Chapter 39
“Shut up!”
The men bared their teeth and growled.
“Shut your mouth and hand over everything you’ve got! Otherwise, don’t think we won’t hurt you just because you’re a girl!”
Seeing them barking like that, it was clear they weren’t the type to listen to reason. Rose would understand me much better than they would.
I sent Bell behind me and said, “You stay put. Don’t move.”
“But!”
Despite Bell’s protests, I firmly gripped my parasol and took a step forward.
“Huh?”
There was about a five-step distance between us. However, the moment I moved, I instantly closed the gap to stand right in front of the man.
Whack!
Before the man could even react, I struck his belly hard with the parasol.
“Ugh!”
The man’s waist bent in half. This time, I accurately hit the back of his neck. Then I caught the money pouch he dropped and threw it to Bell.
“This, this is!”
As his companion fell clumsily, the other one lunged at me immediately.
Dodging the man’s wild thrusts with no direction or purpose, I jabbed the sharp tip of the parasol into his solar plexus.
The man swallowed a scream and collapsed to the ground.
“Lady Ar! Behind you!”
At the urgent shout, I spun around swiftly. At the same time, I swung the parasol forcefully at the hand of the man charging at me with a sword.
“Ahhhh!”
Clang!
The dagger fell to the floor. I kicked it away with my foot, then lightly grabbed the hem of my skirt. With that, I delivered a strong kick to the man’s rear.
“Ugh!”
“Ugh…”
I walked over to the two men writhing on the ground. Noticing one of them reaching for another dagger lying on the floor, I pressed my shoe down hard on the back of his hand.
“Ugh!”
“Did your parents not teach you that attacking someone from behind is cowardly?”
“Ugh…”
“I warned you. I said I would let you go if you just handed over the money pouch.”
“That, that’s not it! We were just following what that man told us to do!”
I raised an eyebrow at the unexpected response.
“That man?”
“Earlier, a man came and told us to take the metal badge from the lady. Of course, it’s true we also intended to steal the money…”
“Where is that man now?”
“I, I don’t know. He was just over there a moment ago…”
The men pointed to an alley across the street. As soon as I lifted my foot off their hands, they scrambled to escape.
I ran toward the alley they indicated. However, there was no one there.
“Lady Ar!”
Bell rushed up to me.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt…? Oh, blood!”
Bell gasped in shock as she grabbed my arm. A little blood was flowing from my forearm. It seemed I had gotten a slight cut while dodging the sword earlier.
“Oh, what should we do!”
I sighed as I looked at my wound.
Getting hurt by such a pathetic street thug was humiliating. If I hadn’t been in a dress and heels, I wouldn’t have ended up like this.
“It’s okay. It’s just a slight scratch.”
“Ugh!”
Bell pulled out a handkerchief and wrapped it around my arm. At the same time, she burst into tears and sniffled.
“I’m so sorry. I’m really, really sorry. What should I do after you got hurt protecting me?”
“Well, to be honest, this happened more while trying to get the money back than while protecting you…”
Bell shook her head vigorously.
“Don’t say that! I know you’re just trying to lessen my guilt on purpose! I already understand your feelings, Lady Ar!”
“….”
I quietly nodded. Well, if she wants to think that, I won’t bother to correct her.
By the way, getting hurt in Rosen was not a good sign. If this news reached my parents—
That absolutely cannot happen! Dad would rush here like a mad bull the moment he heard!
“For now, let’s go back to the duke’s residence.”
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
We quietly returned to the duke’s residence. I draped my shawl over the injured area to hide it. I tried to get upstairs as quickly as possible, but of all things, I ran into the duchess right at the bottom of the stairs.
“Ar, did you enjoy shopping?”
I forced a bright smile and acted exaggeratedly.
“Yes, there were so many interesting things that I lost track of time. There were many things I hadn’t seen in the Grand Duchy, and so much I wanted to buy!”
The duchess looked at the box Belle was holding with a face full of curiosity.
“Then let me see what you bought…”
The duchess first spotted the large scissors and fell silent. After seeing a piece of jerky and a pair of woolen socks, among other trivial items, she was even more at a loss for words.
