Bab 22: A gift for birthday

Charles's hand that had picked up the cards slightly crumpled them.

"It is the governess's fault," came Charles's disgruntled voice.

"The new governess?" Marceline's eyebrows raised. "I thought she was quite nice."

Lady Annalise softly huffed and commented, "Your brother was the one who hired the woman, not me. He refuses to replace the current governess, when he clearly knows it is going to affect our reputation. He did this only to annoy me!"

"I believe brother Vincent is fully aware that doing something like that will also affect his reputation," replied Marceline.

"Your brother doesn't care about his reputation, and he's ready to burn ours along with his," Lady Annalise stated with a frustrated sigh.

"Speak to him, Marceline, and make him understand that this isn't funny."

Marceline licked her slightly dried lips and said, "I think you have a better chance of making him listen than I. Vincent doesn't listen to me. It would be more right to say that he doesn't listen to anyone but himself, which is never good company," she stared at the deck of cards that were placed on the table.

"You do not have to worry about it, sister," said Charles, looking up from the cards in his hand to look at Lady Annalise. "Leave it to me. I will take care of the matter."

"Don't act in haste, Charles," Lady Annalise warned, "Do you think Vincent will sit quietly and let you harm the governess?"

"What did Eduard have to say about it?" Questioned Charles while Lady Annalise placed her cards on the table to show.

"Eduard is pleased that Vincent took the initiative to find a governess for Allie. Though he isn't completely pleased with the woman's status," said Lady Annalise, and her eyes held annoyance. "We just have to wait for the governess to make a mistake, and it will be easier for us to kick her out."

Vincent was the firstborn of Viscount Eduard Moriarty, who grew up on his terms and had an innate skill to annoy people and do what he pleased. And when it came to her, he enjoyed pressing her buttons. Lady Annalise still remembered what happened in the past, during the initial years she had married Eduard.

One of the years in the past, Eduard had to leave to meet one of the Baron, and she had finished her bath. When she stepped out of the room, cockroaches crawled on the bedroom floor.

'AHHHH!' She screamed.

Lady Annalise was horrified, not because she was scared of the little insects but because they were dirty and ugly to look at. She wore her shoes quickly and stepped on them. But they were too many to kill, and one even flew and came to settle on her chest.

'AHHH! Why are there so many cockroaches here?!" She shouted and quickly dashed out of the bedroom. 'Maids! Guards!' She screamed for someone to come and clean the room.

Hearing light footsteps from the other side of the corridor, Lady Annalise turned and caught sight of the young boy with silver hair. He stood there, staring at her.

'Looks like my mother's ghost is not happy with you sharing her room,' the boy spoke in a tone of indifference.

'Is this your doing?' Lady Annalise demanded, anger bubbling in her veins for being treated this way.

The boy stared at her, and a smile pulled up on his serious face, enough to step on her nerves. He said, 'I heard cockroaches lay their eggs in women's hair. You should be careful,' saying this, he walked out from there.

Returning to the present, Lady Annalise clenched her teeth. She had tried to be as nice as possible, Vincent had always liked to irk her.

A servant stepped into the tearoom, pulling a trunk that belonged to Marceline. Marceline said, "I bought you something that will brighten your mood, mother."

The servant opened the trunk, and Marceline stood up from the chair. Walking to where the open trunk was, she pulled a red velvety cloth in her hand and turned to the servant, who had been waiting on Lady Annalise and Charles. She ordered the servant,

"Clear the table."

The servant immediately cleared the teapot and teacups from the table to make space for whatever Lady Marceline wanted to show. She placed the velvety cloth on the table before unwrapping it.

When the siblings' eyes fell on the necklace, Lady Annalise asked in disbelief, "Is this…"

Marceline nodded with a gleam in her eyes. She said, "The pearls aren't from oysters, but from mermaids."

"You don't say!" Lady Annalise's eyes took in the shiny pearls that shone under the softness of the light of the many candles in the room. "Where did you get these from?"

"I had mentioned it to Mr. Ambrose on my last visit to his store. And tipped him with a large bag of coins in advance," said Marceline, while Lady Annalise picked up the pearl necklace in her hand to observe it closely. "He said, it was the only piece he was able to get his hands on, and of course, it cost him quite a lot to bring it to Hollow Valley through the consignment, especially how in demand they are, not to mention almost extinct."

