CHAPTER IV.
Olivia was probably just having a nightmare.
There was no way she was in the same room as Duke Redgrave, his daughter and two of his House's knights.
Yes, she was probably just asleep…
Master Lucas had probably been just a figment of her imagination and this was just a long, long, long dream.
Maybe she was lucky and she was in some kind of a coma having a nightmare all this time… after discretely pinching her arm she decided she was not asleep.
Because there was no way the Duke wasn't speaking to his daughter as if they were preparing for a rebellion sometime in the near future! Because it was the condition to avoid the rebellion was bullshit!
"If the prince matures and treats with them due respect we will still be at his service"
Yeah right, the same Prince that tried to humiliate his daughter because she didn't turn a blind eye to some girl stealing him away from her!
She wasn't an expert in romance despite having read every romantic novel she could get her hands on…
Or maybe it was the nobility that was all screwed up!
The young man… Baron Leon Fou Bartfort, was Angelica's new fiance! as far as she knew the engagement with the prince wasn't annulled yet and the Duke already gave her hand in marriage to another man.
Until a few months ago she believed in Predestined Love, with how often it happened in her books she found it entirely plausible that a fair, lowborn maiden could belong to a long forgotten noble family that would make it acceptable to marry the Prince of the story!
Such a concept was probably used as often as possible to have noble girls like Angelica to accept who their partner would be once their parents choose a husband for them!
Seriously, the Duke's daughter was supposed to be in love with the Prince last week and now she was going to marry a Baron!
Nobles were crazy and dangerous, and she wanted out of the academy just to be away from them.
But it was just her luck that one of the followers of the daughter of a Count ordered her to bring her a drink for said daughter of a Count and that set her on the path of the most hated person on the arena right now: the daughter of a Duke!
If it wasn't for the tuition fee she would have to pay if she dropped out of the academy she would have left a long time ago!
She had no friends and suffered bullying on a daily basis for things she had no control over, like being born a commoner or not following some unwritten rules no one ever told her about!
"Are those four really strong?" The Baron's question caught her attention.
Admittedly, she was not following the nobles' talk, but… Did he have something in his eyes?
Even she could tell that they were really strong, stronger than anyone their age at least since they were no match for the veteran knight inside the room.
She just wanted to go home…
"I hope you understand why our Lord has such high hopes for you!" said the veteran knight
"So everyone else is even weaker than those guys?" Said the Baron, apparently astonished by the weakness of the academy students!
Was this the plot of a Romance novel?
Now the Duke's daughter's new fiance is a peerless warrior!
And why was she dragged here and everyone was going to ignore her?!
Maybe she could slip out unnoticed if things are like this?
It's worth trying at least.
But of course no sooner she thought of moving and the Duke turned his attention to her.
"I allowed you to bring this… person here, Angie and Leon, I hope there is a reason beyond wanting her as a concubine" concubine?!
No,no, no!
At least let it be because of something like her magic!
"Do you really think so low of me my Lord?" the Baron asked while Angelica just pouted… she didn't think nobles could pout.
"It's too early to dismiss such possibilities" the Duke said seriously… Like, really! Didn't he just admit that he doesn't know what kind of man he is going to marry his own daughter?!
If she was so busy being terrified she would be feeling bad for… Angelica.
"That isn't out of the question though" Angelica said as if it was something normal, what is wrong with her?! Wasn't she so jealous of the Prince for the exact same reason?
"Well, she is pretty but I wouldn't touch a hair of her if she doesn't want me to" said the Baron making the situation a little bit less terrifying.
It still is a terribly scary situation.
"Why would you so readily allow it Angie? the Duke asked… It was irritating that no one had yet addressed her directly, they were talking about her future!
"She can use Holy Magic" said Angelica much to her relief. or was it a secret disappointment she didn't belong to a long forgotten powerful House?
No it was definitely a relief, however, she was still at risk of becoming a concubine!
the Duke and his daughter stared at each other's eyes for a moment as if having a silent conversation.
"You should try to seduce her" the Duke just proved her theory that all nobility are crazy with that statement alone!
"I have no idea how to do that!" the Baron said resigned and looking quite miserable, she almost pitied him, almost.
