Finding Lisa

S1 CH. 21

After the wagon with luggage departed at the crack of dawn, the carriage for Lin arrived. Lisa, who had been unable to sleep all night, stood in front of the mirror and fixed her appearance. Strangely, she was feeling lazy, which was unlike her.

After she'd finished tucking in her tight-fitting shirt and tying her cravat, Pepe came into the room, ready to leave.

"You must go now. I think the guests will be leaving soon."

"Okay, I'm just about done."

They soon left the room and Lisa carried her warm jacket over her arm. In the hallway were a few employees, preparing to greet them. She watched as they bowed their heads and smiled bitterly to each other, and with each step she took, memories of the past four years she'd spent here flashed through her mind. Four years was not a short amount of time by any stretch of the imagination.

Waiting for her as she stepped outside was a carriage, and the employees and Eunwoo waited to bid her farewell.

"What about your mother?" Rosé asked.

"My mother isn't feeling well, so she is resting. Don't mind her as she said not to worry about saying goodbye," Lisa said bravely, trying to hide her true feelings. It's more so that you don't want to see me, rather than you are not feeling well. Lisa was afraid of Tiffany, but she didn't hate her; it was a little disappointing that she didn't want to say goodbye to her though.

Eunwoo approached and gently stroked her cheek as he could see the sadness in her eyes, and then he hugged her tightly. Not expecting a hug from him, she grabbed onto his shirt awkwardly, feeling a bit uneasy. She was struggling to get used to Eunwoo's sudden change of behaviour, as he was no stranger to expressing affection these days.

At that moment, they were separated by Bambam, who suddenly appeared while yawning loudly, "Lin. Say goodbye to me as well."

Lisa quickly backed away from Ian as he tried to hug her. He raised his eyebrows in displeasure, staring at her as she avoided his embrace. Brushing his fingers through his ruffled hair, he stood in front of her with more than half of his shirt buttons undone. Anyone could tell that he'd just crawled out of bed. Lisa turned and opened the carriage door while keeping a watchful eye on Bambam.

"Well then, big brother. Go well and say hello to mother as well." Kieran laughed as he looked at Bambam, who was smiling oddly out of frustration. "See you soon in the capital. When our father returns, we will have to go together to see His Majesty the Emperor."

"Yes. Well, then I'll be off." Lisa glanced at the displeased-looking Bambam, and with her hands politely placed together, she bowed her head. "Please stay well, Prince Sergio."

"Such coldness. Do you dislike me that much?"

"It's not like that. It's just that you keep putting me in a difficult situation..." she mumbled, blurring her last few words.

"I will ride in this carriage. Lin, you go over there." Red-faced Wade staggered over and collapsed into the carriage, startling Lisa. She bent forward to check on his condition and the strong smell of alcohol was emanating from the prince.

"Your Majesty, are you okay?"

"Do I look okay in your eyes? I feel sick. I will never drink Geore's liquor again. Damn it." The prince kept gagging with his hands placed on the floor of the carriage. Somehow, he managed to climb up onto the soft chair and groaned as he settled in the comfortable seat.

Lisa wondered if he'd been drinking all night. Then she realized that she'd noticed that Bambam and Eunwoo also had dark circles under their eyes, and they didn't look well either. She now wondered about Jungkook as well and turned toward where the prince had appeared a moment ago. And there was Jungkook, getting into the car. Unlike the other three that were disoriented and unkempt, he was wearing his well-pressed suit and looked fresh.