Chapter 9
It was nothing more than a prank. Even if it had only been a week, I had spent days and nights worrying. I had dreamed in all sorts of colors every night. And now what? After all that anxiety, it had just been a joke?
I didn’t know why the author had decided to reveal their identity, but to me, it felt no different than a cat feeling sorry for a mouse. They must have gotten bored of teasing me. What a terrible person.
I wanted to throw the book in frustration! But it was a limited edition—one of the rarest, personally signed by the author with an official seal. I couldn’t just treat it carelessly.
So I gently closed the book and placed it on the table as carefully as I could. Then, like a child throwing a tantrum in the middle of a supermarket, I flailed around to vent my anger. If I didn’t, I felt like the pressure inside me would explode. Even Sasha flinched at the sight.
“Are you angry?”
“Are you kidding me? You played with me! I won’t let this slide!”
“Played with you?”
“Armin Grey. That terrible man!”
I pounded my fist into the pillow in frustration. Seeing how worked up I was, Sasha’s eyes wavered in panic. He knew better than anyone that when I got angry, I lost all sense of reason.
“Calm down, Vivi. If you keep this up, you’ll end up causing trouble again—”
“Trouble? What trouble? Huh? Is reading a book such a crime? Is it a crime?”
“Reading a book? What are you even talking about?”
“Sasha, this has nothing to do with you! Now I have to figure out how to punish him so the whole neighborhood knows!”
I trembled with rage.
“Punish… Vivi, who are you planning to punish? Don’t tell me—!”
Sasha grabbed my shoulders, looking alarmed.
“Are you talking about Armin Grey? Answer me! Now!”
“Sasha!”
“Why are you yelling?!”
“Do you know how many people get reported as devil worshippers to the Inquisition these days?”
One moment I was talking about a book, the next I was talking about Armin Grey, and now I was bringing up devil worshippers? Sasha couldn’t keep up and furrowed his brow.
But he also knew from experience that if he didn’t answer me, I would only get more hysterical. So he quickly organized his thoughts and replied.
“None.”
“None?!”
“None. The Inquisition hasn’t existed for ages.”
Sasha sighed.
“The days of accusing people of witchcraft and devil worship and putting them on trial ended more than a thousand years ago. Did you sleep through history class?”
I had no idea. Absolutely no idea. I didn’t care about theology, so why would I know?
To someone living in the 21st century, the Middle Ages all felt the same—people running around in dresses and castles. And that guy had sounded so serious when he lied.
“Aaaah! Aaaah!! Aaaah!!!”
What? Devil worshipper? I couldn’t believe he had used such a terrifying threat.
“Even my parents probably think they failed at raising me…”
This was a total disaster. To threaten someone with nonsense like devil worship just because they read a book? It was like pointing a gun at a child for stealing pocket change.
I was so irritated I could barely think straight. Sasha, seeing me like this, abandoned his original purpose and tried to calm me down. He was worried I might collapse from stress.
“Okay, okay. Just calm down, alright?”
“Sasha.”
“Yes, yes, Vivi. I’m listening. Tell me.”
“Go and bring that guy here. I want to talk to him face to face.”
“Vi… Vivi. That might be a bit—”
No matter how capable Sasha was, he couldn’t just summon the heir of the Grey ducal house.
“Aaaah! I’m going to kill him! I really won’t let this slide!”
I slammed my fists into the pillow.
What? The most handsome man in the empire? A face that shines from ten kilometers away? Everyone saying he was the most beautiful man in the nation? I didn’t care! He was just a childish, rotten personality!
As I struck the pillow, feathers burst out like snow and scattered everywhere.
Then—
Knock, knock.
A sudden knock echoed at the door. Terrible timing.
Sasha hurried to answer it.
“What is it?”
“Excuse me. There is a visitor who wishes to see the young lady.”
The maid spoke, and Sasha frowned.
“A visitor? Who? There shouldn’t be anyone who would come looking for Vivi…”
“Well…”
The maid hesitated.
“It is Armin Grey.”
Sasha’s expression turned stunned. He looked at the maid, then back at me, his face filled with shock.
That awful man had come all the way here to see me? Daring to invade my home ground? My competitive spirit flared up.
“Tell them the young lady is unwell and cannot receive visitors.”
Sasha quickly tried to turn the maid away.
But I wasn’t having it.
“Tell them to wait. I’ll come down after I’m ready.”
“Uh… how should I tell them?”
The maid looked nearly in tears, caught between two conflicting orders. Sasha turned to me in desperation.
“Vivi! Just say you’re sick.”
“I’m not sick. Why should I pretend to be? I didn’t do anything wrong, so why should I avoid him? No. Tell him to wait. I’ll wash up and come down.”
I gritted my teeth. I didn’t know why he had suddenly confessed the truth, but I kept remembering that smiling face he had shown me on the night of the ball.
Sasha hesitated, then sighed and left.
I rushed to the bathroom. There was no time to call the maids. They arrived late and helped me get ready, but by then quite a bit of time had passed.
About an hour later, while I was still preparing, Michelle spoke in a worried voice.
“Are you sure it’s alright to make the guest wait this long, young lady?”
“He wasn’t invited. It’s rude of him to come in the first place.”
“But still… he’s from the Grey family. That means he’s from a ducal house.”
“And?”
My sharp tone made Michelle place a hand on my shoulder.
“That means if you had taken better care of yourself and bathed regularly, the guest wouldn’t have had to wait.”
The comment only made me angrier.
“Because of him, I even had to wash up!”
“No, I meant—”
Michelle sighed.
“Well, yes. He really is a terrible guest.”
Fearing he might leave while waiting, I quickly asked a maid:
“Go check if the guest is still here.”
“Yes, young lady.”
A moment later, the maid returned and nodded.
“He is still here.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Young master Alexander is entertaining him. He said you could take your time.”
Hmph. I scoffed. Who was he to act so gracious and tell me to take my time?
Besides, I was too impatient to take my time. I needed to go down and confront him. What should I say? How could I humiliate him in a way that would ease my anger?
The fact that he was the heir of a ducal house no longer mattered to me. He had provoked me for no reason, and I wanted an apology.
I tapped my nails together and fidgeted with impatience. The maids scolded me a few times, but I barely heard them.
Once my hair was finally done, I dashed downstairs. It was rare for someone as lazy as me to run like this.
The maids followed, but I was too fast.
Bang.
I nearly kicked the door to the reception room open.
Inside, I saw Sasha looking exhausted and Armin Grey, who calmly set his teacup down on the table with an elegant motion.
