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Chapter 26
After jumping down from the window, Rishid landed in the bushes and immediately lowered himself.
He cautiously raised his head and looked around. Several large servants were busy moving back and forth.
‘This is troublesome.’
Rishid clicked his tongue softly.
If only the post office’s business hours didn’t end in the afternoon, he would have come out at night when it was quieter.
He had hurried because he had no idea when the Western nobles might make their move, but there were simply too many risks.
Rishid flattened himself against the ground and crawled out of the flower bed.
“Just this once……!”
The Young Lady’s voice from before he jumped out of the window lingered in his ears like an afterimage.
“It’s too dangerous for you to go around alone in that body. So please promise me.”
The Young Lady’s eyes, as she lightly grabbed the hem of his trousers, looked more anxious than ever.
Her cheeks, which had always been full of vitality since they had been together, had gone pale.
‘It’s always been like this.’
He could vividly remember the Young Lady’s reaction whenever she thought of him as someone incapable of even dealing with a crow or a stray cat.
Whenever she made mischievous faces and played childish pranks with a sly expression, she was always strangely serious whenever she worried about him.
As though the world were about to end at any moment.
‘Because she likes me…….’
Rishid, who could not possibly fail to understand the reason, suddenly felt the back of his neck grow hot.
Why did his body keep heating up at the most unexpected times?
‘At this point, is this not an illness?’
Just as Rishid was ridiculing himself, the Young Lady’s face flashed through his mind against his will.
“I like them too, Grand Duke.”
At that moment, Rishid stumbled and lost his balance. The grass crumpled beneath his feet with a rustling sound.
“What was that?”
Thanks to that, a maid who was passing right beside the flower bed turned toward him.
Rishid hurriedly rolled behind the flower-bed wall and hid himself.
However, one step, then two.
The footsteps stopped right in front of him. A dark shadow slowly fell over his head.
And just as the maid was about to discover him……
[Myaa―]
A cat suddenly jumped out from around the corner.
“Goodness, you startled me! It was just a cat!”
The maid crouched down and reached toward the cat.
The fluffy white cat began purring and acting affectionately as the maid stroked it.
“Oh, you’re so cute. That’s right, that’s right!”
Rishid finally let out the breath he had been holding.
‘Ha.’
How did I end up in a situation like this……
All she had said was that she liked sweet things, so why had that scene suddenly come to mind?
They said that was what love was like. That you became anxious, sad, depressed, and lost your energy when you couldn’t see the person in front of you.
Even when he had heard more extreme things than that, he had never reacted like this.
‘This is absurd.’
Rishid let out a hollow laugh.
Fine. If he was going to think of her, then perhaps it should be her reddish lips that gently curled upward whenever she smiled.
Or her violet eyes that sparkled like jewels.
Or the faint rose scent that always drifted toward him whenever she turned around.
Or perhaps her gentle voice calling, Grand Duke…….
‘What?’
Rishid’s face stiffened as he continued thinking.
Crazy bastard.
He quickly slapped himself on the cheek.
The cat looked toward him in surprise, but Rishid, who was already covering his flushed face with both hands, didn’t even notice.
‘Please, disappear from my mind, Young Lady.’
Rishid gritted his teeth and thought of his foolish subordinate, Kassel Elbiens.
As soon as he did, his pounding heart gradually began returning to its normal rhythm.
Rishid sighed and lowered his hands from his face.
‘There’s no doubt I’ve been possessed by an evil spirit.’
Apparently, he needed to figure out how to break this curse as quickly as possible. Perhaps because of the curse, his mind seemed to be getting stranger and stranger as well.
“Oh! I have to go now! Bye, kitty!”
Just then, the maid who had been petting the cat stood up.
The cat, which had been rolling onto its back and acting cute, immediately returned to its proper posture the moment the maid disappeared.
Left alone, the cat let out a bored sigh.
[Phew.]
‘Wait, did it just sigh……?’
Rishid stared at the cat with an incredulous expression.
The cat, which had been licking its fur and moistening its tongue, turned its head toward Rishid at that moment.
Their gazes met in midair.
The cat slowly stood up and raised its rear end high. Soon, its tail rose straight up as though it were preparing to attack.
‘Damn it.’
Apparently, it had recognized Rishid as an enemy who had trespassed into its territory.
