Kill the Author, Then to Hell - Chapter 13.2
At my reaction, Johan laughed.
“Our innocent Edith, what will you do if you’re already amazed by this?”
He then whispered the following closer.
“…When you become the crown princess, all this will seem like nothing. Just wait, I’ll make it happen for you.”
‘You don’t even have to go as far as to make me the crown princess. Just don’t kill me, okay?’
At the snap of a finger, he wouldn’t hesitate to cross the line and easily erase me like a fly, but he went on acting all loving and caring nonetheless.
But I needed to become the crown princess to exact my revenge on this bastard.
That meant I had to play along.
“Oh, Brother, don’t embarrass me with such talk. Let’s go inside now.”
However, as confident as Johan had been, his expression turned serious the moment we stepped into the palace.
Ding—
His wristwatch began to ring.
“Not now, of all times…”
Though the cause was unclear, the culprit was obvious.
Our father, Marquis Simon.
That man incessantly called Johan away for various errands.
“…Edith, what should we do?”
Failing to respond immediately meant facing a tempest later, and my response was predetermined.
“…Go ahead, Brother. I’ll wait quietly here.”
Yet, Johan, gone for what felt like at least fifteen minutes, did not return.
And as promised, staying quietly turned out harder than thought.
—Ugh, ugh, what to do! You trash! The scum of humanity! Beyond redemption!
Someone’s whispering wasn’t far off, incessantly caught by my [Perkily Perked] buff.
—Lola Chester, you’re not even a woman! A disgrace to your family! How could you lose the invitation!
In that terrible self-deprecation,
A name I couldn’t ignore was mentioned.
‘Lola Chester?’
I recalled what Aunt Mabel had told me at my mother’s funeral.
<Once you turn 18 and go to the capital for your debut, you’ll probably meet those girls. Lola Chester and Delia Aimesworth were around your age, weren’t they?>
Lola and Delia were the daughters of my mother’s friends—friends she wrote to just before she was murdered.
Individuals who might hold the key to unraveling the mystery of my mother’s death.
To approach them, I had to first build a rapport with their daughters.
And there, within reach, was Lola Chester, the very person I had been eager to meet.
‘I can’t just let this go.’
Compelled, I moved towards the source of the sound.
As I approached the secluded back of the palace garden, the sound became clearer.
“Ugh, it must have dropped here somewhere! Why can’t I find it…?”
Finally, I found the source of the noise: a figure practically digging into the bushes, sitting and sobbing.
“Um… do you need help?”
Startled birds took flight at the sound of my voice.
Lola Chester froze in place, and I, having no intention of causing such a fright, was startled too.
“Haha, um, nice to meet you. I’m not a weirdo, I promise! I’m Edith Dayton, debuting today!”
Nearly a year’s accumulation of [Etiquette Lv.5] fiercely reminded me this was the exact opposite of proper etiquette.
But habits of a Korean office worker didn’t vanish so easily.
So, just like the first time I met a subcontractor’s representative, I extended my hand for a firm handshake.
‘Ah, thank God Jane isn’t here to see this. I almost had to copy ‘Lady’s Conduct’ a hundred times.’
But at least my action seemed to have made a good impression on Lola.
“Pfft—”
Frozen Lola finally couldn’t hold back her laughter and gently took my hand.
“I, I’m Lola Chester of the Chester family. I thought only gentlemen greeted this way… you’re, haha, you’re funny.”
Though her large, thick glasses obscured it, she had a quite cute appearance.
Warm chestnut hair, curly as though arranged, but already stray hairs peeked out everywhere.
“Ah, glasses!”
Lola, realizing too late, quickly folded them and shoved them into the pocket of her voluminous skirt.
“S-Sorry! I know it’s not polite, but I was looking for something…!”
It seemed, among the million ridiculous etiquettes Jane mentioned, there was one that ladies shouldn’t wear glasses.
‘But Jane isn’t here, right?’
I winked as if we were sharing a secret.
“Ah, between us, it’s fine. If it helps you see better, why not? What were you looking for? I can help.”
“I, I lost my invitation. I’m sure it’s around here somewhere, but it’s all because I’m such a klutz…”
Before Lola could further berate herself, I quickly pointed to the front of her dress.
“Then what’s that?”
Something that had caught my eye for a while.
Holding the same shimmering paper as in my hand,
Lola was obviously looking for her lost invitation.
“W, What? What’s…?”
As Lola looked around confused, I stepped closer and carefully retrieved the paper.
“This.”
Flutter—
Once more, birds took off at the sound,
And Lola’s face flushed with a sunset’s glow.
