32.He Called Him Richton

Because he took off the lace that was covering my shoulders, I had only a corset left. This is something one can only see inside the bedroom.

I slightly turned my head and looked at Keane who was looking at her waist. To the point where it feels a little unnatural.

Was it when I was left alone in the carriage? Thinking he would’ve been nervous without knowing. The stiff shoulders relaxed carefully and a light smile leaked out.

“Why? Are you tense to see me half naked?”

It was funny that Keane, who was always busy being annoying, was nervous in front of me. This is fun because he has been bothering me.

I leaned my back and leaned my head against his chest. The dark green eyes between his hairs stared at me with cold eyes.

“Shall we kiss?”

Of course, you will be in a little or a lot of pain. It was a joke that didn’t contain anything. I was even worse off wanting to pick him up.

He looked down at me with a blunt face, then suddenly grabbed my shoulder and turned it around.

He grabbed his waist roughly and lowered his head, ready to swallow all my breath.

“Hey. If you think I’m going to act like an a*shole with a body like this, you’re wrong.”

Keane didn’t have the disgusting smell like from the dead man. I could feel the strength of his arms that pulled the waist stronger. His eyes shook with intense emotions, blatantly seeing my half open breasts, and then wiped lips.

“I can’t live being provoked by a girl like you because all I have is pride. It’s better to choose to melt my tongue and become mute.”

Riiiip, there was a tear of cloth behind my back. I raised my arm and smoothed the tattered back. Keane used his grip to tear off the fabric itself with a strap.

What a fool to do this when I asked him to untie the strings. Keane had a cheeky smile. When he took a step away from me, he took my clothes out of the luggage bag that he had hung on his horse and threw them.

“You said you had nothing but pride. Why are you so calm?”

Keane leaned on the carriage and had a frame as big as Richton.

“Because I am a pretty thoroughbred stallion. As a gentleman, I’m willing to give you a warning or two before I do my job.”

“That’s too bad. It was a chance to get rid of that snake tongue.”

I crumpled the ragged dress into the carriage and climbed in front of Keane. He turned his horse’s head around the carriage and headed back the way he had come.

“What about those?”

“Leave it alone.”

I turned my head behind the carriage and the scattered corpses gradually moved away from behind.

On closer inspection, the men guarding me did not seem to be members of the Knights of the Black Hawks.

Were they hired mercenaries? Well, that’s why they died so hopelessly.

“I feel uncomfortable. There’s a man who saw my face.”

“Don’t forget that the dead don’t talk.”

It was silly, though. Keane wouldn’t leave the lives of the assassins. Richton’s dog can’t be so sloppy. I breathed a sigh of relief.

* * *

Usually, prestigious aristocratic families give their employees a four-day reward vacation after the banquet. Ingord was no different. It was only a day after the banquet, I and Mrs. Colento were the only servants left at Ingord’s mansion.

“Originally, it was customary for the head to leave the mansion and go to a resort. But, as you know, his Excellency is not like that.”

It was the first time the kitchen was so quiet. In Triviace, after the banquet, I used to follow a maid of the same age and stay at their house.

Every time I ate in the middle of a harmonious family, I thought I shouldn’t have come. I didn’t think that’s my place. Recalling those days, Ingord felt much more comfortable, at least during vacation. Because I can stay here without looking at anyone.

“So I’m glad you’re here. Even the kids who were angry at you for taking a sudden vacation agreed to this.”

White cigarette smoke rose over Madame Colento’s face. She slowly rolled her cigarette from her hand and gave it to me.

“I don’t need a vacation.”

“Why?”

“I have nowhere to go.”

Mrs. Colento, who was still closing her eyes, replied in a quiet voice.

“You don’t have to go back anywhere.

I think you know too. His Excellency cherishes you especially, and soon you will marry one of his vassals, and you will be settled for the rest of your life.

It was the first time Mrs. Colento had said such a thing directly. Richton who cherishes me. That’s what it looks like to others. It has already been five months since I came to Ingord.

At first, I thought I had to endure every day with the determination to get out of here. Nowadays I am often forgetting about the bet with Richton.

How long will these days last? Mrs. Colento, the maid of honor, has a duty to protect this place on vacation, but I was able to take over this year.

Mrs. Colento thanked me and decided to leave the mansion until the evening after tomorrow.

Thanks to her, the need to keep an eye on her is also gone. I went to the drawing room, which I would not normally go to even for other things such as cleaning, and sat comfortably.

I watched the fire dancing in the fireplace which had been lit up by some other maid. After that, I couldn’t remember exactly what I did. It seems that I fell asleep for a very long time, unable to overcome the tiredness and cozy warmth emitting from the surroundings

* * *

I was waiting for someone.

It seems that heavy rain was falling outside the castle, and the visitor who was about to arrive would get wet. It wasn’t a lamentable or exciting wait that made my heart explode. It was something that I had to do. Soon my wait came to an end with the door opening. It was Vivienne, a gift from Wilhelm who appeared in front of me.

