MFBO 06

Chapter – 06

“How is your body?”

He asked quickly enough.

“I’m fine.”

The count wore an uncomfortable expression. He had been like that ever since I came to his study at his summons.

“The dizziness, and the emotional wounds I suffered from Amy’s harassment—none of it is a problem anymore.”

“…….”

Having received Lizenne’s emotions intact, I found the count disagreeable.

A father who doubted his own daughter over a single word from Amy.

Perhaps he had nothing to say, because the count closed his mouth.

I hadn’t expected an apology for failing to care about me until now.

It wasn’t something I needed to hear anyway, and the years he had neglected his daughter were far too long for such words to carry weight.

The count never said out loud that Kalib’s death was Lizenne’s fault. But time and again, he had flayed his daughter with nothing but his gaze.

He was no different.

Like the countess who had taken her own life, he simply hadn’t spoken the words—but in the end, he looked at Lizenne the same way he had looked at his wife.

“I seem to have worried you unintentionally.”

I erased the memory of seeing him with the pearl necklace just days ago and looked straight at the count.

“I see.”

A rather long silence followed. After a moment, the count instructed me to choose a new maid.

“Tell me whom you’d like as your personal maid. I’ll respect your wishes.”

Perhaps he felt guilty toward his daughter, who had been mistreated by the servants.

What had happened earlier still left a bad taste in my mouth, but when I stepped back and looked at it objectively, I could understand his behavior.

Lizenne was known for her viciousness. He must have suspected that this, too, was just another incident like the rest.

“I still need… some time.”

I shook my head after pretending to deliberate. I already had my own plans.

“…Even so, life will be inconvenient without a maid.”

“I’ll choose a personal maid later. That’s fine, right?”

There were servants all over the estate.

Understanding that I meant I’d summon one only when necessary, the count seemed about to object, then closed his mouth and respected my decision.

“Very well.”

“Yes. Then I’ll be going.”

That was the end of our business.

There was no reason to stay any longer.

I organized my thoughts, offered a proper bow, and turned to leave—when a hurried voice stopped me.

“From now on.”

I turned halfway and looked down at the count.

“If something like that happens again, tell me.”

He resented Lizenne like the countess had, but even so, he hadn’t abandoned her.

Did he still love Lizenne? Or not?

As I tried to guess his feelings, I realized it was pointless and smiled faintly.

Whatever the case, his way of doing things was wrong.

“I will. Though I doubt there’ll be another occasion.”

There was no need to give him something to nitpick.

I was comfortable with things as they were now—him showing no interest in me, letting me do as I pleased.

‘After all, I’m the one who’ll inherit the county.’

“Still, don’t worry unnecessarily, Father. From now on, I’ll take care of my own affairs.”

I meant it.

First, I needed to find my personal maid.

So preoccupied with my ambitious plans that my mind felt full to bursting, I failed to notice the expression on the count’s face.

* * *

“Mmm, the air feels nice.”

It had been a while since I felt refreshed. Perhaps it was because things were going according to plan.

I had come outside with Razette, a few knights assigned to guard us, and a servant carrying my belongings.

“Huh? What is it? You have something to say?”

As we stepped down from the carriage, a bustling street came into view. I was scanning the rows of shops when suddenly, someone grabbed my hand.

It was Razette.

“So you won’t lose me again.”

He was playing the role of the “lost younger brother, Kalib,” perfectly—even here. Acting again, huh. I was a little flustered, but I wasn’t about to lose.

“That won’t do. You need to stick close to me, got it?”

“I will.”

Eventually, I’d have to shake off the knights and send Razette back, but for now, he needed to stay by my side.

We’d been granted permission to go out under the pretense of shopping together, so I planned to stay with him for the time being.

“Tada—how do I look? Is it okay?”

We stopped by a dress shop first.

I tried on a cute yellow dress covered in frills, then a calm, deep green dress.

With this face to support it, everything looked good.

“Beautiful, Sister.”

The one I liked best was the deep green dress. It wasn’t trendy, but it had an understated elegance. Wearing it, I turned to Razette.

“Which is better, this one or the last?”

“You look good in anything.”

“If you had to choose just one?”

Razette frowned slightly.

“Hm? Kalib, what do you think?”

At my persistent questioning, Razette—who had been sitting on the sofa, halfheartedly flipping through a magazine—stood up.

After scanning the displayed dresses, he picked out a white one.

It had a modestly low neckline but wasn’t overly revealing.

“Sister, your skin is fair, and…”

He seemed uncomfortable with the situation. Unable to find more words, he smiled faintly.

