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"Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun." —Ecclesiastes 2:11
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SHE FAKED a cough after a few seconds of laughter before she reverted back to her original bashful look. Then, as soon as she stopped laughing, Emily, whom she left earlier because of her quick stride, rushed at her back with a face that was almost turning into a tomato while panting hard and avoiding to look around. If only she could cover her whole face, she probably would have done that already.
"Excuse me for being impertinent, the boy is just really cute. Anyway, I'm sorry for taking your time. I will leave now with my maid or else she might really turn into a tomato at any moment. Continue your training and don't mind us," she said as she pulled Emily—who was as cold as ice already though her face looked as though a volcano was about to erupt—to walk together with her straight to the stable.
"Wait! My lady, may I ask where you plan to go? That place further ahead is…" the other guy near Arthur who possessed ocean blue hair, said to her hesitantly.
"Oh! Is it prohibited to enter?" she asked as she acted shocked.
The guy expressed a few awkward laughter that made his eyes disappear while scratching his head.
"N-No. Not entirely. I am just afraid that you might not like the smell in that place…" he replied politely.
Lantana smiled sweetly which made the guy's face red. Then, she said to him, "It's okay. I don't really mind," she said with conviction as she continued walking while pulling Emily with her.
She felt they were weirded out by her response but she did not mind them anymore as she felt like it would waste her time to explain it to them one by one. She just simply went to the horse stable with a large smile plastered on her lips, containing her happiness.
Before that, she even heard them whisper a few words before she eventually managed to totally disappear from their line of sight.
"Who is she really? Is it okay to let her enter that place? Don't you think we should report her?"
"She looks like a noble but what is she going to do there?"
"I don't think we have to do anything. That lady won't be able to pass through the tight security of the duchy if she was suspicious. What's more, this mansion has a magical barrier. Just let her be and focus on our training. We can tell the head butler afterwards…"
"EMILY, it's alright. We're alone now. You can breathe already. The guys are already gone," Lantana said teasingly to her servant as they entered the place.
As if on cue, she breathed out heavily, an exhausted breath. Then, she looked at her with an accusing yet tearful pair of eyes.
"My lady, how could you do that to me?" she asked with a cracking tone.
Lantana chuckled like an innocent girl as she smiled sweetly to her maid while leaning closer to her face—as she was taller than her—while playing with her hair before she tucked the few strands that got on her face behind her ears.
With a protruding pair of eyes, she looked at her, completely perplexed, before she started to have her cheeks painted in red.
Ah. This feeling… The same feeling she always had in the past whenever she was able to conquer a target with her great charm and beauty. She couldn't believe that Emily was someone so easily to allure.
Well, it wasn't like she could blame her since even she was mesmerized by the face she always saw whenever she was in front of a mirror. Looking at the face that she possessed will always get her thinking; even the Roman goddess of beauty, Aphrodite, would be ashamed once she saw her.
"It's okay, Emily. No one was unsightly in that place. Didn't your eyes also enjoy the view of the handsome men's face and their shirtless upper body with muscles in their perfect places? Don't try to tell me that what you saw earlier didn't arouse your interest? I saw you staring intently at the guy with blue hair earlier. Isn't he your type?" Lantana said playfully to Emily which made the latter's eyes grow even bigger.
A few seconds more and Emily was already on the floor, like a kid throwing a tantrum, while she was trying her best to resist her laughter as she immediately sent her an accusing yet pitiful look while pouting.
"Alright, alright. I won't laugh anymore. Stop sulking. I want to ride a horse now," she said in a surrendering tone while still trying to hold her laughter as she proceeded to look for a horse that was up to her taste.
AFTER she teased Emily, they went to the stable with her skipping in gladness because she thought, finally after having nothing to do! However, she ended up leaving the stable in disappointment.
The large horse that she picked was definitely fit, strong and a fast runner. Aside from that, his black hair was so shiny and well maintained which made him even more attractive to her eyes. But she wasn't even able to use him that way because Emily was so overprotective. She was so worried that Lantana thought she might continuously overthink once she saw her running at a high speed since Penelope was just an average student in horse riding.