“…The jerky is a gift for Rose. And the socks… the socks are also a gift for Rose. Dogs love to play with things like this, right? And the scissors are, um, I thought I might try drawing a still life…”
“….”
“Oh, of course, there are scissors in the duke’s residence, but I wanted to try drawing with red scissors.”
Even if this excuse seemed very awkward, there was nothing I could do about it. I couldn’t think of a better excuse right now.
Fortunately, the duchess nodded her head.
“I see. Well, anything can be a subject for a painting.”
I smiled at the duchess brightly.
“Then we’ll head to our room now.”
“Ar.”
Just as I was about to go upstairs, the duchess called out to me. I turned around, feeling tense.
Was my excuse too strange? Did she notice that something else was going on outside?
“Take your time resting and come down slowly. There’s no need to rush; we have plenty of time. I’ll let the teacher know you’ll be a bit late.”
The teacher?
Then I suddenly remembered that I had another appointment in the afternoon. Right, I was supposed to practice dancing today.
“No, I’ll just change my clothes and come down right away.”
I said that and quickly headed up the stairs.
“Are you really going to go like this? Not even getting your wound treated by a doctor?”
This was what Bell said while helping me change my clothes.
I nodded.
“I told you. If the duke’s family finds out that I got hurt, it’s only a matter of time before it reaches my mother and father. I can’t see a doctor.”
Bell let out a deep sigh.
“I understand. I have some emergency medicine I brought for the trip. I’ll apply it later, so please don’t overdo it.”
“Okay.”
After changing into my loungewear, I pulled the sleeves down to my wrists. This should be enough to avoid being noticed.
I hurried down to the first floor, where the reception room was.
There, the duchess and another noblewoman were waiting. The noblewoman looked to be in her fifties, with a very thin frame and a bit of white hair showing.
As I approached, the duchess introduced her.
“Say hello. This is Lady Montfort, who taught dancing to the prince and princess directly. She made a special trip today at my request.”
She held her skirts and bowed toward me.
“It is an honor to meet you, young lady Iskas.”
I smiled and gave a slight nod.
“I’m glad to meet you too, Lady Montfort.”
Once the introductions were over, the dance practice began immediately. I had been learning to dance since I was young, so I was confident that I could dance better than anyone else.
However, as the duchess had said, there were some differences between the dances I had learned and the ones here. In particular, the waltz danced by both men and women had subtle differences in the turns and steps.
The waltz is a dance that must strictly follow set rules. If I had just danced without practicing beforehand, I would have surely stepped on my partner’s feet.
A question arose in my mind. Why didn’t anyone tell me this?
And then I realized. There was no one to inform me about this.
My mother had never even attended a ball at Rosen. If Lady Portman had been beside her, she would have known in advance, but they had been almost estranged.
As a result, the fact that the duchess was my chaperone was a great help to me. Although what the duchess was doing for me was a bit excessive, it was ultimately all necessary.
Wait, what about my father? Surely he must have danced at Rosen?
During a break, I decided to ask the duchess about my curiosity.
“Duchess, did you ever dance with my father?”
“Of course, I did. I first met your father at a ball.”
“So you found out then that the way of dancing in the North is different from that in the capital?”
At my question, the duchess smiled brightly.
“Yes, while we were dancing, I ended up stepping on his foot. As I mentioned earlier, the way we danced was different. I insisted it wasn’t my mistake but that the Grand Duke had made a mistake, and your father stubbornly denied it. I felt so unfair about it back then!”
Lady Montfort, who was listening to our conversation, burst into laughter.
“It was a long time ago, but I still vividly remember that. People misunderstood greatly when they saw you two whispering to each other the entire time you danced. But now it seems the truth was completely different from what I thought?”
“Yes, we were arguing over whose fault it was at that time.”
“It took nearly 20 years to learn the details of that conversation.”
“That’s just how it is. My husband doesn’t even know about that incident.”
Listening to their stories, I was filled with questions again. Was there such content in the original work?
This was none other than the first meeting between the female lead and the sub-male lead. It was quite an important scene, so it must have been treated with significance in the original. Yet, I had no memory of it at all. Had too much time passed, making me forget?
