Chapter 95: I Don’t Want to See Her Again
It wasn’t until I stood in front of the huge iron gate of Longdoll Number 3 mansion that I realized—when I sneaked out through the window, I forgot to take my keys with me!
When Carlos handed me the keys, I had nowhere to put them and carelessly tossed them onto the vanity. But… oh well, not the end of the world.
The iron fence surrounding the yard, overrun with prickly vines, was hardly three meters tall; I could easily leap over it. With a Moon Step, I’d hop onto the roof, then return through the half-open window straight back into my bedroom—just like that, I almost stepped on the sleeping goat cheese dozing off on the windowsill.
“Pepé—idiot—! Fool!”
“Shh! Quiet down, you dumb bird.”
I immediately shushed it, glancing warily at a patrol of soldiers passing by in the distance. Once I saw they were oblivious to what was happening here, I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.
Longdoll Street was on high alert; patrols passed by regularly, each with over thirty soldiers. Those who lived here were likely high-ranking nobility, just like that woman. If the guards discovered me, they might mistake me for a thief, which would be just a small problem to deal with.
Even though this was my home, explaining myself would be a pain. I could just imagine Carlos laughing at me.
It wasn’t long before Carlos returned.
As soon as I heard footsteps in the courtyard, I bolted out of bed like a ninja, totally barefoot since the bedroom carpet was soft and clean—I’d discarded my shoes earlier. I dashed down to the first floor just as the knock on the door sounded.
I opened the door, and sure enough, it was him.
“I’m back… Why aren’t you wearing shoes?” Carlos stepped inside, closed the door behind him, and handed me a paper bag. “Here, this is for you.”
“Didn’t feel like wearing them.” I caught a whiff from the bag—it smelled deliciously oily and meaty. “What is this?”
“Morlm sausage—everyone in Royal City knows about it. I thought you might enjoy it, give it a try.”
Sausage, huh… not my favorite, but let’s give it a shot.
I grabbed the paper bag and flopped down on the couch in the living room, spreading the contents across the coffee table. The two sausages wrapped inside were steaming, thick and long, slathered in a milky, gooey… sauce?
…These little things look quite unique.
I poked at the sausage with my finger, casting a sideways glance at Carlos.
“Quasimodo.”
“Uh?”
“…Were you doing it on purpose?”
Carlos, who was hanging up his coat, turned back, puzzled. “Doing what on purpose?”
“……”
I wasn’t sure if he was playing dumb, and I didn’t want to push it any further, so I just huffed and hesitantly took a bite.
Not bad! Pretty tasty!
I licked the sauce from one end… Yup, definitely milky.
“I heard this is beloved by the noble ladies in the royal palace. So, what do you think? Tasty, right?”
Hmm… not in the mood to judge.
“You eat.”
Carlos adjusted his sleeves, plopped down beside me, and settled into the soft couch, looking all relaxed.
“I already ate.”
I rolled my eyes at him.
“I’ve eaten too.”
He looked at me incredulously. “You got me to buy this for you and you’ve already eaten? These sausages aren’t cheap, you know!”
“But I didn’t fill up.”
“…What did you eat?”
“Acliri fruit.”
“Acliri fruit? That’s hard to come by—where’d you get it?”
I pouted.
“Next door. A pesky lunatic.”
“Lunatic?” Carlos frowned, as if a light bulb went off in his head, his half-closed eyes flying wide open. “You went next door? Longdoll Number 2?”
“Yep.”
I nodded, thinking he must know that woman well.
“That woman knows you.”
“…Wait, you met the owner there? The one with… blonde hair?”
“Yeah.”
“How did you get in?”
I shot him a slightly irritated look.
“Jumped in.”
Carlos covered his face with his hand.
“What on earth are you thinking? You didn’t get into a scrap, did you?”
“Almost, who is she?”
“She lives in Longdoll Number 2. I bet you’re the only one in Royal City who doesn’t know who she is. The place we’re living in? She set it up for us!”
…So it’s true.
“She. Is she really the queen of Royal City?”
“Yep.”
But she looks way too young!
In my mind, a queen should be a kind, smiling grandmother—strong yet gentle. But that Victoria looked barely over twenty. Is someone that young really ruling?
Plus, her cold demeanor… how could she earn the love of her people? Wait a minute.
If she really is the queen, does that mean I’ll have to face her obnoxious, smug face again tomorrow?
