Book 15: Chapter 16
Castell didn’t believe Freya for a moment. He just didn’t have a counterargument to offer. Freya told him she didn’t know, while Nier and Lucia would never tell him. Thus, Castell resorted to threats. He couldn’t continue staying in the Imperial Palace, as he threatened them. If he did, Freya would definitely make things hard for him.
It was impossible for Castell to see Her Majesty in the Imperial Palace. Frankly, a major reason that he wanted to see her was because of the vassals. She hadn’t been in home in so long when she was connected to her administration style. Without her, nobody dared to step up and lead. Summer was almost starting, so there was a mountain of things for her to sort out. Of course, there was something of even more importance, and that was that Castell wanted to see Elizabeth.
It had been too long since Castell last saw Elizabeth. Castell knew he was able to stay by Elizabeth’s side, because Elizabeth viewed him as a substitute. Elizabeth was very kind with him before Troy’s return, simply because she didn’t have anyone else to express her instincts as a mother to.
In reality, Elizabeth had never considered Castell a man before; or rather, she had never even considered him a human being before. Elizabeth allowed him to enter her bedroom and bathroom even when changing or bathing without any concern. She also didn’t mind revealing her perfect body to him. It wasn’t anything worth being excited about. Elizabeth had a voluptuous and perfect body that was extremely alluring, so alluring that no man could resist; however, the fact that she hid behind a veil all the time proved that she wasn’t a very open individual. She would never let any single “person” see her body, yet she allowed Castell to see her body without any qualms. That proved she didn’t consider him a human being. Would you care if your dog ran into the bathroom while you were showering?
Elizabeth later on forbade Castell from coming in and out of her room as he pleased. It wasn’t due to her discriminating him for his gender, but solely because she didn’t want her son – actually, she no longer viewed him as her son, but a man by her side – she didn’t want to let the man she cared about, Troy Galadriel Rosvenor, get jealous.
Others respected Castell and feared him, but that wasn’t because of him as Castell. He was somebody who wielded the power granted by his connection to the Empress. People always called him Elizabeth’s lapdog behind his back. Whether it was Elizabeth or others, he was only ever viewed as a dog.
Castell was aware of his feelings, and he was also aware that it was an impossible romance. He came to terms with it back when he was sixteen. Elizabeth, to him, was the Empress of the empire, as well as the proudest and strongest woman on the continent. There was no way he’d have her attention. More precisely, the Empress would never pay anybody attention. She was inherently a majestic and tyrannical monarch. He didn’t ask that she paid him more attention. After the incident with Alice, he was even more attentive. He ensured he never made any suggestions when Elizabeth and Troy were involved, for the incident nearly completely tore down their relationship. Ever since then, Elizabeth cared for Troy’s feelings more than ever before. Nevertheless, their relationship seemed to undergo a bit of a change due to the incident.
Castell noticed Elizabeth’s feelings for Troy change. With that said, he was uncertain as to whether or not the two, themselves, were aware. He was worried when he learnt that Elizabeth went to the North. There was nobody else around, so if something happened between Troy and Elizabeth and Elizabeth abandoned her nation to indulge in pleasure, what would happen? Putting the Rosvenor Empire aside for a moment, what was he to do? Was he supposed to migrate to the North, and take care of Elizabeth with Troy around? He knew that was impossible for him and Elizabeth. Still, it didn’t mean he was willing to take care of Elizabeth when she was with another man, and he most definitely didn’t want to see a shy Elizabeth. Not one bit.
Castell couldn’t obtain anything from the North at the moment, but that was also applicable in Hilles City. He had done so much and done his best for ten entire years, yet he was still the same as back then. He was hopeless and incapable of doing anything without Elizabeth. He wanted to become Elizabeth’s most excellent personal assistant, but he couldn’t even find his master. As a matter of fact, he didn’t even know where to start his search for her. With that said, just standing around was futile. He had to get moving.