Bon Voyage! [Ace x Reader x Law]

[𝖘𝖊𝖛𝖊𝖓]

You have always wondered how things would have turned out had you done things differently, had you been a lot stronger.

But no, the reality was that you were naive and your parents had to pay the price for your weakness.

If only you had paid more attention and avoided the accident, you could have taken notice of those angry mobs that accompanied the royal carriage, then you would have interrupted your father as he shooed you inside. You would have not let your mother push you into the wardrobe. You could have asked them to escape from the manor with you. Anything so that they would still be alive and you would not be left all by yourself in this dirty world.

If your mother was here to hear you rant, she would definitely scold you for having that dark thought, and tell you to have a brighter outlook despite whatever unjust befell you.

Hah, but look where that have brought you.

It has been almost six years but there is no way you can ever stop missing your parents. And you are not sure what to do with the new information that your twin cousin dumped onto you. Is there really a thing you can do with your current predicament in the first place? The never-changing realisation that you are STILL helpless aches your mind.

***

Being isolated inside the mansion with nothing but house chores is the utmost boring for someone like you who then had come to enjoy exploring the forest. Having spent most of your childhood with kids from the Pleasure Town, their nimbleness has probably rubbed off on you and thus you managed to quickly find a hidden passage near the flower garden shed that allows you to exit discreetly whenever you feel stuffy in the mansion.

No matter how stifling the mistreatment imposed on you by the twins, you could never bring yourself to turn yourself in to the Court. The momentary plan always reminds you of the cold stare of the Prime Minister and what ensued on that dreadful day. Now knowing that the Court never actually liked your parents (which probably means that you are also on their blacklist), you completely dispel the idea and resort to the 'protection' of Countess Anasthasia's manor, if you can really call it protection.

The sun has long gone down and you are dead tired from crying your heart out. You don't know what crying has helped you solve but for now, you would really like to push back those reminiscences and moved on for a bit. After all, one thing you know for certain is that you are still stuck in this basement and Hanna's dress waits for no one, right? You sigh dejectedly at the realisation while looking at the crumpled red dress. You have decided that you would quickly rewash the dress in the laundry room and then go out for fresh air while waiting for it to air-dry under the lights.

To say that you are still confused is an understatement, your head is completely in shambles with what Hansen has told you. And honestly, the normal you would never trust your current state to be wandering about in the town distraughtly. However, at the same time, you know that you really need to take a step back and unwind for a moment—perhaps put off the matter or sleep on it. And there is only one place you know very well that can help you do that.

After carefully hanging Hanna's dress onto the laundry line, equipped with a scarf and a bonnet that you have had in place inside the shed for your sneaky escapades, you walk through the shrubs and into the passageway that leads you out of your aunt's mansion.

Nighttime in the capital is completely different from how it is in the daylight. Streets are mostly empty, save for some diners that are still open for supper. You can still see few people bustling about in some shopping districts. But, unless you have a certain dignified air around you, wandering about in the streets at night are usually looked down upon, even among the working-class townspeople. Obviously, having lost everything, you no longer care about those social impositions. You rather have come to realise that the festivity during the day is merely a front. Because that's what people in the capital do, having to always look perfect by putting up a facade for people to believe.