Even if I spent most of my time preparing for the upcoming ball, it was a rather average day.
After supper, I changed into a riding outfit to go out for some light exercise. Though Judith's heart was a rare beauty, that didn't mean I was unable to get fat.
The thing is, I wasn't able to give up my eating habits, so I opted to go for hard exercise instead. I'll work hard and then get a full body massage.
"Livna, are you ready?"
The white horse neighed happily into my hand. I climbed atop her and held the reins before departing quickly.
At first, we went with a slow trot, but we gradually picked up the pace.
Livna seemed to be discontent since she was more familiar with her regular trails. She stomped her hooves on the ground rather cutely, so I let her run as much as she liked.
My hair flew in the wind. Livna ran without constraint, but suddenly a man appeared out of nowhere.
"Stop!"
Thanks to the fact that we've been together for a long time, she immediately listened to my orders even when she was in a state of agitation.
I breathed quietly, wary of the black-haired man on the road.
Derrick Winter assumed what Livna was like before he even knew her.
"What a discipled horse."
Are you speaking informally now?
I'd never seen a man act so proudly after stalking a lady.
Anyways, I did this on purpose.
I purposely practiced riding Livna at this exact time and place.
If it was here, Derrick would've thought it was a perfect time to blackmail me since there was no one around to witness it.
Livna tensed up, feeling his murderous energy.
She didn't make any drastic changes to her posture because I was here but I could still feel her nervousness.
"That's because she has an excellent master", I answered. As expected, my word deeply shocked him.
"I heard Marquis Heart has quite the talent with horsemanship."
There was no doubt in his voice that it was my father who trained Alisa.
"Are you denying my accomplishments just to praise my father?" I sneered.
Derrick had a sword by his waist.
It seemed like he had the intention to scare me, so he pulled the sword out of its sheath before sliding it back in.
"You know nothing about my father."
"Thanks for the advice."
"Do you think he'd be interested in a woman like you?"
And you think I'm interested in a guy like you?
"Do you know why I chose the Grand Duke? There's a very simple reason. He's not Derrick winter ."
The life of Judith Heart in the novel was marked by misfortune. She married Derrick at the ripe age of nineteen, and she genuinely believed he was too good for her.
Every time she met him, she stuttered with a bright red face.
However, Derrick nly snickered at her.
As soon as they got married, he changed and started to abuse her whilst having an affair with Nina. He made up excuses like being worried about her weak health to keep her locked in a room.
She stayed in the small and desolate room, resulting in a physical and mental breakdown.
And that was all because of that man.
Later on, she was found by the Grand Duke and rescued by Eckles , but it was already too late.
"It'd be best not to speak so rashly."
What.
I didn't even bother to pretend to listen to him, and I comforted Livna instead.
"Did you hear a dog barking? Let's go, Alisa."
"How dare you ignore me!"
Derrick grabbed his sword. Immediately, he threw it in Livna's direction.
The sword flew in a straight line, yet it looked slow to me.
There wasn't enough time for me to dodge.
I pulled on her reins, turning to face another direction before kicking the sword that rushed towards us. It bounced off my boot, spinned in the air like a waterwheel before flying straight down to the ground.
Derrick was astonished.
"Ho...…how?"
I took a second to coax Livna into doing something for me before jumping off her back.
"Hey."
".....what?"
"You keep using honorifics; it's almost like you believe you're someone who deserves respect."
I clenched my waistcoat. Tok, tok, the buttons came undone. I took the garment off and launched it at him.
Then, I ripped off the ribbon around my collar; one of the buttons ended up coming off along with it. Without giving it a second thought, I also threw that at him.
"I'll deal with this sincerity you've shown me so far. Let us have a refreshing duel."
Derrick gave me a blank stare, not even bothering to grab his sword again. He looked like he was unable to guess how I blocked the sword earlier.
It wasn't a surprise. I'd never used that trick anywhere before.
What a headache.
I looked at him with an arrogant smile.
Then I heard someone riding a horse at an insane pace; they were probably looking for Derrick .
"Gilbert! Where the hell were you?!"
It wasn't long before I caught a glimpse of a face framed by brown hair. The man had a mole placed beneath his mouth.
His name was Michael or something of the sorts. Michael was also Derrick 's best friend, though he's not very interesting.
Michael came up to me and stopped to talk.
"Lady Judith ."
I gave him a blank stare.
Even though I didn't greet him, Derrick descended from his horse and presented me with a formal and lengthy apology.
