USML 19

Chapter 19

An ink-dark space. I walked toward a place where a pale, whitish light pooled. Step by step, each movement felt as difficult as pulling my feet out of mud. When I finally reached it, the light—perhaps mocking me—lost its glow and vanished.

So suffocating. I beat my chest with my fist and looked around, but not even a single unfamiliar silhouette could be seen.

Every time I breathed, it felt as though my lungs were being stabbed by dozens of needles.

I ordered myself to escape this bizarre space, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t find an exit. As my eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, I saw someone in the distance who looked just like me.

‘Vanessa?’

The same face, the same expression, the same gestures. The woman before me was myself, reflected in a mirror.

Then, in that instant, she began to move differently from me. Her lips moved as if she were saying something to me, but not even the faintest breath could be heard.

‘…Vanessa!’

Was it her calling me, or me calling her? Before I knew it, I was reaching out my hand toward her.

‘Vanessa!’

…….

“Vanessa!”

Cough, cough!

I gulped in air frantically. Wrapping my hands around my throat, I drank some water from the bedside table, and only then did I calm down. That was when I realized the scene from moments ago had been a dream.

It was a dream I had rarely had since around the age of ten, but lately it had been happening more often.

Thud—.

At that moment, I heard the sound of something hitting the door. Who could it be at this hour?

Could it be Perry? He sometimes woke up early at dawn and wandered around the mansion. When I checked the small bed by the window, Perry was curled up like a shrimp, fast asleep. Then… could it be Sherry and Dave?

I lifted my body and was about to put my feet down from the bed, but stopped.

No. Let’s not go. Even if I check who it is, what am I going to do about it?

I leaned my upper body back and lay down again.

“I wish that when I close my eyes and open them, everything would be resolved and it’d be Saint.”

Raising my face, I saw the moon through the small window by the bed. Gazing at the vividly shining moon framed by the window, I wished time would pass quickly.

“Vanessa!”

From afar, Sherry waved both hands above her head. Judging by her disheveled clothes, it looked like she had run over without even properly changing after finishing her sword training.

“Vanessa, what’s going on? The butler said you were waiting for me here.”

Sherry ran straight up to where I was, panting. As she brushed back her hair, which was stuck to her face, she smiled brightly.

“Donna.”

When I signaled to Donna, she handed me a handkerchief as if she had been prepared.

“You didn’t have to rush over.”

As I wiped the beads of sweat from Sherry’s forehead with the handkerchief, she grinned foolishly. Sherry closed her eyes and leaned her face closer to me, which allowed me to pull my hand back.

“Wipe yourself.”

I awkwardly placed the handkerchief into Sherry’s hand.

“You could’ve wiped it for me…”

Sherry pouted her lower lip and complained, but I deliberately ignored her and turned away.

Sometimes, when I see her acting like such a tomboy, I get confused about who the older sister is. Ah—if we go by how long we’ve lived, does that make me the older one?

“Shall we go?”

I led the way, guiding Sherry. Before long, we arrived at a tea table set up in the garden. When I turned back to look at her, she seemed dazed, as if she’d followed me without knowing where we were going.

“Vanessa?”

“I wanted to talk with you alone, so I prepared this. Is that okay?”

Sherry widened her eyes in surprise.

“J-just the two of us?”

“Yes.”

“Just us?”

As if she couldn’t believe it, Sherry pointed alternately at me and herself. After a moment, she suddenly covered her face with both hands.

“Eeeek!”

She looked as though she’d just discovered buried treasure.

“For this renewal contract, it was approved on the condition that you accompany me as my guard. I’m sorry for troubling you.”

“…….”

“Are you listening to me, sis?”

“Huh? Yeah, yeah. Of course.”

Sherry clutched her teacup with both hands and nodded repeatedly. She looked a little silly, and a faint smile slipped out before I could stop it. But thanks to Sherry staring straight at my face, the smile didn’t last long.

I slid the plate with sandwiches toward Sherry.

“Sis, sand—”

“Saint is a no!”

“…Not Saint. Sand. Sandwich.”

Her voice was so desperate it bordered on tragic.

Thinking of Sherry, who had just finished training, I’d had the sandwiches prepared. I only offered them to lighten the awkward mood, but she reacted as if she’d seen a ghost. With a sigh, I pushed the plate toward her again.

“Sis, sandwi—”

“Saint is a no!”

I said sandwich, not Saint.

“Please eat the sandwich.”

Sherry slowly shifted her gaze to the plate. Her cheeks turned red in an instant, as if she were wearing makeup, and she turned her head away in embarrassment.

So even Sherry gets embarrassed sometimes. I almost burst out laughing again. Biting my lip to hold it in, I asked a question.

“Sis, did you meet any man who caught your eye at the armistice banquet?”

At the sudden, contextless question, Sherry turned her face away.

“A man?”

But soon, anger crept onto her face. As if recalling something, she lowered her gaze darkly and ground her teeth.

“I did.”

