Chapter 8 (1/2)

After that, a strange atmosphere flowed between Herietta and Edwin. Herietta avoided meeting him as much as possible while he searched for her everywhere. It was like they were playing hide-and-seek without agreeing to play with each other.

Of course, that did not mean that Herietta completely ignored Edwin. She avoided him only whenever he looked around for her. Otherwise, her eyes followed him from a distance, as she had always done.

How many days have passed like that? Mail had arrived from Lavant. It was the letter from Lilian that Herietta had been waiting so eagerly for. She was full of impatience as she quickly opened the envelope.

The letter that began with the phrase, “Dear Herietta” was now familiar. Herietta’s eyes moved from side to side following the words on the letter. The initial content did not seem so different from the letters she had sent Herietta before. Lilian revealed that her parents had asked her to look after Herietta and were looking forward to the day she comes to Lavant.

Herietta’s eyes moved even faster. As she read the middle part of the letter, the word ‘Redford’ caught her eye. After that, it seemed like a typhoon had hit. Her eyes fluttered as she read the letter. As her gaze went down, her hands holding the letter began to tremble more and more.

“Nonsense.”

After reading the letter, Herietta murmured as she lowered the hand holding the letter. She looked into the distant space as if she had lost her mind.

“This cannot be true.”

A blank smile escaped her slightly gaping lips. Surrounded by the shock, she unknowingly gave strength to her hand. The soft letter was crumpled so easily that it crumbled. Before long, it left her hand.

A few words could be seen on the letter that had fallen to the floor.

‘Treason’, ‘Destruction’, and ‘Extermination’. Horrible words that gave her chills just looking at them.

* * *

Because it was summer, the yellow gold calliopsis flowers were in full bloom. It has strong vitality and is easy to grow, making it a flower that decorates many people’s gardens in summer. The unique scent of calliopsis was carried in the breeze and spread softly.

Hiding behind the entrance to the garden, Herietta looked around cautiously. Apparently, she had seen Edwin heading here through the second-floor window a while ago. However, no matter how much she looked, the garden was empty, and Edwin could not be found.

‘Did you go somewhere else?’

She leaned her body forward for one last time, looking at the garden, then someone suddenly grabbed her shoulder from behind. Startled, she took a short breath and hurriedly looked behind. And there stood the object she had been looking so hard for.

“Who are you looking for?”

Edwin asked. However, while he was asking some questions, it seemed that he already knew the answer. Herietta stroked her chest to calm her fluttering heart. She was terribly embarrassed because she never thought she would run into him this way.

“Oh, no. I just happened to pass by… I thought I wanted to go out to the garden for a while….”

“Is that so?”

He didn’t ask any questions, despite the most suspicious answer. He lowered the hand that he had placed on her shoulder.

“Sorry. It looked like you’re going to fall forward.”

“Oh, it’s okay.”

There was a strange atmosphere that could not be described in words. Herietta avoided Edwin’s gaze. Still, she could tell that he was watching her.

Herrietta rolled her eyes with her gaze down. It was weird. While he showed a respectful and gracious demeanor toward her, he also exuded intimidation towards her for unknown reasons at the same time. Moreover, even though he seemed to take her word with ease on the surface, for some reason, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was playing into his palm.

Alarm bells were going off inside her. Herietta was still here, but before something went wrong, she decided that she had to get out of the place early.

“Keep, keep working. I will get going.”

“Maybe it’s just me.”

As she rushes past Edwin and tries to leave the place, he grabs her arm. Her body was turned halfway towards him by the sudden force. Thanks to this, he and she naturally formed a face-to-face posture. He looked into her eyes.

“Do you happen to know me?”

“Yes?”

“I asked if you knew me.”

He asked again. Perhaps because of his slow tone, it sounded threatening somehow. Her mouth was dry at the tension.

“I, I don’t know.”

Before she could think any further, the lie came out first. Edwin narrowed his eyes.

“… really?”

“Yes, that’s right!”

Herietta raised her voice involuntarily in a sense of crisis that seemed to have driven her into a corner. She struggled to get her arm out of Edwin’s grip. But it didn’t budge as his grip was so tight as if it were made of cast iron.

“Let me go!”

“…….”