With Van Kiep's back turning away, I just stood there and watched her walk. Slowly, slowly, her back slowly got smaller and smaller, until all was left was a small dot.
"What just happened? This isn't like I sent her to battle or anything. So why did I overreact so much? We didn't even know each other that much?" thoughts and questions kept flying around my head.
Even though Van Kiep can't be seen anymore, I just stood there without moving like a dead person, I knew that there is something definitely wrong with me.
"Are you planning to stand there forever?" a voice behind said.
I jumped up out of surprise and turned back. There, I saw Long Dao was leaning against the door.
"General, how long have you been here?" I asked nervously.
"Since you two left the door I think," she answered with a smirk on her face.
"How do you know?" asked again.
"I'm always half asleep in battles that now I can't have a full sleep anymore. Every little noise will wake me up," she replied.
A brief moment went by, none of us said a word. Finally, Long Dao was the one that broke the silence, "Go in, have breakfast," she said and walked inside.
Without saying a word, I mindlessly walked inside her house again. We both sit down at the dining table and start eating. This time, the atmosphere was not sparkling like before, it was just bland and cold.
When I got halfway through finishing my bowl, I turned and asked Long Dao, "Why do you tell me to eat breakfast with you in general?"
"What do you mean?" she asked back while I kept eating.
"If I know you right, you wouldn't give me this privilege and just tell me to go back to the camp," I explained.
I looked at her but she kept eating. Not seeing her respond, I continued with my breakfast.
"I don't like eating alone," Long Dao said suddenly.
Those words made me stop my motion and made me look at her again. "I thought she was just a cold-hearted person, didn't know that she could feel lonely too," I told myself.
"General," I called.
"What?" her usual response. I got used to it so now I don't feel offended anymore.
"Why do you want to fight?" I asked. "It is unusual for a girl who came from a noble family like you to choose this path. You even behave and have fighting skills like a legit general."
"Din," she looked up at me.
"Yes?" I responded.
"I didn't ask you why your maid left because I respect your privacy," she didn't say her message directly, but I was smart enough to understand what she meant.
"I'm sorry, general," I was embarrassed for my words.
"Good, now just eat," she finished her words and continued eating.
"That was unusual for Long Dao. Normally, she would threaten me or something, not talking to me respectively like this," I thought to myself while eating my breakfast as well.
And with that, we didn't say another word to each other. Long Dao was the one that finished her meal first. She stood up and told me, "The servants will take care of the dishes, go back to training after you finish yours."
"Yes general," I answered with formality.
If things were going ordinary like this, I wouldn't lift my lazy fingers and write down this diary. Suddenly, from outside, an old man walked in with fire in his eyes. He looked forty or so with a long and pointy beard. Looking more closely, I saw that he was wearing a very complex dress like a high official.
"Why did you not come yesterday?" he stood in front of Long Dao and said with anger in his voice. When he saw me awkwardly holding my spoon halfway into my mouth looking at him, he almost yelled at Long Dao, "And who is this!"
"Father, please calm yourself. He is just a beggar I found at my door this morning," Long Dao was surprisingly calm when answering.
I immediately dropped down my spoon and sat up straight. "So he is the chancellor. It should be obvious that he is Long Dao's father by the way he talked. Wait a minute! Did Long Dao just call me a beggar?" I was having an internal dialog while keeping quiet on the outside.
"If you have finished your meal now. Can you leave?" Long Dao signaled me.
I stood up and bowed, "Thank you for your generosity." Then I walked out of the house and there was a palanquin with soldiers surrounding it at the front door. High officials used these things to move around back then, so I wasn't surprised at all to see one. Instead of going back to the camp, I waited at the door. While waiting, I took out the book Van Kiep gave me to see what is in it.
Just as she told me, there were about ten to twenty different small spells for me to learn. I won't tell you every individual skill that was in there because that would make this diary too long and boring. Instead, I will describe the spells whenever I use them.
I was reading each of them thoroughly then suddenly, the game system popped up for the first time since eternity. I didn't know if I should be happy or not to see it.
[Do you want to learn these skills]
"No way it would be this easy right?" I thought to myself before hitting [Yes]
[Skills learned. Congratulations!] After that screen, the system became quiet again. I was having doubts if this game system is an introvert or not.
Doubting how easy it was for me to learn these spells. I quickly opened the skill tab to check. As the system said, I saw the skills I just read from the book that were now able to use.
"Isn't this makes me too OP?" I thought. "I love it though haha."
I was enjoying my moment of being able to use more than one skill, but suddenly, Long Dao's father or should I call the chancellor walked out of the house. When he saw me, he said, "Look at how young you are, find yourself a job!" Then he entered his palanquin and signaled to go.
Inside the house, I saw Long Dao slowly walking out and watching her father going away. I asked her, "So, a marriage arrangement?"
Hearing that, Long Dao looked angrily at me, "I told you to respect my privacy. How dare you eavesdrop on our conversation?"
"No-no-no general. I just took a wild guess," I immediately defended myself. Well, I can't tell her that I have seen this situation a lot in dramas and almost all of them were about arranged marriages.
"What guesses?" she still looked upset.
I thought for a while, "Well let's see… the chancellor walked in angrily and was furious when he saw me, must be because you didn't come to see your potential husband that he arranged but here with another man so early in the morning. And just seconds ago, he walked out looking better, so… you agreed to come I guess? And since you already disobeyed him once, the meetup most likely will be today."
"That mouth of yours will get you killed someday," Long Dao went back to her usual self now.
"Glad that you are back with the insults," I jokingly said to her.
"Go with me tonight," that was out of nowhere.
"Ha?" I was stunned.