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Chapter 13
“……”
Silence filled the air for a long moment.
Zeria looked completely stunned, as if she could not believe what she had just heard.
Her face looked like she was barely stopping herself from saying, Has my sister finally lost her mind?
“M-Miss, you’ve become quite bold while I wasn’t around. That joke just now was very creative, Sister.”
“Why do you think it was a joke?”
“Well! Your condition is still so bad, there’s no way you could attend a place like that…!”
Zeria slammed the table as she spoke, then suddenly stared carefully at my face.
“Wait… now that I look closely, your complexion looks healthy? Before, you looked practically half-dead…?”
It seemed she had been too absorbed in boasting about herself to properly look at me before.
Only now did Zeria examine me carefully from head to toe.
“You’ve gained weight too… Then the rumor was true? That Young Master Selver has been helping you…”
At Zeria’s muttering, the other young ladies immediately began talking among themselves.
“Isn’t Young Master Selver the heir with the greatest healing ability in history?”
“So the rumors about him using healing powers on Lady Sierra every day were true.”
Three years.
That was how long Zeria had been away from the family.
And during that time, my life had completely changed.
I regained memories of my previous life, met Arzen, and recently even became involved with Ludwig.
“It’s a good thing I didn’t attend the Academy. Thanks to Arzen, my illness has almost completely improved.”
I smiled brightly as I spoke.
At my words, Zeria’s tightly clenched fist trembled slightly.
Half-dead…
It was not entirely wrong.
A pitiful girl who was small, thin, and terribly frail.
That was probably the Sierra Zeria remembered.
“……”
After taking a moment to calm herself, Zeria tilted her head and spoke again.
“Sister… are you weighing the two men against each other?”
“Hm?”
What kind of nonsense was that?
“You received all kinds of help from Young Master Selver, and now that you’re healthy again, are you trying to start something with the Young Master of Carsian too?”
“You should be more careful with your words. You still speak without thinking whenever you get emotional, just like when we were children.”
What she said was ridiculous, but I knew very well that if Zeria wanted to, she could spread nonsense until people believed it was true.
Before entering the Academy, she had ruled high society like its queen, and even now she still moved around with countless followers.
Zeria laid the groundwork and continued speaking.
“No, really. We’re family, not strangers. Can’t we speak comfortably with each other? Sister finally has men around her now, and not just one either!”
Her voice sounded innocent and playful, like a carefree younger sister curious about her older sister’s love life.
“We’re family, not strangers. Can’t we speak comfortably with each other?”
“What nonsense about ‘just us.’”
Every young lady sitting here belonged to a prestigious family, and their influence could not be ignored.
That meant I had to stop these reckless remarks here and now.
“I am indeed receiving help from Young Master Selver, but it is not right to look at such noble kindness through dirty assumptions.”
At my words, Zeria flinched slightly.
She clearly wanted to argue back but could not think of anything to say.
Or perhaps she simply thought someone like me had no right to speak back to her.
“And the one who received Young Master Ludwig’s kindness was me. How we repay that kindness is a matter between us. Zeria, why do you think you have the right to interfere?”
As I spoke sharply, someone quietly muttered into the frozen silence.
“…To be honest, Lady Zeria really did say something inappropriate.”
“I-I also think saying Lady Sierra is weighing the two young masters against each other was a bit…”
“Shh, everyone, quiet.”
Just hearing their whispers was enough to make it difficult for them to spread rumors carelessly afterward.
If I had stayed silent like the old me and allowed myself to look easy to bully, by tomorrow rumors would spread that I was some shameless woman playing with multiple men.
“I want an apology, Zeria. You’re not a child anymore, and you should take responsibility for your words.”
“S-Sister. It was only meant as a joke. Asking for an apology is too much…!”
“I didn’t find it funny at all. I found it very unpleasant. Honestly, didn’t everyone else feel the same?”
I spoke casually to the young lady sitting across from me.
“Lady Silla, if you were in my position, would you truly think it was a funny joke?”
“T-That…”
She was the same young lady who had earlier pointed out Zeria’s mistake.
Even if people gathered in groups like this, there were still some reasonable people among them.
“…I think apologizing would be right, Zeria.”
“Lady Silla!”
Zeria looked deeply wronged, as if she could not believe someone had sided against her.
Just as the atmosphere became even more chaotic—
“Did I come at the wrong time?”
A beautiful male voice sounded from behind us.
