"What?" She asked in disbelief. It's almost as if she become deaf with his words. What does he mean that the instructor pulled out to become her teacher? Did someone trick her dirty? Was the Duke involved in this matter?
"You heard me. He pulled out, withdrawn from teaching you." He said, sighing as it shocked Felicia upon the unfortunate news. It felt like her world suddenly crumbled upon hearing it.
"I-Is the Duke involved about this as to why the instructor didn't continue anymore? I'm going to have a word with him—"
"No, Felicia. There was no one involved. The Instructor has told me via a letter that he was too busy and he was asking your forgiveness for putting you in this situation. There was also a sudden predicament in his side, leading him to withdraw his choice amid the start of his lesson." He said, explaining the situation and giving her the letter that her instructor provided.
She immediately grabbed the letter and upon reading it, the letter was vague enough for her to grow angry about the person who suddenly pulled out of his responsibility to teach her.
She couldn't help but cuss. Why does everything feel like some sort of going downhill from her way?
"But who will teach me?" She asked sadness has occupied in her face, feeling doencasted and terrible. Alexander who felt guilty for telling her about such bad news sigh while patting her back.
"Why don't young Master teach you, my Lady? The young master basically taught you earlier about what you need to know. He can teach you about swords and all." Olivia commented, destroying the looming agony of Felicia.
That suddenly gave her hope to learn more as her eyes sparkled upon seeing Alexander who was taken aback by Olivia's sudden approach. Yeah sure he was actually wanting to volunteer himself to teach her after what happened earlier but he was rather feeling... Shy.
"Uhm, I could?" He said as he stared at Felicia her eyes whose spirit suddenly got lifted away from the terrible feeling that she had experienced earlier prior to Alexander's volunteering to become her instructor.
"Really? For real?!" She excitedly asked, filled with pure excitement, gratitude, and happiness that she was literally shining in his eyes. If he had known that this would make her so damn happy, he would've done it already.
"Yeah, so you better prepare because I will definitely push you harder. You can do that, can you?" He asked, smirking as his hand then landed on her head, patting it softly and ever so gently, making Felicia's heart once again flip.
"I can! Of course, I can!" She proudly said, even puffing her chest to show how confident she could be which made Alexander laugh at her boastfulness.
"I know you can, I've seen you handled it pretty well." He suddenly said, making Felicia flinch at his words. "I know your secrets, Felicia." He added, making her head slowly turn in his direction, fear cast into her irises as she began to tremble.
"W-what?"
"You can let that bird go out now. I'm not harming it." He whispered, his eyes then trailing to her side, seeing completely the feathers of Noctua, its white almost like snow feathers, emerging from her back.
"Olivia, can you please lock the doors?" Felicia muttered but was enough for Olivia to heed her command and began to lock the room's door, even the balcony's door to secure the whole room.
"Explain, Alexander. Before I can do something bad to you and I promise you, you won't like any single one of it." She threatened, her voice suddenly went low as she stared at him coldly. It was at that point that Alexander realised how she was dead serious about harming him.
And it's not impossible for her. After that day when he saw him killing that assassin who invaded her.
"I-I saw you... Killing the assassin who was then found out in the Duchess' room. It was you who killed him, not the other way around. The culprit behind the assassination is being investigated however there was no one who could figure out who killed the man. That's because the suspect... Is your from the start..." He whispered.
Felicia's mind started then to refresh the memory when she first killed her assailant, the man that was sent for her, who was killed inside here. She remembered someone was peeking through the door that was left quite wide open.
"So it was you, peeking like a mouse." She realized, looking intently at him as her hands balled into fists, that her raging heart was beating at a fast pace, a mixture of emotions was present in her heart as she didn't know what to feel about this information.
"I was curious as to what you were doing and I wanted to ask how have you been since you didn't come to eat at that time. But unexpectedly, I discovered what you did." He confessed, feeling nervous and scared.
"But I never told any single soul about it and it haunts me every night. That the person whom I thought was weak and couldn't even lift heavy things managed to kill a person, looking dark as the sky while having the satisfaction of killing the man." He murmured.
That was the nightmare he continued to have and it felt like it was choking him. The only reason he revealed that it was him was that he wanted to be free from that curse of seeing the devil smiling while stabbing the man underneath her as if it were easy to kill someone.
"You... I don't know what to do with you..." Felicia muttered as she massaged her temple. It's not like he's becoming a threat to her existence but rather he's confusing her.
The fact that he told no one, no one about what she did proves to her that he was changing for the better. He was not the same person he was before.
"So that's why you've been so careful towards me." She said, looking at him once again, straight into his eyes to read him. He is scared of her, but truth and honesty prevail in his eyes.
"Yes. Who would have thought that the sister I used to bully can kill a damn person?" He let out a nervous laugh, seemingly terrified about her existence. "But can I ask you something though? I'm curious about it." He suddenly added, making Felicia's expression twisted into curiosity.
"What is it?"
"Where did you learn that skill?" He asked which made her go pale. Even Olivia shows the curiosity. She must've remembered what happened on that day in which she's now curious about how she was able to fight a big strong man compared to her small weight.
"It was easy to figure out his movement, his slow pace was also quite easy to read. As for my skill, I just blocked his attack and did basic stabbing in which I caught him immediately." She answered as smoothly as she could so that she could disappate the feeling of suspiciousness to them.
She can't just say that she just learned it in her last life. Tondo is a dangerous place, and that's why she learned how to protect her life with it.
"I see. It was smooth." He nodded his head, believing the lies she spoke of. Meanwhile, Olivia was looking at her with such admiration that she could picture her out with heart-shaped eyes.
"But you should've called for someone at that time—"
"And what? Risked my life before any of the knights would come and save me? No thanks. I have to stand to it." She firmly replied, telling him that if she were to call help then it would have been too late for that.
She would've died too.
"Right... But it was scary, right?" She asked, distress on his face while guilt was washing it over. He just stood there and instead of helping her, he watch like a fucking creep.
"It definitely was... It's my first time after all." She chuckled, letting the troublesome feeling flee from her. The feeling of being caught in the spotlight has left her after lying smoothly like that.
"I believe that what happened during the attack to when you went out, you saved yourself? This is just my speculation but you arrived with new clothes, someone must've helped you but there's something within me that you... Somehow got your way out because of this skill." He guessed, making her jolt.
Why is he so damn on point?
"How'd you guess?" She asked, curious at his ability. In fact, he became so smart that he caught on to every event about her. He's so keen about her that he's like this.
"Through speculation and after seeing what you did, it's not an impossible task to do now. So yes. I think that's it." He chuckled, brushing away the topic once again. "But why do you have the omen bird? Do you know that it's taboo to possess this bird?" He asked once more.
"I told her already about that, young Master. But the lady is adamant to keep it as her pet." Olivia sighed, shaking her head while silently wishing for the young Master to make Noctua disappear.
That bird is getting on her nerves.
"Since when was Noctua considered as a taboo? I am a messenger from Goddess! I am the bird that the Goddess grants to every saintess—Oh. I shouldn't have said anything..."