He Who Runs The D’Anele Household

"Hey, I heard a scream is everything alright," the maid who gave me my dress asked and came barging in.

Upon entering, she saw me sitting besides my bed, food nearly untouched. Meanwhile Celestia was soundly asleep while her arms encircled around my slim waist. Her chest was evenly rising, harmonizing with her muted snuffling. For the first time, she looked relaxed, only her eyelids quivered ever so slightly.

I placed my index finger on my lips and winked at the maid to indicate that she was being too loud.

She was perplexed, but quickly covered her mouth and said nothing.

With a hand gesture, I urged her to come closer. The maid walked over and leaned forward.

I whispered, "would you tell my grandfather that I would like to meet him."

She replied, "Of course, I will get to it immediately."

"Oh, and tell him that I have a message from the king. Surely he will answer to me if he heard that."

She stopped moving, "eh, Agnes are you sure," she asked and covered her mouth with her hands.

"Yeah, why would I not be?"

She placed her hands on her hips and reprimanded me, "I won't stop you, but you shouldn't lie so brazenly. Even if you want to meet your grandfather."

"Eh, I'm lying?"

"I mean, why would his majesty send you of all people to deliver a message."

"Because, I was the most convenient one," I shushed her away, "anyways, why are you asking so many questions, just relay what I said."

"Alright, it looks like I have overstepped my boundaries," she bowed, "then, if you will excuse me," and left.

Uh, I didn't think that a mere mention of the king could warrant such a reaction. I thought it would be no big deal. Seeing that, I lost some confidence in convincing my grandpa that I was bestowed a title. If only I still had the letter.

Ah well, whatever. I'm sure I'll manage.

While I was waiting for the maid to come back, I began eating the food. It was pretty good.

Since I like my food cold, I had no problem with eating the meat, which I think was venison, even though it had already reached room temperature. I swiftly chugged the milk down and ate another piece of bread. I felt completely saturated, as it had been a while since I ate a wholesome meal.

Afterwards, I carefully moved Celestia out of my way. First, I pried her arms of my waist and then I gently placed her head on the bed. I covered her with a thick blanket, because I didn't want her to catch a cold.

The whole time, I was tiptoeing around, trying to not make any noise.

It took about half an hour for the maid to return. All I could do in the meantime was straighten my clothes and play with my hair.

"Your grandfather is ready to meet you now," she said.

I stood up and told her, "alright lead the way."

We started walking, she was in the front while I followed her back. As it always was. O, I long for the time when it would be me that escorted others. But for now, I was the person that followed, while my company would guide me.

Another layer of the mansion had been uncovered, as the maid and I walked into places I had not seen before. We started from a narrow passageway with angular twists branching into different directions until the paths began to align and form a large route, leading to a modest door.

The door was different from the imposing gate or the embellished entrance into the main hall. It was small, but well kept, showcasing the care that had been placed into preserving the door.

The maid knocked once, only to receive no answer. Still, she did not insist on making herself noticeable and patiently waited for a response. I had no choice but to follow her gesture.

It was not until some minutes have passed, did we receive an invitation to enter.

"You may come in," a voice, half deep, half rough and a little hoarse said.

Upon opening the door, I was immediately greeted by stacks of papers and mountains of books, scattered around the room. A mothy, but pleasant smell permeated the air. The place was oddly lit, as the light entering through the windows all gathered to the desk in the middle.

Taking his seat next to the desk, was an old man whose hair was more white than black. His face had faded with time and was now worn and wrinkled. His fingers in particular were knotty and full of blisters. Nevertheless, his eyes were gleaming with vigor and he did not appear lethargic at all.

He wore a loose fitting robe and kept grumbling while staring at a piece of paper.

The maid faded into the background, as she calmly stood in front of the door, unmoving.

The man had noticed us entering but did not say a word. Only after storing the paper away, did he began talking.

"What may be the reason that you want to meet me?"

"Greetings grandfather, I apologize for intruding, I know that you are probably very busy."

"Not at all, your uncle is very capable, I am only left with controlling his work," he laughed, the sound coming deep from his throat.

"I see. Then I will get straight to the point. I've come her to discuss the matter with my engagement."

"Ah, and I was wondering why this granddaughter of mine was finally willing to show her face," he said in a humourish tone, "to think it was only that she sought my help."

Hmm, I did feel a bit more tense, talking to my grandfather than my uncle. I wonder why that was. Maybe it was their aura.

"No grandfather, you misunderstood."

"What, don't tell me you really have a message from his majesty," he replied and laughed again. He was keeping the conversation casually, making him seem more approachable. However, I knew this situation was actually worse than him reprimanding me, since that meant he wasn't taking me seriously.

"As a matter of fact, I do," I told him with conviction.

His laughter was cut off and replaced by the stoic appearance he had when I walked in. "Child, you should not joke about these matters," he said.

Alright, I got his attention.

I sulked, "but it's the truth."

"Are you listening to yourself," he groaned, as if disappointed, "you are trying to convince me that his majesty, the king of the country send you- the young girl whose engagement was annulled, by none other than his son- to deliver his words."

