CHAPTER XXXVIII: THE UNSPOKEN

"FIRE!!!"

"There is a fireeee!"

"Get the buckets. Pour water immediately."

"Put water!"

"Is everyone here???" The priest shouted.

"The kids! Take care of the kids. All men throw water immediately. We should not let the fire spread."

Everything was in chaos when Zeke got there. The orphanage that he sneakily visited was burning in front of his eyes. The place of the children whom he visited to play with was turning into ashes now. Everyone was tremendously putting off the fire by throwing a bucket of water from the well.

He was befuddled in disbelief for a moment. While looking around the place, his eyes caught something, someone. It was a girl who has a lethargic expression while covering her nose and mouth with both her hands at the side of the burning orphanage.

It was none other than Lady Beatrice.

Even the Lady Beatrice was someone whom he doesn't want to see, he immediately approached the girl with worry. "Lady Beatrice, you should not be here."

The girl was astonished seeing him. "Why— why are...why are you here? You are not supposed to be—"

"It is not important right now. You should get away from this place. It's dangerous here!"

He immediately grabbed her hand and took her away from the burning place. Lady Beatrice startlingly took off her hand from him. Zeke was perturbed with the strange act of the lady.

"This place is dangerous. You should get away from—" Zeke was trailed off, when his hand smelled gas.

"Why my hand smelled gas? I haven't had near at the—"

Beatrice held her arms to her chest while trembling. At that moment, she knew that Zeke grasped the truth.

"You? You!?" Zeke did not know what to say, he abruptly turned away from her.

Her body moved hastily to reach the boy walking away from her. She grabbed on his sleeve. "Please listen. I did not think it would be this big. I never wanted to—"

"Let go of me." He shoved away her hand.

"I never thought that you could do this."

"They— They took you away from me! All your attention. I— I just want you to look at me." She sobbingly pleaded.

"You are crazy." Zeke said with cold glare. He actually thought of harming her, slap her on the face, but he controlled himself and immediately walked away from her.

It was the last memory and encounter of Zeke with Lady Beatrice before he went to the university.

****-------****

It was dim and the rain was threatening to come. Zeke was standing and looking through the window from his study room. He remembered the horrible fire accident that happened before he entered in the university.

Thankfully, there was an event happened on that day, when the fire accident emerged that no one was harmed. The event required everyone to be outside of the orphanage to celebrate and to play the planned activities.

It was the place that he often visited. The children, who had no idea of his identity, accepted and played with him. It was his sanctuary as a teenage boy. They are all good people.

Other than his butler, the young daughter of Marquees Croix later discovered his secret venture. She was a spoiled brat, and always seeking attention from him. The girl always followed him whenever or wherever that she had opportunity.

It was annoyingly at his part, but it was not the point to hate the little girl. He thought that it might be just lonely and looking for attention. And unfortunately, he was her favorite pudding. He was aware of the her spoiled-brat tantrums.

However, he never thought that she was capable of doing that at the young age. It was enough for him to be furious, and cursed her repetitively on his mind. Yet, he never spread to anyone that truth of the accident. He rationally thought it deeply. He still used his excuse that the lady was still in her young age. A young girl easily moved by her emotions. It was his last excuse for the lady.

He knew to himself that he had no patience left for her. And if by the time the lady will still continue to pursue her delusions over him, he planned to black mail her from the fire accident. He even kept the evidence of that day. To be honest, he doesn't want to use that card, but he could not think of anything to take her away from him.

It was all his idea that he had before entering the university. However, one day the lady sent him a letter that he could not believe at all. It was very suspicious. After the fire accident, it made him believed that the feelings of the lady towards him was near madness and not easy to repel.

While at the university, he planted spies to the house of the Marquees Croix to monitor the behavior of the lady and to prevent possible evil schemes from her.

Contradictory, the lady acted indifferently according to the reports, especially, about her becoming close to the commoners were utterly implausible. The best evidence was the lady herself hated him being together with the commoners from the orphanage, whom the latter set the place on fire.

Due to that, his anxiety increased. He ended up not to rely with the reports of the spies anymore.

****-------****

Zeke wearing his black uniform with fake brown hair sneaked to the Marquees Croix' premises. He went to the deep forest near at its mansion. He planned to check the lady himself.

Unexpectedly, his target was walking idly towards the deep forest. The woman stopped walking and looked up. He was curious of why she was looking up. In his disbelief, the lady started to tie up her long skirt up to the knee. He immediately turned away because of embarrassment. It was a very unlady-like behavior. He was still a gentleman even towards to his treated archenemy.

Nonetheless, he was much flustered to the next event. The lady was trying to climb the tree. At that time, a hat hanging on the branch of the tree caught his eyes. "Is she trying to get it? But why doing it by yourself? Is she crazy?"

Contrary to his thoughts, he was fidgeting to help the lady, but he could not blow his undercover.

"Aha!" The lady shouted happily after getting the hat, but the branch of the tree swayed up and down and...

Clack!

Zeke's immediately tended to the falling lady. His body moved on its own. He stretched his arm and caught the lady before falling down on the ground.

The lady in his arms looked pale seeing him. He was wearing black mask covering his nose up to chin and wig long brown hair, but of course, he could not deny his crimson eyes. There was no way to hide it. His effort became meaningless at that time. He blown away his own identity.

But then, the complexion of the lady changed, she was blushing. Seeing her, he immediately put her down.

"Well thought plan, President of the Student Council." He muttered inwardly. There is no way out. Scrutinizing her from head to toe, he abruptly turned away. He forgot about the lady's skirt! It was embarrassing.

"Wait!"

"I said, wait!"

The lady was not contented calling him, and started to run to face him. He was cornered. It would be bad for him to act indifferently. The young duke of Aland went sneakily to monitor the daughter of the Marquees Croix at their own premises; it was truly incredible. Further, the lady appeared forgetting her appearance too. He could not help, but to be flustered.

"Ah!"

The lady immediately crouched to the ground.

"Finally, she noticed." He said inwardly, but still gazing at the other side. It was true that he cursed the lady very much, but he was still educated to be a gentleman. He just heard a rustle of the cloth. The lady might be untying the knot that she made before climbing the tree.

"Ehem!" She cleared her throat. "Uhm. Who are you?"

His eyes slightly widened in disbelief. "Who are you? She did not know me? Did she become an idiot without my knowledge?"

He expected that his identity was already known. After all, the color of his eyes were best evidence of his identity, but she still not recognized him.

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Isaiah