CH 23

23 The Mad Dog Has Escaped

A pink haired girl (a fu*cking brat honestly) appeared out of nowhere. She then suddenly rushed at Muriel after bad mouthing her. Dumbstruck, we were unable to react as she reached us, roughly brushing Muriel’s hand off mine as she continued talking nonsense.

“I SAID! LET GO OF HIS HAND! THE ONE WHO IS SUPPOSED TO TALK WITH SOMEONE IN THIS PLACE TODAY IS ME! Though I wish it’s Elliot who will come, BUT! I GUESS IT CAN’T BE HELPED THAT THE ONE HERE IS JUST THE SAFE TILE THEODORE. ANYWAY, THEODORE, FORECAST MY FUTURE NOW. THAT WAY, YOU’LL KNOW WHO I AM!”

…………

What the he*ll is this fu*cking bi*tch talking about?! Are you an idiot? You must be an idiot, right?

“Are you okay Miss Muriel?!” I asked, frankly unconcerned with the crazy girl, as I took Muriel’s hands back into my own immediately.

Aah, look at her poor hands… it has become so red now. My heart ached, especially when I looked at her face that was on the verge of crying, but enduring it as she nodded her head. What a good girl…

“Well, shall we get back now? We’ve been talking in this place for so long I reckon that by now, everyone must be tired of waiting for us.” I said, gently smiling at her. Then, as I was about to lead her away…

“WAIT! STOP IGNORING ME! YOU SHOULD BE TALKING TO ME, YOU KNOW?! NOT HER! YOU ARE THEODORE, RIGHT? YOU MUST BE! HOW DARE THE SAFEST TILE, THE YELLOW OF THE SIX LIKE YOU IGNORE ME LIKE THIS! YOUR CHARACTER IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE ONE WHOSE AFFINITY WILL GO DOWN UNLESS IT IS THE HARD MODE! SINCE YOU’RE THE ONE WHO APPEARS IN THIS PLACE, THEN THIS MUST BE THE EASY MODE, NOT THE HARD ONE… ANYWAY, TELL ME MY FORTUNE. NOW!”

Affinity? What in the he*ll is this pink monkey talking about? I was very confused, but there was no doubt about the fact that my impression of her had already nose-dived into minus range.

In fact, her negative impression had already surpassed that of the Crown Prince, the rangers, and those aunties who tried to woo my father. Hers had already reached a level that could be called as ABSOLUTE fu*cking ZERO temperature, unlike my impression for the Crown Prince and his rangers.

Sure, my impression on them was bad, but in my opinion, the Crown Prince and his rangers might improve since they might, in fact, be good children. However, in her case, there was no way my impression would improve after ALL THOSE NONSENSE she had said to be.

So, GET LOST BI*TCH, and don’t show your face in front of me again. EVER!

Anyway, she might not be a big deal. After all, looked at her dirty cloth and messy fu*cking pink hair with twigs and leaves all over the place. Seeing her appearance alone, I really had to wonder what the heck was in her brain.

Like, what makes this bi*tch thinks that she’s qualified to criticize an adorable girl, whose appearance was prim and proper. Simply basing it on appearance, Muriel’s neat one has already outstripped her by a huge margin. Want to compete with Muriel? Well, I’ll give a sentence to you, free of charge. Dream on BI*TCH.

Although I was cursing her in my mind, I had to admit that the pink haired girl had a rather cute face. HOWEVER! That slightly cunning look in her eyes that looked like they were looking down on everyone in the world was enough to make her appeared like a super duper selfish fu*cking bi*tch with uselessly high pride rather than a cute girl.

Honestly, looking at this little bi*tch, I really want to know her parents and asked something like: Just how in the hell did you educate this fu*cking* bitch?! All the while, I also wanted to slap the responsible ones with a thick parenting dictionary and ordered them to re-learn everything regarding child-rearing.

Still, in the end, I decided to simply ignore the pink monkey since I didn’t want to interact with her at all. So, I pulled Muriel’s hand and walked towards the palace, escorting her back to the party venue. Alas.

“HEAR ME, WILL YA?! I’M THE HEROINE HERE, YOU KNOW?!”

“Aah~ there you are. Why are you in such a hurry to go back, Theodore-kun? Oh, more importantly, how cruel of you! Leaving me behind on my own lonesome in that kind of place to have fun with a girl.” Frederick’s figure suddenly appeared from the Rose Maze’s passage.

