Episode 19. The Missing Guest
Entering the dark maze with the young ladies, Olivia instinctively sensed that they had not brought her here with good intentions.
No, she knew it even before she came in. The subtle contempt hidden in their eyes pierced Olivia's skin.
She tried to hold out and not enter the main garden, but since they kept talking about Astrid's royal family, she had no choice but to follow them in.
A moment later, just a little further away from the noise of the main garden, Olivia stopped walking.
“...Hmm? What are you doing? Should I walk more?”
When Helena instinctively grabbed Olivia's arm and asked, Olivia politely pulled her arm away.
“I think I’ve seen enough. I’ll go back now.”
Olivia's calm, direct tone of voice was quite assertive, but as always, it meant little in the face of overwhelming numerical superiority.
With the eyes of the beholder gone, there was no reason for the young ladies to wear masks.
Olivia, with her lower body slightly protruding, braced her stomach and opened her eyes wide to face Helena.
"I know full well that I have no authority to command you. Even though I am a commoner, I am still a royal guest until tonight."
Then, the young lady, who was behind Olivia, whispered in her ear.
"Why, so you're going to go early? What are you going to say? Who are you going to say it to? Do you know who we are?"
"Let's stop arguing and go. This maze is so colorful! We'll show you around ourselves."
"Yeah, who wears such an ill-fitting dress for so long? You wanted to take the opportunity to bite that stupid nobleman, didn't you?"
Olivia took a deep breath and clutched the hem of her dress as the vulgar insults poured out without giving her a moment to catch her breath.
She knows, deeply, that she can never defeat a multitude of people intent on harassing her alone. In such situations, the best course of action is to get out of the situation as quickly as possible.
Olivia quickly turned around and tried to go back the way she had come, but the young ladies were already blocking the narrow passage.
“Please step aside. I’m going back now.”
“...”
Helena looked at Olivia with a blank expression.
The stinging contempt melted into her eyes.
Whenever she saw such a strong rejection of her own existence, a very sad question rose in Olivia's heart.
'What did I do?'
Olivia snickered. For a moment, their expressions cracked miserably. They were going to break at such a mere laugh.
“If you don’t want to step aside, I’ll go back.”
Then, before Helena could say anything, she walked away, looking around.
If you go straight ahead, the maze will only get deeper, and since the maze entrances are lined up in a circle, you can just keep going down the side road and then turn around again. You can even see the lights of the main garden.
“...That rude one!”
Helena, who had been blankly staring at Olivia's back, belatedly burst into anger and tried to follow her.
“It’ll be more difficult if we go that way.”
When a young lady, who was at the very back, muttered in a voice mixed with laughter, Helena frowned and turned around.
“What do you mean?”
Then the young lady pointed with her finger in the direction where Olivia had disappeared.
“The young masters were rushing in from over there. They saw us going in.”
At those words, Helena and the young ladies looked into the darkness where Olivia had disappeared.
“Oh, right. I didn’t mean to do that.”
“It’s because you ran away without even knowing our kindness.”
“Oh my, poor souls. They’re going to meet empty shells.”
Words mixed with vulgar intent permeated the sweet air of the rose garden.
It seemed like the road should have gone to the left, but no matter how far she went, the road continued straight to the right.
She glanced back, but there was no sign of the young ladies following her.
Olivia's dark eyes sank coldly.
She's confident she can discern malice with a keen eye, even if it's disguised as goodwill.
She wasn't always so agile. She only learned it after being thrown into the abyss several times.
And, sadly, she acknowledged that no form of persuasion would work on someone who harbored ill will toward her very existence. Instead, she vowed not to give such a being even the slightest opening.
Olivia paused for a moment, assessing her bearings. She glanced around for a moment, then decided to turn back the way she'd come rather than go down an unfamiliar road. They must have gone somewhere, too.
It was the moment when she was carefully holding the dress and was about to go back the way she came.
“Miss Liberty?”
A low voice from behind sent a chill down her spine, making the hairs on her body stand on end. Even the sounds of people were more than just a few.
Even with the lanterns, the maze was dark. For some reason, even the lights in the main garden were invisible, leaving only the sound of her own rasping breathing and the footsteps of the burly men pressing in behind.
Olivia glanced around and saw that about five or six noble men were approaching her.
A kind person can never have a smile.
A pressure of a different level from the pressure the young ladies had been giving her began to creep in.
“Oh, I guess I’m lost?”
“I wanted to meet you separately anyway, so why don’t you come with us?”
A chilling sense of crisis came over her.
