Chapter 11
“What are you thinking about so intently?”
“Nothing…”
Still lost in the afterglow of her dream, Aveline was walking absentmindedly down the hallway when she bumped into Ares.
“Ah, what is it!”
Ares wore a stubborn expression, as if he wouldn’t back down easily.
Knowing that once his stubbornness kicked in, it was hard to dissuade him, Aveline was feeling troubled when someone called out to her from the end of the corridor.
“Ah, Miss.”
“Emma?”
Emma approached with a tray, eyeing the two of them cautiously.
“Oh? You…”
“Eep.”
Emma’s neck shrank as Ares seemed to recognize her.
“What? You two know each other?”
It was unusual for Ares, who normally didn’t care about anyone but himself, to recognize someone.
“Yesterday, that maid was running around in a daze, so I went all the way to the servants’ corridor to look.”
“What?”
“When I asked if you were over there, she kept saying she didn’t know anything, which was suspicious.”
So yesterday, when Emma misunderstood Aveline and Theron’s conversation and ran away, she encountered Ares who was pacing the first-floor corridor. Finding Emma’s reaction suspicious, Ares immediately ran to the servants’ corridor, broke the window, and climbed through.
That’s why Emma was scared when she saw Ares.
Having grasped the situation, Aveline turned to Emma.
“Emma, let’s go to my room.”
“What? Y-yes, of course!”
As Aveline turned to leave with the still dazed Emma, Ares grumbled behind them about why they were leaving him behind.
“Sorry, I’ll see you later!”
Ignoring the shouting from behind, Aveline quickly entered her room.
“Emma.”
“Yes!”
Emma responded with an overly tense voice at Aveline’s call.
‘As I thought.’
It was clear she was still firmly holding onto yesterday’s misunderstanding.
‘I need to clear this up quickly.’
That conversation yesterday was definitely not the kind of situation Emma had misunderstood it to be!
Just as Aveline was about to speak gravely, Emma quickly thrust forward the tray she was holding.
“P-please eat this, Miss! It’s a stew made with ingredients that are good for your health!”
“Huh?”
“And I really didn’t tell anyone! Please believe me!”
“No, I wasn’t…”
That wasn’t what she was trying to ask about.
“I absolutely, absolutely won’t tell anyone! I’ll take care of you wholeheartedly, Miss!”
“Oh, um? Thank you…?”
Oh no. This wasn’t right.
Overwhelmed by Emma’s fervor, Aveline inadvertently thanked her.
“Then if there’s anything you want to eat, please tell me anytime! I’ll make whatever it is for you!”
“Oh, okay…”
“Then I’ll be going now!”
“No, wait!”
Emma darted out of the room before Aveline could stop her. Left alone with the stew, Aveline was dumbfounded.
“She’s incredibly fast.”
Left alone, Aveline turned her attention to the stew on the table.
Although it was a misunderstanding, she felt grateful to Emma for making the stew for her even in her shocked state.
‘Emma always takes care of me.’
Right. Since the person who made it put in effort, I should eat this first.
And then I absolutely must clear up Emma’s misunderstanding.
“…It’s delicious.”
As soon as it went down her throat, a warm feeling spread through her body, suggesting that Emma’s claim of using various healthy ingredients was true.
“I wonder how she managed to make this while watching out for the chef.”
The more she thought about it, the more touched she felt. As she was scraping up the last bits, Yoni returned.
“Miss, where did this stew come from?”
“Emma gave it to me.”
At Aveline’s words, Yoni leaned in to examine the stew.
“But somehow, this stew seems like it’s for health restoration?”
“Pffft!”
“Oh no! Don’t spit it all out!”
Yoni hurriedly wiped Aveline’s mouth.
‘I really need to clear up this misunderstanding soon.’
Afraid that even Yoni might develop strange misunderstandings, Aveline grabbed her spoon, determined.
As Yoni drew the curtains, sunlight flooded into the room as if it had been waiting.
“Ugh.”
Aveline covered her face with both hands at the sudden light.
“You need to see the sunlight, Miss. You’re always staying in dark rooms. Emma must have been so worried to bring you this nourishing food.”
Misunderstanding Emma’s intentions, Yoni rattled off a stream of nagging while clearing away the bowl Aveline had eaten from.
“Ugh, uugh.”
As Aveline covered her ears and staggered towards the bed, Yoni raised her voice from behind.
