The Lady's Protector

I know that my friend can be weird sometimes but what is this? He sounds like he knows what I'm going through. This is what he told me:

I hope you're doing great, and if you're having a hard time, Ace and I are always here for you. Advance happy birthday! Luv ya!

Although Andy sounds like he knows my situation, why is he so unfazed about this? I've been missing for almost two weeks now. I'm confused because, after that text, only greetings texts came from Andy and Ace. They greeted me with a happy birthday and said they missed me. Did they think I was having a hard time with the news that our family fell into debt and that my parents died? Everyone thinks that my parents are dead.

"Should I text back?"

I still don't know what to say, and I'm sure Night would tell me not to talk about anything that concerns him. Do I need to ask for permission if I want to call my friends? "Rika?"

The door instantly opened without even two seconds passing. "Did you call for me, young miss?" Rika asked. Was she waiting outside of my room? Doesn't she have anything else to do?

"May I call my friends?" Rika's eyes keep looking at her side; it's as if she's not sure. "I'll just tell them I injured my foot which is why I still can't go to school." Hearing that made the innocent Rika agree. She's too gullible, although I'm not trying to deceive her.

I dialed Ace's number, but no one's answering, so I thought maybe something was on with work, so I chose not to disturb anymore. "I'll try talking to Andy." When I tried to call Andy, it only rang one time.

"Ellie!" I moved the phone away from my ear after Andy raised his voice like that. "You! Why are you only calling now?"

"Stop screaming." I moved the phone closer to my ear. "Lots of things happened, and I only got my phone back."

I heard Andy sigh. "But are you okay? I mean… your parents…." My forehead furrowed as I raised an eyebrow after noticing that Andy was not explaining anything. I can't understand what he's trying to say.

"I don't understand what you're saying." I lay on the bed. "Stop being ambiguous and ask what you want to know clearly." Andy's probably trying to adjust with me; he does that when he doesn't want other people to feel hurt by his questions. I know he's trying to be considerate, but he's just confusing me at this point. What does he know, and what does he not know?

"You know… about the news of your parents— death." As expected, that's what the public knows about my family. Like Night's grandfather said, he must have controlled the media. Such a mighty man is backing me up. "That's why I'm being careful, and I want you to know that my family and I are here for you." That made me smile as I rolled over to the side.

I mustn't sound too well because Andy will surely doubt it. He knows how much I love my parents. "I'm doing fine." Wait, does that sound fake, or do I sound too relaxed about my situation? I don't know how much my friends know about my situation and what excuse Mr. Kenta told the media to say about me.

I know that information about me is still somewhat unknown to the public, just like what the new guard of our mansion said. "To be honest, I don't know what's going so if you may tell me what's happening at school right now, I really appreciate it."

"Oh, someone gave an excuse letter for you, so Miss Valencia isn't getting mad at you, but—"

"Andrei, come here for a second."

I heard Andy's mom in the background before finishing his words. "I'm sorry, Ellie, but I need to go. Talk to you later." Andy hung up the phone, and now I'm left curious about what he will say. Miss Valencia isn't mad, but what? What kind of great timing is this? And what? Someone gave an excuse letter for me? Is it the work of this yakuza group?

Isn't this too much? I can't get out of this place because of my injury, and they won't let me go without any bodyguard either. Now, I'm also curious about what's going on at school. If Ace had answered, everything would have been great. I miss Ace so much.

The days passed quickly, and Night's grandfather always visited me to check my condition. He told me to call him grandpa because I'll be his granddaughter-in-law, and he said he has treated me as his granddaughter since the beginning.

Night's grandfather— I mean grandpa is staying in the Philippines for a while. He will return to Japan after my marriage to Night. It's taking a long for my teacher to arrive because they're still doing something in Japan, and I'm still recuperating. They told me that my teacher's an elegant and graceful person.

"Don't get ahead of yourself. This is only a contractual marriage." Night rolled his eyes as he sipped water on his glass while we waited for his grandpa for dinner. We often eat together now because of grandpa. "You'll be divorced as soon as your problem's resolved."

"Well, thank god then." Night raised an eyebrow after I said that out of relief. "I can't live my whole life with a prick like you." He glared at me as if trying to scare me, but I shrugged and drank the glass of water on the table.

Come on, he already aimed a gun at me. Why does he think his glare could scare me?

The door opened, and grandpa came in with a smile. "Did you enjoy your day, Ellie dear?" He asked as soon as he sat down in front of me. "What are you doing? Sit beside Ellie." Grandpa told Night, making him click his tongue as he stood up from his seat. I want to laugh at him, but I feel embarrassed being called Ellie. My parents and Andy are the only one who calls me by that nickname.

"You'll be getting your bridal lessons at the same time you'll also be going back to school. Would that be fine?"

It's not like I can say anything about that schedule. "It's fine. I can handle it." I said with a smile. Although I don't know if I can really handle it. What kind of bridal lessons would they teach me, though? Do I have to become a servant for Night?

Tomorrow I'm finally coming back to school. I'm penniless now, so I need to focus more on studying. My foot is still receiving treatment, but I can walk fine now, so I didn't want to postpone going to school any longer.

"Young miss, the car is ready."

A smile immediately forms on my face after hearing Rika say that outside my room. "Coming." I grabbed my bag and opened the door. The other members of this group, called Yamaguchi-gumi, greeted me with enthusiasm. "H-Hello." It still feels awkward since they all look so big and scary wearing an all-black suit, while some wear yukata.

"Milady!" I almost had a heart attack after someone greeted me with such a loud and cheery tone when I got out of the mansion. "It's me, Kaoru." The young guy who looks like a puppy told me.

Oh, he's that person who first saw me near the convenience store when I returned. He's also that guy who made me blow the candles of the cake they prepared. I knew his name was Kaoru. I'm really good at remembering names. "From now on, I will protect the lady from harm." He said with too much passion.

Rika pushed Kaoru away from me. "Here, young miss." She opened the car door and let me get in. "Please be careful." Her expression looks like she's worrying too much about me even though I'm fine. They already put Kaoru in my class even though I'm already graduating. And we're in the middle of the school year. So what's there to worry about? It's not like I'm going home alone since they'll pick me up too, and those chasing after me can't just get inside our school.

Kaoru got inside the car and sat on the shotgun seat. "I'll protect the lady." He said as if reminding himself. Is he really that nervous? "What shall I call the lady at school? Does the lady want to keep being called 'milady'?" No, if he did that, the students would brand me as someone with a princess complex.

"Noelle's fine— and pretend that you don't know me, please. It'll be weird if you start acting clingy and friendly towards me." I told him. It's not like I don't want to befriend Kaoru. Still, since the news about our family probably shocked everyone, I don't want another unnecessary attention. "Just say that you want to be friends with me, but don't act like you already know me, is that fine?"

"Of course! I'll do everything milady tells me to do."

That's what he said… but what's with him now?!

"Milady— I mean Noelle," Kaoru shouted my name in front of everyone in the class while waving his hand at me. "Noelle." And he repeated it again.

Oh god.