Chapter 72: Chapter 22. Not a boring pastime

"No, why does it all look like some kind of sur?!"

Although I tried in vain to get rid of the presence of these two, I never succeeded. A two-meter-tall knight with a scar across his face, whose name, as it turned out, was Meg, and the Crown Princess’s right-hand man, Jacob Osman, followed me around all day. It seemed to me that they were spending too much effort guarding a useless prisoner like me.

And in the end, it turned into this.

Perhaps because I hadn’t had a very good expression on my face all day, these two decided to find a way to cheer me up. And they did not come up with anything better than to arrange a tea party, imitating the leisure of noble ladies.

"Milady must have attended so many social events in the past. You probably miss those days!"

No, I wasn’t really a regular at parties like this in the past. Rather, it would be easier to list which parties I haven’t been to.

"My Lady, even if we’re not very good at this kind of thing, please give us a chance! We will do our best to cheer you up."

Well, it’s hardly something that can improve my mood in any way...

Sitting at a small tea table in the living room, we had cups of tea and fragrant pastries in front of us. But despite the fact that it all looked very appetizing, the smile on my face hardly remained strained.

"No, seriously, what is this situation...?"

— My Lady, this commoner has never been to a tea party and is not knowledgeable in such matters... Can you tell if I’m holding the cup correctly? — There was a pink cup decorated with flowers in the knight’s muscular, scarred hand. He held it uncertainly, sticking out his little finger, as if he had spied this gesture of etiquette from somewhere else.

When such a question came specifically to my address, I almost choked on my tea.

In fact, I was just ashamed to admit that I didn’t know myself... As the youngest daughter of a duke, my upbringing and table manners were not much different from that thug who grew up in the slums. So I had no choice but to nod in response to his words. The main thing is to do it with a confident face.

— Yes, you have to hold the cup at an angle of ninety degrees.

— Ninety degrees...? — a drop of sweat appeared on the face of the knight, who seemed to have heard such meanings for the first time.

He slightly changed the position of his hand, after which he nervously asked:

— My Lady, am I doing this right?

— Yes, — I nodded, — you’re learning pretty fast.

— Oh, don’t say that, my lady... You’re embarrassing me.

The knight blushed at my compliment, but I just sighed. I never thought I’d say this, but I wish the Crown Princess would come back and get these two from me as soon as possible...

At the moment, Meg and I were alone in the living room, as Jacob had gone out for a while to sort out some business related to their army. To tell the truth, I didn’t really delve into such things, and I didn’t need to.

I sighed patiently and lifted the cup to my mouth. She gave off a pleasant aroma of black Darling tea.

Well, since the villainess’s subordinate, who I felt was watching me a little more closely than Meg, had finally left us, I ventured into small talk. Just like that, casually.

— Meg, I’d like to ask you something...

— Yes, my lady?

I cleared my throat.

— Do you happen to know how to get out of this castle? Like an emergency exit or something?

The knight looked surprised.

— My Lady, why do you need this? — He was genuinely puzzled.

— Just in case, — I assured him, — someone might attack this place one day. It would be useful for me to know that there is a way out here to escape from persecution and not burden Her Highness with the need to protect me.

The knight blinked in surprise for a while. Then he laughed.

— Oh, my lady, you needn’t worry! — Meg objected, — Who is the brave man who dares to attack us? But even if this happens, be sure that his head will fly off his shoulders before he has time to touch you with even a finger!

— Still, — I insisted, — there may be unforeseen circumstances. What if the enemy attacks us from the rear? You can’t know anything in advance.

The knight hesitated.

— Well, if you say so... — He said uncertainly, — Then perhaps I can say that you can get out of here if...

I pricked up my ears, preparing to carefully listen to the information, when suddenly all my plans were disrupted.

The door to the living room suddenly opened, and Jacob Osman appeared in front of us. His gaze slid unkindly over us.

— What are you doing here? — he asked.

— Uh... — Mag, who was sitting next to me, looked confused.

— Meg, I hope you didn’t say anything inappropriate to the lady.

— Inappropriate...?

— You know there are things you shouldn’t discuss with outsiders.

— By outsiders? — The man intervened: — But how can you call milady an outsider? Her Highness personally told us to take care of her!

Jacob’s lip curled.

— Well, that’s true. However, there are still things that are not meant for ladies’ ears. Lady de Walt is from a noble family, and a brute like you can tire her out if he talks too much.

— Oh, so that’s how it is... — a knowing expression appeared on the knight’s face, who had never thought about such things before. Pretty quickly, this topic was exhausted.

I gritted my teeth in indignation.

"Damn Jacob!" This man, like a bath leaf, constantly appeared at the wrong time and only spoiled everything.

When we finished our tea, it was still a little past noon. I sighed, because the time spent in the company of these two dragged on so slowly.

— Milady, what else would you like to do today?

— hm...

To be honest, I didn’t know. The most preferable option would be for you to finally get rid of me, and I would spend some time alone in my room. However, I just couldn’t bring myself to utter words like that to these thugs, the very sight of which is capable of terrifying any normal person. So...

— My Lady, would you like to take a walk?

Meg was the one who suddenly came up with this idea.

— what?

— There is a residential village not far from our castle! You’ve been here so long and you’ve never been outside. We could escort you there! — The knight’s tone was full of enthusiasm.

Well, it’s true that I haven’t left the castle in a long time, and I’ve already started to forget what normal life looks like outside of it. It would be nice to get out at least for a while to unwind.

However, I was doubtful, because I thought that Jacob would be categorically against this idea, because it would mean taking me outside the villainess’ residence. But suddenly the knight said:

— good. Then let’s go.

I looked at him in surprise, but the man’s expression remained unperturbed. Although I had a bad feeling in the back of my mind, it looks like this walk is going to take place after all.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read