Vow Of Silence

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

1st PERSON: Pelomina Lorenzo-Capiz

I looked at him dead in the eyes and raised a brow, “Did you just say ‘hunt’?” I repeated to him,

He tilted his head before looking at me, “Are you also hearing impaired now, my lady?” he jeered, I could hear the emphasis on the last word. I gulped, looking back at him.

Given that he’s annoying, the amount of fear I have for this man still tramples over the urge to confront him about the things that I would’ve already thrown hands about. That’s saying something because, sure, I would really have a conversation with anyone who’s treating me with this same attitude and give them a piece of my mind.

But nope, not this one. Not with the man whose main character description is tyrannical and rude.

I sighed and did a curtsy, “Perhaps so, we’ll be excusing ourselves out,” I said before turning around and leaving the training hall, the rest of the knights also remained silent despite dispersing away from the gym. I could see Polly bow from the corner of my eye before she followed me out and offered her arms for me to hold on to.

I could feel her gaze on me as we walked away from the scene.

“Is there something wrong, Polly?” I began, breaking the eyes between us since she doesn’t look like she’s going to talk anytime soon but has a lot of things she wants to say at the same time.

She flinched and straightened her back snapping her eyes back ahead on our path and not at me, “I-I… I thought you two are no longer upset with each other, my lady” she mumbled looking away shyly as she placed her free hand on her nape,

I hummed, “Well, I suppose you were right,” I replied, “Marriage sure is never easy, more like unnecessarily difficult,” I said with a loud sigh, that’s the only option I have to vent, if I start rioting out of nowhere I really don’t think I would last long, better focus my attention on the more important things.

But if I heard right, he did say ‘hunt’, right? Followed by the word ‘bandit’. Does the word bandit have a different meaning in this world? I mean, in my world it means like a gang of thieves. I know that bandits do some unspeakable things apart from stealing and burning houses. Then again, those were just what I saw in the movies.

If that was the case here, then I suppose he’s doing good things… right?

Still, the word hunt didn’t sit well with me, moreover, because it was him who said it. Hunting involves killing, right? There’s a difference between hunting and catching. Do they just kill people who do crimes here? Do they not have a justice system that gives a chance for reformation, at least? How crueler can he be?

And his knights, ugh, they were cheering him and all, like they were proud of what they do. I suppose they do take pride in protecting the city, but come on! There has to be a better way of approach than killing them on sight like animals.

“….dy….m..ady… my lady… My lady!”

“Gah!” I yelped with a start as I heard the loud call of Polly,

I looked around and it seems that we were pretty far away from the training hall now, this part of the castle wasn’t as detailed oriented, in fact, if not for the circumference of wood fragments and chips around a stone platform and the stack of chopped woods against the wall it would’ve been absolutely empty.

I squinted as I turned to Polly, “Uhm, where are we?” I asked and she shrugged as she gestured to the pile of wood,

“Oh, right.. you’ve probably seen it like this before,” she started as she led me close rot the mound of chopped wood, “Remember the butcher that lived here?” she asked, and I nodded,

’I do not remember, I know nothing,’

“Well, he and lord Lykus had an argument, and the lord punched a hole through the wall, to vent out his anger or it would’ve been the butcher’s demise,” she noted, clicking her tongue repeatedly, shaking her head.

But as she did that, all I could think about was the broken wall. What does she mean, broken? “Is the broken part already fixed?” I asked, and she shook her head with a giggle.

“Oh, well not yet, instead they covered it with the chopped wood, which is why there’s a lot,” she noted, gesturing to the height of which the chopped wood piled on,

I bit the inside of my cheek and gulped. I need to calm myself down and not appear excited about a broken wall or a heap of firewood, given that this could be the hidden exit I was hoping to stumble upon, eventually.

‘My luck is finally turning around!’

I thought before clearing my throat and putting on a poker face, even going as far as to frown, “Oh my… how big was the hole?” I asked, maybe a bit too straightforward than I’d wanted to sound, but I hope she just acknowledges this as worry or questions out of concern.

She pursed her lips and drew a big circle around her torso, “Kind of big enough to fit me… well bot of us, your majesty, and about this high from the ground,” she followed, raising her hand to my ear.

I hummed, with that said, I could just climb this piled firewood and crawl out of that hole. Good, now I just have to revise the map and find out where I could go after getting out of this place.

Once I became literate in this world's reading and writing system, I managed to understand how geography works. The map also included landmarks. From what I learned, I could tell that we’re in the ‘Arzule’ continent. This country is called ‘Viellyen’ and this town, in particular, is called ‘Pa-Hyake’.

All names had some ethereal and fae-like ring to them that I’m convinced I’m definitely in a fantasy world. Before I was just speculating or maybe I was just brought back in time, but now I’m certain that this is nothing short of magical. So when Lykus said he was planning to hunt bandits at Okuzal, or at least that was what I heard it like, I knew that he was planning to go to the border,

‘Okuzal’ is the border for ‘Temog’, and Temog is the southern-west region of this continent. To think that the whole of Temog, something governed by Lykus, already sounded ominous, moreover, now that I could see it geography-wise.

It sure was a lot for me to grasp on the first try, and I still get the names mixed up but I’m working on that.

And back on the aspect of landmarks, it noted where the castle of the king was located and, as one would’ve assumed; it was at the center of the country. Who that king is means nothing to me. I don’t want to know another man with unquestioned and unchecked authority.

My hands are already full, and one Lykus is enough.

I gulped as I shrugged at the hole and waved it off, "Well, Lykus doesn't seem to mind this, it can still be fixed even after 2 weeks from now," I replied nonchalantly, but even she looked at me weirdly.

Either way, what I said must’ve made sense cuz she also just shrugged and nodded, “I suppose so, that’s a good normal time duration,” she added on and I nodded pursing my lips, yeah, she’s definitely pondered why I said two weeks. Still, with that suggestion, I’ll have to get out of here in two weeks. I could do that. Tomorrow Lykus will leave. I could hit at nighttime and take a map with me.

My only problem is if someone recognizes me, I suppose clothes would also be a factor. I need to find clothes that will help me blend around in town. If not…

‘Would it be weird for me to ask Polly to bring me her dress?’

What sort of twisted excuse and lie will I conjure up to make such a request reasonable? For what reason do I need to ask for her clothing? She’ll just end up thinking I’m weird. I’m the one with noble status in this relationship and there’s no other reason for me to take her clothes—wait, I’m getting something.

What if I asked for her clothes because… I developed a hobby for sewing? That could make sense, like me making an excuse to ask for her dress because I want to study the basics of sewing and I want to study the simpler designs! The more I think about it the more it makes sense. I suppose I could think of that now, but doing that now would be nothing short of suspicious.

But I want to leave as soon as possible, when will another chance of Lykus being out of the house come along? If he’s leaving for tomorrow, then maybe I could bring it up to Polly in the morning. Then we could talk about sewing and stuff and, by nighttime, I’ll just say I’ll return the dress the following morning and make my escape.

… I’ll leave a dress for her in return. I have tons of pretty dresses in my wardrobe.

She’ll have fun picking from that lot and I’ll have fun leaving the house and taking the next step.

“My lady, should we return to your chambers? It’s getting quite late,” she said and I nodded. I could do more thinking in my room and I’ll be able to study the map on closer inspection now that I’ve found my exit. She led me back to my bedroom. I’ve also managed to get a grasp of the hallways and rooms. I still do get confused, but I’m learning.

Even so, I still couldn’t walk around without supervision. We arrived at my bedroom and with a deep bow she left. I plopped down on the bed, looking forward to the next day.