Stigmata

I am not a Bastard...That's for Sure

If the Duke's Manor was obnoxious, the Royal Palace was obscene. I had yet to see any buildings, but the garden I saw through the carriage windows was grand and definitely expensive to maintain. If all that land was used to grow food, instead of flowers...

Well, that was something I could bring up to my father when I met him. Today. Within the hour.

Aiyah~, what am I going to do?

I knew it would happen eventually. Ever since I became Theophania, I knew I would one day meet the King. I thought I was ready. Now that it was actually happening—!

I looked down at the hand wrapped around mine and followed it up to Freddy. He didn't look at me, but I could feel the agitation rolling off him in waves. His mother and father sat across from us, watching with laser focus.

"Stop that," he said out of the corner of his mouth.

Ah. I pulled my hands out of his grasp and scowled at them. I was picking at my fingers in anxiety and now my nails looked painfully raw and torn. Not that they looked all that pretty to start with. I hadn't exactly lived an easy, labor free life, after all.

I clenched my fists and settled my hands in my lap. "Apologies. I'll try not to let my nerves embarrass your House."

"That's not—." He sighed. "Never mind." He crossed his arms over his chest and looked out the window beside him, shoulders tense.

I didn't understand him. A glance across the carriage at his parents assured me I wasn't alone in that. My uncle, especially, looked like he'd swallowed a lemon. It was only my aunt's hand on his arm that seemed to be holding him back from scolding Freddy.

As entertaining as it was to watch, it almost made me glad I wouldn't be living with them anymore.

Almost.

The carriage came to a halt and Freddy all but threw himself out the door. Was I that hard to be around?

Hmph. Whatever. He was only a minor villain in the first act of the original series, anyway.

...that didn't keep it from stinging, though. I thought we were at least on neutral terms.

I sighed and followed after my aunt and uncle, gathering up my skirts in preparation to step down. A hand was thrust under my nose and I reared back in surprise, losing my balance. My stomach lurched as I fell, but Freddy caught me with startling ease for someone so much shorter than me. He looked almost constipated as he helped me regain my footing.

"Watch it," he groused. "You almost did something really embarrassing." Truth.

Excuse me? And whose fault was that?

My irritation must have shown on my face because the infuriating idiot had the audacity to smirk. I straightened my back and glared down at him with the full force of my stigmata and stepped past him—and on his foot. What was it about this stupid cousin of mine that made me so irrational and childish? I was an adult before waking up in Theophania's young body, so I was at least his father's age, internally. I should be able to resist the petty impulses he inspired in me, and yet...

The pained twitch of his lips was so gratifying, though. Surely, this much was allowed?

It didn't matter even if it wasn't. Who would dare scold a Saintess over something as small as this?

Not Freddy.

I smoothed my skirts as I approached my aunt and uncle. My dress this time was much more to my taste—by which I mean, it was almost an exact replica of the acolyte's robes I wore at the monastery. The fabric was much higher quality and black, instead of white, with golden embroidery along the hems and belt, but it was ultimately a religious garment. Anyone who looked at me would immediately recognize who I was and what position I held. A Saintess, but also a Princess.