In the end, instead of going through her plan of using the horse like how she drove her sports car in her last life, she rode it like how she rode her bike whenever she went to school—as if it was just a work-free Saturday, strolling to the park with all of the time of the world in her hands.
"Emily, are you sure you are okay with that?" she asked her servant as she looked down from her place. While she was sitting on the horse named Stygian, Emily was riding the bike that they borrowed from the keeper of the stable since she was similar to the Penelope in this case, the not-so-athletic-type, and aside from that, she was very scared so Lantana didn't push it anymore and let her do as she pleased with the small country bike.
"My lady, if it is alright to ask, may I ask what's up with you today that you suddenly wanted to take a stroll using such a large horse?" she heard Emily say that almost made her choke up. Good thing she managed to quickly think of an excuse.
She forced a small chuckle as she acted as if she was scanning the whole place before she turned her head back to where Emily was. She had to lower her sight since the bike her servant was riding was smaller compared to her chosen horse.
"It was just on a whim, Emily. Aside from that, I just got really bored from my usual daily routine, that's why," Lantana replied with a bright smile on her lips while holding the reins of the horse although deep inside her, her heart was beating so loud while hoping Emily would not see through any of her lies.
Although she knew that she was already good, she knew that there were still better people existing out there that was why she must always strive to be better to keep on improving. She was good at lying, but who knew? Maybe Emily was someone who might be better at observing and perceiving things. Aside from that, Emily grew up with Penelope while up until now, she was still trying to adapt. It wouldn't be a shock if she got found out by her.
Emily's eyes widened upon hearing her response as she saw her sighed.
"Oh! You should have immediately said so, my lady. I bet the boredom you felt was too bad. To ease your boredom, you can try to visit the famous tourist spots of the duchy. The duke kept on improving things in the duchy so that you could enjoy staying here."
She was taken aback at the love of the duke to Penelope. Somehow, she felt envy towards her for having a great figure like him in her life. Though she was glad to have her grandmother with her when she was in her old world, she also had a wishful thinking when she was young to have a perfect and complete family like the ones her classmates had. Nevertheless, she knew that it would never happen because she was just a poor orphan whose origin was unknown.
"My lady, are you alright?" she heard Emily say in a concerned tone which pulled her back to reality.
"I'm all right. Say, do you have any ideas to ease my boredom? Or do you have any interesting stories to tell that would not make me sleep because of curiosity and excitement? Anything is fine!" she replied, removing the gloomy atmosphere that she created while going back to the reason why she suddenly wanted to ride a horse.
Yeah. Anything would be really fine right now. Whatever the thing she has stored in her as long as it could keep her entertained would be fine because… Dang! She never thought that living a life without a smartphone or a television or any gadgets from her old world could feel that bad! Everything was so boring! She couldn't watch dramas or anime, or read manhwas and light novels which she always looked forward to for new chapters! How the hell was she supposed to last there with just the money of the duchy when there was really not much that she could do in that world!? It was so freaking hard, as if she was stranded in a very faraway province with no signal and advanced technology at all!
Yes, the scenery at the duchy was great. The green mountains, forest, and hills behind the mansion, where they were currently right now, look refreshing and calming. Feeling rich, being able to buy anything and eat everything that the world offered felt nice too but something was missing! She didn't have anything good to do!
"My lady! I know! I know two little stories!"
"What is it?! What is it?!"
Her ears were immediately pricked up upon hearing her words and her tone as if she was one of the kids in the daycare center where she taught before who found a new 'amazing' insect—that she would immediately throw away because it was simply a caterpillar that was coated with hives.
Geez! Remembering that scene made all the hair in her body stand up.
"The first one is about the tale of the Blue Mountain Forest while the other one is about the story I often heard when I was a child in our town…"
"Hold up! What genre are those?"
"I think horror, my lady? Shall I stop?"
"Nah. You can continue."