Hah! So this was what Ms. Heart meant when she bragged about how immersive this game was.
Inside this cramped and somber place where the chains on my feet made restrictions to my movements, a chilly air brushed my skin, which made my hair stand up.
Even if I could only see my roommate’s back, those silky yet curly silver hair was one of her assets. If I could not recognize my target from afar and even in the dark, what kind of player am I?
“I didn’t know that your father has a habit of caging pretty ladies. Did he mistake us for dolls?”
The girl with a heart of gold crawled as if she was a six-month-old baby — slowly but surely. With trembling rough hands, she held mine.
A beam of moonlight coming from the window with grills shone on her, enabling me to confirm my hunch. Those apologetic eyes were a gateway to her complex inner world.
“Do not blame yourself, my dear, especially with the fact that the deranged guy was the root of these miseries.”
“If I avoided you, maybe you were still lying on the bed of roses.”
I shook my head in disbelief, seeing how apologetic she was even though it was not her fault.
“Sleeping on the bed of nails was not a bad idea, this was an excursion in an awful setting.”
She didn’t utter a single word, so I hoped that she would stop invalidating herself because that made little sense. Tears welled up in her eyes then, she turned 180 degrees. A sniffing sound echoed in the room, which showed terrible she was in concealment of her sentiments. But I prefer it than making me her emotional punchbag.
I didn’t understand why we talked about a trashy person when we could have discussed an escape plan instead.
“It is not the end of the world, we could set ourselves free.”
Like a person who’s interested in the complete detail of a certain F******k post, she asked, “How?”
She sat next to me, so I proceeded with discussing the most efficient solution that we could implement using the Filipino sign language. The novel said that she learned sign language for her deaf friend, and if I would be a reminder of that person, then she would put her trust in me.
“You are amazing, Bethany! Where did you learn about it?”
Before I answered her question, a despicable man came, so Miuerella linked her arms to mine while hearing the clicking of the dungeon’s lock.
“What a beautiful sight! Seeing the precious Marquess daughter in her miserable state gave me immense happiness.”
“Father, I beg you, set her free. She is an outsider who has nothing to do with our family affairs.”
The Count swiftly swung his hands, yet it didn’t land on Miuerella’s face as a result of the encapsulation of a magical ball of electricity.
Whoa! Should I prepare gifts for him after this incident?
“Guards, what were you doing? Make an all-out attack!”
The guards could not get closer, mystical energy made their efforts into waste.
“What a destructive matter. But I like it.”
She pointed at the powerful protective force in front of us.
“Do not fret, my friend. Look at the road to survival.”
She clapped her hands after hearing my explanation.
Watching his defeated troops lying on the floor, the Count’s eyes widened. He pulled his own hair, bumped his head on the wall twice, and mumbled:
“Fuck! The Ugly Duckling made the dickhead Duke fall for her charms!”
What nonsense was he blabbering?
A lustrous thing slashed the Count’s body in half. Blood splattered on his slayer’s armor.
“Look who is dickhead now, even your blood stinks.”
The shield disappeared after the Count’s death. I stared at the murderer. There was no sign of remorse on his face, it was rather a manifestation of pride. Not that I sympathize with the Count, he deserves it duh! However, I can’t help but ponder if that was really easy for him to take someone’s life.
My body automatically leaned towards the dead end as he walked closer to us. When there was no space left to move, my corrupted mind was busy envisioning catastrophes under the Duke’s hand.
I turned to Miuerella because she shuddered and hid behind my back. She covered her face with my long chestnut brown hair as if it was a drape.
“I did not regret giving that to you.”
From that single sentence, I asked myself, why do I have to act this way? I have infinite lives now!
My sight fixated on his hand that was unclasping the chain on our feet using the key.
“Excuse me, Your Grace. After the commotion that I started, you treated me as a worm. Was I wrong?”
The Duke winced as a first response. It took seconds before words formed from his mouth.
“I stumbled upon an extraordinary toy. I have to make sure that no one will take it away from me.”
My eyes narrowed with his statement. If it weren’t for Miuerella, he would taste spicy words from me.
“Fa… Father.”
“Lady Bethany, my knight would lead you to a sanctuary,” Duke Frederick said.
“Give me a second, Your Grace.”
He nodded, so I proceeded with the negotiation.
“Let’s go home, my friend.”
“Ho… Home? I have my own.”
“I did not know that Lady Miuerella is a family-oriented person.”
She looked down and fidgeted with her fingers. She was mumbling something which we could not understand. It was horribly inaudible that I had to put my right hand on my right ear and leaned closed to her. Yeah, she was mourning, but we would be next in line if we pissed the Duke off.
“Grimaldis are hospitable. Imagine, we could spend time together. I’ll take you to the capital at the Spring Festival, we will play games and eat food from every stall.”
How dare I suggest those things when I’m actually a cave dweller?
Miuerella’s sudden hug made me as limp as a tree stump. I don’t hug strangers. Fine, she’s not a stranger, she’s my best friend however, we have spent little time together. In situations like this, what should be the best course of action?
a.Hug her back
b.Pat her back
c.Stop crying my little cinnamon roll. The shark would gobble us up.
d.Who are you?
“Do you have a beautiful garden?”
My confidence boosted with a job well done.
We started walking together when the Duke of Athenesy commented how amusing our friendship was. Should I reconsider giving gifts?
“Lady Bethany, I meant it. If I would go back in time, I’ll still take the same course.”
This person has a talent for making my heart beat faster than usual. I should consult a doctor, I have to ask if someone’s words could cause arrhythmias.
