Chapter ♦ 22

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A little something about the AUTHOR : Victoric spoke to Zylith the other day and here's how the conversation when_

Victoric – Zylith, stop munching onto food like a cow-on-a-eating-spree and get your ass up and do something fun so that people get amused enough to click on the LIKE button and COMMENT.

Zylith – (Looks at Victoric with pointed eyes) Liana, bring me the club!

Victoric – Wha-What do you need the club for?

Zylith – You dare to put me on exhibition, now you can't blame me for exhibiting my innate physical prowess.

Victoric – '......' (Runs for the Hills)

*END of FLASHBACK*

~••••••••••~


Zylith.


"STOP!" I yelled out loud.


I looked at the startled nervous girl in front of me and bit my lips in anxiety.


I had learnt from experience that secrets in this world were as treacherous as they come. I didn't revel on the fact that I knew things which were so dangerous that one misstep could bring upon my doom. From time to time, I even felt like crying when

I thought of the consequences of such a misstep.


And now, there stood a little girl in front of me, who wanted to reveal another such hazardous secret to me, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry at my fortune.


"Wait! Please wait." I sucked in a deep breath as I waved my hands in front of her to stop her mid-sentence. I really needed a breather right about now.


I tried to rearrange my jumbled thoughts as I took a moment to myself. The girl, who seemed so very vulnerable as if she would be blown away if a strong gust of breeze blew by, was now staring at me wearing a curious expression.


I couldn't help but sigh when I saw her soft and weak disposition. This girl was too naïve. Thinking about her gullible character, I now knew why she was so severely bullied by the other maids.


I sighed yet again when I thought back about her actions just now. She was so credulous that she was willing to entrust her safety to a complete stranger, 'me', and was about to disclose what might even be a secret so illicit that it might bring upon a silent but raging storm into the imperial family. I looked at the little girl once more and sighed for the nth time.


My low mood was becoming even grimmer with each passing second. I bit my inner cheek harder in sheer indecisiveness. 'To know.... Or to not. THAT, is the question.' Quoted by ME.


An anonymous wise man/woman(Personally I think it's a woman) once said, 'Fear is wisdom in the face of danger', and that wisdom was now hindering me from mindlessly delving into this Danger called 'Secrets'. I passed this naïve redhead a conflicted look while two personas fought it off inside my head. One of them was my 'Good and cautious self' and the other was the 'Curious and reckless self'.


'Curious and reckless self' – "Come on, I know even you are itching to know this big secret about the Brikenheads. Why not give in?"


'Good and cautious self' – "Don't tell me that you aren't scared of what is to come out of this secret. You have somehow survived till today by hanging onto a thread, are you certain you are willing to give up your entire sense of security for a fleeting sense of curiosity?"


'Curious and reckless self' – "Humph! What's the worse that could happen? As long as I keep my lips sealed, who will know about the things I know."


'Good and cautious self' – "You never know, accidents always prone to happen when you least expect it."


'Curious and reckless self' – "As long as you are careful enough, even accidents can be successfully avoided. What's more, this secret might even let Reuben's faction have an upper hand over the Queen dowagers' faction. Think about the pros we could gain by having this piece of information."


'Good and cautious self's' resolve was already crumbling as her voice became feebler and feebler under 'Curious and reckless self's' aggressive approach – "...But, even so..."


'Curious and reckless self' – "No 'Buts', we have to gain as much momentum as we can while the Queen Dowager's faction is still in the temporary cessation mode. We can't possibly be like sitting ducks without any strategy while waiting out just to see how they strike back."


When the squabble inside my head finally fizzled out and I had made my decision, I gestured Liana to continue, "Yes, what were you saying?"


The poor girl was gawking at me as if she were looking at a freakshow rather than the Queen of her nation, but I didn't mind her rude stare. Even I knew how strange I was acting in front of her.


"Well? Come on, tell this Queen what is ailing you little girl." I raised a brow showcasing my fake arrogance.


"Huh?... Oh, yes Your Highness." She abruptly casted her eyes down again when she realized that her stare was pretty uncouth.


"Urm... about my mother, it's a story about a very dark night. My mother was to attend to the Grand Duke Brikenhead who came back home after a long journey. But something happened during his journey." I knitted my brows when I heard her. What could have gone wrong for the duke, I wondered. "It is said that the duchess was absent when the duke came home and he was poisoned with Lucrilate when he stopped by an inn on his way." I widened my eyes in comprehension. 'Lucrilate' is what you'd call the fiercer version of 'Aphroditic' in modern terms. It was a very potent drug if you wanted to get a man laid. I could already guess what might have happened when he returned home that night. I eyed this girl called Liana in a completely different light now. It seemed like the identity of the little redhead was not simple at all.


