29. I’m just very brave (Immediate response)
Kefir’s perspective.
The plan between myself and Euclid to find the “imposter” was quite simple: I would use my identity and various topics to stall Louis the Twenty-Fifth, while during this time, Euclid, who would be playing the role of an ordinary servant and would certainly not draw any attention, would find an excuse to leave and use his “prophecy” to uncover clues.
Everything sounded fine, even a bit like a “spy within a spy” scenario, but I quickly realized that there was a significant problem: Louis the Twenty-Fifth himself.
“So, Lord Louis the Twenty-Fifth, have you interacted with anyone recently that you can’t even remember?”
“Of course I can’t remember; those were all meetings arranged by the butler. Compared to that, Miss Kefir, we…”
If the other party were an ordinary noble hiding secrets, it would have been fine, but Louis the Twenty-Fifth was anything but ordinary. Although I didn’t want to brag about how charming I was, the fact was that Louis the Twenty- Fifth showed no interest in the topics I had prepared to stall for time, and soon the conversation began to shift towards me.
“Why don’t we set aside the matters of the council and talk about something else?”
Accompanied by such words that, from my perspective, clearly indicated he wanted to leave, Louis the Twenty-Fifth’s gaze frequently lingered on me. Although I had anticipated this and dressed very conservatively today to prevent such situations, I still couldn’t help but feel a twinge of discomfort.
In this situation, according to the plan I had discussed with Euclid at the beginning, I should have contacted him immediately and taken my leave. But that charlatan had not responded for a long time; surely he had found some clues?
Thinking this, I decided to hold back for now.
Sure enough, the increasingly forward Louis the Twenty-Fifth began to “harass” me more, even changing the topic entirely to something I least wanted to discuss.
“At the queen’s ball a few days ago, it seems Miss Kefir made quite a scene. I’m very curious; could it be… a heartbreak?”
Just for this statement, under normal circumstances, I would have sent whoever was in front of me crashing into the wall, but now I had no other choice but to remain silent.
“I saw you that day; you rushed up and slapped someone next to the queen.”
He spoke with a self-righteous tone, but in reality, Louis the Twenty-Fifth’s attitude had already made me see through his thoughts.
“This matter has nothing to do with you.”
“Ah, I know very well that a woman like Queen Louise loves to do such things. Of course, that man isn’t a good person either; I can only say that the two of them must have colluded to deceive you long ago. “
Perhaps seeing that I hadn’t gotten up to leave after all this time and was merely responding in silence, Louis the Twenty-Fifth grew even more pleased with himself. Even his subsequent words became unrestrained, filled with blatant arrogance.
“Miss Kefir, you don’t have to hide it; a woman like Louise the Fourth is just like that. The ignorant masses outside can’t understand; she herself is a treacherous woman. I was careless before, but I will definitely surpass that woman slowly. By then…”
After saying this, Louis the Twenty-Fifth’s gaze drifted back to me, and the implication behind his words almost made me snort in disdain.
Although the queen truly is… dangerous, Louis the Twenty-Fifth was already fantasizing without even having done anything, even hinting that he wanted to “secure his position” ahead of time, as if the sooner he had an affair with me, the more benefits and status he would gain once he ascended.
Unfortunately, the last thing I cared about was status, and not to mention that Louis the Twenty-Fifth was so pleased simply because he had fallen into the queen’s trap. He thought he was about to win and was happily dancing around, completely unaware that he was dancing in a frying pan.
As for status, it seemed that I hadn’t used my position in a long time, causing these foolish nobles to forget that my rank… was only right after the queen! Why should I put on a good face for a man of this caliber just to climb the social ladder?
“Lord Louis the Twenty-Fifth, it would be better for you to mention such dangerous topics less.”
I wanted to punch Louis the Twenty-Fifth and then wave my hand to leave, but the current situation clearly did not allow for that.
However, after managing to suppress my discomfort, I gave a gentle reminder, but Louis the Twenty-Fifth took it as me being “interested” in him, which only made him more forward!
“That’s alright, Miss Kefir, I understand your feelings towards Louise the Fourth at that time.”
As he spoke, he moved closer to me, and I immediately stood up and took a step back, using my clearly rejecting gaze to barely make Louis the Twenty-Fifth stop in his tracks.
This guy, could it be that he took my rejection as “tsundere”? At this point, he still had the audacity to look at me with such lewd eyes!
“To be honest, I’ve long been prepared to gradually counter Louise the Fourth’s tyranny, and this time I feel especially assisted! If Miss Kefir, you want to understand more, why don’t we go somewhere else now? I can explain it to you in detail?”
“…”
Disgusting, but disgusting as it may be, what should I do now? In the past, I would have walked away without a second thought, but now I had to continue stalling to buy time for Ou Jili De.
However, facing someone who couldn’t even engage in normal conversation, who was completely like a “lecher,” if I kept dragging this on, I might just lose control and want to hit him! What’s worse is that my silence was taken by Louis XXV as consent, causing his behavior to become increasingly inappropriate!
“Miss Ke Fei Er, come, walk this way.”
While thinking this, Louis XXV arrogantly reached out his hand towards me, believing he was being very gentlemanly, but his words had already revealed his true intentions.
I definitely couldn’t accept this, but how should I stall for time!? Looking at the hand reaching towards me, Ke Fei Er momentarily lost her bearings, but her body instinctively reacted, preparing to raise a hand and slap Louis XXV aside!
However, in the next moment, before Ke Fei Er could even make that self-defense move, a familiar figure appeared in the distance, unhesitatingly stepping between me and Louis XXV. Before either Louis XXV or even Ke Fei Er could react, a fist was raised and cleanly swung towards the side of Louis XXV’s face!
The force of the punch sent Louis XXV stumbling to the ground, rolling several times, and even the servants of Louis XXV who rushed over were left stunned in place.
The scene fell into silence!