........
I THE ARCORA WING - LADY DELPHINE'S BEDCHAMBERS
BYTHESEA MANSION, CERNIA - RYDDOS EMPIRE I
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
A GRAND EXIT?
DELPHINE PUSHED open the grand stained glass doors into her bedroom and placed her hands on her hips. A cheerful grin danced on her beaming face. Her bedchamber maids bizarrely stared at her-some even dropped their dusting feathers and stared at her mortified. Delphine shot them a wink, stalked over to her closet and yanked out all of her suitcases. She took in the glorious sight of her leather luggages and pulled out the cash her father had generously thrown at her. She marched deeper into the closet, walking until not even the maids in her bedroom could see her and stopped at the jewelry cabinet. Grinning, she kneeled down and pushed the boxes of jewels aside to reveal a trap door.
Rolling the silk sleeves of her dress up, she pried open the stubborn door and sighed in relief. "Thank the deities," She groaned, dropping to the floor and rubbing her temples. Slowly, lifting the box out of the enclosed space, she threw a cautious look over her shoulder before beginning to work her fingers around the lock. The lock clicked and the lid of the box opened revealing all of her hard work for the past three months. "Oh my sweet beautiful trust fund." She gently crooned, adding the bundles of cash her father had given to her collection.
Delphine spent the last 3 months of her life collecting and selling anything she could get her hands on to fund her secret operation which she liked to call-Mission leave her damned house rich as fuck so she wouldn't be peniliess on the streets.
Was the name too long?
Probably.
But it served its purpose.
She grinned at her fund, if she used her funds correctly she would be able to live the rest of her life out of her manic family's clutches. She clapped, "Okay, okay listen up, Delphine! Before news of your departure reaches the ears of the maids, pack up everything you can sell before they catch you shoving it into your bags." She mumbled to herself as she patted her chest, calming her excited heart.
She smirked, brushing her fingers over her jewelry. Emeralds, rubies and diamonds glinted stylishly, practically beckoning her to take them with her. She lifted up a pair of sapphire earrings, "I wouldn't be a very nice owner if I didn't take my belongings with me."
In mere minutes, Delphine packed her bags and stashed everything and anything that could add to her funds. She dusted herself off and patted her shoulder, "You did well, Delephine."
Now she just needed to change into comfortable attire and load her luggages into the carriage. As she was changing her clothes, someone burst into her room or maybe it was more than one person. Delphine couldn't tell but she knew someone had at least entered her room and she doubted it was her stepmother or her sister.
"LAADDDDDDDDDY!" A petite pale woman wailed, barging into her dressing room and clutched Delphine's ankles. Her big brown eyes were filled with tears as she tightly held onto Delphine, "Oh my Lady! Please, do not leave the mansion." She looked over at Delphine's luggages and frantically shook her head, "My Lady, the lord is just angry it will pass over as usual and you can continue to stay in the mansion."
Elia refused to let go of Delphine's leg.
"Please, my lady! If you go out, you'll never be able to wear your favorite silk dresses or even eat the delicious food prepared by famous chefs. If you leave, you might really die!"
Delphine lowered herself to the floor and silently stared at Elia. She remembered the first time she laid eyes on Elia after she woke up in the past. Elia cheerfully beamed at her and gently woke her up, she washed Delphine's face and carefully picked out her clothes. Her calloused hands massaged Delphines temples and the lines on her face seemed softer than usual. Her chest tightened when Elia joked or braided her hair because it made her realize how much she missed the gentle presence of her only friend. The light touches, her calloused hands, cheerful smiles and soothing voice were things that Delphine had missed for decades.
It was their small light exchanges that encouraged her to live each day out.
Unfortunately, it was also Delphines existence that caused Elia's death.
She patted Elia's head, "You don't have to worry about me anymore, Elia. From now on, you can freely engage with the other maids and eat lunch wherever you want. You don't have to be cautious because of me." She tilted Elia's face and wrapped her arms around Elia's small trembling body.
