"Ah... Fuck. This dress is heavy."
Avy was crouched down on the grass, hiding behind the tall bushes that reached a standing adult's waist. It was afternoon, two days after the failed banquet, and the sun's glare sent waves of near-scalding heat that made Avy sweat continuously although she was staying still. Strands of her raven hair that was tied up in a bun had annoyingly stuck to her neck and onto the side of her cheek, and the multi-layered puffy midnight blue dress contributed a lot to the increasing temperature of her body.
Unfortunately, she could not afford to go back to her room to change lest she comes across the servants who were instructed by Duchess Ruebia to drag her into a Barbie party. It was the reason why she had to run away and hide. For someone like Avy who has the patience comparable to a strand of hair, three hours of playing dress-up was enough for her.
The noblewoman who was the cause of her current misery did not intend harm, of course. However, no matter how kind and well-intentioned the thought was, if it involved being physically and mentally exhausting, she definitely would rather not accept anything. She did not have anything against the older woman, in fact, the duchess adored her, considering how much effort she gave to make Avy feel like a normal teenage girl. Duchess Ruebia simply wanted to give her a break from living with a family which has no presence of a lady.
At first, everything was unclear to Avy as she was unfamiliar with the aforementioned older woman who showed affection towards her and bared her fangs at the Arkwright men. Thankfully, Ares was able to provide her with information that would make her less clueless about their family's relationship with Duchess Ruebia.
Her curse-servant, having lived inside the original Avy's body for years, told her everything he knew. The duchess was one of the mages that led the war during her time, and she was a close friend of Lord Alcasser's late wife, Princess Marzana Arkwright. After Princess Marzana died during the war, the lord fell into despair, neglecting their two sons in the process.
Duchess Ruebia then took it upon herself to look after Alton and Alistair until their father returned to his senses. Lord Alcasser, of course, didn't mourn forever and actually got better for the sake of his children. On the other hand, his and the vermilion-haired duchess' personalities always clashed.
However, that did not stop Duchess Ruebia from visiting every once in a while even after Alton became the duke and had his own children. Yet, the visits stopped when Duchess Sabrina Arkwright, Avy's mother, passed away. The reason why Ciel and Ashton were able to still keep in contact with her was because of the events where they saw each other. That being said, the original Avy never had the chance to reconnect with the woman, having already shut herself inside her room, dreading her own existence.
Avy understood the reason behind the older woman's eagerness to form a bond with her. She must have blamed herself for not being present in Avy's life, although she had a valid reason not to be. Duchess Ruebia lived in the South with her own territory to manage, having no other relative than her adoptive child to give her support.
However, Avy did not feel guilty about discreetly running away from the party and hiding from the servants. She probably could pick an outfit to wear out of the dozens of dresses that she tried on and another set of dresses that were drawn to her tastes. Duchess Ruebia reasoned that it was for the summit ball that will be held after a couple of days since it was postponed because of the mana blackout incident.
Avy could not understand what was going on inside the envoys' heads to still want to host a ball after what happened. She figured it was because they valued expanding their power and finding allies to cater to their greed were as important as their lives, if not more. She tried to convince her father to just send her back to the mansion since she has already shown her face enough. However, her request was utterly rejected.
Ciel attempted to side with her, volunteering to accompany her home, but their grandfather then intervened, telling them that it would be dangerous given the fact that opposing nobles would most likely make use of the summit ball as an opportunity to deviously plot another assassination. The youngest Arkwright caved in after that, looking at her apologetically.
Therefore, Avy had no choice but to stay and wait for another social gathering that would probably turn out to be another party where she will be stared at and watched by strangers. Talking to men who would likely try to talk nonsense is already out of the question. On the other hand, ladies are either too scared to come close to her or too prideful to initiate a conversation first.
She sighed in exasperation. Holding the cupcake she stole from the afternoon snacks earlier close to her mouth to take a bite, Avy stared into space, thinking of what she would do next. Her personal maid and knight are not present with her as she sent both of them on errands as she was incapable of doing it herself.
She asked Marie to buy something for the trinkets that she used to pass her time and a lot of mana stones as it became an obsession of hers, while Revie went back to Blackwell District to check on Kill and Emerald. Of course, she shooed them away without her family knowing lest they assign more people to keep an eye on her.
She wanted her peace and quiet without interruptions, after all.
"What are you doing there?"
Avy jumped on her bottom in surprise, hearing a familiar voice of a man. She instinctively looked up in the direction of the voice where she was immediately greeted by a pair of judging and curious eyes the color of the clear blue sky.
