The Countess Lives Twice in the Apocalypse-Chapter 108 - 2.3

"Why are you walking back and forth? Did something happen?" Jeriel questioned her big sister, making Jannah flinch and stop in her tracks.

"Nothing." Jannah answered almost immediately, "Nothing happened. I’m just working out."

The Countess looked away from Jeriel, her bloody red eyes darting all over the place and avoiding the youngest Rafelon’s eyes as she went back to walking, briskly and quick.

"Something happened." Jeriel said, coming to her own conclusion as she watched her big sister walk back and forth again.

"What happened, Lady Jeriel?" Asked the green haired lady as she approached the Rafelon sisters, carrying a tray with two wooden bowls with steam coming out on the top which gave away that it was hot.

"Something is bothering your lover." Jeriel said, a playful look in her eyes, but her tone is serious.

Kirie’s reaction was quick to show, her cheeks flushed almost immediately as she suddenly felt a wave of shyness wash over her.

She tried to keep her expression neutral, keep her eyes void of emotion and keep her composure, but the redness of her face gave her away because her pale skin didn’t let her cover what she was trying to hide.

She looked down at her shoes, her eyes averted from the gaze of the youngest Rafelon.

"I’m not my lady’s lover, Lady Jeriel." Kirie murmured, feeling her heart pounding in her chest with the sound of her own pulse echoing loud in her ears.

The fact that Jeriel knows about how she felt towards Jannah tells her that she wasn’t doing well in hiding her feelings— she knows that she often shows it whenever the princess and the other men are around, but Lady Jeriel?

The fact that Jeriel was aware made her feel even more embarrassed.

Jeriel stared at the green haired lady for a moment before she raised a hand and covered the lower part of her face to hide the smile that creeped to her lips, she tried so hard to not let out the snort that wanted to escape from her throat.

Kirie’s reaction was amusing.

Jeriel cleared her throat and shook her head slowly, shooting her big sister a quick glance. "I know and it’s not like she heard what I said, right?"

"Yes.." Kirie nodded her head, trailing off as she held out the tray towards Jeriel.

Jeriel hummed out and took the bowls from her, smiling cheekily with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Relax. As far as I know, she hasn’t caught on it yet."

Okay, that was a lie, but who cares? The youngest Rafelon quickly mused in her mind.

It was obvious that Jannah already knows the feelings of the Duke, the Princess, the Count, and the maid, but she has not done anything to reciprocate their feelings except for letting them do whatever they want.

The last time she used their feelings against them was when she finally got off the bed and patrolled the town.

All she had to do was send a smile their way and they would agree to everything she would ask. Jeriel thought to herself, sweat dripping in her cheek as she walked towards her big sister.

"Sis, time to eat so stop walking back and forth!" Jeriel called out to Jannah.

Jannah stopped in her tracks, her body stiff and rigid, and turned to Jeriel. "What did Lucienta and Kirie cook for tonight?"

"A soup with bits of potatoes? I think it’s potatoes." Jeriel said, handing Jannah one of the wooden bowls and slipping the tray under her armpit before taking a sip on the soup, humming softly when the flavorful broth hit her tongue.

"I love their soup so much." Jannah murmured, mirroring her little sister’s action.

The meal time had distracted Jannah enough from remembering the vivid dream she had and when it was time to leave the town of Rye, she had forgotten about it.

"Is this all the things I brought out from my inventory?" Jannah asked Lucienta, eyeing the large crate in front of her.

"Yes, my lady." The head maid smiled at her and looked at the crate as well, "I took some of the potatoes we brought and cooked it. I took nothing else."

"Ah, no, no, I didn’t ask that because I don’t trust you." Jannah quickly waved a hand and shook her head, "I was just shocked to see that we still have a lot on this one. I kind of expected that you used a lot of potatoes because I got full."

Princess Huenazia chuckled. "So, it was a compliment for the head maid?"

