FERDINAND
I couldn't feel a single limb. It was like my body has been transformed to air, aimlessly floating around an abyss. Every effort to open my eyes was mocked as I struggled with the basic task of locomoting. The darkness I saw taunted me, like it was going to trap me there forever. If only I could...
"Your highness! Your highness please open your eyes! Your highness!"
Ah, Circe. Right. I remember. I returned but my body was still so exhausted. I can barely remember what happened to me and now, my memory of the colosseum was fading faster than I could hold on to it.
The feeling of defeat saturated through me. All my goals were cast aside in face of those omnipotent beings. It just felt as if whatever effort I'd put in in the last few years had been cast away, just like that. Truly, it's regrettable.
"Your highness! Winifred is here to see you."
Winifred? Here to see me? I couldn't believe it. She can't even leave the manor but she's here to see me...Wait! If she's here to see me, then I must be in...
"You can wake up now, your highness."
Suddenly, the insurmountable task of being able to open my eyes became much easier. The light filtering in from the open window almost returned me to that sleepless state, causing my eyelids to move involuntarily. When I was able to see properly, her face with perfectly disguised worry despite her blank eyes came to view first.
"Winifred."
"I didn't think you'd be able to sleep this much, your highness. You keep surprising me."
The laugh that bubbled out of my throat was also involuntary as I didn't know I was capable of doing so. The punishment of such an action came swiftly though as a terrible stiffness took hold of my torso. I doubled over, clutching my torso as my forehead moistened.
I looked pathetic. It's a good thing she can't see me.
"You've barely eaten anything since you returned from your journey, right?" She asked, sighing.
"How can you tell?"
"Your breath. You do a terrible job of maintaining your health."
"Haha. Maybe I do."
"Don't laugh. I don't enjoy hearing you muffling your cries of pain."
Perhaps hearing me be pathetic is quite worse.
"Did you do well since I was gone?" I ask, placing my hand on hers, trying to divert the topic. Even though she couldn't see my hand, her gaze on it was very judgy. Still, she didn't pull her hand away.
Our little lady knows how to be kind too.
"It was a dark time for me when you left."
"...isn't it always dark for you?"
"You're right. It is."
When she speaks like this, I really can't help but laugh. She really is trying to kill me with laughter. This must be her revenge for all the time I teased her.
"Dame Circe, can you get his Highness the doctor? Standing around here won't solve anything."
"Y-Yes!"
Once Circe was gone, silence reigned in the room. Her hand still in mine, I observed her. It might have been my imagination but she looked a little slimmer than the last time I saw her. She looked healthy but a normal royal child looked much chubbier than she did at the moment.
"Winifred?"
"Yes?"
"Do you tire of staying in the manor?"
"Everyday is the same."
"Won't you answer my question?"
"Your question has no simple answer."
She's right. She's such a smart little lady that she already knew what I was talking about. Living in the capital as my adopted child would be difficult for her, especially since she's blind and only able to see the Color blue. Forget a social debut, it would be a hard thing for her to exist well in the capital's upper circles especially since she's an adopted daughter with unknown origins.
But, she's also a saintess. Carelessly moving her would cause too much trouble. That's why I brought her here. I didn't know what came over me but I suddenly wanted us to stay together. It was such an impulsive, selfish request but I wished for once, like a normal child, she would indulge me.
"Why don't you become the Emperor?"
"Such a thing is hardly possible. I've been working towards it my whole life."
"Let's look at it this way. The Emperor is a man with so much power but so little freedom. That means, even if you become the Emperor, there might be some things you may not be able to do, like make me your heir. The power of the imperial family hangs on a precarious balance. There's no true way for you to get what you want, your highness."
"Please don't speak like that. You scare me."
"Alright. I will stop. I just thought you'd want to hear something interesting."
At the sound of that, the beating of my heart became much faster. The hand that held hers clutched on dearly as my throat became drier. The implication of her words were...
"I understand your eagerness but when you are offered something like this, there's usually a large price to pay. For example, I just might ask for your soul."
There was something about her tone and that strange glint in her blank eyes that was eerily familiar yet unrecognisable. It was such a silly approximation but it was a genuine thought. What if the girl before me...was not Winifred?
"You will truly demand my soul, Winifred?"
"If that is the price to pay, perhaps I will demand it. But an exchange often involves something being given. You can't be greedy about this," she replies, pulling her hand away.
It felt as if it was her and at the same time, it wasn't. It felt as if I was looking at a different being in her body. My spiritual perception was heightened, more so after being in the Colosseum but this was something I couldn't even divine.
"The doctor and Dame Circe are approaching. I'll be taking my leave. Why don't you rest more and you can finally come down to have meals with the rest of us? I can't stand the constant questions from the others. I'm not omnipotent!"
Ah! There's the little lady I know. Despite what's going on with her, she still looked more or less the same. But one thing is to be said. Such a fragile balance will be broken sooner or later.
How troublesome.
NATHAN
Standing outside the Prince's room was truly the right decision to make. The strange energy I perceived from Winifred is getting stronger and that isn't necessarily a good thing. I thought after the fight with Succubus, she would quieten again but she was lingering on the edge for too long.
That 'Winifred' is surely trying to come out.
"Why are you eavesdropping like a dirty little rat, Nathan?"
"Harsh words, my lady. They hurt me deeply."
She walks past me confidently, like she could see where she was going. I could tell it wasn't my lady. But why is she still here?
"You want to know why I still linger?"
"More than anything. I doubt your presence right now is non detrimental to her. I hope you won't hurt her any more than this."
"It's not my intention to hurt her. But we need to find your body soon. That's why I'll linger for a little more."
I doubt that was all. She was so suspicious that it was hard to take her words at face value. Even though she's supposedly the future version of the Winifred we knew, her warmth was nothing I was used to. If anything, it's like her insanity modifies as she grows older.
"Is that all?" I press deeper. She stops walking at the edge of the stairs and peers down. A smile forms on her lips and curiousity leads me to check what she was looking at. Darryl just happened to be passing by with a box full of things.
"I just...wanted to take a good look at him before he's all grown up."
I'm nothing short of amazed. Can she really be our Winifred? Well, our Winifred is obsessed with keeping Darryl by her side but this much is just...
"You can't complain too much, Nathan. After all, you're not much different from us."
Times like these are so hurtful because as much as I want to disagree, she's right. Never before has my ego been so wounded.
"Lady! Lady Winifred, it's time for lunch! Please come down to the dining room!"
She tore her gaze off the direction Darryl left with visible regret and looked at me, smirking. I had a ominous feeling right away.
"What do you think of the deal I offered the Prince?"
"You shouldn't interfere too much with the timeline."
"Too much interference has already been done. There's a real reason I'm here. Although, I won't tell you that just yet. It's more fun to tease you."
Her absurdity irked me.
"How did you even turn out like this?"
"How could you ask me? You're my teacher," she replies with the most infuriating smirk I'd ever seen.