Lady Annalise turned the necklace in her hand, noticing the silvery shine the pearls held along with its creamy texture. The necklace did elate her deflated mood.

"It is a wonderful birthday gift, Marceline. Thank you for the gift. I will be sure to wear it on the next occasion where it is worthy," Lady Annalise praised Marceline, and the young woman beamed.

"I brought something for you too, Uncle Charles," said Marceline, and Charles raised his eyebrows.

"How thoughtful of you. Don't tell me it is mermaid's blood. It has been a while since I last tasted one," said Charles, watching Marceline pick a little box from the trunk and hand it to him. He opened the box and saw a simple looking quill with a black feather at its end.

"It has been more than a decade. These days it is very hard to find mermaids as they are hard to capture," replied Lady Annalise, placing the necklace on the velvety cloth. "When Eduard asked what I wanted for my birthday, I told him about the incomparable blood of the mermaids. He said he would see what he could do."

Marceline's mouth watered, and she said to Lady Annalise, "I hope you wouldn't mind if I take a few drops from it, mother."

"Of course, why wouldn't I share a few drops with my daughter," Lady Annalise smiled. Noticing Charles's blank expression, Marceline asked,

"Is it not to your liking, Uncle Charles?" Marceline tilted her head with a worried look on her face.

"It seems like you aren't well versed with the quality of quills, Marceline. The merchant must have fooled you," remarked Charles, closing the box.

Marceline held a thoughtful look, and she said sweetly, "Is that so? If I knew the governess was going to spill her food on you, I would have gotten you a scented soap."

A nerve ticked in Charles' jaw, but he hid it behind a smile. Lady Annalise said to Marceline, "Why don't you go and freshen yourself? The journey back from Hollow Valley must have tired you."

Marceline nodded, smiling back, she said, "Indeed it has been exhausting. I will see you later," she offered a polite bow and stepped out of the tea room. The young woman continued to walk in the corridor, her chin up and her nose high with pride. When she saw Vincent instructing the butler in one of the corridors, the smile on her face turned appeasing, and she made her way there.

"Brother Vincent! I missed you," Marceline greeted Vincent, who turned to her with a smile of his own.

"I wish I could say the same," said Vincent. Alfie bowed at both of them before rushing to continue his work. "Don't smile innocently, it doesn't suit you, sister."

The earlier deceitful smile disappeared from Marceline's face and was replaced with her true expression, "I saw you hired a village bumpkin for a governess. It hasn't even been a month since the last one."

"Mm. Isn't that precisely why one had to be hired?" hummed Vincent. He placed his hand on her head and said with a smirk, "Don't be shy if you need some guidance from the governess."

Marceline turned annoyed by his words, and before she could swat his hand away from her head, Vincent pulled his hand back and walked away from there.

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KIRIM HADIAH

Bab 23: Outcasts of the Towns

Music Recommendation: Dark Asher IQ- Nathan Barr

—

Eve sat in the carriage, staring outside the window, watching the trees pass by. The duration of the journey back to Meadow town was long enough to make her stomach whine in hunger.

Somewhere she was worried about the mansion's door that had slightly chipped because of the tip of her umbrella. Her eyes glanced at her umbrella.

The carriage window was pushed open for the ventilation of the air because of the number of passengers who stepped in and out of it. The breeze gently moved the fringes on Eve's forehead, and the piece of her hair near her ear moved.

While she sat in the carriage, holding her umbrella in one hand and the other placing it on the lunchbox that rested on her lap, the men couldn't help but sneak a few glances at her.

Upon reaching Meadow town, the coachman pulled the horses' reins to stop the carriage. Eve stepped down from the carriage.

"Thank you," said Eve, taking her umbrella from the coachman, who had offered to hold it while she got down from the carriage.

"You are welcome, Miss Barlow," the coachman held his hand at the front end of his hat.

Eve took a deep breath of the air that filled her town. As she started to walk, she heard the sound of the carriage door closing behind her.

While Eve made her way toward her home, she noticed a little commotion not too far away from where she was. Most of the folks of the Meadow town had gathered near where the commotion occurred, and unable to suppress her curiosity, Eve decided to take a peek.

"Let go of my arm, I told you I don't know anything about it!" Shouted a man who was being dragged by two guards, who were in their uniforms.

"Silence before I cut your tongue out!" A third guard warned, who seemed to hold a higher position as he wore a darker shade of uniform.

