CHAPTER~63
“Her condition has improved greatly compared to yesterday, Madam!
Her recovery is fast, which clearly means Miss Mela is holding on strongly.”
“That’s a relief.”
As soon as dawn broke the next day, I made only simple preparations and headed straight to Mela’s bedroom.
Just as the attending physician had said, Mela was recovering quickly.
Only then, as I watched the color slowly return to Mela’s face, was I finally able to breathe a little easier.
“Madam, it’s me. Loren.”
“Mm. Come in.
I heard you stayed with her all through the night?
I’ll be counting on you today as well.
I have to attend the trial.”
“Of course, Madam.
That’s what I’m here for.
I brought even more fairy tale books today.
I’m sure Miss will want to wake up once she hears my nightingale-like voice!”
Calling her own voice a nightingale’s was certainly a first.
Still, Loren’s words did a fine job of lightening what could have been a gloomy atmosphere.
“Ah, right! And this as well.
Miss Reia asked me to give it to you.”
“Reia?”
What Loren handed to me was, unexpectedly, a gift box and a letter.
The letter was one thing, but what was this gift box?
When I opened it just in case, inside was a neatly wrapped hair ribbon adorned with a beautiful red gemstone.
“Miss Reia has also been undergoing psychological treatment lately.
She said there’s something she really wants to tell Miss Mela once she opens her eyes, so she’s been diligently continuing therapy.
And this hair ribbon is a gift prepared by Artemene.
She said it would suit Miss very well.”
“……Such a precious thing.”
When Mela wakes up later, we should go thank them together.
Thinking that, I placed the letter on the desk.
Around the bed, the fairy tale books Loren had brought were piled up like a small mountain, and everywhere there were flowers and letters from maids and friends from the study room wishing for her recovery.
Seeing how full Mela’s bedside was with gifts left by others, a warm feeling welled up inside me.
In truth, I often wondered whether bringing Mela to the North had really been the right decision.
Yet contrary to my worries, Mela had formed many wonderful connections with people without my even realizing it.
Thinking that, my eyes grew hot, and I hurriedly fixed my expression, trying not to cry.
“Madam, um, you see… there’s something I wanted to tell you regarding the merchant guild……”
At that moment, Loren hesitated, stalling as if unsure how to begin.
Then she hurriedly waved her hands and shook her head.
“Ah, no! I’ll tell you later when you have time.
It’s time for the shift change now, so I should go.
I’ll be right back!”
What could it be that made her hesitate like that?
Come to think of it, I haven’t been properly managing the merchant guild lately.
When I first came to the North, I used to visit the guild at least once a week, but now I was so busy that I couldn’t spare it any attention at all.
Still, it was fortunate that I wasn’t taking on any commissions.
If I had been, even having two bodies wouldn’t have been enough.
Pushing those thoughts aside, I walked toward Mela’s desk.
I decided it would be better to give her Artemene’s gift personally once she woke up, so I placed it inside a drawer.
The desk was spotless, not a thing out of place.
It was partly because the maids cleaned it daily, but Mela herself also seemed to have a tidy nature.
I smiled in satisfaction at the dust-free desk—only for a moment.
One of the drawers was left slightly open, sticking out.
“This is…….”
When I checked inside just in case, a small teal-colored notebook caught my eye.
I had never heard about it from the maids, which was unexpected.
That meant it must be something she wrote in secret.
I put the notebook back without looking at it.
And yet, strangely, my gaze kept drifting back to it.
Human curiosity truly is treacherous.
The more you think you shouldn’t look, the stronger the urge becomes.
That kind of contrarian impulse.
No matter how close I was to Mela, I had never truly heard her deepest thoughts.
Saying I never felt hurt would be a lie, but part of me also waited, thinking she would tell me someday.
I also wondered whether Mela had regained her memories.
Wouldn’t it be fine to look just a little?
Eventually, that thought won out, and I carefully opened the notebook.
[1. Hold hands with Dad and Mom and look around the flower garden. Picnic too!
2. Always remember. Even if sad memories come back, endure them.]
“This feels like something she wrote before……”
It had become a distant memory now, but I recalled how Mela had once scribbled all over an old manuscript, leaving me flustered.
‘Hehe. I couldn’t sleep, so I thought I’d draw something.
There was no parchment…… but it turned out to be a really important book, Auntie?’
Mela back then had been so cute too—pure and innocent.
The faint memory brought an involuntary smile to my lips.
[Nanny Grimora is suspicious. I should look into it more.]
