MENACE

CHAPTER TWELVE : Suspicions

Rita stared for a moment at the young man, and quickly shook off some weird thoughts sprouting on her mind. That he might be the one that intruded the house. But.. why is he here?

"Ah, perhaps you've just woke up from an afternoon nap? It's getting late though! Haha, I didn't expect Ms. Rita to be a sleepyhead." Rita didn't have any energy to even retort to his jokes, so she slide it off and asked him straightforwardly.

"Do you need anything, Ryuu? Why are you here?"

"Ah! My old man cooked roasted chicken for my little brother' s birthday. We just wanna share some with you for dinner~ "

Rita stared at him and heavily sighed. I guess I mistook him as a suspect. Maybe, I was just imagining the whole thing.

Ryuu perceived her troubled expression and tilted his head in attempt to meet her eyes since she often avoid eye contact in conversation.

"Ehh, are you allergic to chicken , Ms. Rita?"

"No, no I'm ok with it. Thank you, your family is very thoughtful. I wish your little brother a happy birthday." Rita thanked him with a smile and he reciprocated.

"You're welcome!" Ryuu said and when he's about to exit the gate, Rita suddenly called out to him out of sudden.

"Wait! Ryuu-san, did you see anybody enter and exit the mansion moments ago? "

Ryuu stopped on his tracks, and for a second, Rita felt her heartbeats were beating loudly. Why did she even bother to ask? If I won't, I won't be able to sleep due to overthinking. Rita convinced herself and waited for Ryuu's reply.

"Hmm, well aside from Sir Edmund turning on the outdoor lights of the mansion 2 hours ago, I don't think I saw anyone aside from me entering the premises." His answer seemed plausible, but Rita still looked for any sign of deception from his words. He can't be lying... then who was the person that she surely felt when I woke up?

"Is there any problem ,Ms. Rita? "

"Ah, it's nothing. Maybe I was just dreaming. I'm sorry, and see you again Ryuu-san!"

Rita went back inside and confirmed that it wasn't a dream at all.

A fresh blanket was messy laid on the sofa where she was sleeping, and there was a conspicuous box on the isle that contains the note. If it were on other setting where others would normally expect someone could leave something, they might feel excited or curious like a love letter. But this is completely different since I was alone in this mansion, Rita shuddered.

"It can't be possible.. or is this some sort of prank ?"

Rita scrutinized and she couldnt help but hold the box which was the size of her two palms and carefully uncovered it, as if a ticking bomb might explode any moment. Rita gulped and her eyes widened incredulously seeing the content.

A diamond rose hair clip.

"You can't be kidding me." Rita heaved a large sigh and safely put it back inside the box. She deeply contemplated on what will she do about it. Should I just throw it away? By the the looks of it, surely it wasn't a mere cheap accessory. Even the box that contained it looked lustrous and extravagant. After battling her consciences she decided to put it on top of the book shelves in case the person who left it might come back. Hopefully they don't, otherwise she'll definitely have them a taste of their own medicine for pulling such an act.

Yes, she deeply hated it.

"God, I didn't ask for company this way. "

Rita thought that overthinking about it could only bring nothing but distress on her current peaceful life. Hence, she cast it aside at the moment, and chose to distract herself by eating the tasty roasted chicken Ryuu's family gracefully shared.

~~~

A fleeting sensation kept pulling her consciousness away. Rita couldn't sleep very well nor stay focus after that day the intruder disrupted her peaceful perception of the Ghailles Mansion.

"You look terrible, Miss. What happened?"

Rita wanted to avoid talking about it because it'll make her appear paranoid or it's just too cumbersome to express her anxieties. Especially to the concerned looking Edmund who kindly served her tea that he bought the next day.

"Ah, it's nothing Mr. Edmund. And I'm sorry for looking bad. I just couldn't sleep properly lately." Rita emphasized every word as if saying 'it's not my fault my eyebags got worst because of this place's poor security.' but she couldn't say it straight since it'll definitely cause more trouble.

I'll just try to ignore such thing for now.

Rita shrugged as if the whole thing did not bother her, contrary to what it caused to her.

"Are you sure? If you have any problems Miss, please do not hesitate to ask." Edmund said with hopeful eyes towards Rita who looked tired since early morning. Edmund was just regularly checking the plants and flowers when he noticed the young lady leaning on the balcony staring into the air. She looked like she never slept with those exhausted look and disheveled appearance, which is why he got very worried. Maybe it's due to the weather? It's been raining a lot lately in the first week of July. So he needed to give extra attention to his botany. Momentarily lost to his own concern, Edmund snapped back to the young lady who was now staring at the book shelves while sipping her camomile tea. Is there something that she's hiding?

"Miss Rita, how's the tea?"

Edmund inquired casually once again when Rita didn't respond to his last statement. Yes, she's definitely spacing out. When Rita saw the old man stood against her view at the bookshelves she snapped back to reality.

"Y-yes? Oh, the tea? Of course it's delicious. Thank you." Rita just got lost thinking whether she should really dispose that thing being left by the intruder. Otherwise, she might think the person might sneakily return once again. Well, she must be prepared too. Rita thought of something.

"Um, by the way Mr. Edmund, may I ask a favour ?"

"Of course ! " He answered expectedly which made Rita felt hesitant. Mr. Edmund looked very much like her father in her memory when he tried to cheer her up when she got scolded by her mother. So Rita smiled naturally and put the empty teacup on the table.

"May I borrow your shovel ?"

"Yes ? ....."