"I'm truly sorry. Please forgive my friend, who's like family to me, for his rudeness. I'll make sure to scold Derrick thoroughly. Adding to that, I will make another visit in the future and apologize once more."
Michael grabbed Derrick and pulled him away. He was still shocked and just followed obediently.
After placing Derrick on the horse, Michael looked back at me.
"Lady, your clothes…."
Michael removed his ugly ass outer coat and attempted to give it to me.
I spoke my mind.
"Fuck off."
"….Farewell."
Michael ran off with Derrick . I felt bad for the horse, who had to carry two grown men across a long distance.
As if trying to comfort me, Livna licked my face.
Anger filled me within. Did that asswipe seriously try to harm my horse?
"I'm sorry about the dangerous situation."
I stroked her white coat before climbing onto her back.
My foot ached all the way back to the Marquis' mansion because of Derrick 's sword. On our way back, Livna kept turning to look at me.
Luckily, Emily greeted me before I had the chance to change my mind and run off to murder him.
"Miissss!"
"Emily ? Why are you here?"
"Because you had me worried when you left on your own! How do you feel? Nothing happened, right?"
She whispered in a quiet tone that only I was able to hear.
"It's nothing."
As I came descended from the horse, my foot ached once more.
I scrunched up my nose without realizing, but Emily was distracted by something else.
"M-Miss? What's with this sword?"
"It's Derrick 's."
"Are you serious?!"
Her jaw dropped.
"He spoke pretty informally to me, too."
"....Pardon?"
"Meow ! Meow !"
Livie walked over next to my feet. Next to the foot that was in pain for a while.
You catch on quickly.
I handed Livna over to one of the servants and headed to my room alongside Emily . Sitting on the sofa, I took off my boot before discovering a bruise on my foot. It looked quite swollen too.
"Gasp!"
Emily took a deep breath.
No matter how big of a bitch he was, Derrick winter as the top of the top when it came to swordsmanship.
I couldn't believe the blow to my body was this bad.
I moved my foot around and said,
"Emily , apply an ice pack."
"We need to start with your treatment...!"
Her wavering voice made me raise my head.
"Emily ? This is nothing, so don't cry."
"Sob, but what about the scar on the miss' body...."
"Just an ice pack will be enough. If I hadn't stopped him, Livna would be dead right now. He was aiming for her vital point."
Sneaky dickhead.
Emily cried out, face red with anger.
"He's really the worst! How dare he threaten the miss' safety?! Should we rat him out to his excellency?"
"Revenge is no fun when someone does it in your stead."
"Is revenge the problem now? What would you do if you get in trouble?! You know my only purpose in life is you!"
My.... my eardrums are bleeding, Emily .
"You can help me by applying an ice pack. The ball is tomorrow, and I can't possibly go with bandages on."
"Huh, you're going to attend? But you don't have a partner."
I sent her a playful side glance.
"If he has a conscience, he'll come in due time. And Emily , throw that thing away when you leave. Dump it somewhere like a shit bucket."
I gestured towards the glittering platinum sword with jewels decorating it.
"Meow, Meow...."
Livie cried timidly as Emily nodded with a sad look.
"Dumping this expensive sword in a shit bucket...…. Leave it to me. I'll make sure I do it."
Emily left with the sword in hand. It was only then that I wiped the smile off my face.
Due to the fact I wasn't able to sleep well last night, I was in a bad mood this morning. But that was also because of my anger.
During my time as Judith Heart , I had never wanted to kill someone so badly until now.
I wonder what would've happened if I hadn't built up a strong body for myself.
First, Livna would be dead. Second, if I had failed in my attempt to deflect the sword, I'd be hurt badly.
IT'S HARD TO SAY WHETHER OR NOT DERRICK WOULD'VE BROUGHT ME BACK TO THE MARQUIS' MANSION.
"AS EXPECTED, OUR MISS IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL!"
EMILY SHOUTED TO THE AIR.
I STARED AT THE LADY IN THE BODY-LENGTH MIRROR. WHITE SKIN AND PURE, GLISTENING EYES. AT FIRST GLANCE, SHE LOOKED LIKE AN INNOCENT PERSON, UNAWARE OF HER SURROUNDINGS. BUT THE SMILE ON HER FACE WAS RIDDEN WITH CONFIDENCE.
"HOW IS IT? HUH? HUH? PLEASE TELL US YOUR OPINION!"
