Chapter 22
Estelle hesitated for a moment before speaking. Then, as if the blocked watergate had burst open, the words spilled out.
“On the way home, someone picked a fight with me. I tried to ignore it, but they wouldn’t let me go. So….”
“……”
“…I was scared.”
Her words were incoherent.
It seemed that the memory of that moment still lingered so strongly in her head that she found it hard to talk about it.
I pulled her into my arms, gently rubbing her back, telling her it was all right.
Her small body trembled in my embrace, and soft hiccupping sobs spilled out.
All I could do for Estelle was silently lend her my arms.
After a little while, once she had calmed down, she pushed me away and slipped out of my embrace.
She quickly wiped away her tears with her head bowed, pretending she hadn’t been crying.
“Thank you for coming to find me. And… thank you for calling me family.”
Estelle looked at me with reddened eyes as she said this.
Then suddenly, she averted her gaze.
“…Reina.”
She whispered the name so faintly, then darted out of the kitchen in a hurry.
“Uh….”
What… what did I just hear?
“She… she just called me Reina, right?”
Not “Miss Morris,” but for the first time, Estelle had called me by name rather than by surname.
Was this a dream? Did I faint, and this was just my imagination?
I couldn’t tell if this was reality or not.
But then, I slapped my hand over my mouth and sank down to the floor.
Because the status window in front of me reminded me that this wasn’t a dream but reality.
Trust: 64 (+36)
“Haa…!”
My lips trembled.
My mouth corners curled upward, and a breath that was almost a cheer burst out of me.
“Ouch!”
My face hurt from the wounds, but I couldn’t stop smiling. The joy was too overwhelming.
“Reina, what book are you reading?”
I had just pulled out a book at the bookstore and was reading through it when I heard a soft, curious voice beside me.
It was Estelle, who had quietly approached.
“Estelle, did you finish picking your books?”
“Yes. I picked them a while ago and was waiting for you, Reina.”
She pointed to the basket she had set beside her.
It was overflowing with books.
I knew she was studious, but seeing it with my own eyes feels different.
I looked at the basket with a mix of amazement and disbelief.
Estelle pouted, clearly displeased that I was more interested in the books she picked than in her.
“So, what book were you looking at?”
She came close, slipped into my arms, and looked up at me with her pretty green eyes.
Perhaps because her trust level had risen so sharply, her behavior had changed noticeably.
“Reina.”
She now called me by my first name.
“Good morning. I made breakfast… would you like to eat together?”
She greeted me warmly and even shared meals with me now.
And even…
“Reina, do you have plans for the weekend? If not, there’s a book I want to buy. Will you come with me?”
That morning, she had shyly asked me out on what could only be called a date.
Is this a dream or reality?
At first, Estelle had always been cold, distant, and icy toward me.
She spoke only when necessary, her replies were curt, and most of the time, I was the only one talking.
But now it was the complete opposite.
She was warm, kind, and held conversations easily.
If I thought back to when we first met, this change was unimaginable.
Of course, it wasn’t only her attitude that had changed.
Grace: 4
Her grace stat had dropped, and it showed in her behavior.
“Achoo! Ugh, dust. Sniff.”
She sneezed openly, rubbed her itchy nose roughly—small things that revealed it.
Put nicely, she was down-to-earth. Put bluntly, she was unrefined.
Of course, seeing her pretty face paired with such toughness had its own kind of charm.
But for someone destined to be emperor, such behavior didn’t suit her at all.
Besides, I had already seen Estelle’s true self: with her original Grace stat of 25.
Maybe that’s why seeing her act so roughly made me feel frustrated.
And not long ago, she even got harassed by some thugs.
I had only thought about her being bullied at the academy, but now trouble followed her in everyday life too.
Thankfully nothing serious happened this time, but if this continued, similar incidents were bound to happen again.
To ward off scum like that, I need to raise her Grace stat as soon as possible.
But I still couldn’t think of any reliable way to increase it.
Do I really have no choice but to accept Basago’s offer?
That night under the moonlight, when I had met Basago, he had offered to help Estelle return to her original self.
Of course, in my head, I knew.
Leaving it to him, a demon, would be the fastest way to solve the problem.
But I didn’t want to hand it over to him in exchange for who-knows-what price.
No… let’s try finding ways little by little. Even something small will help.
With my head pounding from the effort of thinking, I arrived at the bookstore with Estelle—and that’s when I saw it.
That’s it…!
Among the many sections, in “Home and Living,” I spotted a book titled “Etiquette Lessons for Building Grace.”
This is it!
I inwardly cheered, snatched the book, and devoured it until Estelle called for me.
“What’s with the etiquette book?”
I closed it and showed her the cover, hoping she’d find it at least a little interesting.
But her reaction was lukewarm.
She just blinked with no expression, not a shred of interest.
“Uh, just thought it might come in handy for class.”
“Hmm. I see.”
Her indifferent response stung a little.
“By the way, Reina, did you finish picking your books?”
“Yeah, why?”
“When I was choosing, I overheard someone. Apparently, an orchestra came to the square today and they’ll be performing soon. I wanted to see it with you.”
What.
The same Estelle who used to make me beg just to meet her—was now asking me out, not once but twice in one day?
This was like striking gold.
“Sure! That sounds fun.”
No way I was passing up this chance.
I nodded enthusiastically and tossed the etiquette book into the basket before grabbing it and heading to the register.
When we arrived at the square, I was stunned.
The place was packed, people swarming around the stage where the performance was being held.
“So many people….”
There were the audience members, and even knights dispatched to maintain order and safety.
Good thing we used the bookstore’s delivery service for Estelle’s books.
My own book was small and light, but hers were massive and heavy.
We had briefly considered carrying them, but in the end decided to leave them for delivery—thank goodness. Otherwise we’d be stuck hauling heavy loads through this sea of people.
Relieved, I took Estelle’s hand and led her to a spot at the very back, farthest from the stage.
The view wasn’t great, but at least the crowd wasn’t as tight.
This is good enough.
We weren’t squeezed in, no one was bumping into us, and there were knights behind us for safety.
I glanced around, satisfied, and smiled.
But Estelle clearly wasn’t as pleased.
She craned her neck as high as she could, hopping up and down—too short to see the stage from this distance.
“Can’t you see the stage well?”
“No…”
Her dejected answer squeezed my heart.
And at the same time, a fire lit in my chest.
No way. Estelle wants to see the stage? Then I’ll get her there, no matter what!
Like a hawk searching for prey, I scanned for a gap in the crowd.
Soon I spotted a small opening—just enough for a child to slip through.
“Estelle, look. If you go through that gap, you can make it to the front.”
“But what about you, Reina?”
“I’ll be fine. Go on. Let’s meet here again after the performance.”
She hesitated for a moment, then nodded and dashed through the crowd, slipping through the gap.
Bit by bit she pushed her way forward until she reached the front of the stage.
Watching her safely get there, I felt proud and finally turned my eyes to the performance.
That’s when—
“Well, well, pretty lady. All alone, are you?”
A greasy voice drawled behind me, accompanied by the clinking of metal.