"Oh, and you proposing yesterday was just a formality?" teased Angelica… the daughter of the Duke had a tinge of something dangerous in her voice.
Well at least the young man had some romance in him.
"It was an advice my mother gave me" the young man admitted scratching his cheek with his index finger "she said it would help me make a good impression"
"Admitting that just makes you look foolish" Angelica chastised her intended.
"She also told me that being honest would help me have a relationship like the one she has with my father" The Baron said with a lot more confidence.
"Doesn't your father have a concubine though, Leon?" Angelica asked coldly.
"He does, and she is my mother" Leon said with a genuine smile "His wife is a parasite that leeches off my Father's territory to live in debauchery here in the capital!" he continued his smile turning in contempt. "I don't want anything to do with a woman Like Zola Fou Bartort!" and by the end of his statement anger was clear in his voice.
So even nobles can have hardships in their lives?
"It happens often with low rank nobility," the Duke said with a sigh "Her only real use would be if your father's territory was sieged by air pirates"
"It's not usual for pirates to loot lands without any value!" argued Leon "My father couldn't pay for my tuition fee to send me to the academy, and Zola thought it would be a wonderful idea to marry me to one of her acquaintances: an old hag over fifty years old! All of her husbands died in the army by the way!" Olivia could feel the hatred in his voice accompanied by the littlest bit of fear.
She couldn't avoid her jaw dropping at that callous statement.
Was that what happened to the offsprings of noblemen concubines?!
She would never ever want that for her children! There was no way she would want to be any noble concubine… she just wanted out of here!
"Be at ease, girl" the Duke spoke again, he had his eyes on her the whole time it seemed. "Leon himself escaped that fate by becoming an adventurer with a loan from his father. It is his success as an adventurer that gained him the rank of Baron and eventually the hand of my daughter" he smiled "Do you believe he would allow any offspring of him to suffer the way he did?
"N… not him" she replied softly, it really sounded like Baron Leon wouldn't allow it but, she couldn't help as her eyes wandered to Angelica… would she do it?
In the Holfort kingdom the women had more power than the men, if she ordered any children Baron Leon had would be sold just like that Zola woman had tried with Leon.
Angelica noticed her eyes and shook her head "I wouldn't do something so horrible like that" she defended herself calmly "I won't live in the capital either, this marriage might as well be exile for me, you know?"
She wasn't quite sure if she understood everything Angelica implied by that, besides it wasn't like she was really going to be mister Leon's concubine!
She just met the young man, and a couple of crazy nobles decided she would!
Seriously, just let her get out of the academy already.
"With Leon's battle prowess, and Angie's administrative skills your future would be secure" added the Duke.
"My lord please, you are scaring her" Leon said respectfully, he was right of course, nobility scared her, the higher rank the noble the more terrifying they were "this whole concubine thing is just… a suggestion, right?"
What a kind way to say he doesn't have any choice either!
"I… I can't accept it, I'm here as a scholarship student, if I don't graduate from the academy I'll be in a huge debt!" she argued hoping that they would say something like: Oh! It can be helped then, maybe once you graduate. Of course by then they would have forgotten about her and she would be free.
"Paying off your debt would be no problem for me" Of course the Duke was richer than she could imagine. Why was she such an optimistic person!
"I want to… to learn Magic." she tried to reason, she would be denied, she was sure, but she had to at least try.
"Indeed it would be good for our House if you learned how to garner your Holy Magic my dear, so you would be given a tutor and all the books you need to master your gift" so, she really was trapped in this arrangement?
"I accept then" she said with a resigned tone "wi… with one condition thought" she dared to say it! "I wan… I want to drop out of the academy and continue learning in… in my lord's territory" she hoped she wouldn't be rebuked too harshly.
"You don't like the academy huh?" Asked her possible new lord? lover? master?
"The nobles here don't like me, they are cruel and evil!" she said in desperation, two nobles seemed more manageable than a whole school full of them!
"That is because you don't know any of the unwritten rules, or follow proper etiquette" Said Angelica "You never even presented a gift to me as everyone else in the first year did" she explained. Was she supposed to bribe her to be left alone? Was Angelica the one responsible for all her suffering?
She eyed the noble woman cautiously, was this a good idea?
Of course it wasn't! But was it related?
