Sinthia and The Demon Duke of DeSidea: 15

Living in the palace as Sinthia of Ophelia was not at all an easy task. Because of her perceived incompetence, the staff held her in contempt. So bold were they that they would openly disrespect her and embarrass her. Of course, ever since she punched the disrespectful maid in the jaw that one time after waking up, they had been a bit more weary about being too blatant. But the fact of the matter remained: Sinthia had no allies. She was literally in the viper’s pit. Many people sided with the Duchess of Salient. Because she was powerful and showed open dislike for Sinthia, everyone felt that they could get away with all the things they did to Sinthia. And they had, for fourteen long years.

However, that was going to have to change. Sinthia of the 21st would make sure of that. She lay upon her bed, humming a song she always enjoyed in her past life. “You fuck around get smoked. You fuck around, you fuck around, you fuck around, get smoked...” she sang distractedly as she wrote on a piece of paper. Right now, she was plotting. Resting her head in her palm and propped up on her elbows, she really looked like a darling princess writing a sweet letter. Oh, if only her circumstances allowed her to do so. She was simply waiting for something very important to break out of her room.

Break out? What could she be breaking out from? Was she not simply relaxing in her room? Well, as it turned out, her father the king had meant it when he said that there would be consequences. A day after she had told him off, he had unofficially put her under house arrest for five days. No one really knew why, since the conversation was private, but specifically because it had only been between them was it unofficial and light. If he had made it official, he would have had to publicly announce that his youngest daughter had essentially disrespected him. It would have been revealed that he was losing control of her. That would give the noble faction against him an edge. She could easily become the spearhead that would fatally pierce him.

As it turned out, the nobles that stood against the king had tried on many occasions to recruit the previous Sinthia. They would write her sweet letters and offer alluring comfort in an effort to emotionally manipulate a seemingly easy princess. Unluckily for them, that Sinthia only desired her father’s love and acceptance. She understood that they only wanted to use her, and she would not be used against her father.

A light knock interrupted her happy scheming, so Sinthia put down the quill she had been writing with. “Come in.” She chirped standing up. She was dressed in nothing but a soft pink nightdress. In this world, that was like running around in nothing but panties apparently. The door creaked open, and a small, cute maid walked in. “Lissa !” Sinthia exclaimed, happy to see her. Lissa was a nickname for Melissa. While a sizable majority of the maids were blatant in their bullying, Lissa was one of the few maids that had refrained from actively disrespecting the princess over the past two years. Once Sinthia had awoken, she had made it clear that only three maids would service her at any time. Lissa was one of them. “Your Royal Highness, I brought what you asked for.” She whispered, looking around nervously. In her hands was what looked like a simple blanket. Sinthia grinned, skipping over to the nervous woman, “I told you to call me Thia, didn’t I?”

Lissa gave a little squeak of dismay. “But it’s rude of me to call you by a nickname! I’m but a servant.”

Sinthia took the blanket from Lissa’s hands, then said, “No, you’re my friend!” This was not the first time that Her Royal Highness had said that to Lissa in these past two months. Lissa had always looked on in sorrow when her colleagues and the Duchess’ daughters bullied the Fourth Princess, but she did not have the strength to reach out her hand and offer comfort—no matter how meager—to the lonely princess. However, after the princess fell unconscious and woke up, she had changed. Her very demeanor suggested that trying to bully or harass her was no longer possible. In a way, Lissa had felt a little relief. Perhaps the princess had gained courage. And then the princess asked her to serve her specifically! Lissa had been shocked! Even more so when she discovered how laissez-faire the princess actually was. She had insisted that they be friends, and be close. And Lissa felt that deep down, the princess truly meant it.

However, the guilt that Lissa always felt from not doing anything when the princess needed her was overwhelming. It was why she was never able to happily engage with her like a friend. But the princess was always patient with her. Her lively smile was bright and reassuring. It made Lissa feel like she really did want to be by her side and help her. The princess placed the blankets onto her bed, and then unwrapped it. Inside the blankets was a maid’s uniform.

