To Torment You, Oh Dear Sister

CHAPTER 6

"Did the officers treat you roughly?”

Ophelia queried him as she pierced the sliced meat on her plate with her fork and ate it. It was now the night of the same day, and their Majesties, the prince, and Vivian were all presently enjoying themselves with the evening’s meal. It was their first dinner together after a long time in which the whole family was involved, and the evening date became more special due to the prince’s presence returning.

Claude looked at his mother as he chewed and swallowed the food in his mouth before replying to her, "No, everything went fine. Despite the fact that most people believed it was difficult, I never had any problems with the training.”

"Really?" the Emperor murmured gleefully at his son, stopping his eating for a moment and looking at him directly, "Then you’re a man of strength. At times like these, other men are usually intimidated by a competent rival, which leads to abuse and oppression. Tell me honestly, my good son, did anyone come to intimidate you?"

The boy didn't even glance at his father as if he was uninterested in the subject—something that surprised Vivian because she had never seen someone behave rudely to the Emperor himself before. Nonetheless, the son still responded out of courtesy, “No, I've never met somebody like that at the academy. My colleagues have always kept their distance.”

Even though he acted unconcerned, His Majesty laughed loudly, accidentally dropping his fork on the plate that made a clinking sound. At the same time, Ophelia took another bite of her food with a small smile on her face. Both of their expressions appeared to be pleased with what they heard. It implied that since no one dared to intimidate the prince, it meant that he was at the top of the food chain in the academy and his comrades either respected him or were frightened by his skills and power.

Just like before, Vivian minded her own business, consuming her own food and remaining silent. If there was one thing that she was taught, one of the essential etiquette was to not speak unless you were questioned or addressed to, which she was fine with it since she could at least have peace by herself. If she could, she would also choose not to listen to the conversation they were having. However, because she was together with them, not eavesdropping was impossible.

“You mean Gwyneth?”

Suddenly hearing her name, her pupils darted in front as she broke out from her thoughts. Perhaps she spoke too soon and expected that no one would pay any attention to her, just like in the ordinary days, but she became nervous when she noticed that all three of them were staring at her.

“Yes?” Vivian mumbled weakly, and the first thing that her eyes caught was Claude gazing at her with slight derision, before swiftly shifting his attention back to the Empress. She didn’t know why, but she felt even more embarrassed when the prince looked at her as if he was mocking her for being inattentive.

“She's been well, although her behavior has changed little, but it’s expected. I'm thankful enough that she's doing her best to adjust back,” Ophelia spoke as she peered down at her plate and took another taste of her food.

Fortunately, it didn't appear like they were talking to her but instead just said her name as they were conversing. The girl felt relief in her chest once more. She wouldn't know what to do if she was found being distracted again, especially since her stepmother has already considered her late earlier.

The dinner went on for a while as their Majesties and the prince continued talking in order to catch up with each other. Eventually, it was time to conclude since it was already getting late in the evening, and everyone began making their way back to their respected rooms to prepare to rest.

“How was the meeting?” Evelyn asked as she stretched her arms above Vivian to assist her on putting on her nightgown. The girl naturally raised her arms and inserted both of her hands into the sleeves of the dress, and she had herself ready for bed in no time.

"It was okay, nothing too special happened," she reflected as she tried to recall the events from earlier. Although one thing that she witnessed something new was that she didn’t know the Empress could show a genuine smile.

It was most likely because of her son, but every time she was with Vivian, Her Majesty would either give a scornful look or give nothing at all, such as a blank or serious expression. While she had long accepted that she wasn't welcomed in the palace, it was refreshing to see new reactions from the Empress.

"Well then, good night, Your Highness," Evelyn said in a whisper, smiling as she kissed Vivian's forehead and snuggled her into bed. The girl let out a small giggle as she bid her good night as well, and the woman stood up from the mattress and turned off the lamp on the side table. She then exited her room, closing the door gently behind her and finally leaving Vivian alone to rest.

"What a night," she thought to herself as she gazed up at the ceiling. Even though they didn't say much at their first encounter, she couldn't believe she had finally met her stepbrother, Claude.

However, the girl suddenly knitted her eyebrows together as she pondered on how he behaved earlier. Was it common for him to be that impolite? Not only did he not seem engaged during his conversation with his parents, but he also purposely ignored to acknowledge her when she greeted him.

'I thought he was grieving for Gwyneth when she went missing? Shouldn’t he be happy?' Vivian heaved a sigh as she stared deeper into the darkness, bothered by her growing curiosity. She just formed all kinds of assumptions to try and satisfy her desire to know: was it possible he was just exhausted from the long travel? Was it because he was a royal prince that he needed to act cold in public in order to preserve his dignity? Or was it something that aristocrats usually do?

Vivian didn’t know anymore and simply twisted her figure to the other side, then closed her eyes with a slightly annoyed groan. She had given up on the idea, and besides, she wasn’t a true royalty anyways so she shouldn’t concern herself with such things.

The girl then just held her pillow, surrounding her arms around the soft cushion as she relaxed both her body and mind, slowly drifting into a deep sleep.

***

Scritch. Scratch.

In the quiet room, the sounds of graphite gently scratching on the paper could be heard as she continued to sketch an image she had in mind. It was a beautiful day in the cold weather, and the sunlight filtered through the ceiling panels that tenderly landed on the surface of her face, leaving a somewhat warm feeling on her skin. Her hand, which held the writing tool, abruptly stopped moving, and Vivian smiled triumphantly while she looked down at her completed artwork.

