I woke up nearly simultaneously after having next to no sleep. Leila hadn’t knocked yet, which meant I woke up early. And, wouldn’t you believe it, but Feyt’s room was just like how it was before everything got packed up by Anton, maybe even better.
I spent nearly an hour reluctantly with Anton, rearranging everything back to my room. After that though, Anton said he’ll provide a free cleaning service with his usual cocky smile that never seemed to fade. I reluctantly accepted since he offered, and considering his attitude, I found his cleaning skills to be weirdly excellent.
Never was my bed this fluffy before. Of course, it wasn’t on par with my beloved canopy bed as Carine, but it was more than acceptable. Still not enough to make me sleep peacefully, though.
Knowing what was ahead of me on today’s schedule, I felt a constant chill going down my spine. I instinctively rolled out of my beds and started warming up both of my bodies.
I started with some light stretches, incorporating some of Mother and Father’s teachings and a little bit of Dad’s warm-up practice before he works. I believed that my bodies found it easier to adapt if I incorporated some familiar movements into unfamiliar ones, and so far, it has been working well.
Before long, I got on all fours on both bodies—all eights?—and started with some basic push-ups. It was basic, I know, but this wasn’t just to train my muscles, mind you. I did my push-ups alternating between both bodies. If Carine was down, I pushed Feyt up and vice versa.
I still needed to train my synergy in any way possible; this morning's exercise was just one of the many small ideas I had.
But it still wasn’t ideal. If I couldn’t find a way to get some time with myselves without sacrificing a piece of my conscience, I wouldn’t even be able to see the full potential of my two-bodied situation.
Now, I had to deal with being trained personally by Mother, too.
Another chill dropped down my spine, my body shuddering slightly.
On one hand, I was slightly relieved. I found Mother to be in a better shape mentally than the last few days, she actually acted like herself last night. Whether or not that was still true today was yet to come.
On the other hand, this is Mother we’re talking about. A little bit of history lesson: Mother always had ‘private tutoring’ up her sleeve. She only ever uses it on students she finds annoying, hopeless, or just because.
What sort of torturous techniques would she use to train both of us? I found it doubtful she would go easy even on her own daughter, let alone a random commoner she could barely tolerate.
I felt a shudder again. To brush it off, I increased the pace of my push-ups.
I stopped at around sixty push-ups. I could’ve gone for a lot more, but this was all I could manage without breaking a sweat. I didn’t want my body to be sore for today’s scheduled training.
As I got up from the floor, I heard a knock at Carine’s front door.
“Lady Carine,” Leila called out. “Are you awake?”
Well, that was it for the morning exercise. Nᴇw novel chapters are publɪshed on 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭⚑𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮⚑𝕟𝕖𝕥
After breakfast, I would head first into today’s schedule. It would start with the typical etiquette training that I had to admit I was starting to miss. After a few of those lessons, however, would be the training session with Mother.
I was worried, like, really. Mother could deliver some tough love. Father and Leila wouldn’t be there to help if the training got too intense either, so it was just going to be only us three.
Mother, me, and other me.
I figured it would be best to just accept my fate and hope I would come out with lungs intact. I was about to open the door for Leila when, suddenly, I paused.
I blinked. And then I blinked again.
I realized that I've been dreading the training so much that I didn’t see the potential upsides it could have. And just now, I got one of them.
Wouldn’t this be a good chance to train with myselves?
“...Lady Carine? Are you alright?” Leila’s voice echoed through the door, snapping me back to reality.
“O-Oh, yes. Of course.”
I opened the door in an elegant haste.
Breakfast was typical, with nothing too groundbreaking. But it was a good kind of typical, as Mother had started to talk with me again. I could see how joyous Father was now that everything seemed to be back to normal…
Only for that normality to crash the moment I exited the dining hall.
Knights were everywhere. Maids and butlers still litter the halls, cleaning basically everything they could, but the number of knights here could possibly lead me to believe every servant has their own bodyguard.
I was already in my room as Feyt and had my breakfast there, too, so I didn’t get to see just how many there truly were outside. But I could hear about five or six sets of clattering metal boots outside.
Back when there was, at most, one knight in every hallway, this was a stark contrast.
I didn’t even know we had this many knights… But to be fair, the number of knights I saw as Carine was a lot more than the ones outside of Feyt’s room. I assumed it meant some of the knights there were specifically assigned to escort and protect us around the estate, while the rest were just assigned to this hallway.
As expected, a pair of knights approached me and Leila as soon as we stepped out.
“Lady Carine, we are here to escort you to your destination,” one of them said with a bow. “Where shall we go?”
I only gave them a soft nod before answering. “The drawing room for my etiquette class. Has the instructor arrived yet?”
“Yes, she has.” He nodded, causing him to rattle slightly. “She is currently waiting for you in the drawing room. Shall we head there immediately?”
Both Leila and I started our walk to the drawing room, accompanied by the two knights. Before we got far, however, a voice called out to us from behind.
“Carine,” Mother’s voice echoed.
I turned to see Mother, who had just exited the dining room, her eyes locked to mine. “What is it, Mother?”
“Don’t forget about today’s training, dear,” she said, her lips forming a small, gentle smile. “I’m looking forward to it.”
The chill in my spine turned into a blizzard pelting my skin. My face, already ice cold and neutral, could only manage a nod before I turned heel and sped away.
I was starting to feel like an idiot for thinking I even had a chance to train myselves there. Clearly, the only thing waiting for me was torture.
I wondered what happened to Raymond.
Last I heard, he was taken to our underground holding cell. First of all, why would we have holding cells in our house? Second, what happened to him after that?
“Your Grace, are you sure about this?” an aged butler said, holding a piece of paper.
“Yes.” Kyrat nodded, leaning forward on his desk. “One of their sons has raised a blade against my daughter. The Aldreid House should be addressed directly in such a case.”
He rose up from his seat, his eyes closed yet furrowed. “Whatever consequence this may have, I will deal with it.”
The butler tightened his grip on the letter before folding it neatly and inserting it into an open envelope.
“The letter will be sent according to your orders, your Grace.” The butler bowed, envelope in hand.
The butler left and closed the door gently, but it was clear the tension didn't leave with him. Kyrat turned his back, facing the large windows showcasing the beautiful courtyard below.
Under those carefully crafted cobblestone floors were the holding cells, where Raymond was still residing.
Kyrat sighed heavily. He didn't want this kind of burden on anyone. Just imagining if Carine or Reyna were the ones who were imprisoned in such a place made him shiver.
But, he had tried to hurt Carine. Whatever the truth may be, that fact will remain true. He could only hope that the Aldreid family would be understanding of his decision.