"My mother was the attending maid that day, and when the duke got home, she found out that he was convulsing in a mad spasm. She didn't know what was going on at that time. So she tried to help the duke up to his room, but in doing so, my poor mother's fate was forever condemned." She was a bit misty-eyed as she talked. "The duke, under the effect of the poison, had his way with my mother on that abhorrent night." She sobbed.


"When the duchess finally returned to the Brikenhead mansion and found out about the incident, she was furious. She wanted to kill my mother but was unable to because it was too late, and my mother was already pregnant with the duke's spawn. Grand Duke Brikenhead, although cruel in nature had taken a liking to my mother. So, even after I was born, he let her work in the duke's mansion. But mother and I became a thorn in the Duchess's eyes. We were like a fishbone stuck to her throat. She could neither swallow us nor could she throw us up. When the Duchess was at her wit's end, her eldest daughter, the reigning Queen Beatrice offered to take mother and me under her wing and as such, we ended up in the palace."


It was as I had predicted. This little lady here was the Queen Dowager's half-sister. My eyes flashed with a gleam as I asked, "So in the end, how were you forced to act the way you did that day?"


Hearing my question, Liana started howling like a banshee. "Your Highness!" She cried, "Everyone in the palace reviled me, even though my mother was the head maid of the Queen Dowager no one liked us, nor valued us. Mother said the queen dowager only kept mother beside her so that she could keep an eye on us. We have nowhere to go Sire." She sniffed, "The secret of my birth should never be exposed for it shall shame the great Brikenhead name."


I frowned at that, "Why should the secret of your birth not be revealed? As far as I know, a lot of nobles take side concubines and have illegitimate kids with maids. I don't think its anything new."


"No my Liege, the Brikenhead house is different. Duke Brikenhead is a very stern and upright person. In high society, he is revered as the epitome of righteousness and fidelity. If people ever found out that the virtuous duke had an illegitimate child from a maid? The Brikenhead family would have no face to keep. Not to mention that there are no male heirs left after the death of chancellor Burnot Brikenhead now, and I was next in line to inherit the Brikenhead property if I was recognized as a member of the Brikenheads. But as you can see, I am not recognized, and they have no intentions of doing so either. If the old grand duke didn't take pity on us, we would have been put to death a long time ago."


I nodded in understanding at her words. In this cruel medieval society, the face, ego and self-respect of a noble was the most important. To keep his reputation spotless, if he were to kill a man or two, it was not a big matter. I really had to applaud the old grand Duke of Brikenheads for willing to keep his child and her mother alive even at the cost of his reputation. In that sense, I guess he could really be called virtuous.


"But the maid called Malissa, found out about my secret. She wanted mother's position as the head maid of the Queen dowager but was unable to obtain it. So she started abusing and bullying me to let out her frustrations." She wept while mumbling in a low baritone. "When we heard that the Queen Dowager planned to gift a few maids to Her Highness as a wedding gift, cruel Melissa came up with a plan to further torture me and my mother. She threatened to reveal my secret if I didn't do as she demanded of me. She wanted me to make a ruckus during the paying regards ceremony so that I would be severely punished. I had no other choice than to obey her as it was better to be punished rather than be killed."


She brusquely hunched down and hit her head on the cold hard ground while groveling once again, "Your highness! Please, please forgive me for my offence. I shall repent for the rest of my life if you were to take me under your wing."


I was a bit startled by her sudden assertive plea, but soon calmed down. I silently scrutinized the timid girl called Liana, thinking if she really was worth the trouble.


"Liana, right?" I called her name.


"Huh?... Y-Yes Your Highness." She nervously looked up at me.


"Do you think you are good enough to be under me?" I asked in a very calm and composed demeanor.


"I... I... My Liege..." She stuttered and fumbled, unsure of what to say as she started quivering like a cornered rabbit again.


I groaned silently and spoke, "Do you know what is your fatal flaw? You're too naïve. You wholeheartedly try to rely on those who you think are powerful enough to protect you. You wear your heart in your sleeves and don't have any sense of the danger around you. How can you be sure that the person you've put your hopes on will not throw you away when he is done with you? You are not confident enough to stand up to those who wrong you, I doubt even with the right artilleries you can barely put a scratch on your enemies. What makes you think you are good enough to be my subordinate." Though her innocence and naïvety were the reasons I preferred her, but I was not about to tell her that. If she wanted to be my subordinate, she had to grow a backbone, else she would be nothing but a liability to me.


She was stammering and faltering, as if she had no way to remedy her situation, "Sire, I.... I don't.... No, I swear I will be loyal to only you in this lifetime. I...If you take me under you, I will never fail you, I can promise you that. Whatever flaws I have, I will change them all. I will not let anyone wrong me or my master, you. Please, oh please, let this slave be by your side and serve you with the utmost loyalty."


I tilted my head a bit, and raised one of my brows, "Oh? Even... kill for me?" I mimicked Reuben's smile, and muttered in a syrupy tone.


And her eyes widened at my words.



To be Continued.......... 

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