“You did?”

It didn’t seem like Evan had met her. Sherry placed both fists on the table.

“A person who announces their theft in advance.”

“Theft?”

That couldn’t be right. Unless he had a death wish, who would warn a noble that they were going to steal from them inside the imperial palace?

“Absolutely shameless! And unlucky, too!”

When Sherry slammed her fist on the table, the teacups and plates rattled, as if trembling in fear of her.

“S-sis?”

At my call, Sherry’s eyes widened as she looked straight at me. Only then did she seem to come to her senses, pressing a hand to her forehead.

“I’m sorry, Vanessa…!”

She squeezed her eyes shut, blaming herself.

It seemed she’d finally calmed down. Well, either way, she didn’t meet anyone properly, right? Smiling slightly, I brought up the main point I’d prepared.

“The reason I set this up is because I have a favor to ask.”

“A favor?”

Sherry leaned forward, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.

“Yes. I really hope you’ll do it for me.”

“Sure, just say the word.”

Sherry thumped her chest with her fist and spoke boldly.

“Sis.”

“Yeah? What is it? What do you need?”

She wriggled her hips, looking like she might jump up at any moment.

“Please meet Duke Dustin just once.”

At that moment, Sherry’s face crumpled instantly. Her eyes lost all life, like those of a dead fish.

I scratched my head awkwardly. It seemed Sherry really didn’t like Evan, who had proposed to me. I knew she cherished Vanessa, but I hadn’t even been particularly affectionate like in the original story—yet I hadn’t expected her to dislike Evan this much.

No, it’s too soon to tell. They haven’t even met yet. Just as I finished that thought, Sherry nodded firmly, as if she’d understood everything.

“I see. That’s what you mean.”

“Huh?”

“Vanessa, I understand your intentions perfectly. I’ll go and settle it.”

“Settle it? That’s not what I—”

“For your sake, your sis will.”

She deliberately emphasized the word “sis.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

“…Well, if you would, I’d appreciate it.”

As long as they met, that was enough, right? No matter how they got there, rolling or crawling, meeting Evan was the goal. Though I felt uneasy, I tried to reassure myself.

There had been a lot of trouble leading up to today. I had to placate Perry by putting cookies into his hands when he insisted on following me, and I had to calm Sherry down when she heard about Gerard and jumped up in protest.

“His intentions are impure! No, Vanessa will be corrupted!”

After finally soothing even Sherry, today—the day of the appointment—arrived. So why was I seeing this scene again?

After finishing my preparations to go out, I was heading down the stairs when I spotted the count and Dave standing idly in the hall.

They were dressed neatly and cheerfully, as if about to go out themselves, but when our eyes met, they looked into the air and started whistling.

“Whew, whew, wheee—.”

“Whirrr—.”

Seriously. They’d been eating and playing around all this time, and now they finally wanted to earn their keep—so why won’t they help me! Fine, then. I walked up to them, drooped my eyes pitifully, and spoke in a gloomy voice.

“I guess you don’t trust me and are worried the contract might fall through. I understand. After all, what can I even do?”

My acting was pretty convincing. The count and Dave waved their hands frantically.

“T-that’s not it!”

“It’s not you we don’t trust—it’s Baron Gerard!”

“Then you won’t follow me, right?”

At my final check, the count and Dave froze like statues, then groaned as if they’d been caught out. Well, either way, things were settled. Only then did I relax and smile.

Except for Sherry.

Thud-thud-thud-thud—.

Sherry hurried down the stairs, stretching out both hands. What she was holding were, of all things, daggers. The two daggers were the same design, except for the gemstone set in the center. The left was adorned with a pearl, the right with an amethyst.

“Vanessa, Vanessa! Which one should you take?”

They’re basically the same. I casually chose the pearl.

“The left one.”

“But the right one looks like your pretty eyes.”

“…Then the right one.”

“But you said you liked the left one, didn’t you? What should we do? On a special day like today, what’s the right choice?”

What do you want me to do? And what do you mean, a special day? When I frowned in confusion, Sherry clasped her hands together around the daggers and twisted her body.

“It’s our first date, you and me, so I have to be careful.”

Who’s dating whom?

“Today’s the day you’re going out with me even though it’s not a gathering. What should we eat?”

It seemed Sherry had completely forgotten that I was meeting Gerard. With a deep sigh, I shattered her expectations in one blow.

“…Sis. This isn’t a date.”

At my firm answer, Sherry’s eyes slowly filled with sorrow.

“Why…?”

Why are you asking me why? Thanks to Sherry throwing out that question mark, I was the one flustered instead. As she turned away in disappointment, I could practically see a pair of drooping puppy ears on her head.

Maybe I should’ve gone with Dave instead. Just as a small regret washed over me, Dave caught Sherry—who was heading back to her room—from afar. He whispered something into her ear and patted her shoulder.

“If Gerard tries anything funny, kill him. I’ll take responsibility for the aftermath.”

Either way, it’s all the same.