Chapter 6

Before Annebel knew it a month passed by and the first day of the second month she had found herself standing in front of a noble woman that the emperor had chosen to be her etiquette tutor.

She was on the average size for a woman that would be in her later and was quite slender, this golden skinned woman has a confident feeling about her. Her hair was silver-pink and long but tired back into a a tight bun. She had mysterious, large, light yellow eyes, a wide face, full lips and a slim nose. She wears pinkish blush, a subtle foundation and dark lipstick.

The reason she suddenly had a tutor after a month had been due to a ball which was taking place on the first day of next month and would go on for a week. Annebel, or more like Cassandra, was the main event. Something like a celebration for the only princess of the empire to rewaken after being in a slumber or something for decades.

"Greeting to the star of the empire, Princess Cassandra." The older woman had crusted towards the young girl. "It is a honour to finally make your acquaintance, I am the Countess of the Noble house of Winter." Annebel's eyebrow slightly raised upon hearing that. What are the chances of that? Then again the surname Winter was very common. However, there was this feeling that she got when looking at this woman. Even though this was her first time meeting her, Annebel didn't feel like it. But she doesn't remember seeing this woman in her dreams nor was she mentioned in her books. So what was this feeling that she was getting. I kind of yearning for.

"Greetings Countess Winter." Annebel snapped out of her thoughts and followed the movements of the Countess.

"That is incorrect, your highness." However, this had been stated by the the Countess that was back to standing up straight. The girl looked up a bit confused and saw that the woman's face was just as cold and emotionless as Annebel. Was this going to be one of those cliches where she gets hit in the name of punishments for mistakes? Or could it be brainwashing because of her by young or something? "You do not need to bow to me." Annebel looked up at the Countess a little confused. "As the heiress of our Empire, the only person you shall bow to is the Emperor and any of those that hold the same position of him in other countries." So in other words it meant… "There is no one but the Emperor who you need to lower your head to." This had been explained to her, which didn't quite make sense.

However, when she thought about it, the reason she thought it was strange would most likely be due to her growing up in modern times and because when Tylra was going through the same lessons he was taught differently. Then again, he was looked down upon due to being a slave before the Emperor meet him and saw potential of him. 

"There is no one other than the emperor who you need to bow to." The Countess's words pulled Annebel out of her thoughts. "In fact you ca do anything and no one will be able to say anything."

"What do you mean?" But she didn't quite understand what the woman meant by that.

"It means that you can do whatever you wish as long as the Emperor allows it." The girl had been directed to a table which had been set up by the maids with tea, cakes and sandwiches. Both moved to sit at the table as the Countess continues. "You can treat the nobles like servants. You can speak rudely to them. You can even ignore them." She was basically saying that Annebel could do whatever she wanted until the Emperor speaks up to stop her. 

It was making more sense to her about how all the villainess's come the way they do when they come from a high raking family and treasured like princesses. But if this was the case, why was she doing etiquette lessons?

"The reason for these lessons…" It was almost like the Countess could read her mind as she began answering the question she had just wondered about. "…for your sake." Her sake? "His Imperial Majesty does not wish for the nobles of the Empire to mock you behind your back. After all, nobles are the best at being two faced."

"Does that include yourself, Countess Winter?" Annebel asked this without hesitation.

"Of course. The first thing I was taught was how to fake emotions even when I don't feel them." She didn't even seemed bothered by the question as she answered it, sipping away at her tea. "You see, I was born as the daughter of a falling noble family, a baron house, which are only a level above commoners. However, my family was no different than commoners as we only had our title and nothing else." Annebel listened quietly drinking her tea and having some of the sandwiches. Both were very delicious. "I was one of seven daughters and the youngest of my sisters, meaning i had no rights of inheritance." She explained this while being completely honest. "So the next best thing was to look for a husband. However, who would want to marry a lady from a falling household?"

"No one. Not unless you give them a reason to look past that." Her eyes widen after answering because she saw that the Countess had smiled at her. Annebel's heart began getting a warm tingling feeling. Something she has never felt.

"You are correct, which was exactly what I did." It was explained that she taught herself many things, from etiquette to management to magic to the sword. She was only young when she began teaching herself and also worked to earn extra money in order to attend the Imperial Academy on a scholarship. She caught the eyes of many people, but good and bad. She was able to enter the palace as an assistant for a few years she earned more money and began attracting the eyes of many suitors. Countess Winter eventually caught the eye of the Emperor who was looking for a new aid, as his current one was to retire in a few years. It was then when she meet her husband, who was the head of the imperial army at the time. He was Count Winter, one of four swordmasters at the time, not including the Emperor. "He was known as the ice knight but he was such a sweetheart when it comes to me and our daughter—" Annebel noticed how the Countess looked shocked as she began realising what she was saying and she had covered her mouth like she said something she shouldn't have. What was it that caused her to react that way? Would it be because the Count wouldn't like people knowing about his behaviour? But that didn't make sense… Was it their daughter then? However, that made even less sense… 

It was then when the Countess began coughing as she cleared her throat. "As I was saying before. These lessons are to help you better understand the true intentions of the nobles that approach you in the future. If you know then it shall be easier to tell who is genuine or not." She was right, that would be easier to know who had good or bad intentions, especially if she's the second highest ranking person in the entire empire. However, what was on Annebel's mind was the fact that the Countess changed the topic. It was strange…