Anne greeted Adelia the moment she got back from the palace.
"Welcome back Lady Adelia."
Adelia gave Anne an exhausting smile as she climbed out of the carriage. Anne laughed at the expression on Adelia's face.
Adelia groaned. "I just want a relaxing bath right now," Adelia announced.
"On it, Princess!" Anne replied and hurried off into the mansion.
Adelia stared at Anne's retreating back in befuddlement.
"Arkin had really rubbed off on her," Adelia muttered, still staring at the direction Anne went off to. "Not only did she call me princess, she also left me, her master, behind just like that," Adelia shook her head.
'Arkin is a bad influence.'
Adelia made her way to her room and took a bath the moment it was ready. She leaned back into the water. The warmth enveloped her body and her exhaustion slowly melted away. After what felt like a century, she was finally able to relax. The smell of flowers reminded Adelia of scented candles. Before long, Adelia started thinking about work again and started to list down the things she would need, to recreate the products from her old world, in her head.
After enjoying the bath, Adelia came out feeling refreshed. She went straight to her work desk after getting dressed to jot down all the new ideas she had for Mythry. She had slowly turned into a workaholic.
KNOCK KNOCK
The sound of the knocking on the door woke Adelia up. She had fallen asleep while working. Looking around the room still half-asleep, she realized that it was dark now.
"Lady, it's Anne," she announced.
"Come in," Adelia answered hurriedly, coming back to her senses. Anne came in with a tray in her hands and she set the tray on the work desk in front of Adelia.
"I told the duke and young master that you were tired and wishes to have dinner in your room," Anne explained. Adelia looked at the food that was brought to her.
"Thank you, Anne."
Anne smiled and waited Adelia. Life before Adelia transmigrated wasn't bad. She didn't have to worry about food or whether she had a roof above her head, but she wasn't all rich as well. She never thought her life was hard. Well, after turning 18 that is.
"I'll take this away," Anne announced the moment Adelia was done with her dinner. She nodded her head at Anne's statement.
"You're done for the day Anne," Adelia said as she smiled at Anne.
Anne's eyes widened. "Are you sure?" she asked.
Adelia nodded her head. "It's almost up anyway."
"Thank you, miss," Anne said. "Have a good night."
And with that, Anne left. Adelia didn't know what else to do. She had free time now and nothing to do. In her old world, there would always be something to do even if there wasn't any.
"I miss the internet," Adelia mumbled, slumping into the bed. "I miss technology..." she continued to muttered.
She then released a heavy sigh and lied down on her side, forcing herself to sleep. A few hours must have past before she suddenly sat up straight.
"How did I ended up here anyway?" she questioned. "Why am I here?" she continued. "What happened to me in my old world?" her face scrunched up in confusion. Suddenly her eyes widened in realization. "Did I... die...?" she trailed off, her voice getting smaller. She felt her chest tightened.
'No,' she thought and shook her head. 'I'm here now. Let's just focus on the present.'
Adelia got out of bed and went out. She made her way to the fountain and sat at the edge, looking up at the night sky, clearing her head. After a few minutes passed by, she could hear footsteps approaching. She turned her attention to the approaching figure.
"Arkin?" she uttered. "What are you doing out?" she asked when Arkin was within hearing distance.
Arkin settled beside Adelia. "I wanted some fresh air," he answered and looked up at the starry night sky. "What are you doing here?" he redirected the question he got back to her.
"Me too," Adelia started as she turned her gaze back to the night sky. "I wanted some fresh air," she stated.
"How was your trip to the palace?" he asked.
"It was alright," she shrugged. "A bit exhausting."
"How was your prince?"
Adelia could feel herself almost wincing at Arkin's question.
"You mean the first prince," she corrected him and sighed. "The same as always."
"You really don't feel anything for the first prince anymore?"
Adelia shook her head. "I don't know," she replied honestly. "Who's feelings are you asking about?" she muttered.
Novel Adelia was in love with the first prince. Even now, the current Adelia could feel novel Adelia's feelings for the first prince through her body. It wasn't strong enough to have Adelia act on it, rather it was more like traces of feelings that novel Adelia had left behind as a reminder to Adelia. Current Adelia doesn't feel anything in particular for the first prince except for the occasional annoyance and irritation. Both novel Adelia and current Adelia is Adelia. They're the same existence and she had accepted that. Thanks to that, she didn't know how to answer Arkin's question. Because Adelia feels something and nothing for the first prince.
Arkin found Adelia's reply to his question weird. He furrowed his eyebrows and leaned forward, his elbows propped on top of his legs as he rested his chin on his clasped hands. He turned his attention from the sky to Adelia.
"What do you mean by that?" he asked.
Adelia had change quite a bit after the memory loss incident. Arkin had also thought that Adelia tended to say weird things and behaved differently once in a while since then.
Adelia let out a smile. "It means I'm not sure," she answered.
Adelia's black hair swayed in the breeze as it blew past them. She had a small smile on her face. She looked at ease somehow despite the words of uncertainty of herself. Arkin stared at her in awestruck, as the moonlight casted over her.
"I'm glad," he blurted out in a voice that was barely a whisper.
