WHCP 14

Chapter 14.

Whoosh!

But the moment she finished speaking, Aletheia turned her back on her. The air on Mio’s face felt cold.

What rubbed her the wrong way?

While Mio stood there dumbfounded, Aletheia disappeared down the corridor. She had turned so sharply that it made a whooshing sound, yet she left the door wide open.

Mio blinked both eyes blankly for a moment.

‘…Is that how she’s expressing that she’s annoyed?’

Well, she had looked irritated from the start.

‘A fair amount of time has passed since I yelled at Aletheia and stormed out.’

On top of that, she had just said she’d been thinking of coming to see her. For someone with a bad temper, she must have exercised quite a bit of patience up to today. In any case, she was a difficult person to placate.

‘Still, if she left the door open, does that mean it’s okay to come in?’

Reading the room, Mio tiptoed inside. Aletheia wasn’t in the bedroom but standing stiffly near the study. Mio carefully stepped into the study—she’d only taken a quick peek at it before.

“Um…”

“I’m not going to the bed.”

“Well, still, wouldn’t that be better?”

You’re still a patient, after all.

In fact, that was the only way Mio’s plan could proceed. Aletheia needed to remain bedridden. The only reason to visit her, after all, was to nurse her. Mio said it regretfully,

“If you just move a little, there’s a soft, cozy bed waiting right there.”

When Mio took a step closer, Aletheia flinched noticeably. Then a low voice came back.

“…I don’t know how we were before, but I think it’s still too soon.”

“Oh, really?”

Mio scratched her cheek and replied vaguely. Flowery phrasing aside, it just meant she didn’t want to lie down. That was the only information Mio cared about. Judging by it, she must have been so sick of lying down that she didn’t want to go anywhere near the bed.

‘Tsk. What a shame. Then what now?’

She’d planned to just lay her down and put her to sleep, so this was a problem. Mio stole a glance at Aletheia standing there rigidly. She was staring off into space, and the faint glimpse of her face showed a blush.

What’s more, when she realized Mio was watching, she hurriedly looked away and even muttered, “It would be better to clearly separate the study and the bedroom…”

What that had to do with anything was beyond Mio, but if that’s what the homeowner wanted, what could she say? She just figured Aletheia didn’t like the layout of the house she’d be living in six years later.

Anyway, not wanting to upset Aletheia, Mio replied without much thought.

“If you want to separate them properly, it’d take major renovations. But there are plenty of empty rooms, so it wouldn’t be inconvenient.”

“…You agree as well?”

“Yes. I mean.”

Honestly, it didn’t matter either way. Even if Aletheia said she wanted to use the bathtub as a bed, Mio would’ve answered the same. But the inscrutable woman turned to Mio with a visibly relieved expression and said,

“I’m glad we see eye to eye. I’ve heard that’s how a married couple manages to live together. While we’re at it, shall we decorate things the way we want? Like you said, there are plenty of empty rooms.”

Mio paused awkwardly at the word married couple, then soon flashed Aletheia a grin. It was a rather wicked-looking smile, but unfortunately, the person in question had no way of noticing. Mio spoke in an excited voice.

“Then would you show me around the mansion yourself, Lady Aletheia? The first step in interior design is getting a sense of where to start.”

As if she’d already heard an answer, Mio acted before Aletheia could refuse. She slipped her arm firmly through Aletheia’s. Startled, Aletheia let out a strange “gh—” sound, but Mio didn’t mind and led her forward.

“Is there anywhere I absolutely shouldn’t touch? Like a place where you keep something extremely precious?”

For example, a room where you might hide a pledge document. But the answer she got was somewhat disappointing.

“Hmm. I don’t think there’s anything like that.”

“Please think carefully. If I decorate freely and end up damaging something precious to you, that’d be terrible. When your memories return, you might want to punish me.”

“…Surely not.”

Aletheia muttered softly, her voice lacking confidence even to herself. It seemed even she wasn’t sure how her future self would act once her memories returned. Mio didn’t miss that opening.

“I’m sure you’d be angry. But it’s okay. From now on, we can walk around together and think hard. If we do that, something might come back to you. Please think carefully. I really, truly don’t want to be punished by you, Lady Aletheia. So if anything comes to mind, you must tell me.”

Aletheia nodded as if she would cooperate, but the results were poor.

“This room… is empty.”

From the topmost attic of the mansion down to the first-floor reception room. Every time they opened a door, she repeated nearly the same words.

“Nothing in particular comes to mind.”

In the end, they returned to Aletheia’s study-cum-bedroom without gaining anything. Disappointed, Mio crossed her arms and stood with one leg cocked in front of the sofa.

It seemed the observation she’d made last time was correct: Aletheia really had only been using her own room all this time. As Mio stared irritably into space—

“…There’s no need to worry so much.”

Aletheia spoke up. Mio turned to her, unconsciously wearing a worried expression. Did I make it too obvious that I had an ulterior motive? she wondered.

Aletheia slightly raised her lowered head and met Mio’s eyes. She spoke in a serious voice.

“Even if my memories return, I won’t say anything. I promise. I will never punish you.”

Ah. She’d misunderstood and thought Mio was afraid of being punished. In that case, she should play along. Mio slowly bowed her head and murmured,

“You’re only saying that because you’ve forgotten what you were like six years from now. I truly don’t want to make you angry, Lady Aletheia…”

She finished her line properly, but then even covered her mouth with her hand, as if she couldn’t bear to continue. Perhaps because she’d seen so many pitiful performances from the heroine, Caleb, she didn’t hesitate at all over how to act.

‘Honestly, the one who caused me all this misery is Aletheia herself.’

There was no excuse for that, so of course she harbored resentment. She was so determined to get back at Aletheia that she’d drink even “skull water” stone-cold if it meant getting one over on her.

The improvised act, done out of a desire to feed that feeling even a little, seemed to work. A reaction came immediately from Aletheia.

“Was I… that cruel to you…?”

She asked, her voice trembling slightly. She must have been deeply confused by how atrocious her future self sounded. Mio glanced at her sidelong, then nodded at just the right moment—big and emphatic. Nod!

“Ah…”

A sigh finally escaped Aletheia’s lips.

‘Heh.’

Watching secretly, Mio complained to herself to her heart’s content.

‘Cruel doesn’t even begin to cover it. You dunk someone with a public proposal just because you heard some gossip? And that’s not enough—you make them sign some weird pledge and then lose your memory?’

You were cruel in every possible way, like some kind of assorted gift set. It’ll take a long time to pay you back for all of it.

With that vague vow of future revenge, Mio pressed her lips tightly together. Aletheia said,

“…Nothing like that will happen again. I swear it on my name. Even if I regain my memories, to you I will do nothing—”

“So in the end, it’s just words, isn’t it? A promise you can ignore once your memories return.”

Mio said it, lifting only her eyes. From her anxious side-glances, Aletheia seemed quite flustered again. She stood there with her mouth open, unable to continue.

After a long moment, she finally spoke.

“…Then what should I do?”

“Well. It would be wonderful if there were some undeniable proof—something that even if your memories return, you could never go back on. But I’m not you, Lady Aletheia, so I don’t know what that would be.”

Now then—think carefully, Aletheia. What could be proof of a promise that even you, six years from now, would never be able to ignore?