"FATHER, I pissed off Empress Veronica," Zoe reported to her father bluntly. Thankfully, her father was at home today. She brought tea to his office and now she was sitting on the sofa across from him. "So I need to hide for now."
She watched Marquis Hendrix Rochester's stoic face turn shocked.
But props to her father for quickly catching himself. His face was back to its normal indifference as he placed the teacup down on the table.
"What exactly did you do?" Marquis Hendrix Rochester asked calmly. "Is it enough for Her Majesty to come after our family?"
She sipped her tea before she responded. "Her Majesty tried to pressure me into marrying Count Nigel Ratliff."
Well, the empress only "encouraged" her to go on a date with the count.
But she knew that if she did as she was told, the empress would use that opportunity to push her to marry Nigel next.
"I got upset, so I told Her Majesty that my ideal man is someone mature, powerful, handsome, and he has to have violet eyes."
She heard a stifled laugh.
Only she and her father were in his office. So obviously, the one who laughed was her father. And he had a lame way of hiding it: by "coughing."
The marquis cleared his throat before speaking again. "I can guess what happened since you said Her Majesty was upset. Did she think that you were referring to His Majesty?"
"Yes, Father," she said proudly. "I was actually describing Grand Duke Viotto, but Her Majesty seemed to think that I was aiming for her husband."
"I'm sure you did that on purpose."
She faked a gasp. "Father, you know me so well. I'm quite touched."
"No, that's not true. I have come to realize that I don't know you that much, Zoanne," her father said in a strange tone. "But judging by how you were acting these days, I thought it was something that you'd do."
She actually felt nervous.
Was it just her or her father was talking like he knew that she was a different person?
[I won't be surprised if he already found out that I'm not his daughter. It's not like I'm exerting an effort to hide it, anyway. Since I'm bound to leave this world anyway, I really don't care about the mess that I'll leave.]
It was selfish, but she was like that from the start.
She wouldn't change just because she was thrown inside a novel, would she?
"I guess it's time for me to let go of the young Zoanne that I sent to the temple in the past," the marquis continued. His voice was as stern as usual, but there were some emotions that she couldn't name in his eyes. "I have to acknowledge the fact that you've grown while you were in the temple. And it seems like you've grown well, Zoe."
She gasped, and this time, it was genuine. "Father…"
"Didn't you tell me to call you 'Zoe?'"
"Yes, Father," she said, confused. "But you told me that you'll only call me by the name that you and Mother gave me."
"That was when I was being narrow-minded," her father admitted. "I've realized that the name that your mother and I gave you already belonged to you. If you wish to be called by a different name, then I should respect your decision."
Now she suddenly felt guilty.
She had been careless all this time because she only saw the people in this world as nothing but mere book characters. But now that she was talking to Marquis Hendrix Rochester, she was starting to feel his warmth– to see that her father was a real person and not just a character.
[Hah. This is my weakness. I'm a sucker for good parents since my parents were…]
Ah, nevermind.
"'Zoe' is not a different name, Father," she said to console the marquis. "It's just a cuter and shorter version of my real name. The name that you and my mother gave me is very precious, Father. I won't throw it away even if I'm a big girl now."
His father looked surprised by what she said.
Then he smiled. It was just a small smile, and it disappeared quickly, too. But she felt the warmth from that smile.
"Where do you plan to hide, Zoe?" her father asked, then he sipped his tea. "Do you want to hide in our territory? Our territory is big and safe."
Ah, that was right.
This mansion in the Royal Capital wasn't their actual house. Her father, a marquis, had his own territory. The marquis only bought a house in the Royal Capital after he retired as an active knight and lived as an entrepreneur.
"Thank you for the offer, Father," she said cheerfully. "But I already have a destination."
"Where do you plan to go?"
"I plan to visit Dal's hometown," she said excitedly. "It's a port town called Perla, Father. I'm excited to eat fresh fish."
Her father seemed pleased while watching her talk with gusto. "Perla is a commoner's town, though. Where will you be staying there?"
"I've booked a room in the inn that Dal's aunt runs, Father."
"Only a room?"
She nodded, confused. "I only need a room since I'm alone, Father. I don't plan to bring knights since it will only attract more attention. Dal is enough."
"I know that Miss Dal is strong enough to protect you. She's stronger than a royal knight and she's also adept at using Magic Gems like an average mage," her father said. "I was the one who hired her, Zoe."