"No. I appreciate your kindness, but I'll take care of it myself. Don't follow me."
She spoke calmly, but she couldn't stop the slight trembling at the end of her voice.
“It seems like a perfect place to have a conversation, so why don’t you come with us?”
The moment someone feigned kindness to refuse her request, Olivia ran without looking back.
Entering the dark maze with the young ladies, Olivia instinctively sensed that they had not brought her here with good intentions.
No, she knew it even before she came in. The subtle contempt hidden in their eyes pierced Olivia's skin.
She tried to hold out and not enter the main garden, but since they kept talking about Astrid's royal family, she had no choice but to follow them in.
A moment later, just a little further away from the noise of the main garden, Olivia stopped walking.
“...Hmm? What are you doing? Should I walk more?”
When Helena instinctively grabbed Olivia's arm and asked, Olivia politely pulled her arm away.
“I think I’ve seen enough. I’ll go back now.”
Olivia's calm, direct tone of voice was quite assertive, but as always, it meant little in the face of overwhelming numerical superiority.
With the eyes of the beholder gone, there was no reason for the young ladies to wear masks.
“No, I have to go. This isn't an offer.”
"I know full well that I have no authority to command you. Even though I am a commoner, I am still a royal guest until tonight."
Then, the young lady, who was behind Olivia, whispered in her ear.
"Why, so you're going to go early? What are you going to say? Who are you going to say it to? Do you know who we are?"
"Let's stop arguing and go. This maze is so colorful! We'll show you around ourselves."
"Yeah, who wears such an ill-fitting dress for so long? You wanted to take the opportunity to bite that stupid nobleman, didn't you?"
Olivia took a deep breath and clutched the hem of her dress as the vulgar insults poured out without giving her a moment to catch her breath.
She knows, deeply, that she can never defeat a multitude of people intent on harassing her alone. In such situations, the best course of action is to get out of the situation as quickly as possible.
Olivia quickly turned around and tried to go back the way she had come, but the young ladies were already blocking the narrow passage.
“Please step aside. I’m going back now.”
“...”
Helena looked at Olivia with a blank expression.
The stinging contempt melted into her eyes.
Whenever she saw such a strong rejection of her own existence, a very sad question rose in Olivia's heart.
'What did I do?'
Olivia snickered. For a moment, their expressions cracked miserably. They were going to break at such a mere laugh.
“If you don’t want to step aside, I’ll go back.”
Then, before Helena could say anything, she walked away, looking around.
If you go straight ahead, the maze will only get deeper, and since the maze entrances are lined up in a circle, you can just keep going down the side road and then turn around again. You can even see the lights of the main garden.
“...That rude one!”
Helena, who had been blankly staring at Olivia's back, belatedly burst into anger and tried to follow her.
“It’ll be more difficult if we go that way.”
When a young lady, who was at the very back, muttered in a voice mixed with laughter, Helena frowned and turned around.
“What do you mean?”
Then the young lady pointed with her finger in the direction where Olivia had disappeared.
“The young masters were rushing in from over there. They saw us going in.”
At those words, Helena and the young ladies looked into the darkness where Olivia had disappeared.
“Oh, right. I didn’t mean to do that.”
“It’s because you ran away without even knowing our kindness.”
“Oh my, poor souls. They’re going to meet empty shells.”
Words mixed with vulgar intent permeated the sweet air of the rose garden.
It seemed like the road should have gone to the left, but no matter how far she went, the road continued straight to the right.
She glanced back, but there was no sign of the young ladies following her.
Olivia's dark eyes sank coldly.
She's confident she can discern malice with a keen eye, even if it's disguised as goodwill.
She wasn't always so agile. She only learned it after being thrown into the abyss several times.
And, sadly, she acknowledged that no form of persuasion would work on someone who harbored ill will toward her very existence. Instead, she vowed not to give such a being even the slightest opening.
Olivia paused for a moment, assessing her bearings. She glanced around for a moment, then decided to turn back the way she'd come rather than go down an unfamiliar road. They must have gone somewhere, too.
It was the moment when she was carefully holding the dress and was about to go back the way she came.
“Miss Liberty?”
A low voice from behind sent a chill down her spine, making the hairs on her body stand on end. Even the sounds of people were more than just a few.
Even with the lanterns, the maze was dark. For some reason, even the lights in the main garden were invisible, leaving only the sound of her own rasping breathing and the footsteps of the burly men pressing in behind.
Olivia glanced around and saw that about five or six noble men were approaching her.
A kind person can never have a smile.
