Why The Hell is Fate Trying to Kill Me?

Chapter 62 The Book Has No Main Character

...

The feast continued, but I couldn't stop thinking about the maid and Lady Anna.

"Fabian," I whispered. "I need to go. I want to check on them."

"You wish to check on the woman who tried to use a clumsy maid to captivate the court?" he asked, his voice low and knowing.

"She wasn't trying to captivate anyone," I said. "She was just trying to help the maid. I just want to make sure she is okay."

He let out a small breath, shaking his head with a mixture of disbelief. "You truly do not see the stage, do you? However, you may excuse yourself. Adel is with you, right? Yet return soon."

I slipped away from the High Table with Lady Octavi, followed behind me. Adel met me at the edge of the pavilion, guided me out into the cool night air, away from the noise, toward the smaller Aurelius Guest Tent.

Adel held the flap open for me.

Inside, the maid was sitting on a stool, sobbing quietly. Lady Anna was pacing back and forth. She had removed the wine-soaked outer layer of her dress, leaving her in her white under-dress.

She didn't look scared when I entered. She looked furious.

When she was me, she stopped pacing. Her eyes narrowed. She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Are you here to brag?" She snapped, her voice trembling.

I blinked, confused by her hostility. "Brag? Why would I do that?"

"Do not play the fool, Lady Aurelia," Lady Anna hissed. "You won. You stole the moment. I tried to show them mercy, I tried to show them grace, and you... You just sat there and let me look like a fool before swooping in to save the day."

"I came because the floor was cold," I said simply.

I ignored her glare and walked past her to the maid. I crouched down and looked at the maid's scraped knees.

"Does it hurt?" I asked the maid softly.

The maid stared at me, too scared to speak."

I asked Adel to hand me the cream to reduce the pain. I applied it gently to her. "This will stop the stinging."

I stood up and turned back to Lady Anna. She was watching me with a look of utter confusion.

"And you, Lady Anna," I said. "You are shivering."

"I don't need your charity," Lady Anna said. "I know what you are doing. You are trying to show everyone that you are the 'better' person."

"I am not trying to show anyone anything," I said honestly. "There is no one here but us."

I asked Adel for a cloak to cover Lady Anna.

Adel handed me a warm, white woollen cloak. I stepped forward. Lady Anna flinched, as if she expected me to strike her, but I simply wrapped the cloak around her shoulders.

"There," I said as I tied the cloak securely. "It is cold tonight.

Lady Anna touched the soft wool. She looked at me, like she was searching for the malice, the scheme, the hidden insult.

"I don't understand you," Lady Anna whispered. "You should hate me. I... I tried to take the spotlight."

"The spotlight?" I tilted my head. "The lanterns are plenty bright enough for everyone... You should go back to your tent and rest..."

I turned to leave.

"Lady Aurelia," Anna called out.

I looked back.