THAT WAY SHE WOULD HAVE A REASON TO go to Greenhall Castle and see Ash because I kind of already knows how to make these. She taught me how to when she got engaged to Asher and was trying to get closer to me. But no one needs to know that.

"Oh, yes. I would be glad to teach you. Now, hm," she's doing that face she always makes when she wants to ask something but it's not sure if she can ask it or not. "Can I ask you a personal question?" I agree and she got excited. "How is your relationship with your family? Like... there are all types of rumors going around us, but thanks to the fact that you rarely show up in public places, no one knows that much about you, but the fact that you don't have magic." Her curiosity is one of the reasons why Dalilah despised her, and why I adore her so much. "I guess people indeed don't know much about me, but the things they hear in those rumors. Overall, my relationship with my family is... complicated. I and my younger brother are best friends, I would say, and he's my pillar in that place. Dad is quite absent, and he's quite caring when it comes to me, but when any of my brothers or my mother are in the picture, I become invisible to him. My twin is superficial and loathes me, although she pretends not to and fools everybody, including me I guess... but not anymore. Now, my mom and my older brother hate me and they don't care to hide it in front of anyone but my dad." A silence spread to the room and when it started to get awkward, I decided to say something.

"That's pretty much it."

"How awful. And His Excellency is really oblivious to how your mother and the Heir Apparent treat you?" that's what everybody calls Octavian, once he's the apparent heir of the grand dukedom Nicholai. "Moreover, what did you do for them to hate you?"

"Yes, my dad is really that dense, and-"

"She didn't do shit," Kate spoke annoyed, after finishing her cupcake. "They are horrible to her just because she doesn't have magic. As if it was her fault to be like this! It's infuriating," I almost chuckled at her sudden reaction, but I didn't, otherwise she would get angrier.

"How can a mother hate her own daughter for such a stupid reason like this?" Gwen exclaimed incredulously and I wanted to hug her for that.

It reminded me of her last words to me while she was getting poisoned... when she realized I had been brainwashed by Dalilah. My heart ached at that thought. Even Gwen knew that she wasn't a good person, while I was fooled into believing otherwise. How stupid.

"My mother doesn't seem to think like that. Moreover, she isn't the only one to share such a mindset. Although I think you might already know that if you heard the rumors about me," she nodded and looked down at her hands. Why does she seem so sad?

"Are you alright, Gwen?" She stared at me in shock.

"Are YOU alright, Princess Natasha?" Ah. "How can you not be angry? Those things didn't even happen to me, but I'm pissed by it, while you are all composed talking about it."

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I got up and sat on her side on the other couch, taking her hands in mine. "That's because you have empathy, Gwen. And who says I'm not angry? Who says I'm not pissed by everything too?" Now her dark-pink eyes shined in a confused light. "But I learned a long time ago that just getting thoughtlessly mad about my situation wouldn't change anything. On the contrary, it would only encourage them to keep doing it, because they would see how that affected me. And to be honest with you, I'm not hurt by it anymore."

"But why don't you do something?"This belongs to : ©.

"I will. When the right time comes, they will all pay ten folded for what they did," I said more to myself than to any of them, and my tone came deeper, to the point that both Kate and Asher turned their heads to me. After blinking sometimes, I let out a deep breath and smiled at Gwen again. "So, don't worry about it, okay?"

She nods. "I promise I will never make any clothes for either your mother, your twin, or your older brother!" Young Gwen hits different, she looks like a little kid. It's so adorable.

"Now, now," I got up. "Let's take my measurements?"

That got her excited again, and my family's matter was forgotten, thankfully. Asher got back to the door, turning his back on us, then Kate started to help me undress. "Get up here, Princess," the stylist spoke pointing to the platform in the middle of the room.

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I did as she told me and when I was only dressed with my undergarments, she made a satisfied sound, "Damn, Princess. You are only 13, but you have such an outstanding beauty. It's mesmerizing," then she began to measure my body. "And you have perfect measures at that. Really beautiful," Kate nodded aggressively in a funny way.

"Right? I tell her this all the time!" That's true. But it's not like I don't have a mirror though. I'm very conscious of how gorgeous I am. "You should see her father, he's the most handsome man on the Padaman sphere, let me tell you." Uh? She never talked about my dad like that. Does she, perhaps, have a crush on him?

"Oh, I've heard rumors about that. People all over Theolia say that he's inhumanly handsome," well, now they are kind of overreacting.

My mind suddenly went back to the red-eyed boy and I bit my bottom lip, trying to stop thinking about that annoying and dangerous guy. And why am I thinking about him, to begin with? Ugh, how disgusting.

"She took her good looks from him," Kate said and she seemed excited by talking about that. It's so awkward to see her of all people talking about my dad like that. "And now that she had her period, she'll only grow to be even more beautiful than she already is," okay, now it's getting embarrassing.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm gorgeous, I know. Let's change the topic." And before they could go against that, I started a new one. "So, Gwen what's your magic, and how does it work?"

Of course, I also know the answer. Thread magic. Helps a lot with her job. Blah blah blah. But Kate doesn't know that and she'll probably get excited about it. Way better than listening to them talking about my father.