The Lady Awaits a Broken Engagement

Chapter 2

* * *

“The fifth prince, Ricardo Gael de Caesario, will be visiting our manor next week,” Benjamin said.

Savina’s knife slightly slid against the surface of her plate as soon as she heard Benjamin’s words. Immediately, her fingers stiffened in surprise and trepidation, even though the sound of the cutlery scraping against her plate was so small that she could barely hear it. She knew that a warning would be flying her way any second now.

“Tsk…”

There it was—the sound of someone clicking their tongue sharply in displeasure. Simon Charlot, the previous duke of House Charlot, was shooting his granddaughter an icy gaze from the head of the table.

Savina quickly fixed the position of her knife. The following apology came almost instantly, as if it were an old habit.

“My apologies.”

It was like Simon did not hear her. “It has already been three years since you came to this manor. It is hard to believe that you still have not learned your table etiquette.”

Savina hung her head silently. She knew that there would be no point in trying to defend herself by saying that the unexpected news had caught her off guard.

At the back of the room, the maids were glancing at each other in confusion. It was obvious that none of them truly knew what was going on. After all, the girl’s mistake had been an incredibly insignificant one. Not even those who were sitting at the table had noticed it, such as Benjamin, who was staring at Simon in confusion. It was much too harsh of Simon to scold Savina in public for using her knife wrong just once, especially considering that she was his eleven-year-old granddaughter, who had only started living at the manor three years ago.

Ever since she had begun living at the Charlot Manor during the spring of her eighth year, Savina had been forced to stay ahead of the learning curve of most other noble children. Thanks to this, she was now incredibly elegant and sophisticated for her age. However, it appeared that this was still not enough for Simon. The previous duke glanced at Savina, who was still sitting with a rigid face. Apparently, he had discovered something else to scold his granddaughter for.

“It seems like you may need a new dress as well. There is no reason to act so frugal. I gave you a large sum of money for your clothing, if I recall correctly. If you keep this up, the others may start mocking you for only owning a single dress.”

Savina usually wore the same dress for her meals, which Simon was now using against her. However, it wasn’t as if she avoided wearing new clothes because she had an incredibly frugal nature. In fact, Simon was the one who should be held responsible for this observation. The previous duke always pointed out something about her appearance whenever he saw her. He had also forced her to throw out countless dresses, citing reasons such as the materials being too cheap or the designs being unsophisticated.

Now, Savina looked down to study the dress that she was wearing. It was a black velvet dress that covered her neck and ankles completely. Even though the material and design of the dress made it an incredibly uncomfortable one for a child, she had been wearing it frequently simply because it was one of the few dresses that the previous duke did not scold her over. And now, she would have to throw it away just because she had worn it too many times.

This was exactly the reason she had to worry about doing something incorrectly every time she was exposed to Simon’s judgmental gaze. Her grandfather always dissected every single detail of her life in the most critical manner, such as her education, the books she was reading, and whether or not she was acting like a proper Charlot.

Perhaps he was taking his anger out on his granddaughter simply because he would never be able to see his insolent son again. It was also possible that he was attempting to mold her into the most perfect noblewoman to compensate for the crucial trait that she was missing.

Historically, House Charlot had always been a family of water magicians, and every single head of the family was well-known across the world. Since this ability ran in the family, the children of House Charlot usually manifested their abilities even if they were not to become the heir. Naturally, the current duke, Benjamin, was known for his incredible abilities.

Even Liam, Savina’s father, had possessed exceptional abilities in his younger days, although Savina had never seen him use them. Perhaps he had wished to avoid being tracked down after leaving House Charlot. Nevertheless, the fact of the matter was that Liam had been qualified to be the heir of House Charlot for more than simply being the eldest son. Maybe this is why everybody at manor expected her to prove her worth by manifesting her abilities, at the very least.

However, Savina thwarted all of their expectations with the passing of her eleventh birthday. Children typically manifest their special abilities around ten years of age, when puberty also began to take hold. Unfortunately, she did not show any signs of manifesting an ability, which came as a disappointment to the numerous eyes that were watching her.

