the morning that rooted from a mistake I made in the finances. In the end, she finished the work and I fled to my uncle’s house.“It was your fault, Sica,” Grandmother said while knitting the yarn. I pouted. Although I don’t expect her to take my side, I somehow wished she would see things in my perspective.“You shouldn’t have answered her like that, Sica. After all, she’s your mother. If you want to badmouth someone, then why don’t you hit that Count? He’s useless, so...”“Does my maternal grandmother really think things are as simple as hitting someone, like how Maharlikas do to their child? If I really did that, I must have been sentenced to death now. Knowing mother, she would surely take his husband’s side.”Nothing has really changed. Maternal grandmother still hates the Count. She was so opposed with the marr
Who…?He was a long-built kid. His eyes are deep blue, like the depths of an abyss no one has ever touched. Those eyes are not as brilliant as Ashanti’s but they shine on their own.“You have been staring for a while.”Cassey flinched. His voice was deeper than anyone else, but she felt it was really familiar. It must be because she met him already before.“I am sorry. This humble servant could not help but stare at your eyes.”He lifted the end of his lips.“I know who you are, and that you are not a humble servant just like what you claim to be. So, be at ease, Lady. We are here for a cooperation.”“It seems that you have known each other already.”“We haven’t, Headmistress.”“The lady was right. It was
Cassey woke up in a room. “Mom?” ‘Who is calling me, Mom?’ “Mom, please this is Harley...” “Harley?” Cassey suddenly remembered everything when she heard of the child’s name. It was her pupil’s name. But she had one thing to worry. “What happened to me, Harley?” “You don’t remember at all, Mom?” “You passed out on the streets, Mom. People keep saying that you are just acting but you were definitely knocked out.” The child who answered was Torus. “Before passing out, what happened to me?” They suddenly went silent. “We really don’t know Mom, because someone is chasing us.” “Chasing you?” ‘They were the thieves?’ Torus noticed Cassey’s hesitant glance. “Mom, we are not thieves. Promise, we are not thieves. Those bad guys wanted to abduct us. They wanted to sell us.” “Sell? Why would they sell children? And to whom?” “If you really want to know, then why don’t we go for a tea, Miss Cama?” Cassey searched for the source of such a lovely honey voice. It
“Navis?” The child who was just grumpily stomping her feet earlier suddenly turned into a happy lamb. “Mom?” Cassey was flustered being called ‘mom’ in front of everyone, especially when all her pupils looked at her with such sparkling eyes and wagged their tails like cute doggies. “Ah, uhm, she calls me ‘mom’ because I fed her.” “You fed her, mom?” Now how should Cassey explain to these poor young children that she was called ‘mom’ for a really trivial thing? “Yes, she called me ‘mom’ for feeding them.” “So you were the woman who gave her the seeds?” “The angel who bought us meat!” “The hero who named Navis!” “A dragon tamer!” “Wait that’s a bit... if the clergy heard that I might be punished to death.” “She is our Mom!” But the pupils don’t seem to hear her at all. They were busy rejoicing at her existence as the ‘mom’. But she can’t just drop a bomb seeing how they were dancing joyfully like it is a fiesta. “Then will you listen to Mom, now?” The pupi
“Please come in, Miss Cassey.”Cassey followed the woman closely. She was astonished by the grand water fountain in the front yard.‘It was like that of the nobles. It was strangely fascinating.’“Miss Cassey, if you listened carefully, the facilities of this orphanage is not a complex one. You can easily navigate around and if you need something else, my office is in the last room. You understand, Miss Cassey?”Cassey gulped once and faced the Madame.“Yes I do, Ma’am.”“Good. You will be called Miss Cama, short for Cassey Maharlika. It would be much appreciated if you don’t mention your full name unless necessary. The orphans may not be able to read, but their ears can hear very well. You know what I am talking about, right?”Cassey smiled in silence.“I do understand, Ma’am. I am Miss Cama, the new teacher.”The woman grinned.
Dinner was set in an intimate space, where the lights are low and the violin is playing high.On the table awaits the two early birds, Cassey and Cai.“Shall I serve you some water, Signor?”Cai nodded and talked with the blushing attendant. This saddens Cassey, who was obviously recognized and ignored by the worker.‘She does not talk to me nor ask for my opinions because she is hostile to a former detainee.’What she had thought was indeed true. As the attendant returned to the pantry to fill the goblets with lukewarm water, the other attendants went near her.“So how was she?”She rolled her eyes.“Even a working peasant like me could easily defeat her. Imagine the horror I felt when I saw her monstrous black eyes staring at me, and her pale lips curving a smile for me. I pity for the illegitimate Febrez who dined with her.”“You should have seduced him. That vixen
His mother sat on a shabby settee, drinking a glass of water.“Do you feel well now?”The deep voice of her son is full of worries, so the woman showed him a smile that is obviously strained by her own anxiety.“You do not.”Her son is not as oblivious as she thinks.“The head of the family came to your bedchambers last night, right?”The mother can’t speak.“He came to check my condition, Cai. He even gave me gifts from his recent voyage. I shall show you.”His mother hurriedly placed the cup of water on the settee, and rushed to get the boxes piled in the doorway.“Here, look! These are the jewelries he got from his business trip in Cravini. This is the new watch your father has bought for you! Just look at the huge diamond in the center. Don’t you think this is the best in the world? Your father loved us that much!”Her son sighed looking a
“Let’s get married.”“What?”Cai squeezed himself in the slightly open door and slouched on the sofa.“I wanted to accept your proposal, since it is what you needed the most now.”Cassey gave him a glass of water and slouched on the couch beside him.“You were so scared of that idea that you even ran away last time. That makes me wonder, who convinced you?”Cai, who was staring at her eyes, shifted his gaze in an instant.“Not telling me?”“Yeah. Not telling.”“Pfft. Even if you don’t say a thing, I know it is Markus. I wonder what he told you this time.”He took a sip from the water goblet, as if he was drinking the finest wine. This made Cassey swallow an enormous amount of air into her esophagus.“Butterflies...”“Excuse me?”“Nothing.”“Nothing?&r
“You were kicked out of your house?”“Mmfgh...”Cassey was mumbling with her mouth full of bread.“That’s why you are here to rent this house?”Cassey gulped down and answered him.“Yeah. Don’t worry; I will make sure I could find a job within this day.”“Cassey, money is not what I am worried about.”Cassey stared at the man and smiled. Then tears started to fall from her eyes, one by one, it dropped down her cheeks.“Thanks, Cai. You know how Lieughan’s family is not in favor of me, so I can’t ask for her help right now as I don’t want to put her in a difficult situation. Then Markus, uhm... well, he has a girl with her right now. It would be weird to stay there.”Cai nodded, also handed her a glass of water and an embroidered handkerchief.“But my situation is not favourable either. There is a conflict wi
The atmosphere in the hall was full of tension. Even Cassey can’t afford to yawn in the session. She stared at the exposed golden eyes of the fedora man, who stared back at her as if he is judging her entire existence.The fedora man gave Sondre a folder, which he accepted and examined. He took out the papers and started clearing his throat again.“The accused, Cassey Maharlika, formerly Lady Cassey Timmerhaus, has reached the court of Amara. Miss Cassey Maharlika is accused of embezzlement and violence against her sister, the esteemed daughter of Timmerhaus, Lady Ashanti Kaia Timmerhaus, and the entirety of the Timmerhaus lineage.”Cassey rolled her eyes. She has heard of it for a million times now.“The accused has claimed that the case is not embezzlement, but a forgery. The court of Amara does not trust her words at all, but since there is no enough evidence to support the hypothesis of the court that the accused lied, this hum