Chapter 6
“You can be like that when you’re very startled.”
Lucian sat down with a thud in front of me, laughing. He was completely soaked, having apparently come in from the rain outside.
Noticing my gaze, he scratched his head and said.
“What kind of rain pours down like this? I’m completely drenched. Should I sit a bit farther away?”
“No, it’s fine. Are you okay not drying off? A handkerchief or something…”
“Haha! No, this is nothing.”
Lucian laughed heartily and greeted me.
“I work with the same leader as Adri… I mean, with the leader. Just call me Al, or uncle, or old man.”
“I’m Ashley Ort.”
Lucian seemed to be a cheerful person, just like in the novel’s description.
Perhaps because he was a character I knew, I felt my tension ease a bit and smiled slightly at Lucian.
“By the way, why are you wandering the corridors at this hour, miss?”
“Well…”
Saying I was worried about Adrian would probably look quite ridiculous, so I smiled awkwardly and deflected.
“What about you, Al?”
“I got lost because of the magic cast throughout the mansion. I just can’t get used to it.”
“Ah…”
“I’m terrible with directions. Anyway, I’m sorry about this. Our leader already told us to be careful since the lady we took hostage has a weak constitution.”
This kind-hearted villain… Why are you being so considerate?
“How is it? Is it livable? Well… I know it’s not something I, who kidnapped you, should ask… Ah, you probably couldn’t eat the food.”
“No, I ate.”
“You ate the food our leader made? This… you’re no ordinary lady.”
“Ah… well…”
I told Lucian about what happened that day.
After hearing the story, Lucian laughed loudly for a long time, his voice proportionate to his size. Then he leaned closer to me and whispered.
“Miss, this is a secret, but…”
Just as Lucian was about to tell me something, a voice came from behind me.
“What are you doing instead of sleeping?”
I turned around to see Adrian standing there, also soaked from the rain like Lucian.
Seeing his face made me laugh.
It would have been good if I had just laughed, but I unconsciously blurted out the words I had been holding in while waiting for Adrian for days.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
At my question, Adrian answered with a bewildered expression that he wasn’t.
Hearing that answer brought relief and I smiled again. Then, a window that had been quiet for days suddenly flashed before my eyes.
[You have achieved a suspicious accomplishment and earned a suspicious title!
Suspicious Title
‘Meddlesome Sucker’: You have earned this title by worrying about your kidnapper despite being a hostage.]
How varied.
I tried to ignore it, but an unavoidable message appeared.
[Congratulations!
You have acquired 3 or more suspicious titles!]
[A hidden quest will occur!]
A hidden quest? I haven’t even completed the main quest yet?
“Lady Ort?”
“Ah.”
Now wasn’t the time to check this. I forced myself to ignore the window and greeted Adrian.
“It’s… a good evening, isn’t it?”
“It’s dawn. And it’s not good either.”
At his cold response, I smiled awkwardly and rolled my eyes toward Lucian.
Lucian had quite an interested expression, but when our eyes met, he made a “whoa” sound, stood up, and extended his hand to me.
“Miss, you can get up now, right?”
“Of course.”
I tried to stand up by taking Lucian’s hand, but this time I got a cramp in my leg and couldn’t get up.
I let out a small laugh in embarrassment. Adrian approached me and handed his wet outer coat to Lucian.
“Brother, you must be tired, so rest.”
“You.”
“I’ll escort the lady.”
At Adrian’s words, Lucian narrowed his eyes and looked back and forth between me and Adrian, then shrugged his shoulders.
“Do as you like.”
Before Lucian had even finished answering, Adrian was already approaching me. And he asked me.
“May I excuse myself for a moment?”
I nodded as if enchanted by those words. Then Adrian lifted me up in his arms.
Suddenly embraced by my favorite character, I looked up at Adrian in surprise.
Then gentle blue eyes looked down at me.
“Are you uncomfortable?”
I shook my head.
My body was comfortable, but my heart was uncomfortable. I forced myself to ignore the discomfort and spoke to Adrian.
“Did you have dinner?”
Adrian shook his head.