“FREDERICK?! NO WAY, IS THIS THE SECOND RUN?! YAAAY!”

The fu*cking bi*tch rushed toward Frederick while screaming like a bi*tch in heat. Meanwhile, I was stunned on my spot.

Seriously?! This bi*tch must have a few screws loose in her head! Even though he’s an illegitimate child, he is still a royalty, you know?! Are you looking to die?! I screamed in my mind.

“KEVIN!” I shouted after coming back to my senses.

“Yes, Young Master.” Kevin said.

“KYAAA! THE HELL YOU’RE DOING!”

The pink monkey screamed when Kevin successfully carried out my order to restrain that da*mn pink bi*tch, carrying her under his arm and preventing her from assaulting Frederick.

“WAIT, STOP, STOP, STOP! YOU FOOL! LET GO OF ME, YOU PERVERT! LOLICON! HELP POLICEEE!”

“Eh, what? What in the world is wrong with this girl? No, aside from that, how can she enter this place?”

That’s my exact question too, dammit. I grumbled to myself. Still, to prevent Frederick from adding gasoline to fire, I pressed my finger on my lips, signalling him to stay silent.

“Hey, you’re Frederick, right?! Uhm, if I’m not wrong… ‘You must feel lonely, will you become my friend?’.” [TL : Worry not, Theodore didn’t accidentally trigger BL flag, since if this is a BL there’s no way I’m gonna TL this novel]

Frederick’s expression changed sharply, looking at the pink-haired monkey with a gaze that sent chills running down my spine. Then, he turned his eyes toward me, eyes meeting mine as if he was asking me ‘What in the world is happening here?’.

However, as I was as blind as he, I shook my head indicating that ‘I am as confused as you are, dammit.’

“Eh? Are you not him? Uuhm, say Frederick, your mother is…”

“SHUT UP!” Kevin immediately gagged the pink-haired monkey’s mouth and told her to shut up just as she was about to say something that sounded very scary!

“Ha~~~PH!”

The pink-haired monkey bit Kevin’s hand mercilessly, causing Kevin to gnash his teeth in pain. It seemed that the pink-haired monkey had bitten his hand with all her might, shocking us greatly. What a rude bi*tch!

While we were shocked, Kevin accidentally dropped her, letting the pink monkey crawl away from him, free from her restraint.

“Kevin! Are you okay?!” I looked at Kevin, worried. Alas, the pink-haired monkey did not stop at this.

“WHAT THE HECK IS THIS?! WHY AREN’T YOU GUYS FOLLOWING THE SCRIPT?! IS IT THAT HARD TO JUST FOLLOW IT?! WHAT WAS UP WITH THIS MESSED UP SCENARIO?! … wait, THAT’S IT! YOU MUST BE THE REASON WHY THE SCRIPT BECOME THIS MESSED UP! GO AWAY YOU DULL GIRL!” The pink-haired monkey hollered, like a screaming banshee.

“Eh?!” Muriel exclaimed, shocked by the sudden accusation.

Then, the fu*cking bi*tch suddenly rushed to Muriel, pushing her toward the water fountain before any of us could react.

“MILADY!” Muriel’s maid screamed, reaching out toward her in an attempt to save Muriel, but she was too slow.

“WATCH OUT!” I rushed out at great speed, catching Muriel’s body. Then, quickly turning around our position, I pushed her away from the water fountain. However, as a result, it was me who staggered back and hit something with my back. If I was not wrong, then I seemed to have hit the edge of the water fountain…

Dammit. That hurt. I groaned in pain, and couldn’t help but to wonder. Just what in the he*ll is wrong with that bi*tch?! Pushing a girl with all her might like that… not only girls, but any other normal boys would also have been injured by that act! Have some restraint you fu*cking pink monkey!!!

“Theodore!”

“Theodore-sama!”

“Young Master!”

I could hear Frederick, Richard, and Kevin all calling out my name. However, from the bottom of my heart, I wished they would stop. After all, rather than dudes, I preferred a cute girl like Muriel to be the one screaming my name instead.

“Milady… Theodore-sama… !!! SOMEONE HELP! SOLDIERS, CATCH THAT GIRL!”

“STOP RIGHT THERE!”

A voice is screaming… that is… Muriel’s maid, isn’t it? Then… the other one must be… the waitress who had helped Kevin and Richard… right? My vision was hazy and I couldn’t really register what was happening around me.

