It Seems Like The Infamous Trash Can is Right Here! - Chapter 30
These past few days, whenever I read romance books, I kept picturing Lionel as the male lead… and myself as the heroine.
Since I had the library all to myself as usual, there was no one around to comment if the corners of my lips curled upward.
‘Now, kiss! Kiss already!’
I was fervently cheering for the couple in the book when—
“Priestess, are you in here?”
A knock came at the door, followed by a voice.
“Lien? Were you looking for me?”
Rising from my seat in my usual spot at the far end of the library, I peeked between the bookshelves.
“Ah…!”
Lien hurried over to me with an expression that made my stomach sink.
“Priest, the young lady is looking for you.”
Vivian was calling for me.
Ever since our encounter in the garden, she had been summoning me frequently—even when she didn’t need treatment.
Since I had already abandoned my plan to befriend Vivian and use her to escape the Duke of Luanax’s estate, her sudden interest in me was nothing but a nuisance.
I only wanted to tend to her frail health as necessary and leave it at that.
“…The young lord of Ortatum hasn’t come visiting again, has he?”
I asked as I closed my book and stepped out of the library, subtly gauging the situation.
Lien tilted her head slightly in thought.
“Now that you mention it, I haven’t seen him lately. He used to come by every day for a while.”
Well, that was a relief.
A matter of personal taste, perhaps, but I had never cared for promiscuous men—even as a reader, I never invested in Dante’s stock.
‘After all, the real trend is always the pure-hearted male lead.’
Then again, now that I was living in this world, it was becoming clear that maintaining one’s chastity for years after reaching adulthood was, given the times, extremely rare.
Which made sense.
After all, without such a setup, how else could a reverse harem novel let its heroine freely enjoy the company of multiple men?
I handed Lien a small bag of cookies as thanks for delivering the message.
Lionel had seen my shocking appetite for sweets and had bought an excessive amount for me.
I had intended to snack on them while reading, but that plan was clearly not working out.
“Eat them for me, will you?”
Feigning a tragic expression, I sighed dramatically.
Lien, caught off guard, hesitated before accepting the bag with both hands.
“Thank you, Priestess. You always take such good care of me….”
“Food always tastes better when shared. Well then, I’ll be off.”
Leaving behind Lien, who was now beaming with delight from the sweet aroma, I made my way out of the annex.
When I finally arrived at Vivian’s room—
“Sasha! Let’s go out together.”
She was in the middle of getting dressed in the toilette room when she made the unexpected proposal.
“…Pardon? Go out?”
“I’m planning to attend a charity event for orphans, and I thought you might enjoy it. You haven’t had the chance to tour the capital yet, have you?”
I was caught off guard.
The Solen territory was located at the empire’s outskirts, and as the youngest in my family, I had only visited the capital once.
And that was when I was so young that I barely remembered anything.
So technically, she wasn’t wrong—I had never truly explored the capital.
Even so, I didn’t particularly welcome her suggestion.
“I… need to get permission from His Grace before leaving the estate.”
“Oh, come on. You’re with me—what does it matter?”
Somehow, I doubted Lionel would see it that way.
“He’s not even home right now. We can sneak out.”
Sneak out?
We’d be using a family carriage, so there was no way this wouldn’t reach the Duke’s ears.
And considering how strained their sibling relationship seemed, I had no idea how she planned to handle the aftermath.
“My lady, I don’t think—”
Before I could finish, Vivian’s lady-in-waiting, Ilina, cut me off with a sharp remark.
“Priestess, the young lady is making a request. Do you not understand what that means?”
It was a command, thinly disguised as a suggestion.
“Ilina, that’s enough.”
Vivian hastily grabbed Ilina’s sleeve, startled by her hostility, but that didn’t change anything.
With no Lionel here to shield me, how could I possibly refuse the order of a Duke’s daughter?
“…My robes stand out too much. I’ll change into regular attire and return shortly.”
“Mm, good idea! You won’t regret it—it’s going to be fun.”
Fun? Hardly. The only thing I could feel was the crushing weight of inevitability.
