Aiden Erebus was the current Crown Prince. Although he wasn't the oldest, his achievements surpassed his siblings'. Because of this, he could get crowned at such a young age. Of course, the fact that his mother was Queen contributed as well.
Aiden was skilled when it came to socializing and winning others over with his words. He had a witty mouth and cunning brain. Not only that, he had intelligence to back that up.
In spite of his age, he managed to solve many troubling issues. He was regarded as a genius that appeared once in a blue moon.
From all aspects, the position of Crown Prince was perfect for him.
As for Jeanette, she was Aiden' younger sister from same mother. However, mostly likely due to their differences in personality, both of them didn't have a close relationship.
Amongst all the princesses, Jeanette was the most treasured one. She was gifted with the beauty from her mother— many admired her for her appearance back in the days— and talented.
In spite of her young age, she had many suitors. However, the King didn't settle on a fiancé for her still— probably waiting for a better fish to swim in. After all, Jeanette's status was high.
A bored look crossed through Odette's eyes for split of a second as they fell on both of them. However, she quickly hid that behind a friendly smile.
"Crown Prince Aiden, Princess Jeanette," Odette greeted, "hopefully, your morning had been equally lovely as the day."
Richard followed after her.
The thirteen year old Crown Prince nodded at Odette before gently smiling at her and expressing, "Lady Odette, Lord Richard, it had been a while. How have the two of you been? And Lady Odette, you are looking as beautiful as always."
That hardly fazed Odette.
In her last life, Aiden was one of those crazy people who dared to pursue her and adamant on having her as his wife. Although he had no pure motives behind it, she had to applaud at him for courage and persistency.
Many households do want to build connection to Albinius Dukedom, and marriage is the best way to do that. Of course, the children at the Albinius family held status based on their strength, regardless of the gender. Even so, most men disregarded the idea of marrying someone as dangerous as Odette. They went for the other daughters with relatively high position.
But Aiden was adamant on sticking with Odette as an option. He even had the King send a royal decree on it. However, Odette hated being forced and treated as a chess piece— valuable or not— disgusted Odette.
Of course, more than that, Aiden didn't tickle her fancy.
It's not that Odette didn't contemplate on killing him off to get rid of the problem, but unfortunately, he got lucky each time.
"Thank you, Your Highness," she responded.
"I have received an interesting toy yesterday. You are sure to fall in love with it," he enthusiastically spoke out.
The teen's excitement was an eyesore to Odette, and she bluntly responded, "I doubt that."
For the most part, Odette got used to acting casually around Aiden and, therefore, forgo the courtesy usually. It wasn't as if her attitude towards him affected his energy.
It was usual for Aiden to show off to and share all the toys he considers to be interesting with Odette. Maybe the seven year Odette would have been impressed, but right now, she only felt annoyed.
Odette did wish to get rid of him right now, but he had a role to serve before his death.
"I know you will be fond of it! Jeanette insisted on keeping it for herself after seeing it, but I want to gift it to you," he said.
His attempt to be sweet only incurred Odette's disgust. The boy was already thirteen. What was up with him acting like a child and playing with toys? Of course, she knew this was far from his actual behavior. It was funny how he thought he would be able to beguile her by talking in this manner.
Odette's eyes then fell on Jeanette. Those eyes of the eight year old held hostility towards her. Odette more or less understood the reasons behind it. The gossips must have reached her ears.
Odette did after all scare a couple of noble ladies.
Compared to the gentle and polite ladies, Odette was considered vicious and bloodthirsty. Although they tried to act polite to her on the surface, the social circle clearly held aversion towards her.
Then again, Odette wasn't willing to mingle with those boring ladies whose personality was a copy of each other's for the most part. They didn't amuse her.
"Not interested, Your Highness."
Odette's breathing was heavy as she said back. Pressing her toes against the ground, she prevented herself from going further backwards. Sweat glistened on her fair skin.
Raising her head, Odette stared at her opponent. Those green orbs of hers showed excitement. The corner of her lips was curved up.
