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Diane's intuition, Kyle's POV during the banquet and will Tara escape John Hutt?
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Episode 215. About 10 months (92)
For a while after Kyle left, Angela clenched her hands tightly and stared blankly at the floor.
Then, a hand gently squeezed her shoulder. She looked up and saw Diane.
"How many times have I already gone to the bathroom, I wonder. Angela? You know that my cousin isn't very kind."
Angela nodded in agreement as she smiled faintly.
"Yes, I was prepared for this, so I'm not disappointed."
"Then what is the issue?"
"I realized that I didn't know much about His Highness. Despite how much I have studied and learned, I came to the conclusion that I'm not ready at all."
"I can't believe how resilient you are. You amaze me again, Angela," said Diane with a slightly startled look.
"But I'm still heartbroken. Shall I accompany you?"
"No, no. I've been going there so often that it's easy now."
Patting Angela's shoulder, Diane left supported by her personal maid.
As she headed to the bathroom, Diane recalled the moment when Kyle had left the banquet hall.
She had observed Kyle and Angela throughout dinner, wondering if they would get along.
She thought that the reason why Kyle was only staring straight ahead was because of his indifference to such events.
But, somehow, Kyle's expression had changed slightly.
‘When have I last seen such a natural expression during the past 5 years?'
Diane turned her head to find where Kyle's gaze had rested. And Tara Elias, his Second Aide, caught her eye.
"...Hmmm."
Diane felt confused as doubt and possibility warred in her mind.
But the confusion gradually turned into certainty right after Kyle left, her expression becoming serious.
‘I need to check this out!’
***
Kyle was still stunned by the events that brought him to escort the Benson girl to the Reese Castle dinner.
It wasn't something he would have accepted, even though his cousin was the one who requested it , but when Tara asked, he impulsively agreed.
‘Damn this impulsiveness.'
It was his principle in life to pursue every situation according to a well-thought out plan.
But after a certain point, or, to be more precise, from the moment he met Tara Elias, his Aide, his life gradually started deviating from its stable trajectory.
But the bigger issue was that he knew it was a problem and still couldn't do anything about it.
Kyle gritted his teeth at this out of control situation .
And still, all he could think about was wanting to quickly rid himself of this ridiculous task and have a very serious conversation with Tara.
He sat down thinking that it was fortunate that the lighting was darker than expected.
The Benson girl spoke to him, fanning her reddened face continuously.
Of the countless banquets held in the Palace, he had attended them once in a blue moon and only according to his needs.
At such gatherings, it was common for noble girls to try to talk to him, but they couldn't withstand his cold attitude and were satisfied just gazing at him from afar.
However, despite his icy demeanor, this young Benson girl kept talking to him. Whether she was aware of his frosty behavior or she had just decided to ignore it all together was up for debate.
Under that angle, he thought that she wasn't as fragile as she seemed.
Kyle sighed inwardly and gazed around the dining hall, looking for Tara. And then she came into view.
‘Damn it....'
She overwhelmed him in an instant.
Thud, thud, thud....
He gently pressed his left chest, but there was no sign of his heart calming down.
‘I can't even be angry with you....in my current state.'
His heart tightened and he felt suffocated.
Why was she so dazzling?
He repeatedly clenched and released his hands slowly.
He felt impatient. He was under the strange illusion that if she remained in his vicinity, she would suddenly scatter into motes of light and disappear far away.
‘This is ridiculous. Why would she disappear? She'll never leave.'
Kyle blamed his cousin for his useless wandering thoughts as he stared at Tara again.
'That dress.... Is my cousin out of her mind?'
The dress exposed her neck and shoulders and the black choker that hung snugly around her white neck made a very strange and tempting ensemble.
In addition, her beautifully styled reddish brown hair contrasted with her outfit, drawing attention.
His throat burned.
He kept clenching and opening his fists.
Nevertheless, his heart rate gradually accelerated.
After taking a deep breath, he poured himself a drink.
He carefully examined the hall in her vicinity. He noticed a few hyenas gazing at her and memorized their faces.
All he could do was watch her from his seat across the dining hall, while quenching his thirst for her with alcohol.
Still, the Bensons' eldest daughter kept asking him questions, not knowing when to give up, but he could bear that as well.
