"It's okay to go back to the principality. You weren't even Isabella's knight, to begin with. You have no obligation to protect me."
"If something happens to you, Master Rainier will be heartbroken."
"After one year, no matter what the outcome is, Isabella will disappear from this world. What you see before your eyes is just a shell of her, imitating herself."
He looked at me, who shrugged my shoulders with something inexplicable in my eyes, and then turned away without answering.
"Why did you save me?"
"...?"
"If it were me, we could have negotiated just the two of us without having to burn down the wool warehouse and escalate the situation. It would have been easier if I hadn't let him use me as a bargaining chip."
"Are there some people who like to see people die?"
"..."
"And you are the only person in the world who knows who I am."
I hope you will call me Rebecca gently. I didn't save it because I thought it would be of some help.
"I think it's comforting to know at least one person."
It was only after a while that Hugh responded to the words he said while looking at his back.
"...Good night."
The voice that said good night was quiet, like a person with a cold. I answered quietly without seeing his face as he turned around.
"Good night."
And then I fell asleep like I was fainting and didn't wake up until the afternoon of the next day.
***
When I opened the door in the late afternoon, rubbing my puffy eyes, I saw Hugh standing in front of me.
"What are you thinking?"
Even at the diner table that Eric had invited, he silently stood behind me and maintained his position.
"You lied to me."
"Me?"
Eric laughed when I asked him a question as if I was chopping up an appetizing piece of meat.
"You said it doesn't matter what happens to him since he is not the Iady's knight."
"It was sincere to some extent. Because you are not more precious than my life."
If it was truly an unavoidable situation, I certainly wouldn't have put myself in danger to save him.
"It looks like there's a hole in my face."
Eric, who was looking at me openly with his chin resting, suddenly opened his mouth.
"The young lady is definitely unexpected."
"Is it so?"
"You have clearly been properly educated, know how to behave appropriately, and is excellent at reading people's psychology. But somehow, you don't seem like a noble person."
"..."
The hand holding the knife stopped.
As I slowly raised my head, I was able to meet Eric's serious eyes.
I don't look like noble. After all, it couldn't have been done based only on my appearance and my memories.
I tried to act calmly.
"Is it so?"
"That's right. So much so that I'm curious about how you grew up. There are times when you feel clumsy like a child, and there are times when you are insensitive as if you are worn out. Nobility cannot tolerate the bravado and vanity that comes with it."
"Is this a compliment or a criticism?"
"It's both."
I blinked at the simple answer.
"Depending on how you deal with that aspect of the Lady, it can be a weapon or a problem."
It was a puzzling statement.
I understood that it could be a problem, but it could also become a weapon.
I couldn't tell what he was talking about, so I looked at him blankly.
"Aristocrats like special things. It has to have something unique that can't be easily imitated by someone else, and at the same time, it has to be worthy of its prestige. I see the potential for such specialness in the young lady."
"Possibility..."
Before I knew it, the meat on my plate had become so mangled that it was difficult to eat.
Finally, I put down the knife and asked Eric.
"What can you do with that possibility? Does that have anything to do with your plans?"
He handed me his plate of well-prepared steak and nodded.
"A young lady must learn how to capture the hearts of others with her specialness. If you can have the ability to charm people in the desired direction and make them move as intended, it will become the sharpest and most powerful weapon for you."
"..."
"We will deal with Count Brium with it."
Eric grinned.
Without saying a word, I picked up my fork, looking down at my plate of artfully cut steak.
***
A month later.
It was late at night.
Viscountess Mancini continued to glance out the dark window with a worried look on her face.
"I should have left earlier."
"Ma'am, I think it would be best for you to wear a shawl."
At the maid's recommendation, she wrapped a thick shawl around her shoulders and sighed.
"The play was so much more interesting than I thought, so I got too caught up in it. It's definitely something people will rave about. Her acting was great."
"I just wanted you to have fun. You've been feeling a lot more lonely lately."
A faint smile appeared on Madam Mancini's face at the maid's since consolation.
"When you arrive at the mansion, go to the bedroom so you can go to sleep right away"
It was that moment.
Before the maid had finished speaking, the carriage suddenly stopped with a strong shaking.
Madam Mancini blinked anxiously at the excited neighing of the horse and the coachman's voice.
"What's going on, Marco?"
“Ah...”
In response to the coachman's inability to respond, the maid hurried out.
A little later, she called Madam Mancini in a trembling voice.
"Ma'am, I think you should come out for a moment."
After carefully getting off, what caught the eye of the woman was a pale-faced woman who had collapsed in front of the carriage.
Maroon-colored hair that someone carefully groomed from morning to evening, soft and smooth skin, a body so thin that it looks as if it wilI collapse if you touch it...
"Oh my God."
Madam Manc opened her mouth.
At first glance, she didn't look like someone who would be walking down the street alone at this time. The coachman took off the hat he was wearing with trembling hands and held it, not knowing what to do.
Madam's eyes then turned to the dress the fallen woman was wearing.
Also, the wheel marks of the carriage are clearly marked on the pale silk. dress.
"It appeared so suddenly. I didn't even blink, so I don't know what happened. It means that she suddenly appeared from nowhere. Just like a fairy."
Marco, the coachman, was talking gibberish and looked like he was about to cry. Madam Mancini looked at the unknown woman without saying anything.
Then, something came out of the fallen woman's arms and fell to the floor.
The maid quickly reached out and handed the item over, and the lady calmly checked the item back and forth and said,
"It's a pass issued by the Principality of Valentin."
"Uh, what should I do?"
"First, we have to go to our mansion. I need to call a therapist there. When she comes to her senses, I need to hear the situation. I don't know how it happened, but it collided with the carriage we were riding in."
The carriage carrying the fallen woman rushed towards the mansion like the wind. The woman whom Madame Mancini took that night barely opened her eyes after two full days. In a small voice that seemed to disappear at any moment, she introduced her name as Isabella.
She couldn't remember anything else.
***
"Good morning, Miss!"
A lively voice announced the morning.
Annie, who opened the curtain with a cheerful greeting, came to me and helped me get up.
"Thank you, Annie."
She smiled shyly at the soft greeting.
The green-eyed girl with freckles on both cheeks was the young maid of the mansion who had just turned 15 years old.
"Did you sleep well last night?"
"Yes. Of course."
Annie's eyes narrowed as she looked at me at the quick answer.
I tried to get down to the bed, waving my hands but stumbled and hit my butt on the floor.
She quickly ran over to me helped me up and started nagging me.
"Lie. Did you say that Laura heard the young lady moan several times last night? Yes, I told you so. If you are sick, you must call us. There are painkillers prescribed by the doctor, so why are you holding on to them? If you lose sleep like that, your wounds will heal more slowly."
A long scar stretched across my smooth leg.
Even if it's a bad thing, it's the only one on this body. This is it.
It was funny how everyone was making such a fuss as if it was a big deal.
"Did you know, Miss?"
"Yes. I will, Annie."
When I answered with a smile, she grumbled at me as if she had no choice.
"I know you are considerate of us, but if your recovery is this slow, Madam will scold us. How did we take care of you?"
"Is that possible? She is a nice lady. I'm sure she knows that this isn't your fault."
To be honest, the therapist who insisted that I needed to take dozens of painkillers for this level of pain seemed more like a quack.
At best they only have a broken leg, but they make a fuss as if they have a fatal disease.
On the contrary, it is even more bothersome to wake up from time to time while sleeping well and pretend to be in pain and moan.
Of course, I can't say that.
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