“I made corn soup. Please try it tomorrow.”
“…I will.”
“Um… leader?”
“Yes.”
“I’m really sorry. About that day.”
“What do you mean?”
“About… calling it garbage.”
Adrian’s gaze, which had been directed forward the entire time we walked, turned to me.
He was looking at me with a surprised expression. Adrian looked at me for a long time, then answered briefly.
“It’s not.”
The conversation ended there. We arrived at the door, and Adrian opened it while still holding me, about to walk toward the bed.
I urgently grabbed his clothes and pulled him close, whispering in a small voice.
“Kay is on the bed.”
“Ah.”
“I think I’m okay now, could you put me down?”
At my words, Adrian quickly put me down.
I was about to say thank you, but Adrian didn’t even give me time for that. With a brief “sleep well,” he quickly left the room.
In the room after Adrian left, I scratched my cheek in embarrassment when the system window kept blinking annoyingly beside me.
It seemed like a signal to check it quickly, so when I pressed it, the hidden quest content appeared.
[Hidden Quest <Supporting Character’s Helper>
You are different from other nobles. All the rebels have recognized this fact.
Perhaps they see something called hope in you?
Among them, there seems to be someone who thinks of you as more than just a hostage. Thanks to this, you have qualified to become a supporting character’s helper.
From now on, become a supporting character’s helper and stand on their side.
Condition: All rebels must recognize you as their ‘ally.’]
‘Ally… That doesn’t make sense.’
Even if all the rebels were good people, there was no way they would open their hearts to me, a friend of the protagonists.
I bit my lower lip at the nonsensical condition and checked the reward.
[Success Reward: ????
Failure Penalty: Death of the rebels]
I almost screamed at the penalty. I quickly covered my mouth.
Death of the rebels if I fail? Does this make sense?
I gnawed on my lips and moved my eyes to the last remaining sentence below.
[Time Limit: Before Duke and Duchess Reynolds arrive]
That ultimately meant the protagonists would be coming here…
It was almost impossible for the three rebels to survive against them.
Considering the relationship between Ashley Ort and the protagonists, there was no way they would spare the rebels.
I felt overwhelmed. I had no confidence in successfully completing this quest.
“Can’t I not accept this quest since it’s not even the main one?”
I whispered quietly toward the air so Kay wouldn’t hear. The system window gave no response.
Seeing no reaction, it seemed I couldn’t refuse it. Then I had to complete this quest…
But how?
I felt hopeless. Regardless of how the future unfolded, I wanted to save these people first. After saving them, I wanted to give Adrian what he wanted.
Since the protagonists became happy in the main story, couldn’t the villain also be happy in the side story?
I stared intently at the system window. Hoping there might be an answer. But what I expected wasn’t in there.
Before, there had at least been a “view details” option, but now even that seemed to have disappeared. But it was too early to give up.
The system must have some method, otherwise it wouldn’t have thrown such a thing at me as a quest.
For now, Kay seemed to have opened her heart to me quite a bit, so it seemed possible if there was enough time. The problem was Adrian and Lucian.
While it was true that both were kind to me, that was because I wasn’t recognized as a target of revenge by them.
Given Adrian’s personality, he probably wouldn’t want to make things bigger, but I couldn’t judge since I didn’t know how Lucian would react.
Out of frustration, I randomly poked at the window. As I was fiddling with the window here and there, I suddenly remembered the phrase I saw when I first checked achievements and titles.
‘You can check the effects of corresponding achievements and titles.’
I hurriedly opened the achievements window and checked them one by one. And I found one achievement with a special effect.
[Checking the effect of achieving 50 stupid words and actions.
Special Effect: No matter what stupid actions and verbal mistakes you make, people will accept it thinking ‘It’s Ashley~’]
It was good that there was an effect, but it didn’t seem very useful.
I slumped in my chair with a devastated expression. I could only hope the protagonists would come as slowly as possible.
* * *
After worrying all night, I got up only when the sun was high in the sky.
Kay, who should have been sleeping next to me, was nowhere to be seen. She had apparently already left. I roughly fixed my messy hair and went down to the kitchen.
