A Way of Redemption

Chapter 7

"Umph!" The sound of a person grunting echoed in a training hall as this figure continuously slashed a wooden doll into smithereens.

"Princess, it's time for your meeting with the patriarch," an older butler entered the building. The person suddenly turned around and grabbed a towel the butler cleanly held out.

"Has my father been notified that I just came from practice at this time?" she asked as the butler handed her a coat, which she gracefully wore as she started to walk out of the hall. "So give me the status report on the insurgence on the land that was gifted to the emperor?"

They quickly walked towards a giant path filled with an insane amount of ornaments. This place was so much grander compared to the Rayos, as it was covered with every decoration possible. The girl, on the other hand, couldn't help but be annoyed with this. "Why put grandiose decorations on a mere hall that people will just pass by once if they visit?" she grumbled as they made a turn into the main building of the property.

"Well, Princess, according to the knight guards and their captain, they had resolved the problem quite quickly as the Rayos family helped them make a truce with the people living on the land." The butler quickly intercepted the princess from her thoughts to keep her safe from the ears around them.

"Damn those from the Rayos, always stealing the thunder from us, the esteemed Artius Family, who had guided each emperor to their glory." The princess said angrily as she couldn't help but stop for a bit to stomp her feet on the ground in frustration.

"Ehem... Princess, people are watching," the butler coughed, which quickly brought her back to her cold and desolate blank face. The two then proceeded to walk for a couple of minutes before arriving at a grandiose double door where two guards stood.

"Princess, the duke has been waiting for you. And he is apparently in a bad mood," the guard quickly added.

"I see. It seems my dad is in a sour mood yet again," she said sarcastically as she pushed the grandiose double door open.

"How dare those Rayos meddle with our business! The emperor was the one that gave us the task to quell those peasants down. But they just had to swoop in and steal the show!" The man shouted as he couldn't contain his anger, bringing his fists down heavily on the table. The princess winced at this sight, bringing back bad memories. But she knew that showing a sign of weakness in front of her father would be fatal.

"So have you thought of a plan on minimizing the damage to our reputation?" the man asked coldly as he stared at his daughter.

"Well, it seems our only choice here is to act the saint and provide provisions to the peasants," the princess said as she stood alert in front of her father, never moving an inch unless he said so.

"I see. That could work. Giving those worthless viles hope would make us saints and samaritans in front of them and even the empire. We would be piggybacking on the back of the ever-so-good Rayos duchy." He said sinisterly, with spite in his last statement about the Rayos family.

"But other than this, how is your status at the academy, Adrianna? I hope you have already established yourself there befitting your blood." He said as he slowly went back to his seat and stared directly into Adrianna's eyes.

"Yes, patriarch, I have already been accepted to the student council as my grade representative and will elect myself to position next year after the current president retires," Adrianna said as she bowed her head down, trying to hold back her fear of her father.

"I see, but that isn't enough. I need you to get recommended to skip a year." Her father said as he now dismissed his focus from his daughter and coldly went back to finish the paperwork on his desk.

"I can try, father. But right now, I've got my hands full participating in the academy's call to arms competition." She said with stiffness in her voice, knowing that her father would react violently to this.

Her father stopped what he was doing and snapped his head towards his daughter. "Did I say I care about that? I said what I meant, and that is for you to make it happen. You are an Artius—the kingdom and its king rely on us to be the very best." Sollertia said as he slowly released his aura, suffocating Adrianna and the butler.

"As... you command," Adrianna said as she was slowly losing breath and having a hard time. It was like a mountain was crashing down on them. Then, as if that was just normal for him to do to his own daughter, he just went back to reading various reports and papers on his desk.

"I shall go now, father."

"Go," her father said coldly, not even lifting his head to see his daughter's back.

Adrianna and her butler quickly moved out of the giant room. They didn't even look at the guards who were guarding the room. All her mind could think of was to get out of there as swiftly as possible before she broke down. She walked quickly through the halls, bobbing left and right. Then before she even realized it, she was already standing in front of her room, her hands shaking from what happened.

"I need some time off. Call me if I have some important agendas," she said meekly as she tried her best to open the door with her own two hands.

"Yes, Princess. Please take a moment of rest. I'll bring you some cup of tea and snacks," her butler said with a worried voice. But all he could do was watch this child who was thrice his age carry the weight of the world on her shoulders. He knew that no child should be subjected to this kind of treatment, that children should have the freedom to make mistakes and tackle the world at their own pace. Sadly, this was just his wishful thinking as he knew that he was just a lowly servant of the palace. But everyone in the manor knew this, and that's why they all pitied the young lady who had to go through such hardships from the duke.

Meanwhile, inside her room, all Adrianna could do was go straight to her desk. She quickly opened a drawer and took out a delicate-looking box. The box was so finely made that you could even see her name engraved on it. Then as she opened the box, all she could do was cry as it revealed a figurine of a woman standing tall and proud while holding a flag. As soon as the woman popped up, music started to surround the room. Adrianna, who couldn't keep it in anymore, started to cry.

All she could do was let the tears flow freely as she couldn't help but think about her mom. "Mother, why did you bring me into this life?" she asked herself, trying her best to grasp any logic left in her circumstances. For a while now, ever since she accepted that her father just treated her as a thing to make the family more powerful, this question lingered in her mind. It even occurred to her that she might not even be her father's child. Because for her, who would treat their child like that?

She had wished that her mother was alive right now, even though she had only seen her once in her life. Unfortunately for her, that time was at her mother's funeral. All she could remember at that time was the face of a stranger in a coffin. She didn't know who that woman was in her life. But she knew that this woman looked exactly like her. Still, what baffled her young mind at the time was how come she had never seen this woman in her entire life.

All she knew from her life was people from the mansion, but some of them also came and went. The only person that was with her was the butler; even though he was quiet all the time, he was the only constant person that took care of her—the only person that even showed a little bit of care in her world. Because of that, she never really cried at her mother's funeral; she just saw it as a person being buried in the ground.

But this all changed one day after the funeral when the butler came into her room. In his hand was a box—the very same box that was producing this love-filled music right now. And at that very moment was the first time that the girl who had closed her heart to anyone opened and let out a sorrowful cry. The girl could only cry and hug the butler with all her might. This was the time she experienced regret. She regretted that she could not hug her dead mother's body even once in her life, that even though it was her lifeless body in the coffin, she knew that she would never feel the touch and care of her mother ever again.

But for Adrianna, she knew that crying wouldn't do her any good for now. So she stood up and looked ahead into a mirror near her desk and wiped the tears off her eyes. "Now let's go be the perfect daughter my father ever wanted," she said to herself and once again opened the door, leaving her room.