I looked at him with an expressionless face as to mean that I don't expect him to lie about this fact. I had heard about the description of the Head of the Mides family, and it sure did seem like the youngest son was the exact copy of his father. Since I had been asked to learn all sorts of rumors within the first week of my arrival to the palace, I had managed to get this far at least.
"Yes... That is my name." He smiled with his eyes shut. "However... What is it that made you reach out to me about this matter?"
I leaned my head all the way back and stared into the ceiling. How could I tell him about what his family was currently up to? Should I just break it to him and tell him to return? Or just how do I persuade him to persuade his family to stop all this nonsense and whatever they wanted, I would manage it for them. Was it a bit of the Smod territory? I will manage it too.
"Aefia? Are you zoning out?"
"Huh?"
By the time I knew it, my exhaustion and lack of sleep was about to make me drift away. So it was normal for him to be concerned. Nevertheless, to keep myself awake, I pinched the bridge between my eyes and leaned forward.
"Sorry. I was just tired since I was sick until last night." I let out a sigh while gathering my words back again. "Anyways. So what I wanted to ask you for was... Do you not have any wishes to go back to your family?" I asked while straightening up and looking at his face to ensure any hidden reactions.
"Hm... Well I do want to go back to my family. However..." He spoke while placing a finger at his chin and tilting his head to the side. "Would you help me deal with my siblings? They are a bit of a hassle. Of course I won't force you... But then if you don't help me, then I can't return either. Let's say that it is a two way disadvantage if either of us rejects the other's offer."
"Well... That wasn't tough." I spoke while chocking back a laugh. "How long has it been since you tried to copy my style of persuading things?"
"I had to learn because I knew once in a while you might actually ask me to go back to my family. Since I have seen you persuade a lot of people and solving so many cases, I decided that I should at least learn that before I left for my family again."
"So you do have wishes?"
"I thought maybe if I had a bit of your talking skills, I would be able to survive my siblings. But it seems I am not that prepared yet. That is why I am saying you should help me navigate the problems when I return." He beamed at me after explaining his part.
"Your siblings... Seem to have a huge part in your removal from the family?" I asked with a more interested face. "I thought maybe the king and queen kicked you out after being controlled by your siblings, aunts and uncles.... Honestly... What is the story behind your dissapearance?"
Cedric let out a sigh and wiped away his smile—his fingers trembled as I asked about it. Noticing this, even someone as desperate as me would be vulnerable. So I let him a short moment to think. And when he was still trembling, I decided to intervene and save time.
"Is it because those siblings envied you to the point where they decided to kick you out and save the throne for themselves?" I asked, making him flinch.
He seemed shocked at first, but then he also stopped shaking. Finally, a smile replaced his face and he nodded.
"Then why were you hesitating? Isn't it something common?" I folded my arms. I had read in so many novels that people would simply kill their siblings for the throne. Some even tortured them, punished them wrongly, and then brutally impacted their reputation. So it was easy for me to tell that his siblings would have done the same to him as well.
Finally, Cedric spoke after having calmed down fully.
"Because if it were a close friend of mine who asked me that... I would have found it comfortable to tell about it." He looked down at his hands.
I don't know why, but I felt a bit betrayed, my eyes visibly twitched.
"Then am I that untrustworthy?" I asked while squinting one of my eyes and with a hurt smile.
"What?! No! No that's not it!"
"Then you just said that if it were a close friend, then only you would have told them."
"No! It's just that I don't feel like you would see me close enough... Since I was practically a servant to you..."
"A servant?! Then am I master to you right now?! Do you want me to send you a resignation letter personally to strip you of that title?!" I slammed my hands onto the table in frustration. "Fine! Then you are telling me to help you while also you don't want to tell me your story. Alright! You don't need to go back to your family."
With that, I stood up and started to walk away.
"Hold on! I want to go back to my family! I really want to!" He panicked while childishly blurting out. "Alright! I will tell you my story!"
Finally, I turned on my heels and walked back towards the sofa. As I sat down beside him, I crossed my arms and put out my frustrated face. "Good. Then begin."
"But I have a condition..."
"What?"
"You won't laugh about it. I know what sort of a mentality you have."
"Sure. Well it's not like you are the youngest prince of the Mides Kingdom anymore. So I will manage." I snickered, then stopped when he glared at me. "Alright. Begin."
Then I started to realize... I might have some sort of a mental illness. Not like I was on drugs right then... My temper was... Uncontrollable. It made me nervous slightly, to think I was like this. Even a single lift of a finger ticked me off. Was it personality disorder?
Cedric hesitated yet again. And it was pissing me off honestly. So I decided, if he didn't want to speak about it, then I shouldn't just force him. What was the point if he was the person who didn't quite feel comfortable speaking about his past problems?
"You know what?" I finally let out a deep breathe.
"Hm?"
"If you don't want to talk about it, then it is fine. However, if you feel like you could speak about it after I tell you about my story, then you are alright to speak up while interrupting me. Is it possible by you? I am not forcing."
Cedric looked at my face with shock and amazement in return. But no words came out of his mouth.
