Another morning came, and just like before everything felt normal. Moreover, Rachelle lost count of the days that she has been here and has fully adopted her responsibilities and her identity as Felicia as it was a normal thing to do.
Breakfast came and everyone was just eating peacefully. Except for Helena who kept on looking at her with eyes, mocking her existence. As if there's something that she's not aware of or something that means she won the game.
But Rachelle just ate silently and didn't bother looking right in her direction. It's not her responsibility to indulge that woman in her satisfaction of mocking her. Let her do what she wants.
"Felicia." The Duke suddenly called as he wiped his mouth, seemingly done with his food. "Yes, your Grace?" She asked, putting down her utensils.
Hearing her addressing him like a stranger, Roelle felt a pang on his chest, as if he couldn't accept how she addressed her. It's been so long and he has been accustomed to her presence but she remained far and unapproachable.
"I found a good teacher to teach you how to use swords." He announced, clapping his hands while looking at Felicia to see expressions behind that cold facade of hers and it didn't disappoint him at all.
Her eyes sparkled in enthusiasm, feeling joyful over the news that someone would finally teach her to use a sword. Somehow, his heart which was feeling down earlier, suddenly burst into a joyful state, enjoying Felicia's expression right now.
"Really? May, I ask who is it? When will we start the training? Shall we start now?" She asked which made Alexander laugh at how cute her behaviour is right now. She was really different from the noble ladies who were more interested in fashion and socializing through parties.
She's more interested in how to stab someone and could potentially kill someone. Women would look at her like some barbarian if they learned the news that she's taking sword lessons.
"Good for you, Felicia to finally have someone to teach you how to use swords." Alexander congratulated her, smiling with her. He was glad that she sounded so happy after learning the news.
"Your teacher requested next week to officially start your classes since he's not available this week," Roelle said, his face distorted into softness, breaking his character in front of everyone. He was usually cold and a very rough-spoken man. But today, he sounded soft and very easy-going which is very surprising.
"Oh... Still, I can wait if that's what he wishes then so I shall obey." She answered, still smiling over the fact that he had finally found someone to teach her. But that was fast, it's not even a week yet and he had already found someone to comply with her wish.
"What? What are you all talking about?" Helena asked, feeling left out of their conversation. She was frowning while looking at them, celebrating happily over such announcements.
"Your sister decided to learn how to use swords so I got her a sword teacher." The Duke said, sipping his wine calmly, still feeling light.
"Oh... Well, that's sad... For what reasons would a woman want to learn how to use a sword? It's unsophisticated for a woman to even dream and hold or use a sword." She commented, looking innocent yet her words were vile.
This made everyone stop as they all looked at Helena who was carving malicious words behind her innocent look. Everyone suddenly felt irked with her behaviour, throwing shade at Felicia.
"So? What does my talent have to do with your comment?" Felicia asked, looking at her calmly, not affected by her words at all. She's not, why would she be affected by it? "Unless the Royal Family is against women holding swords then it's possible to listen to everyone's demand." She added as she continued to eat.
Seeing how she handled it perfectly well without causing any disruption, Alexander and Roelle felt very proud of how she dealt with Helena's hidden criticism.
"But women in this empire loathe the idea of women learning swords. You'll be scorned before you can even get everyone to your side. So if I were you—"
"Helena." The Duke cut her off before she could even finish the words coming out of her mouth. Helena noticed how everyone felt irritated with her words, and she frowned. They're acting too much, she's just telling Felicia about how things are working with the socialites.
"What? I am not doing anything, Father. I'm telling her about how she should act as a lady of this empire. She's a Princess, and every action she does is heavily observed by the socialists. She will cause damage to our reputation if she keeps acting like that." She said, in a matter-of-fact tone.
She even answered it confidently, looking at Felicia straight in the eyes. What's with the sudden energy of trying to brawl with her through words? Rachelle lowkey likes this new girl.
Her newly profound ability to speak without fearing her is adding to the challenge. Although this might cause problems later on, she still likes the new attitude Helena's giving her.
Thumbs up for that.
"Please, Your Grace. Let me speak to her." Rachelle said, cutting the Duke before he could even speak to Helena. She smiled at him, showing that she could definitely kill this sister of hers through words. Like knives blasting off on her.
