Too Mean

"Lady Odette, it made me that sad that you didn't come to visit me when I got hurt," Adrian poured out his grievances. "But I understand that it wasn't appropriate for you to visit the infirmary."

Both of them were currently in gazebo in front of the beautiful garden. Adrian sat opposite to Odette and was as expressive as always. She did want to torture the boy first by making him stand up but reconsidered at the state of his ankle.

It would disturb her plans if it worsened.

Her feelings for the five year old was growing more complicated, and Odette despised this, knowing it would be an obstruction to her plans. She hated feeling moments of weakness.

Deep down, she knew that it would be for the best for her if she ignored him, but it was difficult for her to keep her heart away from him. Although she chose to avoid her true feelings, she knew amusement wasn't the only reason Odette opted for this.

But she buried everything deep inside in order to keep the show going. After all, this time everything had to go according to her will.

The strings are in her hand. Her petty emotions wouldn't get in the way of her ruining Adrian and his trust after shaping him to be exactly how she wanted. Then, he would be the one to take her life out of hatred.

How exciting!

Odette coldly said, "Just a small injury. You will be dealing with worse in the future."

This made Adrian scrunch up his nose for a second before a wide grin formed on his face, and he said, "I know! After all, I am going to be a hero, and all the heroes go through hardship to become strong. It's scary, but I know I can do it."

The unadulterated confidence shown by Adrian and his obsession on being the hero made Odette amused.

"How silly," she commented. "Instead of talking big, you need to take care of yourself better. Because you are injured, Dennis won by default."

That sentence sounded cruel to Adrian's ears, extinguishing all the spark in his eyes. His eyes widened, and he complained, "Eh!? Why? This is not fair. We didn't even duel."

"Do you want to duel with him at your state? Be my guest then if you want to injure your ankle further."

Adrian then looked at Odette with hopeful gaze while pleading, "Can't we just postpone it then? Please. I know you can do it. You are the best, aren't you, Adrian?"

He blinked his doe eyes.

This child wasn't without his tricks, and although humored, Odette remained unmoved.

"Can't be done. I already said, no matter what, it won't be postponed. Blame it on yourself for not being on guard."

His face fell, and he stared at Odette accusingly as though she broke his heart harshly.

"Not even for me?"

Maybe if Odette was normal, she would have been moved by his cute gestures, but she now only found it to be funny, increasing her desire to torment him more.

Would he keep on showing this amusing reactions then?

She shook her head.

With that, his expression collapsed further as if he received another fatal attack to his heart. His head hit the table, and a soft cry escaped from his lips. Then, he slowly raised his head, displaying his grievances in those eyes of his.

Was he expecting for her to show pity?

What to do? She enjoyed his antics and wanted him to continue.

Then, becoming somewhat solemn, Odette questioned, "Do you think what happened today was an accident?"

He raised his head at her tone and nodded. But then, seeing her expression, he tilted his head slightly in confusion and asked, "Was it not?"

Odette quirked her lips.

"Why were you at that place?"

"Dennis told me that a senior maid called for me at the west hall," Adrian revealed and then eagerly asked, "do you know who did it?"

"Someone who wants to have you killed," Odette informed.

This caused horror to settle into Adrian's eyes, and he mumbled, "Why would anyone want to kill me?"

"Who is that person?" Adrian questioned, obviously shaken up.

Odette shrugged. "It's up to you to figure that out."

Given how obvious it was, it wouldn't take long for the sharp boy to piece together the puzzle.

"Lady Odette, you are being too mean today," the boy whined being in the verge of tears. Earlier, she didn't agree to postpone the duel and now she was hiding who wanted to kill him.