Chapter 4
2197 Words
CHAPTER 4
The day of Tatiana’s departure to the capital has arrived.
Her mother, Duchess Annabelle Monique Cromello, will come with her to the capital. The duke, on the other hand, won’t be able to come with them because he still has some business to do in the South.
In front of the entrance of the Cromello’s Residence, a total of three carriages lined up, 2 of which were full of luggage. All of the staff and knights of the Cromellos have gathered by the side, as well.
Before Jane came to this world, the staffs of the Cromello were either scared or were displeased with her. Either way, they didn’t like the Lady even the tiniest bit, so they never had a good relationship with her. They were only tolerating their job of serving her for the sake of the duke and the duchess, but otherwise, they prefer to resign no matter how big their salary was.
A year ago, however, the Lady they knew suddenly changed. She started being warm and kind that she even went to each of the employees to apologize. She even gave compensation to those victims who have greatly suffered due to her attitude.
The staffs were happy about this change, though of course there were some who still doubted the sudden act of kindness.
But since then, the staff started to become fond of Lady Tatiana that now they are sad to see her leave to the capital, even if it’s just for a few months.
For Jane, this was a big achievement. She had worked hard for the past year to improve her relationship with each of the personnel. It was because she felt responsible for the original Tatiana’s actions, and since she knew that in the novel these innocent people died in the most horrible way because of Tatiana’s foolishness.
“Please stay safe, darling.” Duke Michael said to Tatiana.
Tatiana nodded and gave him a hug.
“I will father.” Duke Michael smiled and turned to the duchess.
He said something to her before kissing her, causing Tatiana to smile so widely. After they were done, the duchess had flushed cheeks and it made Tatiana giggle.
“W-we’ll go now.” Duchess Annabelle said shyly and walked her way to the carriage. The duke only shook his head as he watched the duchess walk away.
“Goodbye, father. See you there.” Duke Michael nodded and Tatiana followed her mother to the carriage.
When they were about to pass the gate, Tatiana turned to look outside from the back window. She could see the small figures of the staff who were waving to them, and her father who just stood there with his eyes on them.
The beginning will start soon.
When they’ll arrive at the capital, that’s where all the paths would open. However, Jane promised that she will protect her family and all of their people. She will make sure, no matter what, that she won’t end up on the path of the original novel.
“Are you okay, my dear?” Tatiana looked back in front when the duchess asked.
“Yes, mother. I guess I’m a little bit nervous. It has been a while since the last time I went to the capital,” Tatiana replied.
The duchess nodded her head and smiled.
“It will be okay, Tati. Besides, you’ll be seeing His Highness very soon.” The duchess tried to cheer Tatiana up. The problem, however, is that Tatiana is not excited to see His Highness, not for the reason the duchess was thinking.
She wanted to meet His Highness for her plans, and not because she has feelings for him.
Tatiana just laughed a little. They talked more about Tatiana’s coming of age and their journey to the capital officially began.
It was already noon when they have arrived at their first stop which is a luxurious inn somewhere near the border of the South. They will have to stay here for the night and continue their trip tomorrow morning.
Although they were already traveling fast, it will still take them 3 days and 2 nights to reach the capital by carriage. If it’s in the modern world, on the contrary, a day would have been enough.
Lady Tatiana and the duchess settled in their suite, while the knights and the maid, who came with them, organized the luggage and prepared their dinner.
Later that night, after their dinner, Tatiana decided to sneak out. They were in a new town at the border of the South, and she wished to explore it.
Also, she heard there will be a festival tonight, so the more she wanted to go out.
“My lady, I brought you some tea.”
Tatiana froze in the middle of dressing up when she heard Mia, her personal maid, outside.
Right! I forgot Mia will be checking on me.
Tatiana finished clothing herself in an all-black outfit before she opened the door. It revealed Mia smiling while holding a tray with a tea set. Her smile then slowly fades when she looked down at Tatiana’s outfit.
However, before Mia could react, Tatiana pulled her inside and covered her mouth. This caught Mia by surprise that she almost let go of the tray she was holding.
“Shh...” Tatiana whispered. “Please don’t shout.”
It was when Mia nodded that Tatiana slowly let go of her. Mia then let out her breathe which she was holding the entire time.
“My lady!” Mia shouted in a whisper. “Where are you going looking like that?”
Mia, who’s usually so calm and composed, can't control her emotions at that moment and was frowning. Though, Tatiana didn’t mind since it was her fault.
Tatiana stepped back before answering.
“I’m going to the festival!” she replied with a smile.
Mia, then, calmed down after hearing that. She had expected her Lady to be interested in going to the capital the moment she heard of it. This was because after Jane became Tatiana, Mia noticed that her Lady loves to go out more often. Of course, what Mia didn’t know, Tatiana was actually going out to train with Kai.
“Oh! If you wanted to go, you should have just said so, My Lady. I’ll call the knights to escort you.” Mia said and smiled. She was about to turn towards the door when Tatiana stopped her.
