"Miss Alexandria! Miss Alexandria!"
"Ay shuta kang hinayupak ka!", napabalikwas naman ako sa pagkakahiga dahil sa pagsisisigaw ni Letty. Bigla kasi itong pumasok ng kwarto ko na sobrang lawak ang pagkakangiti habang may hawak na sobre.
"What the heck, Letty?". Inayos ko ang pagkakaupo ko sa sofa. "I'm so sorry, Miss Alexandria! I am a fool for making this grave mistake. I will receive any punishment", napa-huh nalang ako dahil nakaluhod na siya ngayon at nanginginig sa takot.
Well in this crazy world, barging into your master's room is like disrespecting them and it is punishable. No wonder Letty is kneeling like her life is on the line which is right. This is a normal reaction, pero kung ang nandito ay si book-Alexandria malamang ipinadakip na niya ito sa mga knights ng Eveque.
"Stand up, Letty", luckily Letty your old crazy master is not here and this is too awkward for me. "Pardon?", napatingin saakin si Letty nagpipigil ng luha.
"I won't punish you over a little silly thing. Stand up", agad naman siyang tumayo habang pinupunasan ang mga luhang kanina pa niyang pinipigilang tumulo. "Thank you Miss Alexandria, I will not do the same mistake", napatango na lang ako.
"So, what's the reason why'd you rushed to see me?", pag-iiba ko.
Iniabot naman niya saakin ang hawak niyang sobre. "A letter with a Vaillant family seal came, Miss Alexandria". Vaillant? Chadwick? The bastard fiancé? May reply agad? Napangiti naman ako dahil mukhang naintriga siya sa huling letter ko na ipinadala ko lang kahapon.
"I'll be preparing your snack, Miss Alexandria. Just call me when you need something", pagpapaalam ni Letty. "Thank you, Letty, and could you prepare a slice of strawberry shortcake too".
"I understand, my lady", sagot niya sabay labas ng kwarto ko. Hehehehe...
Agad ko naman binuksan ang sobre at binasa ang nakasulat.
Lady Alexandria Eveque,
It's good to know that for once we are on the same page. This is better to be discussed personally. I will be visiting in two days.
Chadwick Vaillant,
P.S. I hope this is not one of your ploys.
Anong ploy? Ewan ko sayo! Pumapayag na nga, duda pa rin? Pinunit ko ang sulat saka inihagis na parang confetti. HA! Sakto namang pumasok si Letty dala ang snacks ko. Habang nagbru-brew siya ng tea siya naming lantak ko sa strawberry shortcake. My favorite!
"Letty, tell the butler that Lord Chadwick will be visiting in two days. Tell him that he will be overseeing the preparation needed until that day", tumango naman si Letty kahit na gulat na gulat ang mukha.
Gulat dahil bibisita ang fiancé ni Alexandria?
Gulat dahil chillax lang ako at hindi aligaga sa pag-prepare?
I took a sip on my tea butspit it the second I tasted it. I don't really drink tea, I'm not used to it.Sa mundo ko nga hindi ako mahilig sa milktea. More on drinking water ang pegko. Ibinaba ko ang tasa ng tsaa at inilayo saakin. Kahit gaano ka kagalingmag-brew ng tea, hindi ko talaga bet.
And two days have passed...
Kasalukuyan akong nandito sa drawing room, kumakain ng favorite kong strawberry shortcake. Ngayon na bibisita si Chadwick.
Yung mga ibang mga maids, servant at si butler ay nasa entrance ng mansion, inaabangan ang pagdating ni Lord Chadwick. Kanina pa nga ako tinitingnan ni Letty eh. Nagtataka siguro kung bakit ako nandito at wala sa labas.
Bakit ako maghihintay sa labas, eh ang init-init?
Ilang minuto lang ang lumipas ay dumating na rin ang bwisita. Sumilip ako sa bintana at tama nga ako dumating na siya. Mula sa taas, may nakita akong lalaking bumaba ng carriage.
Napaatras ako ng bigla itong tumingin pataas, sa kung saan ako nakatayo.
What was that?
Umupo ulit ako napabuntong hininga. Kahit malayo, masasabi mong gwapo si Chadwick. Kaya naman pala patay na patay si book-Alexandria.
Psh! Wake up Alexandria! Huwag na huwag kang magpapadala sa itsura niya. Isipin mo yung mga asawa mo. Hinata Shoyo, Kageyama Tobio, Tsukishima Kei, Yama--
"Lady Alexandria? Lord Chadwick has arrived", napabukas ako ng mata ng may tumawag saakin.
HOLY SH*T!
