The Unknown Character of the Novel

V.

"Actually, the Brunhild family runs this restaurant", dugtong ni Chloe. That answers why she is here.

"OMG..." tanging nasambit ko na lang. Aside from having healing powers, she is quite beautiful. No wonder those crazy bastards are obsessed with her.

The female lead with the ability to calm those three ticking time bombs. She's so beautiful that I want to cry in happiness.

"Neah? Are you crying?" rinig kong tanong ni Chloe sa tabi pero hindi ko siya pinansin.

Nakatuon pa rin ang mga mata ko kay Ilona na kinakausap yung mga gumagawa ng drama kanina.

Why is she so kind?

Nagtaka naman ako dahil biglang tumayo lahat ng mga tao habang nakayuko.

"Neah, it's the crown prince. Bow your head", bulong ni Chloe kaya naman ginawa ko na rin.

But if it's the crown prince, that means....

At dahil sa nakayuko kami ngayon, hindi ko makita yung itsura nung tatlong lalaking pumasok. Pero malakas ang kutob kong yung mga crazy male leads yun.

Be strong, dear female lead. Fighting, Ilona!

Through my peripheral vision, pinuntahan nila si Ilona. Kahit na sobrang tahimik dito sa restaurant ay hindi ko pa rin marinig kung anu pinag-uusapan nila.

How is that even possible?

Hindi rin nagtagal ay umalis na rin silang apat. Pagkalabas nila ng pintuan ay kani-kaniyang mga buntong hininga ang narinig mula sa mga taong naiwan dito sa restaurant.

"Phew! That was so tense", sambit ni Chloe sabay inom ng tubig. "Whenever the crown prince and the two archdukes are around, the air becomes so stuffy. Were you scared too, Neah?" baling na tanong niya sa akin na siyang ikinakunot noo ko.

"Ha? Scared?" Napatingin tuloy ako sa ibang tao. Para silang nakakita ng halimaw sa mga kinikilos nila.

Am I the only one who wasn't scared here? Am I the weird one here?

Or baka may sinabi yung tatlo na hindi namin narinig kaya nakakatakot or something.

Tsk! Nevermind. I wasn't scared, but I was a little bit annoyed, actually. Hindi ko man lang kasi nasilayan mukha nila.

"Lady Anne over here!" tawag ni Chloe doon sa isang babaeng na gumagawa ng drama kanina. Nang makita niya kami ay agad siyang lumapit sa pwesto namin. "Join us. Have a seat."

"Lady Chloe, how have you been? Since you are here, you just witnessed something displeasing a while ago." medyo may inis sa tono niya tsaka siya umupo sa bakanteng upuan.

"It must've been an awful experience for you. How is Lord Lambert so shameless?" ani naman ni Chloe.

"I know, right? That lunatic!" dagdag niya tsaka niya lang ako napansin. Mukhang inis na inis nga siya sa nangyari.

"Ah! By the way, Lady Anne, this is my friend who came from Selova, Araneah. Aranead, this is Lady Anne Isenburg." Pagpapakilala ni Chloe.

"Nice to meet you—wait? Selova? Isn't that on the border? I guess you were that friend Chloe has been mentioning." Tumingin naman ako kay Chloe.

"I might have mentioned I had a childhood friend living in Selova to some people", paliwanag naman niya.

"Anyway, I just showed a very disturbing scene earlier."

"No, calling it disturbing is a bit..." Rather than calling it disturbing, it was more entertaining. "Well, I'm not really one to care about such a thing, but I understand what you feel."

"Thank you for understanding, Lady Araneah. Such an unloyal bastard is unfit to be my man. Garbage like that belongs in the trash can."

"Indeed." sabay na sagot namin ni Chloe na siyang ikinatawa namin.

In the following days, I attended tea parties with Chloe and Anne. I had a lot of entertainment to watch. At every tea party I attend, there will always be drama. However, for some reason, at the tea parties I attended, the main characters did not appear at all.

Napakailap nila. I don't even have any idea what's happening around them. Hindi ko tuloy alam kung saang part na ako ng novel.

I was already about to give up watching the main character's story unfold when news started circulating. It was about a sudden party that was going to be hosted by Archduke Herriot. It was then that I remembered a scene from the novel.

It's a party held a week before the grand banquet. Archduke Herriot's party, from what I remember, something will happen to the crown prince.

I have to witness that scene. But how? Is Emeloth even invited? Kung hindi sila invited, hindi ako makakasabit as a plus-one.

"Neah! It's an invitation from the Herriot's party!" biglang dating ni Chloe sa room ko habang winagawayway yung envelope na hawak niya.

"Nice!"

I was excited at that time, but little did I know that was the start of my troubles.

"Lady Araneah?" nabalik ako sa wisyo dahil sa boses ni Archduke Thierri.

All my troubles started with snooping around the Herriot mansion and sticking my nose in somebody's business at the grand banquet.

"About that... can I finish my meal first, Your Grace?" pagpapalusot ko.

Nagmadali ako ng pagkain ng biglang nandilim yung mukha niya.

He's freaking scary!