Episode 75
As they began a friendly chat, Prea wedged herself between them and spoke.
“Greetings, Duke Clovis.”
“Lady Seirthe, I presume.”
“Yes, I’m glad you remember me.”
Despite her beautiful, blooming smile, Cesar remained impassive. Undeterred, Prea spoke to Sylvia,
“Lady Veronica, will you be returning to the mansion in Duke Clovis’ carriage?”
“Yes. Thank you for your kindness, Lady Seirthe.”
“Not at all. I’m glad it worked out.”
Her tone was sweet, but remembering her sharp gaze from earlier, I just wanted to get away from Prea as quickly as possible.
As I kept glancing towards the carriage,
A pale hand rested on my shoulder.
I flinched, like a trapped animal trying to escape. Prea chuckled and said,
“Wait a moment. Could I borrow this maid for a day?”
Two pairs of eyes instantly focused on me. Their gazes, sharp as blades, were fixed on me.
‘Why are you looking at me? It was Prea who asked to borrow me.’
“What do you mean, Lady Seirthe?”
“Well, this girl seems to have a keen eye, judging by what I saw at the exhibition. I have something I need to look into, and I think she would be helpful.”
Prea pulled me closer. The two gazes intensified. If anyone saw us, they would think the gently smiling Prea was the good guy, and the other two were the villains.
I glanced at Prea, and she was smiling cheerfully. She must have been inwardly fuming.
‘If I go to the Seirthe Marquisate like this, I might be in big trouble.’
My palms were sweaty from the tension. I wondered what she was planning.
Fortunately, Sylvia had no intention of letting me go. She spoke firmly, her usually gentle tone replaced by a decisive one.
“No.”
“Why not? It’s just borrowing a maid for a day. Ah, if you’re concerned about not having a maid to attend to you, I’ll lend you one of mine. She’s very capable.”
Prea spoke in a considerate tone and held me close. Being embraced by the tall Prea made me feel tiny.
It was a strange sensation to feel in this precarious situation, but Prea’s demeanor wasn’t that menacing. The two piercing gazes directed at me were more intimidating.
“No.”
“I agree.”
They both replied simultaneously and grabbed my arms. The sudden pull sent a sharp pain through my body.
‘Stop! I’m not splitting into three; why are you playing tug-of-war with me?!’
“S-stop it!”
They stopped moving at my desperate cry. Their gazes were fixed on me.
My arms ached. I understood Cesar and Sylvia, but I didn’t know why Prea was so adamant about keeping me.
I rubbed my thin, aching arms and made a pained expression.
“…It hurts.”
“I’m sorry, Valerie. Does it hurt?”
“I’ll call a doctor.”
“Where does it hurt?”
I shook my head at their reactions.
“It was just a slight pain. So please decide amongst yourselves. It’s getting late.”
“Lady Veronica, can’t you really lend her to me?”
Sylvia, who had pulled me to her side and was holding me, firmly said,
“Valerie isn’t an object. She’s a precious person to me. I can’t send her to anyone else.”
Prea’s eyes flickered at Sylvia’s words.
Something was strange. She had been clearly displeased a moment ago when things didn’t go her way.
“You must cherish her very much, Lady Veronica. Then it can’t be helped. I’ll give up. I enjoyed myself today, Lady Veronica. And Duke Clovis, safe travels.”
I felt uneasy about Prea’s retreating figure, even though she had given up so easily. I didn’t understand why her reaction bothered me.
But Sylvia and Cesar didn’t seem to find it strange. As soon as Prea turned around, Sylvia released her grip on me and stroked my head.
“I wonder why Lady Seirthe is so interested in Lily. It’s unsettling, so be careful. Okay?”
“Yes, thank you, Sylvia.”
“What for, we’re friends.”
Sylvia smiled brightly and then approached Cesar. They seemed to be discussing who would take which carriage, since there were two.
I discreetly turned around to see if Prea had left. But I saw a handkerchief, clearly belonging to someone, lying on the ground where she had gone.
‘I can’t just ignore it.’
While Cesar and Sylvia were talking, I hurriedly ran towards where Prea had gone.
“You dropped this, Lady Seirthe.”
As I called out to her, Prea turned around, as if waiting. I froze.