“Dang! The baby I trained became a ferocious bear!”This opponent of mine gave a triumphant smile as I wiped the blood on my right cheek, so I immediately chanted a spell because it might leave an ugly scar on my fair, blemish-free, seductive face. We should take care of our best assets.“Thanks to you, I got better every day however, this new skill of mine would be only helpful in dire situations.”Every day is a dire situation, my dear cousin! The adrenaline ran through my system now I found a decent sparring candidate.I stood up and thrust the pointed tip of my sword was in his stomach. One wrong move to kiss him goodbye forever.“Wouldn’t you think it is already time for us to head inside the manor unless you thought that the actual battle is just getting started?”In a confident tone, I said, “I’m happy that someone knew myself better than me,”I pulled back my sword, a
The poor turtle stumbled when she bumped into me, so I guess I had another inspiration to be buff.“Your Grace, I apologize for my slowness. Expect me to speed up the pace.”I shook my head when she said that she would speed up her space. What a great joke because if she can, then why would I return?I put my cloak on her because she was as pale as a sheet of paper. Giving fan service and carrying a lady in a bridal style way was never this fun!“Your Grace, you could put me down, the woman and the man ...”How dare you nag me as if you’re my Mom? Wrong response, it should be: “Your Grace, what an incredible strength you have!”“Tell me that fucking rule, and I would not show any mercy to you.”This woman had to know that I’m not the type of person who would resist being put in a box.Did I become too hard on her? Carrying a rock made time slower, but when I glanced, I
Why do people hate darkness? All of my life, darkness fostered me, gave solitude to my wounded soul. Light for me was often short-lived.I am a deformed cub, so my parents only saw me as a competitor for resources. Why not erase my existence in this cruel world? Why would you always hit me with your leather belt when you could have strangled me with it?If the sight of me made you puke, then why not behead me? Please end my suffering now.Yes, I’m an unlovable child, but why am I still longing for warmth that would thaw my frozen heart and let me grow as an individual?Was it because of my dream that an angel would knock on my door on an unexpected day?“I’m Lady Bethany Grimaldi and, I want to be friends with you.”The Almighty God, was she the angel you’ve sent me?I made sure that the sleeves of my dress w
When someone’s life turned a complete 360 degrees, that’s when everything became shaky just like this carriage. I completely understood why Miuerella’s been acting like she lost her mouth.For sure, there were lots of questions inside her head and answers would arrive soon. I’ve been in her shoes before, that’s why I was in this kind of predicament.I held her hand, and that’s when she glanced at me.“I don’t know what would be the right words to say to erase your pain, but I will make sure that everything will be alright, Ella.”A sweet smile lit the spirits of people riding in this carriage that forced me to give one as well.“Thank you, Beth, I didn’t know how would I repay you for all the help you’ve given me.”Words left me. The muscles in my mouth hardened like a block of cement. At first, she meant gratitude for the “real
I got out of the bathroom and bent my body to check if he hid under my bed. My wardrobe creaked, but the figure of the Duke wasn’t there. A shadow resembled a human figure which made me unhinged, turned to be shadows of a coat and hat hanging on the coat rack near vanity table. Heavy tread of someone’s boots outside my room gave me false hope only to find those belonged to the maids.“Your Grace, please tell me where you are!”This endless pursuit needed to stop. I sat on my bed while rubbing a cotton towel onto my damp Rapunzel length hair that would take a lot of time to dry.“I’m still in Larson when I met a mage and told me a secret about the gift. I couldn’t believe it at first because Empire’s archives didn’t have any scripts mentioning the extra perks, so I gave it a shot and Voilà!”“Wow!”Phew! An image of a twisted man hidden in the bushes holding binocul
The dimples molded on my cheeks upon learning the glorious news.No one beats the careful plan paired with great execution! I stepped backwards because if someone might see me eavesdrop, missiles of nags would blast my ears afterwards.I guess sleep was still the best medication for boredom.“Lady Bethany, what a coincidence, I need your help right now!”His disheveled hair, heavy breathing, and unbuttoned wet shirt backed up his statement. What happened to this man?“Of course, this humble lady lends her hand for Your Highness.”Crown Prince Reyner invited me to his colossal VIP room, decorated with crafted furniture and golden embellishments. Whenever I stepped on the Venetian Red woolen carpet, it was like murdering the beauty of this exquisite material which costed half of my eternal soul.“Please wait for me, this won’t take long. I prepared everything on the dessert platter for you.&rdqu
“How about me, give me a task!”He even pointed to himself and raised his hand like a student who wanted to get called by his teacher. Do I really need to include him? But he flooded the discussion with his outrageous ideas about this love-friendship operation.“You killed her Father, do you think she would befriend you?”Before the debate ignited, I told them we need to be friendly and cautious about every word that would come out from our mouths because it might scrape her vulnerable heart.Like what I wrote in the script, I greeted Miuerella when I saw her sketching Mingming. She immediately dropped her graphite pencil when she saw me holding a tray.“Beth! Look at our Mingming, isn’t she cute?”I applauded at her artwork, then stroked Mingming’s black fur. Yeah, maybe the other reason Ella empathized with her was because no one wanted an animal that would bring misfortune.
The moment I stepped foot in their room, I asked Uncle whether the reason they summoned me was I pointed out their similarities.Duke Le Merck, you became like a cat who cannot urinate when I stated the fact that crimson eyes are a trait exclusive to the Le Merck family.He praised me for being sharp and requested if I could convince Miuerella in cooperating with the paternity test.Seriously, people in the higher part of the pyramid lived comfortably! They passed their important jobs to other people, even persuading their daughter on me.Of course, I didn’t have a choice or else I won’t get any points. I went back to the roofed deck to check whether the future couple was still alive—what I meant was breathing.Reyner’s gone. Maybe it had to do with the devilish Duke’s affairs since James also mentioned his name.Her dazzling aura caused by the power of love almost killed me.I called her name