ISGJV 52

Chapter 52

Edmund remembered what this foot had originally been like.

It had been a white, delicate foot.

Now it was completely ruined.

The moment the shoe that had been pressing on it was removed, the small foot instantly swelled up.

Blisters had formed everywhere—so many that some had burst—and in places the skin was peeled away, with blood showing through.

What especially grated on Edmund’s nerves was that Cassia’s little toenail was broken.

Even Edmund, who was quite accustomed to physical pain, couldn’t help but furrow his brow at the sight.

“Hard to believe you kept walking like this.”

He spoke curtly without meaning to, then startled himself and immediately regretted the words that had come out of his mouth.

If only he could speak just a little—just a little—more gently and kindly.

He had grown too used to speaking coldly and sharply.

I should be more mindful. Once we get somewhere safe, definitely.

The boy made the vow silently.

At that moment, Cassia protested as if arguing back.

“But I won’t ever fall behind or slow things down because of me, so there’s nothing to worry about, okay?”

That reply irritated him even more.

He didn’t understand why, instead of getting angry, she was acting like someone at fault making excuses.

Just a moment ago, she clearly had been in the wrong.

Because of that, Edmund’s words grew even rougher.

“Anyone would think your pain receptors were completely numbed.”

Yet his actions contradicted his words.

From among his few belongings, he took out a small glass bottle, found a clean towel, and poured the bottle’s contents onto it.

The color was different, but Cassia had seen something similar before.

“Isn’t that a magic potion Wylles made?”

“That’s right. Injuries like this will heal right away.”

“Wait! Then you should be using it, not me! Shouldn’t you save it just in case?”

Come to think of it, Wylles had said something when he gave it to him.

“This is a potion that’s difficult to make right now because magic reagent materials are scarce, so please use it carefully. Only when you really need it!”

Edmund drew his own conclusion.

“This is that ‘just in case.’”

And it was indeed when it was needed.

Cassia tried to protest further, but Edmund’s quick hands moved first.

He grabbed her ankle and wrapped the wounds with the towel soaked in potion.

He used considerable force to keep her from pulling her ankle away, but the hand that wiped over the injuries was incomparably gentle.

It tickled, like dandelion fluff brushing against her.

“……”
“……”

For some reason, Cassia felt a little embarrassed and slightly turned her head away.

Why does this kind of situation keep repeating? It’s like… I’m just getting in the way.

Even as she thought Edmund would really get angry if he heard that, Cassia entrusted her foot to the boy.

After a short while passed, Edmund let out a sigh of relief.

“Good. It’s all healed.”

“Huh? …It really is?”

Cassia chattered in surprise as she looked at her foot, now pale and smooth again.

Things like how amazing it was, or whether it was really okay to use such a good potion on her.

For some reason, Cassia’s words sounded as if they were lined with tiny thorns.

They weren’t thorns meant to hurt Edmund.

Rather, they were thorns turned toward herself—making Edmund all the more uneasy and irritated.

Edmund lifted his head and looked up at Cassia.

Cassia, with her short hair, looked utterly unfamiliar.

“…What is it?”

He felt a fresh pang of regret. He’d never shown it, but he had truly thought Cassia’s thick, glossy hair was beautiful.

He had even once wanted to touch it carefully.

This is strange.

Yet it seemed he was the only one feeling regret and sorrow.

Cassia never worried about herself, never pitied herself, never thought herself precious.

Was that why this thought occurred to him for the first time?

Wouldn’t it be okay if the person beside her worried for her, felt sorry for her, and cherished her instead?

More precisely, it would be this:

I want to be the one to do that.

That realization set the boy’s small head aflame.

His face flushed bright red in an instant, and he sprang to his feet and turned away.

He couldn’t possibly show Cassia his face right now.

“Edmund?”
“……”
“Edmund!”
“……”

But Cassia didn’t get any angrier, nor did Edmund have to come up with some absurd excuse.

Knock, knock!

“Is anyone there?”

“!”

It was the voice of an inn servant.

Edmund finally extinguished the fire on his face, walked over, and opened the door. Several maids were standing there.

“We’ve brought the bath you ordered.”

“What? A bath? I never ordered—”

At that moment, seeing two familiar people approaching from behind the maids, Edmund shut his mouth.

