Chapter 27
Silence…
The word ‘crown prince’ was almost like a prohibited word to say within the mansion grounds.
Those red eyes seeming to kill me right away.
My neck was healed, but it started to hurt again just by thinking of him.
I couldn’t refuse the invitations from the royals without having a good reason why.
My hands formed a fist as it continued to tremble.
“…… What did father say about this?”
“That’s…… .”
The butler hesitated.
“It only came to you, lady Penelope. The invitation didn’t come to anyone else here but you…… Therefore, his grace doesn’t know yet.”
“Shoot……!”
Thud-! I couldn’t pretend like it didn’t bother me anymore as I slammed on the desk and got up.
“L, lady!”
Both Emily and the butler looked my way in terror from the invitation.
But I couldn’t mind their stare at the moment.
‘He’s totally out of his mind, that b.a.s.t.a.r.d! He’s far more insane than the game showed me!’
That b.a.s.t.a.r.d didn’t forget about me. Forget my foot, he’s probably doing this on purpose for that.
Probably to end my life.
– You’ll have to explain specifically why and how you came to like me the next time we meet.
I trembled in fear as I remembered what he last said to be back then.
‘This wasn’t a part of an episode, you insane game!’
I panicked as I remembered the storyline of the game.
But no matter how much I searched through my memories…
Ah, right, I never came out of the maze garden alive in the game now have I.
“Wh, what should I do with the invitation, lady?”
The butler cautiously asked.
“Hahh…… What do you mean by what to do.”
I let out a huge sigh as I ran my hand over my hair.
“I’m sick.”
I sat back down on the chair and leaned back for support.
I actually felt like I was melting from an illness that I didn’t have a moment ago.
“I have a very high fever, butler.”
I spoke with half-closed eyes.
He looked fl.u.s.tered for a moment, but really only for a moment.
“It’s really unfortunate for our lady to be sick like this. Is it because of the cold?”
The butler was a professional from working for tens of years in this mansion, to immediately ask for the reason.
(NOTE: The butler is asking this because he knows that Penelope isn’t really sick but is telling him the excuse to use for her to not attend the party.)
“It would be better to say that I still have the aftereffect from that incident.”
“Understood, lady.”
The butler bowed politely and left the room.
“Hahh…… .”
I pressed my forehead when my head started to hurt.
That was when Emily asked with a worried face.
“Lady. Are you okay? Should I tell his grace about it to bring in a doctor?”
“No. There’s no need…… .”
I was going to refuse but then changed my mind.
“Actually, yes. Yeah, call a doctor.”
I should intensify their worries on me so that they allow me to stay in for longer while I’m at it.
‘I’m not coming out from under my comforter for a while.’
At least not until the crown prince forgets about me.
***
Emily started to carry out what I told her to do for the next few days.
It was fortunate that the cuff b.u.t.ton was made in time.
No one suspected Emily from going outside often since the festival didn’t end yet.
“They were all so disinterested until I brought out the jewelry box. Like, their att.i.tude changed instantly.”
Emily informed me about what happened during the two days when she went out to seek for the informers.
Everything she told me went in one ear and out the other until she said ‘a strange base with no one other than the man wearing a white rabbit mask there’.
‘Great. He took the bait.’
What she said matched with how the game showed it.
I stopped Emily from explaining any further by raising a hand.
“You worked hard, Emily, even though it was raining. You can go back now and rest.”
“Okay. I’ll come back when it’s time for dinner!”
Emily was energetic ’till the end even when she was soaked from head to toe. Thankfully it didn’t seem like she caught a cold or anything.
Clack, the door closed and the silence filled the room.
I turned around and looked out the window.
The world seemed to have lost its colors as everything was in the shades of grey.
“Why does it rain for the whole day.”
The weather made me feel even more down than I already was.
I hated rainy days. It was because it was raining on the day I felt the most miserable.
I envied my friends who always had their mother come and get them with an umbrella.
I couldn’t have felt more embarra.s.sed and miserable in my life than when the kids asked me without any bad intentions ‘Don’t you have a mom?’ when I was walking across the school field in the rain.
Those emotions I felt never changed even though time pa.s.sed and when I grew up.
People sticking to one of their friends who have umbrellas at the end of the school.
And.
– Young master! Hurry!
