Titania dived in to save the creature and immediately leaped out of the way of the carriage. She began panting as she realized how badass that was.
When her gaze shifted to the creature in her arm, she noticed how it was trembling in fear while holding her arm. It was so cute that she didn't notice she received a bruise on her knees. But then, her eyes widened in shock upon noticing the creature's left arm bleeding.
"Sylvester!" She shouted.
The Archduke looked at Titania in disbelief. "Why did you jump in front of the carriage?! Do you want to die?"
"I saved this little guy, and his arm is bleeding!" Titania panicked as her gaze went back to the tiny creature in her arms, but its wounds miraculously vanished.
Her forehead creased as she raised the little guy and checked its arm once again.
"What the? I promise I saw his arm bleeding." Titania said, wanting the Archduke to believe her.
"Yeah, right. You risked your life for that?" Titania frowned after hearing what the Archduke said.
"What do you mean 'that'? Look at it." Titania raised the little guy once again and made it face the Archduke. "Look at its beautiful ears and tail. So cute!" Titania giggled, but the expression on the Archduke's face turned grim.
He unsheathed his sword and was about to cut the little creature making it scared out of its wits. It tried its best to escape from Titania's hold, even scratching her hands. The creature ran as fast as it could to get away from the two.
"What is your problem?!"
Sylvester placed back his sword and just looked at the creature running away. "Can't you see? That's a demi-human." The Archduke said as he walked back towards Ebony on the side of the road.
Titania felt dumbfounded. "So?"
The Archduke didn't want to bother himself by answering Titania's question. Instead, he began packing up and was ready to go.
"What's the matter with it being a demi-human? I want it!"
"Those kinds of demi-humans are mostly offspring of minor demons." The Archduke said. "You wouldn't want a demon as a pet, wouldn't you?"
"No! I want it. I even named it Bonbon inside my head." Sylvester couldn't believe what he was hearing. He thought that he couldn't really handle this girl, 'Naming a demon based on a brand of chocolate? What a weirdo,' is what he thought.
"Shall we go now? Or you could wait there forever." Titania rolled her eyes as she stood up, removing specks of dust from her clothes.
It would have been better if they let her wear pants, is what she thought. But there are rules to follow, women don't wear such things in this place. Although she finds it unfair, she can't change anything.
She sat in front of the Archduke while still pouting. The appearance of the creature she saw still lingers inside her mind. It has orange fur and a pair of yellow eyes, the same color as the sun, like a little ball of sunshine.
Titania wanted a pet since she was in the orphanage. But because her other siblings are allergic to fur, she couldn't have one. This is why Sylvester's action made her feel dejected.
Sylvester noticed how still the young lady was; he sighed as he thought that it was meddlesome. "You can't keep a demi-human." He said, but the young miss didn't react. It made him feel awkward and unpleasant.
Not soon after, they have arrived at the Azmar Village. It is the first village in the southern part of the Alynthian Empire after passing the Triangular Woods.
They saw how almost all the houses are made of straws; she thought this village must live in poverty. But then, they've arrived at the manor of the Viscount that governs the whole village. His name is Josse Wyman.
Titania's forehead creased as she saw the differences. It's like the Viscount hogged all the goods from his people, is what she thought. The Viscount welcomed them with open arms and a smile on his face. Titania tried her best to hide her annoyance as she faked a smile.
"We are pleased to welcome you, your grace, the Archduke in our humble estate." Josse Wyman greeted the two with warm pleasures as he bowed as a sign of respect.
"Shall we eat first? The food is nice and ready." Titania felt weird due to Mr. Wyman's uncanny stares, as if he was judging her whole appearance. She unconsciously moved closer to the Archduke.
Sylvester placed his hand on Titania's waist and pulled her closer to him. "I think we might rest in our room first." The usual scary aura of the Archduke made Mr. Wyman's stare averted as he commanded the servants to lead the two to their room.
"My room is just beside yours. Don't create too much trouble." The Archduke was about to get in his room, but Titania grabbed his cloak and made him stop. He looked back at the lady who was showing a strange sight.
"What is it?"
He could see hesitance in her as she continued to stare at his clothes. "If you don't have anything to say, I'll go in to rest."
Sylvester opened the door to his room and got in, but Titania followed him inside. She couldn't remove the thought that the Viscount was giving her indecent looks.
Knowing that Titania's body isn't shaped for fighting, she'll end up dead if she doesn't choose to stay with the Archduke. Although she could probably beat a man if she wants to.
"Troublesome." The Archduke just made his way to the sofa and lay there.
"Aren't you going to sleep on the bed?" Titania, who is still standing near the door, asked.
"You can have it."
Silence filled the room after the Archduke closed his eyes. Titania made her way to the bed to rest comfortably since the Archduke allowed her to do so. The bed seems comfortable enough, but it couldn't compare to the one she got back at the Archduchy.
She wonders why the estate of the Viscount seems eerie for no particular reason. The servants are emotionless and seem like they're robots from outer dimensions. There were also no children in the village on their way to the manor.
"I must be overthinking this." She said as she removed her outer clothes, leaving herself in her underwear. Nina doesn't have self-awareness regarding the Archduke or Astra because she thought that Titania wouldn't catch their interest.
She tried to fall asleep, for these past few days, she lacked sleep. Traveling with just a horse is exhausting. She couldn't sleep well because of the cold weather at night and couldn't nap in the afternoon because they had to keep going.
"Help"
Titania's eyes opened after hearing a creepy sound coming from the vents at the wall near the bed.
