It was finally the day of the trip, and the manor was bustling with activity. A few carriages stayed stationed at the front of the manor, and maids were going to and fro, gossiping as they worked.
"I didn't know Young Master Iris was actually going away! He was so lazy before; I thought he was joking when he said he wanted to go to the North of all places," a maid said as she carried dishes to the kitchen.
"Yeah, but he really was serious! I heard rumours that he's seriously changed after his illness," another maid replied, walking beside her and holding plates in her hands.
"Me too, but I don't know...I'll believe it when I see it. Young master has always been a little..." The first maid continued. She was cut off when she bumped into a person in front of her. The maid looked up, planning to just quickly apologize. Her eyes then widened, and she almost gasped at the sight of who was in front of her.
A silver-haired youth was standing in front of her. His hair tickled his ears and nape and framed his pale, soft face. His blue eyes looked down at her as he was slightly taller, and the shadows of his eyelashes cast upon his cheek. Paired with a high-bridged, gently sloping nose, the youth was a remarkable sight. His outfit was apt for travel, especially travel in the cold, with a beige fur hooded cape adorned with the Evastine crest, an emblem of a bird posed to strike, as the eye-catching main piece. It was Iris de Evastine, the young master that the two maids were just talking about!
The youth's pink lips parted as to speak, and the two maids were shaking with fear. One could even feel each individual bead of sweat dripping down her back.
"Can you two please move a bit? I need to go past," Iris said, gesturing to the remaining hallway behind the maids that they were currently blocking him from going to.
"..."
The maids were shocked but just made their way and quickly hurried off. When they were far away enough, the two women shared a look.
"The rumours were true...!"
----
Yunho watched as the two women fled and couldn't help but inwardly sigh. Was it so unbelievable that someone could change for the better? Well, in this case, it was more like someone changing because another person is inhabiting their body...but they don't know that! Despite Iris being so pampered by the Count and Countess in the novel, it seemed like a lot of the servants didn't view him so well. It was reasonable. The original Iris was a prick, but Yunho couldn't help but feel sorry for him.
Yunho quickly made his way to his room. After quite some time in this world, he'd finally memorized the floor plan of the manor and could navigate to his room by himself. Yunho pushed past the bedroom's white door and looked at the state of disarray it was currently in.
Even though he had planned, it still took him more time than was ideal to pack everything. He had underestimated the sheer amount of clothes the original Iris owned and he would have to weed through. Yunho had finally finished packing yesterday but now had to clean up the mess he made. He could call a maid to do it for him, but it would be unfair to them to have to clean up a mess they had no hand in creating.
Yunho went to work, quickly putting things back in place. He knew he had to rush. It was stupid of him to procrastinate doing this until the day of, but it's not like he had the previous experience to advise him not to. After a quarter-hour of nonstop effort, the room was finally clean.
Yunho just had one last thing to put back in place. It was a book that'd fallen out of the white drawer when he was searching for any accessories he should take with him. Yunho was no fashionista by any standards, but it was fun to indulge in the luxuries that came so naturally to a young master like Iris. And wouldn't it be more suspicious if the son of a wealthy count didn't bring any gems or accessories with him?
Yunho opened the drawer to put the book away when he paused. There were multiple books in the compartment he opened, and he considered bringing one with him. He picked a couple up from the pile and ran his fingers down their spines, reading the titles. One had a dark blue cover and was titled: "An Expansive History of Lucivia Kingdom". Yunho's eyebrows raised. Wasn't this the exact type of thing he was looking for?
He knew that Lucivia was the name of the kingdom "The Mistreated High Priestess Is Now a Princess" took place in, but he lacked more in-depth information the novel didn't give him. This book could help him finally understand this setting more, which seemed like a mishmash of modern, historical, and fantasy elements in one. It wasn't a problem when it was just a story, but he'd have to know more to actually live here. Yunho placed the book in the open suitcase and looked down at the remaining book in his hand.
It read: "My Loyal Knight Actually Wants To Marry Me?".
"..."
Yunho's brows furrowed. What the hell was this and why was it in Iris's bedroom?! He was about to flip to the first page, just for research purposes, when the front door of the room opened. Yunho dropped the book in the suitcase in surprise.
"Young Master, it's about time for your departure and the Lord and Lady of the House want to send you off," The butler said from the doorway. He typically would knock, but it was a slightly more urgent matter today.
Yunho gulped and nodded. He was just grateful that it didn't look like the butler noticed what was in his hand. But really, why did Iris have that?! Yunho turned around to close his suitcase when he realized what had fallen in it. That damn book...
