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Chapter 54
Nadeli was sobbing miserably.
“Stop crying.”
“But, Lesliiiie…”
Leslie irritably wiped away Nadeli’s tears. Nadeli was trembling.
“D-Do you think… I should go apologize to Halbern?”
“You don’t have to go that far. Think about it—it was just a tea party. And not even an official one.”
No one usually lashed out like that just because of a single poorly chosen word.
“B-But still…”
Nadeli still looked terrified.
Leslie bit her lip.
“A girl who used to just sit quietly in a corner, never saying a word…”
“What about me?”
That single remark had shut Leslie up when she’d tried to step in.
“Since Miss Leslie has stayed quiet so far, it might be best for you to keep quiet this time too.”
The memory of those indifferent rose-hued eyes made her lashes tremble in fury.
It had been only a brief moment, but she’d been overwhelmed.
She had never been conscious of it before—she had always assumed she was in a higher position—but when Arellin tilted her head so casually, Leslie had found herself overwhelmed and unable to say anything.
That left a deep wound in her pride.
She looked at me like I wasn’t even worth her time! Me!
For someone like her—who was confident she would one day be the most noble lady in Albrecht—to be looked down on like that was unbearable.
“But, hic, what if… later, she gets angry at me for ignoring her?”
“Hmph. So what if she does? She doesn’t even know who her own mother is.”
So what if it was Halbern?
The Belfart marquisate was also a venerable, prestigious family.
“Ah, stop crying already!”
Startled by Leslie’s sharp tone, Nadeli hiccupped. Another girl who had been watching them, Cornelia, spoke up.
“Then… how about we do this instead?”
Her whisper made Nadeli’s and Leslie’s eyes sparkle.
“Today’s herbal tonic is this one!”
The color of the tonic Pession brought out was suspicious.
“Why is it getting darker and darker?”
It had definitely been green at first.
“I put in lots of things that are good for you!”
“…”
Something was going on. He’d mentioned some “special request from the Crown Prince” earlier, and now this…
I reluctantly accepted the tonic. A nauseating scent rose from it.
“Can’t I just not drink it?”
“I went through a lot of trouble to get this for you…”
“…”
Pession’s eyes drooped into a pitiful, sad expression. Ugh. The look in his eyes was like an abandoned puppy’s—it made me flinch without realizing.
“I’ll drink it.”
I lost.
I shut my eyes tight, as if I were drinking poison, and downed it in one go. Applause like rolling thunder broke out all around.
Was this really necessary?
“Arell, I have a question.”
“What is it?”
I was rolling a candy Yuni had given me in my mouth, trying to erase the taste of the tonic.
“What happened at the tea party?”
Pession met my eyes as he asked.
“Nothing.”
“Really?”
“What do you want to know?”
“I was just wondering if… something unpleasant happened.”
This perceptive guy.
Well, I suppose it was unrealistic to think he wouldn’t notice after the way I’d acted.
“I’m fine.”
“Arell…”
“Pession.”
“Yeah?”
“If you worry about it, it’ll just make things harder for me. So just pretend you don’t know.”
“How am I supposed to pretend I don’t know? It’s driving me crazy thinking about it.”
Pession muttered like he was restless, frowning.
“You acted cold to me because of that, didn’t you? Am I wrong?”
When I only moved my lips without answering, his tone became decisive, as if he had guessed everything.
“So it’s because of me.”
“Well…”
It was complicated.
Even if it had happened because of Pession, how could that be his fault?
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“Still, I’m sorry.”
“You…”
Why are you always like this?
Sometimes Pession seemed more mature than me, even though I had the memories of a past life.
Was this care and kindness just part of who he was?
“Are you going to stop coming to the gatherings now?”
“I’ll think about it.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Why are you apologizing?”
“Because it feels like it’s my fault.”
“I told you it’s not. You don’t need to apologize for something that isn’t your fault. Don’t apologize so easily.”
Pession was someone who belonged more in the role of forgiving than apologizing.
He had everything—lacked nothing—so why did he treat me like this?
