The Villainess Just Wants to Study

Chapter 55 ~ Pawns

The view from her bedroom balcony was quite remarkable. She leaned back against the balcony railing, and stared up at the sky. The stars were particularly bright tonight, she thought. And they were quite beautiful.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" she muttered under her breath. Dylan traced patterns in the stars with her fingers. "I wonder what it's like up there."

"Milady, here," Mina said. She shook open a woollen blanket, then draped it over Dylan's shoulders. "The night air is quite chilly, so please stay warm."

"Have I ever told you how much I appreciate you?" Dylan hugged the blanket tighter around her, and smiled. A pure smile without any shadows, any ulterior motive hidden behind it. "I don't know what I would do without you." 

The maid's eyes widened. "Milady," she said, "you really are too kind."

She turned her head away, as if in shame. "Am I?" she asked, gazing at the view below. "Kind?"

"Even though milady tries to hide her kindness, I think"—Mina smiled as if she was recalling a fond memory—"her heart is always in the right place."

"Is that so?"

Dylan didn't think herself a kind person. She was never rude to anybody, but she never seemed to show excessive kindness. If good and bad deeds cancel each other out, then what would she be left with? Which way would the scale tip—to heaven or to hell? 

"Lady Dylan, is something bothering you?"

"Perhaps," she muttered, because she had no inclination to lie. The depth of her feelings scared her too much to admit. "Mina, what do you think about Sir Cadence?"

"I think he's handsome." Mina leaned against the railing and breathed in the night air. "I also think he looks like milady."

"Really?" asked Dylan, quirking her eyebrow in the maid's direction. "How so?"

"You both have the same look in your eyes. A dull and heavy emptiness." Mina smiled sadly at her. "I would like it if milady smiled more," she said, "because I think that a smile suits you far better."

"Hmm." Her voice faded into the quiet night. "I wonder if that'll ever happen."

Suddenly the silence was broken by the distant sound of horses' hooves and the rattle of a carriage. 

"Who could that be at this hour?" Mina asked. 

'Is that the Frederique family's crest?'

Dylan felt an overwhelming sense of dread as she stared at the carriage. For security reasons, the academy gates were locked on weekdays. They only opened for one reason—in case of an emergency.

"I'm going to check it out," she said softly, heading towards the balcony doors. But she stopped with one hand on the doorknob. "You're not going to stop me," Dylan said, glancing over her shoulder, "right?"

"It would be pointless," Mina smiled, "because no one can stop you."

Dylan ran as fast as her feet would carry her. She raced toward the carriage, hoping it was nothing more than a bad feeling.

"Laikin," Dylan called out as she neared the carriage. She paused when she sensed the tense atmosphere. "What's going on?"

Dylan tensed, taking in his dishevelled appearance. He looked as if he had just been woken up.

"Grandfather's fallen ill," he said. His words hit her like a blow to the heart, each one stinging just a little bit harder. 

"Take me with you, won't you?" she begged. Her voice was bordering on insanity. "I, I need to see him. I—"