The Bloodrose Family (Part - I)

<p>Cordelia hated when someone disrupts her slumber. To her, it is paramount to have a fulfilling rest.<br/><br/>"Oh my, our young lady is just like a cute doll... Ah!" The loud tone gave the excited mood of the speaker, though, in the end, a painful groan came out when someone thwacked the back of his head. "Why did you hit me?! Edrie..." Nester was feeling bitter. The whole week he tried to take a glimpse at the newborn young lady but couldn't. For one reason or other, he was occupied with tasks. <br/><br/>'Ah... How annoying...' Cordelia didn't open her eyes and couldn't help but criticize the individual internally.<br/><br/>Her thoughts were duly inferred by the female twin who in turn conveyed the message, "You are being noisy."<br/><br/>Starting two days ago, whenever Cordelia was sleeping she would wake up to the sound of anything. It didn't make a difference even if it was a soundproof chamber. <br/><br/>She was wrought with heavy sleepiness constantly and could feel her sensitivity of surrounding getting heightened, which resulted in her discomfort with any or every noise. These changes also gave her an intuitive awareness regarding herself and her new family. <br/><br/>The Duchess perceived her discomfort and had a discussion with the Duke on organizing a chamber for their princess.<br/><br/>The room was different from the last one. This was a spacious chamber that instead of furnished with furniture, was fully covered with a velvety carpet for the fear of baby safety or so the Duke Armaturov ordered. A crib was placed in the middle, which was the bed for baby Cordelia. The floor was filled with toys. The most crucial thing to notice would be the magical spell cast on this single chamber.<br/><br/>The Xarya twins were facing off in front of the crib. Cordelia could see the back of Edriesa who was standing in front of her. She already knew the female knight and immediately turn to take a glance at the man.<br/><br/>'These two look remarkably identical... Perhaps siblings.' She deduced it after a deep glance and promptly closed her eyes shut so that the two couldn't notice.<br/><br/>"You're saying my voice will rouse young lady? But that is not correct." Nester toned down his voice to argue back and came up with an excuse in his defense. "Let me remind you, newborns are lethargic in the first six months, most of the time they sleep to conserve and transform the energy into their aura."<br/><br/>Finally, a piece of significant information was caught by Cordelia from their argument, 'It would seem this may be the reason for my perpetual drowsiness.'<br/><br/>His sister shot him down again with a single remark, "That won't work in young lady's matter."<br/><br/>"Ahem... You may be correct about that, still just one more glance?" Presently, Nester was almost pleading with his sister. His sister was one to follow the order to the end and his imploring only works once in millennia. Still, he gave it his all, going as far as to bribe her. Rightfully, that backfired.<br/><br/>"Go out before I call upon Master."<br/><br/>"Ah! Why didn't Master assigned me instead of you to look after her?!"<br/><br/>"Too dumb."<br/><br/>"How... How could you! You bully I'm your big brother!" Finally, he used his ace card or so he thought. He even squeezed a few drops of tears from his eyes. <br/><br/>Edriesa "..." She would like to renounce this brother of hers.<br/><br/>Cordelia, who was overhearing all the chatter: "..."<br/><br/>She was having a difficult time keeping her eyes close. She also wanted to kick this moron out. In the end, he was kicked out by his little sister.<br/><br/>In the Duke's study chamber, the man was busy behind the large desk, in front of him a large heap of papers was stacked and he was occupied reading a document. Eyebrows wrinkled, face taut with displeasure, his mood cannot be worsened. The whole expression was noticed by Zoran, who was standing near the desk serving the black tea. He thought to himself, 'Master is troubled...'<br/><br/>"How did they found out?"<br/><br/>Duke Armaturov asked as he kept flipping the pages of Atlas's report to see if the source is mentioned. It had only been a week and the news about his daughter's birth is already out in the capital Araceli. He expected the news to leak out, but this is too soon when he prepared for everything in advance. He had come out the moment he got the news of Atlas's return. <br/><br/>"The news came out of the royal palace, her Majesty was talking about it during her party. So, I promptly left Capital to report back to you. It was my negligence, please punish me as you see fit."<br/><br/>It was the first time when Atlas felt his skills were lacking. Though it wasn't his first time to look after certain individuals. He had completed his orders duly without a problem up till now and this would be a black spot in his calling. The news got out so fast that he couldn't capture the source. He felt ashamed of himself.<br/><br/>Fist clenched tighter, the head with brown hair bowed while his body tight with tension he waited for his punishment order.<br/><br/>Duke Armaturov didn't reprimand him anymore. He knew Atlas's skill level and he didn't doubt his loyalty, plus his subordinates never did a job half heatedly or threw excuses to hide their shortcomings. His main concern now was his daughter's safety. <br/><br/>He and his wife were already having a headache over employing a suitable nanny for their daughter. For the time being, he assigned Edriesa Xarya, one of the numbered knights to watch over her. Other than that, his wife herself did things like bathing their daughter. <br/><br/>He still remembers the conversation he had with the midwife a week ago.<br/><br/>"Gree... Greetings Your Grace!" The midwife with a nervous tone greeted him.<br/><br/>He just nodded his head and took the seat on the sofa, while butler Zoran answered in his stead, "Please, have a seat, Madam Lennon."<br/><br/>"The lady should know what I want to ask." The Duke went straight to the point, he didn't retain her to have a nice chat, he had concerning matters to discuss.<br/><br/>"Your Grace... I... I." Cold perspiration could be noticed on her forehead, while she kept fidgeting.<br/><br/>"Madam Lennon please have this cup of tea to calm your mind." Zoran timely reminded her while placing the tea on the glass table in front of her.<br/><br/>These words were effective in soothing her nervousness. She thanked him profusely and took the cup with shaking hands. She organized her words to answer the Duke before postponing anymore.<br/><br/>"Your Grace I examined the young lady's conditions, her vitals were strong and there is no likelihood of hidden ailments. She is a healthy baby..." While informing the Duke she kept her head bowed so that she doesn't have to see his expression.<br/><br/>"Keep going." (Duke Armaturov)<br/><br/>"I was unable to find the reason behind the distinct hair color. I am incompetent your Grace. Please forgive me." (Madam Lennon)<br/><br/>"Any possibility of curse or wizardry?" (Duke Armaturov)<br/><br/>"No... No your Grace, however, I am not sure about this either. The young lady had an unusual aura encircling her vitals at that moment... " (Madam Lennon)<br/><br/>"What aura and whose? I couldn't detect anything myself, so how did you perceive it? (Duke Armaturov)<br/><br/>"I examined young lady when I was carrying her, that was before her Grace took her. The aura wasn't harmful to her, it was safeguarding her vitals. As for who casted it I couldn't discern it..." (Madam Lennon)<br/><br/>This was the whole conversation and it did not provide the finding as he wished it to be. He reanalyzed the report in front of him. <br/><br/>'Royal palace... It seems to him that the royal one was trying to protect the rat. So they can use this rat to create further unrest for him in the future.'<br/><br/>To be continued...</p>