North x Northwest

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Side story 3 – Liloa’s Chapter 1: The Fruit

Liloa ran to her nanny like a child running away from someone she despised as soon as the dance ended. Because she hid her body behind the hem of her nanny’s skirt, the people around her burst out laughing.

“…The young lady must be feeling shy…”

‘No, that’s not it!’

But Liloa didn’t know how to convey her feelings properly. She was also afraid that people might misunderstand that she actually liked the Duke. No, for a long time now, they had already been misunderstanding everything. Someone in the crowd even praised them as an unusually well-matched pair. Hearing such words, goosebumps appeared all over her body and she felt nauseous.

“Perhaps they’re right. Why are you acting like this today? You’re usually well-behaved.”

Liloa suddenly realised that her nanny couldn’t help her. She had no power. So Liloa looked around for her mother instead. The best Liloa could do for now was to hold back her tears that were about to burst out.

“I will go see my mother.”contemporary romance

To avoid arousing suspicion, Liloa forced herself to straighten her back and hold her head up high. While the gathered courtiers looked at her as if they were proud that she had overcome her shyness, Liloa’s bloating stomach kept making her sick.

She cast her eyes over the podium.

‘Mother’s not there. Father neither. Only the Duke of Lacroix is sitting alone among the empty seats…’

When the Duke’s eyes met Liloa’s over his glass, she quickly looked away and pretended not to see him.

With Liloa’s dance ending, and the Archduke and his wife away from the main hall, the people who were gathered at the banquet began to chatter noisily. As the music got louder, the guests dancing to the lively music stamped their feet.

Liloa eventually found Henrietta among the rushing crowd and ran after her. Noticing Henrietta moving somewhere without her ladies-in-waiting, Liloa followed her mother more diligently. When Henrietta left the main hall and entered the transept gallery, Liloa didn’t encounter a single person along the way. But it was only natural, for the eastern transept was her family’s private residence.

Liloa narrowed her eyes at the two figures she caught a glimpse of across the gallery.

Henrietta was walking quickly towards them.

“Archduke.”

Along with the sound of her shoes echoing through the empty gallery, Henrietta repeatedly called Joseph. As soon as Liloa realised that the man across from her was her father, she hid behind a statue.

“Archduke… Archduke!”

“What is going on?”

Henrietta didn’t answer. So, Liloa held her breath and watched the sight of three people frozen in place. Henrietta, unable to bear it any longer, raised her voice.

“Joseph!”

A sigh was heard from Joseph.

“Wait in the inner room.”

Then the sound of shoes, much slower than Henrietta’s, moved closer towards Liloa. She turned out to be Madame Drieux. But without the gallery’s lights on, Liloa almost mistook her for Henrietta. The more she looked at the woman, the more she saw Madame Drieux’s resemblance to her mother. Peeking between the statue’s legs, Liloa noticed the woman’s dishevelled makeup and clothes.

Even after Madame Drieux completely left the gallery, Liloa’s parents remained frozen in their spots while facing each other in silence.

“This is Your Highness’ child. Please show mercy.”

“…”

Liloa couldn’t understand the first words Henrietta uttered after a long while.

“The child is not even ten years old. Marriage is not yet suitable for her. Did you see her frivolous act with her nanny as soon as the dance ended? That is immaturity!”

Only then did Liloa realise that Henrietta was talking about her. Normally, she would tend to feel bad about her mother’s criticism, but for some reason, she wanted to be criticised more. Her mother judged her to be too immature and wanted her father to punish her by saying that marriage was not something that should be considered yet.

“Did you barge in here just to tell me that?”

“…”

“After all these years, you came looking for me just to say that?”

“Quit with the useless sentiment. Do you want me to believe that you were truly counting the years?”

“Henrietta!”

“Was it not Your Highness who refused to leave the arms of Drieux even when I kept calling you just a few moments ago? How can the monarch of a country be this shallow? Now, if you try to act all sentimental, you will only be making a fool of yourself. So, stop it.”

“…”

Joseph, unable to overcome his sudden anger, wrapped his arms around Henrietta’s waist and pulled her to him. Liloa closed her eyes in horror.

“What? Are you planning to kiss me?”

Henrietta’s tone remained consistent. Indifferent yet languid. It became clear that the only one who was angry was Joseph. Liloa could feel it just by hearing his voice. It felt strange to her that her father could be this angry.

“Even without your sarcastic tone, I know very well how terrible you think of me.”

“Good.”

“…”

“In that case, before I feel even more strongly against you, heed this request of mine. Turn down Lacroix’s marriage proposal. As I said, the child is not even ten years old. And the Duke’s eyes when he looks at Liloa are abominable. Do not tell me you believe your subjects’ jokes and flatteries about Liloa being “ladylike”. And do not even try to sell my daughter per your agreement with Lacroix…”

“What do you mean ‘sell?’ Liloa is my daughter too.”

