Chapter 14
I put my pen down and ran my hand through my face .
‘No, let’s be optimistic . ’
I slapped my cheeks .
In the first place, the only person I can rely on was Agrita .
Without her, I’ll just meet my inevitable demise or die while escaping .
I had no other choice .
‘But it’s not like it’s completely hopeless . ’
Ash easily saved Agrita from the pond, after all .
Not only that, he came out to the garden just like how it was dictated in the novel .
Even though he didn’t fall in love with Agrita at first sight, there was still a chance .
‘Yes . Everything will be fine . ’
I took the paper and hid it inside the drawer and stood up .
Things weren’t looking so bright, but still, writing them down had an effect . Anyway, I finally got my thoughts in order and cleared my mind .
I’ve strengthened my resolve .
‘At the end of the day, there’s only one thing I can do right now . ’
I recalled that I had told someone that I would meet with them in the dining room today .
I was planning to leave the room and summon Bessie, but before I could do it, I heard a knock on the door .
“Milady, have you finished washing up? If so, you should have your meal now . ”
“Bessie . ”
What great timing . I was just about to call her for the exact same reason .
I immediately opened the door .
“Yes, I was going to do just that . ”
“Would you like me to deliver your food to your room so you can eat comfortably?”
“No,” I shook my head .
“Prepare the dining room . I heard that Lady Grace hasn’t had her meal yet . I’ll join her, just the two of us . ”
“Oh my . ”
Bessie affirmed to execute my orders and then she examined me .
She seemed to be pondering about how Lady Grace and I became close and she speculated that it must’ve been when I jumped into the water to save her .
I pretended not to see the curiosity written all over her face .
***
I needed to have a little chat with Agrita, and eating with her was the perfect time to do it .
‘What I can do right now and what I need to do…’
I repeated this thought over and over again while I walked down the stairs .
‘Is to keep Agrita alive at all costs . ’
I need her . That’s the only reason why Agrita had to stay alive .
Whether the current Agrita wasn’t the real Agrita or even if the future becomes obscure and uncertain, there’s still hope as long as she was alive . She was my only hope that’s why has to live .
‘For this plan to be a success, Agrita must understand the situation she’s in right now . ’
Agrita went to the pond, not heeding my words when I told her to stop . That’s only because she never knew anything . Never in her wildest dreams would she imagine that it could be that dangerous .
How many more times will the same thing occur in the future?
I must at least tell Agrita so she can prevent herself from getting into danger with her own two feet .
That was the first step to saving Agrita .
‘The problem is, how am I supposed to tell her in a way she’ll believe me……?’
How can I convince her that she had already died three times and survived the fourth?
I kept on thinking about it as I walked .
“Sister!”
“Ari . ”
She was being escorted to the room just now . As soon as Ari found me from below, she happily waved at me .
I spotted the butler beside her, and all color was drained from his face .
Right, he was the type to be very strict and sensitive about these things .
“Lady Grace, excuse me, but the basic manners and etiquette on movements for a noble are……”
“Pardon?”
Goodness, butler . All this time I thought he only acted that way towards me, but it turns out, he’s like that to everyone else . Agrita’s a guest, is she not?
I was about to go save Agrita from the butler’s scolding, however, I flinched and stopped in my tracks .
Wait, what’s that?
“Oh dear, why is there a bee in here?
I could feel the panic rising in me . My eyes stumbled upon a bee which was buzzing around in the air .
“Phew, this little fella got in again . ”
It wasn’t uncommon for bees to accidentally enter the mansion . Bees were everywhere in the garden, after all .
As proof, the workers simply made a surprised gasp and went on ahead to shoo off the bees in a calm manner as if it were a daily occurrence .
I watched the scene before me and screamed .
“Catch it!”
“Pardon?”
“Lady?”
“You can’t let it escape!”
What else is there besides bare hands to catch a bee?
I scoured the place for anything useful and cried desperately .
“It’s a poisonous bee!”
“Huuuh?”
Some seemed shocked at my proclamation .
I know it sounds unbelievable . But trust me, I know .
“……!”
Something flashed in the air . And the next moment, the bee that had happened to reach Agrita’s neck was sliced into two .
Then a sighing sound could be heard .
“Thankfully, I’m not too late . ”
“……”
“It’s been a while, Milady . I am Knight Davery from a loyal family, and I have arrived last night and was ordered to serve as Milady’s bodyguard without a second away from her side . ”
“……”
“I should’ve arrived earlier, however, I seem to have overslept…… Hahaha . Please keep this a secret from His Grace . Ah, but what was that bee? It seemed like the situation was dire so I thought I had to catch it . ”
“Sir Davery!”
