novelPlease don't come to the evening concert (4)
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Chapter 29: Chapter 29 Please don't come to the evening concert (4)
"I told you to go away! Didn't I tell you that nobody should hang around near me? How many times should I tell you that you guys' footsteps rub my shoulders on the wrong way?"
Stunned by the man's impatient voice, she turned her head toward the place where his voice was coming from, but she couldn't identify who was shouting because his voice was heard from around the corner.
"Why are you still standing there? Get lost!"
Even before the man was done shouting nervously, she heard several knights walking toward him hurriedly. She quickly hid behind a circular pillar.
Shortly after, the two men in the imperial knight's uniform passed by the corridor where she stood. Both of them seemed to be in a very bad mood after they were rebuked by the man. Perhaps because of their moods, they did not find her hiding.
When they disappeared, Wendy carefully came out from behind the pillar.
Looking back and forth in the corridor alternately, she concluded that she could not find a way to go back to the direction she had come. Although she was bothered by the man's nervous voice coming from the corner, she wanted to confirm if there was an exit in the other hallway.
Moving her steps cautiously, she glanced at the corner of the hallway, holding her breath.
The brilliant patterned door on the right wall came into her view first. It clearly looked like the room of the man who yelled at them a moment ago. She found the stairs leading to the end of the hallway, so she began to move her steps silently like a stray cat.
Thump!
"You guys have no discipline! Don't you know what disobedience means...?"
The man, who opened the door and shouted at them, could not continued when he found a woman standing stiffly. The woman's shock and the man's posture, who stopped walking, created a funny scene.
"Hummm...Are you a spy or an assassin?"
When she saw him scanning her with a suspicious look, Wendy hurriedly denied, "You are mistaken. I just got lost while looking for the lounge."
With bleary eyes, he glanced at her up and down. Somehow, she felt creeped out when he did that.
Given that he treated imperial knights roughly, he was certainly far from a typical nobleman.
But she felt if she sounded weak and clumsy in front of him, it would arouse his suspicion all the more.
She looked him up and down as if to challenge his gaze. Black trousers, loose white shirts, white and pale skin, light chocolate curls...
Wait a minute! Curly hair?
Obviously, he was the man who played the violin on stage a little while ago.
"Aha."
Noticing a pleasant surprise in her eyes, the man seemed to interpret it as he pleased.
As if he thought as much, he made a tempting smile at her.
"You, too, ... Are you a poor woman who came here to meet me like other women?"
Wendy knitted her brows at his unexpected question. She suddenly felt headache.
"You're the first one who managed to arrive here after breaking layers of tough security around here. Let me appreciate your courage."
The man smiled brightly then wrapped his arms around her waist like a flash.
"Oops! What the heck are you doing to me?"
Despite her ferocious shouting, he pretended not to hear it and pulled her inside.
Of course, she was forced to follow him.
Bang!
The man shut the door by kicking it. The loud sound of it rang out in the hallway.
"Are you harassing me now?" She shouted angrily, staring at his vibrant face.
"Well, I think I have to agree with that if you think it is harassment for me to warmly greet a woman who has come to see me. What is your name? Let me be generous enough to remember your name. Oh, don't make that expression, ma'am. I just got nervous because I was performing today. I'm a tender-hearted man by nature, so don't be scared."
"Let go of me! How can a high-ranking nobleman like you is acting so frivolously? This is my last warning...Let go of me!" She said, almost growling at him.
"Last warning? What if I don't listen to it?"
He reacted as if it was fun. Looking into his brown eyes with a nasty expression, she explained step by step, pretending to be kind to him.
"First, you'll see each of your hairs pulled out with my hand and falling to the floor. I think your smooth curly hair might get stuck on my palms."
Contrary to surprise, he made a cheerful noise, "Wow!", with a conceited look, and seemed to keep listening with interest. He even seemed to praise her daring statement.
"Second, you will have the rare experience of your body being thrown out that window. I've been trained in self-defense."
He discreetly made eyes at her as if he thought her words were just bluffing. When she felt he didn't take her words seriously, she heard him bending a pine twig.
But even before he was done, she quickly twisted his wrist as if to prove she was not bluffing.
It was a great opportunity for her to practice the self-defense skills she had honed until now, but the fact that she didn't know the other party's identity limited her action. As she knew her hasty action could bring about disaster, she decided to stop there.
"Finally, as for your violin, let me turn it into a useless piece of wood fit for firewood."
He quickly let go of her hand, seeing her clenching her teeth. It seemed that his hand hurt because he was rubbing it gently.
"Oh, you're carrying the joke too far. How can you crack a joke like that about my violin?"
When Wendy shot a keen glance at him, the man stepped back in astonishment.
Given that he wrapped the violin gently in his arms, he seemed to be scared about her warning.
"Are you sure you got lost after coming here to enjoy the concert? It looks like you're an assassin when I look at your eyes..."
"I'm lost here. Can you show me the way to the women's lounge on the second floor? Let me leave."
"Hum... this is my first time seeing you. I've never met you before. I know almost all the daughters of the noble families who came of age. How come I don't know your face? You're really suspicious...Which family is yours?"
As she stood quietly without answering his question, he made a more suspicious expression.
"You have a lot of nerve. Can you tell me who you came with? I find it difficult to identify your family. You seem to be very shy as you can't tell me about your family."
She answered, "Do I have to tell you who my companion is? You don't even tell me who you are. Why are you so rude to a lady?"
As if he heard nonsense, he asked with a grin, "You don't know who I am. Are you serious?"
"Well, I saw you performing on the stage a little while ago, but I don't know anything about you.
I know you're a great performer, but I don't think you can be rude to me because of your excellent performance."
He stopped laughing at that. Although it was very brief, she saw his smiling face grew cold.
She didn't want to judge him hastily because of that expression on his face. In other words, she didn't want to simply label him as arrogant and frivolous like other noblemen.
In no time he smiled again, as if his cold look a moment ago were a phantom, but she did not let her guard down to the end.
"Oh, I like what you commented about me! No matter how good my playing is, I am not supposed to be rude. Let me apologize. Yes, I made a mistake as nobody has pointed it out even if I have been indulged until now."
"..."
"So, please answer my question. One's skills or abilities doesn't allow for rudeness, but what about social status? Does it allow one to be rude?"
'Is this man trying to boast about his high status? Showing his status to pull me down?'
She replied sharply, "Are you asking me about the relevant laws of this country or my personal view on that?"
"Where can you find the answer to my question in the law? I haven't even heard about it."
"We don't regard what is written or customs as a law. Don't you think what comes out of the noblemen's mouths in this country becomes a law to their subordinates?"
"...Oh, I see. Then, can you tell me about your view?"
Now, the man was becoming more serious.
"I think what you have said is contradictory. The word 'rudeness' is an expression that points to one's words and actions that don't honor etiquette. How can anybody be rude to those who value etiquette as the highest virtue? If status allows one's rudeness, it only shows one's fake status."
Obviously, she didn't speak with a cynical attitude.
Wendy talked in a gentle manner as if her icy tone a moment ago was feigned. But the man felt her words were barbed. His eyes sparkled all the more at her spunky response.
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