Chapter 152

Soft, a blue-colored eyes staring at me. It was hard to believe it was the same person who, in Soleil's basement, was sucking mercilessly children's spirit, draining their energy, making them shrink like a deflating balloon until they disappear.

Goosebumps rose on the back of my neck. I stood there, silent, with a strange feeling of being stuck in my head.

"Princess?"

Her voice called out carefully, as she stared at me with her blue, innocent eyes. I suddenly came to my senses.

"Hi."

Reluctantly, I opened my mouth and glanced around the main trail. There was only Yvonne and me on the quiet forest path.

'Shit!'

Originally, I was going to ignore her at the mansion. However, since she's a member of Leila's clan, I was too scared to ignore her.

"Ah! Yes, hello.."

My low voice shook as the pupils of my eyes retracted shallowly. "Did you accept my greeting?"

Yvonne in normal mode was easily moved and burst out in tears by the slightest trifle. I stared at her with an expressionless face and quickly lifted my lips.

"You're coming back from meeting Eclise?" "OhYes, yes."

"I heard your test is not over yet."

Yvonne frowned in embarrassment at my words. She hesitated for a moment, then answered.

"I took advantage of the lunch break and asked the Duke to look after Eclise. After all, he's trapped because of me"

I was a bit frustrated to think that I couldn't prevent them from meeting, it truly tried my patience. 'So, Eclise is trapped in a cellar, not in the basement of the mansion.'

It was unexpected.

"May I ask why you're alone without a maid?"

I asked back bluntly. Yvonne's cheeks flushed red when she answered.

"There was a maid butshe had to take care of a few things and I wanted to walk alone."

This was a bit offensive.

'The exam was not over yet, and she had no maid.'

I guess she hated the "fake princess" from the beginning and put all the cogs in place so that she'll always be abused. For as long as I can remember, living in the mansion was so exhausting. Then I must accept this situation with my arms wide open and be happy with the appearance of the real princess.

But I couldn't bring my self to do so. I held back a peal of twisted laughter that was about to be leaked out and glared back at Yvonne's face.

"It must've hurt." "Pardon?"

"The wound."

I pointed out to the wound on her forehead covered with gauze.

At this fine comment, she grimaced slightly. I had nothing else to bring up apart from this observation. "Well, then, have a good day lady."

I stared at her for a moment and immediately passed her without hesitation. To be precise, I was about to.

"Excuse me!"

She suddenly caught me by the wrist. I turned my head with a frown. "What is it?"

"Sorry, I'm SORRY."

Yvonne was looking up at me with her fist-sized tears hanging in her big protruding eyes. She looked so weak and pathetic and she knew why Eclipse was Eclipse did such a 'tribute'. I was so stunned that I did nothing.

"Ha. What are you sorry about?"

"My sudden arrivalYou must have been surprised, Princess."

In a quivering voice, she begged for an unrelenting misunderstanding.

"I shouldn't have come here, ButEclise begged me to come with him at least once."

"..."

"I felt guilty because I thought I had hurt you unintentionally. I'm deeply sorry"

"Hey!"

I cut off Yvonne's in the middle of her increasingly frustrated voice. "Did you tell him your name was Yvonne?"

She looked up at me with her round tearful eyes.

"Was Yvonne the name you were called when you were a commoner?" "Y-yes"

'How can she recall her name when she was living as a commoner with a memory loss?' Even if it didn't make sense, I nodded my head to this absurdity.

"What you're here for has nothing to do with me." "Yes?"

Her blue pupils were inundated with surprise. I added, spelling my words clearly in case she might misunderstand.

"I'm fine, so don't bother. I'm telling you to treat me like a nobody. Understood?" "Well, it's"

"If you understand, let me go."

It didn't matter if she didn't understand. My wrist in her hand felt as cold as ice. I didn't know if it was due to my fear or her odd power as the leader of Leila. The hairs on my neck straightened, but I didn't show it and retorted clipping off my wrist.