"That is correct," I nodded.

He scrutinized me from head to toe.

"Alright, explain yourself."

Oh, that was not the reaction I expected.

Maybe he saw the surprise on my face as he immediately explained, "if you had the audacity to lie, I will punish you appropriately, but if on the ever so slight chance that you were telling the truth, I have the responsibility to hear you out," he rested his head on his hands, "but more than anything, I'm interested in hearing your excuses."

I waved my hands, "no, no, I'm not trying to make excuses."

"That will be for me to decide. Why don't you tell your story first."

I nodded.

"As you might now, the prince has annulled my engagement."

"I'm glad you bring that up, I still have not decided how I should handle that. You really gave me a headache just as I was about to retire."

Eh, sorry about that.

"Yes, soon after he did that, I requested an audience with the king. It was the perfect chance to see what he looked like, since the matter was of such great importance, even he had to pay attention to me."

My grandfather shocked by my statement spit a mouthful of air, setting his beard aflutter, and even the maid at the back of the room flinched.

"Agnes, do you have any idea of what you are saying?"

"Just listen to the end please."

He slumped into the chair and put his pen away, thus giving me his full attention. "You're right, carry on."

"So, two days later, I really got to meet him. He was unlike what I exepected, quite young. His crown fits well on his head. Ah, but that is besides the point isn't it," I said, "anyways, I knew that it would be bad for me to come back just like that. No, it would be devastating, maybe I'd even die, you see. Which is why I asked the King for help."

His eyes widened considerably. He rubbed his forehead, but his wrinkles didn't disappear. His Astonishment was reflected on his face by his mouth that wouldn't close.

"Why are you saying it like it's an everyday thing. Did you meet the king really because of such superficial reasons?"

I rebutted him strongly, "it may sound superficial to you, but I personally find my life relatively important. You should understand, I have no allies in this household, whether I rise or fall was never up to me. Such was the case when I was tasked to marry the prince. Frankly, I'm sick of it, listening to what others dictate to me."

He cut me off, "enough, if you are here only to speak nonsense, you can just leave right away," he said, frowning.

"This is exactly what I mean, I do not need to be belittled like this."

"No, I already know your ways. I see that you still have these childish thoughts in your heads. To think after all this time you would still behave like this. I am truly disappointed."

Oh, not my first time, he said. I was only speaking my true thoughts, but that they would coincidentally align with the ideals of the original host was really fortunate. I tried doubling down on what I said.

"The reason I am still this way is only because there was nothing to warrant change. Nothing that would topple my ideology. So why would I be different from a few years ago?"

"Agnes, girl, what made you turn into this," he asked, while his eyes stared bleakly at me.

"Eh, isn't it all of you that caused me to be the way I am now?"

"You may not believe me, but I do wish the best for you."

Weirdly enough, his words made me feel annoyed.

If he really did care for the original Agnes, why would she have such a cruel fate?

Why did she have to be parentless, shunned by her family and hated by her fiancé?

Why would the only friend she found have to die right in front of her?

"The best for me? What is it that you have ever done for me? I do not need your shallow pity," I said with spite.

"I understand, the you right now has already gone trough too much," his face looked much more weary than before, "Your childlike innocence has long disappeared, hadn't it?."

Hmm, did he really understand? I honestly didn't think it would be so easy to convince him.

"Then will you listen to me from now on," I said with a deep chest voice, giving the conversation one last push.

"Alright, I will listen to you," he lifted his hands as if surrendering, "but then you will have to listen to me too."

"Hm, what do you mean by that," I tilted my head and lifted one eyebrow.

He performed a gesture in which the tips of his fingers touched, but his palms were separated, and held his chest high. His whole demeanor exuded confidence. It was the complete opposite of his expression just a second ago.

With an amicable voice but an impish smile, he asked, "isn't it only natural that if you want something, you would have to offer something in exchange? That is how the real world works. But as an adult, you already knew that, right?"

Ah I see it now. Very interesting.

With an invisible force, he pressured me into the corner.

It was, if I may, a very intriguing way of leading this talk. Different from Raya's Father, who used raw force and intimidation, he used entrapment. It was similar to the way the law handled interrogations. A carrot and stick approach.

There was no real answer to his question.

If I agreed with him, I had to obey his demands, as he listened to mine.

If I disagreed, I still had to obey his demands, as that would mean I wasn't mature enough to develop my own thoughts.

Not bad.

However he forgot, pulling back first and then retaliate, I can do that too, grandpa.

"Well, it's not like I really blame you all for this," I told him.

"Great then you will continue listening to my orders," he nodded.

"No I won't listen to you either," I rebutted and stared at him pitifully, "since I am an Archduke now."

He was still nodding, "Ah yes of course, an Archduke," he said, but stopped midsentence.

His eyes rapidly widened and he jumped back from sheer shock, which made him almost fall of his chair, it took all he had to regain his balance, but his composure was already done.

"Wait, what," was all he could squeeze out, as he was unable to emerge from his stupor.