When the Mad Emperor Suddenly Becomes Sweet - Chapter 114

“Can’t you stop here?” asked Freya as she stood next to Gemini, who seemed inflexible. She shook her head with a firm look, frowning at her own actions.

“Didn’t you ask how to deal with animals?” replied Gemini.

Freya had been struggling to keep up with her homework and was feeling overwhelmed after staying up late the previous night practicing dancing with Lucius. Despite this, she couldn’t postpone her class with Gemini, who had taken time out of his schedule to teach her how to use a dagger for self-defense.

“You can’t beat an animal with a dagger,” explained Gemini seriously as he demonstrated how to wield the weapon. “But targeting the forehead or eyes can buy you time to run away.”

Freya tried to move like him, but her attempts were clumsy compared to how he did it.

“You need to develop more strength in your arms,” said Gemini. “Otherwise, the sword won’t be strong.”

Freya thought back to how scared she was when she saw a wild boar in a cornfield. She knew that a skill that couldn’t be used in practice was useless, and so she pushed herself to keep going, even though she was tired.

“That way, we can get Lottie,” she thought to herself, determined to improve.

As Freya gained strength and began to handle the dagger more confidently, Gemini looked pleased with her progress.

“Now let’s use that straw,” he said, gesturing towards the scarecrow.

Freya took a deep breath as she faced the straw figure, imagining its face to be that of Shilo and letting her fighting spirit boil over.

“Yap!” shouted Freya as she charged towards the scarecrow, her dagger at the ready. In an instant, the straw figure was knocked down at her feet.

“It’s quite useful,” she remarked, panting from the effort.

“Gasp,” replied Gemini, clearly impressed by her progress.

Freya wished she had more time to visit Archer, but she was running late for her dance lesson with Lucius. She rushed to wash up and change into clean clothes before rushing down the hallway, not paying attention to her surroundings.

“Oh, my, I’m sorry,” she said as she collided with someone’s chest.

As she rubbed her forehead with one hand, she looked up to see a familiar face.

“You were the one who helped me then, right?” said the gentleman with a low, pleasant voice.

“Were you all right then? I’m in a hurry to go back,” Freya asked, worried that she had not been able to fully assist the gentleman when they had met before.

“Thanks to you, I lived because of you. It was such a pity that I couldn’t ask for your name at that time,” the gentleman replied, his green eyes glowing with kindness.

“I….” Freya hesitated, knowing that her real name was not her own. “My name is Freya De Bua.”

“I’m Count Diverto,” the gentleman introduced himself.

Freya was surprised to meet him again at the palace and see the count in person. However, she realized that she was running late and excused herself.

“I’m on my way somewhere,” she said.

Count Diverto, with his impeccable manners, quickly offered to invite her to meet again.

“Can I invite you next time? I want to repay you for your kindness,” he said.

Freya was touched by the coincidence of their meeting and felt a strange connection to the count, even though he was a stranger. She hesitated for a moment before he spoke again.

“Then I’ll send you an invitation,” said Count Diverto before rushing off.

“No, wait…” Freya started to say, but the count was already gone. She hurried to the practice room, watching the counts retreating and wondering what the future held.

The day of the engagement announcement and the grand ball was fast approaching, and Freya could barely summon the energy to get out of bed.

“Oh, I feel sick,” she moaned.

Freya had lost her appetite and had barely eaten anything since the previous day. She also couldn’t sleep at night due to nerves. When she stood in front of the mirror, she was shocked by her appearance. Even Bell and Miriam, who had come to help Freya get ready, screamed in horror at the sight of her face.

“What’s wrong with your face?” they asked.

The two sat Freya down and applied oil to her skin, which was supposed to have calming effects. However, her dull complexion did not improve easily. Freya stared at herself in the mirror with bloodshot eyes, sighing again. It was clear that if she wore a dress like this, she would be teased mercilessly.

“At this rate, I can’t put on any makeup,” she said, feeling defeated.

The maid who was attending to her clapped her hand to her forehead in frustration.

“We need to prepare special measures,” she said.

“I’ll hurry up and get ready!” replied Bell and Miriam in unison, exchanging secretive glances.

“What are you going to prepare?” asked Freya, sitting in a chair in front of the mirror.

It had been five months since Freya came to the palace, and it had been awkward to even greet the employees at first. It was more awkward than she had expected to have someone else do the things she used to do herself. Freya was used to completing her work alone before anyone else arrived.

“If you keep doing that, the maids will scold you,” Bell and Miriam had told her, making Freya reflect on her actions. It felt like everyone ignored that they had their own work to do. From then on, Freya accepted a little help from them.

As they worked on Freya’s hair, she couldn’t help but think back to her old life. Belle and Miriam, the high-paying court maids, were very different from what she had experienced while looking after Sofia.

“She used to hit me with a brush and whip even if I made a little mistake…” Freya thought to herself.