I TURNED AROUND WITH EASE. THE DARK BLUE DRESS WAS DECORATED WITH DIAMONDS AND WENT WELL WITH MY HAIR.
"YES, IT'S FINE."
"HIING, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?!"
EMILY HAD TEARS IN HER EYES. NEVERTHELESS, SHE WASN'T ABLE TO KEEP UP THE DRAMATICS FOR LONGER THAN A MINUTE BEFORE SHE LET OUT A BUBBLY REMARK.
"MISS, ISN'T IT A BIT COLD TODAY?"
IT WAS INDEED WINDY. IT MADE AN UNUSUAL TAPPING SOUND AGAINST THE WINDOW, RENDERING LIVIE UNABLE TO LEAVE. THAT WAS BECAUSE LIVIE WAS THE YOUNGEST AND WEAKEST FAMILIAR OUT OF THE GRAND DUKE'S BUNCH.
"A STORM IS COMING. I HOPE THIS YEAR'S RAINY SEASON WON'T LAST TOO LONG."
EMILY CONTINUED TO CHATTER ON EVEN WHEN I DIDN'T REPLY. SHE WAS CONSCIOUS OF MY FEELINGS AND TRIED TO COMFORT ME.
THIS WAS THE MAID WHO WENT AGAINST DERRICK TO PROTECT JUDITH WHEN SHE WAS BEING ABUSED IN THE NOVEL.
BUT I HAD NO NEED TO THINK OVER WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO EMILY WHEN THAT TIME CAME.
BECAUSE THAT TIME WOULDN'T COME.
"EMILY."
"YES?"
"THANKS."
"AY, IT'S NOTHING! EVEN IF YOU HADN'T DRESSED UP, YOU WOULD STILL BE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN IN THE WORLD!"
I WASN'T TALKING ABOUT THAT. THOUGH SHE WAS SULKING A WHILE AGO, EMILY JUST FORGOT ALL ABOUT IT AND OFFERED ME A WIDE AND LOVABLE SMILE.
IT WAS ALMOST TIME TO LEAVE WITH THE CARRIAGE. JUST AS I LEFT MY ROOM, I CAUGHT SIGHT OF MY FATHER CLIMBING UP THE STAIRS.
HE LOOKED LIKE HE HAD BUSINESS WITH ME. NORMALLY, HE WOULD'VE JUST STARED AT ME, BUT THIS TIME HE OPENED HIS MOUTH,
"JUDITH."
"YES, FATHER."
"I'VE HEARD YOU WEREN'T ABLE TO FIND A PARTNER."
STRAIGHT TO THE POINT. HE ONLY HAD ONE CHILD, YET ONLY NEVER REALLY KNEW HOW TO TALK TO HER.
"I GUESS IT ENDED UP LIKE THAT."
I DIDN'T BOTHER TO EXPLAIN THE WHOLE STORY. I NEED TO BEAT DERRICK WITH A BAT LATER, SO IT WAS BEST NOT TO HAVE ANYONE WHO COULD SNITCH.
WELL, SO FAR.
HE STARED AT ME WITH AN INDIFFERENT EXPRESSION BEFORE SAYING,
"WE'LL BE DEPARTING IN AN HOUR. YOU SHOULD COME TOO."
IN SHORT, HE MEANT WE SHOULD DEPART TOGETHER SO THAT PEOPLE WOULDN'T REALIZE I HADN'T COME WITH A PARTNER.
WHAT'S WITH YOU? I'M NOT THE TYPE OF PERSON TO GET CRITICIZED IF I WERE TO EVER ENTER WITHOUT A PARTNER.
SURPRISINGLY, I READILY NODDED.
"THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION."
THAT WASN'T THE END OF THE STRANGE LINE OF EVENTS. SOON AFTER I ENTERED THE CARRIAGE WITH MY PARENTS, MY MOTHER, WHO WAS LIKE MY FATHER AND WASN'T INTERESTED IN MY AFFAIRS, ASKED ME HOW I WAS DOING.
"IS EVERYTHING ALL RIGHT THESE DAYS?"
MY MOTHER DIDN'T EAT ANYTHING WEIRD, DID SHE?
"I'M AS GOOD ."
"YOU SHOULDN'T THINK ABOUT IT TOO DEEPLY."
"DON'T BOTTLE YOURSELF UP TOO MUCH."
I BLINKED AUTOMATICALLY
To be continued….