Retrieve the Kingdom

Greater Than You

Cledwyn was frozen, a moment later, he slowly turns around at Phoebe. In a blink, a resounding ‘SLAP!’ emerge in the room. It was only a moment gap as Cledwyn feel the pain on his left cheek. “p*****t! Maids! Guards! Let him out of—” A hand covered Phoebe’s mouth as she mumbles. 

Cledwyn wrapped his arms around Phoebe’s waist as she struggles. She keeps mumbling words as she glares up at him. “Be quiet!” He said as she keeps struggling in his arms. He suddenly screamed as Phoebe bites his palm and kicked his leg. Cledwyn released her as she kicks him again. “p*****t!” She ran away and started screaming the names of the maids and guards of the mansion. 

As Cledwyn was on the floor sitting on his butt, he was shaking his hand as he grips Phoebe’s bedsheets. His eyes widen as he started to hear series of running footsteps just approaching. He looked around as he saw Phoebe’s window. In an impulse, he ran into it and opens it. 

“He is here, at my room!” The shout of Phoebe was heard just in the door, which made Cledwyn more nervous. “Cease him!” A shout of probably a guard followed it which made him think faster of what to do. As the guards approach him, he suddenly jumped. 

All of the people in the room were shocked as they look at it. He was still gripping at the window sill of the window. His hands were getting sweaty and shaking as he looks down. “L-let me out! Please!” He begged as he started to whimper a little bit. “Please! I am starting to lose grip!” 

Two of the guards peek on the window as they lend him a hand. They grab his wrist as they pull him inward, also supporting his chest as they pull him in. Cledwyn’s heart is still racing as his left feet who is the last part of the body he pulled inside the room. As his feet touched the ground, he quickly sat on the floor, curbing into a ball. 

“Come on, mister, we need to go out of Ms. Phoebe’s room.” They escorted Cledwyn out of the room. Phoebe followed them as they went downstairs. She decided to cancel the meeting and held it the next day. “It’s fine Phoebe, Cledwyn seems not really in the mood to have a meeting today, see you tomorrow!” Gerald and Kyran left the mansion as they let Cledwyn on the couch. 

She looked at the poor boy who seems scared for his life. He was just stared at nowhere. Seems his life flashed before his eyes at that moment. Phoebe sent the messenger to report this to the archduke. 

“What happened here?” Andrei emerges from the other side of the room as he looks at Cledwyn on the couch. “What did you do to him? He seems… Traumatized.” Phoebe just shook her head and chuckles. “He almost killed himself from trying to run from his crimes.” 

“Crimes? What did he do this time?” He approached Phoebe as he keeps looking at Cledwyn. “Did he—” Even though he isn’t finished yet, she knows what he is talking about. “Yes, he thought he could get away with it. Apparently, me forgetting things could be quite useful sometimes. If I didn’t forget my notebook in my room, Cledwyn could have done his perverted actions.”

“Did you say to him that the archduke doesn’t want that?” Phoebe nods, “And apparently, he is a rule-breaker, opposite of what his dad does.” She gazed at the boy who is just rethinking his life choices and didn’t even bother to just escape from here. 

Minutes later, the archduke arrived from the court and was welcomed by the sight of the boy that has been terrorizing his scholar. “Well… What do we have here…” He approached them. 

“I am glad you are back so quickly.” Phoebe smiles as they all look at Cledwyn who was just quiet and looks back at them. He inched backward as he looks at the archduke. “Mr. Cledwyn of Hastey, you broke the rule I implemented strictly at my home. Did your parents ever thought you of respect?”

“I… I… You are all wrong! I never trespassed Phoebe’s room. You guys are just telling the lies, and I am gonna tell the truth first to my dad!” He stands as he was about to walk and leave, but the archduke held his shoulder. “Don’t leave, we got something to talk about.” 

“Don’t touch me, your honor.” He slips away Bermin’s hand. “I didn’t do anything wrong and Phoebe was just imagining everything. I, Cledwyn of Hastey, never trespass anyone’s property, especially girls! This is a great threat to my reputation, why would I do it?” 

Phoebe rolls her eyes, she didn’t know Cledwyn would do this in his tough times. Of course, why would she get hopeful to him? A threat of death from fleeing away from problems doesn’t give as much as he needed for a lesson to change. He is even telling it’s not true when everyone in this mansion knows what he has done. 

The archduke sighs, “Guards, escort him back to his home.” Andrei and Phoebe were confused as the guards escorted Cledwyn out of the mansion. Both of them look at Bermin who seems unaffected by any means. “Why did you let the criminal go out of your grasp, sir Bermin?” 

“We aren’t gonna make him admit his mistakes, I am just avoiding what might happen if he impulsively decides things. Just like how he almost kill himself, I would not wonder if he will grab you Phoebe, and hurt you in his anger. I can already see in his eyes the anger that he is concealing in front of me. And by his words earlier, he is getting insane. We don’t want to unleash the criminal out of him, not in my house. It is safer to bring him back home and talk with him, with his parents beside him, later.” 

