When the Daffodil Blooms

CHAPTER 11

Three days from now and it will be the party that Prince Marius prepared for the founding anniversary of their empire. And of course, most of the nobles are busy preparing themselves for it. All the dress boutiques and tailor shops in the capital are fully booked. Most of the items in the jewelry shops were already sold and the stores that sell the best dancing shoes have announced their products are already sold out.

Having a party in the Royal Palace is not a rare occurrence. But it is rare for the royal twin siblings to attend such events. Usually, Prince Marius will only attend the party for a moment before going back to his office with Princess Andrea following him from behind. But this time, the Crown Prince announced that he will be staying with his twin princess until the end of the party.

Everyone, especially the young ladies who have a huge ambition and a burning desire in their hearts, is competing for the vacant seat of the Crown Princess. If they happen to get Prince Marius' attention and heart, then the second most powerful seat in their empire will become theirs. They will have the power, fame, and wealth that the empire can offer to them once they become the future empress.

The White family is also among these nobles who were busy preparing for the royal party. Or rather, only Countess Rosalyn and Roselyn are the only ones excited in their family. Count Byron just asked the butler to prepare him a suit that he can wear for the party. Although it is an honor to be invited to the Royal Palace and join their party, he is still a man who has no desire to have power that he cannot handle well.

As for Charlotte, she just randomly chooses a simple dress when Madam Olga, the famous dressmaker in their capital, visited their mansion to get their sizes and preferences. Countess Rosalyn tried to persuade her saying she should choose another dress but Charlotte refused it. She just told the Countess that a luxurious dress will not suit her at all.

After the day Countess Rosalyn invited her eldest daughter inside her room, she feels like their relationship becomes more distant. On the same day, Countess Rosalyn followed her eldest daughter's advice and sent a maid to Mr. Tills and asked him about the authenticity of the white serpent tea that she bought. And just like Charlotte had said, it was indeed fake. The Countess was scammed and has no idea how to get the money she paid on that scammer merchant.

She really didn't mean to snap at Charlotte that day. The Countess was only surprised when Charlotte told her the white serpent tea that she paid for ten thousand tilars was fake. She just cannot accept the fact that a scammer made her pay a huge amount of money for a fake item. After learning the truth, Countess Rosalyn tried to talk with her eldest daughter again but she keep refusing her invitations saying she is busy.

Since Charlotte doesn't want to talk to her, the Countess decided not to approach her in the meantime. Although she is still having small talks with Charlotte from time to time but she cannot consider it as a conversation. Luckily, she still has Roselyn on her side. That child is the one comforting her whenever she feels tired or sad.

Two days before the party, Charlotte visited Count Byron's office and ask for his permission to let her stay a night in her old place. Naturally, the Count becomes anxious and tells her not to go. But she told Count Byron that it is her foster parents' death anniversary and she wants to honor it quietly in their old house. Seeing how determined Charlotte is to go, the Count can only reluctantly give his permission.

Count Byron doesn't want to be too strict with Charlotte. Although he noticed she keeps on going out and avoids staying in their mansion, the Count can only talk to Charlotte about it in a gentle manner. He knows his daughter had already lived a different life for the past years. But he also has the desire to spend more time with Charlotte as her father.

After getting her father's permission, Charlotte is quick to tell Annie to prepare her things. Count Byron tells Charlotte to bring a guard with her and she didn't refuse his request. She will bring Annie and Sir Lance with her as an addition to her cover-up story. Before she leaves, Charlotte promised Count Byron that she will eat dinner with him tomorrow evening.

She also takes the initiative to ask her father if he can teach her more about piano after their dinner. Her efforts did not go unnoticed by the Count. With a smile, Count Byron said he will find a good piece and teach her how to play it on the piano. With a small smile on her lips, Charlotte said goodbye to the Count and left their mansion.

-/-/-/-

Of course, the story about her foster parents' death anniversary is just a lie. Charlotte just needs an excuse to leave the mansion without anyone suspecting her. Charlotte has a mission to do tonight and she cannot tell how long it will take to finish it. So instead of sneaking out, she just left the mansion.