I can’t even treat him well, I keep hurting him, I’m sick, I can’t even exercise properly…
Still, there was a part of me that wanted to respond to his feelings.
It was unfamiliar and clumsy, but…
“Pession.”
“Yeah?”
“You’re the first.”
He blinked.
“The first what?”
“My friend.”
In both my past and current lives, I had never had a real friend. I’d always sat alone in the corner, claiming I liked solitude, playing my violin, never joining anyone… until now.
“You’re my first friend ever.”
My face heated up.
“Pession?”
“Hold on.”
He muttered while hiding his flushed face.
“…I feel like I could die from happiness.”
Seeing him so happy made me embarrassed too. I hadn’t said much—why was he so pleased?
Every time he reacted like this, it made me feel acutely just how much he liked me… and that made me feel strange.
Maybe it would be easier if I didn’t know anything. I didn’t want to think this way, but sometimes I couldn’t help wondering if his feelings were really genuine.
After all, he had a female lead waiting for him.
“What will you do if you end up liking someone else later?” I asked without thinking.
“That’s not going to happen.”
“How can you be so sure? It could happen.”
“No. It can’t.”
“I mean, hypothetically—”
He looked hurt at my mumbling.
“Arellin, do you really not trust me that much?”
“…”
I knew in my head that I should say I trusted him.
But…
I already knew, after all—this was the world of a romance novel.
The exchange ended in an awkward silence.
Pession, who had looked at me so earnestly with wounded eyes, didn’t press the matter further.
I never did find out why.
I was floundering through another day in the “exercise hell” where anyone who didn’t walk at least 2,000 steps was punished, and I thought—
Something’s wrong.
I had originally started going to the money-collection meetings to escape this hell, so why did it feel like I was digging my own grave?
Last time and this time, the uncomfortable atmosphere had kept me from complaining properly, and I’d ended up exercising anyway.
Which meant I was the only one suffering here.
I’m dying. I’m going to die.
Just when I thought I might actually collapse—
“What’s this? Are you working out?”
A low, unfamiliar voice slid down my spine.
I froze.
So this is what it feels like for your hair to stand on end. A chill crept down my back, my nape turning cold.
I must have misheard.
I tried to ignore it.
“Hm? You’re not working out?”
The follow-up made that impossible.
That was when I learned something new—if a person is too shocked, they can’t even scream.
Should I ignore him?
I gritted my teeth, trying to force my brain into acting like I didn’t know him, hoping he’d just go away…
“You’re ignoring me right now, aren’t you?”
Nope. That wasn’t going to work.
I managed to turn my head. There, on top of a neatly manicured shrub, was a man who was both unfamiliar and familiar.
It’s the man I ran into last time at the Charit estate.
Like he’d found an amusing new toy, the man gazed lazily down at me.
His golden, slit-pupiled eyes locked onto mine like nails being driven in.
“Why…”
My hoarse voice barely formed words.
“Why are you here…?”
“Hmm?”
The man smiled.
It was the smile of a well-fed predator—not planning to attack right now, but still making you want to run.
“Of course I came to find you.”
What do you mean “of course”?
“How…”
The man shrugged and glanced at the back of my left hand.
“Huh?”
The faint mark of a falling star—which had shone for a few days before vanishing without a trace—was glowing softly again.
So it’s a tracking device?!
Then I can’t even run?
I’m screwed.
While I was still thinking I’d really messed up this time, a question rose in my mind.
“How are you even fine?”
This was the Halbern estate.
And this man wasn’t a guest—he was an intruder.
The Halbern estate had a maze garden and over a hundred security spells to deal with intruders. So how was he completely fine?
“Hm? Ah. Now that I think about it, this is Halbern, huh. You’re Halbern? Tsk. That’s a hassle. You’ve inherited troublesome blood. No wonder—it did take me a while to find you.”
Muttering nonchalantly, the man grinned.
“Don’t be so scared, I’m not going to eat you.”
“So you are going to eat me?”
“We’ll see.”
The gold in his eyes deepened.
“What do you think?”