I called out his name in glee .
Davery Sach .
With his short blonde locks revealing his forehead and neck, and his tall stature all proved that he was indeed the person who is considered to be one of the most recognized knights in the mansion .
A knight hand-picked by Ash himself and he was famous for listening to Ash’s every order and would execute them without fail . He was sent out to one of our lands for inspection last year .
He seemed to have finished his work and returned not too long ago .
The other workers who had frozen in shock started to greet him all at once .
“Davery, I didn’t know you were back already . ”
“I’ve heard of the news and I finally get to greet you today . ”
“Davery, it seems your still in tip-top shape . I heard you could slice anything, even the unsliceable . You even managed to cut down that tiny bee in just one swing . ”
“But was it really a poisonous bee?” Someone asked .
Davery eyes widened in shock at the words ‘poisonous bee . ’
Just when he repeated to inquire more, ‘Pardon? A poisonous bee, you say?’, another worker came running in with a doctor in tow .
“Haaa, Haaa, gosh, what poisonous bee?”
“Here, Doctor . It’s already dead though . ”
Doctors were not required to know everything about insects, however, this doctor’s peculiar nickname was ‘Bug Master . ’
The doctor knew all kinds of insects as long as they had 6 legs or less .
The doctor thoroughly examined the dead bee for a while . Not long after, he raised his head with a serious face .
“Where did this come from?”
“Is it poisonous?”
“It is . An extremely poisonous one at that . Although it’s currently autumn, this kind of bee is rare to see…”
The doctor looked around glancing at everyone who was present .
“If by any chance someone was stung by it, there would be no saving that person . Is there anyone here who’s been stung? Everyone’s fine, right?”
“Ah, yes . No was stung by it . ”
Even though everyone knew no one got stung by it, there were two to three pairs of eyes looking at Agrita .
She might not have been stung, but it was such a close call .
Agrita hiccupped .
“To think that it was indeed poisonous . ”
“Milady, how did you know?”
“How? I still can’t even tell the difference even though I had only been told just now that it’s poisonous . ”
“If it weren’t for Milady and Sir Davery, things would’ve turned out really bad . ”
Few of the workers looked at me in awe . Of course, I couldn’t care less about their gazes right now .
I faced Agrita who was still hiccupping and I decided to call out to her .
“Agrita . ”
“……”
“Let’s have a chat together . ”
***
Agrita was still in a state of shock .
That was totally understandable . Who wouldn’t if they almost got stung by a bee and later on realized that its sting was lethal .
Furthermore, she just recently almost died from drowning .
And to me, this was my chance .
‘If I tell her right now, it would be easier for her to believe me . ’
She was at death’s door not once, but twice in such a short amount of time . Anyone would feel that there’s certainly something wrong about it .
My words would be much more convincing than before .
We both moved to the dining room .
I didn’t have anything I wanted to eat in mind, but since we were looking for an appropriate place to discuss, we moved to the dining room .
Agrita remained speechless, most likely due to shock . So, Sir Davery spoke instead as he escorted us .
“To think it was such a poisonous bee . If people didn’t pay close attention, they would be deceived as well . No matter how I looked at it, it was just a normal bee . ”
“……”
“Next time I see a bee, I’ll just kill it right away . It’s scary . ”
I really didn’t pay much attention to what he said, but a question suddenly popped in my head .
Wait a minute . How long does he plan to follow us?
“Sir Davery . ”
“Yes, Milady . ”
“I have something to discuss with Lady Grace for a while . In the meantime, would you mind standing out the door for me?”
We’ll arrive in the dining room in no time . If he comes along, things would really turn for the worst .
However, Sir Davery shook his head without hesitation .
“I cannot . ”
“……”
“As I’ve said earlier, I have something important I wish to discuss with Lady Grace . ”
“If any of the matter leaks out, Milady can end my life as she wishes . ”
I forgot . Sir Davery wasn’t a flexible person .
No, he’s actually more flexible than anyone . It’s just that when he receives Ash’s orders that he becomes really rigid .
‘This Ash fan . ’
I was stuck in an unexpected situation .
“That’s not what worries me . It’s the thought that someone else can hear our conversation makes me feel uncomfortable . ”
“I’ll cover my ears . ”
“You can still hear it even if you do . ”
No words were spoken back to me . Hah, look at this dude .
END OF EPISODE 14 .