Chapter 57 – Tag (2)
The young man holding his injured leg from being struck by his father looked strangely familiar.
He wasn’t so handsome that you’d remember him instantly, so why did he look so familiar?
“Don’t you even feel sorry for Bella?”
“Shut up! Stop talking about that damned girl!”
Bella!
I finally nodded in recognition at the name that came out of the young man’s mouth.
It was Bella Creature, whom I had met at Rozanne’s tea party.
She hadn’t said much during the gathering, but her lively, freckled cheeks had left an impression.
So that meant… these people must be Bella’s acquaintances.
“Don’t speak ill of my fiancée!”
I instinctively covered my mouth at the young man’s words.
No wonder he had looked familiar.
After the tea party, we had exchanged letters and kept in touch.
Those love-crazed girls loved to talk about their romances, and some even sent photos of their fiancés with their letters.
Except for Jasmine, who was a bit more mature, all of them had sent me photos.
And Bella was among them.
Light brown hair, brown eyes. He had a face that wasn’t particularly ugly or handsome—just very average.
But—
‘He’s a very kind man.’
As I looked at the young man’s face, a line from Bella’s letter floated into my mind.
Tears welled up in his chocolate-brown eyes as he shook his head in distress.
“I have no intention of being with anyone other than Bella. So Father, please—”
“Shut it! What use is it to be with some baron’s daughter!”
“Please, Father!”
Despite the pain, the young man stood up, limping.
He looked determined to stand up to his father.
“No matter what you say, I have no intention of forming a bond with her. She’s Bella’s close friend.”
“You insolent brat…!”
With that, the father slapped his son across the face, knocking him to the ground.
Rather than feeling sorry, I found myself envying Bella—how lucky she was to be loved so earnestly by someone like that.
The young man watched his father’s retreating back before finally bursting into tears.
“Bella… my dear Bella…”
He sobbed, repeating her name, then began walking in the opposite direction of his father.
A strange thought crossed my mind—perhaps this game of tag I was playing had helped protect someone’s love.
Now I wondered, how was I going to get out of here?
Maybe all those nobles wanted to beat me up like that man just now. I had come all this way only to be treated like this.
Should I just wait a little longer until Weizen arrives and then make my exit…?
As I was lost in thought, I heard someone calling in the distance.
A familiar voice.
“Young lady—!”
“Young lady!!”
One voice was trembling with emotion, the other was full of anger.
Annie and Lucy.
Then, I heard more voices calling out to me from all directions.
They were clearly the voices of the staff.
Their throats sounded hoarse—how much had they gone through trying to find me?
I might be physically comfortable hiding like this, but I doubted I’d feel at peace in my heart.
Even if it had only been a few months, these people had felt like family. Seeing them in distress didn’t sit well with me.
“Even if I get scolded, it’s still my responsibility—might as well keep going with this crazy game.”
Stretching lightly, I got to my feet.
There was still at least an hour or two left until the game of tag ended.
But no matter how hard they tried, they wouldn’t catch me if I stayed hidden here.
And hiding just didn’t feel right anymore.
There was another way.
I stepped out of the bushes and grabbed the shoulder of the young man walking ahead.
“…Huh?”
He turned around with wide, startled eyes.
He looked so surprised he couldn’t even think to wipe the tears from his face.
I smiled warmly at him.
“Gotcha.”
“Huh…? M-me?”
Feeling bad seeing his tears, I handed him a handkerchief from my pocket and untied the ribbon on my wrist, wrapping it around his arm.
“Your name.”
“Sorry?”
“I said, your name?”
As I asked again, I tied the ribbon firmly around his arm.
The tight pressure seemed to jolt him back to reality.
“Ed—Edward Beregamo!”
Bella and Edward. Names straight out of a movie.
Somehow, it felt like a wild younger man would show up soon to stir up trouble between them.
I hoped their love would last forever, and tied the other end of the ribbon to my wrist.
Once I confirmed it was securely tied, I introduced myself.
“I’m Lady Bella’s friend—Odelia.”
“Ah, yes, I know.”
He stammered in surprise, but still gave a proper answer, so I nodded approvingly.
“I saw your picture in the photo Lady Bella sent me last time. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Ah…”
Edward finally nodded, understanding the situation.
“You’ve just captured me. That means you’ve won this game of tag.”