But the head guard's warning didn't stop the captured man from struggling and trying to break free from the guards.

"Let me go!" Shouted the man. Putting all his strength, he freed himself and started running away from there.

But he could get only two steps away from them as soon the head guard used his metal stick to hit the back of the man's legs. This resulted in the person falling to the ground. A couple of shocked gasps escaped from the mouths of the town's folks who surrounded the place and watched the scene, but no one tried to stop or question the guards.

"Tie his hands and legs!" The head guard ordered his subordinates.

"NO! I didn't do anything wrong!!" The man begged and flailed his limbs, but it was to no avail.

"What happened?" one of the women whispered to the person standing next to her in grave curiosity.

The person next to the woman shook his head, "I am not sure. But I think they found he's one of the outcasts," he replied in a low tone, and Eve quickly turned to look at the man, who was bound in chains and was being dragged on the ground. "I don't know which one."

Outcasts were creatures who didn't fit in the existing norms of the society, creatures who were different and who were used to high society's advantage. These creatures didn't belong to the higher society, nor the lower society were often sold to wealthy families for amusement.

The head guard then turned to look at one of his underlings and ordered, "See if he has any family members of his own,if so bring them to the cage!"

"We are humans!" The man resisted being dragged and pushed into the cage placed on a cart. "Please spare my wif—"

The man's jaw connected to the metal rod, and his mouth started to bleed.

"Now shut up and let us do our job," the head guard spat on the ground, and he turned to look at the captured woman, who was being dragged out of her house. The woman begged and pleaded, screaming for help.

"Help me!" The woman screamed, who was the chained man's wife.

When someone did try to step forward and asked the head guard, "Why are they being taken away? They have been good people—"

The head guard tapped his metal rod on the ground, which immediately got the town's man to close his mouth. He asked, "How about you mind your work and let us guards take care of things in here? Unless you wish to join them behind the bars of the cell."

Eve clenched her fists because this wasn't the first time she witnessed something like this. Whenever someone tried to stop it, they were threatened, and everyone knew that the threat wasn't empty.

"If anyone has any more words to say, you can step forward and we will see how to clear the doubts in your minds," warned the head guard, and the other two guards, who were nearby, smirked on looking at the townsfolk.

Whispers and murmurs started amongst the people, but no one dared to express their thoughts loud enough for the guards to hear.

"They are innocent people."

The head guard turned slightly annoyed and turned to see in the direction from where the voice had come from.

It was Eve who had spoken. Unable to stand on the sidelines and watch, she now met the head guard's eye.

"We are only following the orders to ensure that all of you are safe, and no harm comes to fall on you people," the head guard slowly approached her. "It seems like you show great compassion towards them."

"Why shouldn't I?" Eve asked the brazen head guard. "The blacksmiths have lived in Meadow for years. Keeping to themselves and causing no trouble to anyone. Pray tell me, how can they harm us?"

"Not everything that you see is what it seems, Miss," replied the head guard while trying to memorise the impudent woman's face who dared to question his actions. "Stop!" He ordered his men, who were dragging the poor woman towards the carriage. "Bring the woman here!"

Everyone held their breaths and looked at the woman with curious eyes, wondering what would happen now. The woman who had been captured was pulled to stand in front of the head guard, and he announced to the people while glaring at them,

"Let me show you why it is necessary that we catch these lowly, filthy creatures!"

Eve's eyebrows had furrowed. She watched the buff guardsman catch hold of the woman's neck from the back. The woman, who had been crying, her eyes suddenly turned into slits.

The townsfolk quickly stepped backwards with a look of weariness on their faces.

"What is that thing?!" One of the men in the crowd asked.

"Did you see those eyes?" Questioned another.

"That is right," replied the head guard, with a smug smile on his face, and then he said, "This here is no human, and will only cause harm." He then turned to look at Eve, glaring at her. "Is there anyone who has more questions?"

The people quickly shook their heads and collectively agreed that they take these strange creatures from here. When Eve and the head guard's eyes met, the man pushed the woman towards his men, who quickly grabbed and dragged the woman into the cage that they had brought.

The head guard then took a couple of steps toward Eve.

"Looks like you were quite close with the creatures. Did they perhaps charm you?" Questioned the head guard, who towered Eve by a couple of good inches. Then he asked in a low voice, "Or is there any other reason?"

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