"I finished it!"

The drawing depicted of what appeared to be a bird viewed from behind, with its head tilted to the side and resting on a tree branch. It was a magnificent blue jay that she spotted not too long ago while she was passing through the woods of the palace, and she only got to see it for a few seconds before it flew away to where she believed it to be on a hunt for prey.

Still, the girl couldn’t get its attractiveness out of her head as she constantly thought of how beautiful the pattern of its feathers was. She always had a habit of drawing the things she liked ever since she was a child, especially those she considered to be captivating in her eyes. So she went to the royal library, a place where no one generally visits, and spent her time today to draw it by memory.

Yet, Vivian placed a finger on her lips as she intently examined the sketch on the desk, ‘I think there’s something missing, but I don’t know what.’

She stood there for a moment as she contemplated, but suddenly had an alternative idea that would help her figure out was she was lacking in the picture. She then left the table with her belongings on it, wandering throughout the library in search of a book about birds. It was also one of the reasons why she preferred the library when drawing something. The books were always ready to assist her if she needed a reference.

'Aha!' after a time of looking, Vivian came upon a book that seemed to feature blue birds in particular. Although, her mouth dropped open as she came to realize that it was at the very top of the shelf, and the shelf was around 10 feet high.

“How am I supposed to get that?” the girl wondered as she glanced around the library in search of a ladder that would make it possible for her to get there. She looked around for a while but wasn’t able to find anything, so she returned to the place where she saw the book and glared at it with contempt.

Her eyes were then drawn to the several volumes below, which appeared to have gaps between them due to the absence of books to fill the area. Then she looked upwards as she noticed that these openings trailed until it reached the book at the very top, as if the shelf was showing her the pathway to get it. Vivian narrowed her eyes in displeasure as she carefully inspected the surroundings first to see if anyone was present.

"It doesn't seem like anyone is here, so I suppose it's okay. I just need to hurry up," she reminded herself as she slowly took off her footwear and walked to the shelf with a face of determination.

Lifting both her foot and hands up, Vivian took her first step upwards as she held tightly on the shelf whilst she made sure to secure her foot on somewhere that had space. She breathed in and out as she took her second step higher, successfully elevating closer to the book that she wanted to get.

As she passed each step competently, she gained confidence and didn't appear to be afraid anymore, so she continued on and climbed a little faster to the peak. When she was nearly there, Vivian stretched out her right arm to grab the book she was looking into, but she couldn't seem to get close enough to reach it. When the tips of her fingers finally got hold of the cover's band, her foot suddenly slid off the shelf and she shrieked as she fell to the floor with a dreadful crash.

“Ouch..,” Vivian groaned in agony as she clutched her head with her hand. Suddenly, she yelped slightly as she felt a stinging pain on the side of her back and on her arm which padded her fall. When she was finally able to look around, she noticed that some books from the shelf had fallen down with her, and she was relieved that they fall on her. And there, among the books that had fallen was the book that had caused her to be in an accident in the first place.

However, as the girl proceeded to stretch her arm and grab it, she noticed a pair of shoes in the distance, just at the end of the isle. Her eyes then widened in shock as she cautiously looked up to see who it was, and it was none other than the prince, Claude Beaumont von Lexington.

"Your Highn—Brother! Good afternoon!"

Vivian almost spoke the incorrect words as she remembered she was pretending to be his sister and it would be strange for her to address him in a formal manner. She then quickly tried to rise up so she could properly meet him since she hadn’t seen him for days, but snarled at the effort because she was still aching from the fall.

That’s it, she was caught red-handed.

The girl had no idea how he would react, but all she understood was that she had just committed a heinous deed in front of him as a member of the royal family by attempting to climb on the shelf. It was inappropriate behavior for a princess, and she became anxious that he would likely inform the Empress about it.

She just stooped her head poorly, trying to hide her face from embarrassment by covering it with her hair to avoid seeing his face. Suddenly, she heard footsteps approaching her, and the prince came to a halt in front of the very book that Vivian was aiming for.

There it was again.

There was nothing but silence between them, and she was simply looking at the ground, yet she could feel his fierce gaze burning a hole on the back of her head. She pursed her lips together since she didn't know what to do and just waited for time to pass in the hopes that he would ignore her again like he had before.

“Pick of the book, Gwyneth.”

Vivian flinched a little when he spoke to her unexpectedly, but even though she understood what he said, she couldn't bring herself to reach for the book now that he was standing near it.

"I said pick up the book."

Claude ordered again, this time more sternly, presumably because he needed to repeat himself. She swallowed as she eventually decided to listen to him and stretched across to retrieve the object on the ground, an uneasy expression displaying on her face. However, when she finally got a hold of the book, Claude stepped on her hand, causing her to shriek in pain.

"Ah! Please stop, it hurts!" Vivian cried as she tried to yank her hand back, but he applied more pressure, preventing her from releasing her from his step. He then finally let go of her and stood there with a blank expression on his face, watching her whimper in front of him. And like a child who got bored of playing with his toy, he turned his heel around as she heard him walk away from her, vanishing from her sight as if nothing had happened.

"There's no way..." the girl murmured as she tried to glance around her surroundings again, trying to determine whether she was still in reality or not, and if he had actually done that to her. "Just why would he do that...?"

She was alone in the library once more, the volumes still strewn on the floor in a mess, and the sound of silence slowly swallowing her ears.

That was her first interaction with Claude.