[Myaa―!]
This time, Rishid did not forget to bring his sword. He drew it in one swift motion.
It had already been an hour since Rishid had gone out the window.
I washed Rishid’s bedding and hung it over the windowsill, then sighed.
I couldn’t stop Rishid because I knew how important the contents of the letter he was sending to Kassel were, but I kept imagining ominous possibilities.
‘Why am I so anxious…….’
The post office was in the square, so it would take quite some time for him to travel back and forth in that tiny body.
But my heart kept pounding as I worried about what would happen if he didn’t return like this.
What if he was in danger?
No, what if he happened to run into Seria as though by fate?
‘Should I have stopped him no matter what?’
A faint sense of regret suddenly welled up.
But if I had prevented Rishid from leaving, all the trust we had worked so hard to build might have collapsed.
‘Right. Let’s wait just a little longer.’
If he had intended to leave from the beginning, he would have left with Kassel long ago.
Besides, he had promised to come back.
For some reason, the room felt unusually quiet now that I was alone, so I quickly looked for something to occupy myself with.
Fortunately, there was one thing I could do right away.
Since Rishid wasn’t here anyway, I decided to continue reading Airel’s diary, which I had left unfinished yesterday.
I got comfortable on the bed and opened the diary.
‘Since I stopped here yesterday…….’
Found it.
I began turning the pages one by one from where I had stopped reading.
From the middle onward, the same sort of stories from the beginning were repeated.
Jenis’s name appeared occasionally as well, but they were only stories about giving something to Jenis or receiving something from her, so there was nothing particularly important.
The new information started here.
[April 5
Laura left the house.
She said that since I had also made my debut into society, there was no longer any reason for her to remain in this house.
Now that Laura is gone, I’m truly alone.]
[May 7
I wrote a letter to Laura, but she hasn’t replied. I think I’ve already sent about twenty letters……
What am I supposed to do now?]
[June 23
I don’t want to be left alone.
I miss Laura.]
[September 9
I finally received a reply from Laura!
Apparently, Laura was worried because she thought I wasn’t adapting well to high society either.
She says she’ll secretly help me from now on.
Laura is such a wonderful person.]
[December 18
Just as Laura said, no one in high society says anything no matter how recklessly I behave.
For the first time, I felt free.]
Laura, Laura, Laura……
Airel’s diary was now filled with nothing but stories about Laura.
Something about it felt extremely unpleasant.
‘No matter how I look at it, it feels like this person named Laura manipulated Airel.’
When I turned a few more pages, the diary jumped forward another six months, eventually reaching July 9, the birthday of Crown Prince Klosel, where Airel had said she first saw Rishid.
After that, there were stories about other young ladies who desired Rishid.
Edwin’s name never appeared again.
The diary was nearing its end.
[January 6
Laura said that the Grand Duke of Eppenterion was my best option.
She said there could be no better choice for me than the Grand Duke of Eppenterion. Therefore, she said I needed to show people how sincere my feelings for the Grand Duke were.
The moment I heard that, I spent all the money I had and bought every portrait of him that I could find.
After decorating an entire wall of my room with them, I already felt as though I possessed His Highness the Grand Duke.]
[February 14
I must have him, no matter what it takes.]
[April 29
That day is approaching.
Now I]
“…….”
The diary had been torn off right there.
I absentmindedly ran my fingers over the final page.
Of course, this was information that had never appeared in the original novel. Airel Blandice was a one-dimensional villain who, to anyone looking at her, simply enjoyed doing evil things.
But this……
‘Isn’t it strange?’
It felt as though Laura’s influence was deeply woven into everything Airel had done.
I became confused, wondering whether the information I knew might have been unreliable.
Why had Airel hidden her diary? Why had the Duchess returned the diary after finding it?
The biggest problem was that I couldn’t even tell who had torn out the missing pages.
For now, I felt like I at least needed to find out who this Laura person was……
‘She said Laura left the house after her debut, so there’s a good chance she was her nanny.’
Once I was no longer forbidden from going outside, I would probably have to visit Edwin and casually ask him about it.
I closed the diary and sighed when, suddenly, I heard a knocking sound against the window.
I hurriedly raised my head.
“I came back to keep my promise, Young Lady.”
Rishid was standing outside the window, looking like a drowned rat.
