Free Web NovelChapter 5: Chapter 5: The Unwanted Daughter.
Celestia didn’t know why he hesitated, but then she saw her father’s guards approaching and instantly understood—he wanted to hand her over to them.
Panic rose in her chest.
If her father took her away now, only the heavens knew the kind of punishment waiting for her. And worse, she had no idea when she would ever get another chance to sneak out of the manor again.
So, she did the first thing that came to mind.
She pretended to faint.
Her body slumped forward. She braced herself for the hard impact of the floor, but instead—
Someone caught her.
None other than Drazeil.
"Guess he understands gestures after all... but what if he decides to kill me while I’m pretending? That would be terrible."
"Hey, you can’t kill me now. I know you hate me, but we must have a fair fight—where we battle each other to the death until one of us wins."
That was what Celestia planned to say, leaning closer as if unconscious and whispering into his ear without anyone noticing.
But before she could—
"Who told you I wanted peace?"
Drazeil’s voice echoed in her mind. "And how were you able to enter my thoughts?"
Celestia froze internally.
This girl surprised him every single time.
First, the undeniable urge he had felt to catch her when he knew very well she was pretending. He had wanted to let her fall—yet he couldn’t.
And now this.
She had entered his mind.
Drazeil had built a powerful mental barrier around his thoughts. No one could enter it. It was impossible.
This couldn’t be ordinary magic.
Even if she was a celestial being, there was no way she had used magic to breach his mind.
"Do not let them take me... please", Celestia whispered in his mind.
Drazeil looked up and saw the guards of House Alwyn approaching cautiously.
Two of them.
Ready to drag her away.
Why would he protect her?
A being he hated the most?
Of course not.
The guards hesitated, too afraid to come close, until Drazeil finally said—
"You may take her."
They stepped forward and tried to lift her, but strangely, it was difficult for them to do so.
Why?
Because Celestia was holding onto Drazeil as her life depended on it.
"Zeil... please."
That name again.
Drazeil removed her hands from him one by one, then stood up and walked away from the royal court.
"Fuck you".
A faint smirk appeared on his lips.
"You wouldn’t even get the chance," he muttered.
The King signaled to Chamberlain.
"The Royal Court is over. You may all leave now."
One guard carried Celestia while Angelina hurried after them.
The second guard approached the Chamberlain, knelt on one knee, and said,
"Lord Callinis asked me to deliver this message to His Majesty."
He lowered his head.
"On behalf of House Alwyn, we deeply apologize for our deranged daughter. We shall ensure this never happens again."
The guard rose and left.
When they reached the carriage, the first thing Celestia’s father did was slap Angelina.
Hard.
The sound cracked through the air.
Angelina staggered, blood forming at the corner of her lip.
After all, she was Celestia’s personal attendant.
She would suffer every consequence of Celestia’s actions.
"How could you allow her to leave the manor?" Celestia’s mother demanded coldly.
"I’m sorry, Lady Tiana," Angelina said, lowering her head. "It was all my fault. I filled her head with these ideas."
Celestia felt sick hearing that.
She hated it.
Angelina was taking the blame for her.
But she couldn’t suddenly wake up now. That would only make things worse.
"Of course it was your fault," Lord Callinis said. "The Celestia I know would never do such a thing."
Before more could be said, the Morvayne family approached.
Lady Tiana immediately signaled her husband to maintain composure.
The Morvayne family.
The most powerful witch family in the entire magical realm.
Even House Alwyn had to be careful around them.
"Duchess Marvel," Lady Tiana said with a forced smile, "I like your dress."
"Of course," Layla Morvayne interrupted before her mother could speak. "It is made from only the finest cotton. Unlike..." she paused, slowly looking Lady Tiana up and down, "...some noble ladies’ dresses."
Lady Tiana only smiled thinly.
The Morvaynes were known for their pride and arrogance. freewebnovel.cσ๓
But Layla?
She was a different level of disrespect.
"I didn’t know you had a deranged daughter," Lady Marvel said, looking at Celestia with open curiosity. "This is my first time seeing her."
"We kept her away from the public because of... this predicament," Lady Tiana replied stiffly.
Lady Tiana signaled to her husband to do something so they could all take their leave.
Lord Callinis cleared his throat.
"If that is all, we would like to take our leave now and handle some important matters."
Lord Nate hummed.
"Of course. You have quite a lot to worry about."
He paused.
"We will soon be holding the Grand Coven Assembly. Invitations will be sent to all your family members."
"Except her," Layla added, glancing at Celestia.
Nate looked at Callinis.
