Harmless rage

Chapter 15 –

Away from the corridor where Vanessa had run, in an open field, King Theodore stood with a revolver in his hands. Pointing it forward with little to no concentration, he aimed at the bull's eye of the target.

BANG. The bullet hit exactly where it was aimed, leaving a hole in the target.

"Your shots are really great, Milord." Ralph complimented. He was standing a distance away, his hands crossed behind his back.

A servant brought a bow and arrow instead, on Theodore's order.

"Has Dermot already left?" Theodore drew the bowstring and let it go so the arrow could fly and hit the bull's eye.

"Yes. And he said to give this to you." Ralph stepped forward to show Theodore the book he had been holding.

Theodore's eyes narrowed at the book as he recognized it. A book filled with love poems.

It was Dermot's payback to Theodore for leaving him in the forest. Right now, Ralph could already picture the duke whistling with merriment in his carriage at the reaction he must have known the king would give.

"You can add it to your own collection of books; I don't need it," Theodore said, returning to picking another arrow to shoot.

Ralph covered his embarrassed face with a bow.

A servant walked towards them and bowed to the king. He said, "Your highness." The servant paused for a moment while having a second thought.

He had hurried to come here after getting a whiff of the rumor, without thinking if the information would be to Theodore's liking.

He was not sure if the information he was about to give would sound mundane to his king.

"Speak!" Theodore ordered, now drawing out his bowstring and not sparing the servant a look.

"There is a rumor circulating amongst the castle's servants since this morning."

"Is that supposed to pique my interest?" He inquired, releasing the bowstring and allowing the arrow to fly and strike the target.

"It is about the new maid you ordered me to watch." He revealed, and this time Theodore turned to look at him.

"Do tell."

"They say she's sleeping around and also with you, m-milord." The servant hung his head low. He wished he did not have to be the one delivering the information.

"And I'm guessing she fled from there to hide." His eyes held mirth in them.

The servant raised his head slightly before nodding in response.

Unlike Vanessa, Theodore found it interesting. And her action was more amusing. He waved his hand in dismissal.

"You can leave." He said to the servant, who obliged with a bow and left.

Ralph turned to look at Theodore. He asked, "Should I go find her?"

"No, I will do it. Go find the servants who had taken the rumors in their hands."

"Yes, your highness."

Theodore turned away from Ralph to stare into the distance. He added, "And the mastermind, of course, who is hiding in the shadows." Theodore smiled brightly with mischief.

Ralph didn't get the chance to ask any questions for clarification because the king didn't spare him that much time.

He watched Theodore's back, pondering on what he meant by the master mind in the shadows.

And he only shook his head and went away to find the servants once Theodore was out of sight.

In one of the empty corridors, where no servant was seen wandering about, Vanessa sat on the ground behind a pillar, away from sight.

Her knees were pulled to her stomach, with her knees pointing at the ceiling. Her face was buried between her knees.

"Maybe if I had headed in another direction, I would not have been facing this much trouble." She sniffled.

Right now, she felt like screaming out her frustration. But in as much as the corridor here was not in use, someone might hear her and report her.

The rumors were already too much for her to handle, and it was not like she was interested in adding burnt sugar to her already bitter tea.

The only reason she had been trying to stay alive was her brother. Who knew if he had been killed by those bastards?

"If I can't leave this place, I can just as well dig my own grave without getting my nails dirty." Her tears dropped to touch her dress.

She felt her chest tighten. No matter how much she tried to stop the tears from falling, they did not.

They used her constant frustration with her failures as their entry point.

When she raised her head to dry her eyes, she saw a pair of shoes in front of her.

Her eyes looked up to see Theodore, who stared down at her. And she glared at him.

It was not a subtle one. She did not bother to hide her anger. She stared hard at him with her eyes, which had lost their color from crying.

But Theodore didn't react and only watched her with a calm expression, before a smile broke into his lips.

"You must be feeling humorous right now." Vanessa said with gritted teeth, trying her best not to attack him right now.

Vanessa knew she would only be on the losing end. But she so badly wanted to hit him. He was part of the reason for the rumors.

"Indeed. I'm surprised you don't find it as intriguing as I do." His smile broadened mischievously while he squatted down to her level.

"I'm sorry if I only feel that your sense of humor is like hot charcoal that burns my feet." She retorted with sarcasm in her tone. "You seem so good at finding people, maybe a spot in the council will suit you more."

Her words didn't unfaze Theodore because, more than her words, he could feel her rage. A harmless rage.

"You would have done great there, yourself. After all, the council would need someone who can run well enough to catch the criminals." He paused for a moment and then said, "But it's a pity I can't let you leave yet."

His eyes never left hers, and if it were possible, Vanessa glared more daggers at him.

He had reminded her of how trapped she was in this place. Vanessa turned her face away from him.

With a thoughtful look on his face, Theodore said, "Now that I think of it, you remind me of a little girl."

'Little girl?' Vanessa turned back to look at him.

"Innocent, kind, and naive. Too naïve to know who was her friend or who could harm her. Tsk." Theodore watched her calmly, but he also had his own thoughts running through his sinful mind.

'What happened to her?' She wanted to ask. And as much as the little girl piqued her interest, she was not interested in making conversation with the person in front of her. 'Did he kill her?' She pondered in her thoughts.