Chapter 63: Departure (Part 1)
Click.
Stepping out of the bedroom, I shut the door behind me.
The living room downstairs was eerily quiet.
With a quick shake of my shoulders to adjust the black leather suitcase on my back, I strolled down the second-floor corridor, checking all the rooms to make sure there were no flickering candles or open windows. After repeating the process on the first floor, I stood in the living room and did a quick scan of my surroundings.
The dining room was adorned with chairs and tables, a little cabinet by the door, a tea table at my feet, the sofa in front of it, and a piano by the floor-to-ceiling windows that hadn’t been played in ages…
Time to say goodbye to this familiar place, if only for a little while.
Who knows when I’ll be back…
I stood there for quite a while, taking a deep breath.
…Let’s go.
Turning around to the door, I pushed it open and was just about to step outside when I suddenly spotted Sharman approaching with two maids.
They were carrying exquisite trays… Ah, breakfast.
Sharman came to a halt in front of me.
“Miss Silvya, where are you heading…?” Her eyes flicked to the suitcase behind me, then widened, “Where are you going?”
“…To the church.”
The delicious aroma wafting from the trays made my nose twitch.
“I’m off to Silgaya… I don’t know when I’ll be back. Sharman, can you let Viki know?”
Sharman frowned slightly at this.
“Miss, why not just tell Her Majesty directly?”
“She’s… really busy.” I couldn’t help but sniff at the breakfast, rubbing my little nose, “I don’t want to bother her… Also, it’s not anything important, I’ll be back before you know it.”
“…Understood.”
Sharman hesitated for a moment, then nodded, “I’ll inform Her Majesty shortly. Miss, would you like some breakfast?”
To eat or not to eat…
“…Yes.”
My brain hadn’t quite made a decision, but my mouth replied before my thoughts could catch up.
I inhaled my breakfast like a whirlwind, devouring the feast set before me.
After finishing off the last piece of bread, I rushed outside, sprinting down the bluestone path towards the war chariot Sharman had arranged.
“Miss Silvya, may you have a safe journey. I will wait for your return.”
Hearing the monotone farewell from behind, I turned back.
Sharman, a head maid past thirty, had her arms crossed over her abdomen, standing at the end of the path, sending me off with a steady gaze.
Beneath the clouds, a gentle breeze swept by, rustling through the flowers and branches, carrying leaves towards her elegant mansion, its slate roof bathed in soft morning light, radiating a warm, inviting aura of home.
I’m leaving…
At that moment, it struck me—I was actually leaving behind my comfortable home, the cozy environment, heading into the unknown battlefield filled with bl**d and fire, to face vicious foes—much like when I left Shanter Castle. Suddenly, I felt a wave of reluctance wash over me.
Initially, I thought of this place as a temporary lodging…
I remembered when I first arrived in the royal city, thinking as long as I had a comfy place to sleep without any disturbances, that was all that mattered… The house, though exquisite, didn’t have any family or familiar faces like Hoover to make it feel like home. Sometimes at night, lying in bed alone, I’d feel a pang of loneliness and long to be back at Shanter Castle…
When did I start to view this place as home?
Was it Sharman’s attentive care every day? Or Victoria’s occasional returns that brought me comfort…
Standing on the terrace, peering over the wall at the flickering candlelight next door, even though I could never see what was happening there, as long as she was around, I never felt alone…
…By the time I get back, the rooftop garden and hall will probably be complete, right?
By then, the two mansions would merge into one…
Thinking of this, I waved goodbye to Sharman and boarded the waiting chariot.
The war chariot slowly rolled out.
All the way, I gazed at the bustling city streets, wrapped in an empty, hollow feeling, like being hungry without anything to eat, regretting I hadn’t sought out Victoria…
I should have said goodbye before I left…
But I probably couldn’t leave today anyway—should I wait until tonight to head to the palace?
But…
Victoria must have a lot on her plate lately… By the time I get to her, she might still be in a meeting with a bunch of strangers, all those rules and formalities… I’d definitely be interrupting her.
Forget it…
It’s not like I won’t come back…
I just hope she won’t be mad at me…
Creak, creak—
The chariot slowed several times and finally came to a stop.
“We’ve arrived at the church, Miss Silvya,” the driver said in a low voice.
“Oh…”
That was fast…
“Thank you.”
I shook off my thoughts, jumped down from the carriage, thanked the driver, and walked straight into the church. After greeting the clergy in the back hall, I made my way upstairs to Angel’s room.
“Miss Silvya, the Pope is inside, but he might be resting. Let me inform him first—”
BANG!
Before the guide could finish, I pushed the door open wide.
I didn’t have time for this…
“Angel! I came to tell you—”
But as soon as I stepped in, my eyes spun to what was wriggling on the large bed—covered in white… uh, I just saw a n*ked b*tt.
The rest of my words got stuck in my throat as my steps froze instinctively.
“Who’s that…?”