She slowly approached, took the handkerchief, and pressed something into my hand.
“Come here later, Valerie.”
So she was trying to summon me again. I had no reason to refuse, since I knew she wanted to use me to get closer to Sylvia.
But this time, a clear warning echoed in my mind.
“If you don’t come—”
The thorns hidden within the beautiful rose seemed to prick me, drawing blood.
I’ll be angry.
The sharp warning sent chills down my spine. I suppressed my trembling and nodded, and her lips curved into a smile.
The clicking of her heels faded away.
I had just escaped the Second Prince’s attention, only to be entangled with another villain. And the consequences of incurring a villain’s wrath were never good.
I hid the note she gave me inside my dress and returned to Sylvia.
‘Why am I being targeted by the villainess now that I’m outside the Imperial Palace…?’
I had anticipated it, but the life of an extra caught up in the novel’s plot was more difficult than I thought.
The silence inside the carriage felt suffocating. I fidgeted with my dress and forced an awkward smile.
Cesar was sitting quietly across from me. I broke out in a cold sweat, being alone with him in the carriage.
‘How did this happen?’
After receiving the threatening warning from Prea, I had approached Sylvia, and she had sighed,
‘Alright. I can’t help it if you insist.’
‘Thank you, Sylvia.’
I had blinked blankly, not understanding what they had talked about. Then, Sylvia, with a slightly apologetic look, walked past me.
As I was about to follow her to the other carriage, Cesar blocked my path.
‘Where are you going?’
‘To the carriage. Where else?’
‘That’s not the carriage you’re taking.’
‘Then? Are you telling me there’s no carriage for me and that I have to walk?’
‘No. This is the carriage you’re taking.’
I stared blankly at the carriage he pointed at.
‘But that’s the carriage you came in, Your Grace. Sylvia is already in that carriage… Are you saying you and I are riding alone?’
I desperately hoped he would deny it, but he simply nodded.
And now, because of that series of events, I was sitting across from Cesar.
Alone with the person I liked in a confined space.
It should have been a heart-fluttering situation, but I felt so awkward that I fidgeted.
‘What should I do? What am I supposed to talk about with Cesar?’
When I was a bird, I could chatter endlessly beside him because I thought he couldn’t understand me anyway.
But not now. We could communicate perfectly, both through expressions and words, as humans.
Being alone with him in this confined space, Cesar didn’t say a word, and my mind went blank, not knowing what to say.
And I felt a pang of guilt.
After the exhibition, when I sent the message with the spirit, I had added a line, just in case.
‘Tell him that Sylvia might be in danger, and if he doesn’t come, I might not be able to return to the Dukedom!’
Cesar was the only person I could think of who could help. That’s why I said that, to make him come here.
But if I could go back, I would scold myself for saying such a thing. I remembered the smirk on his face when he saw me getting off the carriage.
‘It was a menacing threat of retaliation.’
Cesar probably thought I was being brazen, rejecting his offer and even threatening him.
‘Is that why he separated me from Sylvia and made me sit here alone with him?’
I, a brazen bird who had left his cage, had dared to talk back to my owner.
But it was true that Sylvia might have been in danger. If she had accepted Prea’s offer and gotten into her carriage, who knows what would have happened?
She might have arrived at the County safely, but with the changed circumstances, she might have been kidnapped and sold to another country.
I had already been concerned about Prea’s actions after seeing her visit that strange place in the general store.
Even though I thought I had done the right thing by calling him, I now regretted adding those provocative words.
As I nervously tried to think of something to say, his gaze fell on me.
“Why are you acting so strangely?”
“Pardon?”
“You used to talk to me so easily. I’m asking why you’re avoiding my gaze and keeping your mouth shut.”
‘Because I did something wrong! And you just gave me a chilling warning; how can I talk to you casually?!’
I couldn’t say what I was thinking, so I rephrased it to avoid offending him. And to keep my head attached to my body.
“…Were you angry?”
“You thought I was angry?”
Seeing his indifferent reaction, my eyes lit up.
‘So he’s not angry. Thank goodness.’
As I breathed a sigh of relief and was about to smile, his cold voice cut in,
“Didn’t I tell you to apologize at the Dukedom? Apologize for your impudent words then.”
‘So he is angry!’