This guy is Chadwick Vaillant?! Dark violet hair and black eyes, very novel-like appearance.
Ehem.
Bumalik ako sa ulirat ng marinig kong nag-fake cough si Chadwick. Kainis.
"Please have a seat, Your Grace". Mukhang nagulat siya naman si koya. From what I remember, book-Alexandria doesn't call this guy your grace but instead calls him on his name which annoys him hard. Well, I'm different Alexandria. "So? How does this thing work? Should I sign something?", pag-uumpisa ko dahil kanina ko pa napapansin na tahimik siya at ramdam kong nakatitig siya saakin.
Hindi kasi ako nakatingin sa kaniya. I must admit. Gwapo siya! Ayaw kong tumingin sa mukha niya. Nakakadistract!
"Confusing", napatingin naman ako kay Chadwick dahil sa sinabi niya. Tinaasan ko siya ng kilay. Mataray tayo remember? "Huh? What are you confused about, your grace?". Tinitigan lang ako nito na para bang sinusuri ako. Napa-iwas tuloy ako ng tingin.
Why is he staring at me like that?
"As I said in my letter, I want to cancel our engagement", pagpapaalala ko. Muli ako tumingin kay Chadwick at kanina ko pa napapansin yang mga titig na yan. It's uncomfortable.
"What if I don't want to?".
"Huh? What? Aren't you the one who's adamant in canceling this engagement? What the heck, dude?". Hindi ko napigilan taasan ang boses ko. Anong masamang espiritu ang sumanib sa lalaking ito.
"Dude?", kunot-noong tanong nito saakin pero bigla siyang ngumisi. Gwapo... ng talampakan ko.
"What if I change my mind?", dugtong pa niya. "Well, change it back", I backfired.
"Nope, now that something is interesting", nakangangang tiningnan ko si Chadwick. Anong trip nitong lalaking ito? Nakakabadtrip ha. "Well I apologize, my lady, it seems like I wasted your time. Please forgive me but I will be leaving now. Have a good day, Miss Alexandria".
Ningisihan niya muna ako bago lumabas ng drawing room at iniwan akong nakanganga. Pumasok naman si Letty at tinanong ako kung bakit ganito itsura ko.
"Letty? What's wrong with that bastard?", pagtatanong ko kay Letty na mukhang nagulat sa sinabi ko. "Miss, you shouldn't say that to the Lord. Somebody might hear you and misunderstand", sagot naman saakin ni Letty.
Napabuntong-hininga nalang ako.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Okay, that meeting with Chadwick the bastard was a huge disaster. Kapag naaalala ko ang nangyari kahapon ay nag-iinit ang ulo ko. Napasabunot nalang ako ng buhok.
F*ck you a million times, Chadwick!
Kung alam niya lang na ginagawa ko ito para sa ikakasaya nila ni Charlotte at para sa buhay ko.
Forget it. Let's just not meet him again and just silently cursed him.
Ano ba problema ng lalaking yun?! Siya itong nagre-request na i-cancel tapos biglang ayaw? Bastusan lang? Para saan pa pagpunta niya dito? Bwisit siya!
Grrr! This won't do. I need a new plan.
"Letty!". "Yes, Miss Alexandria?".
"I'm going to the library. Lead me there", tiningnan ko si Letty na laking-laki ang mata. "Hello to Earth, Letty?", pagtatapik ko kay Letty. "Miss... are you okay?".
Ako naman ngayon ang nagtaka sa sinabi ni Letty. "I'm fine. I'm perfectly fine", sagot ko.
"But, you don't go to the library. You despise books, my lady", ani pa niya.
Huh?
Ah yes. The book-Alexandria does not like studying. "Well Letty, a woman can change", pagpapalusot ko. Mukha naman siyang naniwala.
Inayos niya lang saglit ang buhok tsaka kami lumabas ng kwarto ko. Medyo malayo-layo ang nilakad namin. Okay lang naman saakin maliban nalang sa mga maids na nasasalubong namin.
They have a shocking expression written on their faces. They're looking at me weirdly. Is it really weird for book-Alexandria to go to the library?
"We're here, my lady", napatingin naman ako sa napakalaking pintuan sa harapan ko. Binuksan ito ni Letty at sumalubong lang naman saamin ang napakalaki at napakaluwang na library.
This is the private library of the Eveque family? It looks like a bookstore.
"Letty, you can leave me here. I think I'll be spending my whole day here".
"As you wish, my lady. I'll be waiting outside, call me if you need something", pagpapaalam ni Letty. Nakita ko pa siyang nakangiti ng sobra-sobra.
