Chapter 8 Andrea

[Aimee] Ares seemed to be busy again. I asked the butler where Ares was, but he couldn’t provide me with an accurate answer. “As the prince, Prince Ares has a lot of things to take care of. I’ve noticed he hasn’t been sleeping well due to work, and I feel bad for him. But if he isn’t busy, Prince Amos…” Mr. Kerry stopped talking after mentioning the other prince. However, his mention of Prince Amos intrigued me. Mr. Kerry must have his reasons to stop talking. Though, rather than being curious about Prince Amos, I had a lot of questions about Ares. “Mr. Kerry, can you tell me more about Ares? I mean the things I’m allowed to know.” Mr. Kerry was stunned for a moment before he laughed. “Lady Aimee, from the day you arrived, the prince has told us to fulfill all of your requests. Since you want to know more about the prince, I’d be happy to tell you.” As Mr. Kerry told me more about Ares, my image of him as a person was enriched. I thought the prince was someone superior, someone beyond the reach of commoners. It had never occurred to me that he, too, had to worry about his family’s matters. Ares wasn’t the only prince. The king had another son, whose mother was the current queen. Similar to my situation, Ares’ mother passed away when he was young. However, unlike my situation, Ares was one of the strongest werewolves. Even though his brother had the same prestigious lineage, the brother fell short when he dueled Ares before the New Year. Why didn’t the king announce Ares, the obviously more capable son, as the heir to his throne? Mr. Kerry didn’t explain why, but I believed it had something to do with Ares’ strange condition during the full moon. Nevertheless, the intrigue of the royal family wasn’t something a girl abandoned by her family should worry about. I should focus on planting my flowers. After parting ways with Mr. Kerry, I changed into casual clothes and headed to the greenhouse. The seeds had just been planted recently, but under the nourishing environment of the greenhouse and my delicate care, the seeds started to sprout into a bed of green. They looked adorable. I hummed a melody as I squatted beside the soil, removing the weeds around the sprouts. Due to the temperature in the greenhouse, drops of sweat trickled down my nose. I simply wiped it off with my hand and didn’t care about the soil dirtying my face. It was, after all, a way to connect with Mother Nature. After working for a while, making sure I didn’t miss any weeds, I wiped my sweat again and walked out of the greenhouse. At the entrance, I saw Mr. Kerry talking to a lady. She wore a suit of red, similar to a knight, with a sword hanging at her waist and her hand resting on its hilt. Knowing how dirty I was after working in the greenhouse, it was inappropriate for me to appear before them. Hence, I tried to take a detour, but the lady stopped me. “Hey, gardener.” Was she referring to me? I turned around and met her unpleasant gaze. “Are you talking to me?” Mr. Kerry immediately explained, “Lady Andrea, she’s not a gardener. She’s–” “Not a gardener? Does that allow her to forget the rules of the castle? A maid as young as her can’t do anything well.” Confused, I looked at Mr. Kerry. I had no idea what the ‘rules of the castle’ that Lady Andrea meant. Andrea walked up to me, refusing to listen to Mr. Kerry’s explanation. As she was a lot taller than me, I had to look up to meet her eyes. “Look at you, filthy. You can’t even keep yourself clean. How are you worthy of working in the castle? I hereby declare you fired!” I instinctively covered my dirty face and looked anxiously at the rather hostile Lady Andrea. Who was she? “Lady Andrea!” The butler ran over. It wasn’t too far, but he was panting already. “This is Lady Aimee. She’s not a maid of the castle.” “Aimee?” When she heard my name, she looked even more unhappy. “So, you’re Lord Adrian’s daughter who can’t shift, and the prince brought you back as a toy.” I disliked the words she used to describe me, be it the word ‘toy’ or how she emphasized my identity. I had no idea who she was and was afraid I might cause Ares trouble, so I simply nodded. “Yes, I’m Aimee.” “Tsk…” Andrea scoffed. “When I heard the prince brought you back, I assumed you were a beautiful woman. But look at you, you’re filthy. Whatever, I’ll just assume that the prince got a pet. To be honest, you’re quite adorable.” She praised my adorableness and even pinched my cheek. The pinch was a playful one, but when she wiped the dirt off her fingers, it was an insult to me. Even Mr. Kerry couldn’t bear the sight of it. “Lady Andrea, the things that the prince requested are ready.” Andrea glanced at me again before she nodded and left with the butler. I quickly returned to my room and looked into the mirror. I saw my face covered in dirt, and the pinch on my left cheek left a red mark. Even my clothes were covered with dirt and dust. I wasn’t presentable at all. Frustrated, I took a shower. I regretted that I embarrassed Ares. Andrea’s words echoed in my mind as I washed myself. Was I Ares’ pet? Ares did say that I looked like a little deer. If Ares really took me as a pet, could it explain why he avoided me when I asked him what my identity was in the castle? Somehow, my mood plummeted. In fact, anyone else’s mood would plummet if they were called a pet. Lady Andrea was just rude. As I was in a sour mood, I skipped dinner. Mrs. Cynthia came looking for me a few times, but I told her I didn’t have any appetite. In the end, Mr. Kerry came to my room. “Lady Aimee, are you still thinking about what Lady Andrea said?” I shook my head at first, but in the end, I nodded timidly. “I’m not sad, but it bothers me. Mr. Kerry, does Ares really take me in as a pet?” “Why would the prince do so?” The butler was confused too. “Lady Aimee, His Majesty might not always be home, but I can tell that he treats you well. It’s definitely not as Lady Andrea said, so don’t let her words affect you.” I nodded, but I was also curious about Andrea. “That Lady Andrea, who is she?” “She’s a brave knight who serves His Majesty and one of the few female werewolf knights. She saved His Majesty’s life in that war three years ago. Since then, she has been serving as his right-hand werewolf.” “Female werewolves can become knights too? Sounds great.” I envied Andrea because she relied on her own strength to become a knight. She must be brave. Compared to her, I was like a pet, a cowardly pet.