“No! I want to go alone. I don’t really want to stand out with knights following me around. They would just be a distraction.” Tatiana explained. Mia frowned once again.
“But my lady, it is very dangerous outside especially during nighttime.” Mia tried to convince her.
“It's okay Mia. You don’t know it, but I can manage.” Tatiana reassured
It took a lot more reassurance and reasons before Mia finally agreed and promised to kept it a secret. But it was all for a condition that Tatiana must come back before midnight safe and sound.
For a moment, Tatiana felt like Cinderella and Mia was her godmother. Nevertheless, she was able to escape, and her secret quest started.
Tatiana was walking along the busy streets with her hood on. With her rare silver hair and purple eyes, people would know she was a noble at first glance.
Tatiana was enjoying the festivities when something caught her eye. There were three big men who looked like they were dragging someone to a dark alley. Everybody was busy with the festival and nobody notices it.
But curiosity got Tatiana and she decided to find out what was happening. She slowly walked closer to where the strange people were and hid behind a post.
“You son of a b*tch! Give me the money!” she heard one of the men shouted.
She took a peek at the alley beside the building and what she saw made her blood boil in anger.
The three men were ganging up on a skinny boy, and it looks like they were harassing the poor boy for money.
Tatiana felt pity for the boy and instinctively thought she has to save him. She remembered her years of training and all the lessons she learned from Master William. She never used it in her previous life, and in this life, she was only able to use it against Kai. This will be a perfect chance to put her skills to a test.
Tatiana looked around her and saw a box full of long sticks. She grabbed one and quietly went behind one of the men.
Without hesitation, Tatiana flogged the man and quickly jab the other guy with the end of the stick. She, then, turned around and beat the other one with the stick. All of that while avoiding the boy who was almost lifelessly laying on the ground.
The three men were caught off guard by the sudden attack and were coughing and groaning in pain. Then, almost simultaneously, the three men looked at the unwelcomed intruder. The three men scowled at the figure who was meticulously covered in an all-black cloak. They couldn’t recognize if it was a man or a woman, but they figured he must be a man considering the strength of the attacks.
Regardless, the three men were angry and annoyed by the sudden interference, so they readied their stance to attack.
The three of them attacked Tatiana at the same time, but Tatiana was able to handle it pretty easily. She was almost like dancing while using her stick to beat the three bulky men.
The boy on the ground, though blurry, was amazed by the scene. And by the end of it, the three men were all battered and bruised that they couldn’t even stand properly. Tatiana, on the other hand, didn’t even break a sweat.
Well, that was fun. Master must be proud of me. Tatiana thought to herself before approaching the boy.
She checked on his condition then turned back to the three men who were still groaning in pain.
“Hey, give the boy’s his money back,” Tatiana ordered, altering her voice so they wouldn’t know she was a woman.
“It’s our money. F**k off!” One of the guys even managed to say.
Tatiana scoffed and walked closer to the guy. She, then, stepped on his hand, causing the man to shout in pain.
“I guess you haven’t learned your lesson. I said give it back.” Tatiana warned with a voice that is cold but speaks power. Her emotionless purple eyes glaring down through her hood made the guy trembled in fear.
He reached for his pockets and gave the pouch of coins to Tatiana. She accepted it and looked at the three of them.
“Go, and don’t dare coming back here.”
The three of them scramble away in fear.
Tsk. Pathetic.
Tatiana returned to the boy and helped her stood up. The boy, who was weak and flimsy, accidentally pulled Tatiana’s hood. As a result, the top of her head was revealed and so was her face.
Tatiana immediately pulled it back up and looked around if anyone saw it, but thankfully no one seems to be around.
She paid her attention back to the boy and thought about what she should do with him.
Meanwhile, a man, who was also wearing a dark cloak, was observing everything from afar.
Like Tatiana, he also saw the three men going to that alley and had decided to follow them. The man was hiding behind another post not far from Tatiana.
He, then, saw her grabbed a stick from a box. The man first thought Tatiana was a fool for even attempting to meddle with the three bulky men—and with a stick, that is.
But he changed his mind when he saw the whole fighting scene that had transpired. He was amazed by the skills of that strange man. He never saw someone handled a long stick that skillfully.
When he first saw Tatiana, he wasn’t sure if she was a woman or a man who was just that thin. But with what he witnessed; he was sure that Tatiana was a man.
And then, he heard Tatiana talking to one of the bulky men. The voice he heard was cold that even he got chills. For a moment, he felt sorry for the three bulky men.
Anyways, when Tatiana approached the boy again, he was intently observing her that when Tatiana’s hood accidentally slid down, he was able to see it.
Is that silver hair? The man thought to himself.
Tatiana, then turned her head to look around and that’s when he saw her eyes. It was already very dark so he wasn’t able to see her whole face, but he was able to see her eyes that sparkled under the moonlight.
While the man was frozen in shock, Tatiana already left while carrying the boy.
He stared at Tatiana’s disappearing figure as his mind was filled with what he saw.
Silver hair...and purple eyes...
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reyankleyr
- Writer
