Romanoff Dukedom: The Heroine (13)

"So, what is your name, young lady?" Freiyana asked as she walked back to her spot behind the desk.

The Duchess proceeded to pull the top drawer on the right side of her office table, picking up a piece of parchment. She then sat on her cushioned seat before poring over the document.

In the meantime, Zarya kept herself reticent. She hadn't measured the extent of information that she should disclose to the Duchess. The young lady surmised that it might be better to speak less than what she had been demanded to do.

Ruefully for the lady, Freiyana was not the sort of individual who had the patience to sit idly all the while discussing matters that involved her interests.

Erwin foresaw how the Duchess would react, so he duly walked en route to his post by the door. He didn't want to bear a portion of the woman's display of ill-temper.

Freiyana Romanoff deviated from the pervasive demeanor of the general populace of noblewomen. She belonged to the pack who refused to be tied down by the strings of hesitation.

The woman would never settle for a submissive role, much to the delight of her husband. To put it succinctly, Freiyana thirsted after the achievement of her own goals, but at the expense of starving herself from the aid of other people.

"Young lady, did you not hear my question?" The Duchess said as she compelled Zarya with both her words and gaze.

"Za-" The young lady immediately pursed her lips and breathed, attempting to calm her profusely beating heart. Then, she gripped the sides of her skirt to the fore of continuing, "Zarya, madame. My name is Zarya."

"Zarya?"

"Y-yes, I am not of noble descent, so I don't have a surname."

At the instant that she harkened Zarya's response, Freiyana set the parchment down on the table. She went on and leaned on her seat, setting her arms down on the rest.

"That only applies to humans, right? For us beasts, our own clans are responsible for giving us a surname."

"But I'm not a be-"

"Zarya, dear child, there's no use hiding your identity in front of me. No matter how I look at you, you're a beast. Stop making excuses and just answer my questions properly."

Noticing that Zarya was having a hard time articulating her answers, Dorothea thought for a second if she could intrude. The old woman was aware of just how the Duchess detested getting a response from people other than the one she had asked.

In the end, her concern for the lady prevailed.

"Duchess Romanoff, please pardon Zarya for the time being. You might have misunderstood something. I'll explain the circumstances to you as b-"

"Do you still think that you can fool me? Or rather, I have a feeling that you're not making any effort to hide your identity. At this point, you might as well profess afore a crowd." Freiyana conveyed her sentiments in a manner that would convey how half-witted the lady was being.

The Duchess didn't even address Dorothea's statement. Her countenance, displaying a deadpan expression, didn't help in reducing the shame that both Zarya and Dorothea were feeling.

"Are you really trying to conceal your beast nature?" Freiyana queried as she stood up, sauntering her way towards the young lady.

The Duchess halted her stroll just a few inches in front of Zarya, but that was enough to increase the tension within the room.

"Your demeanor is giving every indication that you have no intentions of laying low anymore. Is it because you've accepted your fate?" Ensuing her initial statement, Freiyana took another step forward.

Duchess Freiyana then touched the lady's chin with her left hand, ending her inquiry with, "Or are you purposely drawing attention to yourself?"

At that point, Zarya became petrified of the Duchess' golden irises that met hers. She sought to break their connection, yet her body was noncompliant with her orders. Her lips trembled with her limbs as her breathing began to hasten. The golden hue of her orbs started to tremble under the tears that were laggardly flooding her eyes.

In that state, her natural fight or flight instincts created a turmoil in her mind, battling for dominance. Little did she know, her inner beast had already taken over her consciousness. However, it was afraid to bear its fangs at the enemy that was confronting it.

"How beautiful. It's such a waste that you're suppressing this side of yours." Freiyana uttered, mirth prevailing over the mocking grin on her countenance. "Speak, young one. From what clan did you come from? What is your goal?"

Granting that Zarya wanted to answer, her throat was so parched that only a mere croak managed to escape her lips when she attempted to reply. Thereon, she swigged all the saliva that she could gather from her mouth ahead of her next assay.

"I- I'm from the Vaslavis clan, Duchess."

"Vaslavis… clan?"

There was a reason for the Duchess' bewilderment.

Vaslavis Clan was arguably the smallest and weakest clan among all the snakes within the continent. At the beginning of the Orschetta's pursuit for dominance, they hunted down the clans that they could subdue right away. One of them was the Vaslavis Clan.

Thirty years ago, the elders of the Vaslavis thought of a method to preserve their clan's identity. They enslaved themselves away to the Orschettas, hoping that they would gain their favor.

Unfortunately, the circumstances changed when the new head of the Orschettas ascended a decade ago. The new head ordered for the annihilation of the clans who refused to integrate themselves under the sole name Orschetta.

Because of that, Zarya lost everyone in her clan, including her family. She managed to escape with the other children by virtue of the collective efforts of her clan members. However, they were also chased down.

By the end of the ordeal, she was the sole living testament that the Vaslavis Clan had existed.

Zarya fell to the ground, her knees hitting the floor first. She gripped the Duchess' dress and pleaded, "I... No-- Duchess Freiyana Romanoff, help me, please. I don't want to die yet."