The Problematic Prince

✧ A Golden Opportunity✧

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

In a certain household, a pair of middle-aged man and woman could be seen arguing with an apparent frustration on their faces.

“You are already aware of our situation, sooner or later we will lose our property; bankruptcy is just around the corner! Even if you want to, you don’t have anything of worth to share with your ex-wife’s daughter!”

Brenda Hardy screamed loudly at her husband, Walter Hardy, whose mouth seemed to be sewn shut for quite awhile now. Last night’s events shocked her so much that she had been in a daze ever since. She, however, slowly recovered her sanity, with anger now slowly filling up her whole being. Her husband, on the other hand, continued being silent with a glass of alcohol in his hand.

“Are you even listening to me? Hello, dear husband? Viscount Hardy???”

Brenda continuously called out nervously without success. In the end, she decided to take away the bottle of alcohol that was beside her husband. Ever since the scamming incident, Walter had been drowning his anger and sorrow with alcohol everyday, living listlessly like a doll with its strings cut. She usually left him alone, but today was an especially annoying day for her so she needs him to sober up.

“Someone….. Who introduced herself as the daughter of the Hardy family visited last night.” When Brenda first heard this from the maid, who informed her hurriedly, she initially thought that it was just a crazy person trying to create trouble. If the maid didn’t mention the name “Erna Hardy”, Viscountess Hardy would have called for the guards and ordered them to drag the trespasser away.

Just why did Annette’s daughter decided to show up out of the blue?

She quickly made her way outside in disbelief, only to see a jaw dropping scene in front her. Erna Hardy, standing alone outside their estate, looked just exactly like her mother, Annette Baden; to the point that Brenda felt that Annette came back to life. Erna’s outdated attire also baffled her, but it didn’t shock her as much as Erna’s striking resemblance to her dead mother.

“Honey! What are you going to do with that kid??”

“Of course, I’m going to send her back.” Walter, who had been acting like a driftwood floating in a river, finally responded. “You just have to convince that kid to listen to you and ask her to go back. You can do that with ease, Brenda.”

“It’s very easy for you to say that! I know I can speak well, but she came all the way here just to ask an absurd request to us. She might not leave that easily even when she knows that there is no chance that we will help her!” She sarcastically snorted.

Erna, that kid, asked Viscount Hardy’s help to prevent the main house of the Baden family from falling to a stranger’s hands. On top of asking such a shameless request, her face also showed nervousness, obviously aware of the fact that she was asking something very ridiculous. She was so different from her mother, Annette, who was very articulate and carried herself with confidence. Regardless, Brenda still had to use all of her willpower to stop herself from throwing the girl, who looks so much like the person she hated, outside.

“Sir, Madam, breakfast is ready to be served. I’ll call down Lady Erna to join you two in a moment.” The maid’s sudden voice and careful knocking from the opposite side of the door halted Viscountess Hardy’s imminent outburst.

“Eloquently persuade her to leave on her own accord. You can do that easily, right?” Viscount Hardy stood up and left his second wife behind.

They already provided her with a meal and a place to stay for the night, such was just basic courtesy that every nobles should provide. Walter felt that he had already done enough, and was determined to drive this daughter, who came out of nowhere, out of his estate. He didn’t have an inkling of desire to acknowledge her as his child, much more so after she shamelessly asked him to cough up his money like a debt collector fishing in troubled waters. His intent was already set in stone, until he personally saw his daughter, who was quietly waiting in the dining room.

“Hello, Father..” Erna, who blinked her doe eyes with bated breath, greeted softly with a clear voice.

‘Me… father?’ He internally pondered while looking at the lady in front of him with a scrutinizing gaze.

Her head was slightly tilted with her trembling hands clasped together, an obvious attempt to soothe her nervousness. A small face with clean facial features that evokes goodwill, with a petite and slender build; she truly resembled her mother perfectly, aside from her brown hair that was clearly inherited from him. Walter Hardy dryly swallowed and continued to examine her so-called daughter. Even in such an outdated outfit, her beauty still couldn’t be ignored; what more so if he properly dressed her up? He was sure that her looks wouldn’t be that far behind compared to Princess Gladys, who was revered as the most beautiful lady by the whole kingdom.