“You shouldn’t lie down right after eating! Ah, don’t close the curtains again either! Anyone would think you’re a vampire, Miss!”
Prevented from going to the bed, Aveline changed direction towards the window, causing Yoni to cry out urgently.
“Vampire?”
Aveline stopped in her tracks and tilted her head at the unfamiliar word. Not missing this opportunity, Yoni quickly approached and led Aveline to a sofa well-lit by sunlight.
“It’s from a popular novel these days, about an incredibly handsome man who seduces women and sucks their blood. They become weak when exposed to sunlight.”
“That’s a vampire?”
“Yes! Vicky and Noen were talking about it so much after reading it, I feel like I know the whole story without even reading it!”
Yoni naturally sat Aveline down and began combing her hair. With each pass of the comb, Aveline’s fluffy pink hair settled down neatly.
“Hmm. Is that a recently released novel?”
“I think so?”
Just as Yoni finished with Aveline’s hair and turned around, Aveline quietly spoke up.
“Yoni.”
“Yes?”
“Hehe.”
As Aveline gave a suspicious smile, Yoni realized her intention and shook her head.
“Oh no, we can’t! The Count will really catch us this time!”
Excited by the news of a new novel, Aveline grasped both of Yoni’s hands and gave her a desperate look.
All the novels Aveline had read so far were procured by Yoni.
Until now, Yoni would obtain books from outside and pass them to Aveline, but recently, the Count’s household had started inspecting the belongings of everyone entering and leaving the mansion.
This was because Count Herolds still hadn’t let go of his suspicions about Duke Ribes.
He thought that Duke Ribes might have secretly hidden his jewel in the Count’s mansion and then turn around saying, “So my jewel was hidden by the Count after all!”
Of course, there was also a drop of suspicion about whether someone of Duke Ribes’ stature could really have fallen for his daughter who was cooped up at home.
Anyway, if Yoni was caught bringing in novels during this time of heightened vigilance by the Count, there was a high chance that the fact she had been supplying Aveline with novels and the list of all the novels she had brought in so far would be discovered.
The butler, who vaguely suspected Aveline’s hobby, might finally report it to the Count.
Even though the Count didn’t particularly care about Aveline, considering his usually strict personality, it was obvious he would try to confiscate all the books.
“You said Vicky and Noen have already read it? Then doesn’t that mean the book is already in the mansion? Let’s borrow and read that.”
Overwhelmed by the desire to read a new novel, Aveline whispered quietly.
“It’s not in the mansion. Those two went to a rental shop on their day off and read it there.”
“Rental shop…”
At the mention of a rental shop, Aveline’s smiling expression rapidly sank.
It had been so long since she had gone out that she didn’t have the courage to leave the mansion.
Even her recent outing hadn’t ended well.
“…Maybe I should ask Ares for help.”
“For what?”
A familiar voice was heard behind Aveline as she muttered weakly.
“Y-young master!”
Startled by Ares’ sudden appearance, Yoni hurriedly gathered the things to be tidied up and left the room.
“…”
In the end, only Ares and Aveline were left in the room. Despite having entered without knocking, Ares strode over to stand beside Aveline.
“What do you want me to help with?”
Ares’ expression was sulky, perhaps still bothered by being left in the hallway earlier.
“Well, ahem. Let’s hear it.”
However, it seemed curiosity had won over his sulkiness as Ares casually posed the question.
Aveline, quietly observing her brother, slowly opened her mouth.
“Do you know what a vampire is?”
“What?”
“Just answer the question. Do you know or not?”
“I don’t know. But is it something scary?”
As Aveline deliberately created a serious atmosphere, Ares’ expression became tense in response.
Ares, who had been afraid of ghost stories and supernatural beings since childhood, quickly became serious.
“Sigh, listen carefully.”
“Huh? Okay…”
“I heard they’ve newly appeared, and they lure people to suck their blood.”
“What?!”
“Shh.”
Seeing her usually timid brother fall for it splendidly, Aveline secretly smiled.
Then, she whispered ominously to Ares, who was still swallowing hard with a tense face.
“They only choose pretty people like you.”
“Gasp. Then what should I do now?”
Ares asked in a whisper, cupping his cheeks with both hands as if terrified.
“So, here’s the thing. I need a book that tells you how to deal with vampires when they appear.”
“A book?”
“Yes. I need to read it so I can protect you if a vampire appears.”
Aveline drove home her final point to seal the deal.
“So, will you help me get that book to read?”
