If You're Being Held Hostage, Wiggle the Carrot! - Chapter 19
Ruby ate a hearty dinner and patted her belly, feeling like she was going to get a good night’s sleep. But first, they needed to address a problem.
“Something needs to be done about that noise!” said Ivan. “It’s so irritating I can’t even enjoy my meal!”
Ivan was forced to eat dinner alone with Ruby in his room, and unlike her, he barely touched his food.
During the entire meal, someone kept knocking on the window connected to the balcony. Who would dare to knock on the window of the Duke’s room? If it were a door, it might have been different, but the sound of knocking on the window was another level of bizarre.
“Sigh…”
For a moment, Ivan was so scared that he nearly blurted out a curse, but he managed to hold it in.
“They must have gotten more active because they can’t come near the Duke.”
“Can’t you get rid of that sound?”
“Is the sound scary?”
“…It’s not scary, it’s annoying.”
“Hmm, we call it a ‘spirit knock,’ and it means they can’t get in here unless the Duke himself opens the door. Maybe you should consider it a reassuring sound?”
“….”
Upon hearing her explanation, it did make some sense. As she assured him, he didn’t feel a chill like he did before. Ivan, belatedly, picked up his cutlery to finish his meal.
Ruby watched him, relieved, then stood up and walked over to the window that led to the balcony.
“Hmm.”
She was quite surprised to find a number of spirits crowded tightly against the window. She wasn’t afraid of them, but it was a little intimidating to see the wolves, the ones that occasionally bared their fangs and snarled. It was disheartening that even spirits were predominantly carnivores in this place.
It was a terrible feeling, but Ruby shooed them away lightly tapping on the window. With a bracelet-adorned hand, as if drawing on the window, she skillfully maneuvered to create patterns, each movement causing the spirits to jolt away from the glass.
The spirits menacingly eyed Ruby as they were pushed back one by one. It seemed they, too, were unfamiliar with someone possessing abilities like hers. She did hear from Ivan that there weren’t many psychics in the world, but it was only after observing the spirits’ reactions that she felt assured of this fact.
She didn’t exactly know why the Pink Rabbits lived in isolation. As a child, she never understood why her ancestors had brought her clan to such a remote place. Even as she moved back and forth knocking off the spirits clinging to the window, Ruby remained absorbed in her thoughts.
“Has it been resolved?”
Ivan was relieved when the frantic knocking stopped completely. He would be testing her abilities for the next week, but in truth, he was already deeply impressed.
“Have you finished eating? Well then, go inside and get some rest. You shouldn’t hear any more noise.”
“…You could have gotten rid of them earlier.”
“Oh well, I have to eat, too. And the food doesn’t taste as good if the flow of mealtime is interrupted.”
“…”
“I don’t know why spirits have so little etiquette. I’m eating and they’re banging on the window.”
“…Etiquette?”
Ivan couldn’t fathom what etiquette ghosts could possibly have.
“I’ll sleep on the sofa, please go rest in your room, Your Grace.” Ruby pointed to the large sofa she had already arranged. It was not in the bedroom but in the private parlor adjacent to it.
He responded with a furrowed brow, seeming uneasy. “What are you saying? What if they take advantage of your absence and swoop in? No, you should also sleep in the bed.”
Ruby narrowed her eyes at the mention of sharing a bed.