Lord Callinis didn’t hesitate and said;
"Yes. Your daughter is correct. This girl does not need an invitation. She has no magic at all, so she is not qualified."
"This girl".
Celestia noticed it.
Not daughter.
Not even her name.
Just this girl.
And the hostility in his voice made it worse.
"Sigh... so this is what being the unwanted child feels like, no wonder the poor dear previous soul committed suicide"
Nate nodded.
"Very well."
He turned to leave, then stopped suddenly.
"Oh—and you may have another issue. It seems the butler you claimed was human had vampire blood. He awakened as a vampire.
And after a certain speech today..." His eyes flickered knowingly towards Celestia "...the King may wish to investigate that matter further."
Silence.
Callinis and Tiana visibly stiffened.
Belle, however, had the faintest trace of happiness in her eyes.
"What do we do now?" Tiana asked quietly.
"That is a problem for later," Callinis said. "Let’s return to the manor first."
He looked toward Celestia with disgust.
"This carriage is too small for all of us. Especially with someone we never considered part of this family."
He turned to his wife.
"Darling, I believe a guard, Celestia, and her foolish attendant can walk."
"Yes," Lady Tiana replied calmly. "I agree."
Lord Callinis stretched out his hand.
"You two. Give me every coin you have."
Angelina and the guard carrying Celestia reluctantly handed over all their money.
"Sir, please," Angelina pleaded. "That is a very long journey. Spare at least enough for us to rent a horse. The manor is too far to walk."
Lady Tiana only sighed and ignored her.
Lord Nate pulled his wife into the carriage.
And just like that—
They left.
Angelina and the guard stood there in silence.
Then slowly, they began to walk.
"I know you didn’t put those ideas in her head," Jake said.
"Believe whatever you want," Angelina replied bitterly.
Jake glanced at her face.
The slap had left a swollen red mark.
There was still blood.
"There’s a bench ahead. Sit there and let me help you."
Jake was a healing witch.
He could heal almost any wound—depending on how severe it was.
"No. It’s fine."
"Stop being difficult and let him help you."
Celestia sat up suddenly.
Both of them froze.
"My Lady!"
Jake immediately bowed.
Celestia adjusted her dress as if nothing had happened.
"Alright, do what you need to do, then let’s keep moving."
Angelina sat reluctantly on the bench.
Jake knelt in front of her and gently—very gently—touched her cheek.
Celestia narrowed her eyes.
What is he doing? Is this how healers heal? Pfft—
Then she noticed it.
The way he touched her.
The way they looked at each other.
Oh.
"Ooh..."
A slow smile spread across Celestia’s face.
Interesting.
As she waited for them to finish whatever emotional nonsense they were clearly having, she spotted a beautiful carriage approaching.
Its design was elegant and expensive.
"This carriage looks lovely," Celestia said.
It stopped right in front of them.
The coachman stepped down.
Before he could speak, Jake immediately stood, sword drawn.
"What do you want with my lady?"
The coachman bowed respectfully.
"Good day. I was sent by Lady Bailey to bring Lady Celestia to her mansion. She saw her today through her magical orb."
Lady Bailey?
Celestia blinked.
Then realization hit.
"Grandmother".
The one person the original owner of this body truly loved.
The one person who had truly loved her.
"Is she back already?" Celestia asked, smiling brightly.
"When did she arrive?"
"Just after midnight yesterday. She is quite ill and wishes to see you."
Celestia’s smile widened.
"Alright. Let’s go."
Jake and Angelina spoke at once.
"My Lady, you need permission from your parents first—"
"I do not need permission from anyone."
Her tone was firm.
Then she softened slightly, looking at Angelina.
"And I’m sorry you had to suffer because of my actions. But I won’t let anything happen to you again."
Jake cleared his throat.
Celestia looked at him.
"Of course. You too, my lovely personal guard."
Jake sighed.
"My Lady... we should confirm if this is truly from your grandmother first."
Celestia already knew it was.
She felt no danger.
Still, she allowed it.
"Fine. Confirm it."
"Show us Lady Bailey’s seal," Jake demanded.
The coachman presented it.
Angelina used her magic to verify it.
It was real.
She nodded.
Jake finally stepped aside.
The coachman opened the carriage door and extended his hand.
Celestia calmly placed her fan on his arm instead of touching him directly.
She had always hated unnecessary physical contact as it made her feel impure.
Jake gave Angelina the same gesture.
Celestia watched them.
"So cute."
They entered the carriage, and it began to move.
"I really do not like this," Angelina muttered.
Celestia leaned back lazily.
"Relax, Angelina. I love the idea of defying my parents."
She smiled faintly.
"They need to realize they have no control over me."
