Escape from the evil lady (GL)
Chapter 127 - 35. Confusion and Rumors

Chapter 127: Chapter 35. Confusion and Rumors

The black raven that landed on the Dark Host Knight’s shoulder flew away as soon as it completed its task. The man with the disheveled dark hair replied:

«I accept Her Highness’ order.»

Jacob Osman followed the silhouette of the bird with a thoughtful look until it completely disappeared from sight. A little later, he also informed his partner:

«Meg.»

— Yes? What’s the matter?

His colleague, as usual, was busy eating a variety of food, and Jacob was already tired of watching this spectacle. Instead of pulling it away, Jacob just sighed and said:

— I’m going to have to leave for a while. You’ll keep an eye on Lady de Walt while I’m gone.

— what? «leave»? — he asked in surprise.

«I received an urgent order from Her Highness today,» the knight said, «it seems she needs my presence on some important matter. For that reason, I’m going to leave immediately.

After listening to him, Mag hesitantly nodded his head.

— Oh, good. I’ve got it all figured out.

However, the commander of the sixth division of the Dark Host found this response insufficient, and his gaze narrowed suspiciously.

— Anyway. Are you sure you understand me? — Jacob asked.

— Of course!

«When I said you should keep an eye on Lady de Walt, that’s exactly what I meant, not your endless food runs!»

His partner had a confused expression on his face.

— Jacob, you underestimate me too much! — He muttered resentfully, — I take my duties quite responsibly!

— Well, I hope so...

The knight sighed again, hoping only that nothing would really happen during his short absence.

***

I was standing in a long queue at one of the most famous bakeries in the city, known for its airy croissants and amazing cakes.

The sweet smell of fresh pastries wafted around me, and I couldn’t help but smile, anticipating how I would soon enjoy these magnificent delicacies. In the end, the joy of life is based on such small things.

Since this place was so famous, there was almost always a long queue at the entrance, and so I had to come early on purpose before everything was sold out. In total, I’ve been standing here for half an hour now.

Meanwhile, the people in the queue in front of me were talking animatedly, discussing the latest news of the empire. Such gossip hardly interested me, and therefore for quite a long time I just ignored them, instead admiring the beautiful display cases with pastries in front of me.

At least, that’s how it was up to this point.

Among the conversations, I accidentally caught a phrase that caught my attention:

— Did you hear that? It’s said that the Crown Princess still hasn’t shown up at the imperial palace!

— What are you talking about? Was this just another trick of hers?

— Most likely, it is. Otherwise, why hasn’t she taken the throne that rightfully belongs to her...?!

At that moment, I involuntarily narrowed my eyes, trying to focus on the conversation between the two women in front. One of them continued:

— Yes, it’s obviously not for nothing! The tyrant Princess is clearly up to something. And that’s not good at all... It seems that chaos will descend upon our empire again soon.

Knock. Knock.

My heart started beating faster when I heard all these conversations.

Of course, when I heard any news about my former «fiancee», I could not remain indifferent. After all, this woman had a grudge against me and was probably still after me. In other words, I just couldn’t forget even for a moment about her existence. However, that wasn’t the focus of attention right now.

It was no secret that the current Crown Princess had always aspired to power and had long been eager to take control of the empire. Therefore, the idea that she could now so openly disregard the throne seemed incredible to many people. And, to be honest, neither do I. Despite the fact that I was almost not interested in politics, I still had to stay informed about some global events for the sake of my own well-being. And therefore, the current situation really raised a lot of questions.

«Really?» The other woman asked in disbelief. «Are you sure it’s not a rumor?»

— No, there’s clearly something wrong here! — The first one replied, and her voice was filled with excitement, — In any case, isn’t the whole situation extremely suspicious? After the death of the emperor, the whole country has been on its ears lately. And the Crown Princess, who had been waiting for this moment, still hadn’t taken any steps... I can’t find any other explanation other than the fact that something truly terrible can be expected from her soon.

«Yes, you’re right,» the other agreed with a sigh, «Since recently, and until now, too, this empire has definitely been going to hell...

At that moment, I stopped listening to this conversation for the simple reason that it was the turn of these women, and they were distracted from the stormy dialogue to order themselves pastries. I remained in deep thought the whole time.

And by the time the queue finally reached me, I had almost missed that moment.

In the end, I ordered the bakery’s famous croissant with strawberry filling, but thoughts of the Crown Princess still wouldn’t leave my mind. For some reason, I continued to feel a strange excitement that I couldn’t explain to myself. With this thought in mind, I left the bakery, holding the long-awaited package of pastries in my hands, but at the same time all my thoughts were filled with something completely different.

At the moment, the Ruthven Empire was in a clearly tense situation, as the former emperor had passed away not so long ago, and his successor’s place had not yet been occupied. For this reason, unrest continued throughout the country. And even I couldn’t ignore the general concern about this, because every now and then I heard some rumors. The rivalry between the main character and the main villain was clearly in full swing right now.

And even if I was rooting for the second princess with all my heart in this situation, my anxiety still wouldn’t leave me.

In fact, since the original plot of this novel had already gone to hell a long time ago, now I couldn’t even begin to imagine how all this would eventually be resolved. Now that the main villain was still alive, should we all have expected the civil war that was about to unfold here due to the rivalry between the two? Thinking about all this, I just sighed heavily.

It seems that all those rumors about the coming of troubled times in this empire were not so contradictory. Of course, this was also one of the reasons for my concern, because I didn’t want to be in the middle of a raging uprising at all. But...

«Well, anyway, in this world, I’m just a small fry who can’t influence anything globally anyway.»

So I thought I should just accept the inevitable future that was going to happen one way or another.

When I returned to our store after a short walk, I was surprised to find that none other than my older brother had met me there. It was amazing that this asshole actually deigned to leave his room in the middle of the day and come down here.

«Brother, where are Jeremy and the others?»

I looked around, but there was no one else but Yufil.

«How do I know where they are? Am I their secretary?» he grumbled. «They must be hanging out somewhere and taking time off from work.

«....»

«Rather, it would be more accurate to say that about you.» A thought flashed through my head, but of course I didn’t say it out loud.

— Anyway, where have you been all this time? I’ve been waiting for you, by the way.

After making this unexpected statement, the guy crossed his arms on his chest with an important look.

— «Waiting?» Me? — I asked with considerable surprise.

— Exactly.

I opened and closed my mouth, puzzled.

«But why?»

He was silent for a moment.

— ...I wanted to talk to you about something.

«And what is it?»

Yufil hesitated for a moment before speaking slowly:

— You... Are you really not involved in the attack on our estate?

«.....»

At that moment, I barely managed to keep my emotions under control.

«How many times can you ask the same questions!» I felt like I was really going to lose my patience with all this. No, really. How much longer can this hurdy-gurdy go on? Especially when I’ve said it all a long time ago.

Although inside I was annoyed by this, I tried to respond as calmly as possible:

«...No.»

The guy paused before asking the next, equally predictable question:

— I... Are you not involved in our father’s death?

I took a deep breath, but shook my head.

— no.

Yufil looked at me carefully, but I also continued to look directly at him, without looking away. In the end, the guy quietly said:

«I see.»

After my answer, the duke’s eldest son seemed to withdraw into himself for a while and stopped noticing me. He had a complicated expression on his face that even I couldn’t decipher. It was serious and anxious at the same time. Finally, the guy slowly opened his mouth:

«Come on.»

— ...What? Where to?

I continued to be surprised by my brother’s ambiguous behavior, which was not quite the same as usual.

— We need to go to a place. I... — Yufil hesitated for a moment, — I’m going to show you something.