The early birds were singing lullabies.
And if I say early birds, it wasn’t the bird that would sing you a good song to sleep. It was the maids gossiping near my fortress.
They were always doing this every morning. I let them be because it has nothing to do with me. Yet, they resorted to babbling about me near my chamber.
It looked like these maids thought I couldn’t hear them.
I got up from my bed, irritated.
I walked towards my window and laid my back on the wall, as I decided to listen to their gossip.
“... knights saw it too! The lady really kissed the commoner knight’s forehead.” The maid tapped her friend's shoulder.
“Yeah! Even the young master Jaeda was stunned. I heard he even rushed towards the knights’ headquarters to warn the knight."
The third potato sighed deeply like she owns all the problems in the world. “I just don’t know what the lady was thinking. Kissing a person in front of the crowd right after holding the knight’s hand.”
“She just did it for attention! That girl is sly and evil!”
I chuckled. What's the relation between me being sly and evil and me asking for attention?
Don't those people who were acting innocent tend to behave like a child to gain attention?
Were they always this dumb?
“I totally agree!” the other maid agreed.
I opened the window and stared at them.
It was so easy to turn them into dust but isn’t it a waste of energy? Scaring them would do right?
And because I am generous and kind, I will go easy on them.
I cleared my throat.
“Are you done gossiping about me? Is the estate giving you a monthly salary for you to gossip about others' lives?” I asked.
The maids looked in my direction, appalled.
I chuckled. “You addressed how bad I am. Bad mouthing someone seemed like one of your hobbies.” I yawned.
“I’m sorry, young lady!”
“No.”
One of the maids looked at me irritatedly.
“What?” it asked.
“You don’t have to feel sorry. I indeed kissed Callisto.”
The maid's face lightens up.
“However, that is none of your business.” I smiled. “From today onward, you don’t have to come here.”
“W-Why?!”
“Of course, you’re blasted. Congratulations!” I brushed my hair and smiled innocently. “I’m firing you because I am sly and evil and I tend to seek attention. Firing you all at once would make me gain attention, would it not?”
The maids were too dumbfounded to speak.
“Y-You heard…”
“Of course! I’ve been tolerant of you bad-mouthing your masters, but you really got into my nerves today.” I leaned my chin on my hands. “Don’t make me spill what I’ve heard from your mouth that was libelous against the nobility.”
The maids stormed out of my vicinity. They ran off.
I sighed and went back to bed.
They were afraid of the laws yet they still chose to gossip about nobles.
How idiot could they be?
After a few minutes, the butler of the estate knocked on my door.
At least the butler now knew how to knock.
I got up and opened the door.
“Young lady, the Young Master Arnold had called for your presence.”
My brows puckered.
What is it now?
What does the idiot Arnold want from me?
I nodded my head and closed the door, not letting the butler enter my room.
What does Arnold want?
I was planning to go directly to Callisto and check if he could control his mana and if he could do the saintess’ moves. After all, the hunting competition was one week ahead. I also have to check the bayonet that I asked Gio to make.
I lazily took a bath and change my clothes. I choose the knight's suit as I planned to stay at the headquarters for a whole day. I also tied my hair in a ponytail.
After my morning routine, I find my way to Arnold’s mansion.
I saw some nobles roaming around the estate. Many busybodies were attending their master and some were working diligently.
They looked at me, laughed, and started chatting.
Commoners and nobles had something in common. Both likes to gossip.
I shook my head and just continued walking.
I am not dumb to not know that they were talking about me and Callisto. After all, the knights must have misunderstood the situation and started talking about it.
The gossip said that Callisto, a commoner knight, and I were dating. I only approached Callisto yesterday to give him my blessings and now we have gossip lurking around.
Just great!
The one who fabricated such lies deserved to be punished.
I entered Arnold's mansion.
It was refreshing to see a whole new view. There were no reds in the house as if Arnold had loathed it. Even the Duartes’ emblem was yellow when originally, it should be coated with red.
It was as if Arnold had come to despise red colors.
I wonder what happened.
“Fool! You think you’re good enough just because you’re the duchess’ son and the duke's first son? You won’t be the duke, idiot!”
The one who shouted was Kevin, one of the greedy sons of the duke, and the one who he was shouting at was Arnold, the first son.
I stopped walking and looked at them from afar.
I wonder what will Arnold do?
“Kevin…”
“Stop calling my name, you stinky bastard!” Kevin shouted and hit Arnold’s face.
I bit my lip as I saw Arnold’s face turn red.
I thought Arnold was going to hit Kevin but I was wrong. Arnold closed his eyes and sighed.
Kevin hit him again.
“A weak peasant like you can’t be the duke!”
I chuckled as I walked toward them.
Acting to be someone’s hero wasn’t really my thing. Honestly, it's one of my pet peeves. I never liked anyone to fiddle with my business.
Yet, seeing Kevin hit Arnold like that got on my nerves somehow. It was upsetting.
I immediately held Kevin's hand and squeezed it with a bit of my strength. “And hitting someone is beyond being a peasant, Young Master Kevin; hence, it could be said that you don’t deserve to be the next duke.”
Kevin glared at me and cackled. “If I am beyond a peasant, what about a lady who was found flirting with one of her commoner knights?”
I chuckled. “So you admit that you are beyond a peasant?”
Kevin furrowed his brows. “What?”
“Young Master Arnold,” I said. I looked at Arnold who was glaring at me. “I heard you have called for me.”
Arnold nodded as he turned his back. I was about to follow him when Kevin, whom I ignored said, “So you admit the thing that happened at the headquarters, Lady Haleya? So I am not wrong that you really have an affair with a commoner?”
I looked at Kevin and licked my lips. “Kevin,” I said and gave him a death stare. “I’ve heard that your woman was pregnant even before you two got married.” I smiled. “If my memory serves me right, in this Empire, you could only touch a woman after your wedding. Isn’t what you two did against the rule of the nobles, is it?”
“What nonsense?!”
I cackled. “The two of us have issues. The only thing that makes it different for us is, mine was fabricated and yours is real. I heard you even drove your fianceé away?” I played with the tip of my hair. “I guess you would do that since it would risk your eligibility being a candidate to be an heir?”
“Shut up!”
I crossed my arms. “Feigning innocence wouldn’t work on me and making a fabricated issue just to divert attention wouldn’t make your image any cleaner. It’s a pity that your dream to be a duke is a fat chance. You wasted your opportunity. Having your grandfather’s title as a Baron didn’t sound bad as it suits you very well.”
I turned my back on Kevin and followed Arnold to his office.
Of course, Kevin's issues hadn't reached the duke’s estate yet, but it had been the talk of the nobles. Even if I had not yet gone out to the duke’s estate, I knew about the issue from my past life. Jeada was the one who spread the issue to erase Kevin from the list of candidates.
I entered Arnold’s office.
I just visited him yesterday and the door was still red, now it was dyed red.
What’s playing in this fool’s mind?
He sat on the couch. “You can sit now, Haleya.”
I nodded my head and sat on the couch across from him. The only thing that made us apart was a table between us.
I examined his face.
There were red bruises on his beautiful face. I rasped irritatedly. How could Kevin hit such a face? How could he hit such a work of art?
Arnold cleared his throat.
“The hunting competition is fast coming. As the knight’s captain, I want you to help me improve my swordsmanship, Lady Haleya.”