[Music Recommendation: 6.6 Gigue ~ Peter Gregson & Richard Harwood

Oriana’s eyes were on Adric’s large palm that enclosed hers, so she didn’t look at where she was going. When she almost hit her head on the pillar, Adric used his hand to push her back.

"Are you okay?" Adric asked. He also noticed there was a change in character with the princess, which started from last night. "Do I really scare you that much?"

Oriana wanted to shake her head and tell him that it wasn’t like that anymore; instead, she might even be falling for him. But somehow, something held her tongue, and her eyes were looking down.

Adric noticed that the girl was looking at something. He let go of her hand, thinking it was what made her uncomfortable. After all, he had promised not to do anything she wouldn’t like.

"I thought you needed help leaving the dining room. You can always eat in your room. I don’t show up at the dining table either."

Oriana nodded. She had already embarrassed herself by turning red, and now she couldn’t raise her face to respond.

"And if you feel unwell, I’ll get the physician to check on you," Adric continued. He knew the princess wanted to leave, but she needed to exercise a little more patience, and he would eventually let her go.

Oriana waited for him to ask about what happened earlier in the dining room, but he didn’t. Instead, he was worried about her well-being. Did he also feel the same? What if Adric actually loved her and that was why he forced her to stay back? All his actions were of interest. What if?

"...did you even hear me?" Adric asked with a deep sigh.

Oriana shook her head. She was so deep in thought that she had failed to hear what he said. She raised her face slightly to see the disappointment written on Adric’s face and tried to explain to him.

"I—"

But Adric continued, "I get it, I’ll stop appearing in front of you if it’s too uncomfortable. Go back to your room; I’ll have someone fix breakfast for you." Without waiting for her to say anything, Adric turned and left the passage.

Oriana closed her eyes. "I didn’t want you to leave," she touched her head. She loved hearing his voice and how he worried about her, but now he thinks she was uncomfortable around him. These new emotions overwhelmed Oriana as she had never felt them before.

"I need to get a hold of myself," she muttered, entering her room.

. . .

On the other side of the palace, Freya had just finished tending to her father when she left his room. She had left Oriana’s side when the princess went for breakfast, as personal maids were not allowed inside the dining room. Freya decided to eat with her father while waiting for the princess.

She left her father’s room when she was sure he had fallen asleep. Slowly, Louis was recovering, and in no time, he would start walking around again.

Freya was close to the inner palace when she saw two small boys dressed in royal robes. She had already heard from Princess Oriana that they were the nephews of the Crown Prince. She was going to pass them, but it looked like they were arguing about something so serious. The younger one was getting very angry while the older one had a relaxed expression on his face. One wouldn’t know he was actually arguing if not for his lips that moved at intervals.

"It’s a lie! The moon is just a sun that’s sad," Walter repeated, trying to push Kai, but Freya was quick to stop them.

"Fighting is bad," Freya held the boy’s hand, sitting on her heels to be of the same height as the boys. "What is the problem?" 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Walter looked at her for a while. He didn’t mind talking to anyone in the palace since everyone worked as their servant.

"I’m trying to tell Kai here that the moon is the same as the sun. Just that when it gets angry, it doesn’t shine, and then night happens!" Walter exclaimed.

Freya touched her head to be sure she didn’t lose a brain cell with what she had just heard. She turned to look at the older one who was staring at her unblinkingly. The boy’s aura chilled her bones. But she continued talking anyway, since she was the adult in their midst.

"What about you?" She asked.

Kai didn’t blink. "Who are you?"

Freya gulped. If she didn’t see that it was a small child, she would have sworn it was an adult talking to her. "I am a new servant. I help Princess Oriana."

"Oh, Auntie? When do you think she will have babies? I’ve been waiting," Walter chimed in, forgetting his initial argument.

Freya turned to look at the boy. "I—I wouldn’t know."

Walter sighed, crossing his arms over his chest and shaking his head slightly. "Nobody knows of my worries," he said with his face looking down.

Freya turned to look at the other prince who was still looking at her. She looked beside him to see a book next to him.

"I’ve read that book; it’s written by a scholar from Ipolo, right?"

Kai shook his head. "This one is written by a king who lost his wife. The one from the scholar was just a spin-off."

Freya was stunned to hear a young boy speak so eloquently. She wanted to ask him his age, but something told her he wouldn’t answer that, so she closed her mouth.

"The Soul of the Grim Reaper," she pointed at the book. "I really enjoyed the book."

Kai moved his eyes to look at the book beside him. "If you haven’t read this one, you should."

Freya nodded. She hadn’t read any new books since she arrived at the palace. She was happy to read again.

"Can I have yours?"

"No. You can get yours in the royal library," Kai said, taking his book and keeping it on his lap.

Freya nodded; she already knew the answer she was going to get.

"Do you think grim reapers exist?" It was Walter who was now asking another question. "I keep telling Kai they don’t exist, but he says they do."

Freya nodded. "I think they do. They take the souls of people. I’ve even seen one."

"You have? I thought you die when you see them. Where did you see them?" Walter was now interested to know.

Freya shook her head with a deep sigh, remembering the face of the Crown Prince’s personal guard. "I almost died that day, but if you threaten the grim reaper, he will leave you. I saw one here in the palace!"

"Ah!" Walter gasped, then he raised his face. "Brother Rowan, she said there’s a grim reaper in the palace."

Freya turned to see who the young prince was reporting to. She almost lost half the years of her life. She quickly stood up and bowed deeply.

Rowan stared at the young girl for a moment. "Don’t go telling children things that will scare them."

Freya nodded. "I-I’m sorry." She turned her head to the side, looking for where to run to.

"The princess is waiting for her breakfast. Go take it from the kitchen. She’s in her room," Rowan said in a calm voice with a stoic expression.

Freya nodded without saying anything and bolted from there, not looking back.

"I think you are the grim reaper," Kai said to Rowan, picking up his book and leaving the place.