A few hours later, a splendid dinner was served in the room. The servant, who was waiting on her, proved its safety by eating the food first with a silver spoon in front of Cello.
No matter what, an ordinary person might not have been able to eat properly in such a situation, but Cello was different. The warm soup disappeared like water in no time, and the steak as big as her head also disappeared into Cello’s stomach.
The amount of food was enough for two adult men, but Cello seemed to have a bigger appetite.
–When one makes a contract, the amount of food increases, but there was no one like this…
Soon, the sound waves of Pien quietly reached her, Cello shrugged her shoulders and put down her fork. Then she brazenly spoke to the servant standing next to her.
“Excuse me, did you wash the clothes I was wearing?”
“Yes, we did.”
“I’m sorry, but it seems like I dropped something from my pocket… Can I check in the laundry room?”
“Please follow me.”
Cello got up from her seat and draped her large coat over her shoulder.
The servant silently led the way. Cello followed behind yawning leisurely, but her eyes were flickering to memorize the path.
“The laundry room is here. Please feel free to look around.”
The servant opened a shabby door at the end of the corridor. Cello went inside.
“Are my clothes here…”
Fortunately, the servant had their eyes covered, so they couldn’t see exactly what Cello was doing.
Cello casually looked around the room and rummaged through a laundry basket. What Cello pulled out was the servants’ robe.
Cello quickly put on the robe and then put her coat back on over it. The robe was long enough to cover Cello’s feet. Cello roughly tucked in the hem of the robe and went back to the servant.
“Did you find your item?”
“Yes, it was nothing.”
Cello glanced around, worried about being caught, but fortunately, the servant silently opened the laundry room door again.
“Then, would you like to return to your room?”
“Ah, yes. Excuse me…”
Cello, who had been following them, hesitated for a moment and then asked.
“I’m hungry after moving around, can I have one more plate of dessert?”
The servant paused for a moment and then opened their mouth.
“…Understood.”
The servant took Cello back to her room and then left. A moment later, another servant brought a dessert tray, and Cello’s face brightened.
“Then, please call if you need anything.”
“Yes!”
Cello excitedly sat at the table and picked up a fork. Pien shook his head inside the bead at the sight of the fork marks.
–Wow…she’s eating again…
Cello munched on a walnut pie and replied.
“When will I get to eat something like this again? Even if I sell you twice, I wouldn’t be able to afford this.”
–Keep saying you’re going to sell me…! Anyway, are you really going to run away?
“Of course. I’ll die if I stay here.”
Cello nodded as she shoved the last piece of pie into her mouth. Then, Cello got up, patting her stomach, and lay down on the bed.
–No, can a person who says she’s going to run away be so relaxed?
“Ugh, you talk too much. There’s nothing we can do right now. Wake me up at two, got it?”
–I’m not your alarm clock!
Whether he liked it or not, Cello buried her head in the soft pillow with a happy face.
****
Two o’clock in the morning.
Cello opened her eyes wide even before Pien woke her up.
Cello tore off the curtain from the window in the dark. Then, she tied two curtains together with a complex knot to quickly make a long rope.
Next, she opened the wardrobe and put on two more sets of pajamas, and then put on her old coat that she had worn when she came in. When she stuffed all the valuable items in the room into her pocket, it swelled as if it was about to burst.
–I advise you, it would be better to think more about the future and move accordingly.
Pien fluttered beside Cello. Cello pulled the rope made of curtains several times and threw it.
“What future does a back alley mayfly have?” (TL: mayfly-A person who lives each day in a hurry; sometimes used to compare people who do brave things without knowing how precious their lives are)
Cello flipped the robe that the mansion’s servants were wearing over her head.
“You’re talking nonsense. It’s annoying.”
Cello poked a small hole in the cloth that the servants had used to cover their faces with a sharp fork, covered his eyes, and tied it tightly behind her head. Cello grinned as she checked her reflection in the moonlight in the mirror.
“Perfect.”
Thanks to wearing several layers of clothes, Cello’s body was much plumper than usual. And when she covered half of his face with cloth, Cello, who was already pretty but unusually inconspicuous for her surroundings, looked completely different.
“Everyone covers their faces, so the servants won’t recognize each other. And would the high-ups even know the faces of the servants?”
Cello shoved her feet into her old shoes. She briefly stared at the silk shoes on the floor and then crumpled them into her pocket as well.
Having finished all her preparations, Cello tied the curtain tightly to the bedpost and opened the window. She planned to go down to the lower floor corridor and leave the mansion pretending to be a servant.
–Are you really thinking of going down that way?
“If a thief can’t climb a wall, where can he use it?”
Cello tied the curtain on the opposite side of her waist tightly and climbed onto the window frame.