Once dinner was over, he would take Tara out of sight of all these people, especially from the trashy hyenas in the hall.
Hoping time would pass faster, he looked away for a while, but then he lost sight of her as people filled the dance floor.
His brow furrowed deeply as she appeared among the dancers.
One trashy hyena, pretending to be a gentleman, was holding her hand and kissing it.
‘Are you crazy? How dare you?!'
He tightly gripped the glass he was holding. Fortunately it was made of steel, not glass.
She pulled her hand back in surprise when the piece of trash clung to her and said something.
Then Tara was hidden by the dancers again.
He downed his whiskey in one shot.
He looked for more as his liver hadn't even registered the intake, but there was none to be found.
‘I shouldn't have brought her here.'
When he glimpsed her again, unsurprisingly, the foolish scumbag was flirting with her.
‘Haaaa....'
Thinking it impossible, he placed his napkin on the table.
If he stayed here like this, he would go insane.
Soon, Tara came into view leaving through the back door. Kyle quickly told Angela of his intentions, then immediately left the banquet hall and entered the main corridor.
The room was crowded and noisy with guests and servants mixed together.
Kyle quickly scanned the crowd looking for Tara. But she had already disappeared from the hall.
He turned his head and examined the space again.
"Damn it...!"
The piece of garbage was also missing.
Kyle's mind cooled quickly as if doused in ice cold water.
He ran out of the hall, organizing his thoughts, trying to figure out where to find her.
***
I made my way out of the hall, lightly checking with my hand that my pink axe was nicely nestled on my thigh.
‘Damn it. I'm in trouble.'
Hmmm. Still, if I moved fast, I thought I could outrun him...
Yes, I should do my best to avoid shit like this.
But, as always, the situation had spiraled out of control due to factors I hadn't anticipated.
The first factor in my way was my poor judgment.
The second was the location of my rooms.
The third was my dress.
Common wisdom dictated: "If I stay in the crowded hall, John Hutt won't be able to do anything to me." Because he would temper his behavior to maintain his noble reputation.
However, would a nobleman who refused to honor his aristocratic status at the banquet table really act any differently in the hall?
On top of that, I held back in the banquet hall but if John Hutt treated me disrespectfully one more time I would no longer be able to tolerate it.
If John Hutt came at me recklessly in the hall, I would've caused trouble, and the resulting firestorm would have also burned the Second Prince, who I was accompanying.
Besides, I didn't want to upset the pregnant Countess Diane, over something this unpleasant today.
Damn it. Why was everything so hard all the time!
I decided to run straight to my rooms. As soon as I left the hall, I ran towards the annex.
At the first floor entrance, an old servant had dozed off sitting on a chair. Since dinner wouldn’t end for some time, the annex was quiet, most of the servants had been sent to help out in the banquet hall.
I looked back.
Fortunately, he was nowhere to be seen. Sprinting to the annex had been worth it.
He wouldn't be able to follow me since he didn't know exactly where I was staying. Now I could go back to my room, take off my dress and rest.
I lifted my skirt and climbed the stairs two at a time.
My room was at the end of the hallway on the second floor.
The annex was quite large, with a total of thirty rooms on the second floor, and mine was at the far end. There was no one here except for me.
Suddenly, the words of Reese Castle’s assistant butler, as he guided me to my room, came to mind.
[We purposefully left the annex empty for the All-Festival Team tomorrow. Fortunately, you said that you'd only be here for tonight, so you can choose whichever room you like.]
So I had chosen the last room on the second floor.
I looked back unconsciously and saw no one.
Safe!
Ha... Sighing, I turned the key in the lock to my door when a sound reached my ears.
Tap, tap, tap, tap tap...
What was that?
I turned around and saw John Hutt, with an evil Joker's smile, sprinting towards me.
Crazy psycho bastard!
I tried to turn the key but it didn't work. Damn it. My hands were too slippery.
Click... Clack!
The key finally turned completely and I quickly opened the door.
Bang!
A thick arm suddenly held the door half open. Simultaneously, I could feel a disgusting energy right behind me. He whispered to me."Huh...Huh! Just as I thought!"
"Damn it."
I got goosebumps all over.
His eyes, glistening with madness, couldn't be more unsettling.
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