I, Who Came From the Abyss, Will Save Humanity Again Today - Volume 2 Chapter 19

Chapter 19: A Strange Lady

 

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“Here, please have some tea.”

 

In the spacious reception hall, the Duchess personally brought over fine Earl Grey tea, gently placing it before Carlos and me.

 

“Oh, thank you.” Carlos picked up the exquisitely crafted teacup, properly held it to his nose for a gentle sniff, then took a small sip, “Very fragrant indeed, it’s been a long time since I’ve had such good red tea, Madam’s skill is as excellent as ever.”

 

“You’re too kind, Sir Carlos.” The Duchess covered her mouth with a light laugh while casually pulling out the chair next to mine and sitting down.

 

Immediately, a subtle elegant fragrance filled my nostrils, the kind of scent that belonged to a mature woman, which somehow gave me a faint sense of comfort as I breathed it in.

 

I secretly turned my face to look at the woman who was now within arm’s reach, still in her prime years. Her delicate features weren’t heavily made up, and like mine, her silk-like black hair was pinned high on her head. The skin exposed at her neck was as smooth as congealed cream, and every gesture carried the refinement of high society.

 

Too beautiful!

 

I was secretly amazed. Earlier in the study, my attention had been focused on Lord Scalliger, and only now did I realize that this was the first true beauty I’d seen since coming to this world.

 

Unlike those weathered common women who had no time to care for themselves, her beauty could truly be described as breathtaking. And for some reason, the Duchess’s appearance seemed familiar to me, with an intuition that I must have seen her somewhere before.

 

At this moment, the Duchess was having an animated conversation with Carlos, but I hadn’t heard a single word they said, continuously wracking my brain trying to remember where I might have seen this Duchess.

 

Although I knew it was absurd.

 

How long had I been in this world, and I’d only just arrived in Winter City today, how could I possibly have seen this lady before? But the sense of deja vu was too strong, so strong that I even felt I should be quite familiar with her.

 

What’s going on?

 

Since today, my thoughts had been very confused. The verification of the earlier hallucination, what the cake shop girl had said, and… this inexplicable feeling after arriving at Shanter Castle.

 

All of this seemed to point in some direction in the grand scheme of things.

 

“…Miss Sylvia, what’s wrong? You look so worried, is the tea not to your liking?”

 

The Duchess’s words interrupted my thoughts, and I suddenly looked up to find that she and Carlos had stopped talking at some point, both looking at me with puzzled expressions.

 

“Ah, no. I was… thinking about something.”

 

To prevent the Duchess from thinking I didn’t like her tea, I quickly picked up the teacup and tilted my head back, drinking the full cup in one go.

 

…So hot!!!

 

“Cough cough!”

 

The scalding tea nearly brought tears to my eyes, my mouth burning fiercely. I quickly stuck out my tongue, panting like a little pug dog, while my right hand vigorously fanned cool air toward my mouth, trying to quickly reduce the temperature of my tongue.

 

“Hahaha!”

 

Carlos very ungracefully pointed and laughed at me, and even the Duchess couldn’t help but show an amused smile at my appearance.

 

I understood I’d embarrassed myself again, wanted to get angry but knew it wasn’t the right situation, so I could only sullenly glare at Carlos to vent my frustration.

 

“Look at you, how can you be so careless.”

 

The Duchess’s gentle voice came from beside me, and I saw her pick up her sleeve and reach toward my mouth, making to wipe away the water on my lips.

 

I was stunned.

 

This gesture caught me off guard, feeling the cool yet delicate touch on my lips, I looked at her somewhat dumbfounded, not knowing how to react for a moment.

 

Although I had an inexplicable sense of familiarity with her, she was still the Duchess after all, and since this was our first meeting, such an intimate gesture made me uncomfortable and seemed inappropriate. Even Carlos, who witnessed this scene, showed a deeply surprised expression.

 

But the Duchess did it very naturally, and she herself didn’t seem to notice anything improper, just looking at me tenderly, gently wiping me clean before finally noticing my slightly shocked expression, and somewhat awkwardly lowered her arm.

 

“Ah, I apologize, that was rude of me. It’s just that Miss Sylvia is so adorable… You didn’t hurt your mouth, did you?”

 

“Madam, I’m fine.”

 

I shook my head at her, wanting to say more but not knowing how to begin.

 

It felt like both the Duke and Duchess’s attitudes toward me were really puzzling, giving me the feeling that they wanted to confirm something from me.

 

Carlos also seemed to have noticed something, frowning silently.

 

The atmosphere became somewhat silent for a moment.

 

Fortunately, the butler arrived timely with a plate of donuts.

 

“Dear guests, these refreshments are made by the Duchess herself, please enjoy.”