“I was in a circus when I was very young. This is nothing.”
–Yeah. Yeah. Do as you please.
Pien disappeared, trembling as if giving up. Either way, Cello jumped down fearlessly and leaned against the wall.
Cello began to carefully descend the mansion wall, which was full of ivy, by sliding down the rope. Every time Cello stepped on it, the vines that were pressing down on the mansion broke off and flew away.
Cello’s foot stepped on the window frame of the lower floor. When she gently pushed the window with her toes, the window opened silently. Then, Cello jumped down into the corridor.
Fortunately, there was no one there. Cello quickly scanned the surroundings and moved towards the stairs.
In front of the stairs, a servant holding a candle was looking around.
Cello walked naturally in front of them, hiding her tension. The servant seemed to have no clue about Cello’s identity.
‘It’s done.’
Cello pressed her pounding heart and walked down the stairs calmly.
Then, a heavy shoe sound echoed from below the stairs.
‘What?’
Cello quickly glanced around. The servant who was cleaning the stairs moved close to the wall. If it’s this reaction, it was definitely Duke Estribal.
‘Why is he working in the middle of the night? He’s not even a thief!’
Cello cursed a million times inside and followed the servant who was cleaning the stairs and stuck to the wall, bowing her head. A body soaked in the cold outside air passed in front of her.
‘Please pass. Please.’
Cello bowed her head deeper and prayed like crazy.
There’s no way she could be caught. Even the servants who work together couldn’t recognize her, how could he recognize herself? There was no way he could know. The nobles are not interested in shadows.
However.
“…Ha.”
A sneer sounded above her head.
“Kyaaak!”
At the same time, the robe hood was roughly twisted. Yellow eyes glared at Cello.
“How dare you try to belittle me.”
Coldness dripped from Estribal’s voice. Cello’s teeth chattered and she asked.
“How… how did you know?”
It’s okay because we can turn back time. But how did he know her identity, she had to know that method. Cello opened her mouth and whimpered to look as stupid and pitiful as possible.
Estribal whispered with a sneer.
“There are no servants in this house who wore such shoes.”
Aha.
“Thank you. You jerk, Duke.”
“What did you say?”
Cello grinned, lifting the corners of her mouth. At the same time, Cello snapped her thumb and index finger.
At that moment, the world twisted. Her head spun.
“Haah, ha…”
Cello, who had regained her senses, took a deep breath. Cello was standing on the dark staircase.
She was disappointed that she couldn’t turn back as much time as she thought, but at least now she really wouldn’t get caught.
Cello looked around, immediately took off her shoes, put them in her arms, and changed into the silk slippers she had brought. Almost simultaneously, the sound of shoe heels echoed.
Cello quickly stuck to the wall and bowed her head.
‘Pass by, pass by!’
Cello prayed and prayed again in her mind, but the Duke’s footsteps stopped in front of Cello again, regardless.
But this time, he didn’t immediately take off Cello’s hood. Instead, he moved in front of Cello as if deliberately dragging out time.
After a while, the same laughter as before echoed above Cello’s head. Then Cello’s hood was roughly pulled off again. Cello licked her lips.
“Ho, ho, how did you know? How on earth?”
She felt like she was going out of her mind, let alone figuring out what was in his head. Cello mumbled blankly.
“Just now, you definitely said it was because of the shoes…”
Estribal raised the corners of his mouth and lowered his gaze to Cello’s feet. Cello’s eyes moved along. But the feet hidden by the robe were not visible at all.
Yes. When she first put on the robe and looked in the mirror, she couldn’t see the shoes either. But the fact that he mentioned shoes means…
“I must have said that ten minutes ago.”
Cello bit her lip. He must have lied on purpose to show off himself.
‘I was stupid.’
If the Duke was looking for Serpiente, he might have guessed that Cello’s ability was to turn back time.
She gave away too much information. Cello, panicked, gnawed her lips and finally snapped her fingers inside the robe again.
‘One more time!’
The world spun around. But when she opened her eyes again, what awaited Cello was her own figure with her hood grabbed.
“How could this be…”
The Duke had deliberately dragged out time. Cello opened her mouth in despair. As if noticing everything from Cello’s expression, the Duke twisted Cello’s wrists above her head.
“Ouch!”
“I already know your tricks. Don’t make a fuss.”
His yellow eyes bulged and he put strength into his hand. The blood couldn’t circulate in the crushed hand and it turned white. He then took out a knife from his bosom.
“Let’s see if you can fix that finger yourself.”
Cello closed her eyes tightly. The moment the knife flashed in the air,
–Stop it, you pathetic human!
A tremendous sound wave echoed through the hall.
