It Became a Serious Thing is a Webnovel created by Konozonakana, 園内かな.
This lightnovel is currently ongoing.
Very Much 6: What has Colette done…?
‘S
o, what’s your name?’ Eugene asked.
‘…’
‘Even if you keep silent I can
still find out.’
There were on their way to Lionel,
and the Captain of the White Eagle Knights was interrogating her. His voice was
gentle, but with a chilling undercurrent. He badgered Colette. Colette was
rather weak,
‘I’m Colette…’
‘Good Colette. I’m Eugene.’ He said
with a smile, but his eyes were not smiling. His hawk-like gaze watched Colette,
making her frightened. His tone appeared sweet and friendly, but she could
sense the venom underneath.
‘I am surprised that Lionel was dallying
with a woman that was not his fiancée, the daughter of the Earl Karriss. What
do you think would happen if the Lady hears of this? That her fiancé is
engaging in an affair with a mere maid before their wedding.’
‘…’
‘The Lady Karriss would go crazy with jealousy
and possibly postpone the ceremony. How would Lionel face the King if such a
thing happens; it would become a serious thing, wouldn’t it?’ (Zuben: You’re weaving quite a fantasy tale
there, Eugene. Hold your celebration till after you win whatever it is you’re
trying to win)
He looked absolutely gleeful. There
was no reason to tell her such things. Colette bit her lip and remained silent.
She tried to let his words wash over her, but they got through and stabbed her
heart.
‘So, were you his only partner or
where there other women? Do you know, Colette?’
‘…’
She did not know, but she was
getting used to his taunts so she kept silent. She knew there was a time limit,
and they both had fiancés. Yet, Eugene’s words hurt her. She did not know how
things would go, tears of anxiety blurred her eyes and she could not see well.
Eugene continued to talk happily,
‘If I claimed Colette, how do you think Lionel would react?’
‘…’
He did not wait for an answer.
‘Maybe he would answer that he
doesn’t know you. Haha, it would be awful but that would be the best answer. If
he acknowledges his relationship with you what would the Earl say? Such a
trespa.s.s before marriage into his family would echo in the couple’s life
afterwards.’
Colette remained silent.
‘This union is by His Majesty’s
decree. But Colette may be Lionel’s first lover and mistress; this would be
unacceptable to the bride to know that Colette is important to him. So she
would get married knowing there is someone more important to Lionel than she
is. That would also be terrible as well.’
Colette’s tears being to fall. She
tripped and fell, but Eugene looked at her with a gleeful smile on his face.
‘For me, Lionel cancelling his
engagement and choosing you would be the best outcome. He would be a disappointment
to everyone, and it would cause his downfall. If would be a fun development.’
He was truly a bad man, making a
girl cry on purpose and being happy about it (Zuben: You really don’t know many
men). People really aren’t what they appear to be. Compared to Eugene, Lionel
was a much better person. While thinking, she moved mechanically. Soon they
were at the doors of the Black Dragon Barracks.
They were met by Ethan, ‘Halt!
White Eagle Knights, what is your business here? What rights do you have to be
here?’ he asked harshly.
‘I have in my possession a brooch
that supposedly belongs to Lionel, and this lady. Our reason to be here is to
deliver private property. She was lonely and we accompanied her, didn’t we Colette?’
She wanted to shake her head in
negative but tears spilled instead.
‘…I will get our Commander. Please
wait here.’
‘No need, she will guide us to
Lionel.’ Eugene said, gently urging Colette onward. (Zuben: What is Lionel
going to do?!)
‘If we stand here too long, you
will attract more people and the rumours would get bigger.’
Ethan was at an impa.s.se. He nodded
and all the other Knights who had come to see what was happening parted the
way. Colette silently went on.
She arrived at Lionel’s room and
knocked three times timidly. As usual, ‘Come,’ he called.
Colette opened the door and
entered, but before she could speak Eugene spoke loudly,
‘Lionel-kun, I’ve come to deliver
an item.’
Lionel rose from his chair as they entered
into his office. He looked at Eugene and
then Colette. He raised his hand and pulled Colette to his side,
‘What have you done to Colette?’
Lionel bellowed. It was the first time she’s every heard him speak loudly. The
first time she ever saw him angry. She felt her heart breaking because she
didn’t want Lionel situation to get worse because of her. But she rested her
head on Lionel’s chest and cried. (Zuben: My dear, how is crying going to
help?)
Eugene smiled satisfactorily at
Lionel’s reaction,
‘It’s because of you that she is
crying,’ Eugene replied mockingly, ‘when I told her about your situation she
was rather shocked. If someone told me my lover was going to marry another
girl, I would cry too.’
That was not true, she wasn’t
crying because of that. But she could not say it out loud; her head and heart
were off kilter.
