Vivian felt tired, and she hated herself for not telling Duke the truth...
How 'could' she tell him the truth? Vivian felt it was impossible for her to tell him as she covered her face inside the water, trying to run away from her predicament.
[It's always like this... Why can't I get a single break!] Vivian cried to herself as she meditated inside the water.
She remembered the time the Palace Instructor told them that the person who gets the highest grade in one of the subjects would be rewarded by their father, the Emperor.
[Maybe this will be my chance to meet him!] Vivian foolishly thought as she longed for parental praise and attention, she hadn't received after her mother died.
Vivian worked her hardest on Economics, the subject she chose to excel at, even to the point of neglecting her other subjects just to get praise from her father, even if she got punished or disciplined by the other teachers Vivian withstood the painful rulers and sticks that beat her hands.
"You keep failing etiquette! Do you think this subject is less important than economics, ha?! Are you underestimating me huh?!" The teacher released all of her inferiority complex regarding her subject on Vivian as she harshly punished the little girl with a ruler.
Vivian was punished, shouted at, and even called arrogant for her actions, but Vivian didn't care... As long as she met her father, even if it was just once. Maybe she could get a real connection with him or something like that.
The results finally came as she was ecstatic that her name was on top of the Economics test, she even beat the other Princesses and even the Princes! Vivian excitedly waited for her father to come and congratulate her.
Sadly the Emperor was too "busy" as he apparently passed out after drinking too much in one of the brothels and all she received was a piece of paper congratulating her efforts and to work harder for the future and for the Empire.
A single certificate, that was all Vivian got...
Although Vivian felt betrayed and cheated, she didn't let it go to her head as she continued to work harder. But the jealous other girls bullied her even more, even confronting her once.
"You think you're special just because you scored top at some exam huh?!" Miranda, one of her sisters said as she and the other sisters took Mr. Sandlers, her bunny rabbit from her and tore it right in front of her eyes. Of course, the maids and other officials in the Court didn't care much as it was just a stuffed animal, a little girl's toy, to them it didn't matter much if a Princess lost one of her many toys, ignoring the fact that that was Vivian's only toy as no one bought her a new one after her mother perished. Some of them even sided with the other Princesses as they thought Vivian overreacted about losing a small toy.
But then the other girls even targetted Vivian's certificate as they threatened her that they would throw the paper in the latrine.
"You wouldn't dare! Father, The Emperor gave that!" Vivian aggressively shouted at the girls.
But they did, as Vivian watched Chelsea, another one of her unbearable sisters drop the paper. In her anger, Vivian charged at Chelsea as she pulled on her hair.
After they were detained by the maids, Vivian felt like it wasn't long now before Chelsea got what she deserved as throwing any reward given by the Emperor could be considered a form of treason!
But instead, it was her that was punished for attacking her sister instead of Chelsea as Chelsea used her mother's influence to minimize the situation regarding her act of treason.
But to Vivian's dismay, the real reason Chelsea got away with what she did was because:
It wasn't the Emperor who gave her that paper, it was one of the magisters that gave them the rewards.
The piece of paper she treasured and looked at everyday was basically a worthless piece of junk, and since it wasn't him who personally wrote and signed the certificate, the Emperor didn't care enough to look into the matter, letting Vivian feel betrayed and wronged with no way to get even with the people who wronged her.
That day Vivian realized:
"I'm powerless"
"I'm nobody"
But now a spark of hope appeared in front of her as Duke told her he needed someone good with money. Vivian felt this was finally her chance to prove her worth, that she WAS someone!
That she indeed deserved to be loved and acknowledged.
This was why she immediately put all her knowledge and limited resources to work.
[But I was too hasty] Vivian realized.
[If only I didn't invest everything in one go! But how was I supposed to know the Bank would deny the loan!] Vivian cried. She knew the Bank was known to be pretty generous in handing out loans.
So why was it THEM that was denied?!
Vivian felt herself choke on the water as she realized she was submerged for a long time.
Her body tried to grasp for air as she almost resurfaced...
But then she thought:
[What's the point?]
Vivian remembered Duke's expecting face and knew: she failed him...
["Damn, you're really smart aren't you Vivian!"]
Vivian remembered the words of the Duke, the chubby man who believed in her despite other's ridicules.
But then she realized again: [I failed him] as she let the water take her...
[Drownings probably a million times better than to see him disappointed] Vivian thought.
[I can see everyone around me get disappointed... Just not Duke... Not Duke] Vivian hoped that Duke wouldn't see her act of giving up as cowardly.
But as the water began to blur her consciousness, two chubby arms pulled her out.
Then those chubby arms told her repeatedly:
"I need you! I don't need a Princess! I need you, Vivian!"
"I need you" [Someone needed me?...] Vivian thought as her emotional walls cracked and she cried like a newborn baby.
She could finally feel safe exposing herself in front of another person.
[I won't give up] Vivian swore in her heart that day as she etched Duke's words in her very soul.
{Vera, the Goddess of Beauty and the Unwavering Purity has blessed you with the title "Tenacious Rose Heart"}
"Hmmmm" Byran was currently watching Duke as he "sparred" (got beat up) by the other Knights as he thought to himself: [Why doesn't Duke have a harder time with more Knights compared to 1 on 1 spars?]
*Ting* Then a spark of teaching genius hit Byran as he realized: [Duke's wasn't having a hard time fighting me or the other Knights in the first place! It's just his body that's too heavy!]
Byran realized that although Duke sucked at formal sword training, with all the mechanical techniques and forms they had to learn in the boarding school, he was a genius when it came to learning real time! This meant that Duke was never meant to learn fighting like those pansy Nobles with their forms and girly touches and en gardes.
[No... Duke was a Dragon!] Byran realized.
And what are Dragons? They were the fiercest creatures in all the land, with survival instincts and natural battle prowess that could beat Knights who trained their whole lives!
Duke never had a chance to fight and spar with people in actual combat as he was never chosen as a sparring partner because they thought he was too fat and slow to be effective, and every time he was chosen, they mostly just did it to embarrass him as they overpowered him with their already advanced techniques that a beginner like Duke could never learn from!
It was unfair for the world to label Duke stupid and incompetent, when the world itself never gave Duke the chance to learn!
Duke was like an eagle being called stupid for failing to walk properly when he was obviously supposed to soar in the skies in the first place!
But now that he had sparring partners who actually cared for his learning and a motivated mindset, Byran saw Duke learn leaps and bounds.
Byran realized that the number of sparring partners didn't matter much to Duke as his eyes could already follow their movements and attacks, the only problem was his body was too slow to react properly!
Byran's deep thoughts were interrupted when a group of Knights shouted in applaud.
"HAAAAA!" Duke shouted with great fervor as he counter-attacked Bardis' lunged.
"Wow! Good job Duke!" Bardis and the other Knights stopped as he praised Duke for the counter-attack.
"That was a good first counter-attack, Duke! Keep it up" Dan encouraged.
*Swing* *Pow* *Wham!* [Amazing...] Byran watched Duke who suddenly became a lot better at fighting overnight as he was now counter-attacking some of the attacks.
The Knights thought the first one was just a fluke, but Duke proved them wrong as the second, third, AND forth counter-attacks were delivered.
"Duke let's spar" Byran said as he asked for a one on one with Duke.
"Uhh, sure" Duke agreed.