"Hey, Jo. What are you doing?"
The soft, familiar voice came from the side, causing Josie to slowly turn her head from her seat at the edge of the front garden. She was sitting leaning back on a wooden bench whose paint was starting to peel, under a shady tree.
"Oh? Hey, Roman." She gave a slight smile without really looking at the man who had just arrived. "I'm daydreaming."
Roman narrowed his eyes, looking surprised at her slightly listless face. "Do you know where Rae is?" he asked, shifting his attention from the expression that could make anyone feel sorry for her.
Josie sighed deeply, then turned fully towards the young man with reddish-brown hair. "I'm sure she's drowning in the lake."
Roman raised his eyebrows. "Oh, come on, I'm serious."
"And I'm serious too, Roman," she replied, leaning deeper into the bench and crossing her legs lazily.
By the way, how many hours had she been sitting here doing nothing? Not writing, not washing the dishes, and not working. Was it since Leon left for Raventon Hall to pick up his book? So she was waiting here, waiting for the return of his notebook—no, correction—her brother-in-law. Hmm, maybe that was the truth.
Roman crossed his arms over his chest. "Which lake is it this time?" he asked, half annoyed and half worried.
"You know which lake it is without me telling you," he replied calmly, his voice showing no sign of concern even though his younger brother had gone to a place he really shouldn't have gone to.
Roman rubbed his face in frustration. "And I'm sure she got that 'mystery' from Old Khan." The young man clicked his tongue, a little annoyed that the youngest Everhart still often came to the cursed lake even though he had been warned repeatedly.
"That's right," Josie nodded quickly, "I heard this morning that he heard ghostly voices from the western lake. And of course, Rae considers it a call of destiny."
"Oh my God!" Roman shook his head in amazement, but a smile began to form on his face, as if he couldn't really be angry with Rae.
Rae's behaviour always managed to shock everyone who heard about it or even give them a heart attack, as had happened to Mr Grolly and his wife. Her three siblings, who were often driven crazy by her, didn't even bother to stop Rae from doing things that were beyond human comprehension. That task had unconsciously been taken over by Roman Kingsley—Baron Kingsley's son and Ivy's brother. She didn't know since when, but now it was Roman who most often ran around to make sure Rae didn't end up at the bottom of a lake, behind a suspicious alley, or kidnapped by a group of criminals whose case Rae had once investigated.
"Yup, oh my God!" Josie raised both hands as if giving up or perhaps not caring. "You'd better save her quickly before my beloved sister really drowns. You know, she's not a good swimmer."
"I know that," Roman muttered as he began to step back, but his gaze remained fixed on Josie, who was now staring into the distance again. "Alright," he said, turning away. "I'll be off then."
"Yup." Josie waved casually. "See you later, Roman. Please save my sister. Again."
"I will!" he shouted before breaking into a light jog, following the rocky path towards the lake.
Yep, that's how the guardian knight turned away to save his beloved—oh, I mean, his friend. Rae would be furious if I called her "beloved."
Josie smiled faintly, then muttered softly to herself, "My sister is really insensitive. But I'm sure Roman has been in love with her for a long time."
Roman Kingsley. An eighteen-year-old man with reddish-brown hair and clear green eyes like freshly polished emeralds, radiating a hidden sharpness behind long, softly curved eyelashes. His appearance was exactly like Baron Kingsley when he was young, whose portrait was displayed in the main hall of the mansion so that guests could see the real proof that the baron had once been a handsome nobleman. Unlike Ivy, who tended to look more like her mother.
Roman was Rae's only friend. Other friends? None. The teenagers at Bluebill had given up on being friends with Rae, in order to protect their own lives. Only Roman remained by Rae's side, even though he had been enslaved and tormented several times. And that pair of true friends became the inspiration for her third book, "The Art of Following You".
Josie chuckled, remembering a few years ago when Roman had secretly asked her how Rae reacted when she read the book inspired by them. Then he teased her, saying that Rae was upset and embarrassed, which ended up making the young man sulk until he fell ill for several days. In reality, Rae had giggled throughout the book and kept praising Josie as a great writer.
Yeah, she still felt guilty for lying to him. But what could she do? It was in the past and maybe Rae had already told Roman that she had lied.
Okay, forget about their story. Let's get back to the topic at hand. Josie's attention was still scanning the surrounding area, looking for someone who had left a few hours ago but had not returned. Sometimes she sighed, trying to be patient while waiting.
Five minutes later, the person she was waiting for finally appeared at the end of the road. Josie narrowed her eyes, wanting to make sure that the man walking towards the house was really Leon. With a barely visible smile of relief, Josie jumped down from her seat and rushed over to her brother-in-law.
"Leon!" she exclaimed cheerfully, like a child delighted to see her father come home from work. "Where is it? Where is it?" Even her little jump was just like a child's.
Leon stared at her for a few seconds before sighing.
"Come on, hurry up, give me my notebook!"
It wasn't Leon she was waiting for, but her notebook—her soulmate—whose return she was eagerly awaiting.
"You have to apologise to him," said Leon, suddenly making the girl in front of him frown in confusion.
"Why should I?" she complained, not understanding. "Just give me my book. I want to write right away!"
"You're stalking someone, Jo," said Leon, holding back Josie's impatient hand as she searched inside her coat, looking for her beloved notebook like a child who had lost a toy.
Josie looked up with a sulky face, then replied quickly, "No way!" Her voice rose an octave, full of rejection and annoyance as usual.
Why should I apologise? she thought to herself, feeling that she had done nothing wrong that would require her to immediately apologise to someone. However, just a few seconds after her words came out, she suddenly fell silent. Her eyes blinked slowly, as if her brain had just fully processed Leon's sentence.