 

…Dessert!

 

It looks so delicious!

 

I looked at the sweet and soft donuts carefully arranged on the plate, my appetite was aroused, and my eyes couldn’t move away.

 

“I didn’t know Madam could make these,” Carlos said with some amazement.

 

“It’s just a personal hobby, when I have nothing to do, I like to experiment with these things. After all, we used to have a little glutton at home who loved sweets…”

 

Is there some etiquette to this? Should the host make some gesture first before we as guests can start eating? Would it be okay if I eat one now?

 

How should I do this, just grab it with my hands?

 

Will Carlos laugh at me?

 

If he dares to laugh, I’ll curse him to be single forever, never finding a wife!

 

While I was internally mumbling these thoughts, the Duchess had already brought a donut to my mouth.

 

“Miss Sylvia, try my handiwork, how is it?”

 

Hearing the Duchess’s words, I immediately turned my head, and then saw her face trying hard to hold back a smile, immediately understanding that my thoughts had been seen through, so I simply stopped pretending and gracefully accepted the donut, eagerly taking a bite.

 

The donut had a creamy texture, with a lasting flavor, and after a few chews, my eyes lit up.

 

“Thish ish, sho good!”

 

“Swallow your food before speaking.”

 

Carlos seemed somewhat dissatisfied with my behavior, but at this moment I had no mood to argue with him.

 

After all, this donut was really too delicious, so delicious that it made my heart ache, and very embarrassingly, I felt the urge to cry.

 

“Madam, this is super delicious!” I said excitedly with a flushed face to the Duchess beside me.

 

“It has a name, you know, it’s called Captain Grey.”

 

Hearing the Duchess’s words, I tilted my head.

 

“Captain Grey?”

 

A donut named captain?

 

Why? How strange. Why give it such a name?

 

But that’s not important, as long as it’s delicious.

 

I’ve decided, Captain Grey, you’re ranked number one in deliciousness in my heart!

 

“Captain Grey, I like it.”

 

I smiled sweetly at the Duchess.

 

“If you like it, shall I make it for you every day?”

 

The Duchess’s eyes were like stars in the night sky, shining with strange excitement. She looked at me with a kind expression.

 

Then she started crying.

 

…Eh?

 

My expression froze as I watched the Duchess tightly covering her mouth, trying hard not to make a sound, not knowing what to do for a moment.

 

What’s going on all of a sudden?

 

I just complimented your donuts for being delicious, do you need to be this moved… this is really difficult for me.

 

Not only was I confused, but Carlos also showed a puzzled expression at the situation before him.

 

“Madam, what’s wrong?”

 

“I’m fine… just, remembered… some sad memories from the past.”

 

The Duchess’s emotional outburst was just a momentary thing, like something that had been suppressed for a long time suddenly bursting forth, this feeling came quickly and went quickly, and she soon contained her emotions.

 

“I’m sorry, as one gets older, one becomes more sentimental, I’ve made you laugh at me.”

 

“Madam, what are you saying, you don’t look old at all,” Carlos had to say some flattering words to liven up the atmosphere.

 

“I’m already 46 years old, with three children.”

 

46 years old!

 

I was so surprised I couldn’t speak, but she looked like she was just in her early thirties. It’s really hard to believe, how does she maintain herself?

 

Because I was too shocked internally, I decided to eat another Captain Grey to calm down.

 

“Smack.”

 

The little hand secretly reaching for the plate was slapped away, I was startled, then anger welled up in my heart, and I immediately raised my head to glare back at Carlos’s wide eyes.

 

“Don’t bring shame to the Pontifical Knights.”

 

Carlos said calmly.

 

“Mind your own business!”

 

I shouted back defiantly, no longer caring about maintaining any image at this point.

 

It’s really infuriating, I just want to eat a donut, what’s wrong with that? How does it affect you?

 

“Come now, Sir Carlos. Really now, why are you bullying a young girl?” the Duchess said with a smile.

 

“Exactly.”

 

I immediately followed up on the Duchess’s words, then as if in revenge, grabbed two donuts and desperately stuffed them into my mouth, one in each hand.

 

Carlos was immediately at a loss for words.

 

Just then, a loud noise came from beside my ear as the reception hall’s large door was suddenly pushed open.

 

A young man about 20 years old burst in, and upon seeing the Duchess, shouted loudly: “Mom, where’s my sister!? Is she back?”

 

“Quiet! Parsifal, we have guests here.” The Duchess frowned with displeasure.

 

“Where’s my sister?” The man didn’t heed the Duchess’s words, stood there looking around, then saw me with my cheeks stuffed full of food, looking bewildered.

 

“Pe… Peylo?”