"That's Sir Theodoric, Gwen! " said Cecil once more. "You said he came down from the third floor, right? Who can go up to level 3 if not Sir Theodoric, is nobody allowed to go up there without permission? And the description you mentioned points to Sir Theodoric!"
"R-really? Are you sure about that? " Gwen asked positively. Because she had no idea that the man she met in the forest and also this morning was Theodoric Lord who owned this place.
"Who else but the master who dares go up to the third floor? " ask Cecil back. Gwen shook her head.
"Mr. Philip doesn't have dark hair if he makes it to the third floor," he explains.
Again Gwen's eyes were perfectly round.
"Oh... Lord... do him look angry when talking to you? " asked Cecil a little panicked. She does not want anything if Sir Theodoric gets mad at Gwen because she doesn't recognize him. Although she had only recently known Gwen, Cecil felt that she was close to her. So she didn't want Gwen to get in trouble.
Gwen looked tense, but she shook her head to answer a question from Cecil.
"He spoke as we first met, expressionless and intimidating," she replied, recalling her meeting with Theodoric in the forest.
Cecil's forehead widened in, "Wait, what are you saying? Like the first time we met?"
Gwen nodded.
"So you've met with Sir Theodoric before? " ask Cecil quickly.
"Yes," she said, nodding. "Hmm...." Gwen seemed reluctant to explain. "I do not know the man, not even his name. Until you told me that I knew he was the guy that I met, who I thought was helping me. Until the day I got here I was trying to find him and thank to him. But when I saw him earlier, he said that Mr. Philip was the one who brought me here, "Gwen explained.
"How did you meet Theodoric and Mr. Philip at once? And why did Mr. Philip bring you here? Who are you? " asked Cecil, who immediately became suspicious of Gwen.
"I-i was nobody, and I didn't know them at first either until you said it, Cecil! "says Gwen.
Cecil's eyes instantly glared at Gwen, she was suspicious of her at the moment. She thought it possible that Gwen was the one whom Theodoric or Mr. Philip had asked to mingle with the servants, and gather information. Until servants who feel unsafe or defrauded will easily be removed.
Cecil is not weird about this, because a few months ago, an intruder got into the mansion. Fortunately, the rest of the guard was quickly recognized and was subject to the punishment of Theodoric, Lord. The punishment was, of course, not light, but life had to be lost.
"Lest you be on the Lord's errand! " accuse Cecil.
Quickly Gwen shook her head, "No! And I don't understand what you mean, " says Gwen.
But Cecil kept staring at Gwen and asking for a definitive answer.
"I could have sworn if I wasn't a pawn. I don't know who they are. I had only met Sir Thodoric once in the woods, and I was about to -- " Gwen quickly stopped saying. The truth is she didn't want to say what had happened to Cecil herself and chose to keep it all to herself.
Especially now she'd be ashamed and ashamed of Cecil if she had to tell her and tell her that she'd tried to kill herself. Nor does she want to know her true identity.
"About to what? " asked Cecil, now visibly upset. Gwen was able to catch rage on Cecil's face.
Gwen now feels very confused, with a dilemma. On the one hand, she's not a lackey, on the other, she doesn't want to share her old life with Cecil. But right now Cecil seems pretty angry at her.
Gwen opened her mouth again, "Promise me you won't tell anyone about this?"
Cecil seemed reluctant to answer, she just nodded.
"Promise? " Gwen asked positively.
Gwen finally gave up, and all she had in this place was Cecil. She's all alone here, only Cecil is there to be with her. And Cecil is her working partner. If her relationship with Cecil goes bad while they have to work together it will be very strange, after all, she is not the spy on duty to spy on.
Cecil nodded again.
"In the woods, I would kill myself utterly," Gwen snuffed and dared not look at Cecil, now looking far away.
Instantly Cecil's eyes rotted perfectly.
"I was running away from the people who were chasing me and trying to catch me. Until I ran to the brink," Gwen continues.
Cecil wanted to ask, but she backed out of it and chose to listen to Gwen's story without refuting it first.
"I panicked, there's no way out. In front of me a high cliff, behind me the man chasing me, " Gwen now turns to Cecil and looks at her.
Cecil was astonished by what Gwen had told her, and she could hardly believe it.
"Who are they? Who's chasing you? " Asked Cecil in the end. She was very curious.
Gwen smiled
"You may not believe it, but it doesn't matter if you don't believe it. It's just everything I've been through is real. Even for the first time, I didn't believe it myself, " Gwen says.
"They were the people who work for the man who had already bought me, my stepmother sold me to that dreadful man. And I ran away from the place until they figured it out and chased me down."
Tears began to fill Gwen's eyes, "at that moment I was very frustrated, as well as frightened. Until I make a short decision about jumping off the cliff. I would rather end my life than be again captured and touched by the man who had bought me and then made me lust, and I don't want to..." quickly cover her face with her hands as her tears began falling on her cheeks.
Cecil felt for Gwen, and quickly her hand touched her shoulder and wiped her gently to soothe her crying.
Somehow Cecil gets the feeling Gwen's not lying to her.
"I'm so sorry for what happened to you, Gwen."
Gwen stopped her cry and then looked at Cecil. "Maybe you still don't believe my story, but it doesn't matter. I never told you because I wanted to forget this."
"No, Gwen. I trust..."
Had she worked here before, maybe Cecil wouldn't have believed these stories right away. But since working here, she's changed her outlook on life. What looks fine out there isn't always good.
-To Be Continue-