Loser, Who?

The best part of the Roscius Manor had to be the backyard where the knights sparred. Faenia found herself developing a hobby of watching the knights practise with their swords. She would sit on a garden chair and look at their half-naked fine bodies. Although most of the time they were fully clothed, it didn't stop her from seeing the lines under their shirts. The way they moved their bodies when practising was beautiful to her eyes. She had come to see them so often, everyone in the Roscius manor thought she had taken a liking for swordsmanship when really, all she fancied were the body postures of the knights.

The knights, not knowing the truth, were cheerful to see their lady Faenia spend time with them, they would teach her a thing or two about swordsmanship. However, they would never hand her a small wooden sword because they feared she would get hurt as swordfight was too dangerous. Their lady was so small and delicate, she looked like she could snap in half if someone touched her carelessly.

"How are you today, Lady Faenia?"

Faenia raised her head to face the knight standing before her. "Oh, Julian! I'm having a good time, everyone is so amazing."

She became better at pronouncing the names and she didn't have to be ashamed of herself any longer.

Julian chuckled. "Lady Faenia says that all the time. Are we actually as amazing as you say?"

"Yes, every part of you is really impressive!"

The sentence sounded strange but Julian couldn't point out how, in the end, he shrugged it off. He looked at Lady Faenia and sighed disappointedly, he wanted to be one of her bodyguards but he wasn't chosen. Instead, that goddamned Ulric was picked and ever since Ulric would brag in front of him. A slight smirk playing at his lips would appear on his usual serious expression as he utters the annoying words: "Hah. Loser."

Julian wanted to bite a handkerchief so badly just from recalling it, it didn't help him with the fact that Ulric received a head pat from Lady Faenia. Next time, he would win for sure—just wait, bastard.

Faenia noticed the sudden change in Julian and eyed him weirdly, but she didn't bother to question him. Out of the blue, a fallen petal landed on her little nose. She reached out her hand and watched the white petal land on her palm. Looking up, there were branches full of white flowers hovering over her. She barely knew anything about flowers or plants so she had no idea what kind of tree it was, but she always thought the tree was beautiful each time she saw it.

"Julian," she called him out. "Carry me, please. I want to touch the flowers on the tree."

Julian blinked, he couldn't believe what he had just heard. "Come again? I don't think I heard you right, Lady Faenia."

Faenia spread her short arms out at him and repeated herself. "I want Julian to carry me."

Suddenly, Julian felt like he could see rays of sunshine coming straight from her angelic face. His heartbeat quickened as he could feel the elation within him burst out. He said happily, "As you wish, Lady Faenia."

He softly picked her up in his arms and walked closer to the tree. Since he was quite tall, he didn't need to lift her higher for the outer tree branches to be within her reach. At the corner of his eye, he spotted Ulric staring at him. Obviously, Julian wasn't going to miss the opportunity to gloat. He turned his head to have eye contact with Ulric and put a smug across his face.

'Who's a loser now? That's right, you are.'

His action was quite effective, seeing how Ulric flinched slightly and looked away. It only made Julian grin wider. It was better for Ulric to stay away from him unless he wanted to have a taste of his own medicine. This was perhaps the best day of his life yet.

Unaware of the internal clash between two certain knights, Faenia tried to break off a small branch. Unfortunately, she was still too weak so she settled with just plucking out some of the white flowers blooming from the tree. With loose flowers piling on both of her palms, she leisurely flipped her palms down and watched the flowers smoothly descend to the ground. The flowers were only pretty to look at; once she touched them, she was no longer interested. It was like that for her with everything else. The moment she obtained something she desired, she would tend to lose the excitement she had towards it originally. The only exception so far was life.

"Julian, don't you ever get tired of swinging your sword so often?"

Julian smiled at the question. "No, not at all, Lady Faenia. Swordsmanship is a part of my life, to use it to protect the people I care; to protect you, Lady Faenia. I'm sure it's the same for everyone else here."