Tonight's mission is a bit complicated. Charlotte's men have discovered a clue about where to find the hideout of those people who attacked the Royal Palace the other day. After she have the specific location, Charlotte told her knights to be ready since they will start their hunt tonight.

When they arrived at their destination, they saw some of those people are already escaping. Charlotte ordered the Nocturnus Knights to follow them. As for her, she boldly enters their hideout together with Sir Gabriel to face anyone left inside.

There are two huge men left inside their hideout. They must be the strongest among their group. The man with a huge weapon is quick to attack Sir Gabriel while the man with a huge tattoo on his face is trying to taunt her with his huge body. Charlotte ignores him and tells Sir Gabriel to be careful before attacking her opponent.

She is not trying to brag. But this is just a one-sided fight and it is in her favor. Charlotte had lost count of how many people underestimated her in battle because of her gender and body physique. But maybe it is also an advantage for her since she can take them by surprise once their battle starts.

Charlotte's opponent runs towards her and his hand is ready to smash the huge hammer on her head. He swings his arm strongly but Charlotte easily dodges it. From that move, she can tell that it is not fun fighting with him. That's why she pulls her sword from its sheath and uses it to attack the man.

With just one swing of her sword, the tattooed man let out a painful cry after he received a slice on his back. Charlotte ignores it and uses the back of her hand to wipe the spray on blood that stains her mask. Turning around, Charlotte can see the damage she had done to her enemy. Before the man can curse her, she raises her sword again and intentionally made a huge cut at the left side of his neck.

The tattooed man is having a hard time breathing. Touching his neck, his rich and hot blood is flowing from the cut he received just now. He still attempts to swing his hammer but Charlotte is quicker than him. He is momentarily confused for a moment until an unbearable pain slowly blooms in his right arm. When he looks at his arm, the tattooed man lost his balance and lets out a bloody scream.

Crimson blood is continuously flowing from his arm like a broken dam. He sucks a sharp breath as the pain spirals all across his body when his bare hand touches his arm. Panicking, the man tries to stop the blood from flowing by covering the open wound using his other hand, but it is only a futile attempt. His river-like blood is still flowing and it is creating a small pool of crimson liquid beside him.

General Rovira, on the other hand, kicks the arm she easily cuts away from the man sitting helplessly on the ground. She stares at the man with obvious disgust in her eyes. The man is bigger and taller than the female General. But at that moment, the tattooed man is just a pest that needs to be killed in General Rovira's eyes.

"It's very interesting." the female General said in a low voice. "Someone had really dared to send a lowly killer into our territory. It was really an insult to me and the Royal Family."

Then she walks towards the man and gives him a kick in his face. The tattooed man fell flat to the ground. He looks so pitiful and pathetic at the same time. General Rovira steps her left foot on the man's head and grinds the boots she is wearing on his face.

"If you tell me your master's name, I might spare your life tonight." she said before putting more pressure on her foot to grind harder the man's face into the ground. Though the man tries to resist, his face is still easily pushed onto the ground, and cannot do anything about it because of his severe injuries and weakened body.

Unfortunately for General Rovira, aside from the occasional grunts and screams she hears, the tattooed man did not open his mouth to answer the question.

"This is your last chance. I only need your master's name in exchange for your life. I will give you two seconds to answer my simple question."

"I will not tell you—"

"Time's up."

Without any hesitation, General Rovira stabs her sword into the man's chest. The sharp blade pierced the man's heart in an instant. After a few minutes, his body twitched for the last time before he finally stops moving.

"You really don't have to do that."

Turning her head, General Rovira can see a man who is wearing the same uniform just like what she is wearing tonight, although the color of his uniform is white and has silver and blue embroideries on it. The female General Commander ignores his comment and pulls out her sword from the man's dead body. When she swings her sword drenched in blood around them, the blood on the sword spread gracefully and draws a crimson half-circle on the floor.

"Hah." General Rovira scoffed. "You can now leave if you'll just judge how I do in a mission, General Aster."