"Don't misunderstand, I'm not behind your harassment!" So she noticed huh? "Listen, I was not interested in you before today, I had other matters to attend to… It just wasn't me!" Yeah, Angelica was an entity too far above her to notice or cause her struggles.
"So if she bribed you she would have been left alone?" Asked Leon with a straight face.
"Olivia was it? listen, I have a proposition" Angelica ignored her fiance's inconvenient words, she would listen, not like she really has another choice "I can guarantee that you would be left alone for the rest of the year in the academy, in exchange, you would report to me anything of interest that happens, after that you would be allowed to drop and live in our territory"
She could only hold her head in desperation, she didn't want to, she hated the academy!
"If it's a spy you want, I have an older sister attending the academy in the second year" Leon said to her relief.
"Student's of different years don't intermingle" Angelica stated, "Your sister would not have all the information a first year student would have" no, no no! Please just let her drop out.
"That's what the rest of your followers are for, My sister would notice anything really important that happens around the Prince, I'm sure she already has an ear on the ground for it" Leon insisted.
"Very well!" Angelica said resignedly, "You are that desperate to have her, don't you?" she said with a snarl, wow! She was jealous of her? or maybe she was possessive?
"If you think that's the case why not have her live in her parents house until the start of the new term, then she will join us in our territory and continue learning there, that would give her time to rest from her bad times here in the academy."
She could live with that.
"The academy must have been terrible for her, she looks worse than I feel" said Angelica with some pity in her voice and that made her realize she had sometime during their talk become a tangled mess, she had managed to tangle her hair worse than when she was a small child, she could see the wet spots her tears left in the skirt of her uniform, and most likely her eyes were red and swollen too…
She tried to tidy herself the best she could without a comb or mirror… Was that a snot running down her nose into her lips?
She had to have a handkerchief somewhere in her shirt's pocket!
"Here" the Baron had a handkerchief in his hand and was offering it to her not looking directly at her.
She could only offer a meek "Thank you" for his kindness. She cleaned herself with the rather normal piece of cloth.
"Well! That was adorable!" said the Duke after keeping silent for the last few minutes "I hope you two can keep moving forward like that!"
0x0
Jenna Fou Bartfort, was walking the hallways of the girls dormitory, she is a student coursing the second year of the academy, rather successfully if she said so herself.
But today she was forced to reevaluate her life because of a certain someone.
She had at least three male students at her beck and call at all times.
She was in the process of taking a Viscount Heir away from her best friend and was currently having a spat with her over that matter.
And most importantly: She had seen her missing younger brother for the first time in what? half a year? no, it was definitely longer than that!
The moron never even wrote to mom and their mom was worried sick.
Because he left there were other unpleasant things going on in her father's House.
Like Zola planning to engage their youngest brother, Collin, to an old hag…
And Leon had just abandoned their family.
The moron was looking healthy and he was at the direct service of the Duke, so he must have done something right.
She was happy for him, really, but she also planned to give him a piece of her mind at the first chance she gets!
And as the cherry on top, the followers of the Atlee girl were herding everyone to their rooms. and even if she wanted to go eat dessert at the academy's cafe with the Dia she got from selling a few cheap jewels some boy offered to her she couldn't go against those followers.
It was better to just let them deal with whatever they were doing than being in their way.
Of course, once she entered her somewhat unkempt room she realized that she was those guys' target!
Sitting in her bed with an uninterested expression was none other than the most hated girl in the school. the daughter of the Duke: Angelica Rapha Redgrave and at her side leaning on her wall was her younger brother Leon, and the jerk smiled at her and waved his hand as if they saw each other this morning!
She would rip him a new one if she wasn't terrified of the girl in her bed!
Disowned or not she was still the daughter of the second most powerful man in the kingdom!
"Yo, Jenna!" Leon greeted her, his annoying smile getting wider when he noticed her shock. She would call him a bastard if he couldn't throw the insult right back at her.
Their mother was the mistress of their father making them both bastards to anyone who cared to notice.
"Don't you Yo, Jenna! me, what are you doing here!" she asked in a low voice full of contempt, she was relieved he was alive but that didn't mean she forgave him for everything that he caused!
The idiot had made their father plunge further in debt to finance himself as an "adventurer" and now here he was, the bodyguard of a Duke and hadn't repaid a single Dia back to their family.
