Chapter 233: COULD FEEL THE HOSTILITY
"Kai can use magic!" Aristia’s eyes bulged. She sat up on the bed, the memories of what she had seen coming back.
"That’s right. I don’t know how and why but I saw what happened to Kai."
[But there was something else, right?]
She paused, trying to remember.
"Ah!" A groan escaped her lips. She was hit by a headache the moment she tried to think of what else happened.
She rubbed her forehead.
"Ugh, why!"
She looked from the bed to the door, feeling a bit frustrated.
The sleep had gone out from her eyes and she was now wondering whether to leave the room or keep lying in bed.
In the end, she chose to lie in bed.
While looking at the patterns on the ceiling, she didn’t even know when she fell asleep.
"I’ve said it before; leave her alone. She’s too innocent to be tormented by you like this. You weren’t like this before."
"It’s really disgusting that you’re so vile, yet you keep pretending to be lofty and noble."
"Stay away from her. I won’t say it again."
"If you make her feel uncomfortable or even cry, don’t blame me for taking action."
"She hasn’t done anything to you. Why do you dislike her so much?"
Aristia’s brows knitted tightly.
The voices rang in her head. She became uncomfortable hearing it.
Her eyes squeezed tighter and tighter and her fists clenched subconsciously. The next moment, her eyes opened and her hand shot to her chest.
Her eyes darted around her, and seeing that she was still in her room, she relaxed.
[What happened?] She thought, chest heaving slightly.
The voices in her head sounded fresh, yet distant.
"What was that?" She asked aloud.
Her room was empty. Millie wasn’t there either. She was somewhere in the mansion’s grounds.
Aristia frowned. Even without seeing anyone, she could feel the hostility in the voices.
But she couldn’t wrap her head around it.
Why on Earth would she dream about something like that?
"And who’s the ’she’?" She muttered. She could still remember the words she had heard.
The weird dream bugged her. She got down from the bed, losing the desire to continue lying on it.
She didn’t notice that her throat was dry until her eyes fell on the jug of water.
She quickly moved to the bedside table and poured herself a glass of water. After gulping down all the water, she moved to the bathroom.
Putting some water in a bowl, she splashed it on her face. The cold water made her mind clear up.
She left the bathroom, her eyes stopping on the window. Rain pattered lightly on the window, creating a sound that was relaxing to hear.
Aristia sighed.
"So much for having a nap."
It was nearing winter and the rain made everywhere cold.
She picked up her shawl that was on the chaise lounge in her room and left the room, going down the stairs.
"Princess is awake." Adeline was coming up the stairs when she saw Aristia.
"Oh no, don’t misunderstand. I didn’t even get a wink of sleep." Aristia muttered under her breath.
"Where’s Kai?" She asked Adeline.
"He’s sleeping."
"And Owen?"
"He’s going through the reports."
"Oh..." Aristia nodded, feeling a bit guilty.
Most of the time now, she rarely went through the reports or anything work-related. It made her feel like she was slacking and Owen was overworking.
But that wasn’t why she was feeling guilty.
It was because...
[I’m feeling guilty because I’m not feeling guilty.] She didn’t feel guilty lounging and relaxing while her nine year old assistant worked his ass off.
[Does that make me a bad person? Well, he’s not really working his ass off. The reports aren’t that huge.]
Anyway, she still continued on her way down the stairs.
Adeline quickly followed her.
"Let me get you a snack, princess."
"Just some fruits will do." Aristia said.
Adeline nodded and off she went.
***
"Ah~ life is peaceful." Aristia exhaled.
Owen shook his head at her in amusement, muttering not so quietly under his breath, but everyone heard his words clearly.
"Of course it is. You’re eating and you haven’t attended any tea parties lately."
Aristia was speechless.
"I will take offense, thank you very much." She rolled her eyes and opened her mouth.
With ease, Adeline put a sliced apple into her mouth.
Kai kept silent, just watching them curiously, but thinking inside.
’The third princess really isn’t harsh. She’s so nice to him.’
The rain had stopped and Aristia, Alaric, Kai, Owen and Adeline were outside in the gazebo.
Because of the rain, the ground was still wet.
Aristia laid languidly on a chaise lounge in the gazebo.
Yes. There was a chaise in the gazebo. When her parents heard that Aristia wanted to rest in the gazebo, they ordered the servants to carry a chaise all the way to the gazebo. As crazy as it was, Aristia wasn’t complaining.
She opened her mouth and on cue again, Adeline put a cherry in her mouth.
Owen rolled his eyes.
"Keep doing that and your eyes will be stuck that way." Aristia said. Even without looking at him, she knew what he did.
Owen scoffed and put a grape into his mouth with his own hands. Poor him. He didn’t have a servant to feed him. But he was also lying on a chaise and so was Kai. Perks of being the princess’s people.
Aristia sighed and shook her head with an exaggerated expression. Owen was right about what he said though; life was peaceful because she wasn’t being forced to go out, and the kingdom itself was relatively peaceful.
There were a few months until the year of the famine but she wasn’t worried because she had already made sure the kingdom was ready for it.
She would have felt even better if not for the dream that she had in the afternoon.
[If it can even be called a dream. It’s more of seeing nothing and hearing unfamiliar voices in my head.]
She turned to Kai, looking at him from top to bottom. Her lips curled up.
[So he can use magic, eh?]