How About a Refill? ~The Elegant Tea Party of the Grand Witches~ - Chapter 62

Miriam’s Struggle

Miriam entered the room and went to hide in a corner, clutching Robin tightly to herself.

Her eyes fell down to Robin who was still asleep.

She could hear the sounds of crackling, and swords clashing coming from the corridor outside.

The noise was quite loud, but Robin still kept sleeping. He might have been drugged.

She looked around her to see if she could find something to use as a weapon in case she had to protect Robin, but it was too dark and she couldn’t see much.

Robin was a seven year old child so he was quite heavy. On top of that, he was slumping listlessly in her arms, in his sleep, so his weight had increased even more.

To be honest, Miriam, who had never really had to carry something heavy for so long before, felt like she couldn’t keep holding him for long.

She put Robin down with the wall to support him and went to look for a lamp or a light.

Thankfully, she found an oil lamp on a nearby shelf. She quickly lit it up.

“At least I was able to get some light. Now let’s look for a weapon…”

She looked around the room restlessly. It looked narrower than the room they had been locked in; it might be a parlour or something.

The room had a lavish sofa set, and a fireplace on the wall.

The fireplace looked unused. There were no ashes, but that was probably because it was summer right now. However, there was still a poker, shovel and other tools placed beside it.

“The poker… I can probably use this as a weapon…”

She picked up the poker. The iron poker was a bit heavy for her so it wasn’t easy to flick it around, but the heaviness meant it would be a strong tool.

“Alright…!” Feeling more steady, she clutched it in both hands. She went to sit in front of Robin to protect him. 

“… Prince Emilio, you must be worried. I was supposed to be there to welcome you back when you returned…”

She thought of his smile as she had sent him off. His calming voice, his big hands that always wrapped around her so gently, his eyes that would sometimes look at her heatedly…

She couldn’t stop thinking about him. SHe slowly started feeling more and more forlorn. She’d been feeling anxious ever since she first woke up here; her worry was definitely visible on her face.

“Ah this won’t do. I have to get a hold of myself.”

She shook her head to snap herself out of it, and clutched the poker tightly.

It was then.

There was a cluttering sound followed by a loud bang.

It came from the corridor. Then, a bunch of people stepped to the door of her room. She shivered in fear as she saw their footsteps under the door.

‘S-someone’s coming! What should I do!’

Her eyes filled with tears as she was overcome with fear. She could hear footsteps coming closer to the room. The doorknob suddenly rattled as if someone was trying to open it.

‘They’re coming in…!’

Feeling cornered, she turned to look back at Robin’s sleeping face. Then, with resolution, she dropped down the oil lamp and turned to face the door with a glare on her face.

The door opened and the man who stepped in looked towards her with a lamp extended in his hand.

“Millie!”

Miriam snapped up at the voice.

“Millie! Ah! I found you! My angel!”

The man who had entered had the same hazel hair as Miriam, and was dressed in black clothes with a black cloak over them.

“F-father!”

Miriam staggered to her feet and jumped into her father’s chest.

“Father! Father…! You came to save us! Thank you! … I was so scared.”

“Ah, Millie! I’m sorry for not coming earlier. You did well. Are you hurt anywhere? Let me see your face! Prince Emilio and Leonardo are also outside.”

Ferdinand checked her for injuries before pulling out a handkerchief and wiping off her tears.

“Father! You must help Prince Ivan! He was fighting outside in the corridor! And the silver haired guy too! They hid Robin and me in here!”

Ferdinand looked a bit reluctant when he heard of their names, but since it was a request form his beloved daughter, he turned around and made his way out to the corridor.