Vasil wordlessly served Young Lady Bright hot tea as he watched her body tremble.
She couldnât even hold the teacup properly as she continued to tremble like someone catching a cold.
âIâm sorry, my hands are not strong enoughâ-.â
âThatâs okay.â
He said, as he watched her face turning white, looking like a patient with a dying disease.
Vasil didnât rush for her to speak, but waited until she felt comfortable enough to.
âWith all due respect your highnessâ I know itâs shameless, but Iâd like to ask for your help.â
She said in a croaking voice after a while.
She seemed to struggle to keep her words together.
âI know I have been unkind to you, Your Highness, but you are the only one I can turn to for helpâŠâ
Her voice gradually turned into something like a sob.
She tried to choke off the sob that was trying to escape from between her pale lips again, but clear tears couldnât help fall from her puffy eyes.
âPlease, huhuhu⊠Please help me, Your HighnessâŠâ
The Young Lady Bright bowed her head towards Vasil.
Drip. Drip.
Hot tears fell onto the table.
ââŠWhy me?â
Vasil said cautiously, after watching her slender shoulders shake intermittently.
âBâBecause I can trust no one⊠Else..â
She replied, while swallowing back her sobs.
She was pushed to the limit, to the point where she could no longer lean at ease even with the family with whom she had shared blood with.
âThen you mean that I can be trusted?â
âAt least..â
She replied, âYou bear me no ill-will. On the contrary, you pity me, and, though I do not know why, you have⊠I.. Hic⊠Even a little pity⊠Huhu..â
Vasilâs eyes narrowed at her unexpected answer.
After a momentâs consideration, he moved his lips againâ
âDo you think I can help you, Young Lady? As you know, I have already enough on my plate just by being the crown prince.â
âIâ Your Highness, hic â I know that you are hiding your real power, the power toââ
âWâWhat?â
He paused at her words.
When he looked at her as if to ask her to say more, she swallowed dryly, her voice trembled slightly as she spoke the truth she knew.
âThe things that hover around your highnessâŠâ
âYou can see spirits?â
Vasil narrowed his eyes at the Young Lady Brightâs words.
Spirits, being nature itself, had no particular form, but they could take shape into anything they wishedâ Animals, insects, light, droplets, fairies, monstersâŠ
This is why the testimonies of those who saw them varied.
The same was true for the many spirits that followed Vasilâ They changed their appearance from time to time.
âIâve seen spirits sometimes⊠Eâever since I was a kid, and at first I didnât even know what they were, butâŠ. but even if I told others, they thought I was sick and simply seeing things so Iâ.â
âI didnât know that you had the qualities of an elementalist.â
âNo, I canât be a elementalist. If I had any real talent, Your Highness would have recognized it long ago.â
Young Lady Bright muttered in a bitter tone.
She still couldnât make eye contact with Vasil.
As if she were a herbivore with a predator staring intently in front of her.
âI can only see the spirits, but I canât communicate with themâ No, I canât even control what I see.â
Vasil suddenly realized why she was so uncomfortable and scared of him.
When he thought about it, it wasnât surprising.
Both Young Lady Bright and Iris had gypsy blood, so their natural affinity was bound to be high.
âThatâs why Iâve been avoiding you for so long. Iâve never seen anyone with as many spirits as you have, and you can handle them so freelyâŠâ
Just as mages had different levels of grade, depending on how many magic circles they can form, elementalists were also divided into grades based on how many spirits they could control, and Vasil was at the top of that list.
âIt was scarier to have that much power and not do anything with it.â
She said, âIt was like you had the luxury of being able to turn everything over at any time.â
Itâs human nature to succumb to overwhelming power.
Young Lady Bright, who had no talent as an elementalist, but whose natural affinity with nature allowed her to see spirits, made Vasil, a fearsome presence in front of her eyes.
Especially since he possessed countless spirits.
âWhat can I do for you? What do you want?â
He asked, after changing his demeanor.
âIâm thinking of leaving the capital for a while.â
âHmm?â
âIt would only make things worse if I stayed.â
âThatâs a good idea, but youâd be better off telling the Duke or Marquis about this, not me.â
âNo, my grandfather or father wouldnât agree.â
âYou mean to say, that you plan to run away?â
âYes. I canât afford to cause any more trouble than I already have.â
Young Lady Brightâs face fell.