“Your hair is red, so everything suits you, but I think this one’s better.”

“Hm. Really?”

The white dress contrasted beautifully with my red hair, making my face look brighter.

I decided to buy it and asked for gemstones to be added so it wouldn’t look plain.

“Are you still choosing more?”

I caught the hidden meaning in his words. If he was already bored before the real shopping had even begun, that’d be a problem.

“I’ll take everything we saw earlier. And I’m planning to order custom pieces too.”

When I told the designer, Razette shot me a look that clearly asked why I’d bothered asking for his opinion in the first place.

“I was just curious about what you thought. Those were the ones I liked.”

After listening to the designer’s explanations, I filled out the order form.

A quick glance showed the knights still looked fine. They could hold out a bit longer.

“Let’s pick something for you too, Kalib.”

I enthusiastically chose clothes that would suit Razette. He tried to brush it off with “Men’s clothes are all the same,” but I firmly shook my head.

I needed to kill time. The knights had to be worn down.

“We bought clothes, so now we should get shoes, right?”

After buying shoes to match the dresses, we headed to a jewelry store.

“This way, please. We’ve been expecting you.”

Seeing the lord’s daughter of the county, the jeweler’s eyes lit up. Lizenne must have indulged in luxury here often, because he welcomed me warmly.

I was led to a space selling the finest jewels.

The curtained area was dim, but perfect for viewing gemstones.

“This one—and this one.”

I picked out as many jewels as I wanted.

It was dizzying—something I’d never imagined doing. Even when paying, it didn’t quite feel real.

“I’ll come again next time.”

“You’re welcome anytime!”

After buying piles of extravagant necklaces and earrings and wandering around some more, the knights looked utterly exhausted.

So did Razette.

The long shopping trip must have tired him out—but more than that, he looked like he disliked being with me.

Well, holding hands for hours would annoy anyone—especially someone who already hated me.

“Where to next?”

As I muttered to myself, I felt the knights’ resentment press against my back. I ignored it.

“I see a shop I haven’t been to. Want to check it out?”

I pulled Razette into the crowd.

No matter how crazily I shopped, I wasn’t tired at all.

The best part of this body was that I didn’t have to carry the bags myself.

“Sister, why are you buying so much?”

Razette asked while glancing at the servant trailing behind us, arms full of shopping bags, sweat pouring down his face.

It was summer—maybe I was being a little harsh.

“It’s a good mood booster, isn’t it? Why—are you tired?”

I asked out of courtesy, even though it didn’t really matter.

“No. I was just curious.”

“You’re bored, aren’t you? I can tell from your face. You’re thinking, ‘Why does she keep buying things?’”

Razette tried to act innocent, but he was still just a kid.

He wasn’t good at hiding his expressions.

“No, I wasn’t—”

“I know. I know.”

I patted his shoulder reassuringly, then leaned close and whispered so only he could hear.

“Then shall we run away so you won’t be bored?”

“…What?”

“On three, we run.”

“No, Sister—”

“One.”

“Wait, what are you—”

“Two.”

“—”

“Three!”

I ran.

Still holding my hand, Razette had no choice but to run with me.

The wind brushed my cheeks. I heard our feet pounding against the ground—and shouts behind us.

I ran until my breath hitched in my throat, then dragged Razette into an alley and stopped.

Whether from running for the first time in ages or the fear of being caught, my heart was pounding like it might burst.

“Sister, what were you thinking?”

I looked at Razette, who was also gasping for breath, and burst out laughing.

His face was bright red.

“Ah. You’re not very fit, are you?”

“…….”

“I forgot. We’ve never run together before.”

My own breathing wasn’t much better, but Razette’s was especially ragged.

It made sense—before losing his memories, he’d been raised delicately.

I knew his true origins.

What reason would the son of the Duke of Wigreon ever have to run like a madman?

After losing his memories, he’d lived almost confined to the estate.

Of course his stamina was poor.

“Your hair’s all messed up too.”

As I fixed his disheveled hair, his face flushed even more.

Why was he getting shy over this?

“It’s fine. You can build stamina. Look at me—I’m dying too.”

My original body had been strong from years of hard labor, but this one wasn’t.

Like Razette, Lizenne had been raised like a flower in a greenhouse.

“Still, don’t you feel better after running a bit?”

He must have been suffocating, locked up every day. A little fresh air like this would do him good.

But Razette didn’t answer.

So being with me was all the same, no matter what we did?

Ignoring my question, he brought up something else.

“Sister, we should go back. Father will be looking for us.”