Days later…Although indifferent to her most of the time, the Viscount rushed back from the capital just to confirm the situation in his castle. Most likely, the n.o.bleman was alarmed after hearing she was targeted outside the castle in one of her impromptu trips.
He looked tired and weary when he was welcomed by the family, yet instead of going upstairs to rest, he looked at Aliyah and began to interrogate her. It was an interrogation that later turned into a stern lecture. When it showed no stopping after an hour, even though the girl kept her head lowered, appearing repentant, in her mind, there was a mini-Aliyah whose jaw nearly fell on the ground. The eyes of that mini-Aliyah were also like that of dead fish.
She felt numb and the muscles in her legs and thighs were beginning to protest, yet she didn"t dare leave her spot. What if the scolding intensified?
"I have already lost a son, I can"t let my sole daughter be put into harm too!"
"Don"t ever do that again! Do you understand? My heart is already fragile. You can see that your father is the same as me. Please stop making everyone worry," cried the Viscountess.
An hour ago, this lady was still on Aliyah"s side, defending her and saying they should comfort her instead of frightening her. But thirty minutes later, the Viscountess joined her husband in admonis.h.i.+ng their daughter. If the latter was truly Marian, she would have felt wronged and betrayed...
Time pa.s.sed and dinnertime arrived.
Once done with the scolding, both the lord and the lady of the castle put her into confinement.
Aliyah was actually thankful because the "lecture" finally stopped, and because while it would be hateful to be in the stinky castle all day, at least, her safety was guaranteed. And she could still actually go out. She was okay with it even if the farthest she would be allowed to go was the small village within the walls. She had also no problem even if there was no way she could leave without bringing at least three guards or knights with her.
A month went by just like that.
The days were spent on morning ma.s.ses, daily prayers, embroidery… and all dull stuff. There were very few memorable moments. She frequently got some earfuls from the Lady due to her daily sprinkling of essential oils on her room and items as if it was water. Apart from that, the only events that broke her boring routine were the departure of the priest, the rare interesting history cla.s.ses, and the rat hunting contest she held for the servants…
One time, she eavesdropped on the conversation of the servants in the kitchen.
"Recently, I keep feeling that manpower keeps lessening… There are more and more people hunting rats and insects than working in the other areas of the castle..."
"True. My husband is actually one. He told me if the rules will not change, he will not mind becoming a professional rat catcher."
"Sighs. Actually, many people are having the same opinions as him. I can"t blame them though. They will be given meat, money or other nice things depending on how many they killed. You see, those courageous ones are already teaming up and secretly dividing rooms for their hunt."
"Is that for real?!"
"Yes. If only I"m faster and a little more courageous, I would have joined in the fun. Alas, I"m quite afraid of those creatures that lurked in the dark and damp s.p.a.ces. Their eyes are sometimes red and their front teeth are quite huge! My Dearest G.o.ddess, who would not be afraid of them? I"m sure if not for the generous reward, even the brave men will choose to stay away!"
"Anyway, the young lady must be too bored to host this contest…" commented the oldest lady amongst them
That time, Aliyah wanted to tell her not to voice out the obvious.
With so little entertainment plus the gloomy atmosphere and all sorts of sanitation problems in the castle, how could she not be bored or irritable?
Medieval was all about princesses, knights, and romance? Oh, please! This was why Disney was so poisonous to the minds of the young ones! No, those colorful romance comics and television series with lavish settings were too!
Why are media companies so ruthless that they lie or romanticize things just to sell? Did they ever think of the many hearts that would break once they learn that their childhood days revolved around deceitful myths and fantasies?
"Ha… this is annoying… Forget about the unimportant stuff... Now people must be thinking I am a bro-con who has gone stupid from mourning so she started a castle rat hunt."
She left after rolling her eyes.
Yet thinking she might not really be able to go back and that she would have to put so much effort into making her home pa.s.s her standards, she couldn"t help but shudder.
…
The next morning dawned.
Aliyah woke up feeling listless, with no whatsoever drive to leave her perfumed blanket. However, she was forced to get out of the bed by her mother who informed her that she had to dress up and be presentable because a priest from the Church of Wisdom came to the castle to visit her.
When she entered the room used for receiving guests, the white-robed man standing before a large painting turned around and smiled kindly at her. It was the same person as the one who lectured her about how impossible it would be for a state outside Mu to become more advanced than theirs.
After paying respects to each other, they sat down, waiting for the servants to finish arranging the snacks and the drinks. Following that, Aliyah smilingly started the pleasantries and idle talks. Her att.i.tude was quite enthusiastic since she thought the priest might have come to talk about her question last time.
Maybe the reverend had found something in their church"s archive after all?
The matter was very important to Aliyah as she greatly desired to go back to her real world.
For her, the comfort the ruling cla.s.s here was experiencing was not even comparable to that of a low-income salary worker. Also, none of the things here truly belonged to her.
The feeling of alienation was very strong since her current ident.i.ty, the Viscount"s family, the memories… they were all not originally Aliyah Monte"s.
Where was the real Marian Obson? Was she dead? Or was it Marian who was dead?
If the one in her current situation was not her, the girl would have found it interesting, but this time, she dared not speculate.
The talk about random things continued until the majority of the servants vacated the place.
Aliyah impatiently waited for the priest to go straight to the point. Thankfully, the other seemed to be not that eager to stay that long too, simply waiting for the place to be less populated before speaking.
A minute later, the girl felt quite disappointed since the priest"s reason for his visit had nothing to do with what she really wanted to know. It was still related to what she told him before though.
Dumbfounded and confused, she muttered to herself, "Come again?"
"The Church really found a man suspected to be a messenger of the G.o.ddess of Wisdom?"
"...But I was merely making excuses at that time… Oh my gos.h.!.+ Don"t tell me the clergies really did a search around the circus until they found somebody closest to my descriptions?"
"But wait... The people of this era are extremely faithful to the G.o.ds even though those G.o.ds and G.o.ddesses rarely respond to the prayers. Who the h.e.l.l would dare to impersonate a divine messenger or claim that he is a messenger of the G.o.ds?"
In her mind, she pictured a fraudster, scratch that… a fake monk, who was making a living tricking innocent peasants using the G.o.ddess" name.
Her expression became wonderful and it puzzled the priest.
The latter was unaware that she was making that face because she was feeling funny... and, at the same, sorry for the guy caught by the Church.