With his foggy mind suddenly clearing up after realization hits, Walter uttered a soft yell without realizing it. A golden opportunity had presented itself out of the blue during the time that he needed it the most.

“Let’s sit down and have our meal first.” He announced suddenly. His wife, who was shocked because of her husband’s contradictory actions, was now seriously staring at him as if he just lost his sanity.

‘Just what do you think you are doing!?’ Brenda silently questioned him with a sharp glare while he, on the other hand, continued to ignore her. She could just quietly stand there, licking her dry lips in an attempt to moisten them.

“Let’s talk more about your matters later, my child. It seems that you have something important to tell me.”

*.·:·.✧.·:·.*

The Grand Duke’s carriage, which left the estate last night, finally returned home with the bright morning sun as its company. Such a scene might have caused a ruckus in other estates, but the servants of the Schuber Palace had long grown accustomed to it since this was an everyday occurrence for them.

“Good morning, Mrs. Fritz.” Bjorn greeted casually but Mrs. Fritz, on the other hand, just maintained her stoic expression. The faint smell of alcohol carried by the Prince that mixed together with the fresh morning air made the wrinkles on her forehead deepened more.

“You arrived back home much earlier than usual, Your Highness.” She replied sarcastically, but he only smiled softly in reply to her sarcasm.

He made his way towards the estate, passing by the bowing servants who greeted him at the hallway. With a majestic aura that belongs to the royalty and his straight and elegant posture, nobody could tell that this man stayed up all night outside, doing who knows what somewhere out there. She couldn’t help but worry for his health, however, she could only deeply sighed and silently follow him behind.

“An invitation has arrived from the Royal Palace.” After going through a long list of invitations that invited him to social gatherings, Mrs. Fritz sternly reported at the end. Bjorn, who arrived at the door to his bedroom, turned around and looked at her with suspicion.

“From the palace? What did it say?”

“His Majesty, The King has ordered for His Highness presence at the upcoming Founding Ball to fulfill his duties and responsibilities as Grand Duke Schuber no matter what. If the Prince failed to comply, all servants in the Grand Duke’s residence will be held responsible.”

“Invitation? That sounded more like a threat to me.” He complained with a dry smile while opening the door to his room. His reddish eyes and sluggish gait that showed his fatigue contradicted the lively morning atmosphere of the estate.

The Founding Ceremony of Lechen was celebrated every May with a royal ball. It was a grand event that also marked the beginning of each year, hence, it would always draw the attention of every nobility. There were even some over-the-top nobles who made preparations for a whole year just for this specific ball.

Bjorn, on the other hand, stopped attending the Founding Ball after he abdicated his position as the Crown Prince. It seems that the elders of the Royal Family, who didn’t bat an eyelid regarding his non-participation, had a change of heart and requested his presence once again. The reason must be something closely related to Gladys, as he kept hearing her name repeatedly as of lately. He exasperatedly took off his jacket and untied his tie, while the maids who followed him behind quickly dragged the thick curtains close to block the sun. Mrs. Fritz, on the other hand, stood silently as she waited for the Prince to finish removing his clothes.

‘Is there any lady out there that managed to catch your attention?’ His mother, The Queen, seriously asked him out of the blue at the end of the charity party.

‘I didn’t think that one divorce was not enough for you. Should I add more then?’ He, on the contrary, responded to her query jokingly. After hearing his response, she looked at his son with deep concern in her eyes that couldn’t be hidden. This was probably one of the reasons why he suddenly received an invitation for the ball.

He haphazardly took off his shirt and threw himself on the bed due to fatigue. The maids, who finished their duties, quietly retreated from the room with haste. He silently stared at the ceiling for a while, various thoughts keeping him awake. With exhaustion finally taking over his body, he closed his eyes and soon fell asleep; only the sound of regular breathing echoing inside the quiet room could be heard.

* * *

A weird atmosphere had lingered around the house as of lately.

This was Erna’s conclusion during her three days stay at the Hardy’s Mansion. It was as if a dark and gloomy cloud enveloped the whole estate, making the atmosphere heavier than usual. If only she could leave soon and return to Buford, but Viscount Hardy’s vague answers to her request made her stay over longer than she anticipated. She would prefer it more for him to decline her request right away rather than anxiously anticipating for a long time just for him to refuse in the end.