“Huh?”
I shook my bound wrist and smiled, watching his eyes widen in disbelief.
He clearly didn’t understand what was happening.
The situation itself wasn’t complicated—just sudden and absurd.
To help him grasp it, I pointed a finger at him.
“You—”
Then pointed at myself.
“—caught me.”
Finally, I wiggled the white ribbon tied between us.
“You’re the winner.”
I gave him a cheerful round of applause.
“You get one wish. Go ahead, name it.”
Like a genie offering one wish instead of three, I crossed my arms confidently.
But Edward still looked bewildered.
“R-right…”
It was quite a contrast from the bold young man who had stood up to his father earlier.
Well, maybe his brain was still catching up.
I figured a little conversation on the way back might help, so I started walking toward the front gate with Edward in tow.
“Do you and Bella get along well?”
“Yes!”
He nodded enthusiastically at the mention of Bella.
People say love makes you blind, and he was the perfect example.
Edward talked about Bella the entire way.
How her orange hair smelled like fresh oranges, or how her freckled smile was absolutely adorable—it was mostly things like that.
But he looked genuinely happy.
“Young lady!”
Just as his long speech was wearing me out, I saw Lucy appear at the end of the maze.
“Lucy, I’m ba—”
I raised my hand to greet her, but Lucy ran straight at me like a charging bull.
Honestly, she looked scarier than Ginger holding a knife.
“Ahh! Lucy, I’m sorry!”
Lucy grabbed my shoulders and began inspecting me head to toe.
My arms, legs, neck, and face.
After a thorough check, she finally sighed in relief, realizing I wasn’t hurt.
But that was just the warm-up for her lecture.
“What on earth were you thinking?!”
My ears rang from her high-pitched yell.
And Lucy had no intention of stopping there.
“A grown lady jumping out the window? What if you’d gotten hurt?!”
“But I didn’t get hurt—”
“So you mean you’d do it again because you didn’t get hurt?”
Yeah… maybe it’s better if I just shut up.
I clamped my mouth shut, watching Lucy glare at me.
Annie, who had followed behind, looked just as worried, her eyes narrowed like a flounder.
It seemed like Strah would have quite a lot to say too.
I quietly followed behind them.
Luckily, as we left the maze and more people appeared, Lucy’s scolding started to subside.
“Who’s that?”
“Beregamo? What family is that?”
“Count? No, he’s a second son?”
People were starting to murmur as they noticed Edward walking beside me.
Some even looked displeased with how uneventful the outcome had been.
And some, of course, couldn’t keep their dissatisfaction to themselves.
“I caught her!”
A man with olive-green hair appeared out of nowhere and grabbed the ribbon tied to my wrist.
He must have thought he’d win if he untied it and took me.
“Why won’t this damn thing come off?! Damn it!”
But no matter how hard he tried, it wouldn’t come off.
It was a knot my Marine Corps-trained younger brother had taught me—guaranteed never to come undone.
There was a way to untie it, but neither I nor this man knew it.
“Damn it…”
“Are you done now? Can I go?”
I asked the man, now sitting on the ground in defeat, with a gentle smile.
Leaving him behind, I picked up my pace.
Everyone was probably waiting at the front gate. I’d show them the winner and be done with this.
Just as the gate came into view, someone drew a sword.
“If it weren’t for that damn ribbon—!”
I scoffed as the man ran at me with the blade.
Not because I was strong or anything.
“Argh!”
The man was soon thrown to the ground.
A cold, gleaming sword was held to his throat.
It was one of the knights who had accompanied me since the maze—he had intervened.
If the man hadn’t drawn a sword, I wouldn’t have gone this far.
I had let the olive-haired guy try to untie the ribbon for the same reason.
Since I had been the one rude to my guests first, I could overlook that much.
But that didn’t mean they had the right to raise a sword to me.
Even if I forgave them, the knights protecting this house and family would not.
“How rude.”
I looked down at the man grimacing in pain.
Even if the master wasn’t present, this was still the marquess’ estate.
And I was the marquess’ only heir.
“You dare raise a sword to me in my own house?”
I asked coldly, glaring at him.
The man grit his teeth.
“You must be too young to understand—but this is no way to treat a guest—”
“A guest who barges in without permission is not a guest.”
