Chapter 72. Testing And Trial, Part XIII

Translator: Khan

Editor Group: Liber Reverie

"You don't know much about me yet, I assure you."

"Isn't that the same with you? We don't know each other very well, so we can't decide whether we will help each other or not."

'Did we went the wrong way?' The surroundings grew darker and darker. 'This is the capital, right? Is there such a quiet, dark place in the capital?' Their arrival in an unknown place made her shiver. She was afraid that something was wrong.

"Well."

His eyes turned dark blue as he stared at the side of Aria's face, who stretched out her legs as hard as she could.

"I think I know quite a bit about you..."

"Why do you think so?"

"It's not just a thought, but it's real."

'Don't tell me, do you think you knew me well because of the rumors you heard about me?' If so, he was a fool. He would soon fall on the street and cry because he was so easily swept away by rumors.

"I also know what you're showing outside is different from what's inside."

Only the sound of their feet made the space full, and the voice of Asher rang low. She couldn't tell because she didn't see his face, but it even sounded gloomy.

'You've met me a few times, and you know nothing about me!'

She stopped taking steps forward at his remarks which irritated her nerves. She didn't like him as he kept showing up without revealing his true identity.

'If I show this hatred towards you, isn't it natural you have to step back?' Even among the common people, such courtesy and consideration were taken for granted even if they were not nobles.

In an empty space that had no one else but them, she wanted to avoid the man named Asher. Aria took out the wicked face she was hiding and looked at Asher.

"What the hell...!"

She couldn't keep up with the harsh criticism. His blue eyes, which glowed horribly in the dark, took away all of her thoughts.

'That's really... Is a human being really capable of having such a light in their eyes?'

As if it were emitting light, Asher's blue eyes shut Aria's words and stopped all of her movements at the same time. Not even the stars in the night sky were that bright.

"You… what the hell are you? Who are you...?"

The shaking of her vocal cords shook the words which came out between her red lips. The emotion she encountered because of this unknown being, and the fear that she might be with an animal in disguise welled up inside her. It was hard to understand.

"Are you finally interested in me, Lady Roscent?"

As he moved one step closer, he narrowed the distance even further though they were already quite close to each other. Looking down at Aria from only a palm's distance, he reached out and wiped off her pale cheeks.

The warm palms of Asher remained on Aria's cheeks for a long time. Aria flinched which was an unavoidable reaction. By the time the blue eyes facing Aria's green eyes turned dark blue, Asher broke his long, long silence and opened his mouth.

"I'll let you know if we're getting a little closer. Personally, I'd like to let you know."

She fixed her gaze in Asher's eyes without answering anything. As if possessed by his blue eyes, he bent his straight upper body and kissed Aria's forehead.

Aria's eyelids sank gently, feeling as if the pouring starlight had kissed her. Aria couldn't open her eyes quickly to the illusion that she was dreaming.

"... well, I look forward to seeing you again soon."

His lips fell off her forehead, and when she opened her eyes to a voice that said good-bye, he was gone from the place though she heard his voice a while ago. What was more, the dark vacant lot, which had nothing except for Asher's eyes, had disappeared and turned into a crowded street.

'What the hell is going on…?'

The only thing that was left was the warmth on her forehead where his lips had touched, so she raised her hand and touched it. Her hands came in contact with a very fine but moist liquid, and it was hard to tell whether it was a trace of Asher's kiss or her sweat from being nervous.

"Miss!"

As she turned her head to the distant voice, she saw two people rushing urgently.

"... Jessie."

"You can't imagine how surprised I am since you just suddenly vanished!"

"... so was I."

Jessie wasn't the only one who was surprised. Aria also couldn't calm her pounding heart.

"It looks dangerous, so we'd better get back to the mansion as soon as possible. We've already enjoyed enough of the festival."

With Jessie saying, "We've been looking for you for a long time," Aria couldn't come to her senses for a while because what had just happened made her mind messy.

* * *

The cause of the explosion of the firecrackers in the square was unknown. The only explanation was that the firecrackers that would be used on the stage were scattered all over the square and that someone set it on fire and set off an explosion simultaneously.

Fortunately, few people were hurt because it was only loud and not a great firecracker. There were a few people who fell and were injured by someone instead of the firecrackers, and they said all of them were treated by the imperial court.

"I was really surprised to see you disappear in the blink of an eye."

It was because she ran while holding Asher's hand. Although she ran for quite a while, she arrived at a spot she had never seen in her life, and she was able to go back near the square in no time.

'... what the hell happened?'

A few days later, she couldn't understand it. The whole situation was incomprehensible as if Asher had done magic.

'Let's not think about it anymore.'

If she tried to solve a problem that had no answer, she would only get a headache. Aria shook her head. Due to her action, Annie who was combing her hair dropped her comb on the floor.

"Oops, miss. I'm sorry!"

Jessie helped her when she was pouring tea.

"Are you all right, miss?"

"…"

'Even in the past, they seemed to talk a lot, but why am I bothered by the two maids so much?'

When Aria closed the book with a loud noise without giving any answer, the two maids made a fuss again like larks.

"Shall I change your tea?"

"Don't you like the perfume on your hair?"

"Do you want a new refreshment?"

"Would you want to braid your hair?"

"Both..."

She tried to clench her teeth and shout, but she could not bring out a word when she faced the two maids staring at her with their eyes shining like a lamb.

"... whew."

Eventually, she loosened her face and swallowed the harsh words that she wanted to say. She had done well to them a few times, but when she saw them, she didn't want to scold them. 'This is not what a wicked woman does.'

"... Take turns to go on a vacation. I'll pay you."

"I don't have a place to go to. I'll get bored if I don't work."

"So am I. I enjoy being with you."

Aria wasn't very happy to spend the day with them. Of course, it was much better than in the past when they had been afraid and shivering, but it was annoying to tune in to their non-nutritive chatter.

'Nevertheless, the only reason I can't kick them out easily… is because they are on my side for the first time.'

Apart from Jessie, she hadn't captivated Annie's heart yet, but she liked it very much that she did cute things beside her because it was fun for her to betray her master and wag her tail to her.

"So miss, have you heard of it?"

"What?"

"Miss Mielle."

Aria showed a little interest and Annie released what she had heard with a sneaky smile.

"She sent a letter to Princess Frederick."

Princess Frederick and a letter... Aria tried to guess Mielle's intention. Mielle might have told the princess that she would want to marry Oscar.

The princess, whose engagement with the Crown Prince was in progress, was an influential person in the family of the duke and the head of aristocratic ladies. Aria remembered that the princess had really married the Crown Prince and ruled the Empire with his father and other aristocrats.