Chapter 56
Hermie, who had been anxiously looking down at the courtyard every ten minutes, immediately spotted the carriage bearing the Ozette family crest. What was coming had arrived.
The massive crisis she could neither flee nor avoid had finally descended.
It was just past noon—he had arrived earlier than she’d expected.
Hermie rubbed her palms on her skirt and descended to the courtyard. She even brought her bag, just in case.
Did he come in person again today?
He had ordered a fairy.
But Hermie was still in her human form. He might be angry that she hadn’t done as he said. But there was simply no way she could go back to being like that.
As Hermie stood before the carriage, the door opened quietly. Inside sat a butler of the Ozette household.
“The Marquis is waiting. Please get in.”
Ahh. She had to enter that mansion again. Hermie let out a small sigh as she boarded the carriage.
I didn’t say I was leaving early… but it can’t be helped.
If she knew she’d have to board the carriage immediately, she would have said she was leaving early. Before getting in, Hermie glanced back once. She saw laborers busily moving cargo.
For some reason, they looked very distant. Her heart ached as if it were a sight she might never see again.
It’s okay. I’ll be able to come back.
Pushing away the pointless, rising thoughts, she sat in the carriage. She tried to open the window to keep watching the outside scenery, but with a thud!, the window closed.
Hermie looked at the window shut before her eyes, then turned a bewildered face to the butler.
“I was instructed to bring you quietly.”
The butler quietly requested her understanding. Hermie also bowed her head without a word. In her position of going to apologize, she didn’t want to offend anyone’s sensibilities.
Inside the stifling carriage, Hermie racked her brains. She didn’t know what nonsense Dormi had spouted, but she had to present her own excuse.
The matter of whether he would believe her or not could be considered later. That was an accident, and to handle the aftermath, she had fallen for the mage’s scheme. She would honestly tell him everything as it was.
Though she doubted such an excuse would quell his anger.
The carriage raced on without stopping. Anxiety and restlessness, similar to when she had been trapped in a cage, coiled around her.
The only difference this time was that she was a whole person.
“We have arrived. Please step out.”
“Yes.”
Hermie alighted from the carriage and followed the butler.
The mansion in her memory had been impossibly vast, but seeing it again, it wasn’t as large as she remembered. That was likely because she had returned to her normal size.
“Please enter.”
The room the butler led her to was Froy’s bedroom. The room where Hermie had lived for the past two months.
Hermie’s pupils trembled faintly; she had expected to be taken to a reception room.
To be guided here… Did he truly intend to turn her back into a fairy? What on earth was he thinking?
She almost wished he would just get angry at her for deceiving him—it wouldn’t be this frustrating. His cryptic words and actions left her mind in disarray.
“Is the Marquis inside as well?”
“The Marquis will be here once he finishes his business.”
But what right of refusal did Hermie have? If she was told to wait, she would wait. Letting out a frustrated sigh, Hermie entered the bedroom.
Once inside, Hermie froze on the spot, stunned. The unbelievable state of the bedroom left her speechless.
Click!
The sound of the door locking came from behind her.
“W-wait…!”
She quickly turned and tried to open the door, but it was too late. The door was firmly locked and wouldn’t budge no matter how much she shook it.
Hermie let out a hollow, incredulous laugh.
“He’s insane… He’s completely insane.”
Turning back around, she surveyed the absurd sight of the bedroom. It was, for all intents and purposes, a cage.
The large window was barred with dense grilles, and all the furniture had been removed. The floor was thickly padded with soft cotton fluff.
If there was any difference, perhaps it was that a bed was placed there instead of a dollhouse.
“So he really wants to play fairy again?”
The moment Froy’s demand became vividly, painfully clear.
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