Tangled By Fate

As he raised his hand to take the diary from her, Veronica hurriedly stepped backward. "You are not getting it. How can I let a man read a woman's diary? First, I will read it. Then, I will tell you shortly what's written in here." Veronica knocked the diary in front of his face.

"Come on! I gave you the idea of how to get it." The reason Arthur helped her was so that he could finally get a hold of the diary that held the secrets he was looking for. If he couldn't get to read it, what was the point in helping her?

Veronica put her arms around her waist and argued back, "So what you helped me? And even if you helped me, I can't believe you want to read it! It must be your hidden intention just like you mentioned, isn't it? That's why I was wondering why you were being so friendly to me. You have an unspeakable purpose, don't you Arthur?"

"…" Arthur didn't expect her to turn the tables and put the blame on him instead. He advised her to be wary of other people, not be wary of him! It made him regret giving her that lecture.

He finally sighed and said, "I'm just curious why a nun would want to kill herself. The priests aren't forced to live a certain kind of life there, right? If she wanted to move out, she could do it anytime. No one would have stopped her either. Why would she choose a sinful path? If you don't want to let me read it, it's fine with me. I don't mind. Just tell me the reason why she chose that ending."

Veronica narrowed her eyes, trying to copy him. She wanted to read his mind as he could hers. However, she couldn't. After checking him out for a couple of seconds, she resigned. "Fine, I believe you. By the way, do you have any food left in your house? I'm starving."

She wasn't able to eat her dinner properly, out of her excitement. Working in the bar for two hours in a row and serving snacks and drinks already made her stomach cry several times. She already endured it for two hours, but couldn't anymore.

Arthur said, "I will make you some sandwiches. Let's go."

Veronica's face beamed. She liked the sandwich he made for her yesterday. She couldn't wait to eat more.

After they reached his home, she went to the dining room. There, she could eat and read peacefully.

Meanwhile, Arthur busied himself with fixing what Veronica would call the most delectable sandwiches she ever got to eat on the kitchen counter, not so far from the dining table.

While she was reading, Arthur served her the promised sandwiches. As he served her, he tried to peek at what was written in the diary. However, Veronica saw his shadow looming over her. She quickly blocked his view with her hands and then gave him a cold stare.

"I'm not peeking," Arthur defended himself.

"I didn't ask you anything." Veronica dubiously gazed at him and took a bite of the sandwich. "You people take advantage of every situation, don't you?" By 'you people', she meant common people who lived outside the temple.

Arthur knew he was busted. He let out a dry cough and lectured her, "…Well, people you live with have a simple life. They live in a comfort zone. They don't have malice in them because they never faced anything harsh. As for these people, they had to face reality every day, they saw how cruel the world could be. That's why they became selfish and cunning, to survive in the real world. Is it enough to feed your curiosity, princess?"

Veronica spoke, "It's not related to the action why you were peeking at the diary."

'Acting all high and mighty,' Arthur thought in his mind. "I'm sorry for peeking," he apologized. "I'll be in my study room upstairs. If you need anything, let me know."

"All right, now leave." Veronica shooed him away.

'Just whose house is this?' Arthur wondered. He went to the study room and found Sebastian standing close to the table, wearing the usual black clothes. "How long have you been waiting for?" He asked.

Sebastian answered, "Fifteen minutes, Master."

Arthur blamed him, "You are late."

Sebastian bowed and apologized, "I'm sorry, Master. I was being chased."

Arthur furrowed his eyebrows. "By whom?" He inquired.

Sebastian replied, "A group of people who were after what you wanted."

Arthur hummed. "I see. Did you get it?"

"Yes, it's safe and sound. Here," saying that Sebastian took out a red velvet box, with a rectangular size. The edges of the box were designed in pure gold.

Arthur opened the box and saw what's inside. He checked it and found out that it was the real one. He was satisfied and said, "Good job. Be sure to notify that person that I got what I needed. Also, I need two portions of the purple bottle. Just tell that person and he will give it to you. You have two days to bring it back to me."

Sebastian said, "Yes, master. He told me to send this letter to you." He took out an envelope that was sealed with a lion's face.

Arthur took the envelope and checked the content before humming, "Hmm… I have no interest in replying to such a letter. Don't bring a letter that doesn't have any important content."

"…Yes, Master." Sebastian wanted to say that he couldn't read the letter. How would he know if it's an important letter or not?

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Someone politely knocked on the door interrupting their conversation.

With Arthur's signal, Sebastian slipped out of the window. After he left, Arthur calmly yet swiftly kept the box away in the inconspicuous drawer of his table before locking it safely. He then stood up and walked to the door. He unlocked the door and opened it.

Veronica was standing in the doorway with a pale face.

"What's wrong?" Arthur asked her. He had a feeling that something wasn't right.

Veronica answered, "The diary… some pages are torn. There is no way to tell why she committed suicide."