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Chapter 35
Was it because Aletheia had forced her so hard to use nicknames? Even at times when she absolutely shouldn’t, the nickname just slipped out, causing a commotion. Half on the verge of tears, Mio looked at Jamie.
“Anyway, what I’m saying is that I don’t need these… things you’ve prepared right now, Jamie. When we actually get married for real later, you can prepare them again then. I’d be extremely, extremely grateful. Okay?”
Jamie looked as though he was thinking something over, then eventually nodded, saying he understood.
“All right. But since it’s already prepared, if you need help with your bath—”
“I’m fine!”
Afraid Jamie might follow her, Mio hurriedly went into the bathroom alone and shut the door.
I knew it. I wondered why they were guiding me to the bathroom in another room instead of straight to the bedroom…
There was a bathroom in Aletheia’s bedroom too, yet they had deliberately led her here, saying, “Wouldn’t it be better to wash up before going to bed?” To think such a terrifying ulterior motive had been hidden behind it. Mio let out a sigh and plopped down onto the floor.
“Haa… What am I supposed to do about Aletheia? But I can’t exactly go to another room either…”
She had no solid basis for knowing how far Aletheia’s nullification ability extended. Based only on her experiences so far, she could merely guess that the range was narrower than expected.
If things go wrong and I get sent back to the Duke of Celt’s house because of positional fixation… everything will be ruined.
There was no way the vault would acknowledge someone as its owner if that person moved to another house just one day after arriving.
And then I wouldn’t even have anything left to say to Aletheia…
If it came to that, the line “Let’s get married in three months” might stop working as bait altogether. After all, who would readily trust the words of someone who ran away after just a single day?
Hell, even I wouldn’t believe someone like that.
Then he might kick up a fuss, insisting that they had to get married immediately, three months or not…
When her thoughts reached that point, it felt as though everything would spiral into something horrific. With no other choice, Mio swallowed her tears and climbed into the bathtub.
“At least you got the water temperature perfect, Jamie.”
Feeling the fatigue melt away from her entire body, Mio was able to forget her worries, if only for a moment.
But bathwater inevitably cools. After enduring until her fingers and toes were all wrinkled, Mio had no choice but to get up and face reality again.
The chance that Aletheia has already fallen asleep first… yeah, that’s not happening.
He’d said he’d been sleeping poorly ever since attending the banquet, so there was no way he’d suddenly regained a normal sleep pattern today. It seemed he’d only managed a brief nap during the day as well.
After much deliberation, Mio straightened her shoulders and trudged toward the bedroom, deciding that it was better to get it over with sooner rather than later.
I’ll go and explain no matter what that I came just to pat him.
If necessary, she was even prepared to bring up the honor of the imperial family. After all, Aletheia had already agreed to the rather absurd three-month grace period. Thinking of that allowed Mio to let out a sigh of relief.
Phew. Thank goodness Aletheia has lost his memory right now.
If it were the previous, unhinged Aletheia, this would never have flown. He would definitely have done whatever he pleased, scoffing at the idea that such a thing was necessary—just like the night of the accident, when he headed to the temple alone to submit the vow document.
Creeeak.
When she quietly opened the bedroom door, there was no sign of anyone. Thinking she should sit on the chair and be ready to pat him before Aletheia arrived, Mio dashed forward like an arrow.
“Gah!”
Just as she was about to pull out the chair and sit down, a figure sitting on the sofa finally entered her field of vision. Swallowing a scream, Mio placed a hand over her heart and cautiously spoke.
“Le, Lete…?”
Aletheia was sitting on the sofa, reading something. With his back turned toward the bed, all Mio could see was his back. He spoke quietly.
“Go ahead and sleep first. There’s nothing to worry about, so rest easy.”
…So she’d heard Jamie’s true thoughts. Earlier she’d been so flustered that she hadn’t even thought about mind-reading and had just blurted out lies at random.
I didn’t say anything wrong, did I?
With a faint sense of unease, Mio slowly reviewed her conversation with Jamie in her mind and then said,
“Still, Lete, you’re a patient. You should get plenty of sleep…”
“Enough. Once the room is finished being arranged, you can use another room as your bedroom. Until we’re officially married.”
Mm, thanks, but that would be a problem. If that happened, my body would be back at the Duke of Celt’s house the very next day. Pretending not to notice, Mio continued speaking.
“It worked earlier today too. I’ll pat you again like I did then. I’m sure you’ll fall asleep.”
Mio spoke as she slowly approached the sofa. Aletheia placed what he had been reading down on the table.
“Is it really that important that I sleep?”
“Y-yes, of course. They say sleep is the best medicine, you know. Even just getting a little rest at night makes the whole day feel refreshing.”
If I take care of you while you’re having trouble sleeping, and the vault notices that scene, won’t it hurry up and recognize me as its owner?
She had no intention of just sitting around and waiting for the right opportunity to come.
Taking care of a patient and taking care of the estate—it all depends on what I do.
Creating and staging a scene to appeal to the vault was simply a matter of execution. Blinded by thoughts of the vault, Mio steeled herself and gathered her courage one more time. She bent down and gently took hold of Aletheia’s hand.
“…Come here. I’ll pat you.”
Contrary to her expectation that he would refuse, Aletheia surprisingly got up without protest and followed Mio.
Such a docile Aletheia—it was honestly hard to believe.
Please, just until I escape this original story, stay like this and keep your memories lost…
If the Aletheia who had publicly proposed to her came back, she had no confidence she could handle it.
Thinking that, Mio pulled back the covers. With a soft sigh, Aletheia removed his robe and lay down under the blanket.
Hehe. Come to think of it, this is already the second nursing scene just today.
Mio struggled to suppress the upward curve of her lips and sat down on the chair beside the bed.
“Oh, right, Lete. There’s a fox I was raising at the Duke of Celt’s house—well, two foxes, no, one fox.”
“…A fox?”
“Yes. Somehow it figured things out and hid in my luggage, following me all the way here. I can’t exactly take a baby fox back to the Duke of Celt’s house… So since it’s already here, I had Rosa take care of it in the servants’ quarters. That’s okay, right?”
“…Fine. I don’t mind.”
He replied in a blatantly uninterested tone. Mio, who had been secretly worried that he might say no, relaxed and said,
“Phew, Lete, you really seem to have a good personality.”
“…You’re saying I have a good personality?”
Aletheia asked back in disbelief. Oops—she’d slipped up because she was in such a good mood. What she meant was that the memory-lost Lete seemed to have a good personality.
Of course Aletheia would find it absurd—this was probably the first time he’d ever heard something like that.
A good personality… Even as empty flattery, really…
Feeling a bit of regret, Mio soon changed her mind. She’d already said it, so she might as well push through. Honestly, she kind of hoped he’d be a little brainwashed by it. Going further, she even wished he’d lose his memory forever.
After all, don’t they say that if you keep telling someone they’re pretty, they really do become prettier?
Lifting her chin, Mio spoke confidently.
“Yes. You said it was fine to raise a fox I brought by accident. And when I said it’d be good for you to sleep, you lay down on the bed right away. You were like that earlier today too. When I told you to come to the dining room, you came immediately, right? And when I said eating would be good for your health, you took at least a few bites. That’s exactly what people mean when they say someone has a good personality.”
“……”
“I-I mean it, really…”
Aletheia stared at Mio with an expression utterly devoid of trust, then eventually closed his eyes again and muttered,
“…You’d better just hurry up and do this ‘patting’ thing or whatever.”
An awkward Mio nodded vigorously and reached out her hand, at the same time vowing never again to resort to sweet talk like that.