“You shi*tty brat! What do you think you’re doing?! How dare you hurt my Young Master!”

“I… IT’S NOT MY FAULT! IT’S YOURS! I WAS JUST FOLLOWING THE SCRI-… ANYWAY, YOU GUYS ARE THE ONE IN THE WRONG, NOT ME! YOU IDIOTS!”

Sounds of screaming rang in my head, and then, I seemed to hear the sound of someone running around followed by a rustling sound of something.

“OI, STOP!!! DON’T YOU DARE THINK OF ESCAPING!!!”

Ah, so it was Kevin. He was chasing after that pink monkey, I see.

“Theodore, are you safe?!”

Frederick asked as he propped me up, snapping me out of my daze.

“U… Ugh… Ouch…” I groaned in pain.

“THEODORE-SAMA! THEODORE-SAMA, SOMEONE, PLEASE GO CALL THE DOCTOR, RIGHT NOW!”

Perhaps due to my groan, Richard finally realized that I was still conscious, so he ran to call the doctor. I bet, no matter how slight it was, he had a relieved expression on his face when he realized this. However, I couldn’t deride her as my flagging attention was drawn to Muriel’s cry.

“Theodore-sama! Theodore-sama~, please don’t die~! Boo~hoo~” Muriel sobbed. Hard.

Whoops, I won’t die from something like this, Muriel. That’s why, please stop saying something that will cause misunderstanding. Anyway, that time when I got isekai-ed by that car was far more painful than this little pain. Although I was in pain, I still had the strength to joke, albeit it could only be done in my mind since my body didn’t have the strength to talk for long.

Honestly, I wanted to soothe her, yet I couldn’t. Therefore I could only ask her this: “Are you… okay… Miss… Muriel?”

“Yes! I, Muriel, am okay! That’s why, please hang in there, Theodore-sama! You’ll be okay soon!”

Muriel, who was supported by her maid, nodded her head firmly.

I see… Thank goodness. I thought, but for some reason, I felt sleepy after I knew Muriel was safe. Soon, I could no longer hear anything, completely blacking out.

“Theodore-sama, Theo—”

◇

When I woke up, the first person I saw was my father. Seeing him, I was about to greet him, but then something happened that shocked me to the core. Did he just- cried?

“Fa… ther?”

“Oh, have you woken up? How’s your body? Are there any parts that still hurt?” He asked, gently stroking my cheeks.

Aah, so now we’re back in our mansion in the royal capital, huh. I thought, recognizing the room I was in. Looking back at my father, I noticed that he seemed to be exhausted. He might have been tending to me non-stop ever since I fell unconscious. Sorry, Papa.

“The doctor said that your whole body is bruised. Moreover, he also said that your head might have bumped onto something, so we must take precaution. Just in case, you know, and that is why we’re still here. The doctor had told us to not go back to our territory for now, and for us to take a rest for a while in the royal capital until he is sure that you’re absolutely fine.”

“What about… Muriel? Is she… safe?”

“Yeah, she’s safe and sound since you protected her. She’s really grateful for that, but at the same time, she’s also extremely worried about your condition. So, make sure to visit her once you’re fully healed.”

I see… Thank God she is safe.

“And congrats, Theo, you also managed to make a friend. Although, I’m really surprised about who your friend is. I have never expected that you’ll befriend His Highness Frederick.”

“Sorry, Father. Because of me, Father’s position in the royal palace is going to be…”

My father looked at me with wide eyes before he gently smiled at me and said. “Don’t worry about it, really. His Highness Frederick has a hard time making a friend, you know. That’s why I’m really glad when I know that you’ve befriended him. It’s really a good thing. For you and for His Highness. So, don’t worry about me.”

He then patted my head, ever gentle and kind. Father’s pat on my head somehow relieved me from the bottom of my heart. It was as if a weight was lifted from my chest when he did so. Hence why, I immediately asked something else that concerned me.

“What about Kevin? How is he?”

“My apologies, Young Master.”

I heard Kevin’s voice coming right beside me, causing me to almost jump out of my bed due to surprise. Although this caused my father to look at me with a concerned expression, he still didn’t tell me more about the situation.

Thus, when I raised my body with Father’s help and saw Kevin’s figure prostrating himself on the floor beside my bed, I was speechless.

