Chapter 19: When I Woke Up, I Was Hungry!
Morning light seeped through the curtain cracks, spilling over the plush bed’s edge. A small bump beneath the silk duvet wriggled a bit, and then a half-hidden little head, wrapped in a tumble of dark hair, popped out.
“Mm~”
With a soft, dreamy hum, I squinted open one eye.
The room was dim. My hair was a mess, blocking my view, but through the gaps of the curtains, I could vaguely see the sheer drapes glowing a bit white from the sunlight outside.
Morning has arrived…
But I just couldn’t wake up.
Last night, I tossed and turned in bed, unsure when I finally fell asleep. Now, I was still so groggy, my eyelids felt like two love-struck lovers refusing to part ways.
I thought briefly about staying a little longer, hoping my mother wouldn’t come to tickle me awake…
“Ah—Mmm mmm~”
I yawned widely and stretched luxuriously, clinging to the hope that if I flipped over and found a comfortable position, I could just stay there, frozen.
Ah, wait a second, I wasn’t even in Shanter Castle…
And I gradually drifted back into dreamland.
Somewhere in my hazy dreams, an ugly old crone with a face full of wrinkles cackled as she pinched my cheeks and even dared to slap my rear, which really ticked me off. In a fit of rage, I punched her in the nose, but that didn’t quite satisfy me. Like a tiny tiger, I lunged at her to kick her, only to find she dared to fight back! I was so mad I yelled “Bird thief!” and turned her into Captain Gray.
I furrowed my brows, hesitating for a moment—
Sniff sniff.
My little nose twitched slightly.
…It smelled a bit different from what I remembered, but still rather nice. Cautiously, I leaned forward to take a careful bite, slowly chewing.
It was a bit sweet.
Unable to resist, I opened my mouth for another bite, but found nothing but air. Captain Gray had vanished! From somewhere, I heard Victoria’s voice.
“Even when you don’t wake up, you don’t forget to eat.”
“Pfff—” Somebody was stifling laughter, sounding suspiciously like some rogue woman, “This is too funny…”
“Where did you find this amusing, Your Highness?” she nearly broke my nose.”
“Must be a dream.”
“Dumbhead.”
?
I opened my eyes, puzzled.
What greeted me was a giant piece of custard tart… or some other pastry; still half-asleep, I couldn’t quite make it out, but it was tantalizingly close to my nose. My mind hadn’t quite registered when my head instinctively moved forward, mouth agape, only for the pastry to suddenly scoot away as if it had sprouted legs.
I blinked dumbly, only to see Victoria sitting cross-legged at the edge of the bed, her face calm, but her nose slightly red, holding the custard tart in her hand, her pretty golden eyes fixated on me.
“Ugh!”
I jumped in surprise, the remnants of my sleep suddenly vanishing, and quickly yanked the blanket over myself, poking just my head out like a confused gopher.
The next second, sensations flooded back in.
I had half-chewed food in my mouth… and a tingling pain on my left rear…
“Chew chew chew… gurgle. Victoria! What have you done to me?”
“Woke you up,” Victoria replied nonchalantly. “Do you know what time it is?”
What time?
I turned to look out the window.
The curtains had been drawn open at some point, and the window was ajar, warm sunlight flooding in and it was slightly dazzling.
“Noon?” I furrowed my brows, then quickly widened my eyes, stretching my arm out of the blanket to point dramatically at Victoria, “You’re Her Majesty the Queen! You actually climbed through the window!”
“Who told you I climbed through the window?”
Still trying to pull a fast one on me?!
“How did you—”
Before I could finish, Victoria interrupted, “Think about where the key is.”
…Where’s the key?
I furrowed my eyebrows, blinking rapidly.
Before I left, I’d hidden the key in the flower bed. I remembered taking it out to unlock the door yesterday, and then Victoria and I went indoors to the balcony. After that… I seemed to have forgotten about the key; I couldn’t recall anymore.
Then I saw Victoria point her dainty hand toward the desk beside the bed. I leaned in to see—the key was right there.
“The key was left in the door. You forgot to take it down yourself, little dummy.”
“……”
She stood up, and that’s when I noticed Margaret, grinning widely, hiding behind her.
Wait, she’s here too?!
What is this? A wake-up call game?
I felt a bit displeased.
I had been sleeping so well, and they just had to wake me up… what for? I wanted to keep sleeping!
Noticing my angry glare, Margaret quickly wiped the smile off her face and lowered her head, looking a bit apologetic.
“Miss Silvya, I’m sorry for coming in unannounced. It’s just that there’s something urgent we need to discuss, and I hope you’ll forgive the intrusion.”
“Uh…”
Her words promptly put a damper on the fiery rage I was starting to feel, but I couldn’t let it out now. I knew that with their statuses, both of them coming to find me at the same time meant it had to be something really important.
So, I turned to look at Victoria. After getting off my bed, she walked calmly to the vanity, sticking her nose in a mirror with a blank expression.
What is she doing?
Seemingly noticing my gaze, Victoria said coolly, “I told you yesterday that you needed to come find me at the mansion this morning, and now look at you sleeping till now.”
“Ah!”
I let out a little gasp. Suddenly recalling that after the funeral ceremony yesterday, she indeed said that to me.
I had forgotten…
No wonder she came straight to check on me. She probably saw my embarrassing self last night and worried something was wrong when she didn’t see me today.
“I’m sorry.”
Having figured this out, I obediently apologized.
“Are you feeling unwell?”
Victoria asked, clearly a hint of concern in her tone.
I quickly said, “I’m fine, I just—”
“Then get out of bed.”
Having seemingly finished checking her reflection, she stood up and waved the bite-sized custard tart at me, not saying much else as she made her way to the door.
My eyes glued to her hand, my stomach let out a loud “gurgle,” and an excessive amount of saliva pooled in my mouth, which I swallowed in shock.
I realized I was hungry again!
My appetite had returned! It felt like I could eat a whole cow now.
How delightful!
“Hehe.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle.
Once Margaret left too, I threw off the covers and hopped out of bed, pulled the curtains shut, discarded my crumpled pajamas, changed into a brand new floral dress, quickly washed up, and raced down the stairs “thump thump thump.”
In the living room, I found the two women seated elegantly on the sofa.
Victoria was breathtaking, her posture relaxed yet regal, legs crossed as if she were an aloof golden snow lotus. Next to her, Margaret seemed much gentler in comparison. Oddly enough, today she wasn’t in her nun’s attire but had on a cozy, pale yellow velvet knee-length dress, her light blue curls just resting on her shoulders. She had her hands resting on her abdomen in a poised manner, but that touch of spirited confidence in her brow was hard to ignore.
But at that moment, the beauty of these two stunning women paled in comparison to the giant pieces of custard tart on the plate before me.
