Suddenly a book dropped out of the teary-eyed boy's pant's pocket and kissed the ground with a thud, attracting their attention.
The boy reacted fast as he quickly picked it up and hid it behind his back.
Zadhea blinked her eyes and looked at him.
Then, without a mercy, she reached out her right hand and ordered, "Gimme the book this instant."
The boy hesitated but leaving with no other choice, he lowered his head and handed the book over to her.
Zadhea carefully flipped through it and realized that it was a drawing book. Her eyes lit up as she examined the drawings. There were drawings of forests, waterfalls, morning sun, a palace, etc.
Although they weren't professional, they still looked beautiful. Maybe the artist wasn't a legend yet but he or she would definitely be, in the future. She could tell that despite having a zero talent at drawing.
"Wow! Beautiful! Do you know who drew them?" She asked, delighted.
"It's... Me."
"Wait what?"
Zadhea couldn't believe her ears. An eight-year-old could draw them? When she was at his age, she only knew how to draw a five-petals flower and a girl with big face and a very tiny body along with pigtails braids.
"And you still dare to call yourself nothing?" She snapped at him.
The poor boy flinched in fear. Then when he finally understood what she actually meant, his ears turned pink.
"Do you like them? I thought they are ugly..."
"Not at all, silly." She interrupted him. Then making puppy eyes, she requested, "Can you be my teacher? I wanna know how to draw!"
The boys entire face turned pink. He looked even more adorable.
Eh... Wait a second. Why was he acting like she confessed to him or something?
"You no longer have to steal food. I'll ask father to pay you for tutoring me," She added.
"...No need," The boy stated firmly. "I'll teach you but I don't need anything in return."
How could he still ask for money? She spared him for stealing food. That was more than enough for him. He could do anything she asked for just to repay her kindness.
Zadhea could see through his mind. She chuckled and patted his back, saying, "Take it and be a good boy, okay? I don't want to hear otherwise or else I'll be sad."
In the end, he was forced to accept her request.
"Now... Let's continue eating." Zadhea brought some food with her and sat in front of the old rack along with the boy. Then not caring about his refusal, she shared her food with him.
"By the way, I forgot to ask your name."
"I'm Mario, your Highness."
"Mario? It sounds handsome. We are friends now so call me Zadie, okay?"
"Yes, your hi... I mean, Zadie."
That night was one of the best nights Mario could ever have. He looked at the pretty girl next to him and sincerely thought in his mind, 'Thank you, Princess.'
What a calm night!
Three years passed. Zadhea became eight years old. She was now good at handling her sword and bow, much to her father's delight.
"This time, we should hold a banquet and invite royalties and high class members to celebrate the princess' birthday." Queen Margaret suggested.
Actually, she wanted her daughter to meet her future husband. They still hadn't met eachother after their failed engagement. Eight years had already passed since that day. She became worried.
Zadhea shivered in fear. No, she wasn't ready to meet that stinky male lead. She wanted to avoid troubles until she becomes strong enough to face him.
She still didn't become a proper villainess.
"Mom, as you always say, I haven't become a proper lady yet, right? So can we celebrate my birthday next year instead? When I'm ready to face the upper class society..."
"You said the exact same thing last year. This time, I made up my mind. No turning back." Queen Margaret was determined.
Zadhea could only sigh.
Queen Margaret couldn't understand why this child acted like a teenager, giving her headaches when she was still eight years old. She pitied her future self. How could she handle the teenage Zadhea when she couldn't even handle the little one?! Ugh! What a headache!
Zadhea felt the same. Her mother was so annoying sometimes. She couldn't help thinking of her mother from her past life. What was she doing now? Was she feeling sad for her death? She wished for her not to cry too much. She just wanted her to be happy.
She missed her mother too much!
It wasn't that Queen Margaret was a bad mother. But the thing was, she was overly strict sometimes.
As usual, Zadhea stood up to leave for her trainings after finishing her breakfast, not caring about her mother's glare.
"You shouldn't have let her touch the sword in the first place," She snapped at her husband. "How could you forget that she's a lady? A girl! I never wanted her to become like this."
The king wiped his mouth using a silk handkerchief. He also thought that his wife was a bit too much.
"Enough, Maggie. She has her freedom of what to do or not..."
The queen interrupted him, "She definitely has not. She must marry the crown prince Heidith."
"How come he became the crown prince?" The king also became a bit irritated. "I didn't know."
"Isn't it too obvious? Our daughter is just a girl. Please accept the truth, dear. The best way for her to become the queen is through marriage to the future king. It's the truth. I don't want people to talk behind our daughter's back. Imagine their reactions when they find out that our daughter is training men's things!"
"They won't. I secured the information very well. No one knows that except for my trustworthy people."
"But they will learn the truth in the future. Can you deny that?"
"Ugh. You are worrying too much. If you really want to, then let's arrange a banquet for the princess." The king finally agreed. His precious daughter'll surely get mad at him for taking mother's side. But he didn't have a choice.
"That's more like it." The queen became happy.
After practising for four hours straight with Sir Callisto, Zadhea became exhausted and sat down under the usual oak tree, breathing the fresh air.
"Isn't it a bit too hot over there? Let's go to the table in the queen's flower garden. You can drink some tea while chatting with me," Lady Evelyn suggested.
After giving it some thought, Zadhea nodded her head. "We are leaving, Sir Callisto. Thanks for today."
"No problem, Princess," Callisto said with a smile.
There was a roof above the tea table. So the two girls didn't feel hot anymore.
"Summer is coming, right?" Zadhea let out a tired sigh.
"So is your birthday," Said Evelyn.
Zadhea looked at her, stupefied. "You mean... It's a necessary part in the book? My eighth birthday?"
"Of course." Evelyn nodded her head without hesitation. "On that day, the prince will understand the villainess' true nature for the first time."
"But how?" Zadhea became curious.
"On that day, Mimosa shamelessly claims to be the future queen. She declares her ownership of the crown prince in front of everyone which disgusts him to the core."
Zadhea pinched the place between her eyebrows, which looked weird for a child at her age to do so. She only dared to act her true age in front of Evelyn. If she didn't die, she would be twenty four this year.
"What should I do?" She asked tiredly. "Should I do the same?"
"Hell no!" Evelyn shouted a little louder. Then she carefully looked around as she knew that it wasn't good to use such a language as a noble lady.
If her mother heard what she said, she would be done for.