Tell Me To Regret, Don’t Tempt Me - Chapter 12
Chapter 12
“That’s all for today’s lesson. How was it?”
“The relationship between magic and mana stones is too complicated.”
Vivian’s light brown eyebrows arched.
“Haha, just take your time to understand it. There’s no need to be in a hurry, Lady Vivian.”
“I’ve already understood it all.”
Louise said, closing the book, folding the folds creases, and smiling at Hugo, who was looking at Vivian with a wide grin.
“Is that so? Haha. You are indeed brilliant.”
Hugo’s praise made Louis smile proudly, and he glanced at Vivian. However, Vivian didn’t even turn her head towards him.
This was the second time she had taken a class without looking his way.
On the first day, Louis thought she might be embarrassed. But as she continued to avoid looking at him today, he began to feel annoyed.
Hugo mentioned that he’d see them next week and left with his books. As soon as he disappeared, Vivian quickly gathered her belongings.
For some reason, Louis found this behavior incredibly irritating.
He clicked his tongue softly, and Vivian flinched at the sound. But it was only for a moment, as she continued to put her books into her small bag and stood up.
“I’ll see you next week.”
“Wait.”
Louis grabbed Vivian. He was surprised at himself for doing so. There was no real reason to stop her; he just didn’t like how she seemed eager to leave as soon as the lesson ended. That was the only reason he’d grabbed her.
“What is it…….”
Vivian, looking at Louis who had stopped her without saying anything, asked what he wanted.
“Uh… the festival! Yes, the festival! Have you been to it before?”
Since he had no reason to call her, he had to come up with one and the first thing that came to mind was the upcoming Autumn Festival.
“Festival?”
The autumn festival he hastily thought of was able to catch Vivian’s attention.
“Yes, have you been to it before?”
Vivian shook her head. Even in the Duchy, the Autumn Festival was held every year. When the autumn festival was held, all but the least used people would go out of the mansion to enjoy the festivities.
However, the Duchess, who had become frail after giving birth to Vivian, had only recently recovered her health. So they had always quietly celebrated the abundance of autumn within the estate.
“You’ve never been? The capital’s autumn festivities are quite grand. The biggest is on Blessing Night, but even a day or two before, there’s a lot of bustle.”
Louis smiled victoriously inwardly. He saw Vivian’s green eyes light up slightly.
“If you’d like, I can take you there.”
“We were supposed to spend it at the mansion together…”
“A festival in a mansion? Are you serious? There’s so much to see. There’s street food and lots of fascinating items that merchants bring from various kingdoms.”
Oh, how sweet the devil’s whispers are.
Even the servants within the estate have been unable to contain their excitement these past few days. Tia has been eagerly anticipating the festival, as it will be her first time celebrating it in the capital.
Vivian also wanted to go out, but she decided to follow her parents’ wishes to spend the festival quietly at the estate this year as well. But then…
“I’ll be taking a guard with me, so if you’re worried about safety, it’s fine.”
“Then, I’ll ask my parents for permission.”
Vivian succumbed to the temptation of the beautiful devil-like Louis.
* * *
Vivian kept smoothing her skirt, feeling awkward in the simple outfit she was wearing for the first time.
“If anything happens, you must immediately contact us through the communication device.”
Putting the famously expensive communication device into Vivian’s bag, Daisy gave strict instructions.
“Yes, I understand.”
This was already her seventh time answering.
“It would have been nice if Tia could have come as well.”
“But Tia has a prior appointment today.”
Vivian smiled brightly, holding Daisy’s worried hand.
“The escort knights are going too. They are the Imperial Crown Prince’s own, so there’s no problem at all.”
Nodding reluctantly, Daisy kissed her cheek and Vivian climbed into the carriage. As the carriage pulled away and the mansion loomed small and then disappeared, Vivian opened the small bag she was carrying.
Inside were a pretty purse containing a few silver and gold coins, three strawberry-flavored candies Tia had packed just in case, the communication device from her mother, a white handkerchief, and a neatly folded piece of paper.
After checking the contents of her bag, Vivian carefully fastened the buttons. As she turned her head to look out the carriage window, the familiar streets passed by and the carriage moved into quieter areas. When buildings started to appear sparsely, the carriage slowed down.
“We’ve arrived, Miss.”
Vivian heard the coachman’s voice indicating they had reached the place where she was supposed to meet Louis. With a trembling heart, she grasped the door handle of the carriage. Opening the smoothly opening door and stepping out, Vivian immediately wanted to close the door again.
“Hello, My Lady. We’ve met before, haven’t we?”
A large man greeted her with a broad smile. He was the burly man she had accidentally encountered while lost in search of a restroom at the crown prince’s palace.
“Ah! How rude of me, I haven’t introduced myself. I am Rayden Tolz, 2nd Knight Squadron Commander.”
Vivian felt slightly reassured upon realizing he was a knight commander and nodded her head gently.
“I’m Vivian Dinever.”
Rayden smiled broadly at her small voice of introduction, but behind him, Louis stood with a disapproving expression.
With Rayden’s escort, Vivian descended from the carriage and greeted Louis.
