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Chapter 21
Even the informants, sensing that something truly serious had happened, barely managed to hold back their exclamations.
“I’m Kyle.”
“I’m Jonathan, ma’am.”
Their tones were much softer than usual, an effort to avoid provoking her in any way.
“Oh, Kyle, Jonathan.”
Kyle was tall with a sharp appearance, while Jonathan was smaller and rounder in build.
As she repeated their names and features in her mind, Ophanieul gave her another directive.
[Bella, see Jonathan’s injured arm? Ask about that now. Humans are weak to concern.]
Bella’s gaze dropped to Jonathan’s injured arm.
Because the wound from Roman’s blade in the valley that day had been long and deep, Jonathan’s entire arm was wrapped in bandages.
“Did you hurt your arm?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Is it bad?”
“Uh….”
“Were the tendons severed, or the bones shattered, or the flesh rotting? If it starts rotting, don’t cling to it—just cut it off.”
At her detailed and explicit concern, Jonathan’s eyes wavered.
[See! Human emotions show in the eyes! His eyes waver, right? That means his emotions are stirred!]
“…No, it’s fine.”
“Really? That’s a relief.”
It would be inconvenient if he lost an arm, after all—it doesn’t regenerate.
Feeling that her concern had been sufficient, Bella resumed walking.
Kyle and Jonathan stared blankly at the back of the Dowager Marchioness as she walked away.
Beneath her bright yellow coat and vivid purple skirt, her bright red shoes finally caught their attention.
As the morning sunlight filtered through her silver hair, which hadn’t been combed properly, it looked as if her hair were a cloud capturing light.
Swallow.
A throat-clearing sound, from some unknown source, confirmed that this grim situation wasn’t a dream.
Without hesitation, Kyle and Jonathan ran toward Bella.
The men, who usually stayed a few steps behind her with cold eyes, now began moving a few steps ahead as she descended the stairs.
Bella’s eyes twitched immediately as she stepped lightly down the stairs.
What the… I smiled at them, greeted them, and yet they dare to block my path?
Ophanieul, sensing her thoughts, explained the situation.
[They’re worried about you. If you fall down the stairs, they’ll catch you. If you don’t believe me, try stumbling a bit.]
“?”
Worrying over a mere fall down the stairs, not jumping from the atmosphere? The extent of concern was unimaginable.
Suspicious, Bella immediately tested it.
She deliberately relaxed her legs, her knees buckling and her center of gravity pitching forward.
At that moment…
“!”
Kyle and Jonathan, a few steps below, instantly assumed the posture of warriors heading into battle.
With clenched teeth, the two men dashed toward her.
As Kyle grabbed her shoulder to prevent her from falling, Jonathan, positioned a step below, extended his injured arm as a buffer—ready to protect her if Kyle failed.
All of this happened in just two seconds.
“Are you alright, ma’am?”
[See? I told you so.]
Admittedly.
Hard to believe, but it seemed they were genuinely worried she might fall down the stairs.
[Don’t you feel the change in their attitudes? Honestly, you just greeted them and showed a bit of concern, and look at them now. If you do a little more, they’ll give you everything you ask for.]
Bella’s eyes sparkled at the possibilities.
“Are you uncomfortable anywhere?”
Not because of Ophanieul’s suggestion, but because she could feel Kyle’s change in attitude.
[Let’s practice more. First, thank them, then compliment them. Humans are uniquely weak to compliments, right?]
Bella immediately applied Ophanieul’s theory to Kyle’s eyes, which were on her.
“Thank you.”
As expected, his sharp eyes wavered just slightly.
“No, ma’am.”
Now, it was time for a compliment.
“Your reaction time was excellent.”
“……”
Ah, his eyes trembled even more at praise.
Seizing the momentum, Bella complimented Jonathan as well.
“Your positioning took into account the angle of my body tilt—excellent.”
“…Ah…”
His reaction was even stronger. Not only did his eyes shift, but his lips trembled slightly.
As Ophanieul said, humans are indeed weak to praise.
What a simple species.
When Bella stepped down one stair, the two men became even more flustered than before.
“Ma-ma’am, be careful! You can hold onto me!”
Jonathan, extending his bandaged arm, called out.
All this fuss over just one step down the stairs.
Yet this was kindness, attention, and proof of “growing closer.”
Sigh.
Bella decided to test one more thing.
“Can you carry me? My legs feel weak.”
Kyle and Jonathan froze.
So they don’t just do everything.
As suspicion flared, Kyle quickly offered his back.
“If your legs are weak, it’s best to go back to your room. I’ll escort you.”
Ahh.
A mischievous smile appeared on Bella’s face.
Now I’m starting to get a sense of what kind of people you are.
Bella lightly patted the broad back offered to her, then continued down the stairs.
“No, it’s fine.”
“Dowager Marchioness, let me carry you! It’s fine!”
“I’m fine too.”
Kyle and Jonathan, seeing her messy silver hair, wanted to shout loudly: We’re not fine!
Unaware of their feelings, Bella leapt down to the main floor and turned toward the back gate.
Cold early-morning air blew in through the open door for ventilation. Kero, who had been dozing in her arms, opened his eyes.
Beyond the door, the courtyard stretched widely.
‘This battlefield is unlike any you’ve faced before.’
Bella, for the first time since arriving, carefully observed the scene before her.
The spire towered majestically against the backdrop of the misty clouds of the rear garden.
Between the back gate where she stood and the spire’s main gate stood a massive beech tree.
Light from a distant star illuminated the tree, and the round dew on each orange leaf sparkled like multicolored jewels.
The tree looked as if it held hundreds of thousands of star-like orbs.
She recalled a remark from a Special Forces comrade.
‘Every moment in the human world is a festival of light.’
Indeed.
With things made so unfairly beautiful, no wonder the devils caused such chaos.
“Kyu!”
At that moment, Kero, who had been cradled in her arms, wriggled to get down.
Releasing him, he tumbled down the stone stairs from the back gate to the courtyard.
The straight gravel path leading from the back gate past the beech tree to the spire’s main gate was flanked by green lawns. Kero dashed to the right lawn, rubbing himself in the dew-covered grass.
“Kyuuuu-!”
Meanwhile, the servants carrying their morning tasks gawked at the white figure rolling on the courtyard lawn.
“Where did that dog come from…?”
Before anyone could finish speaking,
“Let’s go, Kero!”
A woman in a bright yellow coat strode confidently across the courtyard.
The white dog perked its ears and leapt after her.
Someone watching her from behind muttered,
“…The Dowager Marchioness?”
Her slender frame swayed gracefully like willow branches. Her partially visible face glowed like a morning violet.
“Did she really look like that before?”
The one whose long silver hair used to hang limply over a gloomy face, looking helpless…
“The kitchen staff said the Dowager Marchioness has changed. Looks like it was true.”
The murmurs of the household staff blended into the early morning sunlight.