She seemed to be thinking of the time when the Duke, who was so furious of the breakup of her engagement, that he even stormed into the imperial palace, grabbed the Second Prince by the scruff of the neck, and slamming him to the ground.
He was even chastised by the emperor because of it.
The Duke of Bright was not the only one to suffer from the breakup with the imperial family.
The Marquis was also criticized, and people even said that he should abdicate his position as the chancellor.
The prestige of the Bright family had suffered greatly.
âIâm leaving the capital for two reasonsâ first, for my own safety, because the Empress and Count Olette will try to shut me up somehowâŠâ
âOf course.â
âAs long as Iâm in the capital, I wonât be able to turn things around, because to the people, Iâm an outright villainess.â
He thought she was an oblivious young woman who knew nothing, but sheâs much smarter than he thought.
Vasil looked at her approvingly.
âAnd the second reason?â
âThe second reason is personal, I just want to⊠I want to go somewhere where no one else knows me, where Iâm not the Young Lady Bright, where Iâm not a Villainess, where I can just be⊠Me.â
She said in a low voice.
She looked terribly exhausted and worn out.
âDo you think there is such a place?â
âIn a big city, maybe not, but I donât think word about me would have spread to the smaller provinces. Once I leave, it will be noisy for a while, but then it will die down, and people will find other things to do.â
âThatâs a shame.â
âWhat?â
âIf you had such a perceptive mind, why did you let yourself be made a fool of?â
Vasil asked with genuine curiosity.
The more they talked, the more Young Lady Brightâs intelligence shone through.
She was the daughter of the Marquis Bright, who had the best minds in the empire, and that made it all the more incomprehensible.
If she was so perceptive, if she could read the minds of others, if she was so good at reading people, how could she be so foolish as to allow herself to be taken advantage of?
âJust because youâre smart doesnât mean youâre good at everything.â
Young Lady Bright said with a bitter scowl.
Her long lashes fluttered.
âIâve been sheltered in my mansion for so long. I was like a plant in a greenhouse, Iâve been inexperienced, my vision was as narrow as a frog at the bottom of a well, and in many ways, Iâm not good at dealing with people.â
Vasil clenched his fists involuntarily.
It was not pleasant to see someone who looked so much like someone you cared about crying.
âIâve been sick for more days in my life than Iâve been well, and Iâve spent almost every day in bed. I donât know about you, Your Highness, but people who are sick are sensitive to everything, easily irritated by the slightest difficulty, and quick to give up.â
âSo youâre saying you gave up instead of fighting to the end?â
âNot without that part, but because no matter what I did, people always saw my actions through tinted glasses.â
ââŠâŠ.â
â⊠Being misunderstood, being called names, even explaining that it wasnât true, but no one was listening, and the fact that⊠I had to face the same situation dozens of times, I eventually got tired of it and didnât want to do anything.â
The Young Lady Bright laughed bitterly.
It was a lifeless laugh.
âBut instead of that, I⊠I just wanted to believe in people⊠But I was foolish.â
She bit her lower lip as if to hold back a tear.
âI was so hungry for affection, that I even clung to an insignificant relationship, not realizing that it was a sand castle that would crumble at any moment.â
After growing up alone and lonely, she wanted to believe in people.
But her faith had been shattered numerous times.
People turned their backs on her as soon as she had a problem, as if they all had agreed to do so beforehand.
Even her family hadnât been very supportive.
To make matters worse, Pavel, the man who had promised her a future, was having an affair with her one-time best friend.
It was a situation that would have driven anyone other than the Young Lady Bright to the brink of insanity.
âOkay, Iâll help you.â
ââŠ..! Really?â
âWhat else can I do for you besides help you sneak out of the capital without anyone noticing?â
Young Lady Brightâs face brightened a little at Vasilâs offer for help.
As if she had been waiting for him to say that, she spoke an additional request.
âPlease make sure no one can find me. I donât want the Empress or Count Olette to know my whereabouts, and I donât want my grandfather and father to know either.â