‘It is none of your business. Get
out.’
‘Not yet,’ Eugene countered waving Colette’s
basket in Lionel’s face, ‘she was walking late at night with this expensive
jewellery. It was a fool hardy thing to do. How can you make a woman walk alone
at night, even if she’s being abandoned? It is a rather careless thing to do,
isn’t it?
‘Why you…?’ Lionel said through
gritted teeth, like he was holding his rage back. Eugene smiled mockingly at
Lionel’s expression of impotent anger and got even more garrulous,
‘This is the first time I’ve ever
seen you so desperate and for a commoner maid no less. She must have been easy
to get into your bed. Don’t get too excited, I don’t want to see you pull out
your sword. This nuisance will leave now.’
Eugene slowly put down the basket
and strolled out of the room. The door closed, and only the two of them were
left in the room.
‘I’m sorry…It was all my fault. I’m
sorry I got you into trouble.’ She cried.
Lionel hugged her but the tears did
not stop. Because of her inadequacy, she tarnished Lionel’s honour. (Zuben:
Lionel’s honour would most likely be fine)
Lionel led Colette to a sofa in the
office and sat her down. He put her head on his st.u.r.dy chest. With that feeling
of security, Colette burst into tears again.
‘Don’t cry, Colette, please don’t
cry. I’m the bad one. As he said, I neglected to pick you up. But I didn’t want
to force you to make up your mind to come. I’m sorry,’
His voice was filled with emotion, desperately
fighting pa.s.sion. It seemed that Colette was important to him. With just that, Colette
was happy. She was happy to have someone think of her that way. At the same
time, it was already good enough.
‘Please don’t apologise, it’s not
your fault I cried, it was because he was saying such mean things to me. I
couldn’t bear it.’
‘That son of a…’ he cursed as he
hugged her even closer. He patted her head and muttered sweet nothings. It was
restful and delightful. (Zuben: This is where you should be dear.) He gave her
little pecks on her cheeks, her hair her lips. Colette’s tears stopped. After
she calmed down, she thought it was the right time to do what she needed to do,
‘I came to say goodbye.’
‘Colette, no.’
‘I cannot do this anymore. I heard
that your marriage has been decided by the King,’
‘That is separate from us. I’ve
been working to break the engagement for a long time, even before I went to
war.’
Colette shook her head to refuse
his explanation. There was no reason for him to do such a thing. A marriage
between n.o.ble houses was not a simple thing. With the foreboding that the
cancelling of the engagement would make everyone unhappy…she couldn’t believe
in him.
‘It is useless. That is…’
‘Colette, please listen to my side
of things,’
Until now, when they spent time
together there was the overwhelming need to touch each other they never talked
properly, they never talked about their personal lives. Now that the
relationship was at an end, it was strange they were talking instead of
pleasuring each other one last time. (Zuben: Is that what you wanted, Colette?)
‘Eight years ago, I was betrothed
to my fiancée. I was nineteen, she was ten. When we met for the first time, she
saw me and she fainted. It seems I scared her terribly.’ (Zuben: Christ on a cracker, that is young)
‘Oh no…’
Certainly, his face was a bit scary
and he had the aura of an unsheathed sword, but as she got to know him, she did
not feel afraid of him. She’s come to find that he was a very thoughtful and kind person.
‘They said that as we get to know
each other more it would get better. But it never did. When I meet her, she
would get so afraid, she’d run away. I really can’t contemplate marrying
someone who is that afraid of me. Even now, I hear she has someone that she
likes.’
There was no way such a marriage
would be a content one from the start. But the engagement had been set up for a
long time, and dissolution would be messy. Lionel had neglected to break the
engagement from his side and left it too long. The King got tired of it and
forced a wedding date.
‘The best condition to break the
engagement is if I have someone else I want to marry, because my fiancée is too
timid and her parents don’t want to refuse.’
Tension hummed through Colette.
Lionel put a hand under her jaw and raised her face to look at him; he had a
sweet expression on his face,
‘Marry me, Colette. I will remove
all your insecurity and protect you with all my power. Betting on my all, I
swear to make you happy. I want us to be together.’ (Zuben: Kyaaaaa! How sweet,
but there’s her fiancé to consider.)
‘…that is impossible.’
‘Colette…’ Lionel said with hurt in
his eyes. He looked sad. She knew she hurt him, but it was impossible. Even
though she did not have to, she thought it was better if she explained her
side,
‘I like being with you Lionel and I
think I love you,’ (Zuben: When did this happen, Colette?)
‘That’s great Colette…I like you, I
love you.’ (Zuben: Lionel was as obvious as a rhino)
‘But I can’t just be with you. My
engagement is also tied to my family’s business; it isn’t just about me and my
fiancé. It is a marriage and a merger
between our two families that has been decided for a long time. I am really
sorry; I just can’t disappoint my family like this.’
