Chapter 4
1011 Words
Chapter Four
Leonidas’ Perspective
Leonidas sighed as he dropped the letter on the table in his room.
He had been looking at it for days.
He didn't think his parents could do this to him.
It turned out that after his parents had requested for Ophelia to have him in her estate, she wrote back to them.
She told the King and Queen that if he was going to be in her custody, then she needed something from them that states that he was to obey and do every single thing she asked of him, and that he wasn't to use his power as a Prince to intimidate and disobey her.
His parents agreed to her terms. They also added that if he refused to obey, then she had the right to punish him as she saw fit.
Leonidas was very upset.
He turned to his Valet, Jackson.
"I can't believe you kept this from me," He said to him.
"I am sorry, Your Highness. I had no choice. It had the royal seal on it, and if tampered with I would've been beheaded by the Duchess," Jackson.
Leonidas ran his fingers through his hair. He knew that Jackson was right.
Though he knew Ophelia wouldn't lay a finger on him because that would be treason, from the threat she made earlier, he knew she was capable of hurting someone else.
The exile was becoming inconveniencing for him.
At first, he had thought it was going to be fun and entertaining as he was going to meet and be with new women, but his parents had ruined that for him.
He had no intention of playing by anyone’s rules, least of all Ophelia’s.
Her cold, composed demeanor intrigued him, but he wasn’t here to be tamed.
In fact, he enjoyed watching her struggle to maintain control. He enjoyed watching her trying to pretend that she wasn't bothered by what he was doing.
He loved making her upset.
It was the only thing he looked forward to each day.
On the other hand, there was this girl he met on his first stroll in the estate.
He was staring at smiling at a maid behind her, when she waved at him.
The smile she flashed him made him uncomfortable. He had to smile and walk away before anything happened.
He thought she was a Governess in the estate, or a Chamberlain.
But he was shocked to see her the next day, having breakfast at the dining with Ophelia.
It turned out she was a Viscountess, and also a close friend of Ophelia.
He had never met a woman who tried so hard to please and flirt with him. He was used to him doing the flirting, and not the other way around.
He found it amusing the way she lingered around him, offering coy smiles and subtle compliments.
It made him uncomfortable, and he couldn't help but think that she was a fake.
But he thought the opposite of Ophelia.
"What are you going to do now, Your Highness?" Jackson asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.
He sighed.
"I'm not sure, but I'm not going to let the Duchess win," He replied.
He looked towards the window, and then something came to his mind.
"Where do you think the Duchess will be at right now?" He asked Jackson.
Since Ophelia was bound on making his stay here miserable, he was going to do the same to her.
Besides, he enjoyed seeing her that way. It would be like killing two birds with one stone.
"She'll be having a meeting with her officials," Jackson said.
Leonidas was shocked.
"You mean like a council meeting?" He asked.
Jackson nodded. "Exactly, Your Highness."
Leonidas chuckled.
Ophelia was definitely in for a treat.
***
"Why am I hearing about this now?"
These were the first words Leonidas heard when he got to the door of the meeting room.
The guards at the door wanted to announce his arrival, but he played his index finger over his lips, signaling for them to remain silent.
He decided to hear what was going on.
"We thought we could handle it ourselves, My Lady," A man said.
"And how do you plan on doing that? By increasing the taxes of the Lord's, or reducing it?" Ophelia asked. She sounded upset.
Leonidas wasn't sure what was going on, but he knew the officials had done something wrong.
"I think it's time I stepped in. Lord Fredrick!" He heard Ophelia call out.
He heard iron footsteps on the floor, which suggested that Lord Fredrick was a Knight.
"Yes, My Lady," Fredrick answered.
"I need you to invite all the Manor Lords, and a representative of the serfs. I would like to hear what is going on directly from..."
Before Ophelia could complete her sentence, someone interrupted her.
"But my Lady! You cannot invite those peasants into your estate. That is something that has never been..."
"And what would you have me do, Lord Arnold?!" Ophelia yelled in anger.
Leonidas was shocked. He had never heard Ophelia lose her cool at all.
"Should I let my people, the people whom the the King and Queen put under my care starve because the Manor Lords have become greedy for more wealth?!" She questioned.
But no one spoke up.
Hearing her say those words made Leonidas smile.
He had never heard any of the other Duke's and Duchess's refer to the serfs under their Duchy as 'their people'.
He was impressed.
"Does anyone have anything else to say?" Ophelia asked. Her tone was a lot calmer.
No one said anything.
There was a brief silence in the meeting room.
"You can leave now, Lord Fredrick," Ophelia instructed.
"Yes, My lady," He responded.
Leonidas moved close to the door and his carefully so Lord Fredrick wouldn't see him.
He heard another pair of footsteps following after Lord Fredrick, but the footstep stopped when Ophelia spoke up.
"Also, the next person who interrupts me when I speak," Ophelia said and paused. "Will lose his tongue." A
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