Before d.u.c.h.ess Grey, the former forgotten princess, was escorted deep into the hall, she first looked around, checking out the surroundings to see which of the guests were allies and not. A wary expression was hidden in her eyes back then. Jiang Li managed to take a glimpse of her face.Then the music resumed, so was the discussion and laughter. People began to swarm the lovely ducal couple, either to give them a toast or simply greet them.
Jiang Li was watching them for some time.
It did not take long and his eyes that darkened for a couple of moments regained l.u.s.ter and the anger that flashed across his face was then replaced by confusion.
"Weird." He referred to the feeling the sight gave him.
A voice echoed followed by a laugh. "What did I tell you, huh? Haha."
Somehow, the a.s.sistant cook he shared a conversation earlier popped up by his side and nudged him using his elbow. "See, you also can"t take away your eyes from the Princess. Newbie, what do you think? She"s truly deserving of being called the pearl of Holon Kingdom, no?"
The man only looked at the contemplative face of the flutist, feeling satisfied by his silence. He then added, "It"s just a pity that she had been hidden for years, then when finally shown to the world, she has already become the d.u.c.h.ess. I can"t help but think that Duke Grey is really sly and lucky. Tch. Tch."
Clicking of tongue resounded next to him.
Jiang Li nodded and looked away. He felt anger just a while ago, yet it was not actually that intense, and did not even last for more than three seconds. He thought about it for a moment before he arrived at the reason.
"She only got the face." He said with narrowed eyes.
"What do you mean?" A perplex face was sported out by the kitchen servant.
The person asked simply bade his goodbye and went back to mingling with the busy crowd. For a couple of minutes, he listened to the people talking about random stuff, the degree of the rottenness of the monarchy, the secrets of each fief, love affairs of the n.o.bles and known artisans. Once he felt he had heard enough, he chugged down one last gla.s.s of beer and decided it was time to leave.
He took one last look at the princess, then no longer paid attention to her, thinking she was just another Rumina Bolden. He had to admit though, it was not a pleasant experience seeing somebody with Selena"s face being held by another man. The discomfort did not last long since he realized the truth immediately.
It left him wondering where that girl was now. She should be in this kingdom, no? After all, she was never far from the lead characters.
Who else in this world could have the same face as her here? Does the princess have a hidden twin or a female sibling? He didn"t know.
Mood dampened, he did not say goodbye to the leader who kindly let him in his troupe. He walked towards the side where servants and performers congregate, pa.s.sing by several tables where people rejoicing for getting a chance to drink fine wine could be found. He ignored them. The noise and smell of perfume and food were starting to get into his nerves so he quickened his steps. His goal was at the back - a simple door people like them could access.
"Hmm?"
When he was near the exit of the gigantic room, to his surprise, he came across somebody familiar… Somebody he was trying to escape from.
"You again?" Looking at the woman seemingly waiting for him there, he subconsciously asked. His forehead was already aching.
The irritation in his heart also returned. The speed of its disappearance when he learned the female lead was simply Selena"s look-alike was as fast as when it reappeared after seeing Aliyah sitting at the back with her hood pulled down.
Right. She found him, again. He sighed.
And until now, he still didn"t get how she could always locate him every time he tried to leave her behind. Why was she fixated on him by the way?
"Yeah. It"s me," answered the woman in a soft voice
Jiang Li felt like her reply contained joy and mockery so he looked up and roughly exhaled. He then nodded his head lethargically, "Yeah, congrats."
A couple of moments pa.s.sed before he met her eyes that was fixated on his face. His thoughts wandered for some time before he realized that something was wrong with her.
This female lead seemed… calmer? Not like the other four personalities who would immediately throw tantrums at him the moment he showed annoyance or other negative emotions.
However, she also didn"t exhibit indifference which the mute always does.
"Another personality?" Jiang Li smiled wryly at the guess his mind formulated. "Seriously, how many does that whiner have?"
"You don"t seem to be Aliyah. Which one are you? And why are you here?"
The woman stayed silent for some time. Or rather, her attention was not on him. She was looking at the merry scene in front. Her eyes briefly stayed at the face of the other female lead. Jiang Li saw it and got weirded out since he noticed the complicated emotions that flickered in her eyes. Was that grief? Or irritation?
Now he was sure, she was not one of the five he was familiar with. None of the five would care about the people at this party.
His guess was fortified more when she turned around and started walking towards the exit. She did so after grabbing his hand.
None of this female lead"s previous personalities would dare touch him directly. It was as if they were afraid something bad would happen to them, something he only looked at with disdain since, in the first place, he also did not have any plan to hold them or what.
So what was with this persona"s actions?
His eyebrow rose. Although part of it was that he didn"t dislike the body contact. But why?
While the young man was wondering about the reason, the girl turned her head his way, slightly smirking at his confused expression.
"Hi, how have you been?"
"... If you"re not Aliyah or any of the persona I"m familiar with, why are you acting close to me?"
"Oh." She laughed then apologized. "Sorry. I was previously asleep and busy integrating with another personality, so I was late in greeting you."
"Let go," he said, interrupting her.
However, the woman merely looked over her shoulder and shrugged. Her gaze seemingly telling she was not an idiot to simply do what he said. She even stuck her tongue out playfully.
One corner of his lips lifted up in annoyance, "Should I throw this woman in the air?"
"I will be the main personality from now on." As if she was a manager reporting in a place where she would in-charge of, she said.
"And so that we can be formally acquainted, Mister-who-loves-to escape, let me introduce myself," she paused, smiling, "I"m Margarette."
"Margarette?" he parroted.
The name was very familiar. It was the name of the beautiful woman bathing in the spotlight just now. He narrowed his eyes at the hand which kept pulling his. She said she would become the new main? "How can you be so sure that Aliyah will let you take over?"
The dimness of the night enveloped them both since there were now outside of the palace, exiting through one of the side gates.
The girl only answered when the guards" eyes left them. She was laughing, "Aliyah will have no choice but let me take over. You see. I"m now the strongest among us. Everyone else… They feared me."
Jiang Li instinctively pulled away his hand, intending to rub his ear and perhaps clear whatever was inside so he could hear clearly again. However, to his surprise, the girl"s hand seemed to be made of iron and refused to let go.
He couldn"t help but wonder, "… Is it me who slacked off in my training of this body… Or is there just something wrong with this girl"s strength…?"
The latter possibility made him feel odd. But what"s odder was her saying she was feared by the rest of the personas.
"You didn"t believe me, did you?"
His expression must have revealed what he was thinking.
A corner of her lips rose up. "I"m telling the truth though. Think about it. Disregarding the others, why else would Aliyah, that second most rational side, and Cynthia, that unruly and child-like one, never disobeyed me... especially, every time I told them to go to you?"