He hugged Colette tightly as though
he could not let her go. He felt so lonesome. When she first crashed into the
room, she thought he looked pale as well.
‘I’m sorry,’ she whispered again
and again as he hugged her and kissed her. He made her so happy, but tonight
was the end. She kissed him one last time and rose from the sofa,
‘I want to return to my dormitory now;
can you escort me, please?’
‘Of course,’
Lionel took her hand, and they
walked out of the barracks together in silence. There was no conversation, but Colette
was happy just like this, in their last moments together.
When they got to her dormitory, she
slowly let go of his hand. She felt like she was throwing his love back in his
face, but her heart didn’t hurt, it was paralysed.
Colette lowered her head and said,
‘For everything until now, thank you. I will never forget you. Please be
happy.’
Lionel looked at her silently.
(Zuben: This crafty guy is planning something)
Colette turned away and walked into
the hall without looking back.
She could not take the dead weight
her heart had become, she felt like she was drowning. (Zuben: There there now)
When she had been talking to Rose
earlier in the afternoon, she had been so adamant and sure of her feelings. But
now…it had been a strange break up. She felt empty.
♙
The next morning at the dining
hall, Rose came to sit beside Colette like it was the most natural thing to do,
and asked,
‘Good morning, Colette…has there
been any progress?’
‘Yes.’
‘You went there last night?’ she
asked in a shocked whisper.
Surprisingly, Colette answered in a
clear calm voice,
‘Yes,’
‘What happened?’
‘I returned the brooch and told him
it was over.’
‘Is that all? He accepted it, just
like that?’
For some reason, Colette was
irritated. She didn’t want to apologise because there was nothing to apologise
for, and if she started apologising both Colette and Rose would get angry with
each other.
Instead she changed the subject,
‘I may leave the castle before my
term in complete.’
‘Eh! Why?’
She didn’t want to say because she
broke up with Lionel and he was getting married soon,
‘To tell you the truth, I ran into
the Captain of the White Eagle Knights yesterday. Just so you know, they are
patrolling the castle and its grounds at night.’
If Rose had know she would have
told her, but Colette may not have been listening properly to that part of the
conversation, and then she went out without thinking about it properly.
‘They are. So did they see you with
the brooch and think you stole it? But then they wanted to know the owner…it
was bad, wasn’t it?’ Rose deduced the situation quickly and understood.
Colette nodded, ‘Yes, I was
constantly berated and mocked by the White Eagle Captain. So I was forced to
take a stance because of my stupidity.’
‘…just wait a little, I will make
sure!’
Rose ran off. She bet it was to go
and gather information from around the castle. Well that would keep her busy
for today. Colette finished her meal and took care of Rose’s dishes as well.
♘
After cleaning one of the rooms in
the castle, Colette walked down the corridor to her next a.s.signed task. A man
in a white cloak appeared in front of her. Colette kept her head down, apologised
and tried to continue on her way but she was blocked and a firm hand held her
jaw and pulled Colette’s face up,
‘h.e.l.lo Colette. Your eyes don’t
seem to be swollen. I was worried that they would be after all that crying
yesterday,’
Eugene, the Captain of the White
Eagle Knights, seeing his seductive face in daylight only made Colette detest
him more. Colette stepped out of his grip,
‘Thank you for your concern,’ she
said extremely politely, ‘I am well. If you will pardon me, I need to go to my
next a.s.signment.’
‘Don’t take it too badly, let’s
have a chat. I think you know something I want to know.’
‘No I do not. Thank you.’
Rules of society dictated that Colette
could not leave before he did, so she lowered her head and stood to the side
waiting for him to take the hint and leave. But he brought her head forcefully
up to meet his gaze again. Colette stepped back, but now she was up against the
wall, her only escape route was sideways, but he boxed her in with his arms.
Eugene’s eyes were sparking with excitement at this situation, he was enjoying
himself. Colette turned away but he firmly turned her back to him. She felt the
tears start flowing again, (Zuben: Don’t cry in front of this a.r.s.e hole!)
‘You’re a bad girl to treat him
this way. It’s like you want him to be bullied.’
‘I am sorry but that is not my
intention.’
‘Hmmm? You have such a conceited
mouth;’
‘Lord Eugene, you seem to have a
lot of time on your hands to be bothering a maid in such a place.’ A female voice said behind him. Eugene stepped
away from Colette reluctantly. (Zuben: He wants to eat Colette-cake too)
Colette gave a sigh of relief.
