Chapter 16: Study

What in the world! 

SLAM! 

"Fvcking cockroach, so fvking big, fvking gross." 

Ett was revolted. "You piece of shvt, you're the only one that makes me curse so much." 

Why didn't the people who were isekai'ed go to a royal palace, as royalty didn't mention that cockroaches roam around even if it's spotlessly clean?! This is as important as the climax event! Or is this place needed to be more spotless? 

Ett will request a muslin right away. She can't let such a thing come in contact with her again. These things would disrupt her concentration more than any noble factions combined. Abominable things. Ugh, what a relief it's dead; staring at the splattered cockroach, she had the itch to pound it repeatedly, breaking its arms one by one with two slippers like chopsticks. 

She vehemently hates their colour, hates the way they look, hates their design and those numerous legs. Ett shivered. It triggers her killing intent exclusively for cockroaches. 

"You're Grace; please let me tend it up." 

The maid who just came in to bring her tea suggested seeing the murderous glare of her master. Scary, too scary. She feels like she is the cockroach itself and shivers. The maid silently thought to never let any insects, especially cockroaches, be seen by Her Grace. It must be dealt with strictly, or they would be the ones to be implicated. 

"Great, and do get a muslin. I don't want it to come to my bed." 

"Yes, Your Grace understood." 

Only then did Ett return from her usual child-like, composed, languid state. 

"…" 

Ett laid back on her bed, fully relaxed, and thought about Moran and the uncle. It would be good if Moran could be freed or the uncle would care for him. That uncle seems like a good guy. If, in the future, they meet, as in the story, she will use how she saved him as a bargain. If not, he better pay up first on the spot. No, he'll pay up. Then, if that happens, she needs a Plan B. 

Saving him won't affect the story. Maybe he is lessening his blackening, but that's it. His past is so dark that he will never forget it. At the same time, in the novel, when he was indebted to the female lead, even if it was years ago, he would still remember and pay it back ten times.

"Hmm." 

Whatever, that's not important right now. What Ett needs to do now is the current event before moving forward to many of her plans. 

Ett watched the maid swiftly sweep the cockroaches, remove the carpet, and replace it with a new one. She still dazedly stared at where the cockroach was smashed by her even when the maid left. "Should I tear them from limb to limb then? Or collect them like cockroaches and put them in another parasitic house?" 

How should she deal with the next event to make it continue to flow as if she didn't interfere? She must control the situation, or it'll stray too much when the timing is wrong. Some events still need to be kept before all of them become a 100% butterfly effect. 

"Right, that guy from the north." 

Ett immediately turned it down. Not now; something needs to be added. She felt that she needed to include a point here. What was it? 

"Ralis." 

There was a tweak when she met Ralis. In the plot, she shouldn't have talked to him longer, nor did she meet Guren and walk away like that. 

Although Guren is aware of Ralis, he won't kill him as it should be. The timeline of when Ralis would be killed is now nought. She needs to speak to Guren regarding this.

"…" 

"Man…" 

Talk about avoiding someone, but you're face to face with the person himself after a few seconds. 

Just like before.

"How can I face that child?" 

The usual Ett vibe? Sheesh, it's hard to communicate with fellow humans. How much more is a mere child? 

"Let's just write the drafts first…" 

Taking the black notebook she had hidden where it was written in her own dialect for secrecy, Ett began to write, sometimes flipping the pages. Another day and night just passed by like that. The light continues to flicker as another night passes by. 

The palace was silent for a week, and Ett never got out of her room. One could see if they peeked at the window, the papers piled up on the carpet, and some pieces burned in her heathen. 

Meanwhile, Guren was also on his study table. The lamp flickers occasionally as his slight silhouette sometimes waves slightly, fully concentrating on his writing. These days, the whole palace seems exceptionally silent. 

"The Dowager seems to always stay in her room." 

Butler Xiwen muttered as he closed the curtains. The outside is as dark as midnight, yet Guren's study room is still bright, with all the lamps still brightly kept on. 

"Isn't she always like that?" 

Her mother always prefers to stay in her bedroom like her own canary. She rarely leaves her own abode called the chamber. 

Butler Xiwen nodded, "The Dowager is always on the balcony looking at the moon." 

"…" 

"You seem to know my mother well." 

Butler Xiwen immediately frowned. 

"Please don't misunderstand." 

"Then I, as the son, don't know my mother well." 

"Your Majesty..."

"Alright, I won't tease you. Then tell me what has changed from the past?" 

It was a casual remark.

 Guren really doesn't care about his mother. They were simply mother and child by blood and accomplices in scheming, nothing else. If there is that change from the following days and he asks, it's merely a whim of his thoughts, just like when his mother asked him back in the dining room. Ah, yes, she must have been very muddle-headed that day. 

"Your Majesty, the Dowager often likes to stare at the moon as if she would be distressed without watching it for one day. The will for her to live is sparse as if she is waiting for the day she dies out of her duties. After the happening, she rarely gazes at the moon. But the suffocating feeling of the servants who closely serve her felt it has died little by little." 

Only to be replaced with wholesome detachment as if she was watching them perform in theatrics. 

Whenever Butler Xiwen remembers it, he feels highly uncomfortable being stared at like that.

"You expressed more than you should." 

"Indeed, I was lost in thought." 

The Butler smiled awkwardly. Trying to make this mother and daughter pair get closer to each other always fails. It's like how oil and water don't bond well together. Even mentioning one another's activities annoyed them. 

"I just hope the Dowager won't be raddled like before." 

"…you are right, Your Majesty." 

If not for her usefulness as his mother, Guren can kill her if she wants to die early. 

"You should rest, Xiwen. I don't need your assistance for today." 

"Alright. Do ring the bell for the maids if you need anything, Your Majesty." 

"Mmm." 

Not a moment long, a knock came on the door. 

"Xiwen, I told you---" 

"Greetings, your Majesty—oh, do pardon my intrusion. It seems you still have important matters to do. Then I'll leave first." 

The tone was urgent, the galloping of horses ready to take off and leave immediately. 

"Hold on." 

Dowager? What is this woman's intention now?