The teenagers beside him couldn’t help but just agree. The archduke bid his goodbye again to them as he returned where he was from. Andrei and Phoebe spent their day in the mansion, for whatever reason the archduke has in mind.

The next day, after Phoebe’s meeting, the archduke invited her to the office. “Are we gonna…” She looked at the archduke as he nods. “It’s better to have you there, so I could have direct testimony from you. Let’s go.” They board into the carriage. 

Minutes of traveling later, they arrived at the buildings just near the castle, which the offices of the councils are. Both of them went down the carriage, Phoebe was a little bit nervous since it’s the first time she will meet her enemy’s parents. Also, she doesn’t know what will happen, and if this will just bring more problems to her scholar provider. 

They entered the building as they went upstairs to the archduke’s personal office. There, he saw the parents of Cledwyn with their son, the newly promoted Law Councilor Claro and Lady Ledimine. “Good afternoon, sir Bermin.” Both of them smile as he invited them into his office. 

It was the second time Phoebe and Cledwyn met that day, and their second meeting would be more worst than earlier. And Cledwyn’s mood will be worst than earlier, also. 

Both parties took their seats. This was no ordinary meeting for Claro and Bermin. It was not just a normal boss-employee meeting and talk. It was a guardian-to-guardian talk for them. “I have heard that my son is having complications with your scholar, can you tell what is happening, sir Bermin?” 

“Yes, and apparently, he broke the rule in my mansion and disrespected the respected grounds of my home. He even trespassed Phoebe’s room. I am disappointed with his attitude, especially his parents are known leaders in the kingdom.” 

“Is that so, sir Bermin? But my son said that he is just unveiling a truth that can help the kingdom prosper. And apparently, your scholar has some secrets that she is hiding from you.” Claro countered him as Bermin snickered. “And you are buying that too? Mr. Claro, he literally trespassed one of the rooms in my mansion, and he should take an account of that.” 

“I am trespassing her room because she is hiding something, sir Bermin. She wants the king to overthrow! You haven’t noticed yet that she is using you to make her plans? I don’t know why is she doing this, but you need to protect your brother and desist that scholar that you got!” Cledwyn suddenly inserted himself into the conversation. 

“Did I told you to speak? I am speaking to your parents, apparently, you aren’t taught by them how to respect someone higher than you. I mean, if you don’t see me as the archduke, at least see me as an elderly to you.” He glared at the teenager beside his mother. 

“Excuse me, sir Bermin. Don’t you treat my son like that? He is just speaking his side, hear him out. I know my son, if he is determined to something, it means the truth. Maybe you could investigate your scholar rather than my son.” Ledimine insisted. 

“Maybe you could observe your son and know him a little bit. Apparently, his classmates hate him. And, you know, he and my scholar are both class leaders. And, that’s why this fight even took place, because of a position they can share because it is meant to be shared.” 

“I don’t think my son is as petty as that, sir—” He looked at Claro, “Apparently, he is. He has been blackmailing and threatening Phoebe here to succeed in his plans.” He looks at Phoebe who nods, “Last time, he threatened me to tell something that isn’t true in exchange for me resigning for my position and even making me tell he is the best, he is—” 

“I didn’t tell that! You liar! You pathetic little liar—” Cledwyn suddenly burst his anger as the archduke look at him. “Silence! Watch your words, Cledwyn.” He looks at his parents, “You saw it for yourself. You better teach your son how to respect and not burst his anger. If I can, I can make their whole class say testimonies how your son is doing at school.” 

His mother pulled him back at the chair and makes him calm. “Your son is guilty of trespassing on one of the rooms of the mansion. He even jumped to escape his sins and trying to flee from punishment.”

“Maybe he is just scared of the guards, sir… He said that he was scared of the guards that approached him.” Lady Ledimine reasoned but was ignored by the archduke. 

“He doesn’t have a reason to trespass the grounds I didn’t permit him to go on. This is common sense, and he has a petty reason to go inside Phoebe’s room. It’s a p*****t’s deed. And I am not a bad person, but I didn’t like what he did, so his punishment will be a restraining order for a month for getting in contact with Phoebe. He is not allowed to talk to Phoebe unless it is about their duty. They must have another companion when they talk. And he is now banned to ever step on my mansion.”

His parents don’t have a choice but to agree with it. “Come on, Cledwyn, promise the archduke you will do what he said.” His mother pleaded as for the first time in Phoebe’s history, he surrendered and lowered his ego a bit. “Fine, I’ll do it.” 

“So, it is clear now. And, Cledwyn, don’t say false information. You will get used to it and I don’t want a future leader to be like that. Only speak the truth, and if it is the truth, don’t ever use that against your enemies just for your own good.” The teenager has no choice but to nod. 

The archduke dismissed them as they leave the room. Cledwyn approached Phoebe for a moment as they went out.

“You will pay for this soon.”