A pressure of a different level from the pressure the young ladies had been giving her began to creep in.
“Oh, I guess I’m lost?”
“I wanted to meet you separately anyway, so why don’t you come with us?”
A chilling sense of crisis came over her.
"No. I appreciate your kindness, but I'll take care of it myself. Don't follow me."
She spoke calmly, but she couldn't stop the slight trembling at the end of her voice.
“It seems like a perfect place to have a conversation, so why don’t you come with us?”
The moment someone feigned kindness to refuse her request, Olivia ran without looking back.
Her heart pounded even faster as she heard a low laugh behind her.
Savagery is not a matter of social status.
The barbarism that never appeared before someone who had to be polite easily appeared before someone who did not have to be polite.
Olivia ran desperately. Unlike her, who was new to this place, they seemed to already know the way, as the sound of rapid footsteps from beyond the trees to her left and right kept pressing her.
The distinction between east, west, south, and north has disappeared.
The maze unfolded as intricately as her life, and Olivia found herself wandering into a deeper, darker place.
“Where are you?”
Olivia ran faster as she heard a creepy voice right behind her.
The maze deepened, and she couldn't even count how many dead ends she encountered. The corset compressing her lungs made it impossible to breathe properly, and the heavy breathing made her dizzy.
Just then, the sound of footsteps on dry grass came from behind her. Olivia turned around and saw a dark shadow rippling.
Her throat was so tight she couldn't even scream. Olivia, barely able to muster the strength to stand on her trembling legs, quickly started running again.
Olivia was quick. She ran away without looking back, as if startled, and he followed her, but before he knew it, she was gone.
Lawrence looked at the spot where Olivia had disappeared and scratched his head.
"Let's go. No matter what, she's a guest of the royal family. If we talk about it, it'll be embarrassing."
“Well, Noah warned me too. Stop it.”
Others nodded in agreement with his opinion.
“Hey... but can I just leave it?”
The prodigal sons stared blankly into the dark maze and scratched their heads.
“I just wanted to talk, but it’s the fault of the person who ran away.”
“Is that so?”
Even though it was never their pure intention to talk or anything, they pretended not to know.
“It would be worse if we went in to look for her.”
At that moment, the head maid suddenly appeared, accompanied by the sound of urgent footsteps. Her dazzling gaze made the prodigal sons shrink for some reason, clearing their throats and looking toward the distant mountains. The head maid hurriedly searched for Olivia.
“Have you not seen Miss Olivia Liberty?”
The tone of voice, as if she knew everything, sent chills down his spine, but the prodigal sons finally held back.
“I’ve never seen her...Have you seen her?”
"No?"
"Not at all."
“I’m sorry, but we didn’t see her.”
Lawrence answered the maid with innocent eyes.
The head maid sighed and then released the servants and maids who followed her into a large maze.
“Go and find Miss Liberty.”
Meanwhile, Noah frowned and sat up as the quiet garden suddenly became noisy.
The sound of noisy footsteps seemed to be getting closer, and then the head maid suddenly appeared.
“Oh, Your Highness. I apologize for disturbing your rest.”
The head maid quickly nodded toward Noah, who was frowning in displeasure. Noah stood up, put on the gloves he had taken off, and asked listlessly.
“What’s wrong?”
"That is..."
The head maid, who had been silent for a moment, looked at Noah with a troubled expression.
“Have you seen Miss Olivia Liberty?”
Noah, who was buttoning up his gloves and looking down at his hands at the unexpected name, opened his eyes.
“Miss Liberty?”
"Yes..."
“She's gone?”
The maid did not answer, and Noah felt sorry for her.
“I understand the Queen ordered you to look after her, but she’s gone?”
The head maid bowed her head even more deeply at the sharp rebuke.
"I'm sorry."
Noah suddenly remembered the prodigal sons who had disappeared while giggling.
“Where are EL Poem, Lawrence Atham, Roddy Fox, Jordy Adams?”
“We met them in the middle of the maze, but they didn’t know where Miss Liberty was.”
“How long has it been since she disappeared?”
Noah asked, picturing the maze in his mind, and the head maid answered quickly.
It's been about 30 minutes.
“Did she go in alone?”
“No. I saw her enter with the young ladies, but she seemed to have disappeared in the middle of the way.”
"Yes. Let’s spread out and look for her.”
He only cared about the young men and overlooked the young women. He wouldn't have disappeared without a reason. As the servants and maids hurriedly searched the entrance to the maze, he found his way deeper into the maze.
Noah listened carefully and walked quickly.
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