Her hair that was once pulled into a neat ponytail was now disheveled, and perspiration wet her messy bangs, causing them to stick against her forehead. Her cheeks were flushed red.
Odette has wounds on her body, and blood oozed out from them. Her clothing had tears in them. However, no signs of pain was shown on her feature.
After a long time, Odette faced someone challenging, and that gave her the thrill. Because of that, she overlooked that she was a mere seven year old now. Her injured palm was also forgotten by Odette.
The sword she used was heavy for her seven year old self; she changed her sword, finding the one she used as a seven year old to be too fragile and blunt. Nonetheless, although it was hard for her to maintain her stability in the beginning, she started to get the hang of it.
Odette wished to be strong, so that she could be at the top and trample on everyone. There was no limit to how much power she wanted to gain. She wanted to make it so that the strings were controlled by her or else how would she be able to have fun.
Those eyes of hers shone due to her unadulterated ambition.
Opposite to her was Nicholas. Unlike Odette, who had difficulty in standing up and catching her breath, he remained stable. There was a wound of his cheek, but it didn't hold a candle to the injuries Odette received.
One might consider this training to be completely ruthless for a seven year old, but in the Albinius Dukedom, this is the basic you need to go through for survival. From very young age, everyone is taught to struggle to live.
With a swift movement of his sword, Nicholas pushed Odette back and then said, "Lady Odette, that would be enough for today. You already trained for seven hours today without a break; your body wouldn't be able to carry on. You will collapse at this rate."
Odette did feel the physical exhaustion but didn't feel satisfied yet. She craved more of this excitement and thus, felt disheartened at how weak her body was.
"Oh, has it been that long?" Her voice didn't hide her disappointment.
She hardly noticed the time pass by due to how engrossed she was.
As Odette looked up at the sky, she immediately averted her eyes due to the bright light from the sun. She was starting to feel lightheaded. Her knees trembled.
Odette felt excited at the thought of challenging the limits of her body. She wanted to go on to the point she collapsed, but unfortunately, Nicholas was a resolute man.
"An hour more?" Odette suggested.
"Lady Odette, your determination to improve is impressive, and you have been putting that at the right direction as well. Because of that, you improved by an amazing extent. You are incredibly talented, surpassing your peers by a large extent.
However, you have to bear in mind that your health is as important. You can't improve if your condition deteriorates. That's why, take care of yourself."
"Are you worried about me, Sir Nicholas?" Odette's tone was teasing.
If truth be told, Odette never understood the motive behind his care for her? Was it because he was genuinely concerned about her or could it be due to the sense of responsibility he had as her instructor?
Her question startled Nicholas. His eyes widened for a second before he was about to give Odette an answer. But as he parted his lips, Odette brushed it off by saying, "Never mind."
Albeit asking that question, Odette was hesitant to learn of the answer. She was sure that a man like Nicholas wouldn't say 'no', but the sincerity frightened her. In a way, it was amusing yet troubling how Odette could be a coward.
This was one of those instances she didn't wish to force herself.
Nicholas frowned.
"Lady Odette—"
Without giving him a chance to continue, Nicholas brought up, "I will be taking a break then. Sir Nicholas, I have to bother you with training both of them. Although they are slaves, it would be helpful if they had some skills."
Nicholas's eyes went towards the boys. Both of them stood under the strong sunlight, and discomfort was visible on their features.
Dennis stood straight, trying his best to maintain his composure.
Adrian, on the other hand, had his eyebrows knitted. A pout was there on his face as he shifted his weight from one feet to another repeatedly. His eagerness to get away from there was clear.
"It wouldn't be a problem," Nicholas said, "but if you are worried about your safety, it is better to have trained knights."
Odette had knights assigned to guard her in her last life, and they made her feel suffocated. Not only did they keep a close eye on her, they took away her chance to face the opponent directly.
Moreover, taking in her temper, she was sure none of the knights would survive past a day.
Maybe this would make the seven year old her vulnerable, but Odette didn't care for that. When was she afraid of danger after all?
Odette shook her head. "There is no need for them."