ICTV - Chapter 98

ICTV - Chapter 98

I change The Villain

Rose stared at the closed door in silence. When I open that door and face James, I have to move diligently without stopping. It was such a difficult and difficult task for lazy Rose. I asked Belial if he knew that too.

"Are you okay?"

"..."

I looked down at Belial. If he had been in the past, there is a high probability that he would have said it was okay even if it was just empty words. Because empty words don't suit Rose. But I want to do it now.

"Of course it's okay."

Even if it's just empty words, I want to reassure Belial. I lightly touched Belial's forehead with my finger and then exclaimed.

"Wait a minute!"

I changed into dark-colored indoor clothes. I, wearing a shawl, opened the door. James bowed his head. 

"Sorry for being so early in the morning."

"No, what's going on?"

"I would like to inform you that Lady Seneta has awakened."

"What is her condition?"

"Very good."

"Can I go and meet her now?" 

"No. Let's eat breakfast first. I just recently brought Lady Seneta a breakfast made up of foods that are easy to digest."

"..."

Yeah. I don't even know how to start a conversation anyway. I nodded my head.

"What's on the menu for breakfast today?"

"Just tell me and I will bring you any food. Oh, but I told the chef in advance to prepare Mont Blanc and hot chocolate for dessert...." 

"I'm going to skip dessert today."

James' face suddenly became serious at my words.

"Where does it hurt? Shall I call the doctor?"

"No. It's so serious that I don't eat Mont Blanc...."

There were too many things he had done to ask whether this was true. I reassured James.

"I just want to eat something simple today. It will be easier to think if I have a slightly empty stomach."

"All right. Then I will tell them to prepare as simply as possible."

"What about my brother and Arshan?"

"Master Arshan left at dawn, and Master Beryl is already waiting for the Lady in the restaurant. They said they would eat together no matter what."

"..."

"Then I'll just leave."

"Wait a minute, James." 

James looked at me with puzzled eyes. I said. 

"Do you want me to prepare the carriage? I want to go out as soon as I finish talking with Lady Seneta."

"... Going out?" 

"Yes. I want to go out. I heard a new book is coming to the bookstore today."

At that time, I felt a presence behind me. I turned my head. Now there was Belial standing there, dressed in his clothes. Belial said.

"For the time being, if you need something. It might be better to just have someone do it."

"No."

I shook my head. 

"I need to see and confirm the condition of the new work with my own eyes."

"..."

"Okay, then the story ends here. Let's go eat breakfast quickly." 

I went down to the dining room, pushing Belial's back with my hand. The maids greeted me politely on my way.

"Are you awake?"

"Good morning." 

As expected of people hired by Belial, the people of the Serenity Duchy were as usual.

Always polite, always quick. All the things necessary for living are prepared. If you suddenly needed something, all you had to do was call merchants who would do anything for money and have them deliver it. When you want to get some fresh air, you can go out to the garden.

This mansion was nothing short of heaven. Heaven without the sky. 

I walked ahead of him, holding his back.

"But I can't just stay inside like this for the rest of our lives." 

"Normally, even when asked to go out, you said you didn't want to go out."

Belial cannot forget. My old self, who really didn't want to even take a step out of bed.

I was a person who lay motionless even when assassins came and people died in front of my eyes. I'm still not as good as I used to be, but it was amazing that I lay down whenever I got the chance, but when I suddenly said something like this, so Belial couldn't help but feel unfamiliar.

"I'm just asking, why are you saying you want to lie down when you're already in bed?"

"It's like not doing anything and wanting to do nothing even more."

"I don't know what that means either."

"You never know, because you're so diligent, and..."

I touched my forehead and spoke in a serious tone.

"At that time, I just didn't want to go out. I definitely can't go out now."

"It was that person's fault, so why should we be complacent?"

"... As expected, you say only the right things."

The two went into the restaurant. Beryl grunted.

"Are you coming now? I thought I would starve to death while waiting."

"You should have eaten first."

"Sit down quickly. But you..."

Beryl looked at me with puzzled eyes.

"Your face is smooth today?"

"It's because I took a long bath." 

"How long have you been doing this?"

"I don't know exactly. But I'm sure I was in the bathroom for a very long time."

"Oh my. Didn't you know that if you stay in the bathroom for too long you could faint? Do it in moderation next time."

After giving affectionate advice to Rose, Beryl's eyes turned to Belial.

 "You're even smoother than usual."

"Belial was originally smooth." 

Beryl asked without thinking.

"Did the Duke take a long bath too?"

"..."

Belial's fingers stroked my shoulder as he looked at Beryl in silence.

"You could say that." 

Beryl grumbled as he tore the crumbly bread into pieces.

"They say couples really do everything the same, and that's true. Wow, you have the same bath time because you don't have anything else to do."

"Let's eat quickly."

If I were to say that not only time but also space and bath salts were the same, there would be an uproar. 

