Chapter 237 236: The Uneasiness

Freshia was in a bad mood when she left the castle. This was the palace she had to spend most of her childhood in but she was being treated by these people like she never existed.

And what was even worse was her queen's attitude. The queen had all but ignored Freshia's existence and treated Frehsia like she did not exist in her eyes. It was the ultimate humiliation in Freshia's eyes.

'I will not let the queen go for this. I love the queen and I will bring her attention back on me.'

After all, Freshia had spent her life with the queen so she was proud to say that she knew the queen quite well. Freshia would not make the same mistake of losing the queen's interest.

But more than Zadkiel, Freshia was annoyed at someone else. Someone whom she had thought of as a friend all this while but this someone might as well be a hidden danger to her.

After all, the queen had taken notice of Rui today and the queen had looked interested in what Rui had to say. It was a dangerous gamble but the queen seemed genuine in her approach.

"Rui, what the hell was that interaction back with the queen? I thought you were not interested in gaining the queen's favor. That was why we were friends in the first place. Because you were not a danger to my position."

Freshia questioned Rui as soon as they were out. She did not even take notice of her surroundings before saying all these accusations.

Huye decided not to get involved in this fight since she had nothing more to add to this talk. She did not know these people well enough to take sides.

Besides, Huye was quite satisfied with today's agenda. She had gotten to meet the queen face-to-face and it was just as magnificent as she had hoped it would be. Her obsession was growing each minute.

"Calm down Freshia. I am on your side in this argument but I also cannot allow the Abstel name to fall in front of the queen as well, you know. I have my limitations as well."

Rui was right when she said all this and even Huye had to agree with her. The Abstel family name was something that held a lot of significance. Rui would not let such a legacy fall for anyone.

Even if that someone turned out to be the former lover of the queen.

'I cannot tell if this noble girl is an idiot or a genius. But so far, I have to go with the former. Who allows someone to take this much advantage of themselves? Besides, Rui is also in Yohan's hands so there is no need for me to worry.'

Huye wholeheartedly believed that Yohan was on her side. He might deny being attracted to Huye but he had still done his best to help Huye out.

What was this favor if not infatuation one was trying to hide?

But since Huye was a good friend, she would not call Yohan out on this and continued to take advantage of him for as long as she could.

………………….

Yohan took advantage of him being dressed up as a noble to look around and notice some things.

Everything in this castle looked brand new and the servants avoided touching anything. They walked in a straight line and did not meet anyone's gaze.

But Yohan caught one servant's eyes when she was walking past and was surprised to see she had no pupils or even retina. She only had a hole in the place where she had eyes.

'What is with this place and all these weird servants? They look more mechanical than demonic."

Yohan spoke this out aloud and then he noticed that the servants were not paying attention to him. He was about to call for one of these special servants when he was stopped by an actual demon servant.

"Dear guest, it would be wise of you not to call for a servant with a red tag in thier hair. They are disabled children being employed here due to her majesty's grace. So please turn a blind eye to them,"

The servant begged for Yohan's understanding and Yohan decided not to press this topic any further.

"Alright, I shall not do anything as such. I should get going back now since my company is waiting for me."

Yohan quickly made his way out of the wing but he could not help but remember what the butler had said.

'Especially disabled children' he had called these artificial human beings. And it was clear that the queen was the one pulling these strings.

Yohan wanted to look around more when he got Rui's signal for retreat. It was time to go back now and Yohan will have to try his luck again.

Luckily, he had managed to get a good look at the outside of the security and managed to draw a pretty accurate map. The rest he will have to wing it when the time comes.

Outside, their group looked at each other a little awkwardly. Something seemed to have happened between them but no one was in the mood to tell Yohan what happened.

"Yohan, I will need you to come back to the palace tomorrow with a small gift for your friend. He accidentally triggered him and I cannot afford to have such a record, you know."

Lady Rui was making excuses for Yohan to come back here and Yohan was glad he had picked Rui. She was so resourceful in the way she handled things.

Freshia looked mad at Rui's decision but she refused to say anything. Huye just looked satisfied with what had happened and Yohan decided to ask her what happened later.

"Mistress, should I call for a carriage right now? I am sure you all must be exhausted after the long day. I will drop off lady Huye at her home and then search for an appropriate gift before coming back later."

Yohan promised, making plans to converse with Huye in his mind.

Rui agreed easily but Freshia looked even sorer than before. Her eyes were flashing with unwanted frustration and Freshia finally lashed out.

"Why do you need to go? Rui gave you to me so you are my butler now. There is no need for you to serve anyone else other than me, do you understand."

Freshia's outburst was expected and it caused everyone to stand still. Yohan was especially surprised at the attachment Freshia was showing along with her jealousy.

"Freshia, calm down. I lent Yohan to you since you were a guest but Yohan is not a possession you can own. He is a person and has his thoughts and desires. You are too stressed right now. Come, let us go home. Yohan, return home soon."

Rui handled the situation masterfully. She had been dealing with Freshia's anger and her issues for a long time now.

Then there were Yohan and Huye left in the clearing. Yohan wanted to ask Huye what happened but she seemed lost in her dreamy world.

In the end, Yohan was not able to ask anyone anything about the queen's topic to anyone. Huye was also immersed in her world and did not pay attention to Yohan right now.

Yohan dropped Huye off and went into town for some other work. It was not easy to look around for a gift that fit royal standards so Yohan decided to make do with his current standards.

"Here, can you pack this gift for me?"

Yohan passed the knife toward the countertop and the man in front of him looked started before he looked at the knife.

"T-This knife. Where did you get this from? Such craftmanship, such epic designs. This is such a masterpiece. How about selling it to me?"

The shopkeeper begged as he refused to let the dagger go from his hands.

Yohan smiled a harmless smile toward the man which finally made him flinch and let go of the dagger.

"How about you don't try to piss me off and bundle this dagger. And don't try to play any tricks because I will know if you do."

The shopkeeper gulped his fears down and instantly got to work packing the dagger. Yohan watched him until the shopkeeper was done and then returned home.

The Abstel mansion was quiet and the signs of a fight were evident in the surroundings. Yohan ignored it all and reported to Rui about what he was planning.

The next day, he was back in the royal palace with his gift in hand.