Zachary Louis Harrington hovered over her left, a couple of feet away from where she was sitting. He was clad in a beautiful set of black-themed clothes adorned with accessories that only people of high standing could afford. The expression that was displayed on his perfectly sculpted face reminded her of someone who was genuinely clueless about a situation, with a hint of judgment visible in the crease of his brows.
"Hiding, obviously." With the combination of heat, sweat, exhaustion, frustration, and aftershock, Avy could not mask her attitude as well as she could previously. She was never suited for playing nice even before she died, and she was well aware of how bad her reputation was to her peers. However, now, she actually has to take better care of her image.
Dang it. She tried to be nice to him before, too.
Zach clearly was not happy about her reply based on how his lips formed a frown and his eyes turned unfriendly. Avy knew it was very much out of character of him to talk to her nicely back at his family mansion where they met previously, so the current attitude he was displaying to her was how he was actually described in the novel.
"The ground is dirty, are you not aware of that?" the blue-haired mage asked, disgust painted on his face as he looked down at Avy's sitting figure.
"Well, I apologize if that bothers you so much. You may leave now, please." Her answer was oozing with pure sarcasm and nonchalance, though if she were to comment on it, it was better than just straight-up ignoring or responding with her usual attitude of condescension and arrogant confidence.
"You look like a beggar in that state, Lady Avy," Zach pointed out, which aggravated Avy even more. He seemed to be much nosier than he should be, knowing full well that the two of them were not friendly enough for him to tell her such things.
"This beggar would like to be left alone, young master." She gave her best to put a tug on the corners of her lips to form a smile, albeit obviously fake. It also took all her self-control to not add a single cuss in her sentence.
She wanted him gone. The cupcake in her hand is waiting to be eaten and she surely would not enjoy stuffing it into her mouth with a stranger watching.
"If that is what you want." Zach then turned his heel to leave, giving Avy the peace that she badly needed. However, it was not the last thing that he wanted to say.
"I will call all your servants and inform them of your whereabouts—"
Zach was not able to finish his sentence as his loud yelp echoed throughout the pathway to the garden where they were at. The reason being, Avy was quick to yank his arm, causing him to lose his balance and fall on his behind.
"Did you hear that?"
"Was that Lady Avana?"
A series of footsteps were then heard, following the voices from the maids who did not stop searching for the runaway ducal princess.
Avy clicked her tongue in annoyance before looking at the stunned heir. "You might want to do me a favor in exchange for busting my hiding place," she told him before stuffing the cupcake that she had inside the lad's gaping mouth.
"What the-!" Zach snatched the dessert, but it was too late. Avy has already run away in the direction of the garden, leaving him alone and astonished at what just happened. He watched as the figure of the girl who once followed him around like a hungry child disappeared from his sight.
"My lady! We finally found- OH, MY LORD...!" The screeching of the maids that arrived on the scene brought the blue-haired mage back to reality. That was when he realized how ridiculous he looked.
He was sitting on the ground, hiding behind a bush. His mouth was covered with pink icing with a half-eaten cupcake in his hand. He looked like a child that snuck a dessert behind his mother's back, eating the forbidden food secretly to avoid being scolded.
"We apologize for disturbing the young master!" the servants yelled with a bow before dashing away from the scene. Zach was not able to do anything but turn red in complete embarrassment.
And it was all that girl's fault.
~~~
When Avy was certain that she was far enough to be safe from the servants that were searching for her, she was finally free to breathe. She reached the center of the garden where a fountain of a little angel was erected. Dragging her heels by the brick ground, she made her way to the edge of the marble fountain, hoping to restore her energy by resting next to the actively moving clear water that reflected the early afternoon sunlight.
She sat on the marble edge, again, feeling the peace of being alone. Only the sound of the water behind her could be heard, and it helped to ease her mind a little. She was unlucky to stumble upon the male lead who was known for being hot-tempered and volatile. Why was he in the palace that the emperor bestowed the Arkwrights anyway?
She brushed off the unnecessary thoughts and enjoyed the silence that the solitude of the garden provided her. She spent minutes just breathing and listening to the gushing of the water before it eventually became too dull for her liking.
"How boring," Avy whispered to herself, looking at the ground.
"It seems like the lady should start learning how to connect with other people more."
"It seems like you should start learning how to connect with other people, Annie."
With blood-red eyes widening, Avy flicked her head up to see where the painfully familiar words came from.
Enchanting amethyst pair of jewel-looking eyes met with her ruby-colored ones. They were framed with perfect lashes with a mole tattooed below the left. The next thing that Avy noticed was the mess of wavy hair that reached the shoulders of the man that was standing in front of her. A mix of ash brown and strands of mauve.
