Bab 18: Not A Doll

"You should really stop paying heed to what people say about him," said Sylvan seriously. "Dru, he is a Prince. You and I are not allowed to talk so casually about him or have opinions. Especially, you. You're gonna be his life partner."

"I don't want to be," Drusilla cut him off. She didn't want to hear all this. She wasn't interested. Not at all.

"Hear me out first," Sylvan gave her a reproachful look. "Whether you end up as life partners or not might not be as certain as it seems right now. But what is certain is that he will be coming to the Duchy in the next few days to see you. If by mistake, you said anything inappropriate in front of him, he won't be as easygoing as I and Father. We know you're willful but he is a Royal Prince. He won't understand that." Sylvan was saying it for her own good so that she won't make any irreversible mistake.

Drusilla's temper flared up when she heard that, "Isn't that why I don't want to marry him? You know I'm a free and casual person. I don't like so many rules. If I married him, would I be caged in the walls of his palace? I don't want to live like that."

How could he not understand all of that? He understood his sister's temperament very well. That's why he was trying to talk to her calmly and make her understand this.

"It's not certain if you both will really end up together or not," he said. "You can calm down. You're not the only person against this marriage. But the consequences of you, messing up this marriage will affect our whole family. So, we should wait. I just told Father too. We should wait and let someone else do this job instead."

Drusilla looked at her brother for a long time in silence. Sylvan didn't know what she was thinking but it gave him an uneasy feeling. For no other reason but that whenever Drusilla was this quiet, it'd make anyone who knew her uncomfortable. Especially since she was someone who loved to talk and smile all the time.

"For now, you just have to meet him," added Sylvan carefully observing her. "Do you understand what I am saying?"

Drusilla slowly smiled at him sweetly as she said, "Yes, I understand."

"Good girl," complimented Sylvan as he rubbed her head. "Now, shouldn't you tell Father that you're not sick?"

"No," Drusilla's voice raised up slightly but she instantly went back to her normal expression. "I mean, it won't be good. Father will be so sad to know that I lied to him. And if I recovered overnight, it'll be even more suspicious to him. After all, our Father is also very smart."

"Smart?" repeated Sylvan. "He is only smart in matters that don't involve you." Sylvan knew how much his Father loved his daughter. How was it possible for him to blame Drusilla for anything? Even if he learned that she lied, he'd never blame her. "You do know that being sick won't help you, right? You won't be able to escape meeting Prince Rhys."

"I know," she answered. "I just want to take this chance to move to the suburban mansion. There is fresh air, grapevines, fresh vegetable gardens, and so many flowers. I just want to spend some time there."

Sylvan didn't find anything strange about her proposal since Drusilla had always liked living there more than in the Duke's mansion. And he also understood why. Here, Drusilla was always under the watch of their mother. But she was free like a bird whenever she went to the suburban mansion.

"Okay. As long as you're happy."

Drusilla continued to smile sweetly at him as she said, "Thank you, Brother." But what was on her mind, only she knew for real.

Originally, she wanted to share her plan with her brother because she still trusted him very much but after what Sylvan said, she decided not to speak. She almost forgot that for Sylvan, their House Rosewood was above everything. Above her and above even himself. She couldn't really blame him either though.

He was educated like this from a young age. He was raised as the heir of the Duke. How was it possible for him to do anything that could hurt their House Rosewood? It wasn't possible and she didn't want to force him either. Actually, she was a little scared. Because deep down she knew that if she asked him to choose between her and the glory of their family, he'd choose the family.

Anyway, the less people knew about her plan the better. She didn't need her brother's help for her plan to succeed anyway. She only needed Aradia's help and she knew Aradia would never refuse her.

"You should ask your maids to prepare your luggage for the travel," instructed Sylvan. "Father instructed me to send you to the mansion tomorrow. After breakfast, we'll start the journey."

"Alright," agreed Drusilla. "Brother, don't forget to tell sister Aradia."

Sylvan froze when he heard that and asked, "Why should I tell her?"

"Because she is going with me," answered Drusilla not noticing her brother's change at all. "I'd be bored all alone. So, I asked Father to send sister Aradia with me. She'll take care of me over there and keep me company too. I also talked to her. She agreed to go with me."

"She agreed?" asked Sylvan strangely.

"Yes, she agreed," told Drusilla happily without a care. "Anyway, how can she refuse? If I ask her anything, sister Aradia would never refuse."

"True," gritted out Sylvan and closed his eyes to calm himself down. "Rest well. We have to travel tomorrow. Don't get tired."

"Okay."

After he left, Drusilla's smile disappeared. She went to her dressing table and looked at the box that Aradia brought to her today. Seeing the glass sculpture in front of her, Drusilla's eyes darkened and a smirk appeared on her lips.

"I'm not a doll, Brother. I don't want to be one as well," she whispered to herself with a determined look in her eyes.

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