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chapter 16
Nancy calmly repeated what Edith had said back then without even blinking.
Since that scene had never appeared in the novel, I couldn’t easily find the right words to respond.
“Nancy, that was…”
“I know. You weren’t trying to defend me or anything.”
“…”
“You didn’t even remember my name back then, Miss.”
She spoke brightly, as if she had no regrets at all. My conscience felt stabbed over and over.
Edith, you fool… If you brought her with you, you could’ve at least remembered her name.
I was shaking my head inwardly when—
“…Even so. From that moment on, I decided I would serve you as my master for the rest of my life.”
“…Nancy.”
“And don’t worry about me telling anyone! I’m already an outcast anyway. So…”
Nancy gently folded my open fingers closed.
The sparkling ring disappeared into my fist.
“Give this to me later, Miss. You already gave me one.”
At her words, I realized that Edith had never taken back the ring she had returned to Nancy.
It felt strange.
Now it was my eyes that were trembling, not hers.
This isn’t right. I need to silence her properly…
Even thinking that, I couldn’t bring myself to offer the ring again.
Her face as she looked at me was too kind, too bright.
Is this really okay?
It felt undeniably sincere.
Can a villain act like this?!
I felt a little confused.
Rustle, rustle.
With the steady sound of pages turning, a woman’s eyelids fluttered.
“Mm…”
“If you’re awake, why don’t you get up?”
“…Gasp!”
At my cold voice, her eyes flew open.
She scrambled to sit up, looking extremely confused.
Of course she was.
Not only had she been lying on the floor of the young lady’s room, but her clothes had also been changed.
“W-What is this…?”
Snap.
I closed the book I had been reading and turned to her.
“You must have been very tired. You suddenly collapsed. It startled me.”
“…Young Lady.”
“It’s quite late. Now that you’re awake, you should leave.”
At my calm tone, her brown eyes shook as if an earthquake had struck.
“Aston, get up quickly.”
Nancy whispered and hurriedly helped Aston to her feet. Aston was still sitting there blankly.
“I—I have something to ask!”
Suddenly, she raised her head and spoke in a rush.
“Earlier… your ability… I mean, you clearly said there was 4% left…”
“…”
“I-I didn’t hurt you in any way, did I, Young Lady?”
“What are you talking about? Did you have a dream?”
I cut her off impatiently. Aston looked stunned.
After a moment of silence, she gathered herself.
“…I’m sorry, Young Lady. I’ve been very tired lately and caused trouble.”
“…”
“It’s very late today, so I’ll return home. I’ll come back to work and see you tomorrow.”
Her words became faster and faster.
Seeing her glance anxiously at the darkening sky outside the window, it was obvious she wanted to leave as soon as possible.
I almost delayed her out of spite, but decided against it.
“Fine. You may go.”
When I answered lightly, she bowed and immediately turned around.
Just as Aston grabbed the doorknob, I lazily spoke.
“Aston.”
“…”
“You’ll soon have to pay the price for the help I gave you.”
Her hand froze on the doorknob.
Slowly, her young face turned pale with shock as she looked back at me.
Smiling at her, I said,
“Don’t go home. Stay at the duke’s residence until tomorrow morning. That’s an order.”
Found it. My loophole.
The next day.
With Nancy’s help, I put on a maid’s uniform and secretly left the mansion through the servants’ passage.
With a cleaning bonnet and mask tightly covering my face and hair, no one recognized me.
I thought they’d guard me strictly so I couldn’t go out…
It was much easier than expected.
Well. If it were Edith, she’d probably make a scene asking how anyone dared block her.
She would never have thought of sneaking out in a maid’s outfit like this.
After easily passing through the final checkpoint—the back gate—I calmly climbed into the carriage waiting outside.
Thud.
“Hello?”
“Who—”
I removed my mask for the surprised passenger. Her eyes widened.
“Y-Young Lady?!”
“Call me Nancy while we’re outside.”
“What is going on…?!”
Fortunately, she seemed much better after a night’s rest.
71%
Looks like she didn’t use her ability overnight.
Knock, knock.
After confirming that her runaway level was the same as yesterday, I tapped on the carriage wall.
The coachman took it as the signal to depart.
The carriage quickly crossed the duke’s estate.
Watching the grand mansion grow smaller through the window, I eventually turned to face her.
“How long will it take to reach Tollen?”
At my casual question, Aston’s face twisted.
“Is this why you stopped me from going home?”
“You already know. Why ask?”
“You’re really too much!”
She had been staring at me anxiously, and now she burst out.
“To you, this probably feels like a joke! You sneak out, have fun, and come back!”
“…”
“But I can’t skip even one day going home! I even give up half my salary just to rent a carriage back and forth—!”
“…”
“My blood felt like it was drying up all night. And yet for something like this—!”
“Enough.”
Considering what I heard yesterday about her situation, I had intended to tolerate some complaints.
But this outing was important to me too.
You think I enjoy being with you? Do you think I’m suffering like this for fun?!
I couldn’t just sit and listen as her words grew harsher.
“Your voice is too loud for someone speaking to her master.”
“…”
“Even a mere animal recognizes the one who saved its life. I’ve already seen that you were worse than an animal yesterday, so you don’t need to show me again.”
“…Ugh.”
My cold remark froze the air inside the carriage.
After staring at me for a long moment, she lowered her head.
“…I’m sorry.”
“…”
“Lately… I don’t feel like myself.”
Her voice, mixed with regret and self-loathing, was barely above a whisper.
Hearing that, my anger eased a little.
That’s understandable.
Anxiety, poor anger control, extreme mood swings—those were all typical signs before a runaway.
Although I had purified her, her level wasn’t yet stable. There were still aftereffects.
Right. What’s the point of arguing with someone who’s sick…
I turned my head back toward the window, signaling I wouldn’t argue further.
Then suddenly, I heard soft sobbing.
“To be honest… I’m really scared…”
“…”
“My mind keeps going blank… and my healing power is working less and less on my little brother… sob, sob…”
Aston suddenly began crying heavily, tears falling one after another.
“…”
I stared at her blankly.
I had scolded her because of her rude behavior, but I hadn’t expected her to start crying!
She’s not a child—
Ah. She actually is.
Remembering that Aston was around the same age as Nancy, I let out a sigh and untied my apron.
“Here. Wipe your tears with this.”
“Sniff! Sob! Hoooonk!”
She obediently took the apron and immediately blew her nose loudly into it.
“It belongs to Nancy. Wash it properly and return it.”
I forced myself to speak kindly, holding back a frown.
“You won’t have anything to worry about for now. I purified you to some extent.”
“Sniff, sob!”
“But don’t use your ability recklessly. You’re not in the safe range yet.”
“Th-Then…”
“We’ll see beyond that depending on how you behave. Since you’re holding my weakness too, I should have some insurance.”
“Waaah—!”
Even though I meant to reassure her, Aston glared at me with tear-filled eyes and burst into even louder sobs.
“M-Mom… waaah!”
Now she was even calling for her mother.
No, seriously… why?!