[Vivi]

The girl jumped and hugged me while wet from the rain. I swallowed my breath deeply, filling her body in my own arms and putting my nose at the nape of her neck. She wriggled her neck and laughed to shake off the tickle.

[Agrane, were you waiting for me? I’m s, so happy! It’s the best gift I’ve ever received today.]

I quietly looked down at her back. At first glance, the condition of the back of her neck is not very good. It seemed as if a long scratch had been cut by a sharp blade, extending all the way to the back of the shirt.

Maybe it wasn’t a very old wound, and the skin around it was red. She said, wiping the scars of cruelty that must have been painful.

[I told you to come in before the rain. Are you going to keep doing this, Vivi? If you’re not going to listen to me, go back.]

[Ung… No. Don’t send me to Wilhelm. He gave me to you. I’m not going back.]

A thick scent of acacia wafted from between the hairs that fluttered.

[I don’t need friends, Vivi.]

I dragged Vivianne into a chair and wiped her wet hair with the towel she had prepared. The girl sat with her legs crossed and listened to me silently.

[All I need is a cute and lovely dog who listens to me very well and obeys only to me. But you’re not a dog.]

No, she is a dog, but she is Wilhelm’s dog, not mine.

Vivianne made a pure, hurtful appearance for a while. Then suddenly, she grabbed my hand, which was busy drying her hair.

Then she approached the window and looked down at the forest where it was constantly raining.

It was a road that Wilhelm passed by every time he visited my castle. Vivienne looked over the window for a long time. Like watching someone would come to harm this happy time. As the water in her hands dried up, she came back to me.

[Can I be next to you if I become a dog?]

The drooping rose-colored eyes were intertwined with a little depression and a little expectation of anticipation.

[Yes.]

[What do I have to do to be a dog?]

[…come here.]

I put Vivianne on the chair and took out the ointment from the drawer and carefully approached Vivienne’s back, undressed her, and applied ointment to her stomach wound, which was horribly hideous as her back wounds.

[To be a dog, you can’t hide your wounds from me first.]

Pain-soaked breaths spread over my head and disappeared. As always, even with familiar wounds, only the sense of pain is preemptive. Vivianne has long been exposed to violence and indifference.

She has been living in Wilhelm’s world as an outcast, and she has taken such treatment for granted. Is that why?

My little affection and interest for Vivianne became the biggest part of the girl’s world in just a few weeks. Someone who loves more than a lover and is closer than a close friend, but not a family.

[Wilhelm said my blood was filthy.]

[Why?]

[I, I don’t know. The twins are supposed to be filthy.]

Her calm voice was as calm and serene as if she was reciting other people’s stories.

[If not twins, but Agrain’s dog… I won’t be filthy anymore. Right?]

Vivianne covered her mouth and laughed. As always in front of me, she had a happy face as if she couldn’t be more perfect. She looked up as if I were the sole creator of her world when all I had to do was dry her hair and apply ointment to her wounds.

[A gentle master like Agrane won’t abandon me just because you are sick of me. Right?]

[…like the dog in the Acacia Forest?]

[Yeah, like him. You mean the skinny, poor gold scarecrow. Every time I went to feed the fox, I secretly watched it….]

[Wilhelm said no one could get in there.]

[Not me. Even if you are a filthy twin, you are a royal family.]

(T/N: Agrane is hinting her to go to him by using royal authority)

The soft curved eyes beneath the rich eyelashes become cold. At that moment, I had an illusion that she was like Wilhelm with a rod to teach me.

However, the illusion disappeared as if he had not been there from the beginning. A child who grew up in the same womb as Wilhelm with the same food. The vicious golden hawk’s sister can’t be a rat. I pretended not to know and opened my mouth by applying ointment to the wound.

(T/N: the reason why vivi’s eyes turned cold is because Agrane is showing interest in another “dog” if it continues then she will abandon Vivi and take him)

[Tell me about him.]

[About him? Hmm. He always reads outside, but when he hears a wolf crying, he goes back to the castle. If it’s foggy, he puts up a lamp by the door, if it’s raining, wander through the woods and get soaked in rain alone.]

Vivianne’s voice was as clear and beautiful as a pet bird.

[I saw him smiling twice. When a maid brings him a meal, and when he gets rained on. During the long rainy season, he leans against the window and looks outside.]

[What’s his name?]

Vivianne’s eyes turned to me. She used her expressions to ask me secretly, Why do you keep asking? It was a nervous and sincere question.

The harmless eyes contained vicious golden hawk greed and distorted greed. When faced with that gaze, I smiled as gently as I had ever. You don’t know what I know.

What I needed wasn’t Vivianne’s obsession. It was loyalty from obsession. So when I smile, a smile blooms bashfully on the girl’s face. I could feel infinite trust and love in the beautiful rosy eyes.

[Richton. Wilhelm called him Richton.]