“Y-Your Royal Highness-“

”Thia.”

”Th-Thia. Are you sure about this...? If His Majesty discovers this...”

”As if he’d find out. He may have put me under unofficial house arrest, but it was just a show of power. When you came here, did you see any Knights? Wouldn’t he have stationed a few if he truly meant to keep me in? He doesn’t care about me enough to waste personnel, so don’t worry.”

Lissa swallowed the rest of her complaints, wondering about the princess’ choice of words. What did she mean when she said that His Majesty didn’t care about her? Was that what she believed?

”Plus I told him I’d graciously accept whatever punishment he doled out. Jokes on him, I only follow through on deals that are on paper.” Sinthia giggled as she slipped on the black and white garments quickly. Lissa gasped. “Oh, Thia. This could get you into more trouble!”

”So be it. You only live once. Well...” Sinthia gave an enigmatic smile. “Maybe twice.”

This new princess was too brave and wild, Lissa thought to herself as she took the blanket and rolled into a cylindrical shape, stuffing it under the blankets. But this lively princess was bright, warm and fun. She would support the princess’ newfound confidence and vibrancy as best as she possibly could.

”Alright. Now on to the makeup.”

Lissa and another maid silently walked down the hall, carrying laundry. They kept their eyes respectfully low as they made their way to the back of the palace. Everyone was frantic, dashing back and forth and orders being shouted everywhere. In the chaos, it was supremely easy to slip around nearly unnoticed. “They’ll be arriving tomorrow morning, so make sure everything is ready by then! Melissa! Hurry and get those washed! We haven’t got the time!” A portly lady shouted. The head of the maids, Belinda. Melissa nodded, then rushed off, the other maid following swiftly. Belinda was about to turn around and attend to other things, when she thought to herself, “who was the other one with Melissa?”

Once they were out of sight, Lissa and the other maid slipped into a dark hallway. “Okay, Lissa. I’m sorry I’ll have to leave you for a bit. Will you be okay?” The other maid asked in a hushed tone. Lissa gave a bright smile before nodding. “I’ll be fine, Your—“

”Thia.”

”... Thia. I’ll be fine. But why do you need to sneak out now?”

”I’m just being rebellious, don’t worry too much about it. I need to show His Majesty that I can be stubborn and unreasonable too, right? Take care, alright?” Thia placed a warm hand on Lissa’s cheek, feeling guilty to have roped her into her foolhardy plan. Lissa felt that she must be feeling guilty too, so she gave her the kindest smile to ease the princess’ heart.

”Yes. You too. Thia.” And with that, Thia turned away and disappeared down the hall.

The towns of commoners were far more interesting to look at. Bustling with all kinds of people, food and items, he found such settings much more manageable than the ones he was obligated to attend to. “The Ophelian city life is a lot busier than I thought. Wasn’t this supposed to be a small kingdom?” He asked, passing by a jovial older lady carrying a bundle of cloth. “Your Imperial Highness.” A voice whispered in his ear. “I told you not to use that here, Hendrick.”

”Apologies... Vick.”

”That’s more like it.”

”Please don’t forget that we are supposed to be arriving at the Royal Ophelian Palace tomorrow morning after a long and tiring journey. We secretly came early because you wanted to look around but—“

”Yes, I’m aware. I’ll be sure to return safe and sound.”

Hendrick’s silver eyes looked somewhat doubtful as he looked upon the broad back of his master. Sometimes, it was difficult to believe in his words. “Yes, Vick.”

”Now go back. If you’re gone too long, father will become too suspicious.”

Hendrick nodded, almost bowing. But he remembered that they stood in the middle of a bustling street and caught himself just in time. Turning around, he seamlessly integrated into the crowd, disappearing in an instant. Vick looked around, a lazy smile hanging on his lips.

“Now. Where shall I visit first?”

Heyo! Unfortunately there is no accompanying illustration for this chapter cos I’m trying to conserve my hand for the next episode of De Novo. Also a new character?!!!! Possible complications to come?!!! Scandalous.