"Yeah I know I am amazing. So I will ask again. Is it alright with you or not?" I know how I might seem like a bragger here. But it was one way to let people's mind go a bit easy. And I am desperate here to make him the next king so that the Mides family lets me live in peace for a while.
"Yes. I am alright with that." He smiled at me. "However, I can't guarantee that I will end up telling my story one way or the other."
"It's fine by me. You don't have to say it instantly, you are free to tell me any time you feel comfortable with."
"Thanks for understanding..."
The words sent a shiver done my spine. It was probably my first time hearing this, but at least it made me feel as if I had done a good thing in a long time that did not involve killing or slaughtering people. So I warmly smiled back.
Then, I diverted my eyes to look towards the small tea table in front of me. And my mouth moved however it wanted.
"Truth be told... I think even you know that despite Lewis trying to make me seem like a biological sister to everyone else, just because my hair became bicoloured... I am actually most recently adopted. I was adopted into the Empress' family one week before I took you in as my personal servant."
"Uh... I know that part. Begin somewhere else." He looked at me with an annoyed face, so it made me laugh for a bit before I continued my talk. Of course I wasn't going to speak about my Earthian life. They all think I am a Nikoanian citizen.
"So about three weeks of becoming a member of their family, I came across a life situation that turned my whole world upside down." I spoke while leaning back and titling my head to the side. "The only person who gave me that motherly love... Was killed in front of me and I couldn't stop it in time.
"Following that, I got taken deep into a sort of revenge, where I was ready to lose everything. However, I realized that when I meant everything, I forgot to think about the things that could leave me as a different person. So I lost many things. Starting from my sanity, to my personal people, to my mentality, health and finally... I managed to get my hand to kill that person.
"And in that time, I worked on trying to figure things out around the palace and fixing the matters they wanted me to fix. But also, during that time, I found out about my contract that brought me into this family. In there, it was written that after my use as a pawn ran out, I was going to get executed. That was one day before we took the Count into a trial.
"That morning, I saw the execution house with my own eyes. The previous night, I couldn't sleep as I was caught up with thinking about it deeply. Then in the early morning before sunrise, I used foundation and concealer to cover up the exhaustion on my face. After I came back home, I came to find out that Lewis had come across my sleeping pills. Which were actually mixed with a bit of toxin.
"I purposefully took them since the day that I had signed the contract. Because I knew that I was going to be used and discarded, so I thought, 'won't it be better if I died somewhere along the way?' and I continued. That toxin was eating at my organs and weakening me, so I could tell why I had started to break down more often back then.
"That was until I met Countess Elanor and she told me about the Empress' plan with me. I knew since then that my execution was going to be faster then I expected. So I increased my dosage while keeping in mind that somehow I had grown resistant to it.
"When Lewis found out, I was determined to avoid him from counselling me into thinking that 'yeah everything is alright! There isn't such thing as execution anymore!'. Therefore, I pushed him away. And that night too, I realized that I had finally achieved a major checkpoint when my lungs failed me. Apparently, I was pretty hurt myself since I was pushing away the only person who ever managed to keep me sane in the mind and offer me comfort.
"Then, the next day, I was abused brutally by the Empress. Of course I know as to why she had chosen to do it, but to think that someone who I also expected that maybe she was better then my own mother, was actually someone worse then both my original parents—My biological were even more twisted.
"From that time, I lost myself even more, and George chose to take me on a break away from the palace. I know I was a huge burden for him, but to think that he would go to that extend for someone who wasn't even his biological sister. My expectations were on the wrong person I guess.
"When I was away on vacation, I found out that Nada was captured by the person I had always wanted to take my revenge on. While trying to save her, I had lost my powers, and had to sacrifice my last ounce to kill that person. It turned out to only be a deception.
"Finally, I was able to save Nada, while the person was still alive. I realized then, that unless I gave away my life, that person would continue to harm more of my close peoples. So, as a last resort, I tried to take my life even faster.
"First way, was to hire a hitman. And George intercepted the letter. From that time, I stopped talking or even looking at George. Then, I poisoned the Empress in a none lethal dose so I could die in the dungeons out of hunger and thirst. While trying to interact with a snake so I could die due to its venom, my finger got shot and I lost a digit. It was fine by me at some sort, but George found out and took me out of the cell.
"Then, I was at a lose for ideas and my mind went into void. I would sit still everyday and ignore everyone. Until my best friend came to check on me, and I had to severe ties in order to avoid getting hope. It was painful in every sort. Then, the Empress took me and Lewis on a reunion of hers to the Smod Islands.
"I kept hearing talks about a popular bridge which was abandoned for a long time. From what I had heard of it, they said it was high enough to cause instant death if someone were to fall. And there, I thought about my last chance. It happened to by my birthday that day, and the next morning, I jumped."
By the take I had finished speaking, I was staring into the ceiling and outside, it was already dusk. I let out a long sigh then came to face him.
"Following that, I went to the spirit realm, where I met the people who died because of me. They all said I was a shame for taking my life this early. They didn't know, so I didn't care to explain. That was also when, the person who I wanted to kill, sacrificed themselves to bring me back alive.
"This time, when I came back, I got back the things that I lost, and received much more. Like the title of the Guardian of Death."