“His Imperial Highness, the Crown Prince of the Empire…….”
“Enough with the greetings. Do you want to broadcast to the whole town that I’m the Crown Prince?”
Vivian stopped mid-greeting and looked up at Louis. Surrounding them was nothing but a desolate field with an abandoned church on the outskirts of the capital.
“Let’s get going quickly.”
Louis turned briskly and climbed into a shabby carriage that had been prepared in advance. As Vivian watched him in bewilderment, Rayden spoke to her.
“Don’t let it bother you, that’s his way of talking. After you’ve been with him for a while, you’ll learn the art of letting it go in one ear and out the other.”
Vivian nodded and climbed into the carriage where Louis was already seated.
The carriage door closed behind them, and Rayden, disguised as a coachman, set the carriage in motion. The ride quality was vastly different from the carriage she had arrived in, and the rough jostling was immediately apparent. Seeing Vivian hastily grab the window ledge to steady herself, Louis spoke.
“Since this is a regular carriage, the ride won’t be as smooth. If it becomes too uncomfortable, let me know. We can go slower if necessary.”
“Yes.”
Though she had not even greeted him politely before, Vivian felt embarrassed to make eye contact with Louis, who was considerate towards her as she rode in a regular carriage for the first time.
The only sounds in the carriage were the clatter of hooves and the rattling of the carriage. In the otherwise quiet carriage, Louis was the first to speak.
“Is there anything you want to do?”
Vivian, who had been staring out the window to avoid his gaze, turned to look at him. She was so surprised he asked for her opinion that she couldn’t even blink.
“Since it’s a bountiful year, the festival seems to be quite grand. If we go without any plan, we might end up not being able to see everything properly and have to come back.”
Vivian nodded at Louis’s words and clasped the end of the bag she was carrying between her hands.
“The circus.”
Cautiously, Vivian opened the bag and pulled out a finely folded piece of paper.
“What’s that?”
Louis asked, and Vivian slowly unfolded the paper and handed it over. Her peridot-colored eyes sparkled brightly.
The paper Vivian handed over was a promotional flyer for a circus troupe from the southern kingdom.
Covered in gaudy colors, the flyer boasted of animals not commonly seen in the Tapeullon Empire.
“Do you want to see this?”
“Yes!”
Seeing Vivian vigorously nodding her head, Louis handed her back the circus flyer.
“Alright, let’s go see it.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
Vivian’s face flushed at the short affirmation. Taking the flyer back, she folded the paper neatly and slipped it carefully into her bag.
“Have you never seen a circus performance before?”
“…No.”
“Why not? The Duchy is quite large, and I’m sure circus troupes visit often.”
Louis looked at Vivian expectantly, then rested his elbows on the window ledge and set his jaw. Vivian, her head bowed at his words, replied in a small voice.
“My mother was ill, so I didn’t go out much beyond the mansion back then.”
Nodding slightly at her words, Louis turned his attention to Vivian’s small hand.
“It’s good that the Duchess is better now.”
“Yes! She’s really much better now.”
Vivian’s eyes lit up at Louis’s words, and she clenched her fists. Seeing her reaction, Louis chuckled softly.
“Yeah. That’s good to hear.”
For a moment, Vivian felt as if time had stopped.
The sunlight filtering through the thin carriage window only shone on Louis. The sole ray of sunlight in the slightly dimmed carriage collided with Louis’ smile, and the shattered rays of sunlight sparkled around him.
It was beautiful.
The nobility of the sun rising on a bright day, the freshness of the nameless flowers in the garden, and the aloof charm of the cat raised in the estate pantry – a beauty that blended all of these elements made Vivian’s small mouth open involuntarily.
“We have arrived, my lord.”
Vivian could only tear her gaze away from the beautiful Louis because of Rayden’s voice announcing their arrival.
“Let’s get off.”
As the door opened, Louis gracefully stepped out of the carriage. Standing in front of the door, Vivian hesitated.
It wasn’t Rayden but Louis extending his hand for her to escort her.
Thump.
The sound she heard when she first saw Louis at the library echoed again.
Thump. Thump.
This time it was a little louder and more urgent, and Vivian, barely able to hold on to her drifting consciousness, grabbed Louis’s hand as he reached out to her.
The time it took to descend from the carriage felt agonizingly slow.
As Vivian’s feet touched the ground, Louis’s hand quickly withdrew.
“Rayden.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“It seems there’s a circus performance from the Hestern Kingdom today. Get us tickets.”
“Yes, understood.”
Vivian, who was staring at her own fingertips as she got off the carriage, looked up abruptly.
“Let’s have some food first.”
Louis, noticing Vivian’s absent-minded expression today, said. Vivian quickly turned her head away when she met his gaze and nodded.
The streets were bustling with people. Adults, children, and the elderly all had bright expressions on their faces as they poured out onto the streets.
Stars adorned every building in the bustling area, decorating the streets for the Blessings Night. The stars were of different colors and sizes, creating a festive atmosphere.
“What if we get lost?”
Busy looking around, Vivian noticed Louis’ hand grabbing her arm. His large hand, still wrapped around her wrist, gently pulled her along.