Chapter 09
“But… my lady, why are you holding that?”
Lucas’s eyes widened in surprise as he noticed the wooden stick in Lucy’s hand.
“Ah… I just thought it might help a little if a dangerous beast appeared… haha.”
Lucy gave an awkward laugh and returned to sit by the campfire.
For a while, an awkward silence hung between them.
“The bleeding seems to have mostly stopped. But more importantly… how did my lady end up in this forest? Surely the boundary where the hunting grounds begin was marked.”
“Oh, it just… happened, I suppose…”
She trailed off, and then from somewhere came the murmur of voices.
“Over there! I see lights over there!”
Following someone’s shout, the forest echoed with the fierce barking of dogs.
“Thank you, my lady. If you tell me your family name, I will make sure to repay this favor someday.”
Lucy never revealed her family name to Lucas. Still, he seemed unwilling to let her go just like that.
“Then I shall escort you back to your residence for now.”
“No, it’s fine. You should take care of your injured shoulder first. My companions are waiting for me, so I’ll take my leave.”
Using her companions as an excuse, Lucy hurriedly turned away. Lucas tried to stop her, but soon a crowd formed around them, blocking his view of her.
Before she could even glance back at Lucas, Duke Baron spotted her from a distance and ran toward her.
“Lucy! You suddenly disappeared, and I was so worried. Where on earth did you go?”
She glanced back briefly. Fortunately, Lucas was surrounded by people and didn’t seem to notice her or the Duke.
“I’m sorry. I got curious about the forest and wandered a bit… and ended up losing my way.”
“Well, it’s a relief you returned safely. You must have been frightened, so let’s head back for now.”
Jessica, who had quietly approached her side, now glared sharply at Lucy.
“Do you have any idea how worried I was because of you? We even sent people to the mansion to check if you went back first—it was utter chaos!”
Just thinking about what awaited her back at the mansion made her sigh.
“By the way, you weren’t in the forest with Grand Duke Cretain, were you? Right? Of course, that couldn’t have happened…”
Jessica muttered, glancing at Lucas in the distance.
Lucy shrugged once in response and climbed into the Duke Baron’s carriage.
“Lucy! Do you know how much worry you’ve caused me?!”
As soon as she got out of the carriage, Baron Diallo and his wife, who had been pacing in front of the mansion, approached her.
Lady Diallo embraced Lucy with a worried expression. Lucy inwardly rolled her eyes at the woman’s acting skills, impressed despite herself.
“Your Grace, I apologize. Lucy is usually so clumsy…”
“It’s nothing. I’m just glad you returned safely. Losing your way in the forest could have been disastrous.”
Exhausted, Lucy trudged into the mansion.
“Lu—Lucy? Child, where are you going? You should greet the Duke!”
Ignoring Baron Diallo’s flustered words, Lucy went straight to her room.
“I thought you had run off again.”
Once the Duke had left, Jessica followed Lucy to her room, sneering.
For some reason, as she walked through the mansion, Lucy noticed the servants giving her odd glances. Now she understood why the atmosphere felt so tense.
“I’m tired, so leave me alone.”
“What? How dare you—!”
She pushed the angry Jessica out of the room and slammed the door.
After a while, Anna knocked on the door.
“Miss, are you alright? Are you hurt? What exactly happened…? The mansion was in an uproar when we heard you had disappeared!”
Anna finally entered cautiously, her face full of concern as she looked Lucy over.
“Sorry for worrying you. I got lost in the forest.”
“When the news reached the Baron, he thought you had run away and sent people to search. It caused quite a commotion.”
‘If just a few hours of this caused such chaos, I’ll have to plan my real escape more carefully,’ Lucy thought. She realized she needed a more precise plan for running away.
That night, as usual, the Baron summoned Lucy to his study.
“How could you get lost in the forest! Do you know how troublesome it was for me when the Duke immediately sent someone to find you?!”
It seemed that when she disappeared, Duke Baron suspected she had run away and pressured the Baron.
‘Isn’t it normal to first worry about my safety if someone suddenly disappears?’ Lucy thought with a smirk.
“So… are you going to hit me again? I almost became a wild animal’s meal wandering lost in the forest. Are you satisfied now? Shouldn’t you at least ask if I’m okay before hitting me? I didn’t run away, you know.”
Lucy tilted her lips in a crooked smile, staring at the Baron. Her uncharacteristic reaction left him stunned, his face blank with surprise.
“You… this is… t-this!”
He stammered, flustered.
“If you hit me again, I’ll tell Duke Baron everything—that you hit me every day.”
Of course, telling the Duke wouldn’t really improve the situation, but it was enough to unsettle Baron Diallo.
He lowered the hand he had raised in surprise.
“I don’t want to see you. Don’t come out of your room until I say so!”
Lucy thought that threatening with Duke Baron’s name was surprisingly effective and returned to her room.
Two days later, the Baroness visited Lucy’s room again.
“You’ll need to attend the royal banquet in a fortnight as the Duke’s partner, so go to the wardrobe this afternoon.”
Lucy gasped in surprise.
“The royal banquet?”
“Yes, the Duke insisted on bringing you specially.”
The royal banquet—the scene where Lucy first appeared in the novel. There, seeing Edwin, she cried and clung to him, and he, unable to tolerate her scandalous behavior any longer, coldly rejected her.
‘So it will follow the original story after all,’ Lucy thought, biting her lip anxiously.
“Then assign me a personal maid as well. Anna would be perfect. Being the Duke’s fiancée without a personal maid looks a bit odd, doesn’t it?”
Lucy decided to push her luck a little further. Anna was the only person she could trust in this place. Even in Lucy’s memory, Anna was her only family and friend.
“Miss! Madam said I am to serve you from now on. What’s happening!”
Anna came running, her face bright with joy upon hearing the news.
“Anna, we’re going to the wardrobe, so get ready.”
“Oh my! Going out with you, Miss—it’s like a dream! Now, let’s see… your outing clothes…”
Anna excitedly opened Lucy’s wardrobe.
Lucy put on the cleanest outfit Anna chose and got into the carriage to go to the wardrobe. Jessica and her maid were already seated.
“Jessica, are you going to the royal banquet too?” Lucy asked curiously.
Jessica’s eyes widened.
“What! How dare you speak to me like that! Losing your memory made you lose your mind too? And of course, I’m going. Vince, the Duke’s aide, is going to be my partner that day.”
“Really? So if you end up marrying him, does that make you my subordinate?” Lucy teased with a smirk.
Jessica’s face turned red and blue in a strange mix of anger and embarrassment.
“Seriously, you just keep pushing it!”
Unable to contain herself, Jessica grabbed Lucy’s hair.
“Ah! L-Let go!”
Inside the moving carriage, a full-on scuffle broke out.
While her hair was being pulled, Lucy scratched the back of Jessica’s hand with her left hand. Memories of past bullying made her lose herself in the moment.
“You… you think this is over just because we’re outside! You wicked girl!”
When the carriage stopped in front of the wardrobe, Jessica huffed and glared at Lucy.
