To His Hell and Back
Chapter 71: Loose Drawstrings

Chapter 71: Loose Drawstrings

The road back in the carriage was quiet. Arabella had reflected on her action as well as the story told by the townspeople. This made the gears in her head to turn, the worry and emotional exchange made her wonder who was the worse between the two creatures: The humans? or the vampires?

No, perhaps it’s both. No matter what gender, what creature, or what age they are, any soul was simply capable of doing bad, and to judge this is by looking deeper than the person’s superficial had made a mistake earlier, and perhaps that was the reason why Cassius was giving her the silent treatment? For some reason, she would rather have him tease her with all of his nonsense rather than that unchanging disinterested look.

Just then, she recalled before entering the carriage that one of the drawstrings of her boot had come loose, pointed by Renard. The blue haired knight was also odd in his own way. Earlier, he didn’t hesitate before he was about to cut her down , which still scares her when she saw his blue hair that pop up from times to time from the carriage’s window, but he pointed out that if she had stepped on her loose strings, she would fall, which was odd. Wasn’t he uncaring about her safety, considering he could cut her at any second? Or was that loyalty?

She sighed inwardly as she pulled the drawstrings. As she put her hand on the right side of the string, the carriage swerved, and by a tight pull, she had caused the entire string to be pulled out of the boots, making her mouth to go pale at how easily these strings came undone. Hey, even cheaper boots could handle a stronger tug! More expensive doesn’t mean better, though the fur inside the boots is indeed magnificent.

She thought about Cassius, who had chosen the boots, but shook her head, dismissing the idea. He must have asked one of his retainers to fetch a boot, he’s a crown prince.

She hurriedly tried to tie back the boot, but when she did one side, she pulled the other. The string was made out of such a fabric so soft that it struggled to stay in place due to the fur inside the boots. Once was enough, but after the fifteen times, even Arabella’s god sent patience was reaching its end. She was going to throw it out of the window, a perfect solution for such frustrating attempts, when suddenly a sigh came from Cassius.

She turned her face, realizing that as she had sat on the floor of the carriage, she had unknowingly kicked his feet when she had been throwing a fit earlier.

"..."

Silence rang, and she muttered after the long and difficult pause, "S- S-Sorry, I’m just not too good at meticulous things."

Cassius didn’t respond, his gaze was fixed on the window as though she hadn’t spoken. This made her bite her lips and huff. Fine. No talk, right?! No talk it is!

She continued to push the drawstrings, managing to do it properly now, yet right at the very last loop, the carriage swerved again as if it was doing it on purpose. Her frustration reached its peak, and without knowing, she had whipped the string in her right hand, and a hard slap whipped Cassius’s knees at the same time. Hard enough for her to hear that sharp whooshing sound as it reached his trouser.

Oh no...

The devil turned his head.

If earlier wasn’t going to get her in trouble. This time, it would.

Cassius furrowed his eyebrows. He stared at her, dead in the eyes, yet for some reason, it didn’t feel so malicious. Well, he was giving her the silent treatment, but it was more like a child who was throwing a tantrum. To be very honest, he wasn’t very frightening, though extremely upsetting.

His crimson gaze flickered at this silly bird of his. Throughout their walk from the town to the carriage, she had managed to stumble over nothing for thirteen times. Thirteen. Even a newborn fawn could have walked better than her! She had legs and good ones at that, as he had seen it last night. There were no broken bones, and the soles of her feet were very uneven and smooth. She should be walking better than any human, even if she’s wounded, thanks to his first aid, so why was she making such a mess?

So troublesome. Troublesome because he couldn’t help himself, he kept his ears tuned to her footsteps and heartbeat and heard how those heartbeats rose and fell every time she stared at him and then stumbled as she walked. Then, inside the carriage, her gaze almost bore holes into his head, her heartbeat was errant, annoyed, but he should be the one annoyed as she had dared to come close to his heart, even telling him that there is kindness inside him.

Kindness is death. That word is no praise for someone who was struggling to live their life like him.

It made him even more irked to think that the girl would think he was capable of caring for her. Even if tomorrow she was to disappear, he wouldn’t care, and even if he did, it’s because his possession had suddenly left him, not because of her.

She needed to be clear on that.

Now the girl had found another way to annoy him, whipping his royal body with the string. Normally, her hands would get cut, but those fingers were also his, so he didn’t plan on taking them away from her.

Quietly, he raised his hand, and instinctively, she placed her hand on it.

"..."

Cassius swatted her hands away, "Boots and string. Now," he added as she looked hesitant. How could she not? Was he going to take back the boots because he was annoyed by her? No he just opened the window... was he going to throw it outside the window?!

As she gave it to him, a small mutter squeaked from her mouth, "But it’s mine...."

"I paid for it," he reminded, and she was instantly quiet, drawing her eyes close to the boots and whispering goodbye to the said boots...