Chapter 39
***
The sunlight fell on her eyelids. It felt as pleasant as a baby's flesh.
Through the open window, she could hear birds chirping, the grass crunching, the curtains rustling, and the maids returning to their quarters after their shift.
The smell of savory food wafting from the dining hall tickled her nose.
How long had it been since she'd slept so well?
Dana woke with a start, curling her hands up over her head. She lowered her hands and pushed herself to her feet, and a fluffy dog came running up to her, tail wagging.
"Morning, sweetheart."
Dana scooped the puppy up. Willow was practically washing her face with her tongue again.
"...I'm ticklish...."
Laughing, Dana set Willow down and hurried to get dressed.
Grabbing her textbooks, she stepped outside and was dazzled by the bright sunshine. Dana took a deep breath and continued her walk to the study. Unlike yesterday, her steps were as light as stepping on a cloud.
"Welcome."
The door opened, and instead of the cold, arrogant green eyes of yesterday, she was greeted by a soft, smiling face.
Dana suddenly realized. Why she'd been feeling so good lately.
The man was gone. The shadow that threatened to suffocate her was gone.
"Good morning. It's a beautiful day, and the spiders have been out since dawn."
Celeste pulled back the curtains. Bright sunlight pierced deep into the room.
"You seem to be in such a good mood today. Is something good happening?"
Dana stared out the window for a moment at the blue sky.
"The weather... I guess it's just that it's so nice."
Celeste frowned again.
It was odd, to say the least.
Dana had been in such good spirits for days.
Could she really be smiling so brightly if she was in the throes of a bumpy pregnancy?
"Have you been outback? I saw a yellow cara in bloom on my way back earlier, and you should go if you haven't already."
Dana smiled and set her book down on the table. Humming a tune, she flipped through the pages and suddenly beamed again.
"Huh? Look, there's only one more chapter left."
Dana flipped to the last page of the textbook.
"Wow. Maybe we should try reading a real book today, since you can read sentences now."
"But... Can I?"
"Of course."
Celeste led the wide-eyed Dana over to the bookshelf.
"Here, pick something you want to read."
Dana stood in front of the densely packed books.
For her, books were just a chore, something she had to do even if she didn’t like it.
But now it was different.
[The Willington Poetry Collection]
[Salon Conversation for Ladies ]
Dana was casually reading the title when Celeste approached her, surprised to see her standing there.
"We should start light," she said, "with something short and funny."
She pulled out a book and handed it to her.
"For young dukes and duchesses... A collection of old tales."
She read it quickly and immediately understood the meaning. It was a storybook for young masters and maidens.
"There are ten volumes in the series, so you can take them all and read them in your room."
All ten?
Dana's eyes widened, and Celeste smiled.
"You were going to say 'can I' again, weren't you?"
With that, she shoved the book into Dana's arms. Dana took it grudgingly.
"And this."
Dana looked down at the new book Celeste had handed her. Unlike the collection of stories, it was a thick, heavy hardcover book.
"It's an encyclopedia of tea leaves and herbs. Keep it. It's for you."
The words were even more surprising.
"This is from Master Theodore, not me."
Dana's head snapped up from the cover.
"If nothing else, I think he recognizes that you're learning and trying hard, so I hope you don't feel too bad about what you've been through."
It was nothing like when she received the fountain pen.
Dana felt a very strange sensation, like an ant crawling up her spine.
"The master told me to give it to you when you were just starting to learn to write, but I purposely held it back, because you're so intimidated by the fountain pen."
Celeste smiled sheepishly.
"...Thank you.” Dana managed to reply.
****
"What, you're really just going to throw in the towel and tell me you're the one who saved the prince, and you can't even tell him?"
Noah was almost angry.
"What a frustrating main character."
Dana handed him a cookie as he looked like he was going to throw the book at any moment.
"Huh? Uh... Thanks."
As Noah took the cookie, Dana slipped the book out of his hand.
"I understand, though. You can't just kill someone. Someone you liked."
"No, I never understand. You have to think about living somehow. Why die?"
Noah clasped his hands together and rolled onto his stomach. The sunlight stung his eyes painfully. He shaded them with his hands and looked up at Dana at an angle.
Her long hair, tied back in a ponytail, caught the sunlight and fluttered like gold thread.
"I suppose it's a moral, though."
Dana muttered.
"A moral?"
"That people should learn to write. What if you were cursed and lost your voice? If you could write, there would have been no misunderstanding in the first place. You could have written a letter and said, 'I saved your life.’”
She wasn't wrong, but Noah couldn't help but laugh again. Sharply shaped clouds drifted across the blue sky.
"But what difference would that have made?"
"What?"
"That prince. Even if the girl had told him the truth, he might have decided that the princess from the next country was better and married her. Just because she saved his life doesn't mean he has to marry her."
Her blue-gray eyes widened a little, then settled back into place.
"I suppose... from what I've heard."
"It's a tragedy, after all, if you like someone who isn't right for you."
Noah's mumbling voice had strangely subsided, but Dana didn't notice.
"Anyway, if Penny saw this book, she'd laugh her ass off. She'd say, 'What a bunch of crap.'"
The name "Penny" made Dana giggle. The eight-year-old tomboy who'd been following Noah around saying she was going to marry him one day in Belvida.
"So how do we appease Penny now, anyway?"
Noah's eyes narrowed in confusion.
"Now that you're a trainer, she's only eight, and she's going to be heartbroken."
Dana smirked.
"Now tell her the truth. That you're already engaged to be married to another woman."
Noah straightened up from his loose recline.
The clouds that had obscured the sun moved aside, revealing Dana's face in the bright sunlight.
"..."
He stared out over the calm water for a long moment. The wind rustled the willow branches wildly.
When he turned his head again, his eyes were as dark as his hair.
"No, that's not going to happen, Dana."
The strangely subdued voice jolted Dana awake. She looked at him with questioning eyes.
"I'm not marrying Gene."
....what?
"I broke up with her."
The smile slowly faded from Dana's face.
***
The maid carried a bucket in each hand. With each step she took, the water inside splashed and overflowed outside.
A man came running out from the watchtower, panting, and by the way he was dressed, he must be one of the servants.
He snatched the bucket from her hand, and then tried to take the other one as well. The maid laughed wryly and blocked his arm. He reached out to grab them anyway, and she dodged this way and that.
After a while, they agreed to each take one, and they were walking shoulder to shoulder.
They were almost to the corridor when the male servant suddenly whirled around and pressed his lips firmly to her temple.
She gasped and her shoulders dropped. But she didn't shy away or push him away.
"What the hell?"
Tilly chuckled as he watched them.
As if feverish, the man led her down the corridor. A ragged, lustful gasp escaped them as they hid behind the grayish-white columns. Two jutting shadows shuffled back and forth.
"Ugh."
Tilly clicked his tongue in embarrassment.
"They’re having a good time."
He spun around, and the next moment he was frozen in place.
When was he coming again?
There was the Master. Staring coldly down at the shadows of the promiscuous tangle of the man and the woman, just as Tilly had just moments before.
***
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