93 – Third-class play – 2
As I came out of the room, I ran into Cordelia, who was walking towards me with a dejected look on her face. She looked at me, and she put on an indescribably queer expression. She seemed to be indignant, angry, or sorry for me.
As I approached her, Cordelia poured out her rants at me in a slightly somber voice.
“Did you have to say that, Mikhail?”
“I know, so I am going to apologize now. Where is Hestia?”
At my words of apology, Cordelia’s attitude softened a little.
“He disappeared saying he wanted to be alone.”
“Disappeared?”
“Yes.”
Cordelia shook her head. Where is she gone? She must have read my expression, and she threw it at me as if Cordelia had asked her not to.
“I’ve been like that from time to time. When I was stressed or had too many things to think about, I would lock myself in my room or go to a corner where people wouldn’t find it, saying I wanted to be alone.”
“Then, do you have any guesses?”
Cordelia shrugged her shoulders.
“You’d better leave it alone for now. You’ll need some time to make up your mind on your own. At first, I don’t even know. He didn’t even tell me where he was going.”
I raised my head to her and sighed. I wanted to make good memories and do well as much as I came to her house, but I felt heavy because it seemed like everything was ruined in the end. Cordelia turned to me as if asking if she was going to regret it so much, why did she do it?
“So why did you fight?”
“I heard about that before.”
I have already heard what Seol-A said to me. At my words, Cordelia said a word in a joking tone, as if she wanted to revive her atmosphere that had become heavy.
“It’s already a couple fight, isn’t it a bit early?”
“It’s okay. I’m going to reconcile somehow. Besides, a couple fight is like cutting water with a knife.”
“Cutting water with a knife? What is that.”
“Oh, haven’t you heard?”
“It’s the first time I’ve heard of it.”
I was a little taken aback. Every time like this, I feel that this is a different world. It is a situation where you are amazed that you have heard a proverb or proverb that was originally used in the world for the first time. You should be careful when using these words, but I was a little careless just now. I decided to look around moderately.
“A couple fight is as meaningless as cutting water with a knife. I saw it in a book somewhere before.”
“Oh…. But wouldn’t it be possible to cut water using mana?”
“I’m not even a kid, grab that kind of pod. That’s not what’s important.”
“Che, what does that mean?”
In the end, I gave up on asking Cordelia where Hestia was going. If this is the case, what can I do, I have no choice but to wait patiently until Hestia arrives. I continued to wait for Hestia’s return with a reverent attitude full of self-reflection.
However, after a long period of perseverance, the time when the sky turned blue came, but Hestia did not come. It’s summer, so it’s pretty late considering the days are long. Even at the dinner table, Hestia was nowhere to be seen.
Nobody in her family said anything in particular to me, but to be honest, it looked great. The story of me and Hestia fighting probably reached the Gracia family through their eyes and ears throughout the castle, and of course they were on Hestia’s side rather than me.
I didn’t have much of an appetite because of Hestia’s problem, so I skipped meals and continued to sit on the central porch of the castle, shaking my legs. No one ever criticized me for being crazy. Seol-ah and Cordelia also came to visit me after their meal at a faster pace than usual, as if they were not very comfortable.
Seola asked in a worried voice.
“Have you not come yet? It was very late.”
“I didn’t come.”
“If something is wrong….”
Cordelia, who at first said to just give her time, too. She began to fret as if she was worried as the sun disappeared beneath her soil. I also became a little nervous at the same time. As Cordelia said, I wondered if something was wrong, and it was already too late for her to think on her own.
I wiped my sweaty palms on my pants. I asked Cordelia, who obsessively scratched her thumb nail with her index finger.
“Has this happened before?”
“I’ve never been this late….”
I stood up without hesitation. Cordelia asked with trembling eyes.
“Where are you going?”
“To find Hestia. I don’t know what’s going on, but I need to go and see your face and talk about something.”
I’m worried, and even if Hestia doesn’t come back because she’s still upset, she doesn’t want to wait any longer. Whether you go and apologize or whatever you do, you should talk face-to-face.
Cordelia caught my sleeve as I took a stride.
“I’m coming too.”
“Even if I go alone….”
“You don’t know the way anyway. I’m worried about every single thing.”
I nodded. If I think about it a little calmly, I don’t even know the way here, and it would be much better for two people to find someone than one. After the two of us decided to go, Cordelia and I looked at Seol-ah at the same time.
“What are you doing? I’m not ready to go fast.”
“Lily?”
Seol-ah was already holding on to her doorknob. She yelled at us, who were taken aback by her speedy readiness.
“Then did you intend to leave me alone?”
“No, it’s not really like that….”
“The more hands, the better. And I am also worried about Hestia.”