"I don't want this anymore."
"Help me! Ah!"
She felt scared upon hearing lots of voices. Her gaze went to the Archduke to see if he noticed, but he was already fast asleep.
"I should just ignore it." She told herself as she tucked herself in and kept her eyes shut. As the tiredness that she's been feeling swallowed her, she fell asleep.
"Wake up."
Titania grunts as she covers her face with the blanket. "Shut up."
Sylvester, who felt annoyed by Titania's casual attitude towards him, pulled the blanket off her to see that she was just wearing her underwear. He immediately covered her body with the said blanket. "What in the world have you done?"
"Could you please let me sleep in peace?"
What the Archduke saw made him flustered, and he thought that he could not take it anymore. Growing up without women made him unable to understand them; he couldn't even read what was on their minds.
Especially Titania. She is like a puzzle for him that no matter how long he tries to solve, he'll still give up at the end.
"If you don't get up now, you'll miss dinner." There was no reaction. "The Viscount's wife made you a chocolate cake."
Titania immediately stood up after hearing that, making Sylvester turn away to avoid seeing her underwear. Titania hurriedly changed into her new clothes but stopped upon remembering the tiny creature they met along the way.
"I miss Bonbon." She sobs. Her frequent changes of mood make the Archduke feel perplexed.
"Shall we go?" Sylvester lent her his hand, which made Titania's forehead creased.
"Why are you being kind?" Sylvester shook his head as he pulled Titania up.
As they got outside, one of the servants greeted them. They followed the maid to the dining area where the Viscount and his wife were waiting.
Titania roamed her vision through the hallway and noticed how extravagant it was. 'This must cost a lot,' is what she thought. Even though the Archduke's manor is the definition of 'LAVISH,' this place seems to compete with that.
"Should a mere Viscount have this kind of manor in a poor village?" Sylvester didn't answer her question, making her feel ignored and frustrated. When they finally arrived at the dining area, the couple greeted them with a smile.
"I apologize for not showing my face before your grace and milady." The Viscount's wife, whose name is Izett Wyman, smiled at the two.
Titania couldn't help but stare at the Viscount's wife due to her pale complexion and seemingly weak body. She doesn't want to judge her, but her appearance makes her look refined, like a true, noble lady.
Sylvester nudged Titania and whispered, "Stop staring." Seeing that Miss Izett was getting uncomfortable.
The two sat down, and they all started eating. Mr. Wyman would casually talk about things with the Archduke that include his position or about wealth.
Titania noticed how business-minded Mr. Wyman was. He appears to be ambitious of a man. When the truth is, he's a corrupt person, but Titania kept that thought to herself. As she minded her own business, she heard another weird sound coming from the vent, making her head turn quickly. This baffled the other three.
"Is there something wrong, your grace?" Mr. Wyman asked Titania with a worried expression.
"No, I just... I..." Titania looked at the Archduke, "I thought I heard something." Titania tried to shake it off and just focused on the food.
When they finished, Mr. Wyman excused himself with the Archduke to discuss more things with him. This leaves the two women in the dining area.
"Shall I tend to your bath, your grace?" The Viscount's wife said, which made Titania flustered.
"Oh no, I can do it by myself." She cracked an uneasy laugh as she prevented herself from scratching the back of her head since it would make her look unsophisticated.
"I shall go back to my room now. Excuse me," Titania bowed and went her way back to the room.
It was nerve-racking for her to communicate with another person from this world. Most especially if they don't belong to the Archduchy. She doesn't know how to act around them, and she doesn't like being demure.
When she was about to enter the room, she noticed something walking on the other side of the hallway. "Bonbon?" a smile formed on her face after realizing that it was the same small creature they'd met along the way.
"Bonbon!" she called for it as she chases it. "Wait!" she continued chasing it until they reached the door towards the basement.
There's a notice placed on the door which says 'Restricted Area.' Titania looked at her back to see if there was anyone there; she thought it wouldn't hurt to peek at what was inside that basement.
She slowly opened the door as she called for the creature's name. At first, it was very dark. It has this eerie atmosphere as if something scary would pop out in front of her.
As she goes deeper inside, some lights lead her to a deeper path. Titania remembered the Archduke and made her a bit hesitant. Although that didn't stop her surging curiosity, she still walked down the way. It was all fun and games until she heard screams permeating the entire basement.
She stopped walking as she felt shivers down her spine. Cold sweats ran down her temple as she looked at both her sides, just to notice the bars everywhere. It looks like cages of animals; this place seems more like a dungeon than a basement.
Titania knew that this seemed like whole new trouble for her, but she couldn't stop there. She still wanted to get little Bonbon back, so she decided to keep going straight, following the path.
"Help!" she almost dropped her heart due to shock when an unknown creature inside one of the prisons shouted for help.
She looked at it and saw its body with blood and bruises; it didn't look like a human at all. The creature has animal-like ears and a whitetail. Titania thought that this creature must be a demi-human like Bonbon.
"Please help me, please." Titania saw tears in its eyes as it kept banging the prison's cell with its bare hands.
Although it didn't feel right, she continued walking, ignoring the screams for help. She looked straight and kept going forward, not until she heard the loud sound of whips and a scream of agony.
The sound echoed through the whole place and made her stop moving. The cries get louder as Titania tries to cover her ears; the smell of blood lingers and makes her want to vomit. 'I think I should go back,' is what she thought.
"Well, who do we have here?" Her eyes widened as the voice that she heard from behind made her frozen still. She didn't know what to do.
"I guess I'll have to give you something special, your grace."