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Adeline felt like she was swindled by him. He walked out without another protest. When she glanced at his large back, it was as if he knew she was watching him. He waved her goodbye with a flick of two fingers.

"What did you tell the King for him to leave so easily?" Lydia asked the second he was out the door. They had spoken in hushed whispers that she was unable to hear.

Adeline awkwardly laughed. She softly scratched the side of her face and wryly smiled. "So the bakery shop?"

Lydia quickly perked up. She was happy to see Adeline wasn\'t as distraught as predicted. All of her woes were for nothing. She didn\'t want a bloodbath with her friend. She certainly didn\'t want to fight for a man either.

"It\'s located in the center of the capital. The shop is owned by a friend…"

- - - - -

Adeline and Lydia spent the remainder of the afternoon together. Time effortlessly went by whenever the pair were talking. Lydia informed Adeline of the latest gossip, as Adeline explained her encounter with the King. She deliberately left out the part of their drunken night and how she went to a hotel with a man. For all Lydia knew, Adeline was escorted home by a "close friend."

"Talking with you like this reminds me of the old times, Addy," Lydia blissfully sighed. They had risen to their feet, for the sun was setting and Lydia had a business dinner to attend.

"We could have so many more of these long conversations if the damn Mardens weren\'t keen on locking you in their estate, Addy," Lydia added on. Her face scrunched as if she bit into a sour plum.

"Ugh seriously," Lydia sighed. She clasped her hands over Adeline\'s, wondering how such a kind girl was so resilient in the face of abuse. 

Adeline was usually more brazen and louder than her current self. In her youth, she was bubbly and energetic, with eyes that shined brighter than the sun. 

There was not a day her rosy cheeks were graced by her large smile. She\'d jump through the grass, run through the fields, and turn the hallways into her personal playground.

Now, she was a shell of what she used to be. Meek and demure. Quiet and obedient. No more backtalk, no more guns, no more training. Her enormous smile was replaced with shy smiles, her bright gaze replaced with composed stares, so much about her was changed.

"But I\'m so glad to see your stuttering seems to have gone away a bit, Addy. It seems, despite all of His Majesty\'s flaws, there is a blessing from this curse," Lydia added on.

Adeline blinked. Had she stuttered less? She hadn\'t realized it before. In the Marden Estate, all she did was stammer out of her anxiety, and flinch out of her nervousness.

"I still don\'t understand why you would let them abuse you like that. You\'re so strong Addy, beyond their wildest dreams," Lydia groaned.

Even now, Lydia could remember the historic moment from four years ago. That day, she was finally able to take Adeline out for a tournament her Father sponsored. The two were entered, and everyone expected Leonard Claymore\'s daughter to win, but they were severely wrong.

\'Mr. Claymore, is that your daughter, the prodigy you speak of? The one with the helmet and dominating the entire match? You must be very proud of her!\' One of Leonard Claymore\'s friend had excitedly clamored. He was an important client and one of the largest investors of the business.

Many people had chimed in agreement. They were eager to see more of her spectacular performance. There weren\'t many socialite women who were interested in guns, much less, excelled in them. Claymore\'s daughter would be the talk of the tournament for months and years to come, for she had set a record.

Leonard Claymore had laughed. Just then, the woman took off her helmet and placed the gun onto the table. She had won.

\'No, that is my best friend\'s daughter, Adeline Rose. She\'s quite the genius when it comes to weapons.\'

Lydia had heard the conversation loud and clear. She was seated beside her Father when the crowd thunderously clapped for Adeline.

"...you know, you sound a lot like Asher, Liddy."

Lydia snapped back to reality. Lydia was lost in her daydream that she had missed what Adeline initially said. 

"Huh?" Lydia asked.

Adeline quirked an amused brow. Her lips were twisted into a slight smile. "Were you spacing out? That rarely happens to you, Liddy."

Lydia awkwardly laughed. Indeed. She only thought about the past if it was important or helpful. That tournament was a momentous event for Adeline, who wasn\'t even fazed by her own talent.

"Sort of, Addy," Lydia responded. "But Asher says the same thing because we all know it\'s true."

Adeline maintained her smile. With so many people echoing the same thing, she was beginning to see the cracks in the kind-hearted Aunt Eleanor who wasn\'t so nice after all. It was difficult for her to become aware of the truth when she had lived a lie all her life.