"As you said, ladies from different social circles will definitely talk bad about me. But have you never listened to me? I do not care whether they look at me like I'm some kind of barbaric woman." She answered, as calmly as she could but at the same time enjoyed the conversation.
"Whether they will look at me with scornful eyes, or spread malicious lies, I do not care. The Duke isn't interested in such rumours, nor does Alexander. Why would we care about people's own opinions?" She asked her confidently, smirking.
"And here I thought you are smart and some God-fearing Saintess but it seems that you haven't studied well enough to know that the Goddess is a woman who carries a sword and slain people. You should read the holy scriptures once again, maybe it'll give you the idea of how everyone worshipped the Goddess who holds a sword." She added, ending her speech with a sweet smile over Helena who was fuming mad at her.
"Alright, enough—"
"You may have forgotten, sister. The Goddess is a Goddess after all. You are not one, therefore you are still under the eyes of scrutinized women. Just because the Goddess has a sword doesn't mean it applies to you." She retorted, arguing back.
This surprised Rachelle very well. Helena would use herself as a victim whenever things don't go according to her plan but right now, this bravery of hers is worth praising. It made her gag after all.
"Like I told you, whatever they do or how they look at me, I won't still give a glance. Why? Are they the ones paying for the service? Or are they simply belittling the Goddess with their views of how barbaric it looks when a woman tries to become like her? I am idolizing the Goddess, sister. There's nothing wrong with it." She answered back, not willing to back down in this argument.
Who does she think she is for speaking on behalf of those women who would idle every day and spread vicious rumours about one another?
Helena shut her mouth, her eyes trying not to cry. Despite doing her best in this argument, she still doesn't stand a chance against Rachelle. Even Alexander and Roelle couldn't barge into their conversation without getting cut off.
"Well then, I await for the day my Teacher will finally teach me how to use a sword. Since my meal is done, I will excuse myself as I still have a lot of things to fix with," Rachelle stated as she stood up from her seat and left confidently, feeling proud of herself.
Helena thinks she can handle her when she could never. Still, it was delightful for her to try and argue with her knowing that she'd fail anyway.
Suddenly, someone yanked her wrist, making her stop from walking and turned around, only to see Helena glaring at her like she did something wrong to her.
"What do you need?" She asked in a gentle voice despite how rude Helena approached her. She could see the flames glaring in her eyes, clearly Helena was upset with her. But she didn't even do anything bad to her.
"Don't think just because you won earlier doesn't mean that you practically won, sister," Helena muttered, enough for the two of them to hear. It sounded like a cute threat to Rachelle who chuckled at Helena's actions.
"Oh sister, I don't seem to understand what you meant." She answered, her smile grinning ear to ear which made Helena feel very irked with how she acted like it wasn't her concern.
"You, you just because you have their love back doesn't mean it'll stay with you forever. You can't even make the Crown Prince fall for you, what more with them?" She said in an arrogant tone, mocking Rachelle.
She had this proud expression on her face, her eyes glinting with greed while staring straight into her face. Is this her way to make a fool out of Rachelle? Because it's not worth it and it's also not working.
Especially since she mentioned the incompetent fool.
"Oh dear..." She gasps, acting in shock. Her eyes widened, and her mouth gaped. It gives the impression that she feels hurt by what she said. And truth to what she expected, Helena let out a smirk of victory, satisfied with how she acted.
"You're so proud of stealing a man who's already engaged with your sister. That's what you're proud of? By stealing? No wonder that man was so smitten with you. Someone of a low quality trying to make a point in life. It's a shame that I don't even feel sad about your actions." She answered, chuckling in response.
This made the smirk of Helena's face fall on the ground, replaced with disdain and embarrassment after understanding Rachelle's words.
Rachelle just smirked as she pulled her hand back after Helena loosened her grip, speechless with how painful her words were.
"You can take that man away from me. I don't care. You're taking away my problem, not my man." Rachelle uttered, whispering behind her ear and walked away like a diva that she is.
She left Helena who remained rooted in her place, at a loss for words after getting reminded of her place. Suits her right for trying to embarrass Rachelle.