Cloaked Man

Kaie gave him a warm smile. "Of course, Dad. If that's what you deem right for me." She needed to change the flow of the conversation before Elgis brought up the fact that the Prince Altair had proposed to her.

She wiped her mouth with a handkerchief and faced him. "Dad, however, you don't have to worry about me. I will find someone I love, eventually."

Elgis looked at her. "Lucille, what is your type?"

She almost coughed out the food in her mouth. 'Duke Elgis never asked this question in the novel! However, this is a good chance to steer the conversation away from the prince!'

Kaie cleared her throat and smiled. "I do not mind anyone that Dad picks for me. However, if I had a choice, I would prefer someone with a warm heart and adept in swordsmanship!" It was an obvious fact that Prince Altair wasn't well-versed in swordsmanship as he was busy studying political affairs and proper etiquette.

Elgis continued eating the steak on his plate. "Is that so? What do you think of the crown prince?"

She pretended to think for a moment. "His Highness is indeed a warm person and is also kind to me. I would like someone that makes me feel safe and not worried at all."

He finished eating and placed down his fork on the table. "I see. We can continue this conversation later, Lucille. I have a meeting soon, so why don't you go play in your room?"

Kaie smiled and curtsied. "Excuse me, Dad." With that, she headed back to her room quickly. She was out of breath by the time she arrived. 'I certainly delayed it a bit! Now, I'm moving away from the story! Normally, Lucille would have already accept the prince's proposal!'

She pushed open the door to her room to see that the window was open. Kaie frowned. 'I definitely closed it...why is it open? There was a time skip in this part of the book, so I do not know what happened here!'

She quickly looked around the window, but saw no one. Kaie quickly closed it and started looking around her room for any sign of moved things.

She checked under her bed and every corner of the room, before finally turning to her closet. Kaie took a deep breath, preparing a needle in her hand in case if anything went wrong.

She pulled the closet door open, only to see a black blur enter her vision. Kaie instantly jumped back, bringing up the needle in her hand.

The person was wearing a black cloak and caught her hand easily. She flinched and clenched her teeth. 'Too weak! I'm still too weak!'

The person murmured, "Don't move." Their voice was deep and it was definitely a man. He had a black bandana covering the lower half of his face.

Kaie could see black hair underneath his cloak, along with some bright red eyes. By the way that he gripped her hand, she could tell that the man was experienced. She froze, complying with the orders. Lucille would most let a strange man come to her house for no reason and invite them for tea.

She nodded. "What brings you here?"

The man murmured, "Are you Lucille Feyrer?"

Kaie kept talking to see if he would loosen his grip a little bit. "I am, what do you need me for?"

He slowly started letting go of her hand. "That's none of your business. I'm going."

She frowned. 'That's strange. Why would he come and then leave? I have to pry some information from him!' Kaie tilted her head and gave him a smile. "Why don't you stay for a cup of tea? I'm sure I can satisfy your request at the type."

The man ignored her and started climbing out her window and leapt onto the nearby tree in front of the mansion. "No, I'm busy." With that, he vanished into his cloak within a single leap.

Kaie hissed when he left. "So rude! I would have slapped him to the ground if I had my old abilities! His movements are smooth, however...Probably one of the smoothest since I've gotten here in this novel."

She turned closed her window and locked it this time. 'I don't want strangers just jumping through whenever they want. This IS my room right now, anyways.'

Kaie had just sat onto her own bed when Colette entered the room and bowed. "Lady Lucille, your friend, Lord Shiroi, has come to see you."

Kaie tried to remember who he was. 'Lord Shiroi? Shiroi...Shiroi...Ah! Shiroi Fellen, Lucille's best friend since her childhood! He's the oldest child with two younger sisters and a younger brother. That reminds me! Where is Lucille's older brother? At this time of the novel, he should be heading back from his journey to somewhere...'

She stood up and smiled. "Thank you, Colette. I shall go meet him at the front then."

Kaie exited the room with Colette following her. Heading down the set of stairs, Shiroi was already there. He waved when he saw her. "Lucille! How have you been?"

Shiroi had white hair with dazzling blue eyes. His mother was standing there next to him. Lady Eleanor. She had the same blue eyes as her son, but her hair was a shining blonde.

Kaie curtsied when she saw his mother. "Welcome, Lady Eleanor."

Eleanor hit her on the head with a fan. "Dear Lucille, how many times have I told you to just drop the formalities?"

She nodded her head. "Uh...yes, sorry Lady Eleanor." Kaie realized something as the fan hit her on the head. 'Lucille and Eleanor are on informal terms. I don't have to be careful of my speech before them."

She turned to Shiroi and smiled. "Hey!"

He grinned and grabbed her arm, pulling her towards her backyard. "Come on, Lucille! Let me show you the new sword technique I learned!" With that, both of them ran towards the training area.