I Promise, I'll Leave! But, With No Regrets!!

Chapter 16

♦Chapter 16: The Duchess♦

"Say, Melissa... Do you-"

"Want to know the truth?"

Those words made my curiosity arose.

That moment, 'her' somewhat lonesome yet pleasant voice tackled my interest.

But at the same time, I wondered why was it...

That I feared of what she was about to dictate to me.

Soon after I finished eating lunch with the Duke, I excused myself to took a breather at the library and I decided to read some books there during my stay.

I always loved the smell of ink that came from the books and the smell of wood from the furniture in that place.

It was also pleasant to hear the pages that flip and cover the deafening tranquillity while I read the books' contents.

Technically, I used this as an excuse to avoid that bastard brother of mine and his mean yet childish tricks which were quite bothersome at every single time.

He wouldn't even guess that I was passing time in the library since he doesn't know much about me. Though, I'm not sure if my assumption is correct...

At any rate, if he finds out, then that's that. I will make sure to always be ready to counterattack his sh*tty deeds while I bear my fangs to him.

"..."

With a hopeless face, I stood in front of the massive bookshelf.

It's so damn tall....... I thought with a sense of irritation.

Basically, the fault lied on me because my current body was too short to not reach the shelf where the book that I wanted to read was placed.

There wasn't even a single ladder nearby for me to use nor was there an attendant that would respond to my troubles and assist me.

I could only blame myself for that since I didn't bring a servant with me. Moreover, even if one accompanies me, there's no guarantee that that person would serve me properly, now that I wasn't in front of the Duke.

And one more thing was that the library was never short-handed. Therefore, it was rather unpleasant to see that this place wasn't tended appropriately.

Neglecting their duties, I see...

The floor might've been neat to one's eye, but the librarians cannot hide how much of a lazy person they were if you take a close look at the bookshelves.

Most of the bookshelves were filled with a thick layer of dust on its shelves. Some also had small spider webs on the corners, resulting it to be not maintained properly.

What's worse was that there were random books (which were likely to have been borrowed by the others), inserted in the middle of the volumes of a different series.

I must report this to the Duke.

Just when I was determined to do so once I meet up with the Duke once more, a woman's elegant voice passed through my ears.

"Oh my. You needn't have to make such face, young miss.", she uttered with her voice that could be compared to Lorelei's.

(Note: Lorelei is about a siren in one of the legends at Germany.)

That voice- Don't tell me...!!

I quickly shifted my gaze to the person that called out to me.

Then, while a sweat flowed on the side of my face, she continued with an empty yet genuine look.

"It's a waste for your charm."

I gulped, swallowing the slight fear that I felt.

Deep inside, I reacted as if I saw a ghost. Nevertheless, I forced myself not to show that in the outside for I knew in advance that 'she' wouldn't like it.

A curly hair dyed in a crimson color and a pair of irises that glimmers like silver.

Judging from her appearance, it wasn't difficult to know her identity.

Fleurette Ivona von Shevaria.

She is Lucian's birth mother. And also the Duchess of the Shevaria Estate.

As soon as I met her gaze, I was petrified as I noticed the same sharp stare as before.

Looking at her eyes, I recalled the last moment that I glimpsed before I fainted.

That day, when the red roses were in full bloom...

The chilling wind passed through the red-haired woman and I in the midst of our tea time.

And when the petals got blown and fell, so did the teacup with its tea.

Then the moment it clacked, I was pushed down to the floor with the hands that tightly pressed my bare neck.

I coughed, struggling while scratching the opponent's arms.

And before I could close my eyes, those piercing eyes of hers that glared at me as if it have gone insane, slowly shed its tears.

Her grip gradually loosened after that.

As I wondered whether it was an act of mercy, she has already been stopped or captured by the servants.

That time, I actually thought that I was going to die. And thus, this lead me to trauma and the experience to be in the verge of death made me be in a rush to learn how to defend myself.

Frankly, I still fear the Duchess even now. I think of her as a threat, and a very dangerous one at that.

But...

The more dangerous she can be, the further support can she give me.

She can be a another useful tool like the Duke.

And though taming her might result me to take the risk, it can be worth it soon enough.

Furthermore, she was the most reliable person in this mansion as much as I knew. In addition to that, the Duchess and the mentally adult me right now could make a good combination.

Entirely, she was a pretty good person. It's just that she was someone that I couldn't read well and a person that has a sharp tongue. And with her personality tagged along with those evil-like features would naturally make everyone think that she's a wicked woman.

But, that part of hers is also an ideal.

I want a person like her, or she, herself to be my ally.

".......Which book did you want to read?", she asked.

"T-the one on the third row from the top shelf. I wanted to read the first volume of that.", I answered in a detailed yet flustered way for I still feared her after the mentioned incident.

"My, how specific."

While she seemed a bit surprised, she went to take the book that I requested and had a quick look at it.

Then again, with shock, her eyes widened. But not even for a second, she went back to her poker face.

So she took the bait, huh. I thought, grinning inwardly.