Chapter 61: A Father’s Order
Madam Heidi escorted me quietly to my father’s study. I followed quietly behind her like the obedient student that I was. But deep inside of me I was starting to get really tired of it all. The whole weight of expectations, their continuous demands as if they knew the best solution for my life was starting to become unbearable for me. I walked behind Madam Heidi with my head held high, my outer exterior calm but on the inside, I was screaming.
Raising her hand to knock once, Madam Heidi paused for a moment before she stepped inside. Drawing in a deep breath, I entered inside only to meet my father eating while scantily dressed servant poured wine for him. I clenched my jaw tightly, my hands fisted at my sides as I forced myself to remain calm.
It wasn’t the first time I would be seeing such debauchery from my father but that didn’t make it any easier for me to stomach. With the way my father as cooped up in his study one would think he was actually attending to matters of the state but instead he was indulging himself as always.
My father didn’t even bother to acknowledge us just continued to eat, chewing chew a chicken lap while occasionally gesturing for the servant to fill his cup with more wine while smiling at her in a leering manner as she did so. The air in the study was filled with the strong aroma of roasted meat and mixed spices which became unbearably for my queasy stomach.
The strong aromas of roasted meat mixed with spices became unbearable for my queasy stomach as I begin to feel another wave of nausea. The people barely had enough to eat and had to survive through whatever scarps they could find and yet their beloved King who they work hard day and night for doesn’t seem to care and instead has chosen to live his life more extravagantly and yet they wonder why the people are choosing to rebel?
Father continued to eat, completely ignoring our presence but of course, just the tiniest bit of respect would kill the great King Sigurd!
Both Madam Heidi and I remained motionless next to each other yet I detected intense tension in her body as she kept her face empty of emotions. After many years of service to my father she already had the insight to remain silent and know when to speak or address him, clearly this was one of those moments.
The more my father continued to ignore us, the more I grew angrier by the second. My feet were killing me and I was hungry but at the same time I couldn’t stand the smell of the food. I then cleared my throat.
Madam Heidi tensed beside me, even the servant’s posture became rigid at the little sound I made. My father’s grey eyes immediately rose to meet mine as he stopped chewing the piece of meat in his mouth.