"Oh, right," she said, pretending that she remembered the marquis hired Dal. "Then why did you ask if I only booked one room, Father? I thought you were asking because you thought I'd be bringing some of our knights with me."
"Book the entire floor of the room you've chosen," her father said. "Booking the whole inn would be too selfish and unfair to the other guests, but at least book the entire floor. You're a noble, Zoe. You should spend as much as you can, especially if you're staying at a friend's place."
"Even if I plan to go there disguised as a commoner?"
"Of course," her father said while nodding. "How long do you plan to stay in the port town?"
"I'm not sure since I also don't know how long the empress is going to stay upset."
"Come back after a week," the marquis said. "I'll give the empress something to be busy with so she wouldn't have the time to look for you."
"Can you do that, Father?" she asked, surprised.
"I know why Empress Veronica is trying to marry you off to Count Nigel Ratliff," her father explained. "Even though Count Ratliff is His Majesty's younger brother, we all know that the empress controls him. But do you know why Her Majesty wants you to marry the count?"
"Is it because of our wealth?"
In the novel, there was a reason why Empress Veronica sent Millicent Ashmore to ruin House Rochester. The empress was greedy to gobble up the marquis's wealth. And as far as she knew, it was because of her father's money and territory.
"Yes, the empress has her eyes on our wealth," the marquis said while nodding. "But to be precise, she's eyeing our Dragon Lair."
She almost choked when she heard that. [We have a Dragon Lair?!]
"As you know, our mountain is called 'Dragon Lair' because of the special gems that could only be found on that mountain," her father explained. "Those colorful gems look like dragon scales. Thus, the moniker."
[Ah, so it's not a real Dragon Lair.]
"Those gems simply named Scales are the main ingredients that we use in creating the weapons that we sell," the marquis explained. "The swords, daggers, arrows, and even rifles that we sell are the highest quality in the entire empire. It's all thanks to the Scales we mine."
She was shocked again.
[I thought our main livelihood is our hotel chain?!]
"Her Majesty wants to own our Dragon Lair," her father concluded. "The empress wants to get a hand on our mountain because if she succeeded, she would also gain more military power by being the supplier of powerful weapons to the right people."
"Father."
"Yes?"
"You'll never have a peaceful life as long as you have the Dragon Lair," she said, her voice full of sympathy. "I'm sure that it's not only the empress who's eyeing the mountain, Father. You should think about whether or not it's worth keeping."
"It's up to you."
"Huh?"
"It's going to be your problem in the future, Zoe," Marquis Hendrix Rochester said in a light voice. "After all, I will pass down my title and everything I have to you soon."
Zoe just smiled as a response. [It's Zoanne's and not mine anyway.]
***
"WHO SENT what?"
"Your Majesty, Marquis Rochester sent a letter asking if you'd like to have tea with him," Butler Gregory said, while holding a silver tray where the letter was sitting on. "The marquis also expressed in his letter that he'd like to have a word with you as soon as possible."
Rino couldn't help but smile when he confirmed from the head butler that he didn't hear wrong. "It seems like Lord Rochester has finally made his move."
"That seems to be the case, Your Majesty."
"I will send a letter back to Lord Rochester," he said. "Bring me my things."
He was currently in the drawing room, so he didn't have the paper and the pen that he needed to write a letter. And he couldn't leave his guest yet.
"I will bring them, Your Majesty," the butler said. "And I have one more thing to report…"
The head butler hesitated before he subtly turned to his guest.
Sitting on the sofa across from him was the new Archmage Gwyneth. But since the Archmage came in secret, she was currently dressed in a hooded maroon robe that hid her face.
"It's alright, Gregory," he told the butler. "It's alright for my guest to hear it."
Gregory then bowed and continued with his report. "The Red Snake has left its lair."
He frowned when he heard that.
The 'Red Snake' was Vaughn Wilson and his lair was the Stella Palace– the residence of the empress. Vaughn Wilson had been in his sister's palace for a few months now while recovering from a heavy injury that he had received while in the temple.
But it seemed like the Red Snake had fully recovered now, huh?
"Send Isaak a message and tell him about the Red Snake's recent movement," he said, then he dismissed the butler.
Gregory bowed before leaving the drawing room.