"Thank you for protecting me even when you were placed in danger," Delphine softly whispered into her shoulders. Elia quietly sobbed in her embrace, "You and I both know this is what's better for me,"
"But my lady, what will you do to survive? You have no money or savings to help you live on your own. The countess might even use this chance to kill you," Elia fretted, her eyes crinkling in concern, no doubt at the thought of Delphine becoming a beggar.
Delphine stroked her chin, "Indeed, what ever shall I do?" She teasingly mused, her eyes mischievously sparkling at Elia. She rested her chin on her palm, "I shall start a business-something that will bring joy to everyone."
Elia paled at Delphines words and her eyes teared up once again, "My lady! Please reconsider your choice. Even if you have a registered business license from the empire the countess will stop at nothing to beat you until you are nothing! "
Delphine laughed at her reaction, "I know what you're thinking but this time it will be different...because this time I will have control over everything,"
She stood up and clasped her hands behind her back, "Elia, please live out the rest of your life doing what you want."
She took one last look at her room and shakily exhaled. It was the room that shielded her from the wrath of her father and stepmother. It was the room that comforted her when no one else saw her misery and it was the very room that she died in. She glanced at Elia and the flabbergasted chambermaids. Delphine winked at them and left her room without a single regret.
........
GATES OF THE BYTHESEA MANSION
.......
Once the last luggage had been loaded onto the carriage, Delphine swirled around and glanced up at the mansion. She lived in the mainison for her entire life from her baby steps to debuting into high society. It held happy memories and painful memories, her eyes found her mother's room and she wilted. Her mother was only someone she knew from stories and fleeting memories. Her stepmother refused to use her mother's room and almost destroyed all of her belongings but the Count stopped her. Delphine knew her father well enough that she knew he hadn't stopped her stepmother because he had lingering attachments to her mother but because her items could fetch a handsome price if they were sold to the right bidder. Her mother owned beautiful jewels and marvelous dresses that noble ladies could only dream of owning. Her furniture was personally handcrafted and designed by the greatest craftsman in the empire. She even overheard her father once saying he would pass some of her mother's belongings to her younger sister.
Delphine pursed her lips, he would be in for a shock the next time he decided to visit her mother's room to calculate her belongings again. Her eyes landed on her father's office, she knew her stepmother and him were watching her. She scoffed, they could watch her all they want but she would never willingly return to this hellhole. Turning on her heel, she entered the carriage and made herself comfortable.
She didn't particularly feel sad to leave the mansion but she didn't feel as excited as she did before. Perhaps it had hit her that she was finally taking a step forward without anyone's hindrance or manipulation. She saw Elia watching her from a distance with a hesitant expression. Delphine knew Elia wanted her to remain in the mansion not because of the luxury and riches but to receive protection from the Count. She mustered a smile, if she stayed any longer in this house she would die. In this mansion, her stepmother pushed her into a corner and silenced her voice. Even if Delphine did manage to protest, her reputation as a villainess would only make her father suspicious of her.
"So the cursed bloodline of the count is finally leaving the manor?"
"Tsk not even getting an escort seems like the Count really did kick her out."
"What a vile lady! At least now, Lady Juliette will be able to shine brilliantly."
Delphine lowered her head so her hair fell like a curtain around her as she listened to the servants. Her eyebrows twitched, who the hell did they think they were to judge her life? The carriage slowly kicked to a start and she looked out the window with a brilliant smile, "Everyone," She sweetly called out, the servants turned to look at her and she stuck up her middle finger, "Fuck you,"
She grinned at their flabbergasted expressions and comfortably leaned back in her seat. She would not be tied up anymore or forced to act like someone she wasn't for the sake of pleasing others. She was done being pushed into a corner and chasing after the love of others. She was taking her life into her own hands and forging a new path.
As the carriage tumbled down the rocky path, Delphine knew in her heart she would show everyone that she could live and flourish just well on her own.
But first, she needed to send a couple of letters to the imperial place.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
: AUTHORS CORNER :
Where do you think Delphine might be headed to next? Honestly, I sort of want of a trust fund as well. Where can I get jewels to secure my future? LMAOOOO anyways I hope I can manage weekly updates but if not an update every 2 weeks? As...always..
ENJOY!!
- RITA
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━