– The h.e.l.l, the weather forecast didn’t inform that it was going to rain today. Now I’m all wet, how annoying. Secretary Kim, hurry home.
– Then what about lady…… .
– Who cares? She’ll come back herself somehow! Hurry and start the car.
Vrooom- The car getting further away from me.
I was left alone at the school gates just in seconds as I then had to…… .
“……Just my luck.”
I frowned deep at a piece of memory that popped up in my head.
I shook my head a couple of times and tried to get rid of the feeling of sadness.
“As if I have the time to be sitting around, watching it rain while feeling down.”
I stood up from the spot. I needed to do something. Anything.
So that I can get out of this d.a.m.n place even a second faster.
I left the room with an umbrella in my hand.
It was very quiet everywhere.
It was as if no one was outside because of the rain, though there were a few people.
I slowly walked through the garden.
I came out here thinking that I really should be doing something but I couldn’t think of anything to do now that I was out here.
I was walking to where there will be lesser people. More like a place where I wouldn’t b.u.mp into the two brothers.
Splash, splash. For how long did I walk?
I was heading to where my legs were taking me and realized that I was at a very familiar place.
“This is…… .”
It was the forest that leads you to the training grounds.
Thanks to my suffering to find an escape hole before, I could realize right away where I was.
“It’s a place where I could b.u.mp into Rennald.”
I already encountered him once here when he was finished with his training and was going back.
Not only Rennald. I could also b.u.mp into Derrick here.
“No! Nope!”
I came out way too far. I turned around without any hesitation.
I did come out thinking that I should be doing something, but that didn’t include meeting with the two whose interests rises when they don’t see me.
It was when I was about to take a step forward back to the mansion.
Whoosh, swing-!
The sound of the wind blowing was heard from somewhere. To be specific, it was the sound of one swinging his sword.
‘They train when it’s raining, too?’
I heard that the training time and its difficulty increased for the knights.
I felt a bit absurd. Everyone would be able to guess if they’re not stupid. That it was all because of me who took in a slave with no ident.i.ty as my personal bodyguard.
I started walking towards where the sound came from.
I was actually curious about the knights’ reaction.
‘Would they be talking bad about me?’
It really didn’t matter though. It wasn’t the real me who was getting badmouthed on.
‘I should check if Eclise is also there while I’m at it.’
But no one was there in the training grounds.
Except for one person in the corner, swinging his wooden sword.
I couldn’t see who it was at first. It was because his wet grey hair looked so much like the monotone sky.
I walked slowly and carefully so that he wouldn’t notice.
I could see the person clearer as I approached him.
The man was shirtless while he was swinging his sword vertically like a machine.
There were big and small, deep and shallow scars visible on his muscular back and arms.
He looked brutal than pitiful.
‘It’s cold out though.’
The man didn’t seem to have noticed me approaching him, maybe because of how focused he was.
And right when I got to right behind him.
Shoosh-.
The man turned around in the speed of lightning. Along with the sound of something slicing the wind.
I blinked once and noticed something was cold against my neck.
“Hah, ha…… .”
Eclise looked at me while his shoulders heaved wildly.
I got gooseb.u.mps at the deathly aura aiming at me.
It was a great reflective skill for someone who was swinging his sword only up and down to have.
He was glaring at me until his deathly aura softened up as he started to realize who I was.
The deathly aura disappeared completely as he now seemed fl.u.s.tered. Eclise frowned after noticing that it was me.
“Mas…… ter.”
He seemed fl.u.s.tered to the point that his voice trembled.
It was then when I realized that I wasn’t breathing at all.
My lips trembled a little before I started to speak.
“It’s…… .”
The cold wooden sword was still on my neck, but I forced the words out in a friendly manner as if nothing had happened, and also as if I wasn’t surprised or scared.
“It’s raining, Eclise.”
His grey eyes that were looking at me, wavered once again.
Followed by that, the interest gauge bar sparkled.
[Interest 23%]
_______
-CatLovesTowels -Lizette ^^
COMMENTS (On the raw):
Only
– What’s up with everyone about her neck? Leave her poor neck alone.
– Our cute little 10 million
– JUST GO WITH ECLISE ALREADY SIS!
– .
– Almost 30%!
NOTE: I was going through all the comments and I don’t know if this is a spoiler or not but (Scroll down if you want to know one thing about Eclise)
He’s not M.