She remembers that description. Marie told her about it.
"I apologize, did I startle you?" the cheerfulness of the man's eyes turned into concern when he saw the look on Avy's face.
"Oh! I'm sorry for startling you. I thought you were asleep."
"Let's go grab dinner, Annie!!"
Strange. The man that she saw for the first time felt too familiar. Too similar to a presence that used to bring her comfort.
"My lady?"
Avy was snapped out of her thoughts when the man called out to her once again.
King Cartal of Auxiviel. She remembers him.
"N-No, you did not... Your Majesty." She stood up from being seated and greeted King Cartal with a curtsy.
The man looked surprised before his face once again erupted into a smile, again, too familiar. "It makes me happy that the lady knows of me. I hope I am not interrupting anything."
He was nineteen years old, the same age as her before she died, yet already carrying a heavy responsibility as a leader of a country. Avy could applaud him for that. Moreover, just like other figures in a story, the greater the achievement, the harsher the past of a person. She wondered how he did not act like those cold characters after experiencing a war to end a tyrannical era.
"Your Majesty. The carriage is waiting."
Their conversation was halted when another voice was heard from behind the king. A rather bulky man wearing clothes of a knight different from what Avy sees around the palace premises came jogging towards them. He had short auburn hair and a pair of grayish-green eyes that immediately shot down to briefly yet respectfully greet the lady in front of his master.
"It seems like I have to depart already. It was nice meeting you, Lady Avana." King Cartal gestured politely as a farewell which Avy responded by slightly bowing her head. She watched as the young leader turned to leave.
However, before his face could totally be out of the lady's sight, his polite smile grew cold. The arch of his lips faded as if it was never there in the first place.
Avy continued to keep her eyes on the stranger. He was too familiar yet foreign at the same time—similar yet different to a friend she left behind. For the first time, Avy wanted to know more about another person with an eagerness that she could not describe.
~~~
"I heard you have been running around all day, Avy."
One thing that Avy noticed about the Arkwright Family during the duration of her stay in this world since her transmigration is that they never eat separately when they are present inside the mansion. No one makes an excuse whenever it is mealtime, and the only times she sees one of them missing is when they are not home.
It was honestly worthy of awe knowing that they do not fit the standards of filial and, at the same time, composed of workaholics.
She raised her head from her food to answer the question of her grandfather. "I was hiding, too, and it wasn't fun," she said with brutal honesty, earning a laugh from the old man and a couple of secret smiles from the servants that were serving them. Avy felt comfortable enough to speak around the people that her father decided to bring with them.
"Have you chosen a dress for the summit ball?" Alistair glanced at her and asked. He was seated on her left, adjacent to the old lord and in front of the duke.
"Yes, Duchess Valentina made sure that I picked the design myself. I was playing dress-up for three hours. Could've been longer if I didn't run away." Avy made sure to express her displeasure. Still, it came out rather endearing with the sarcasm added.
Alistair threw her a soft smile. "Nevertheless, we are delighted to see you being energetic, Avy. I hope that it will be lasting."
Avy nodded her head as she could not find any more words to say. She could not imagine how hard it must have been for the original owner of her body to live while thinking no one cares about her. However, seeing how much her whole family did their best to let her live comfortably made her think about how much they went through to keep her alive.
The original Avy barely made any effort to keep herself afloat. By the poor condition of her body, she could deduce that the former lady hardly ate properly or took care of her health. Moreover, seeing how well thought the food was served to her before she started eating like a glutton, Raux, the silent but capable chef, must have had a hard time making anything that would keep her body functioning.
Avy was sure that if the people around her never cared about their only girl, she would have already rotted in her room with no one keeping her alive and no will to even live on her own. It was a shame that the original lady never appreciated the effort that was made for her.
"Zach was asking about your whereabouts earlier. Did the two of you see each other?"
The attention of everyone present inside the dining hall was piqued by the question that Ashton dropped. In the blink of an eye, the light atmosphere changed as all of them, even the servants, waited for her to answer.
"Ugh, that guy. What? Did he snitch on me?" Avy answered with a groan, her voice oozing with annoyance unlike her usual tone whenever the said ducal heir is mentioned.
"Did you, perhaps, have a disagreement with Duke Harrington's eldest?" Duke Alton stopped eating and had his eye on her. His serious face has a hint of curiosity in it, brows slightly knitted together.
"Not a big one. He was just acting like a frustrating child earlier," she responded with a slight frown, unable to mask her vexation.