“My deepest apologies, Young Master. That brat managed to flee after she injured you! It’s my fault that I couldn’t catch her and punish her.” I could literally feel Kevin brimming with anger even while prostrating, especially with his next sentence.

“I’m definitely going to find that brat and teach her a painful lesson!”

It’s okay. Please don’t mind her existence. There’s something more important than that. I thought as I cleared my throat and asked, “What about your injury? Your hand got bitten by that ‘Mad Dog’ right? Is it okay now?”

“Don’t worry. It is just a scratch. Rather than me…”

“No. Make sure you treat your wound properly.”

“Young Master?”

“You absolutely must treat that wound until there’s no trace left. I absolutely detest the wound left behind by that ‘Mad Dog’ and it must be gone. AND, before you start, bear in mind that this incident isn’t your fault at all. It’s all that ‘Mad Dog’, understand?”

“HAH!” Kevin agreed. Despite that, though, I was still stewing inside. I was angry. No. Not only that, but I was completely mad.

I absolutely won’t forgive the monkey who hurt Kevin like that. ABSOLUTELY NOT YOU HEAR ME?! THERE’S NO FORGIVENESS FOR THAT PINK-HAIRED MONKEY BI*TCH!!!

“Theodore.” My father embraced me in his arms as soon as he heard my remark, patting my back soothingly as he spoke.

“You really… aish… you should stop blaming yourself like that. Yesterday’s matter is no one’s fault except for the perpetrator. Therefore, the wound on Kevin’s hand isn’t your fault either. It’s that kid’s fault. Not yours. So, it’s okay to feel at ease now. The culprit is gone and Kevin’s wound will be treated by the healer who is going to come tomorrow. And they are going to address your injury as well, so sleep now, Theo. Be at ease, Papa is here.”

My father comforted, lulling me to sleep again with his voice. “Now, you must rest. Focus on recovering your strength and stop concerning yourself with troublesome matters. Just… take a rest.”

“Yes…”

Father was right. I just realized now that my mind was in a mess due to this incident. I felt annoyed, miserable, furious… and sad. All those feelings were jumbled together inside, tied tightly that I didn’t know what to feel.

Not only that, but my mind was also jumbled together. All kinds of possibilities were flashing in my mind that wouldn’t cause us to end in this state. Possibilities such as: if only I had wrapped things up quickly… if only I had returned sooner… If only I didn’t bring food with me to that place… then, perhaps things would end up in a more peaceful way than what had happened.

And yet, the outcome was this. I ended up troubling everyone due to my selfishness.

Although Father was trying to lull me to sleep, my emotion and mind was so jumbled that I couldn’t do that. And it seemed Father sensed that, so he spoke again.

“It’s okay. It’s okay to cry, Theo. You rarely cry after all. And it’s alright for you to cry in this kind of situation. So, just cry. Cry and let it out. Don’t worry, I’ll stay by your side until you feel better.”

When I heard Father’s gentle voice and words, I couldn’t hold back anymore and cried until I was tired. Even then, Father didn’t mind and simply kept patting my back, every gentle and patient as if he was coaxing a child.

Haah, I really miss Wendy’s adorable smile now. Or Muriel’s smile when she was eating delicious food. I couldn’t help my thoughts as I fell into a deep slumber, tired out from all the crying I had done.

◇

Ultimately, the investigation about that shi*tty brat was stopped since her identity was pretty much unknown. Still, the investigation had some gain as well.

It seemed that the investigators found a hidden path inside the ‘Rose’s Maze’. The one who found that hidden path was actually Richard, who participated in the investigation and seemed to have found it due to his sheer will power and stubbornness, though.

Turned out, the entrance couldn’t be seen unless they lowered their face as close as possible to the ground. It was an extremely small passage that couldn’t be traveled unless they went down on all four, and the exit was actually connected to the desolate artificial forest park outside the royal capital.

Honestly, even the guard who patrolled around that area was truly surprised by that finding. And from further investigation, it seemed to be a hidden passage that was made by the royalty of a few generations ago.

Well, after receiving that information from Frederick and the guards, His Majesty had finally decided to close that hidden passage. After all, though it was a hidden passage for the royalties, it was essentially an useless passage since an ordinary brat could use it. Furthermore, it was also problematic for safety reasons.

Anyway, that was as far as this incident goes. A conclusion that was without any resolution you could say.

===

TN : What will you do if that bi*tch appeared again?

KILL

KILLKILL

>KILLKILLKILL!!!