[The Andra fruit honey pie Mom made is unique and delicious.
I wish everyone could eat it.
Is there a way?
Mom is surprisingly talented!]
[Swordsmanship, magic, swordsmanship, magic!]
“……”
On the following pages were a mix of ominous notes, mutterings to herself, and meaningless sound effects.
Most of it was childlike, making me smile.
[We arrived in the northern land of Norskal.
This place is very cold and hungry.
It’s different from what I imagined, but I have to survive.
I must live.
I will never go back.
This time …… without regret.]
As I kept turning the pages, I saw traces where something had been erased and rewritten over and over.
Some characters were crossed out with heavy lines, making the words hard to read.
But what did ‘This time …… without regret’ mean?
Just one missing word, yet it felt so abruptly cut off.
It bothered me, but there was nothing I could do except turn the page.
And the moment I opened the next one, my gaze froze on the words written there.
[Protect Evelyn Leella, who became my mom.
We promised with our pinky fingers!]
“……Mela.”
At the same time, emotion surged up, and tears gathered in my eyes.
I blinked hard, desperately swallowing them back.
That such a small child had made this kind of resolve among adults.
Reading the diary, another thought suddenly crossed my mind.
Perhaps Mela hadn’t lost her memories after all.
But I couldn’t be sure.
If there was one thing that was clear, it was that to both Mela and me, we had become incredibly important to each other.
I put the diary back into the drawer and approached Mela.
Then I hooked my little finger with hers and made a promise.
“This time, I—no, Mom—will protect you, Mela.
No matter what, I promise.”
So that when Mela opens her eyes again, she’ll be greeted not by cold pain, but by warm sunlight.
I will never waste the chance Mela has given me.
* * *
“The trial will begin shortly.
All attendees, please take your seats without exception before the proceedings.”
Grimora’s trial was held early in the morning.
Incidents that occurred within the Decart family and their territory were usually handled in the family court rather than the Imperial Court, except for certain major crimes.
After arriving, Frezen and I moved to the central seats of honor and sat down.
Frezen took the central seat, and I sat right beside him.
Below us were the judge and the jurors, and on both the left and right sides, seven elders were seated in order.
The rigid courtroom was filled with nothing but solemn silence.
Perhaps because it was my first time in such a place, even though I wasn’t the one on trial, my fingertips trembled with tension.
Before long, amid the frozen atmosphere, the trial formally began.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
At the legal officer’s signal to open the court, the doors opened, and Grimora appeared, her upper body bound with rope.
In the few days she had been imprisoned, it looked as though she had been tortured, her appearance utterly wretched.
“Wicked woman of the ages! Die!”
“Die!”
As Grimora appeared, jeers filled with condemnation poured down.
Everyone pointed at her, calling her a villainess.
“Order! Order!”
At the judge’s shout, the hostile atmosphere thankfully subsided quickly.
Ignoring the jeers, Grimora bowed her head toward the court.
Despite her outwardly polite behavior, her eyes were filled with intense resentment.
“Do you admit to having your young sons confine Miss Reia so that she could not attend the family banquet?”
“I do not admit it.
It was merely children’s play.”
The shameless answer caused a stir in the courtroom.
I, too, let out a hollow laugh in disbelief.
To deny it to the very end.
“And do you admit to having poison mixed into the food at the banquet in an attempt to assassinate Elder Artemene?”
“……Absolutely not!
I have never done such a thing!”
“The maid has already confessed to everything.
Do not attempt to deny it, Grimora.”
“No!
Your Honor, I most certainly did not commit poisoning!”
“Then it seems you do admit to confining Miss Reia.
Is that correct?”
In the end, Grimora nodded reluctantly, admitting it.
“That is……!
But I am not the one who ordered the poisoning.
That maid is clearly trying to frame me.
Someone else must have ordered her to do it……!”
“Can you be certain of that?”
“Yes, Your Honor.
At the very least, I can prove that I did not do all of this alone.
Right here!”
Speaking angrily, Grimora’s gaze shifted toward the elders seated on both sides.
It was so blatant that everyone held their breath.
The situation was becoming quite interesting.
The key lay in how much of the truth Grimora would reveal.
If only she would move according to our wishes.
Fearing that things might go wrong, I clenched my fist tightly in anxiety.
Then Grimora spoke.
“Not only that, I also know how Elder Artemene’s grandson met his death in the past, and who was behind it!”
And at that moment.
Amid the murmuring crowd, the tightly closed courtroom doors opened, and someone entered.
“……My apologies for being late.
This is Quina Mendella.”