It was the nanny and Wylles, who had gone out to pay for the room and fetch food.

It seemed the two of them had arranged the bath.

Everything was prepared quickly.

A wooden tub was placed in a corner and filled with hot water.

After a wide, tall screen was set up, the maids disappeared.

Then Cassia clapped her hands.

“Alright! Then Edmund should wash first!”

At that, the two others burst out angrily.

“I don’t want to!”
“Of course our young lady goes first!”

The nanny didn’t particularly like Edmund.

But in certain situations, the two of them were in complete agreement.

And most of those situations involved Cassia.

After exchanging glances for less than a second to communicate, they each moved into action.

“Come on! Please get in, young lady! I’ll attend to you!”
“N-no, Edmund is dirtier, so Edmund first! Kyaah!”

Cassia was dragged along, stripped bare, and tossed straight into the tub.

“Alright, let’s go! Wylles! Let’s go buy food!”
“Huh? But dinner is already there in the basket—!”
“Then let’s just go buy anything!”
“…Anything?”

Wylles was grabbed by Edmund and dragged out of the room.

Soaking limply in the hot water, Cassia belatedly realized something.

Ah, it’s a good thing Edmund treated my foot. If he hadn’t, I’d probably be dying from the pain by now.

The skin had practically peeled off, and even a toenail was broken.

If she’d put that injury into hot water… just imagining it made her toes curl.

Right on cue, the nanny spoke in amazement.

“I thought your foot would be a mess, but it’s perfectly fine. How strange.”

“…How about you, Nanny?”

“Oh, I’m fine as can be. I lived a pretty rough life back in the day.”

The nanny winked one eye and washed Cassia thoroughly, head to toe.

Seeing Cassia’s roughly cut short hair, she nearly shed tears of regret.

“Our young lady’s beautiful, thick hair…!”

“It’s okay. Hair grows back.”

At Cassia’s reassurance, the nanny smiled warmly.

Her rough, water-soaked hand touched Cassia’s cheek.

“Our pretty, kind young lady. You’re so kind that I don’t know how you’ll survive in this harsh world.”

“Pfft. You’re probably the only one who thinks that about me.”

If Lady Moretina or Lady Lilliphen—the duchess—heard that, they’d go berserk.

But Cassia realized a little late that she’d heard similar words from someone before.

“If I tossed you into a big city right now, you’d get scammed within a day, lose all your money, and end up crying.”

“Then I’ll just have to stay by your side and keep watch so you don’t get scammed.”

It had been Edmund.

It was only a few days ago, yet it felt as distant as months ago.

That alone showed how incredibly turbulent the past few days had been.

Cassia felt a faint sense of nostalgia.

Then, completely unexpectedly, the nanny’s words poked sharply at her ear.

“But, young madam, once you succeed in escaping to a safe place, what will you do after that?”

“Huh?”

The form of address had suddenly changed from “young lady” to “young madam.”

“Well… I guess I’ll think about it after we succeed?”

The nanny wore a strange smile and whispered softly.

“How about becoming the real Young Duchess of Cohen?”

“…What?!”

So startled, Cassia tried to jump up and nearly fell over inside the tub.

“W-w-what are you talking about all of a sudden?! The Young Duchess of Cohen?!”

“But, my dear—no, madam—you’re already legally the Young Duchess of Cohen.”

“But that was something the duke forced! Neither Edmund nor I agreed to it!”

But the nanny was unmoved.

“Even so, you can’t go back to the Florence count’s family.”

She was right.

Even if she weren’t “me” but the real Cassia, the Florence family was not a place she could call her parental home.

In the original story, too, after Edmund escaped, Cassia didn’t rely on her family but on Patrick.

“Still, it’s ridiculous! Both I and the Florence family know that being part of the Cohen ducal house makes no sense!”

That was an objective fact.

If the Cohen ducal house were normal, Cassia would never have been in a position to become the young duchess.

But upon hearing this, the nanny’s expression grew even sterner.

She took the shoulders of the girl she had raised and looked straight into her eyes.

“Then after all the suffering you’ve gone through to save the heir, are you planning to just step aside quietly? I can’t bear to see that.”

“Nanny…”

“House or no house—if Young Duke Edmund has any conscience at all, even serving our young lady for his entire life wouldn’t be enough!”