He just shook his head. If he put it away now, the butler would certainly notice. Yunho didn't think the old man would be rude about it or even mention it, but it would be embarrassing. He closed the suitcase with a blank face and watched as a few servants came in from behind the butler and carried the suitcase and the other one Yunho had pushed to a corner of the room away.
Yunho was doubly thankful that he didn't put the book away. He would've exposed himself not only to the old man but the others behind the butler too! He was sure the butler wouldn't care, but taking what happened in the garden as evidence, he wasn't sure the other servants would keep it so hush-hush.
Yunho turned around and was about to leave when he spotted a folded white paper on the desk. He quickly pocketed it and then followed the butler out of the room. The walk to the manor's front was a tiring one, but Yunho was grateful that he, at least, didn't have to carry anything. When they reached the front entrance, the Count and Countess were there with the few servants that Yunho chose to take with him, including Marella who was currently chatting with another maid.
Yunho didn't see Irene at the entrance. It made sense. The Lord and Lady didn't like seeing her around, and Irene had no reason to want to see Iris off. But he still had the thing in his pocket to give her. Before the Lord or Lady could notice him, Yunho got the attention of a nearby servant.
"Hey, sorry to bother you, but can you give this to Irene?" Yunho said, handing the servant the folded paper. The servant boy looked surprised but quickly nodded, hurrying off with the paper in hand. Yunho was looking in the direction he went when he heard a voice behind him.
"My Iris! You're here! Your mother almost thought you changed your mind. It's fine if you did..." Lady Rosetta's voice rang out behind him. He turned around.
"No, it's fine, Mother. I was just finishing a few things," Yunho said as he faced the woman in front of him. She frowned.
"Well, you have already made up your mind, but are you sure you only want to take this many servants?" The countess said, gesturing to the group of five or so maids also standing at the front entrance.
"Yes, mother. I'm also bringing the butler. I can assure you I only need this many," Yunho replied, walking closer to the entrance.
The lady was about to say something but decided against it. She knew she couldn't change her son's mind, and in fact, it would just be a waste for him to cancel the trip now.
Yunho looked at the Count and gave a slight bow.
"Goodbye, father," Yunho said. It still felt awkward treating the Lord and Lady like his parents, but it's not like he was close enough with his original parents to feel like he was betraying them.
The Count just nodded. He seemed less keen on sappy goodbyes than the Countess and didn't stop Yunho as he walked through the large manor front doors to the carriages outside.
The servants who had carried his suitcases down loaded them into one of the carriages, and four of the five servants also got inside. Yunho entered his carriage which had more space and only Marella and the butler in it. The seats were plush, and the windows had cover so as to not let the sun bother the rider too much.
So this was another perk of being a young master, huh? Yunho relaxed as soon as he sat down. He didn't realize how tired he had been lately, but he was fighting off sleep inside the comfortable carriage.
Once everything was situated, the coachmen cued to the horses, and the two carriages pulled away from the front stone paved path of the manor, leaving the estate. It was finally the start of the many-day journey to the North and the changing of Iris's fate.
The comfortable seats plus the rocking motion of the current carriage cart made sleep impossible to evade for Yunho. His soft breathing could be heard in the carriage as he snuggled up in his hood. Marella and the butler couldn't help smiling at the sight.
---
Back at the manor, Irene was sitting on her bed in her small room that was no better than the servants' quarters. A white paper was clenched in her hands. A servantboy had delivered it to her saying it was from Iris. She contemplated not even opening it, but Irene had a few...suspicions that needed confirmation. She had already read the note five times, but she couldn't make sense of it. The letter read:
"Dear Irene, I know I've been terrible to you all these years, and I want to apologize to you. I'm deeply sorry for all the pain I've caused you and left to remove myself from your life. I wasn't trying to set you up back then and truly wanted to apologize. I hope we can repair our relationship in the future and become allies.
From, your very wrong and sorry brother, Iris"
Nothing was wrong with the letter. She could read every word and understood what it meant. But it was the "why" that had her racking her brain. Why would Iris write her this letter? Why would he apologize? Why would he leave?
Irene already had a few suspicions from the incident in the garden, but the paper in her hand was the final confirmation. The last piece of evidence to prove the conclusion that she was avoiding all this time. She crumpled up the piece of paper and tried to calm her quickening breath.
It was fine... Maybe she was wrong..and even if she wasn't, this wouldn't ruin anything. This wouldn't change anything!
Irene calmed down at this thought and threw the piece of paper in a corner. Yes...things were still fine. She'd let him have this one.
---
End of Chapter 9