Problema nun?
Sinimulan ko na tignan ang mag title ng mag libro. Buti nalang at kahit papaano ay nababasa ko mga nakasulat.
Wondering what am I doing here? Since transmigrating here inside the novel, I noticed something. People here use magic. I just remembered that this is a fantasy-romance novel that Isabel wrote, so magic exists here!
Napansin ko iyon noong maraming mga doctor ang nagsi-check up saakin. And most of them are water magic users and if you are a water mage, usually you know a healing spell.
In Kershian Kingdom, magic is divided into four elements. Fire, Water, Wind, Earth
Whether you are part of the royal family, a noble, or a commoner, as a citizen of the kingdom you will likely possess elemental magic EXCEPT for some people.
There are some rare cases that 0.10% population of Kershian has no magical power or can't use magic. And for some reason, book-Alexandria is part of that 0.10% population.
Masaya na sana ako na napadpad ako dito dahil may magic-magic sila (anime addict), tapos hindi pala makakagamit ng magic?
Where's the justice in that?!
I pity you book-Alexandria.
Kumuha ako ng ilang books tungkol sa magic, from history and how it works. Pumewesto ako sa study table at sinimulan na basahin ang history of magic. Honestly, I don't really read books but this is magic! Hindi ako mabo-bored dito.
~~~~~~~~
"My Lady, your dinner will be served in a few minutes. Would you like me to lead you to the dining room?", biglang pasok ni Letty sa library.
Napatingin ako sa labas ng bintana, padilim na pala. Oh my god, masyado akong nawili sa pagbabasa hindi ko namalayan na maggagabi na.
Hindi ko na sinagot si Letty at naglakad na papuntang dining room. Speaking of, bigla akong nakaramdam ng gutom.
"Letty, bring these two books to my room", utos ko sakaniya tsaka ako nagsimulang kumain.
After ko kumain, nagpahinga lang ako saglit tsaka naligo at napalit ng damit pantulog.
"Good night, my lady", ani ni Letty bago lumabas ng kwarto ko. Sa pagkakaalam ko, wind magic user si Letty. Nakita ko siya noong isang araw na gumagamit ng magic habang nagpapalit ng beddings ko at minsan kapag pinapatuyo niya ang buhok ko.
Very useful. Di tulad ni book-Alexandria, maldita na nga wala pang power.
PSH!
Umikot-ikot ako sa pagkakahiga. Kahit anong gawin ko, hindi ako makatulog. Anyway, let's just think about what should I do tomorrow.
Based on what I read earlier, at the age of five years old, your elemental magic will start to manifest. Aside from that, siyempre habang tumatanda, you will need to learn to control it.
Then, at the age of 16, you have the option to summon and have a contract with a spirit. The summoning usually takes place at Kershian Academy, a school that only nobles and a few commoners can enter.
And as far as I remember, book-Alexandria has no magic and wasn't able to form a contract with a spirit. I really pity you, no, now I pity myself.
If my plan to cancel my engagement to Chadwick went array, my plan B was supposed to strike him first with my magic instead of waiting for my death flag. But that isn't going to work now, is it?
"Don't lose hope Alexandria. You still have the upper hand in this ridiculous situation. You've watched a lot of animes about magic, you can learn from it", pagco-convince ko sa sarili ko.
"Hahaha... Let's try again tomorrow", tsaka ko ipinikit ang mga mata ko.
Letche! Hindi ako makatulog!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile... there's been a lot of gossips circulating around the mansion of Eveque.The servants and maids are talking about their lady who has been acting weirdly in the past few days.
"Is it really possible that the lady has changed?"
"I think so. The other day, I accidentally stepped on her dress, but she forgave me".
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure".
"No I mean, are you sure you're not a ghost and that she already killed you that day?".
"What? No! I told you, the Miss have already changed".
"What do you think, Letty?"
Tanong ng mga maids na nag-uusap sa isang sulok ng biglang sumulpot si Letty.
"What I think about what?".
"About the miss, since you are her personal maid? Isn't she changed these days?". Bigla namang napa-isip si Letty.
Napansin niya rin ang biglang pagbabago ng kaniyang master simula noong nahulog siya hagdan.
"To tell you the truth, the miss these days are kinda different. A good different. She's started studying again, she eats well that she complimented the chef, she doesn't punish me and most of all, she is very calm lady-like that doesn't throw any tantrums anymore".
Napatango-tango naman ang iba sa sinabi ni Letty. The reputation of Alexandria Eveque is starting to change around the mansion. They are unsure what happens or what does their Miss is playing but, the villainess is acting weird.