“Then act like it. Otherwise, I will tell His Majesty the Emperor about you. I will tell him how poorly you treat me here. Even though His Majesty enjoys his own fairshare of side romances, I am sure he will not be able to stand his in-law’s rich personal life.”

“What would you have done without the backing of His Majesty?”

“Who knows?”

“There are plenty of other effective threats…”

Joseph brought a strand of Henrietta’s hair to the tip of his nose, but Henrietta didn’t budge, despite Joseph’s open display of his desires.

“…only to be defeated by betting on the most insignificant His Majesty.”

“So, are you going to do anything about this? I want to see if Your Highness is still the man who falls for my absurd threats.”

Although Liloa couldn’t fully understand her parents’ conversation, she did vaguely feel that the popular rumour that Joseph was indifferent to Henrietta might not be true.

At least one thing became clear to her. Her father gave in to her mother’s complex and difficult threat, hence why her engagement was immediately cancelled after that day. Thanks to this, Liloa was able to avoid having to face Lacroix again.

Instead, Henrietta made other plans for Liloa.

“I will send you to Autriche.”

“…”

Madame Autriche was said to be Henrietta’s former nanny. So from that brief description alone, Liloa already felt a sense of closeness and favour towards Madame Autriche.

“Try to learn from her the manners of being a good lady, Liloa.”

“…”

On such a rare occasion, Henrietta even held Liloa in her arms. Liloa enjoyed the sudden stroke of luck she received. As she wrapped her short arms around her mother’s body, she rubbed her cheek against her mother’s soft embrace and smelled her sweet scent.

“You are still so small and young. You still have a lot to learn and master, all right?”

“Yes, mother.”

“Good. You’re a good child.”

After meeting the Duke of Lacroix, Liloa became very afraid of her fate of having to become an adult one day. Because of this, she fully trusted and followed Henrietta, who was trying to somehow keep her away from court life and the politics of marriage. Of course, the child was still perplexed as to the motivation or reason for this sudden whim. But it was enough.

Liloa even purposefully acted foolish and impatient for a short period of time, it touched Henrietta, who, despite despising such behaviour under normal circumstances, accepted Liloa’s tantrums even if they were only half-hearted at the time. It was like a puppet show, with only Henrietta and Liloa knowing the full story. And although Liloa had never felt her mother’s affection as a child, she felt that Henrietta’s new plan was the result of her mother’s inexplicable motherhood.

***

Autriche was a gentle and generous woman. Because she wasn’t young anymore when she became Henrietta’s nanny, her body was even more unwell and limped now. However, despite her limited mobility, Autriche lived the next phase of her life more prosperously, for when she left the palace after her days as a nanny, Philip I arranged for her to be matched with the Lord of Malus.

Malus was a small resort town in the southern part of the empire. It was a place where imperial nobles sought recuperation or exiled nobles from other countries mainly reside, so it was an area with a considerable income considering its small size.

The Lord and his wife welcomed their precious little guest from Obernyu.

Madame Autriche was said to have been both warm and stern when she was younger, but now she seemed to be unable to take great care of herself. Nonetheless, she couldn’t afford to refuse Henrietta’s request though, so she accepted Liloa. Yet at the same time, she couldn’t afford to chase after the lively child and teach her the culture and knowledge of a lady. As a result, Liloa began her country life with a freedom she had never known before.

– – – – –

Footnote:

Hi guys,

As more and more puzzle pieces of Liloa’s past are being put together, we thought it would be a good moment to explain some of the dynamics of her family, which will hopefully help you understand it a bit better.

Note: following information doesn’t contain any spoilers. All information is based on what could be read in the story thus far. 

Maybe you remember the part in the story where it was said that the current Emperor was thinking about matching his son Robero with Liloa. Marriage between cousins wasn’t unheard of in that time.

Principality of Obernyu:

Meaning principality according to Wikipedia: A principality (or sometimes princedom) can either be a monarchical feudatory or a sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a regnant-monarch with the title of prince and/or princess, or by a monarch with another title considered to fall under the generic meaning of the term prince … The term principality is also sometimes used generically for any small monarchy, especially for small sovereign states ruled by a monarch of a lesser rank than a king, such as a Fürst (usually translated in English as “prince”), or a Grand Duke … Historically there have been sovereign principalities with many styles of ruler, such as Countship, Margraviate and even Lordship, especially within the Holy Roman Empire. [WIKI]

Long story short: Obernyu is a state within the Empire wielded with absolute power by the Archduke.

Prince Regent of Obernyu:

Meaning principality according to Wikipedia: A prince regent or princess regent is a prince or princess who, due to their position in the line of succession, rules a monarchy as regent in the stead of a monarch, e.g., as a result of the sovereign’s incapacity (minority or illness) or absence (e.g., by remoteness, such as exile or long voyage, or the absence of an incumbent). [WIKI]

Long story short: Due to Joseph I illness, Venua is acting as the ruling head of the family/principality.

done.co