"Wait ... what do you mean?" she asked suspiciously, Josie's eyes narrowing as if Leon was hiding something.
Leon stared at her intently, then replied flatly, "I mean, before you get your book back, you have to settle your business with the Major General."
The girl gaped in disbelief at what she had just heard. "What?! No! I mean, we don't have anything to do with—yeah, except for yesterday. But isn't the problem already solved?"
Leon's shoulders merely shrugged slightly, as if he really had no idea about the commotion Josie was feeling. His expression changed slightly, hinting at a subtle mockery that seemed to say, "Yeah, maybe?"
And that was enough to make Josie panic instantly.
"So, you came back without my book and instead brought a message telling me to go there, meet him, and apologise?"
Leon just nodded once, and that was enough to answer all her concerns.
Josie sighed sharply. Without realising it, she bit her lower lip, an old habit of hers when she was stressed. "If I don't come and apologise, he won't give me my book back, right?"
"That's right," Leon replied calmly.
"Why do aristocrats like to make life difficult for ordinary people like us?"
"Maybe because you've been stalking him for a whole week and recording all his habits without permission," he said with a calm expression that only made Josie want to scratch Leon's face, which she found extremely annoying. "If you really want your notebook back, go to Raventon Hall this afternoon and apologise."
Apologise, yeah ...
Right, there was no other option. If she wanted to get back the most precious thing in her life, Josie had to accept this bitter reality. Go to Raventon Hall, face Major General Raymond, and apologise.
Done.
It was easy to imagine that everything would be settled in an instant once she apologised in person. But for Josie Everhart? It was as difficult as writing a happy ending for an annoying male character.
Josie sighed, resigned. "All right. I'll go to Raventon Hall and apologise to him. But only once! And only because I love my book so much."
Leon looked at her in admiration for her brave decision not to rely on others, a small smile playing on his lips. "One word of 'sorry' can save you from ten problems, Jo. Including problems that come in the form of a general with absolute power."
What her brother-in-law said was true. If Atlas Raymond had not been a wise man who weighed his decisions carefully, Josie Everhart might never have made it home in one piece. She might have ended up discarded on the street or in the woods, her life lost.
Nobles like Atlas have absolute power, especially when it comes to the law. Meanwhile, ordinary people like Josie, who have no power over the law, can only resign themselves and hope that they do not step on too many social landmines along the path of their lives.
No matter how eloquently she spoke, how sharply she wrote, or how fiercely she defended herself—in the end, status determined everything. In the eyes of the law, wrapped in the gold badges of military officials, she was just a young woman with a pen and a wild imagination.
However, that did not mean there was no solution to her problem. Josie, who was quite familiar with Ivy, understood very well the true faces of the aristocrats behind their elegant smiles and manners. Ivy was only a local aristocrat, but still, her status placed her in the same circle as the high aristocrats and military aristocrats. And as far as Josie could tell, they were all the same, dangerous if one wasn't careful.
Of course, except for Ivy and Roman—they were the exceptions.
So, who should she take to Raventon Hall this afternoon? Ivy? Impossible. The girl was under house arrest, confined to her room with extra security for a whole week by Baron Kingsley just because she had broken her fiancé's nose.
Then who?
Elsie? No way. Her sister was more cynical about the aristocracy and the military than anyone Josie knew—again, except for the Kingsleys. She would immediately refuse the invitation. Or rather, Leon would forbid her from going because he didn't want to see his wife fall into the mire of the past.
Rae? The girl was too young and too impulsive. They could both end up being detained if Rae started questioning the safety of Raventon Hall's structure just because she saw the windows.
That meant there was only one name left.
"Kat," she whispered softly, then darted quickly to the house to find her sister. She left Leon confused as he watched her run into the house.
Kat had recently turned 23. Now she had grown into a beautiful and charming woman, with naturally blonde hair that was very rare among women in Bluebill, and warm, sharp hazel eyes.
Yes, that's right. Only Josie had different eye colour from her three siblings. Her eyes were blue because she had inherited more genes from her maternal grandmother. Her three siblings had inherited more of their mother's genes, especially Kat. Not only did she have the same hair and eye colour, she also looked quite similar to her late mother. A classic beauty that captivated anyone who looked at her.
Then there was Rae—who eventually chose to dye her blonde hair black—who tended to resemble their father more, as did Elsie. Indeed, only Josie tended to resemble her late grandmother, whom she could only see in her portrait because she had passed away long ago, even before Elsie was born.
Although many people in Bluebill said that the four of them looked quite similar as sisters. But Kat was different. She was always the centre of attention wherever she went.
For the men of Bluebill, Katerina Everhart was the stage and the show itself. She received love and admiration as if it were her birthright—and, yes, most of the time, Kat didn't mind that role. So, bringing her to Raventon Hall, wasn't that a bad idea?
Perhaps—just perhaps—with Kat by his side, Major General Raymond's attention might be slightly diverted. Perhaps the man would be too busy wondering why the local star had come to his mansion to notice the stubborn woman silently recording his every move from behind the long wooden table in front of Ed's bookshop.
Cunning? Perhaps. But Josie preferred to call it a survival strategy. After all, she had no intention of selling her sister to the lion's den. She was simply using her sister's natural charm for a more noble cause.
"If I have to face the lion, then I will bring the best bait," she muttered, staring at Kat's back as she busily sewed a dress for her theatre performance the following night. "And Kat is the best bait this world has to offer."
In her heart, Josie laughed heartily, as if celebrating her victory over the defeat of Major General Raymond.