Worse, what business does Angelica have here with her!?
She took a couple of steps towards her wayward brother and tried to slap him!
But he caught her hand with his rather easily and didn't let her go, then all of a sudden Angelica was staring at her really close with an angry expression on her… The Duke's daughter slapped her instead!
She could only glare at the highborn girl for this, she knew that she was physically and politically defenseless with her and her brother here, and she had no way to retaliate, her brother was strong, she knew that but he never dared to raise a hand against her in the past, that was why she dared to try to slap him in the first place.
"What are you doing here!?" she asked, her voice still low despite her wrath.
"I thought it would be a good idea to invite you and your older brother to the ceremony, we are about to become kin just so you know…" Angelica was the one who replied with a false sweet tone that sent chills down her spine.
Becoming kin with Angelica would mean she would marry into House Bartfort! Who was she marrying? No, she didn't even have to think about it, it was rather obvious.
The most likely option is Leon, as the third son of a Baron! He was perfect to pacify the Crown.
"Aren't you going to congratulate me, sister?" she tried not to laugh but this was way too rich! Angelica was to be married off to a title-less man, the Duke is a cruel man!
"Your father is a cruel man, sister in law!" She said with mirth
"And you are a dumb girl" Said Angelica right back to her, she was really really mad at her, she will most likely outrank her in the kingdom hierarchy soon enough and she still has the guts to talk to her like this! "I had my father's followers gather some information about you, and let me tell you: you are not as impressive as you think, you are just a gullible little girl that's blind to the reality of the kingdom!"
"I'll still outrank you soon enough!" She said trying to show a calmness she doesn't feel, if Angelica's father still supported her in any way, it very well could mean that her outranking Angelica would mean nothing in the grand scheme of things!
"And what would that reality be huh?!" she asked ironically.
"There are less men than women in the kingdom." Ha! So that was it? she knew that already, and they were all inferior to women.
"She doesn't get it," Leon said softly to Angelica.
"Doesn't matter anyway" Said the blonde "We do have a job for you though" she said pulling out a purse full of Dia.
Well, that changed things, she wanted that money to buy herself a personal servant!
"What is it?" she asked eager to get her hands on the Dia Angelica had with her.
"It's simple, just keep an ear out for any rumor about the Prince and his friends" said the blonde handing the purse full of Dia to her.
She took them gladly, it was heavy, there were even silver coins in here!
Jenna looked with pity at her younger brother, so his future wife wanted to keep an eye on her former fiance?
So that means Angelica will be abandoning the academy to live in the Bartort territory?
It was not her business though, as long as she gets paid that is.
"Our wedding is tomorrow, in Duke's Redgrave mansion, be at the gates of the academy tomorrow with Nicks at noon" Said Leon as he walked to the door and exited her room, his blonde fiancee behind him telling him to mind his manners.
That was strange… the world is a funny place if you consider how much of a joke the life of the former most powerful girl in the academy had become.
0x0
After delivering the second wedding invitation to Leon's older brother she had discretely dragged him to a particular room where an acquaintance of hers resided.
After their visit to his sister she noticed a lack of manners on her new man that she did not like, she knew that as the third son of a Baron Leon was likely never taught proper manners but she sought to rectify that as soon as possible.
And after an awkward explanation the teacher of etiquette agreed to give Leon a crash course on how to entertain a tea party…
To say Leon liked the concept would be an understatement!
He even asked Lucas if he was allowed to call him master.
It was kinda cute seeing a man with the kind of combat skills to impress her father so excited for this kind of thing.
She couldn't help but giggle when he tried to imitate the teacher standing straighter and trying to talk with a more even, refined tone.
She felt amused when at the end of the lesson he tried his best to entertain her to the best of his meager but enthusiastic efforts.
A/N: Longest chapter to date, hope you read and enjoy,
Olivia has her first scene in this chapter, she is in a bad spot, mistreated with no one to give her the time of day she was offered an opportunity she cannot refuse.
As a guest reviewer just pointed out, her integration in the dynamic of the fic is just that of someone who was simply claimed by a higher ranked individual, this kind of confirms some of her worst fears and at the same time she gets an offer to get out of the toxic academic environment she is in right now.
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