As I approached the kitchen, I heard conversation. It was the voices of Lucian and Kay.
“You’re the most wicked one, little one. Still, you should have told that lady that the cook was the leader.”
“I couldn’t find the right timing! I wanted to say it too!”
“What if the leader got angry and scolded the lady?”
The sound of the two bickering was like a good-natured uncle and niece.
I was smiling at that sight when a shadow fell in front of me. Shoes entered my vision that had been directed toward the floor.
Recognizing them as Adrian’s, I slowly raised my head and greeted him.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Yes. How about you, my lady…”
Adrian’s eyes examined my face. Then he frowned slightly.
“You seem to have slept poorly… If you’re not feeling well, you should tell me immediately so I can take measures.”
“I’m fine. By the way, did you eat?”
“Yes. I ate early.”
“Perhaps…”
Did he eat the soup I made?
I looked up at Adrian. Perceptive Adrian nodded and gave me the answer I wanted.
“It was delicious.”
“Ah, that’s a relief. And… I’m sorry once again.”
“Ah… I’m the one who should be sorry…”
“You two, what are you doing?”
Lucian suddenly appeared between me and Adrian.
Adrian told Lucian he was just stopping by briefly and left immediately, while I entered the kitchen.
Kay said she hadn’t eaten yet and tried to ladle soup. I said I would do it and snatched the ladle to look at the soup.
I felt an inexplicable sense of discomfort. Looking closely, I could see the same amount as yesterday.
“Al.”
“Huh?”
“Did the leader eat?”
Lucian looked at the soup and smacked his lips before answering.
“Well, that guy didn’t come to the kitchen. I was in the kitchen all morning.”
He didn’t eat. He just said it was delicious thinking of me.
Really…
“Why is your expression like that, miss?”
“What about me?”
“Did I say something wrong?”
“What! Did uncle make our sister upset? You have a completely upset face right now!”
At Kay’s words, I realized. I was making an upset face…
“Sister, is it because the leader didn’t eat the soup you made?”
I couldn’t bring myself to answer yes and avoided Kay’s eyes when Lucian scratched his head and said to me.
“Well… miss. I was trying to tell you yesterday…”
It seemed like he was trying to tell me the secret he couldn’t say yesterday due to Adrian’s appearance, so I nodded.
“Our leader can’t taste anything. That’s why he doesn’t eat much.”
“What?”
“Huh?”
Kay and I answered simultaneously. This seemed to be the first time Kay was hearing this story too.
“It’s personal, so I can’t go into detail, but a few years ago, due to some incident, he completely lost his sense of taste. It’s not something that can be solved with medicine… There’s no healing power left in the empire either. So he’s been in that state for several years now.”
“…”
“And miss, you don’t need to do this much for the people who kidnapped you. Don’t get too attached.”
Lucian’s gaze was directed toward Kay as he said the last sentence. Since I was someone who would leave anyway, he was telling me to stop being so nice to Kay.
Lucian was drawing a line while speaking indirectly.
Having been with only Kay until now, I seemed to see that clear line I had forgotten.
For a moment, a bitter taste circulated in my mouth. I felt like the success of the hidden quest was getting even further away.
When I didn’t say anything, Kay gently took my hand. And she pressed something into my hand.
When something cold touched my fingertips, I flinched and looked down. In my hand was a blue-purple flower, a single delphinium.
“I wanted to show you the flower garden soon, sister… But it rained so much yesterday. I brought this at least.”
“Ask the leader about flowers that bloom quickly. You can plant those and show them to her.”
“Sister won’t be here then! You silly uncle!”
I watched the two bickering and shifted my gaze to the flower in my hand.
A flower garden full of blue-purple flowers. Just imagining it was beautiful and I made a faint smile, but at the word flower garden, a thought flashed through my mind.
Why did I only think of this now?
There was exactly one way for Ashley Ort to win the hearts of the rebels.
A method only Ashley, with her flower garden brain, could do.
TN: Korean slang meaning someone who is naive or airheaded, referring to Ashley’s original character trait