‘I was only trying to investigate
the situation,’ he said
‘I will take over the
‘investigation’ from now.’ The woman said. She looked to be in her thirties
(Zuben: Thirties is not middle age, author!) with a very upright posture, her
hair was held back in a tight bun, and she wore a simple navy blue dress
(Zuben: Matilda?). She was slender and had a beautiful face. It seemed that the
lady may have a higher position than Eugene, maybe she was a high ranking lady
in waiting.
‘Colette, it is serious! I heard a lot of
things…’ Rose cried as she ran up to them, breaking the stand-off.
Colette, the lady and Eugene turned
to the new arrival. Rose stopped short and curtseyed to the lady. Seeing that, Colette
thought that the lady was definitely a higher rank than Eugene,
‘You’re looking well, Lady of the
Court Adan.’
‘Yes, well enough. Please return to
your duties. Colette Folk, come with me.’
What? Why? Where? Who is this Lady
of the Court? There were many questions running around in Colette’s head, but
Rose whispered – shooing her off, ‘Go quickly,’ so Colette obediently went
after the lady.
A lower maid like Colette was being
guided through the castle to an area she’d never been before. Where is she
taking me? Colette wondered.
They came to a luxuriously
appointed door; painted white with gilded accents. Lady Adan knocked on the
door,
‘We have come,’ she said, and then
opened the door. Colette followed the lady through and the door closed behind
them. The room was very beautiful, extravagantly decorated but tasteful. A
beautiful young lady sat on a sofa before her was a table laden with tea and
snacks. She had lovely brown hair and her countenance was something Colette
would describe as ephemeral. (Zuben: Fiancée?)
The lady had a fragile quality to
her. She had slim shoulders with an even slimmer waist that would not need a
corset. When she handled fabrics at her parents shop, she saw very slender
dresses being made, and she wondered how which sort of woman could wear such a
dress. But she now thought this woman would be comfortable in that kind of
dress. Even thought the lady was slender, she was not scrawny. (Zuben: Could
get carried away in a light breeze)
The beautiful person took a sip of
her tea elegantly. She must be a very high ranking n.o.bility for the Lady of the
Court who outranked a Knight Captain to be serving her. She began to wonder
what she was doing there, when the woman spoke,
‘Miss Colette, please have a seat.’
Her voice was clear and sweet like
a bell. Of course, she had been taught elocution as a n.o.ble, but her tone was
more natural than Rose’s. Colette looked in askance at Lady Adan, who
encouraged her to sit with a small nod. So Colette gingerly took a seat in a
high back chair and tried to look as elegantly as she could muster.
‘Are you really Lionel’s lover?’
the lady asked.
Perhaps, this person was Lionel’s
fiancée. No, Colette had been told she was an Earl’s daughter, so the Lady of
the Court would not be serving her in the more private areas of the royal
palace.
‘No, it’s over already.’ Colette
answered in a small voice.
‘But, Lionel is fighting for your
sake, going against his Majesty to cancel the engagement.’ The lady said; her
expression full of anguish. Even her sad expressions looked beautiful. Colette
did not know what to reply for she was perplexed. The woman continued,
‘I have always envied him. Our
husband prefers to spend time with him than with me. Our husband only ever
thinks of him first. His most reliable retainer, his best friend…There is no
gap that one could slip through between my husband and that person. They are
together almost constantly.’ (Zuben: Doesn’t Lionel have his own s.h.i.t to do? He
was away at war for about three months they were not together then.)
Colette did not know who this
person was. What on earth was she talking about? Who is her husband? Colette
had a puzzled expression on her face, but the n.o.blewoman continued,
‘It may seem like I am crazy but I
wanted to meet you, Colette. I want you to tell me the method you used to make
that block of wood guy crazy about you. Because no matter what I do, I can’t
keep my husband from choosing his friends over me. Please tell me,’ the lady
said as a tear rolled down her face, elegantly. (Zuben: Well, Colette doesn’t
look like she’ll break if you touch her.)
The lady found a handkerchief and
dabbed at the tears, her delicate fingers holding it tightly. Colette felt for
her. At that moment, she remembered some of the gossip that Rose was telling
her,
“You know the king and queen are
newly married. The queen really wants to spend some time with the king but the
king would rather go hunting or hanging out in the smoking room with his
friends…” Rose had also told her that Lionel was the King’s best friend. This
meant that this ephemeral beauty crying prettily in front of her was…the Queen?
(Zuben: He probably is afraid that he would break her if he touches you.)
‘Are you the Queen?’ Colette asked
in shock
‘Yes, you can call me Eliza, please
Colette give me guidance. How can I gain his Majesty’s favour?’
She did not understand this situation.
She did not know what to say but the Queen was expecting an answer from Colette.
Colette gulped as panic filled her mind…
It has become a serious thing…
(Zuben: Hmm…meh)
Thanks for reading. Hope you’re well wherever you are.
♙