11 Benefit of Doubt

I closed the door behind me as I stood alone in that dark room. Still, I couldn't believe what happened a moment ago. It was evident that the plot had already started to change in some way. I couldn't predict if it was for the good or not.

When I entered that room, I was extremely angry with Victor. But with proper analysing, I got confused about whether it was his fault or not. For some reason, I felt like I should be the reason for all these changes. He was just a character from the novel who has no control over the story. He could only play his part according to the script. If that's the case, it was me who is responsible for all the mess.

I sighed as I sat on the round bed in that room. Although I tried to reason with him, I couldn't simply forgive him. What he did to me was extremely rude and unforgivable.

Victor's personality traits must have been affected because of my interference. I could say that he was not that 'always sweet' second lead anymore. He is now twisted in a way that I couldn't comprehend. With this narcissistic personality, he would easily turn evil.

I was worried about him. Judging from what was going on, he could turn evil earlier than expected and get a severe ending. The future is still unpredictable for every one of us. I lay down on the bed thinking. I don't know when I slumbered. I woke up again as I had a nightmare where Victor kissed me again. I sat straight on the bed unable to sleep anymore. Maybe I already got used to the soft mattresses of my bed. I lazily got up as I wiped my eyes then opened the door and hurried to my bed.

I lay down, tightly shut my eyes as I tried to sleep. When I closed my eyes, all I could remember was the kiss. Normally, these kinds of scenes happen in those overbearing CEO novels. It was unnecessary in my already messed up reborn life.

'Atty! Get a hold of yourself! You are not in your own romance story to get butterflies in the stomach. It is your survival mission. Don't let these insignificant things grab your attention,' I strictly instructed myself.

I sat on the bed and rested my head on the headboard. I had already chased Victor away. Without him, how can I move forward with the plan? I tried to find a better substitute for him but there was none, not at least in this world.

I sighed. Talking to the queen is the only option I have left with. I shook my head once then got off the bed. Maybe I should look at the night view of the lake and the moon. It was described well in the novel, that the lake would glow under the moonlight. This beautiful view should be able to calm me.

Since it was cold outside, I grabbed a comforter and wrapped it around me. Then sloppily walked to the balcony.

When I opened the balcony door, to my surprise, what fell in my eyes was Victor. He was looking at the moon, holding the balcony railings.

"What are you still doing here?" I didn't hesitate to question him. He immediately straightened himself as he heard me. He crossed his arms across his chest and looked at me.

'What's with this pose?' I grumbled inside.

"I've already pledged my loyalty!" he said.

"So?" I titled my head.

"So I can't just leave."

"I release you from whatever the promise you've made. You may leave!" I said.

"It's my loyalty. Not some trash you could use and through" he said.

Although I wondered when did I ever use his loyalty, I stayed calm since it was way past my bedtime and I was exhausted to fight back.

"We can't work together," I strongly stated.

"Why?" he asked.

I couldn't confess that I lost faith in him since he forced a kiss on me. But it seemed like he understood the reason. He took a step back and immediately kneeled on one knee!

"Your highness! I apologize for my impudence. I should have known my place!" he said.

With his sudden change, I started to get dubious about whether he was suffering from bipolar disorder. Still, I didn't utter a word but continued to look at him with a frown.

"I got angry and made a big blunder" he continued.

"Do Dagresh people kiss when they are angry?" I frowned further and asked him.

He looked at me once then lowered his head. "I'm to blame. Forgive me, your highness!" he said.

I couldn't trust him anymore. Maybe he was planning something else. Maybe he chose to use me instead. Otherwise, this sudden change is ridiculous.

"As long as your highness doesn't hurt my people, I would stay by your side", he finished.

I bit my lip in confusion as I moved away from him and stood by the trail. Could it be that he chose to surrender because of Flora? I continued to ponder then only realized he was still kneeling.

"Get up. Nobody asked you to kneel in the first place," I said.

"I won't until your highness forgive me."

I turned to him as I smirked. "What are you overacting for?" I asked.

He frowned. I could see anger growing on his face once again.

"Your highness, I'm someone who would take responsibility for my actions. Though you provoked me and though I acted out in anger, it was still unforgivable and wrong. That's why I'm still here. Also, if your highness is still not satisfied, you may punish me with a hundred floggings."

Though I didn't fully trust him, what he said had indeed quaked me a little. He looked like he would go forward with a punishment.

'What a weirdo,' I thought.

Still, I had no better alternative at that moment, I finally chose to give him the benefit of doubt and let him handle a few issues. Still, I didn't forgive him and didn't trust him either.

"Victor, don't expect me to forgive you that easily. But since you're imploring, I would give you a chance. I would give you a few assignments to finish by tomorrow night. If you successfully finish every one of them, I'll accept you as my auxiliary," I said.

He got up ready to accept the task. He looked confident. I was more confident than him. These tasks would be a breeze and picnic for him.

"You may still be trying to double-cross me. But you need to know this. I'm not alone on this. One bad move and Dagresh would be wiped out of the map," I said.

He was taken aback then. He didn't reply. "Also know that what I'm doing right now would save you, your people and Dagresh in the future. So don't try to act smart and spoil everything," I harshly finished.

He frowned and looked a bit confused. With that confused expression, he asked, "How?"

"You don't need to know," I once again replied harshly.

He continued to look at me, still with a frown. After a while, he said, "I've never seen a woman like you!"

Though I knew it was not a compliment I chose to consider it as one.

There was no chance for him to meet with someone like me. He was already surrounded by the soft, innocent and well-mannered girls so when he came across someone who is as untamed as me, it must be extremely irritating.

But I would say that I'm the reality! Being naive, innocent and soft in the real world would only get you hurt. I've never actually seen any heroes who appeared to save these naive girls in real life. But I have seen many of these girls get cheated on and got hurt because of their naivety.

It's not like I don't want to be naive and soft, but it is just that I can't stay that way, or to be precise, I should not stay that way. In this mission of saving myself, I'm not dependent on anyone and I will be the one to save me and of course, I'm proud of it.

Many of us try our best to escape reality just by immersing ourselves in the imaginary worlds which we feel as conducive for us to live. I was the perfect example of this. As someone who had known reality, even I preferred this imaginary world more. So as someone who was born and grown in this ideal world, it must be extremely hard for him to accept the feral me.

Still, that was not my problem! I tend to be selfish all the time and this time was not an exception.

"Well, now get used to seeing a woman like me often," I said as I entered back into my chamber to prepare him the assignment for tomorrow.