"And I was a commoner too, so I understand your ignorance manners, so keep in mind that if you touch a noblewoman's body without permission, a correction will be inflicted on you, you'll be slapped."

"..."

"I wish you a pleasant walk. Goodbye." I turned my back on her in a hurry.

Come to think of it, it was quite funny. When I was possessed by this crazy game, I remember feeling like running away every time I ran into male leads for fear of dying. But unlike the male leads who had let me run away with their petty pride, the hostess did not let me go easily.

"I swear I don't have any hidden purpose!"

grasp-. The hem of my skirt became tense. Without saying much, Yvonne appealed with a cry that was full of beseech.

"I lost my memory when I was young. I vaguely remember anything just snippets of flash here and there. And thanks to Eclise's encouragement, I came here. If I'm mistaken if I'm not the real daughter I'll be punished. Really, really, I'm"

"Ha"

I sighed deeply and mumbled in my head. Then I turned around and approached her. "Don't beg me for forgiveness."

"But, princess"

"I told you it doesn't matter."

When Yvonne saw me getting closer, she looked embarrassed and backed away. "Uh, uh!"

Then she stumbled, perhaps with a crooked stone. Even when falling down, Yvonne was so beautiful.

I reached out my hand and held her arm to pull her towards me. In the middle of winter, her body was barely balanced, so slender.

"Hyuk."

The skin of my palm was appallingly cold like a dead body. "Be careful."

"Thank you."

Yvonne murmured the thanks. I managed to put up with what I wanted to do by shoving her and pushing right away and quickly moved on.

"Listen Yvonne." "W-what?"

"It's none of my business whether you're the lost daughter of the Duke, or came in because of something else."

"Princess"

"From now on whenever we meet 'be yourself' and I'll 'be myself'." "However"

I read 'How can you say that?' from her eyes as wide as a rabbit that dimmed again.

"How could you say that? Who knows maybe I'm the Duke's lost child so we might be family?" "Family?"

I had a puzzled look on my face as if I just witnessed an accident. Then I strongly denied her illusion. "I'm not your family"

"..."

"Don't lie, I know you think so too. A family, no, it's just a temporary relationship that will end soon" I thought that that was the end of today's dangerous events.

"Go on, you piqued my curiosity, let's hear everything you have to say."

When the interrupter burst in between us, I and Yvonne's head fell off at the same time. Lovely pink hair, just like Yvonne, was walking out of the lush trees.

'The king of bad timing.'

I burst out some crazy laughter as I was getting more and more nervous.

The light pink gauge bar on his head blinked quickly. It seemed like the favorability was dropping. "Are you seriouslythinking that?"

Asked violently Renald who had come to where we stood. I defied his resentful gaze and asked with a sigh.

"What did I do?" "What didyou do?"

His face wriggled abruptly. Strangely, it didn't feel very scary anymore.

"Do you have to be careful with the first child yesterday, not the family, or the temporary relationship?" "That's not wrong."

"What?"

"Because the test isn't over yet."

"I'm not saying about situation right now!"

He shouted his frustration. I asked back with a reflexive frown. "Then what are you talking about?"

"It's all to point out your demeanor, Penelope Eckart."

A shriek of gnashing teeth echoed through the tranquil forest. "Ughh."

Yvonne breathed weakly beside him. I didn't like his nonchalant retort, but he pushed me to the limit.

"You've already been so grasping at a kid who's not even sure if she's real or fake? Dealing with a bug that is worse than a slave?"

I reflexively noticed where his gaze was lingering at the arm of the lady which I didn't let go of yet. "Who's treating others like real trash?"

As his words pierced my ears, that day came to mind vividly.

- You always make me miserable, as if I were worse than a slave. The last day of the festival, in the attic.

He was referring to my screams, which I had let out in response to my desperate situation. That little thing about not caring about each other.