Both Benjamin and Simon had worked incredibly hard to prove the superiority of their bloodline. However, their efforts were proving to be futile. According to the gossip that went around, this was because Savina had “impure blood” flowing in her veins. Sometimes she wondered if her life would be any better if she did have some sort of special ability. There was no point in entertaining the thought, of course.

“I will order a tailor to come to the manor. Meet with him when you can,” Benjamin said.

Savina bowed slightly in response. “Of course, Your Grace. Thank you.”

Simon did not even comment on the respect that Savina was showing him, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Instead, he turned his gaze to his beloved son. “Which room will you give to the fifth prince?”

Benjamin dabbed his lips gracefully with his napkin. “I have ordered the servants to clean the bedroom at the end of the second floor in the main wing. I do not believe it should take too long. Although it has been unoccupied for a while, it has been continuously maintained.”

Upon hearing this, Simon frowned in displeasure. “But that room…”

Although it was obvious that Simon wished to comment further, Benjamin cut him off coldly. “Since that room is in close proximity to mine, I will be able to keep an eye on him. I believe that this will help prevent any unwanted incidents.”

Hearing the determination and decisiveness behind his son’s words, Simon did not make any further comments. Perhaps he simply wanted to respect the current duke’s wishes, but perhaps he was also concerned about those “unwanted incidents”.

Savina, who had been listening to them quietly, finally spoke up. “Will His Highness be staying at the manor for a long time?”

“He will be here for at least half a year,” responded Benjamin, sounding a bit unhappy about the fact.

Next to him, Simon stared into the distance silently, as if trying to fathom just how long half a year would be. After a long moment of contemplation, he called out to his granddaughter.

“Savina.”

“Yes, Your Grace,” she responded.

“We will be moving your quarters to the annex for the time being,” he announced. “Do not come to the main building once the prince arrives. Stay quiet and discreet.”

Savina didn’t respond.

“If you happen to run into the prince, simply say that you are a maid.”

She wondered if Simon was so ashamed of her so-called impure blood that he couldn’t bear to even show her to a royal. Is he so ashamed of me that he doesn’t even want me to call myself a Charlot?

“Of course, Your Grace,” she said, bowing. Although the words would have been hurtful to most, she did not make any further comments. She simply lowered her gaze as if to show that she would not fight the decision.

It was painfully obvious that Simon was casting her out. However, Savina knew that this situation may benefit her instead.

“May I ask just one question?” she asked, as if she wanted to confirm one last thing before making up her mind.

“What is it?” Simon sighed.

“Why exactly is His Highness coming to the manor?”

She could not stop her voice from trembling when referring to the fifth prince. However, it was not because she was afraid of her grandfather scolding her for her insolence.

“It is because Her Majesty has graciously asked us to help educate the prince,” Simon responded without even glancing at Savina, making it obvious that her question was a worthless one to him. Thanks to this, he did not see how his granddaughter’s face was frozen in shock.

Suppressing a groan, she clenched her hands into fists under the table. “I don’t think the food is agreeing with me… I am not feeling too well. May I retreat to my room?”

Luckily, even Simon allowed her to leave without scolding her any further. Perhaps she truly looked ill at that moment.

Savina walked out of the dining hall after excusing herself politely and thanking the others. After dismissing the maid who was trailing behind her, she began to walk through the hallway. Her steps were slow at first, but they slowly sped up until she was almost sprinting. Contrary to what she had told Simon, she did not return to her room. Instead, she ran out of the main wing and headed toward the front gates. She could feel the servants’ confused gaze, but she ran right past them.

Even though she was panting, she kept running until she reached the tall walls. It felt like her heart was about to beat out of her chest. After checking that there was nobody else around her, she covered her lips with both of her hands. Even then, she was plagued by disbelief.

“So... it’s true,” Savina murmured, torn between shock and misery. Slowly, she lowered her hands from her face. Turning around to face the manor that she had just run from, she said with much more confidence, “I’ve become a character from that novel.”