"Can you do it?" he asked Gwyneth when there were only the two of them in the room. "The "CCTV" concept that Lady Zoe introduced."
"The concept of installing several hidden video recording devices all over the palace that transfer images from the installed video cameras to the main monitor is very innovative," Gwyneth gushed in a very excited voice. "It will allow us to keep an eye on what's going on in and around your palace, Your Majesty. And the best thing is the record function. Whatever the video recording device captures could be turned into evidence if needed."
"That's true," he agreed while nodding. "We have video storage devices, but since we need Mana to activate them. Thus, only Mana users and mages could use them. But if we're going to install those types of devices, they have to be constantly fed with Mana to function."
"I'll find a solution to that problem, Your Majesty," the Archmage promised. "I will find a way to create video recording devices that could function without the need for a Mana user or a mage."
"I trust you, Gwyneth."
He really did.
After all, Gwyneth was Liane's best friend and Runa's godmother.
"Thank you for the trust, Your Majesty," Gwyneth said, then she pulled her hood down. Her pale blue curly hair and deep brown eyes were finally revealed– and so was her radiant face. "I won't disappoint you."
Rino smiled and nodded, then he wondered about Lady Zoe's other piece of advice.
[What does Lady Zoe mean when she said I have to eat healthy food when I'm already doing that?]
***
[AH, I'VE missed the smell of the sea.]
Zoe had arrived at the port town called Perla.
Right now, she was on the balcony of the biggest room on the third floor. She ordered Dal to spend time with her aunt first, since she wanted to rest in the meantime. Her butt hurt from the long carriage ride, after all.
[But it's worth it,] she said to herself while licking a candy cane. Ever since she decided not to smoke anymore, she opted to eat candies or lollipops whenever she felt like having a smoke. [Sashimi. I will catch fresh tuna later.]
She was going to have a sashimi fest later.
[I hope they have good soy sauce here.]
She heard from Dal that the port town often welcomed merchants from the East continent that came via ships. Apparently, those merchants would often bring food and seasonings from the east. That was exactly the reason why she decided to take a vacation there.
Her mind was now filled with food.
But her wonderful thoughts were interrupted when she remembered Emperor Rino. She told him to be careful of the things that he would eat because he died of an unknown sickness in the novel.
Unfortunately, she didn't know exactly what kind of disease it was.
[Should I ask Isaak if he knows His Majesty is sick?]
Tsk.
It was supposed to be her vacation, but she kept worrying about other people.
[Am I starting to become a good person?]
She almost laughed at herself.
But her thoughts were once again interrupted when she smelled something familiar. It was the familiar scent of mint.
Someone was smoking.
And damn, she missed its familiar scent.
She closed her eyes and sniffed in the air. "Ah, the smell of cigarette…"
"What about it?"
She immediately opened her eyes when she heard the voice of a man that sounded very sexy in her ears.
Then, she looked down on the veranda below her when the voice came from.
[Oh, wow.]
A red-haired man with dark green eyes was leaning against the railing of the veranda while looking up at her. He was using his right elbow to prop himself up, while he was smoking the cigarette in his left hand.
[He looks so laid-back.]
His outfit also made him look more relaxed. He was wearing a loose cream linen shirt with a mandarin collar. It was buttoned down half-way and the sleeves were rolled up. His outfit was completed with a pair of khaki chinos and dark brown slip-on shoes.
But to be honest, she had a feeling that whatever the red-haired wore would look good on him because of his shocking visual.
[God, I met another face genius.]
Plus, this handsome redhead looked like the bad boy type. She could tell because she grew up with one.
[He reminds me of someone in my world.]
"Would you like a smoke?" the red-haired man asked, then he raised his left hand as if he was offering his cigarette to her. "I know a fellow chain-smoker when I see one."
She almost smiled.
But then, the ring on the redhead's index finger sparkled.
[Snake?]
Red hair… green eyes… and that face…
[He looks like the male version of Empress Veronica.]
And that snake symbol.
There was one man called the 'Red Snake' in the novel.
[Vaughn Wilson,] Zoe thought to herself when she recognized the red-haired man. [Empress Veronica's older brother.]
Fuck, why was the villain in this novel hot?
***
NOTE: Hi! Please consider ADDING 'I Won't Let The Ghoul Duke Go Hungry!' to your LIBRARY. Thank you! <3