Cici Tsumis

Chapter 1

One of the great joys that I had ever felt was the first time I ever wielded the sword.

A real sword. Not the practice wooden swords you train with when you are first starting out. No, a real sword. For it meant that now I was worthy enough to touch such a beautiful dangerous weapon.

I was only nine years old at the time.

My mother was horrified at the sight of me holding a dangerous weapon. It was not ladylike, she would say.

But in the end, it was father’s approval of what I could and could not do that won it out. And he approved my swordsmanship training.

Mother was strange in many ways. Maybe it was because of her humble background that she was obsessed to being ladylike.

She would nag me every day for every little thing.

“Ladies wore dresses” …. when I asked why I could not wear trousers.

“Ladies drink tea” …. when I expressed my desire to drink coffee like father does in some mornings.

“Ladies sew” ... I did not want to…it seemed like a boring activity.

“Ladies eat in small bites” …. I wanted to finish quickly to go ride my horse, Sunset.

“Ladies walk with their back straight” ….so do men, but I kept that thought to myself.

“Ladies talk softly”:  you do not when you talk to me…

“Ladies walk in small steps. Ladies do not run.” …. But it’s exhilarating to run., I protested.

“Ladies do not talk in front of men they do not know” …. I was just curious of the rare male company that father brought into our home.

“Ladies always listen to their husbands and fathers.”

I pouted and sought to father when he was about to set out for work.

Do not mind your mother, father would say. Just do as you like. As long as you keep up with your studies and lessons on etiquette, it’s alright.

I took those words to heart and did as I liked. I learned horseback riding, archery, self-defense, swimming, swordsmanship, and general education that pertained to young males.

If mother complained, I’d tell her that I listened to father’s approval. She’d grimace but let it go. She never goes against father. I think that is why he even married her. She does not nag him.

I mean why else would Viscount Duke Regin marry way below his class?

The maids say that he found her one day and just brought her home as his wife.

I asked her one day when we were in my bedroom on the second floor, and she was wishing me a good night’s rest.

Her eyes were filled with so much sadness that I almost regretted my question.

He saved me and proposed to me the same day, she reluctantly said.

From what did he save you from, I dared to ask. Her empty eyes stared at me for moment before finally answering me, from a very bad man.

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Viscount Duke Regin was the owner of a shipping company. It was a successful venture. Even if he had a title, he did not care about social events nor indulged in extravagant purchases to puff out his wealth like a peacock. His priority was his work and second was his family. The rest was insignificant.

I was the only child of Viscount Duke Regin. I was his female counterpart. I was heir to everything that was his including the shipping company.

Even my tutors reinforced this thought in our studies every day. I was the heiress. I needed to learn such and such if I was to take over father’s work and title.

Or so I thought…

“No, Bianca will not take over the shipping company. No, there will not be any marriage prospects for Bianca.”

It was not ladylike to eavesdrop and for once, I wished I’d listened to mother.

Father had a meeting at home with a few men and I had been curious since he rarely had his meetings at home. 

I knew I was not allowed on the third floor where his office was located. But the door of his office was slightly open, and I wanted to know what his meetings were about. I was technically not on the third floor but on the second top step of the staircase. I was not on the top step that merged into the third floor.

‘No, Bianca will not take over the shipping company. ‘ The words kept swirling in my head making me slightly faint.

I feigned a stomachache to avoid dinner with my parents.

Especially, father.

Only the heir can take over the shipping company. Was I going to be cast aside?

There won’t be any marriage prospects…that means I will not marry someone who would take over the company. So, the future owner of the company is someone outside the family?!

I lay curled in my bed. The whole night there was a lump in my throat and a rock in my heart.

If I was not to inherit my father’s livelihood, what purpose is there for my life? … Why then am I receiving this education for? …