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Waiting and Hope (Part 6)
“Miss Freya.”
“What’s wrong? Somebody here? If it’s Nara, tell her that I’m not here.”
Freya shut her notebook, swept it up and prepared to flee, but then Gerald stopped her: “It is not Miss Nara but Mr. Castell.”
“Castell? He’s inferior to Nara.” Freya rubbed her face, and then placed her notebook back down on the table while simultaneously sitting back in her chair. She took in a deep breath to ensure she had the right expression, and then said, “Let Castell in. I hope he doesn’t bring me something worse than this headache I’ve already got. The dragon that has just come is putting me on edge enough. With Castell coming now, it’s just making matters worse.”
“I, on the other hand, do not think that Mr. Castell is a bad individual
”
“Yes, he’s not a bad individual, but he only ever brings bad news, so I’m hardly willing to see him. I wouldn’t be so poor right now had it not been for the last few things he did. I can’t shake off the feeling there’s definitely something coming after the dragon came back, but she didn’t bring me anything. I guess I will have to wait for Onii-sama to come back.”
Just as Castell paid a lot of attention to Freya and was full of praise for her, Freya was just as nervous around him and vigilant of him. Technically, Castell spearheaded the faction that attacked His Majesty’s Luna and Freya. Thus, from Freya’s perspective, Castell was once an enemy who wanted her dead.
Gerald pivoted and pulled the door open. Castell wore his usual smile as he placed his hat onto the coat rack by the side. He gave Freya a smile before greeting her: “Hello, Miss Freya, long-time no see.”
Freya responded with a smile: “Indeed. According to what I know, you should be at Hilles City. I never imagined you had the time to quickly make another trip back here. There is nothing to bother you with here this time. Are you here for a vacation? I think the hot springs at Troy City would be better.”
Castell sat down opposite Freya and waited for Gerald to serve up hot tea. He didn’t say a word until the tea was served up: “Miss Freya, Troy City is not a good place for a vacation for me, since the hot springs are exclusively reserved for King Troy. I am but an ordinary servant. I have no right to enjoy it. Further, I have no time for a vacation just as you do not.”
Castell glanced over to the mountain of documents by the side. Then, he looked at Freya’s worn out expression and smiled. He continued, “Miss Freya, you are just a child at the end of the day. You must be exhausted after going through so much. I can understand that; I can totally understand that. We may have drastic differences between us, but we are now completely the same.”
“No, I do not think that we are the same. The North is a new nation, so it is a matter of course that I have more jobs. However, Rosvenor Empire is an empire that has already matured, correct? Hence, you would not have as much work, and therefore you can come for a vacation.”
Castell shook his head with a chuckle. He then leaned forward a little and quietly replied, “No. Frankly, we are the same right now. Are we both not without our masters at the moment? That is why I said we are both currently in the same situation. You would not have so much on your shoulders if King Troy was here. Similarly, if Empress Elizabeth returned to Hilles City, I would not have needed to come here again.”
Freya looked sternly at Castell and responded in a calm tone, “No, Mr. Castell. You and I are not the same.  I am not Onii-sama’s personal servant; Onii-sama’s personal servant is dead. I am Onii-sama’s younger sister, so there is no problem with me working for him.”
Castell looked blankly at Freya, while Freya started to feel annoyed. He chuckled. He leaned back and, with a smile, continued, “You are His Majesty’s sister. True. True. However, you must want for him to come back even if you do care about him, right? At present, Empress Elizabeth and King Troy are both absent. You are able to maintain the North, but Rosvenor Kingdom has been operating without Her Majesty. It has been too long since she was last back in Rosvenor Empire; therefore, I specifically came here this time to ask Empress Elizabeth to return to Hilles City and handle the national affairs.”