–
Hestia wondered how things had become like this, she was in deep trouble. Examining the causes of things was a habit she always did when she had something to think about, and it was also because that was the only thing she could do now in the first place. With her hands and feet tied, there’s not much she can do against those who never intend to listen to her.
After she got into a fight with Mikhail, Hestia, who jumped out of her way without any countermeasures, headed aimlessly in a direction away from her. Come to think of it, how many years has this runaway been? Of course, she wouldn’t call this a runaway in the world, but Hestia, who hadn’t done anything bad in her life, thought that going out and running around without telling anyone was enough to be called a runaway.
“You bastard….”
One of the advantages of being in a deserted place is that you can say bad things without worrying about the eyes of the people around you. Hestia kicked stones everywhere and cursed at Mikhail.
“Really… , bastard….”
The place where Hestia’s steps landed was not a place where people were rare, but rather a place where people didn’t go. A small clearing on the hill behind the county’s house, a tree stump. She roughly brushed the dust off the tree and sat carefully on it.
The back mountain is a low hill located behind the count’s family. For generations, it was the family’s private property and was mainly used for hunting in winter. The tree stump she was sitting on was also a place where her ancestors often rested when hunting.
Well, the current Earl of Gracia had already been neglected for several years because he didn’t enjoy hunting, but on the contrary, it was also a good place to think alone. Since she was quite young, Hestia used to come here often when she was upset.
Usually the main cause of the upset was Mikhail. Come to think of it, I still came here because of Mikhail. Hestia helped herself.
Of course, if it was only Mikhail who was at fault, it was absolutely not, but Hestia could not hide her regretful feelings nonetheless.
The reason why he bothered to hide the fact that he prepared the neighborhood bullies in advance was because he didn’t want to let Mikhail know that he was thinking about failure, and that the three women were hiding something from Mikhail, he hadn’t asked properly in the first place.
He’s acting bluntly, asking what else he’s hiding when he’s hiding the most. The more he thought about it, the more pissed he was.
‘I will never, never pretend to know until I apologize first. I won’t even talk.’
Hestia nodded her head alone and made up her mind. But that was only for a moment, and in the blink of an eye, her anxiety overtook her.
‘But, while I’m fighting a cold war with Mikhail, if Miss Lily or Miss Cordelia get closer… ?’
Hestia shook her head and tried hard to follow the thought that came to her mind, but her anxiety, once born, settled in a corner of her mind like a seed of destruction and grew in size.
Of course, she trusted her friends, and she didn’t think she was a bad girl enough to use the cowardly method of approaching Mikhail while she and Mikhail were fighting, but there was a “What if.”
She finally began to regret her earlier declaration of freedom to Mikhail, that she would not stop her from expressing her love for Mikhail. When she didn’t fight with Mikhail, she was full of confidence when she got along well, but after fighting like this, she felt like she didn’t know the world.
‘Should I apologize first….’
When her thoughts reached this far, Hestia’s decision was unobstructed. She got up from her seat. Let’s go ahead and apologize. Anyway, it’s not like I didn’t do anything wrong. She might have things she really can’t tell Mikhail.
And the moment she got up from her seat, a masked man jumped out of the darkness in the forest. Although he was not very tall, his unique atmosphere that oppressed people came out.
“Who are you?”
There was no reply. And Hestia’s memory was cut off there. When she came to her senses, she was caught here with her hands and feet tied.
Hestia raised her voice once more.
“Hey, why are you doing this?”
Hestia’s question resounded like an empty echo. No matter how many questions she asked, the masked person standing in front of her never opened her mouth. As Hestia also knew, she asked again.
‘Looking at the voices ringing several times, it’s an enclosed indoor space.’
It’s embarrassing, but I already cried enough to cry. All I can do now is somehow find a clue to escape. Because her hands are tied, she can’t make a hand sign, so she can’t use any magic, but if she somehow untangles this knot, she will see the possibility.
“What is the purpose? If money is the goal, let’s solve this first and talk. If I speak well to my father….”
“Noisy.”
Hestia shut her mouth at the masked man’s voice that finally came out. She is a grotesque and brooding voice that cannot be believed to be human. She must have altered her voice with some kind of magic.
Life is not the goal. If so, there is no reason for her to hide her identity by dragging her to such an enclosed space, tying her hands and feet and tampering with her voice. If it’s not money or life, then what is the purpose? Since Hestia was making an expression that she didn’t understand at all, she spoke again in that grotesque voice as if she was frustrated with the masked person.
“If you are going to resent it, resent your fiancé.”
“Mikhail?”
“Tsk, you don’t know anything.”
Hestia’s head was filled with more questions. What the hell is this person talking about? The masked man said as if he felt sorry for Hestia.
“Listen carefully to what the hell your fiancée was doing.”
–