The Villainess Just Wants to Study

Chapter 45 ~ The Next Empress

She let out a little dry, mocking laugh. "You missed me?"

"I did." Laikin shrugged, pulling his hood down. "You're a hard woman to meet, Lady Dylan."

"My father and I have been very busy with brother's trial," she told Laikin, staring him coolly in the eye. "I must put family first during times like these."

He chuckled, knowing she lied. Even if her expression showed devotion, her own eyes said otherwise. A brief flash of hatred passed through Dylan's eyes whenever she spoke of her family. It was subtle, but undeniable nonetheless.  

He smirked, then his beautiful blue eyes lowered, focusing on Dylan's lips. "Is that why you've been parading around with His Highness?" he asked.

Dylan frowned. She knew rumours would spread about her visit to the Imperial Palace, but after being faced with them directly, she wasn't sure how to respond.

She decided to feign ignorance. "What do you mean?" she asked him, batting her eyelashes. "The last time I saw His Highness was when I had tea with His Majesty, the Emperor."

Laikin laughed at her response. "Of course," he replied, wiping his tears of laughter from his eyes. A dumb and ignorant Dylan did not exist. The mere thought of it made him chuckle.

The expression on her face didn't even flicker. "What's your business here?" she asked impatiently, not wanting to keep up their charade any longer.

"I sent you a letter, but the response wasn't... adequate."

Did she receive his letter? She tried to remember, but everything was faint and foggy. Dylan had received so many letters that it was hard to recall a single one. Jessie had been dealing with the responses on her behalf.

Cadence glared at him, listening in on their conversation. A sense of unease crept over Laikin. He shivered suddenly and pulled his cloak more closely around his body.

"As I've said before, I'm quite busy." She took a moment to adjust her bonnet, then met Laikin's gaze. "That won't stop you though, right? Let's head somewhere to chat privately."

'Laikin won't stop until he gets what he wants. It's best if I deal with this now.'

He smiled devilishly. "As I thought, you're the only one who understands me."

Before they left, Dylan surveyed the crowd for Grisa. She spotted her still dancing with Lucas in front of the quartet. Somehow she looked even prettier than Dylan remembered. Was it her expression? Grisa's animated eyes looked even livelier than they normally did.

'I should give them both some space.'

***

Side by side they walked down the road. Dylan took a moment to adjust her bonnet to shield her eyes from the sun's glare. 

"The sun is particularly bright today," said Laikin.

She looked up at the blue sky high above and saw the bright sun shining on them. It was indeed very sunny today. She smirked, thinking about Axil locked up behind bars somewhere. While she was leisurely promenading outside in the sun, he was probably rotting away in the darkness of his cell. 

"It is indeed lovely."

Laikin stopped at one of the thatched roof cottages. "Here we are," he said.

"Tavern Tea and Pastries," Dylan read. "How charming."

It was a very humble cottage, especially with its wattled sides and abundance of unkempt vegetation. The walkway to the front door was uneven, lined with wild flowers of different colours in a disorderly manner. Nonetheless, the teashop had a unique charm to it.