Faenia glanced at the sincere blue eyes of the knight and said absentmindedly, "I see."

"We are the knights of the Roscius army. We serve the Roscius family and it's our main duty to protect the people of Orephia. And right now, our foremost priority is to keep you safe, Lady Faenia."

The fact that she was their top priority didn't click right to her. Although she was the esteemed daughter of the Roscius family and it was natural for her to be protected, there has to be a line between being protected and overprotected. There was something odd about it but she didn't have the answer. 'Maybe I'm reading too much into it? Yeah, I probably am.'

"But it's so peaceful here!" Faenia stated.

"Yes, it is very peaceful," Julian said seriously, "however, you can never know what the future has in store."

Faenia seemed to disagree with him, she frowned and objected, "I know that I will have a really fun birthday party together with everyone."

Surprised by her words, Julian joked, "Don't tell me Lady Faenia can predict the future? Wow, I'm impressed. Lady Faenia is really magical!"

Julian saw that Faenia laughed and continued to play around with her. The young lady was still young to understand the cruelty of the world, it wouldn't be good for her to hear such serious words. He hoped that she would stay innocent until the end.

Without paying attention, it was already her sixth birthday and now she was sitting in front of everyone at the decorated table. The knights, the maids, the butler, and the footmen… They were all there to celebrate together with her. As there were many employees, the birthday party was held in the garden. Her parents sat beside her on each side while the others sat at the round tables full of dishes. Everyone was overjoyed and happily congratulated her, shedding tears in the process. This kind of situation showed just how different the Roscius family was from the other noble families. Faenia couldn't be more gratified. Perhaps transmigrating into the body she was now in wasn't too bad; it could have been worse. Just for that, she felt she was quite fortunate. Such a large and warm family, who would reject it?

Faenia gave them the biggest smile and said, "Thank you, everyone. I hope everyone will continue to stay by my side."

"Everyone likes Lady Faenia! Who would want to leave? Nobody!" someone shouted.

"Yeah, nobody! Whoever does is a fool!"

"Such fools better stay away from Lady Faenia! Hahaha!"

"Young lady Faenia is naturally the best."

Her mother asked, "Little Fae, how is the cake?"

The cake her mother referred to was the birthday cake she made by herself. Although it was just a normal-sized cake, it was done beautifully. The cake was made of chocolate with fruit on top, it was fluffy and creamy. It had a rich flavour, it wasn't too sweet or bitter, it was perfect. Faenia didn't know her mother was that good at baking, it surprised her. When her father heard that her mother was going to bake her a cake, she noticed he was acting odd. Even with his stern face, she could still discern the emotion he felt. He was worried about it so she had thought it was because her mother wasn't good at baking.

"It's so delicious, Mother is amazing!" Faenia exclaimed excitedly.

Her mother smiled lovingly at her. "Aww, Mother is happy that you like it. Next time, I'll make you a better one."

"Anything that Mother makes is the best!"

"Such a sweet mouth you have!"

Her father patted gently on her head and said, "You're six already, you're growing up so quick. It would be great if you stayed as a child for a little longer."

"But Father… I'm still a child."

"You're right. That's good." Her father smiled slightly.

Everyone had a great time and ended the birthday with a full stomach. Faenia happily took her presents with her to her room. Her mother had given her an exquisite necklace with a flip pendant. The silver pendant had two layers: an outer ring and an inner ring. The inner ring consisted of a starry night diamond where it could be flipped. Her mother told her that she could play with it whenever she needed to calm down or pass time. Apparently, the pendant had the effect of soothing.

On the other hand, her father had a whole statue of herself built. The statue was accurate and profound, the sculptors did a fantastic job. She wasn't narcissistic enough to be enthralled by her own appearance so seeing the statue made her feel embarrassed. Nonetheless, she appreciated it.

Her previous birthday presents were all high-class, Faenia got a headache thinking about the potential presents she would receive in the future. She had only turned six and she already had a statue of herself, she hoped it won't be as extravagant next time.