When the Daffodil Blooms

CHAPTER 8

"I heard some interesting news from your household last night."

"Your Highness, please stop being nosy and just do your work."

"Tch. Why are you so strict with me?"

"I am always like this with you, Your Highness."

"You are kinder when it comes to my sister."

"Princess Andrea is a sweet person."

"And I'm not?"

"I never said that."

"Tch."

"Now please sign these documents so I can leave."

"Yes, yes. I'll do it now."

Charlotte, disguised as General Commander Rovira once again, is now submitting some important documents to Prince Marius. Charlotte left their mansion early with an excuse that she will go to her old house and get some of her things. Count Byron tried to stop her by saying she can just ask a servant to do it for her. But of course, Charlotte politely refused it.

Charlotte told the Count that she doesn't want others to go to her old house where she's keeping the memories of the people who adopted her. In the end, Count Byron cannot do anything to change his daughter's mind. He can only send an escort guard and a maid that can keep her safe. These are Sir Lance and Annie.

Just like Annie, Sir Lance is one of the people sent by Prince Marius on his side. He already anticipated these things to happen once Charlotte returns to her family. He sent a total of five people to her mansion and they are disguised as their servants and guards. Although it is a bit hassle, these are still necessary to keep their secret and avoid unnecessary situations.

She used a simple carriage for today without their family symbol on it. Count Byron wanted his daughter to use one of the biggest carriages that they have with their family emblem on it so that not everyone will know she belongs to a noble family. But again, Charlotte refused it saying she doesn't want to add more fuel to the news surrounding their family because of her. These days, she knows some people are talking about the eldest daughter of the White family who returned after she disappeared for fourteen years.

There are mixed reactions from the nobles when this news spread. Some people are happy that Count Byron and Countess Rosalyn have finally reunited with their daughter. There are also a few nobles who discussed what will happen to Lady Roselyn who becomes the White family's daughter for years. The nobles who are seeking connections with the White family are all curious about Charlotte and want to see if she can become a huge asset in their family.

Gossiping and secretly talking about another family's affairs are something that is already common in high society. Count Byron is trying to stop these endless rumors about his daughter soon. He plans to bring Charlotte to an official banquet and properly introduced her as his daughter. He will make it clear to everyone that Charlotte is his biological daughter and no one should look down on her.

As for the Countess, she hasn't said anything yet about their situation. Instead, she is just doing her daily routine without any misses at all. The only change that happens is Countess Rosalyn becomes worried about Roselyn's situation. The Countess is afraid that her second daughter will become affected by these changes and it can make her feel bad.

Charlotte, just like before, doesn't care about these things. For her, these are all trivial and don't need her to think a lot. There are more things she has to focus on which concern the safety and peace of their empire.

While Prince Marius is busy organizing the documents on his desk, Butler Dennie knocks on the door before she enters the office. After greeting them, she informs the prince that Princess Andrea is not in a good mood after their breakfast. Worried about his sister, Prince Marius tells the female butler to bring the princess to his office and let her stay with him for a while.

After several minutes of waiting, Butler Dennie returns to his office with Princess Andrea. When the princess sees Charlotte inside, a huge smile appears on her lips before she runs and gives the female General a hug. Of course, Charlotte cannot ignore the princess. So she carefully wraps her arms around Princess Andrea's back and rubs her back gently.

"Now, I'm hurt." Prince Marius said. "My twin sister ignored my existence in favor of General Commander Rovira."

But Charlotte ignores him. The young General Commander continues giving the princess a hug until she feels satisfied.

"Ro, miss you..." Princess Andrea murmured in a soft voice.

"I miss you too, princess." Charlotte replied with a small smile on her lips. "Are you doing well in the palace? Are they treating you good?"

"You are making it sound like I am not here to protect my sister." Prince Marius intervened.

And again, they ignored the Crown Prince.

The princess obediently answered all of Charlotte's questions. After that, the young General Commander gets candy from her pocket and unwraps it. Then she feeds it to the princess. A smile appears on the princess's lips when the sweetness of the candy touches her tongue.

"Delicious." Princess Andrea whispered in a soft voice.

"I'm glad that you like it. I can give you more later but you should not eat too much of it." Charlotte said as she fix the princess's hair.

"How many?"

"Maybe three is enough. You can eat one candy after eating your meals."

"Oh."

Princess Andrea did not ask more questions and just gives Charlotte a hug. After coaxing the princess for a while, she is now obediently sitting on the sofa while reading the picture books that Prince Marius always prepared in his office. These books are hidden at the very bottom of his drawers so that no one can discover them. Until now, only the Crown Prince, Charlotte, and Butler Dennie know the real status of Princess Andrea.

"How is she these days?" Charlotte asked without looking at the prince. "Does she feel agitated or anxious lately?"

"She's alright. Her mood is stable for the past weeks. Butler Dennie also hired a lot of maids who are proficient with their jobs and knows how to keep their mouth shut." Prince Marius replied.

"It will be better if we can demand their life oath."

"Unfortunately, it is harder to find a trustworthy wizard who will not tattle about the things we do behind the scenes."

"Just pay them. They always demand a lot of money anyway."

"Oh? Are you demanding for me to use our empire's budget? That's a bold move, General Commander Rovira."

Charlotte let out a sigh. It seems like it is impossible to talk properly with this prince today. If not for the troublesome documents that she needs to submit, Charlotte will definitely stay in the mansion and lock herself inside the library. If possible, she can just send Annie to deliver these documents and let the Crown Prince sign them.

"I know what you are thinking right now. And I am telling you now that it is impossible. Only the General Commanders can touch those documents aside from me. And since you are a General Commander, then it is your responsibility."

"No one told you to make me a General Commander."

"Don't be like that. You know that I need to surround myself with trustworthy people especially when many wolves are eyeing the throne these days."

"Is that why you put Aster Castella on your side too?"

"He's a special case."

When Charlotte did not reply, Prince Marius chuckled before shaking his head.

"Don't be like that. After all, the four of us had a lot of history in our childhood days."

Charlotte still did not say a word. She is now thinking about the things that happened in the past. For the past five years, many people are still talking about the royal twins who showed up in public for the first time. Their current emperor announced before that he sent his children to another empire so they can get more life experience.

But it was all lies.

The truth was, the royal twins were abducted. They went missing for years and the emperor searched for them without leaking any information about what he was doing at that time. Although the emperor is allowed to have a lot of children, he still cannot afford to lose the twins. It is because they were the ones who received blessings from their gods and became a symbol of their future peace and prosperity.

When Prince Marius and Princess Andrea were abducted, that was also the same day when Charlotte was separated from her family. It turned out they were abducted by the same illegal group that kidnapped noble children and sold them expensively to another empire to use them as slaves and playthings. For their whole childhood, it can be said that the three of them shared the same pain, loneliness, hardship, hopelessness, and anxiety for years until they reached adulthood.