‘Stop thinking too much about it.’ She inwardly thought and continued to wait. However, the answer that she anxiously waited for was still nowhere to be heard on the next day.

If they could just finally give her their verdict, she would have given up and quickly left without making a scene. To stay here for so long when she was an uninvited guest all along, even she was aware of how shameless such actions were that she couldn’t bear the humiliation any longer. Moreover, she was worried that her grandmother was anxiously waiting for her granddaughter who had only left a single letter behind and ran away from home at night.

‘Maybe taking a walk outside can help her calm her anxious mind?’ She carefully considered, however, yesterday’s incident suddenly came to mind. She went out yesterday for an afternoon walk to ease her frustration, but the short trip that would have supposedly been a pleasant experience turned into a tragic event. A man, whom she didn’t know of, kept trying to initiate a conversation with her. He even followed her behind when she refused his endeavor, which made Erna run away frantically. Just remembering this experience made her hands tremble unconsciously.

“Miss Erna, are you inside?” A lively voice, accompanied by soft knocking, made her reminiscing thoughts come back to the present. Erna looked outside through the window, and with a sigh, closed the curtains hanging on the side. Another round of door knocking could be heard as she meticulously fixed her dress.

“Yes, I’m here. You can come in now.” She said as she sat at the table that was near the window. Moments later, the door opened and a maid carrying a tray of afternoon tea and snacks came inside.

“Thank you.”

“You did it again, miss! I’m just doing my duty, you don’t have to be so thankful~”

“What? Oh…… right.” Erna shyly smiled while staring at the maid.

The young maid, who introduced herself as Lisa, was assigned to Erna as her personal maid during her stay. She was thankful for the young maid’s meticulous care during these past few days, but Erna felt a bit awkward interacting with someone who was the same age as hers. Even though Lisa was a friendly girl with a radiant smile always on her face, Erna hadn’t talked to anyone as young as her for a long time. Her only friend, Pavel, had left their town after he decided to attend college and ever since then she rarely talked to anyone besides her grandmother.

‘Speaking of Pavel, I heard that the Royal Academy of Arts is located in one of Schuber’s city.’

Belated regret came rushing in her being after she remembered her only friend. She wished she knew the address where Pavel stays, it would have been a great idea to visit him. Too bad this thought didn’t come to mind because she was leaving secretly in a hurry.

The hometown of her mother, Buford, was located in the most remote part of the kingdom; one would need a whole day just to reach the nearest town. Baroness Baden chose to live a secluded life unfettered by worldly events in the village, and Erna, who grew up besides her grandmother, chose to live the same way. Without Pavel, it was not an exaggeration to say that she would have lived her life only interacting with her grandmother, their livestock, and various plants and flowers.

“Excuse me, Lisa..” Erna softly called out. Hearing her, Lisa’s eyes shone with anticipation, stared at her while she was holding a teapot.

“Yes, miss! What can I do for you?”

“Is the Royal Academy of Arts near here?”

“It is about five stops away by carriage. Will you be going there?”

“No, it’s not like that. I was just curious.” Erna quickly said while shaking her head. Even if she longs to see her only friend, it would be quite rude to suddenly appear at someone’s residence without notice. Furthermore, her current situation was complicated; she should just stay put and wait quietly rather than going outside.

“By the way, Lisa… Is there something going on at the Hardy Family? Truthfully, I found the atmosphere a bit strange as of lately.” Erna carefully asked what she had been curious about.

“What? Well…… I think… Everything is fine?” The maid quickly answered while avoiding her gaze. “I don’t really know that much, miss. Really! I haven’t been to this mansion for a while, therefore… I also have no idea.”

“I see. Sorry for suddenly asking such a weird question.”

“No problem! It’s not big of a matter.” The maid hurriedly brought a cup of tea to Erna. However, she didn’t seem to notice that the tea she just served had splattered on the saucer.

While the maid’s attention was elsewhere, Erna quickly wiped away the saucer and proceeded to hide the tea-stained handkerchief out of sight. It was then that an unfamiliar voice, along with soft knocking on the door, was heard.

“Lady Erna, the Master is looking for you.”

It was the message that she had been waiting anxiously for.

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