Chapter 77
As soon as the door opened, Claude sitting behind a large desk piled high with documents came into view.
Even though it was late, it seemed Claude hadn’t finished his work yet.
He frowned as he looked at the thick stack of papers in his hands.
“I expected you’d come.”
However, he soon placed the documents on the table.
He sensed Estelle approaching.
Raising his head, he rested his chin on his interlaced fingers and looked at Estelle standing before him.
“So, what are you curious about?”
Claude asked in a calm voice, as if he already knew why she had come.
“Everything.”
Estelle’s answer was just as resolute.
With Claude’s composed demeanor appearing natural, she continued without a hint of surprise.
“I’m curious why you collapsed and about the mark on your shoulder. Honestly, it seems like that mark might have caused you to collapse, but I’m not entirely sure.”
Despite saying she wasn’t sure, Estelle’s face, as she pointed at the back of his shoulder with her index finger, was full of certainty.
She was confident that the mark and his collapse were connected.
Claude watched her quietly for a moment before asking:
“Why are you asking me instead of Reina?”
“You saw earlier. Reina doesn’t want to tell me.”
Estelle shrugged.
“Of course, she would answer if pressed. But do I really need to? I don’t want to see Reina troubled.”
“That sounds like you’re fine with it.”
“Of course.”
Claude snorted.
Estelle’s attitude, as if asking the obvious question was brazen, was utterly shameless.
“And I have a separate question for you, Claude.”
“What’s that?”
“Why you insisted on having Reina stay in the mansion.”
Her eyes hardened for a moment, sharp and piercing, in contrast to the earlier boldness.
Claude adjusted his posture, leaning back in his chair and crossing his long legs.
He unclasped his hands, placing his left hand on his knee and his right on the table.
Tap, tap.
He lightly tapped the table with his right index finger, keeping an even rhythm and pressure.
“First, your guess is correct. That mark on your shoulder—that mark caused your collapse.”
Claude nodded slightly.
Then, looking directly at Estelle, he continued:
“But Reina and I agree on what that mark is. I can’t tell you that yet.”
“…Why?”
“Because your guardian doesn’t want you to know.”
Claude shrugged, wearing the same expression Estelle had shown earlier—like asking the obvious was ridiculous.
Annoyed by his attitude, Estelle bristled.
“For that reason…”
“Aren’t you the same? You didn’t ask further because Reina didn’t want to tell you.”
“….”
Estelle had no rebuttal.
Reina clearly didn’t want to reveal it, so coming to Claude instead made sense.
“Of course, I won’t stop you if you try to find out yourself.”
“….”
“But you won’t, will you?”
Estelle frowned at his tone, which implied he already knew the answer.
“Fine. There must be a reason Reina wants to keep it secret. Alright, I’ll wait until you tell me. I won’t be more curious.”
Estelle let out a small sigh.
Shrugging her shoulders, she seemed to resign herself to not knowing for now.
“Then just tell me one thing.”
“What is it?”
“Could this mark cause me to collapse like this again in the future?”
“No. At least not for the same reason.”
“That’s good. I didn’t want to worry Reina.”
A smile appeared on Estelle’s lips.
Though she didn’t get the answer she wanted, knowing Reina wouldn’t be troubled was enough to satisfy her.
“So, what about the answer to my last question?”
Estelle crossed her arms and fixed Claude with her gaze.
“I can’t understand why you brought me here. There are doctors in the village, and they would help no matter how late it is. But I can accept it because Reina decided it. I just don’t understand why Reina had to stay here too. Knowing Reina, she would have refused.”
Indeed.
Reina would never stay somewhere out of her own free will.
Estelle narrowed her eyes, watching Claude with suspicion.
“You’re right. She initially refused.”
Of course.
Estelle had expected that.
“But when asked if she shouldn’t stay by your side, she immediately agreed.”
“You mean she used me as an excuse?”
“Yes.”
Estelle repeated incredulously.
Claude simply nodded.
“If you ask why she said that… well, that’s hard to answer.”
Estelle frowned deeply, upset that someone had manipulated her precious Reina without knowing the reason.
But her frustration quickly shifted when Claude continued:
“It’s not that I don’t want to answer. Even I don’t know why I said it.”
“You don’t know?”
“Yes. I just felt it was the right thing to do when I saw her face.”
“….”
Estelle remained silent, only shooting Claude a glare that clearly showed her displeasure.
“…I hope I never find out the reason,” she whispered after staring at him for a long time.
She had already guessed a reason Claude himself didn’t know.
Of course, she had no intention of telling him that.
Estelle turned to leave. She had finished what she came for and now needed to return to the room where Reina was waiting.
Then—
“Wait.”
As she was about to move, Claude called out to her.
“….”
Estelle turned around, annoyed. She just wanted to return to Reina immediately. Any delay irritated her.
“Be careful with your actions at the Academy.”
“At the Academy?”
Estelle tilted her head, still frowning.
“Yes. The aristocratic families’ movements have been unusual lately. It will surely affect the Academy. So don’t cause any trouble for a while.”
Aristocratic families…
‘He must mean those girls.’
Estelle quietly recalled the three girls who had troubled Cial, proud of being aristocrats.
She nodded, replying to Claude:
“I understand. I’ll be careful. As I said earlier, I don’t want Reina to get into trouble.”
She turned sharply toward the door, opened it, and walked out quickly, moving away from the office.
She was returning to Reina, who was still sound asleep, unaware of everything.
Estelle had also recovered from her collapse.
The mark she had aimed for had manifested.
‘Now, if I steadily raise my stats, I can achieve my dream!’
She thought the path ahead would be smooth, like a high-speed highway.
But then…
“Teacher! A letter has arrived!”
“…A letter?”
Having had only peaceful days for several days, she felt a sense of unease the moment she heard the word “letter,” as if the world was saying: “It’s been boring because everything was peaceful. Here’s a new trial for you.”
‘I like peace. I like it calm!’
All she wanted was to live peacefully with Estelle.
Why is that so difficult?!
She looked down at the letter Mina had handed her.
It seemed ordinary, but a strange, ominous feeling crept from it.
‘I don’t remember feeling like this with the last letter…’
Claude received letters regularly. After all, he would know Academy news that she couldn’t.