I stuffed bread into Beryl's mouth so he couldn't ask any more questions. 

"Eup, what are you doing...?"

"What am I doing? Don't I feel the warmth of my brother's heart that I want you to have a good breakfast?"

"A warm heart is a mess...!"

Belial, who was watching this, laughed inadvertently. At that time, a knight came and whispered to Belial.

"..."

The corners of Belial's mouth returned to their original positions as if he had never laughed. Belial stood up.

"I have work to do, so I'll just head out."

"Yes, don't overdo it."

Belial kissed my forehead and left the restaurant. I stared at Belial's figure until it disappeared.

"Why are you looking at him like that?"

I answered Beryl's question with a serious face. 

"I thought Belial looked really pretty from the back. There really isn't a corner that isn't pretty." 

"Wow, chicken meat. It's so disgusting I'm dying. When you say something like that, tie up your hair. Doesn't it bother you while you're eating?" 

"Is it?"

I thoughtlessly gathered my hair into one piece. Then my white nape was fully exposed. Beryl became curious again.

"What are those marks again? Any insect bite marks?" 

I quickly lowered my hand. My hair covered the nape of my neck again.

"No, really, what are those marks? Are there bugs here in the mansion? You need to apply medicine." 

"Where did your friend go? James said he went out early in the morning. When will he return?"

"... Friends are shit. I met this guy yesterday."

Fortunately, I succeeded in changing the topic. Beryl immediately grunted.

"He'll be back soon. When I told him that there was a store selling high-quality paper near this mansion, he ran over to it right away. I don't know what he really is. He's going out alone, leaving the person he's supposed to be escorting alone."

"...Brother." 

"What else?"

Beryl wiped his mouth with a napkin and looked at me with puzzled eyes.

"The kid is awake."

Beryl's hand stopped. Beryl looked at me with strange eyes. 

"Then why are you here?" 

"Well, I, therefore..."

My face became somewhat serious.

"I don't know what to say." 

"... Are you the type of person who worries about things like that?" 

"No, it's not like that." 

Beryl quickly pushed the empty bowl away.

"Just talk normally."

"..."

"Everyone feels comfortable talking to you."

The corners of my mouth slowly rose.

"Thank you for the compliment. Now, have some more bread as a reward."

"I'm choking to death with bread. Stop giving me bread. And it's not a compliment."

Even as he said that, Beryl ate all of the bread that I gave him.

"Just go see Violet quickly. I'm digging up anything that could be a weakness."

"Brother is?"

"Well, that's fine. I don't really have anything to do, so what should I do? I'm tired of training now," 

Beryl stood up while lightly pressing my head. At that time, I heard the lively voice of Arshan, who had just returned.

"Hello, friend! I bought some paper for you, but then I remembered you, so I bought some bread from the bakery!"

"I just ate 5 pieces of bread in a row. What kind of bread is this?!"

"Oh, don't do that. Have one more breakfast with me."

Friends. 

I slumped down on the desk while watching Beryl's back being dragged by Arshan.

Long time no see? Am I actually Ji-hye? Were you very surprised? 

How can every word that comes to mind be bad? I grabbed my head.

"What do normal people say to friends they haven't seen in a long time?"

I just don't know. I groaned. It was such a difficult task for me as ny only special friends were Da-seo and Eun-hwa. The events that had occurred flashed through my mind.

"It was really fun when I was with Da-seo."

Thanks to Da-seo, I learned how happy it is to buy a cafe drink and a cake and chat, and I learned about the different types of clothes and cosmetics available.

I had a lot of fights with my parents because they said I was cheating on them while hanging out with Da-seo. 

A smile appeared on my lips as I recalled the past.

While thinking about what happened with Datseo, a bunch of bad memories came out, but I wasn't that sad. I really didn't feel anything. At that time, it was because I cried a lot while blaming my family in front of Edgar.

"..."

What is Edgar really up to?.

I stood up. I can't stand it anymore. I grabbed the hem of my skirt and ran up the stairs. 

Edgar gets caught. Belial gets caught, and everything gets caught.

I miss Da-seo so much now. I want to tell her everything. I want to hear everything from her. It occurred to me that now I might be able to become real friends with Da-seo.

I opened the door with both hands. Violet was standing in front of the window. Violet, dressed in white pajamas, turned her head helplessly. 

"Lady Pale."

As soon as Violet saw me, she lowered her head helplessly. 

"You were very surprised yesterday. Please excuse me...."

Before Violet could finish speaking, I opened my mouth.

"How could that be rude?" 

"Yes?" 

Suddenly, my words became shorter and Violet's eyes widened. I was fiddling with the hem of my skirt, and then I called Violet's real name.

"It's time to come up."

Violet's breathing stopped for a moment. I spoke again. 

"It's all right?" 

A faint smile appeared on my lips.

"It's me, Ji-hye."

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