Surviving As A Cannon Fodder

CHAPTER 55

Three weeks have run by since I was shoved into this hell hole.

My day starts even before the sun rises. I exercise using the makeshift equipment I made using the books and furniture available. I need to be fit to face this household.

I make sure to check Edward's heartbeat every day to see if he is still alive. And there are no anomalies so far, if anything when I place my palm on his chest it beats faster than a normal pace. It's as if his heart is tap dancing. He's the male lead, so I guess he's different in everything.

Then I meditate a bit before taking a small nap. I sleep till the attendant Herbie comes to wake me up. After that, I observe while he gives Edward a towel bath and changes his clothes. By the way, it is the part of the day I enjoy the most. It was a sight for sore eyes.

I prefer to have my meals in the room instead of the dining hall. So I instructed the butler to bring my breakfast to the room.

After a quick breakfast, I see through the purifying and blessing processes. Sometimes I chat with the priests and mages. Especially the high priest Thesser from the temple of Eir. The long-bearded Santa likes to talk like a nonstop radio as soon as he sees me.

Eir is not even the state religion. Why is he here?

The priests from Theodore, the state religion are the ones to do the purifying while the Eir priests do the blessing. And not much of a surprise is that they hate each other. 

It was mostly the Theodore priests being unilaterally hostile.

High Priest Thesser won't stop yapping till my ears bleed. He only ever talks about miscellaneous stuff that I can't even take as information. Still, at the end of each and every session, he asks me to take care of Edward. Like he's a fragile little flower. That man, that slaughterer of the north.

And I will be like....... 'If I were to take care of him, then who would look after me? The one whose life is in actual danger'

They leave around lunchtime. I too will leave the room to have a very careful lunch followed by a stroll across the endless hallways in the mansion or sometimes the garden. It is so that I can memorize the layout of the place.

When I return to the room, there will be a few books waiting for me. Mostly encyclopedias which I use as deadweights and a few you-know-what books. 

I make use of the empty space in the wide room to train, dressed in my so-called husband's shirt. Because I can't train in a dress and Edward's doesn't have any issues.

I know because I asked him and he happily obliged.

What actually happened...

"Can I borrow your shirt, my husband?"

"Of course. Anything for you my dear wife" (Angelica dubbing a deep voice whilst moving Edward's mouth)

"Your mouth is like a fish....haha. Now, 'You're so cute' repeat after me"

"You're sooo cute" (Still Angelica dubbing)

Ahem.

I would train till the butler comes in with refreshments and then I start reading. Mostly BL, but I do flip through the encyclopedias from time to time.

Did you know that dragons don't live in the continent of Elan? Although they do fly across the sky when they are bored, the neighboring continent of Naisa is their natural habitat. Also, a lot of animals were familiar to the ones from back home in my old world.

Such a bummer! I really wanted to see a dragon in real life. 

I'll just add it to the bucket list 'after I survive'.

Dinner will be prepared and brought to my room. So I'll just lay in bed till that. 

Then comes the most relaxing activity of the day, the bath. It's the only thing that I'm going to miss when I leave this place. After selecting one from a series of incredibly inappropriate nightgowns, I'll hit the sack.

Is what I usually do...

But today is one of those days I feel I want to rip someone to pieces. 

Because just a few minutes ago, the third attempt on my life was made by the enemy forces within this fortress.

The first attempt was made three days after I made peace with my situation. A flower pot came flying out of nowhere when I was out on a stroll. It missed me by inches.

I have to say it was Goddess Eir who saved me on that one. Had I not noticed the pot and if it impacted on my head instead of the ground, I would have been long gone by now. 

The guards, who were pretty much useless, caught the responsible person after a tiring (for me) investigation. 

The culprit was a young maid in her teens. I saw her expressionless face as they dragged her for questioning.

Just three days after the pot incident, the second attempt was made. This time it was poisoning. 

Nathaniel was the one who busted this. He had been running poison testing behind my back. I was about to take a bite of the mango pudding when he stopped me.

That was the last time I ate dessert in this place. 

Hell if it weren't for my survival I wouldn't even touch a drop of water here. 

Unfortunately, I needed food for energy so I caved after the second day. However, I do prefer to eat fruits which I handpick from the garden. 

The story of my life... sigh.

It was quiet for some time after that. There was nothing out of the ordinary until today.

I was on my way back to the bedroom after a quick visit to the library. 

I was studying 'mana dispersion' so that I could understand Edward's case a little better. I deliberately walked through an empty hallway to avoid eyes. 

The stupid me didn't know it almost cost my life... again.

Just when I passed through the open hallway to the main building my spidey sense started to wail like a tsunami siren.

On sensing danger, I instinctively pulled back. I could see the sharp silvery object move past my eyes in slow motion. I was microseconds away from my head being stabbed by a throwing knife.

"Hah... That was close"

The second and third ones came almost instantly one after another without any break. 

I caught the fourth knife that came from behind me with my right hand. I immediately gave chase when I sensed someone moving through the darkness.

I reached for the dagger tied to my knee as I climbed the railing. But before I could jump down, the guards came running in my direction.

"Sh*t"

I got down and hid the knife I caught within my clothes and used my hands to fan my face.

I needed to calm down a little, for I was about to put on the act of a scared noblewoman.