"Well, I hate to admit it," Lydia said. "But you look a lot happier in the King\'s castle than you do in the Marden Estate."

Adeline wondered if that was true. Perhaps the freedom from her relatives had influenced that. 

"Speaking of the Marden Estate, you do realize that property isn\'t actually under their name right? Your Father gave them the house. It rightfully belongs to you and you should\'ve inherited it once you came of age," Lydia said.

Adeline blinked. In her dream, she had recalled her parents\' argument about that. She thought it was just a conjuring of her imagination. She didn\'t think it was the reality. How could it be…?

"Gosh, the audacity of those leechers," Lydia scoffed. "How dare they abuse you under the very house you own? I can\'t imagine how thick of a face they have to be this shameless!"

Lydia released Adeline\'s hand to cross her arms. "You know, you should claim that house back. I\'ll have Father\'s secretary look into it and make sure the house is actually under your name. I just know Uncle Kaline would\'ve left everything in his possession to you!"

Adeline wryly smiled. "A-about that…"

"What? What is it?"

Adeline hung her head. There was a reason why she desperately wanted to go back to the Marden Estate. There was a contract she had to break.

"I-I might\'ve signed Power of Attorney to my inheritance away…"

Lydia blanched. She nearly dropped dead right then and there. "Including the trust fund, estates, and everything else?!" she shrieked.

"Well, I think the contract—"

"CONTRACT?!" Lydia yelled, her face bright red with fury. "You\'ve got to be kidding me, Addy. Oh my god, I think I have to kill them—which I will gladly do, but I\'m sure Asher would love to take a part of."

Lydia took one glance at Adeline\'s innocent face and groaned. She facepalmed and let out a loud sigh. "How can someone so book smart be so stupid?!"

Adeline hesitatingly smiled. "I was willing to do everything for freedom, I told you that."

"But I didn\'t think you meant literally!" Lydia cried out. "Okay, let\'s try to keep calm and carry on. Let me think about this properly. I think we\'ll need to utilize my Dad\'s overpowering team of lawyers and get this sorted out. There has to be a loophole or two we can try to wriggle out of and—"

"Let\'s try to keep calm first," Adeline repeated.

"R-right," Lydia huffed out. "Keep calm when your multi-million fortune is on the line, including all of your mother\'s priceless possession and your father\'s marvelous estates. Sure, what is there to worry about?!"

Adeline pressed her lips together. Looking back now, she was the biggest fool of the town. Her freedom meant so much in the short run, she was blinded by what would happen in the long run.

"Okay, I\'ll tell my Dad once I go to that dinner party. And you!" Lydia pointed a finger at Adeline. "Don\'t you do anything, my pretty friend, with air as a brain, I will figure this out for you."

"A-actually, I do know of the loopholes in the contract. So—"

"No, nuh-uh. I don\'t want you to go and see them. I\'ll sort this out for you. And all you have to do is sit there, sip tea, and look pretty. Okay?" Lydia asked. It was the least she could do for someone that was always doing everything to make her happy.

"But—"

"No buts!" Lydia said in a serious voice, before stiffening a giggle at buts which sounded like butts. 

Adeline\'s smile became strained. She wanted to argue more, but saw how late it was. If Lydia stayed behind any longer, she would miss the important business dinner. She didn\'t want her friend\'s chances of inheriting Claymore Conglamorate to go down the drain just like that.

Thus, she closed her mouth and nodded.

"I\'ll keep your advice in mind. Now go, your dinner starts in less than an hour and there might be traffic, Liddy." Adeline ushered her friend out of the door.

"Gosh, I worry about you so much, you know." Lydia groaned. She pulled Adeline into a quick hug, before dashing down the hallways.

"I\'ll see you tomorrow, Addy. I promise!" Lydia hollered back whilst wildly waving her hand in the air.

Adeline waved back, but her eyes went wide. Lydia bumped directly into Weston, knocking the man onto the ground. But before he could usher a thunderous insult, she was up and running again.

"You crazy wench!" he roared down the hallway. "Ill-mannered, lack of etiquette, foolish—"

Lydia gave him a middle finger. Then, she turned the corner and disappeared.

All the while, Adeline stood there, gaping at the furious Weston. If Lydia and Weston\'s relationship was already strained before, this incident had ruined all hopes of amicability.