Oh, please no.
“About that…” I was just about to ask Carlos if I could skip tomorrow, when he interjected, “I have to ask, you didn’t make her mad, right?”
That question lit a fire under me.
My eyes went wide, my chest heaving in anger. I glared at him and shouted, “Carlos! What do you mean?”
What do you mean ‘didn’t make her mad’?
She was about to drive me crazy! You j*rk, whose side are you on?!
Seeing my fierce expression, Carlos contemplated for a moment before cautiously asking, “You didn’t do anything… inappropriate, did you?”
I grit my teeth, slowly pronouncing each word. “What do you mean by inappropriate?”
“Um, forget I said anything. Let’s change the subject.”
“Don’t change it, just this one.”
Now that we were this far, I wasn’t going to let him off the hook easily.
“Do you think I would scold her or hit her?”
“…That’s not possible.”
“Then why even ask me?”
“Just worried you might, in a moment of foolishness, upset her. She’s…”
His sentence was interrupted by me.
“Carlos, do you dare scold me?!”
“I didn’t mean it like that! Ugh.” Carlos ruffled his hair in annoyance, his expression exuding frustration. “It’s not what you think. That woman… her personality is terrible. If you get on her bad side, you’ll be in big trouble, and…”
“And what?! Is she your mistress or something?!”
At this point, I was done holding back my emotions—any words would come out now. Carlos jumped back, quickly covering my mouth.
“Shh—! You silly girl, what nonsense are you saying?”
“Mm-mm!” I shook my head and lifted my foot to kick him in the face. Seeing that, Carlos dodged, letting go of my mouth. I quickly backed off, looking at his annoyed face, feeling a little wronged.
That woman bullied me like that, and you won’t help me stand up to her. Why are you acting tough?
Such weak thoughts wouldn’t do, so I made sure my face stayed fierce.
“What’s wrong? Did I hit a nerve?”
Carlos looked quite helpless.
“…You mustn’t let her hear that.”
“What are you afraid of?”
“It’s not fear.” Carlos, with his sharp features, now sported a face that looked like he swallowed a fly. “Because I’ll be leaving soon. It’s rare for the Pope to let her agree to take care of you… if you two hit it off on the wrong foot right at the start, that’s just… Ugh, looks like women are always trouble, big or small. That’s why being single rocks…”
He muttered the last bit under his breath, but I heard it.
“Who’s trouble?!”
Carlos snapped back to reality, quickly denying it.
“I didn’t mean you.”
I decided to ignore him.
I quietly sat back down, taking another bite of the sausage, pondering over what Carlos had just said… somehow, the food started losing its taste.
After a moment of silence, I tossed the sausage onto the coffee table.
“This is not good.”
“…But you were just saying how delicious it was!”
“Seriously, it isn’t good.”
“You must’ve eaten too much.”
“I didn’t.”
“Then what now?” Carlos shrugged. “By this time, the market is empty; there’s nowhere else to buy food. Just finish it, don’t waste it.”
Carlos picked up the sausage again and took a bite from the other end.
“…Tastes fine, huh?”
I frowned.
“Carlos.”
“Hmm?”
“I don’t want to see her tomorrow.”
“That would be rude.”
“I don’t want to go.”
“Come on, it’s fine.”
Carlos reached out to pat my head, but then realized his hands were greasy from the sausage. He glanced at my fierce gaze and thought better of it.
“Don’t be stubborn; I can’t just leave you here alone. Queen Elizabeth is the most suitable person. Even if her personality is a bit… tricky. But I trust her to get things done; you need to get along with her, okay?”
“…Why is she the most suitable?”
“She’s the queen and a Pope Knight. With such status, isn’t she the most suitable? In Royal City, you could strut around like a crab and no one would dare say a thing.”
As he spoke, Carlos formed a crab shape with his fingers beside his head and truly mimicked a crab. The sight, combined with the sausage in his hand, was comically absurd, making me burst into a laugh. But then I realized something.
Wasn’t this just a way to pacify a disobedient little girl? Not falling for that.
I quickly put on a stern expression again.
“Whatever, I’m not going.”
“Really not going?”
Carlos narrowed his eyes.
“…Not going.”
“Really not going?”
He put down the sausage, grinning at me, that look giving me goosebumps, my voice involuntarily trembled.
“Just… just not going.”
“Then don’t go.”