Freya chuckled then stood up: “If that is what you are here for, Mr. Castell, you can leave now, for that is not within my jurisdiction. As you pointed out, Her Majesty is the ruler of Rosvenor Empire at the end of the day. How could I possibly imprison or control her? Would it even be possible for me to forcefully send her back if she wanted to stay in the North? Mr. Castell, it is pointless for you to see me about this. You should be mentioning this to Empress Elizabeth.”
“Is that right
?”
“Yes. We have not stopped you from going to see Empress Elizabeth and most certainly have not used any questionable ploys, threats or deceit to force her to stay, unless you think my brother’s child, Daisy, kept her. If that was the case, would you force Princess Nier to bring Daisy with her or would you kill Daisy? Excuse me for being blunt, but putting my brother aside, even Empress Elizabeth would kill you.”
Castell softly laughed: “What are you saying? How could I possibly harbour such an idea? Are you acting ignorant? I know Empress Elizabeth really likes Daisy, I, too, like Miss Daisy very much. However, do you really think she would stay here for Miss Daisy?”
The two of them didn’t explicitly mention it, but they both knew well and truly the true reason Elizabeth refused to return. Daisy was one reason. Elizabeth made up for her regret as a mother by taking care of Daisy, but she wasn’t staying in the North for Daisy, for Nier was Daisy’s mother. Elizabeth knew that very well. She was merely Daisy’s grandmother; she couldn’t replace Daisy’s mother. Therefore, she would leave after a certain amount of time. The only reason she still hadn’t returned was Troy.
Troy Galadriel Rosvenor had yet to return home. He was the sole descendent of Empress Elizabeth’s family and her child she valued most. Daisy wasn’t her child, but Troy was her biological son. Furthermore, his whereabouts were currently unknown. Elizabeth couldn’t return to Hilles City before he was found; she would only return after confirming Troy’s safety.
Previously, Freya had no clue as to how her brother was doing. In fact, she, herself, was worried. Nevertheless, since Vyvyan and Sylvanas came back, it meant her brother was all right. Further, that would soon be proven. Not only was he coming back alive, but he was also bringing Luna back. Luna and Freya had a very good relationship. Freya was happy to see Luna once again.
“This was meant to be a secret, so how does Castell know about it?” contemplated Freya.
As aforementioned, Elizabeth’s only concern was her son’s safety. She stayed in the North, because his status was unknown. Her staying in the North could, therefore, be explained. She should return, seeing as she now knew that her son was safe and sound, however.  While Freya didn’t care where Elizabeth was – as a matter of fact, it had nothing to do with the North – Elizabeth was the ruler of Rosvenor Empire. She had to go back. It was merely a question of when she was leaving. As such, Freya didn’t bother with what Elizabeth did. But nevertheless, Freya, herself, didn’t know where Elizabeth was. Lucia and Nier should know, but they were tight lipped. By the looks of things, it was safe to assume Elizabeth knew she would be dragged back. To dodge the bullet, she left beforehand. Elizabeth merely wanted to see her son.
Freya expressed, “But, whatever the case may be, the reason for Empress Elizabeth staying here is of no importance and wanting to convince her to go is none of my business. Empress Elizabeth has her own legs, her own mind and her own feelings. We have no control over where she goes. Are you not already aware of that? Unfortunately, I do not know where Empress Elizabeth is at the moment, either, but I can tell you that she is not in the Imperial Palace.”
Agitated, Castell jumped to his feet and shouted, “What did you say?! You let our Empress go missing in your North?!  If any misfortune befalls her, it will be a signal that you are declaring war on us.”
Freya looked at Castell fearlessly: “Yeah? Even so, my answer remains the same. I do not know.”
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It didn’t take long to go from Ling Yue’s place to the Imperial Palace; not to mention the White Deer King’s speed. We could arrive outside the Imperial Palace within a day. There was nothing wrong in the nearby vicinity of the Imperial City except the extra run-down small house.
I didn’t remember the small house being there when I left, but I expected a house thoughtlessly set up to be torn down later. I didn’t pay attention to it and continued toward the Imperial Palace.