Chapter 74
Estelle slowly looked around after slipping out of my arms.
Then, tilting her head with a curious expression, she looked up at me.
“But… this is… the Jenofesia Manor, isn’t it? Why am I here…?”
“Don’t you remember?”
“Remember what?”
“Fainting at the academy.”
“Ah…”
A small gasp escaped from Estelle’s lips. It seemed she recalled something.
But only for a moment. Estelle then smiled faintly and asked me,
“Were you worried?”
Her slightly raised eyebrows, the gentle curve of her eyes… combined with the mischievous expression, made emotions well up inside me.
“Of course! You collapsed all of a sudden and didn’t open your eyes for days. Do you know how worried I was?”
Of course, this was the complete opposite of the feelings I had just experienced.
When I blurted this out, Estelle’s eyes widened.
She looked surprised, as if my reaction had been unexpected.
Estelle furrowed her eyebrows slightly and gave me an awkward smile.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were that worried.”
“Of course I was. You’re family.”
Estelle hesitated for a moment.
“Hehe… you’re right.”
But soon, she narrowed her eyes and smiled happily, her cheeks flushed with a pretty pink.
“I’ll make sure not to get sick anymore so I won’t worry you.”
“What? That’s not something you can control. People don’t get sick on purpose.”
And this time, she had a reason for being unwell. I swallowed my response and just looked at Estelle.
“Still… I did worry you anyway. I don’t want to make you worry anymore.”
Estelle shook her head.
“But why did I suddenly collapse? I wasn’t tired, and my condition was fine.”
Hmm… she muttered, tilting her head and resting her chin on her finger, clearly puzzled about why she had fainted.
But I couldn’t answer her.
‘I can’t tell her about the birthmark!’
After all, the fewer people who know a secret, the easier it is to keep it. And if you want to deceive the enemy, you sometimes have to deceive your allies as well.
So instead of answering, I decided to change the subject.
“Uh, would you like to wash up first?”
“Huh? But we were talking…”
“We can talk after you wash up. I wiped you down with a towel every day, but it still feels… uncomfortable, doesn’t it?”
I grabbed Estelle’s hand and helped her up.
If I could quickly redirect her attention, I could avoid answering.
Estelle stepped off the bed and thought for a moment. Then, nodding, she moved toward the bathroom.
“You’re right. Okay. I did feel a bit uncomfortable.”
Good! The plan worked! I silently cheered inside.
“I’ll go wash up then.”
Estelle opened the bathroom door.
And at that moment, I remembered.
‘…There’s a mirror in the bathroom, isn’t there?’
Of course, bathrooms have mirrors. And the birthmark on Estelle’s shoulder was in a place that was subtly visible.
“Uh, wait…!”
I reached out to her frantically.
Bang—!
But before I could say anything, the bathroom door slammed shut.
‘…This is bad.’
I had intended not to say anything about the birthmark, but now Estelle would notice it herself.
I could only stare at the closed door with a helpless expression.
The small round table in the room, Estelle and I sitting across from each other.
And the suffocating silence that filled the room.
Yes. I was tense.
I didn’t know what Estelle would say after washing up, nor how I should respond.
‘Did she notice the birthmark while washing up? It’s in a place that’s visible even if she turns slightly. And there’s a mirror, so she probably saw it more clearly.’
I was anxious. Very anxious.
She’s naturally curious, and now something unusual appeared on her body.
She was definitely going to ask me about it.
“Reina.”
“Uh, yes?”
See? She called my name just as I feared. She was definitely going to ask about the birthmark.
I forced a smile, trying to look calm, although I gripped the hem of my dress tightly under the table.
“I saw the mirror earlier.”
“W-what about the mirror?”
Mirror! Mirror! She mentioned the mirror. This is it. 100% about the birthmark.
My heart pounded. I felt like it was about to leap out of my chest!
But I still had a glimmer of hope. Maybe she noticed something else in the mirror.
For example, the pretty color of her hair, or her fresh green eyes.
Or maybe her straight nose, or her small lips.
Please, I prayed, let her mean something else.
“I… I noticed something strange. It looks like a dot.”
But the gods had abandoned me.
I screamed silently inside.
“Uh, r-really? Wh-what dot?”
Outwardly, I answered Estelle normally.
“It’s on my shoulder. Like this.”
Even though it was fine, Estelle got up and slightly pulled her dress down to show her shoulder to me.
“Oh, wow. You’re right.”
“It’s strange, right? I’ve never seen this before. What could it be?”
She leaned in closer to show it to me.
I couldn’t do anything.
I couldn’t move back, nor could I turn my head away.
All I could do was awkwardly avoid looking directly at the birthmark.
Luckily, Estelle soon leaned back and sat down.
I could finally relax my eyes a bit.
“Reina, do you know what this is?”
Y-yes. I know.
But how could I admit it here?
So I shook my head quickly.
Then I thought of a flimsy excuse.
“Uh, maybe… it’s from a fever?”
“A fever?”
“Y-yeah! Maybe it got really high and caused something like heat rash that became a mark! Yeah, that could happen!”
…The problem was that it wasn’t really a proper excuse.
But I tried to respond seriously to her questions, even if my words were rambling and didn’t make sense.
“Really? I see.”
Huh? It worked?
Seeing Estelle nod, I was momentarily stunned.
‘This ridiculous explanation… actually worked?’
Unbelievable.
Apparently, the gods I had prayed to earlier answered my request in a different way.
I couldn’t avoid her questions, but I could at least avoid explaining directly.
Moreover, judging by Estelle’s expression, she seemed genuinely uninterested in the mark now.
I felt both absurd and relieved.
Then—
Knock-knock—
“Is it okay if I come in?”
It was Claude’s voice from outside the door.
“Come in!”
“Excuse me.”
The door opened, and Claude entered.
It was dinner time, and maybe because it was his house, he was in casual clothes, not his uniform.
But for some reason, seeing him not in uniform made my heart flutter.
It was like seeing the handsome neighbor in jogging clothes instead of his usual neat suit.
‘Well, even these clothes are comfortable for him, but to me, they feel fancy…’
Anyway, it looked different from usual, more relaxed.
Seeing that made my heart tingle and race uncomfortably.
I bit the inside of my cheek and lowered my gaze, averting my eyes.
Claude stepped inside and moved to stand in front of Estelle.
Looking down at her, he gave a faint smile, seemingly relieved to see her standing healthy.
“I heard you woke up, so I came to check. Are you feeling okay?”
“It’s thanks to Reina taking good care of me.”
“Good to hear.”
Ugh!
‘Estelle, how could you say that!’
It’s true that I helped care for Estelle when she collapsed, but I only assisted a little.
Most of the care was done by the doctors and staff employed at the Duke’s manor.
And yet she specifically thanked me!