Several people turned toward the sound and unconsciously gasped.
“Arzen.”
I thought he had already returned home, so why was he still here?
His silver hair shone brilliantly beneath the sunlight pouring into the greenhouse, making him look unreal just by existing.
Looking at him like this, he was incredibly handsome.
“Forgive me for interrupting your pleasant conversation, but I believe I should take our Sierra away now. She has something important to attend to.”
Although Arzen’s eyes curved slightly, he was not smiling at all.
“Lord Sercan is looking for you, Sierra.”
“Father? Why all of a sudden…? Anyway, I think I should go. Let’s continue this conversation another time.”
At my words, Zeria bit her lip.
Even if she died and came back to life, I doubted I would ever hear an apology from her mouth.
And honestly, I had never truly expected one anyway.
My real purpose had simply been to control the atmosphere so rumors would not spread afterward.
Arzen held his hand out toward me.
“Sierra, let’s go. The scent here is too strong. Staying too long won’t be good for you.”
I did not know whether he meant the scent of flowers or the perfume worn by the young ladies, but Arzen frowned as he spoke.
Among the young ladies still staring blankly at Arzen, I met Zeria’s burning glare.
Smiling slightly, I replied,
“Yes. I was just thinking this was becoming a waste of time anyway.”
I took Arzen’s hand and turned away.
I could feel the stinging gazes on my back, but I never looked behind me as we left the greenhouse.
“……”
For a long time afterward, not a single sound came from Zeria’s group.
The moment we stepped outside, the fresh air felt refreshing enough to bring me back to life.
“You were right. The scent really was overwhelming. I didn’t even notice while I was inside.”
Because I had been ignored by Zeria so naturally for so long, I never realized it when I was younger.
“Thank you, Arzen.”
I smiled brightly as I spoke to him, touched that he had come all the way here for me.
“How long had you been listening?”
“From the moment Lady Zeria started speaking nonsense.”
“Ah.”
Just remembering it again made my blood pressure rise.
Fortunately, I managed to stay calm and handle the situation, but next time I worried my fists might move before my brain did.
“It really was complete nonsense.”
“Yes, it was. You never liked me in the first place anyway.”
Arzen laughed softly.
“Why would I dislike you? I like you a lot.”
You were one of the few precious people I had.
“That’s not what I meant… No, forget it. Let’s hurry. Lord Sercan told me to bring you quickly.”
Without understanding what was going on, I followed behind Arzen as he walked ahead.
“Father, I heard you were looking for me.”
“You’re here, Sierra. I heard you were attending Zeria’s tea gathering.”
“Ah, yes. It wasn’t very enjoyable.”
I frowned as I remembered what had happened earlier.
“More importantly, why did you call for me?”
“Well… the real culprit has been caught.”
“What?”
Father spoke in a serious voice.
“The person who sprinkled Dregers powder into your tea.”
“The real culprit has been caught.”
“Who… is it?”
It was difficult to believe the culprit had truly been found.
Because if the person I suspected was really the culprit, there was no way they would leave behind any evidence.
“A maid named Hilda confessed personally. She admitted to putting Dregers powder into the teacup.”
However, the name that came from Father’s mouth was completely unexpected.
“…What was her motive?”
“She said she often had conflicts with you. Those negative feelings built up over time, and she acted impulsively.”
Hilda.
She was practically one of Aunt and Zeria’s closest servants.
She was also one of the people Aunt had brought with her from the Marquis Crea family.
Relations between Orzen and Father had always been bad, and recently they constantly argued over the matter of succession.
Because of that, the servants from the Marquis Crea household frequently clashed with the people serving me over small matters.
Among them, Hilda caused trouble most often because she was especially favored by Aunt and Zeria.
Things had been quiet for a while, but after hearing that Zeria was returning from the Academy, had she started causing trouble again?
‘No… something feels strange.’
She had a motive, and as someone who had served the family for a long time, she definitely knew I had no immunity to Dregers poison.
It would not be strange if she truly was the culprit, but…
“It still feels suspicious.”
“We even used a truth serum and questioned her again, but her answers remained the same.”
Truth serum was a drug that forced someone to speak only the truth regardless of their intentions.
It made lying completely impossible.
“What will happen to Hilda now?”
“For now, she will remain in the underground prison while we investigate whether there is more information to uncover. Once everything becomes clear, she will receive the punishment she deserves.”
“…Then does this really have nothing to do with Aunt?”
