Curse the Mainframe! 274 Lucielle Hartknigh

The festival was something that attracted people from far and wide to the town. It was a festival that was only held once every five years, and it was actually a rather large-scale festival that was held specifically in this town.

Over the years, the scale of the festival had evolved, and there were more and more forms of entertainment that allowed all sorts of entertainment at the same time.

Every time the festival was held, there would be people pouring into the town for days on end, which guaranteed the town's livelihood and survival.

Aside from the nearby common civilians that attended, there were many young misses and young masters that attended out of curiosity as they looked for a bit of fun, dragging along their friends.

Other than them, there were those that specifically came here to make connections in a more relaxed environment, or to look for a spouse in order to elevate their own standing.

Regardless of the reason, people poured into the town left and right, filling up every inch of the town, even those that should have been more deserted.

The young miss of the Hartknight family, Lucielle Hartknight, was of no exception.

With just two friends, she snuck out of her home to come join the fun of the festival without anyone knowing.

Disguised as a normal civilian, the three friends toured the festival letting out cries of delight at whatever entertainment they found for the moment. They hopped from stall to stall, eyes bright as they bought little trinkets and snacks.

It was a completely different sight from the boring parties that they were forced to attend, and the three young ladies were soaking themselves in the boisterous atmosphere.

It was a fresh environment, and they could see why it had been extensively talked about.

Lucielle wandered around with no goal in mind, only to find a large crowd that seemed to be made out of women at the side. The group of women giggled and whispered to each other; their attention all directed to a specific place.

At that, Lucielle felt curious about what was happening here that attracted such a specific crowd instead of being a constantly moving crowd like everywhere else.

Tilting their bodies here and there, they made their way through the crowd of women, and the three friends finally realized why there were so many women standing around.

In an area where all the women nearby could see, there was a man that appeared as pure and gentle as refined jade.

He seemed to exude a trace of pureness in this world that seemed so filthy at times, and the smile on his face made Lucielle's heart palpitate wildly.

This was the first time that she'd seen such a man, and with his handsome features and crystalline blue eyes that sparkled with an unknown emotion, Lucielle felt as if she was falling in love for the first time ever.

His looks were exactly to her taste, and the smile and gentleness he exuded made her feel intoxicated.

Compared to the women of the crowd who were admiring him from afar, Lucielle felt the sudden urge to boldly confess to him in front of the entire crowd, staking her claim on him.

Lucielle's eyes sparkled, but she still felt a bit shy when she realized that she was about to do it in front of an entire crowd. It wasn't like she was going to do it alone, and on top of that, in front of her friends!

However, as they said, fortune favours the bold, so she would just go for it!

If she waited, who knew whether or not he'd just disappear in front of her eyes.

Then, she'd regret that she didn't take a chance to outright confess!

More than that, no one here knew that she was Lucielle Hartknight, so she still had a bit of immunity.

Taking a deep breath, Lucielle broke out from the crowd of women, and was faced with harsh glares from all ends by the women that were standing around watching without doing anything.

Still, Lucielle admired that the unknown man had enough patience not to just randomly break out from the crowd who was obviously whispering about him.

The women that were part of the surrounding crowd were all annoyed. How come this little girl dared to break their unspoken agreement?

This handsome gentleman belonged to everyone! How shameless!

Yet, before anyone could drag her back, the girl already reached her target and clasped her hands in front of her chest, looking upwards at him in a way she knew men liked.

A little calculative, maybe, but all's fair in love and war.

"Hello! You don't know me, but I've fallen for you at first glance! Won't you please go out with me?"

Lucielle shut her eyes pleadingly, her heart beating a steady staccato in her chest.

This was the first time for her to be so bold in front of a man.

She wasn't scared of challenges, nor was she scared of rejection, but what she couldn't stand was not following her heart's desires.

She just knew that if she didn't do this, she would regret it forever in the future, that she didn't charge forward and take a chance when she wanted to.

She didn't know why, but Lucielle just had this feeling.

Unlike Lucielle, who was hopeful for a chance, Alec, on the other hand, felt his inexplicable bad mood go from bad to worse.

There were already a group of women treating him like some sideshow, but now there was even someone who had come up to him to confess in a way that reminded him so much of how Travis had 'confessed' to Elysia yesterday.

Unfortunately for Lucielle, with Alec's bad mood, and the fact that his stress levels had been steadily building back up, he had no patience for any of these kinds of antics right now.

Alec smiled his signature smile and bent down a little, brushing a stray strand of hair behind Lucielle's ear.

Lucielle's eyes popped open in shock, and her heartbeat seemed to stutter in her chest. Her heart soared at his provocative actions.

Alec leaned down and whispered in her ear. His voice was low and magnetic, and it could have sent her into a drunken state of ecstasy.

"Why don't you get the fuck out when I'm still patient?"

Lucielle froze, her eyes wide with shock, as the seemingly gentle and refined man walked away from her with light and easy steps.

She replayed his words in her mind, feeling faint.

The harsh rejection that was whispered into her ears was a direct opposite of what she thought he'd say, yet for some reason, something inside Lucielle squirmed.

Alec was not and had never been a kind person.

The softest parts of himself were reserved for those that he kept dear to him, and he was abrasive to everyone else that was outside of his circle.

However, due to Annalise's interference early on in his life, as well as the Mainframe's restrictions of OOC on him, Alec's approach to this had changed a little.

Instead of just using words that he used frequently before, letting out his real thoughts without any filter whatsoever, Alec was now able to deflect any curiosity about himself that he didn't want with a gentle smile and calm words.

However, Lucielle, who had chanced upon Alec at the peak of his bad mood, received no such consideration from the System.

Alec continued on without even leaving a glance behind for her, leaving Lucielle staring directly at his back as he walked into the distance.

The young miss of the Hartknight family found herself falling into a daze.

Lucielle's two friends quickly appeared beside her, clinging onto both sides of her arms.

"Lucielle, spill it! What did that dreamboat whisper to you before he left?!"

"Our baby Lucy's in looooove," her friend teased, and her eyes were glittering with mischief.

"Ngah," Lucielle let out a sound that was completely indecipherable, confusing her two friends.

They exchanged glances.

"What's wrong? Did he accept?"

"Are you his girlfriend now?"

Lucielle shook her head slowly, the dazed look still remaining on her face. "I was rejected…"

"Eh??"

The two friends were completely confused. From the look on Lucielle's face, that didn't seem to be the case at all.

What was wrong with her?

Chapter end

Report