Ashton looked at her with brows slightly raised. "That is unexpected news. You used to let him display his intolerable attitude, saying it was quite endearing, did you not?"
Avy rolled her eyes. She does not have anything to do with whatever the original lady's obsession was, if she liked being degraded or whatever. However, living in her body has its own consequences. Meaning, she has to deal with it whether she likes it or not.
"Everyone gets fed up, Ashton. Try getting glared at and insulted and see if you wouldn't think of smashing a chopping board on his face," she retorted and it somehow made Ashton's inexpressive face display a bit of surprise. She glanced at the other people present and saw the same expression.
It was understandable. She would have been surprised, too, if she heard Lucy bad-mouthing a celebrity that she once worshiped with her whole being for years. It might have been worse in Avy's case who has been chasing around Zach for as long as the people inside the mansion could remember.
"You take after Sabrina a lot, yet it seems like you are getting the temper of your grandmother," Lord Alcasser then commented, laughing heartily at his granddaughter's insolence.
Avy was silenced by these words. The things she has been doing the past few weeks dawned on her. Most of them were things that she would never have done before, things that would not even cross her mind. The person she currently was felt different from what she was supposed to be like.
Did she even act that way before? Was she starting to change because of the new environment she had to live in?
She felt like she was starting to lose herself.
Questions began to fog her mind, but she decided to brush them off, and thankfully, the dinner continued with her family discussing things related to their work. She tried to follow, and fortunately, she was smart enough to keep up without any problems.
"His Highness, the crown prince, will be visiting later. Be on your best behavior, the three of you." It was the duke who spoke and no one looked happy with his announcement. Avy noticed that the men seemed to have made it even more clear about their dislike towards the prince.
"Why is he coming here?" she asked as no one made any hint that they wanted to respond to the duke's statement.
"We will be discussing the matters regarding Auxiviel's proposal," her father answered, wiping the corners of his mouth with a napkin.
Avy just nodded her head in reply. It must be the reason why she crossed paths with the king of the aforementioned country earlier that afternoon. However, it was still strange to think that he would go out of his way to take a stroll in the garden. It was not as if he had a close relationship with the people residing in the palace.
Either way, it was not her business to talk about. Hence, she decided to simply close her mouth. Their dinner ended and they all went their separate ways. The old lord, the duke, and Ashton were the ones who greeted the prince. Alistair went back to the Kriseon Imperial Knights' Headquarters as he was the commander while Ciel chose to retire for the night.
Avy, on the other hand, had other plans than to just go to sleep peacefully.
"I was once a weapon for bloodbaths."
'Yeah, yeah. Like I care.'
A vein throbbed painfully on Ares' temple as he strolled down the dark hallway of the palace. On his neck was a string tied to a folded piece of paper. That to be said, he was sent on an errand by his master. Him. A creature who used to be a murderer back in his day was being treated like a messenger.
Dragging his paws with a heavy heart, his eyes lit up with mischief at the sight of his assigned target, the crown prince, who was standing in front of the palace doors with a couple of knights accompanying him.
"He will be there in a minute."
After telling a message to Avy who did not care to reply back, he approached the crown prince, aiming to pounce on his back.
~~~
The discussion with the Arkwrights did not take as long as Lucifer expected. After talking for less than half an hour, he decided to take his leave. He had a feeling that the Arkwrights were not happy with his visit. He was offered to be accompanied out, but he refused, not wanting to be an inconvenience to them as it was already fairly late.
He stood in front of the palace that became the temporary residence of the Arkwright Family, waiting for the carriage that would be taking him back to his own place. The night was peaceful, silent, even, until an ominous presence slowly approached behind him. He glanced to his back and found no one before a black blur suddenly flew out of nowhere.
A cat?
"Your Highness! Are you alright?" the knights who were present asked in concern.
"A cat?" the knight voiced out, seeing the ball of black caught in the prince's hand.
Lucifer was able to catch it before it could even land a scratch on his face. He studied the small feline as it glared at him. He was able to see the small string and the paper attached to it after inspecting the body of the furball. Growing curious, he took the paper and opened it. Of course, only after putting the cat down on the ground.
Fountain in the garden. – your friend
Such simple words were enough for him to guess who sent the message. Folding the paper back to its original form, he slipped it inside his pocket and told his knights to go first. He glanced back at the small feline who seemed to understand and led the way, although almost looking unwilling to do so.
They reached the garden. It was not the first time that Avy greeted him with a smile.
However, the feeling of a friend waiting for him somewhat made the sight of the girl special.