Arkin didn't understand why he suddenly said that. His mouth spoke before he could stop them. He didn't know why he somehow felt relieved that Adelia was not sure of her feelings.
Adelia looked at Arkin, puzzled by his words. "Why do you say that?" she asked, genuinely curious.
Arkin's eyes widened slightly. "Uh.. because you're unsure about the first prince," he answered.
Adelia tilted her head, an action that signaled for him to explain further.
"... if you're unsure, there is a possibility that... you don't have feelings for the first prince anymore," he elaborated.
"Ha," a laugh made it's way out of Adelia's mouth. "Maybe," she replied, knowing exactly what only she felt. "But, why are you glad?" she asked Arkin, her eyebrows raised. She had an amused expression on her face.
"Because he's a jerk to you," he answered straight away.
Adelia laughed at Arkin's answer. It had been a while since Adelia and Arkin had sat down and just talk like they would when they were younger. Even if it was a different Adelia before, they were still the same person. Adelia and Arkin spent more time talking to each other. She felt much better after talking with him.
"And you're not?" Adelia said, laughing lightly.
Arkin gasped dramatically as he held his chest where his heart was. He had an exaggerated offended look on his face. "Me?! I will die before I ever treat you harshly," he announced in a playful voice.
Adelia held back a smile that was threatening to creep out. "You'd be six feet under long ago if that's the case," she retorted, already in character.
"Why do you say that, milady?" he asked, staring at her with an overemphasized questioning look on his face.
"I don't know," she shrugged and looked away. "You would know better about that," she sighed.
Arkin stood up and kneeled in front of Adelia. He reached for her hand.
"Milady, if there was any instance where I've hurt your feelings, please forgive me. Please find it in your heart to forgive this pitiful and miserable man for making you feel less than you are," he said while looking at her with a melancholic expression.
Adelia pulled her hand away out of Arkin's hold. "I am no angel," she stated, still in character. "I will not forgive for the sake of forgiving," she said as she turned her gaze from the distance to Arkin's face. "Suffer in your pool of regret," she finished with a straight face.
Arkin stared at Adelia in silence for a minute before blinking.
"You really have this character down," he praised, impressed.
Adelia held her head high. "Of course," she replied confidently. "I'm Adelia Von Cruz after all. I'm good at everything," she said haughtily.
Arkin got up from his kneeling position. "Of course you are," he said with a small smile on his face, placing a hand on Adelia's head, petting her for a moment. "You should go back in and sleep. It's late," Arkin suggested.
Adelia stood up and cupped Arkin's face, adding a little force on her hold.
"You should too," she said. "Don't worry too much about me," she uttered, a smile displaying on her face. She released his cheeks and bid him goodbye. "Sleep well," she said and made her way back into the mansion.
"How can I not worry," Arkin mumbled and ran his fingers through his hair. He stared in the direction Adelia went off to and sighed before making his way back to the knight's quarter.
***
"It's like you don't even need me," Adelia teased Nora, a small smile on her face. "You're too good at what you do," she continued on, laying the documents Nora brought on the table.
Nora chuckled. "Thank you. Everyone worked hard," she said modestly.
"Of course," Adelia nodded. She took a sip of the tea that was placed on the table in front of her. "I am very thankful," she said and gave Nora a grateful smile.
Nora felt warm on the inside and couldn't help but to return the smile Adelia gave her. "I am thankful to the lady as well," she said.
"I hope everyone's doing well."
Nora nodded.
"Yes," she assured.
"That's good."
Nora cleared her throat and took a sip of her tea. "The others are very curious of you, my lady," she informed.
"Naturally," Adelia replied, leaning back into the seat. "It's human curiosity, people are bound to be curious. Some just take their curiosity to a whole other level," she said glancing at the letter Nora brought with her together with the documents.
The letter was addressed to the head of Mythry, asking for a meeting. It would be easier to ignore the letter, but it was a letter from someone with a high standing even in high society. The person who sent it was not known, but the standing of the person could be seen from the pink chrysanthemum flower pressed that was sealed to the letter with golden wax. Chrysanthemums are a symbol of nobility in this world, and only nobles are allowed to grow this flower. The status of the noble is then decided from the colour of the chrysanthemum. Pink chrysanthemum lies on the top as it is hardest to come by upon.
Upon Adelia's glance towards the letter, Nora's gaze naturally went to the letter as well.
"What are you going to do about the letter?"
Adelia sighed upon hearing Nora's question.
"Send a reply letter to the person stated on the letter. Tell them to come to Mythry headquarters in a week's time," Adelia said. "I'll be stopping by the headquarters on the same day as well."
"Are you going to meet this person?" Nora asked, surprised.
Adelia shook her head no. "You are," Adelia corrected her. "I'll be coming as a guest. I want to see who this person is," she explained. Well, Adelia more or less had a guess on who this person might be. She wanted to confirm whether she was right or not. That was the reason she accepted the offer of a meeting. Kind of.
Nora let out a small laugh. "Alright. I'll do as you order," she said.
"Thank you, Nora," Adelia thanked.
-
a little arkin and adelia moment :).