The shadow on the bed mumbled sleepily, flipping over lazily without even looking this way, completely oblivious to its nakedness, or perhaps just indifferent, presenting its round backside to me while scratching the area like it was no big deal.
As if realizing the disaster they’d just walked into, the guide cleric shut the door with a bang and bolted away.
Embarrassed, I stood there in the luxurious chamber, glancing at the ornate ceiling before shifting my gaze back to that b*tt, caught in a dilemma of not knowing whether to advance or retreat. My emotions charged like a raging sea—shock, confusion, shame, and anger—flashing through my mind like a rapid kaleidoscope.
One second later, all those feelings fused into a blazing fury.
At this moment, how could he still be snoozing in broad daylight!
And with his b*tt to me!
“Angel!”
Gross!
Disgusting, disgusting, disgusting—
I’m gonna lose it!
Fuming, I stomped over to the bed, ready to kick that b*tt, but just as my foot lifted, the person suddenly jolted awake.
“Hey! What are you doing…? I’m not wearing any clothes!”
The Pope, with tousled hair and a not-so-pretty pose, had a face that could rival that of a leading man in a drama, still sporting that dreamy-eyed look of someone just waking up, a hint of drool at the corner of his mouth, and not a stitch of clothing to cover his rather defined physique—like a sculpted work of art with edges sharper than a kn*fe, while…
I quickly shut my eyes, my emotions reaching a boiling point, unable to contain myself as I shouted, “What are you doing?! You sleep without shutting the door! And you’re not even wearing clothes?!”
“I had no idea you were coming… Huh?”
The Pope yawned, sounding groggy, then exclaimed “Huh?” abruptly and lapsed into silence.
“Put on some clothes!”
“Are you saying I’m going to sleep today because you’re leaving tomorrow?!”
“Who do you think you are?!”
“Well then, I might as well leave myself!”
The more I spoke, the angrier I got, wanting to smack him; then I thought better of it. Besides, I realized something curious—he’s a muscle man, why was he closing his eyes? He might not even be larger than me.
“Wait, wait!” Angel called out quickly, “I was up all night last night and just now got to catch some sleep… Don’t yell so loud, or people will think we’re up to something.”
“What could we be up to?!”
“Shh—”
“Angel, you…”
“Sweetie, let’s just say it’s my fault, okay? No need to be so mad.”
“……”
I kept my eyes shut tight, too embarrassed to open them.
But hearing him say that, my anger finally eased a bit. Remembering he had said he was busy last night, I couldn’t help but ask, “What were you busy with last night?”
“Preparing for the trip. Coordinating vehicles, writing notification letters… This trip to Silgaya involves a lot of logistics. You think you can just say ‘let’s go’ and off we’ll be? I’ve got to take care of the aftermath of the disasters in the royal city, at least.”
“Did you handle everything?”
“About done.”
I could hear some rustling from the bed, and then Angel said, “You can open your eyes now.”
After hesitating, I cracked open one eye.
Angel was still sitting on the bed, just having pulled a blanket over him, giving him a bit of modesty. Though he was still mostly exposed, at least he had something to cover himself with.
“You’re so… gross.”
I couldn’t help but furrow my brow and mutter under my breath.
Actually, I wanted to say something worse…
“It’s not like I’m wearing anything that shocking.”
Angel seemed completely unbothered by it, looking at me with interest, his green eyes glinting with mischief, “What? You rushed here because you wanted to marvel at the Pope’s n*ked body? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! I don’t mind if you take a good look. Do you want me to—”
“Angel, I seriously want to hit you.”
I glared daggers at him, shaking my tiny fist in front of him, trying to appear like I was unaffected by this, as if I didn’t care at all, but the odd mix of shyness, disgust, and irritation swirling in my gut made it impossible to look calm and collected.
Muscle man…
What’s going on with him…
“Alright, alright… I won’t tease you anymore. Little Black Charcoal, since you came to find me at this time, you must have made up your mind, right?”
“Yeah.”
I stared at his pretty face for a few seconds before acting nonchalantly and averting my gaze.
“I’m going to Mossry Coast.”
“Ah, just as I thought…” Angel scratched his head, letting out a quiet sigh, looking rather helpless, “Have you thought this through? Staying in the royal city might actually be the best choice.”
“How soon can we leave at the earliest?”
“That’s not the issue. Just stay here, eat, drink, and have fun. It’ll be great.”
“Angel.”
“Okay, okay…”
Seeing my serious expression, Angel raised his hands in surrender: “You want to know when we can leave? I think the earliest we can head out is this afternoon. We initially planned for tomorrow morning, but things went a bit faster than expected. Now that I have time to rest, with you barging in, I can’t sleep anymore… Let’s wait for the people from Saint George’s Currency Exchange to return. As soon as they arrive, we’re off.”
As Angel spoke, he yawningly stretched and poked at his ear with his little finger.
“Oh, and there’s someone from the Currency Exchange you should know. He’ll be joining us.”
“Who?”
I frowned at his words.