"More or less." Jannah said, not confirming nor agreeing to the princess’s question and closed the crate before storing it on her inventory again.

She has three big crates stored in her inventory which consists of their food for their travel to the capital.

Each crate has labels of fruit, vegetables, and bread on it to know which is which, courtesy of the worries of a pair of old men named Marco and Aran.

"That’s everything, right?" Jannah asked once more, mounting her stallion and sitting herself on her horse’s saddle with ease, "We’re going to come back here to clean this clean town once I’m done with the mission at the capital."

"What are you planning to do with this town, my lady?" Duke Eulicies spoke up, walking towards her with his horse hot in his trail.

"I’m planning on making this town a part of Philipia." Jannah said, a small smile on her face.

"We’re going to expand again?" Jeriel asked, her eyebrows raising to her hairlines as she blinked towards her big sister, "What are you trying to do? Build an orphanage for survivors or something?"

"Pfft—"

Jeriel and Jannah turned their heads towards Count Nige and Princess Huenazia, the two covering their mouths as they looked away from the Rafelon sisters.

"Seriously?" Jannah raised an eyebrow as she let out an irritated huff, "Just because I said I want to make this town a part of Philipia doesn’t mean I’m going to take in survivors again."

"Okay." Jeriel snorted out and rolled her eyes, knowing full well that her big sister has a big heart and wouldn’t be able to refuse people who would ask her help.

"Whatever." Jannah grumbled under her breath and turned to Duke Eulicies, "Open the gates, Eulicies."

Duke Eulicies froze in surprise at the sound of his name, his heart skipped a beat as he heard the woman say his name, the sound of her voice sending a shiver down his spine— a look of astonishment crossing his handsome face.

He wasn’t the only one who was shocked.

Princess Huenazia, Kirie, Lucienta, and Count Nige simultaneously had their eyes go wide.

For so long she had called everyone by their last name, the sound of it always cool and composed with the only exception of her little sister, two friends, and people.

Jannah was known for her strict personality throughout the vast land of the kingdom. Always keeping everything, everyone, every event at arm’s length unless it was deemed as important by her.

They had always expected her to call them by their title or by their family name, but now?

Hearing his first name being said so tenderly with a mixture of irritation caused by the people who were deemed as trustworthy by the woman he had grown fond of was almost too much to bear.

He felt his pulse quicken and his breath catch in his throat, his emotions threatening to overwhelm him as he looked into her face, Jannah’s eyebrows furrowed in annoyance.

He felt a wave of dizziness and disorientation as the world spinned for his eyes, everything else fading away while he made his way to the gates, his movements stiff and awkward as he grabbed the wooden plank.

"Why did you do that, sis?" Jeriel hissed, getting off her horse and rushing to help the poor man.

"Huh?" Jannah frowned and glared at her little sister, "What did I do this time?"

"As if you don’t know!" The youngest Rafelon hissed and grabbed the handle of the left gate while the other handle was grabbed by the Duke.

The two of them let out a strained grunt as they pried the gate open, the hinges of the wooden doors crying out in aggressive protest, letting them know that it has been a while since it was tended to.

Jeriel knows that Jannah was aware of their feelings so it’s impossible for her to not know what kind of effect she has on them.

The four people in Jannah’s party guided their horses out of the town with Jannah pulling the reigns of Jeriel’s and Duke Eulicies’s horses so they could lock the gates without having to worry about their rides.

Clang!

Duke Eulicies locked the gates using the chains he found in the blacksmith shop of the town and had the gates covered by another set of massive wooden planks just in case.

After that, he walked to Jannah, his movements still stiff and awkward as he avoided her eyes.

"He’s so lucky." Count Nige huffed out with a frown.

"He is." Princess Huenazia agreed, a frown also settling on her face as they watched Duke Eulicies mount his horse, the sight of his red ears making the two scoff.

Then, all of them started galloping their way to the next town.