Sacrificial Bride to the Feared Lord Hastings-Chapter 71: Childish (2)

"I am not childish. Keep this up, and you’ll be regretting it later," Freya warned Ophelia.

"When are you going to give up, Freya? I am out of your hair and living elsewhere. Since you hate that I was the one to marry Lord Hastings, why didn’t you protest when you first heard of it? Why don’t you protest to your father now?" Ophelia asked, willing to cheer Freya on.

Freya didn’t have an answer since the day she first heard of it; her father told her not to speak on the matter. Freya didn’t have a say in switching places with Ophelia to marry Dante.

Freya smiled since she had news to share. "I am not upset that you have married Lord Hastings, for I have been set to be engaged to the third prince. His status is far better than Lord Hastings."

"I must warn you of the dangers of marrying based on wealth and status. You should find love," Mary said, trying to steer Freya on a better path.

Freya peered down upon Mary, her nose scrunched up. "Says the woman who married a man older than her father so her family could be given money. I won’t be taking any advice from you since we are different. I don’t need to marry to save my family. The prince and I will fall in love."

Mary kept her husband’s age to herself since it would be pointless to correct Freya.

"You are interested in marrying Queen Althea’s son. You don’t know what you are getting into," Mary said, awaiting the show that was going to come.

Ophelia looked to Mary, wanting to know the secrets she kept.

"You should be careful when speaking about the queen and the prince. They shall be my family one day, and I won’t forget what you say now. It won’t be long before you have to obey my every order unless you want to put your homes in danger," said Freya.

"Shouldn’t a princess be gracious and kind?" Mary asked.

"Two qualities she lacks," Ophelia interjected. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"The king is allowed to be the way he is. No one will question him, not even the queen. The crown prince can do as he wishes since he holds the king’s admiration. The third prince, however, has to be careful, and if you were to become his wife, you would have to step lightly," Mary said, knowing the challenge that awaited Freya.

Mary didn’t think Freya belonged inside the palace. She wouldn’t be able to keep up with the scheming people. The attitude Freya had now would also clash with the queen’s, and Freya would wish to get out of the palace.

"I know what it will take to be a princess and perhaps a queen one day."

Ophelia helped look up at Freya after hearing what she said. It was dangerous for Freya to claim that she could be queen one day when there was already a woman selected to marry the crown prince.

Even if misfortune were to befall the crown prince, there was another prince before the man Freya wanted to marry. To speak so openly about becoming queen would sound like Freya was plotting to harm the crown prince.

Ophelia laughed.

Freya was going to get herself killed if the wrong person heard what she said.

Freya frowned, puzzled as to why Ophelia was laughing. Ophelia should be seething with jealousy.

"We should go," Freya’s companion tugged on her arm.

"You two deserve each other. Two outcasts for friends-"

"Yet you were demanding that we go speak to the other ladies. My idea of outcasts has certainly changed. Didn’t I advise you to start working on being kind, Freya? Time is ticking, and your colours show with every fleeting moment. Before you wed the prince, I wouldn’t go around speaking of him," said Ophelia.

Freya stormed off since she didn’t want to hear Ophelia’s advice.

"What is it that you know about the third prince?" Ophelia asked once Freya was out of the way.

"The third prince is the current queen’s son. He isn’t favoured by the king since he isn’t the crown prince, so the queen is protective of him. There is no doubt in my mind that she will meddle in his marriage, and your sister’s behaviour now won’t be tolerated," Mary explained.

"The queen has a son old enough to marry? She looks so young," Ophelia said, sneaking a glance at the queen.

"He is not old enough to marry this season. I think Freya has overlooked this, and while the queen is younger than the king, she is older than you think. There are rumours that she was with the king before she was named queen. The king pushed to have her, and for her father, his daughter was his way into the palace."

"So, all around us are ladies who were forced into marriage by their families. If these men want power so badly, why can’t they be the ones to lie in bed for it? Why must we pay the price of their greed? Freya’s world is going to shatter once she stops to think of how young the prince is," Ophelia said.

As amusing as it would be, Ophelia heard enough of Freya’s voice and didn’t want to hear more of it.

Ophelia’s gaze fell back on Dante. He was setting up for his next fight.

’Why does he keep looking here?’ Ophelia wondered, trying to avoid his gaze.

Ophelia was sitting still where she was meant to be. She couldn’t help that trouble kept walking over to her.

"Someone else is approaching," Mary noticed.

"I assure you, there is a line we cannot see where they wait to ruin my peace. Who is it now?" Ophelia questioned and, against her better judgment, she turned to see who was approaching.

Seeing that Ophelia acknowledged her presence, Giselle took it as an opportunity to approach Ophelia once more.

"Hit me over the head so I might fall asleep and miss this day," Ophelia requested from Mary.

"I would love to help you, but I also want to avoid Lord Hastings’ wrath. Your guards are taking care of it for you," Mary said, enjoying the way the swords stopped Lady Valthorn in her tracks. "You must use your guards more often."

Ophelia wanted to use the guards, but only Thomas listened to her.

"I will try to. No one is to approach me now unless it is the king or the queen," Ophelia ordered Thomas. "There will be a feast with your name on it if you do it well."

Alice glanced at Thomas, annoyed that he had somehow gotten on Ophelia’s good side, yet her life counted on it, and Ophelia was keeping her distance.

"Lady Hastings. Miss Victoria appears interested in your company," Alice informed Ophelia.

"I said no one is going to approach me. I have enough company," Ophelia said, standing with her decision to stay away from Victoria. "He is starting again," Ophelia said, watching Dante walk out.