HIFH | Chapter 56

Episode 56

After leaving the shop, we walked along the street for a while.

I had expected it to take quite some time to choose a dress, so I had sent the carriage back to the mansion ahead of us.

But taking a hired carriage now felt a bit awkward, as many people were glancing at us.

“Shall we go to a cafeteria?”

I asked Lu, who had been silent the entire time since we left the shop.

“If we have a cup of coffee there, our carriage should arrive by then. I told them to come in four hours, and two hours have already passed.”

But as expected, there was no response.

I frowned slightly and turned to look at him, wondering if he was ignoring me.

“Why aren’t you saying anything? Do you not want to talk to me?”

“No. That’s not it.”

Lu answered immediately.

But it took him a bit longer to continue.

“Right now, it’s just… how should I put it…”

Lu took a deep breath and spoke.

“I just feel like being alone.”

“…Are you trying to say you don’t like me in a roundabout way?”

“I don’t dislike you. Not right now.”

It would have been much better if he had just left out the “not right now” part.

I clicked my tongue lightly.

“Then let’s at least take a hired carriage. We’ll just be together until we get back to the mansion.”

“That’s…”

Lu hesitated for a moment, trailing off.

At that moment—

“Oh my!”

A bright, ringing voice reached us.

A voice I knew all too well. Both Lu and I turned our heads at the same time.

“Who is this? Isn’t it Lady Charles?”

It was Everlyn Floria.

No, she wasn’t alone.

Agatha Lockwood, Dorothy Harrington, and Cecil Rosefelt were with her as well.

“I never expected to run into Lady Charles here!”

“It’s so good to see you! How have you been feeling?”

They approached me as if we were old friends.

Wait. Girls? Lu is right next to me.

Weren’t you all interested in him?

Yet, contrary to my thoughts, they rushed toward me and eagerly grabbed my hands.

“Look at you! Your face looks so thin. And your hands are so delicate!”

“Oh dear, your beautiful face looks a little tired.”

“Even so, you’re still beautiful.”

That last comment came from Cecil.

You… didn’t you dislike me?

‘It must be because I saved her nephew.’

Maybe… I’m becoming quite popular?

“Oh my, Lord Lu is here as well. Pardon the late greeting.”

“Oh my, indeed.”

Only now did the ladies acknowledge Lu, who had been standing there like a background prop. They quickly greeted him.

“It has been a while. Have you been well?”

“Thanks to you!”

Lu, as if he had never been zoning out, responded with a smooth smile, treating the ladies with perfect politeness.

“By the way, where were you two headed?”

“Ah.”

Lu answered.

“We weren’t heading anywhere; we had just finished our outing. Today, I accompanied Charles to look at wedding dresses.”

“Oh my!”

“I had heard you were getting married, but it really is happening soon!”

Clapping their hands, the ladies turned to Lu, who gave a small nod.

“I will make sure to send out invitations in a timely manner. It would be an honor if you could attend and grace the occasion.”

“Oh, of course! We must go, for Lady Charles’s sake!”

…Lady Charles’s sake?

I blinked several times in slight bewilderment.

“So, does that mean you have no further plans for today?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Then why don’t you join us for an outing?”

I looked at Lu. He had just said he wanted to be alone.

“I…”

Lu glanced at me, then placed a hand over his chest and bowed slightly.

“A gentleman should know not to intrude when ladies are spending time together. I shall take my leave. Please, enjoy your time with Charele.”

That’s what he said.

He just didn’t want to go but framed it in such a way.

Someday, I really should learn how to speak like that.

Of course, the ladies, completely unaware of Lu’s true thoughts, turned to me with sparkling eyes.

“Lady Charles, would that be all right?”

“Hmm.”

After a brief consideration, I replied.

“As long as it’s not a crocodile farm.”

That place was truly horrifying…

The ladies assured me they were taking me to a place far more enjoyable than a crocodile farm.

Looking at the scene before me, I let out a small chuckle.

— Neigh!

“Run! Run faster!”

We were at none other than a racetrack.

Wait… what?

“Alex seems to be in great form today.”

“Thunder doesn’t look bad either.”

“Hmm. Who should we bet on?”

Listening to their conversation, I realized something.

You girls…

You really like gambling, don’t you?

Since I had no interest in such things, I pretended not to notice and observed the racetrack instead.

The first thing that stood out was the vast lake spread before me. Along its edge, jockeys were leading their horses on a cooldown walk after the races.

‘A racetrack by the lake, huh.’

There was something romantic about it, yet at the same time, it was quite… indulgent.

Regardless, the place was certainly interesting.

Unlike the calm lake, the racetrack was full of noise—

“Run! Faster! Please!”

Horses galloped like the wind under their jockeys’ commands,

“Aaaah!”

And people wailed in despair after losing their bets.

‘This is fun.’

I couldn’t resist a scene like this.

So, I took a seat beside the ladies.

“If we had known Lady Charles was coming, we would have booked VIP seats.”

Everlyn pouted.

“But we usually sit in the regular section since it feels more immersive.”

“My apologies. Next time, I’ll make sure to get us better seats.”

They looked at me with slightly guilty expressions, but I quickly waved my hand.

“I actually prefer seats like this. Please don’t worry about it.”

Normally, such a comment would have been met with a sneer—something about me being a country bumpkin.

But instead…

“Our Lady Charles is so down-to-earth.”

“Which makes her seem even more noble.”

They were praising me now.

Am I… actually being adored?

“Oh, oh! It’s starting!”

At some point, they had bought multiple betting tickets and were now entirely focused on the race.

Naturally, I turned to watch the track as well.

And then—

“Been a while, hasn’t it?”

Startled, I turned my head.

There, wearing a deep-brimmed baker boy cap, stood Pinky.

Huh? What?

“Face forward. If people see you hanging around with a street kid like me, they’ll start pointing fingers.”

Snapping back to my senses, I turned my gaze back to the racetrack.

Ugh, I really have softened lately.

I smacked my cheeks a couple of times.

“What are you doing here?”

“Shouldn’t you say something else first?”

“Something else?”

I could feel Pinky staring at me.

“Why haven’t you been coming to the abandoned warehouse lately?”

Oh.

Now that he mentioned it, I had been avoiding it recently.

Partly because I had already received information from Adrian, but mostly because I didn’t want to think about that place at all.

Of course, I couldn’t just say that outright, so I offered another excuse.

“I’ve been busy. And Lu has been keeping an eye on me.”

“Even if you’re busy, don’t forget the payments. It’s tough for me without money.”

Ah. So it’s about money…

I took a gold coin from my pocket and handed it to him. I heard a satisfied chuckle.

“So, have you been following me since the mansion?”

I hadn’t noticed at all. Was my intuition getting dull? That was a bit concerning.

“Not at all. I heard something was going to happen here at the racetrack, so I was waiting.”

“Something?”

Pinky leaned in closer. Then, in a grave and resolute voice, he said—

“There’s going to be a terrorist attack here.”

…What?