Chapter 37………………………………………..
Oh no! He might think someone’s been hitting me around.
“This…”
“Who is it?”
Terrence asked quietly. His expression and tone were no different from when he had asked about dinner.
Yet somehow…
“Is he angry?”
For some reason, the man’s red eyes flickered. My words caught in my throat. I needed to clear up the misunderstanding quickly, but my mouth wouldn’t cooperate.
“Who is it?”
The same question again.
He reached out a hand toward me. His bare fingers stopped just short of touching my cheek.
“Who dares…”
Even though we hadn’t actually touched, I could swear I felt the brush of skin on skin… had my senses gone haywire?
Distracted by the strange sensation, I didn’t notice his gaze shift elsewhere.
“I told you not to damage a single hair, didn’t I?”
The reprimand was astonishingly cold.
“I’m sorry. It was my fault.”
Vineta, kneeling on one knee behind me, bowed deeply.
Seeing Vineta blamed for nothing, I snapped back to reality and waved my arms.
“No! Vineta did nothing wrong!”
“Don’t worry about her. Just tell me who put you in this state.”
“…I did.”
“Excuse me?”
“I slapped my own cheek.”
Terrence’s eyes went wide.
“I see. So that happened.”
Having heard roughly what happened earlier in the day, he smiled faintly. The tense atmosphere from just a moment ago vanished as if it were never there.
“An excellent strategy. In the end, things turned out as you intended.”
“…Haha, you flatter me. Honestly, it was a rather childish little scheme.”
I glanced at Vineta and said,
“You know, I was at fault for not responding quickly, but if you’re going to be scolded unfairly, at least explain yourself next time.”
“My fault, yes, but does it need explanation?”
“Why is that Vineta’s fault?”
“When Lady Idel explained her plan, I didn’t stop her. I even thought it might work and had no other alternatives to suggest. As a result, I failed to follow my mistress’s orders, so I have no right to complain if I receive a suitable punishment.”
Good heavens… someone so rigid. Yet in a way, that very rigidity made her trustworthy.
“You really gave me a subordinate I can rely on.”
We headed to the dining room to eat, and I stole glances at Terrence.
I had really been startled earlier.
“I didn’t expect you to worry so much about me. The swelling has gone down quite a bit now.”
He returned a questioning look.
“Isn’t that natural? We…”
His words cut off abruptly.
“We…?”
“….”
His silence lingered, and our steps paused, leaving us standing in the middle of the corridor.
Did I say something wrong?
Finally, he spoke.
“Because we’re collaborators.”
“Collaborators?”
“Yes. We need each other.”
“Hmm, you’ve helped me a lot, Tei.”
We resumed walking.
“You’ve been a great help to me as well.”
“Thank you. But since I’ve already given you the medicinal tea recipes, my help is done, right?”
“You’re not very skilled, so you still make it yourself.”
“That’s something you’ll pick up quickly with a little practice. If it still doesn’t work, you can teach someone else to make it for you—my role ends there…”
“Alright, let’s leave it at that.”
By now, we had reached the dining room.
“I’m hungry. Shall we eat first?”
Light appetizers like salads and soup were prepared. I wasn’t really that hungry, but seeing the food made me crave it.
“Good.”
We spent the meal discussing the events of the day in detail.
It was well past midnight.
“Ah.”
“Lady Idel?”
We met again on the terrace, where we often had tea together.
“Can’t sleep?”
Terrence poured a glass of red wine and handed it to me.
“Yes, so I thought I’d go for a walk.”
I hadn’t expected to meet him before even reaching the garden.
“Did the Marquis also come out because he couldn’t sleep?”
He had been drinking wine here before I arrived.
“Yes. But… is it really so awkward to call me Tei?”
“Oh… I did it again without thinking. But now that I’m certain you’re the Marquis, it feels strange to continue calling you that.”
Still, some people in this villa didn’t know Terrence’s identity, so I had to be careful.
“I’m sorry. That was careless of me.”
“I’m not blaming you…”
“From now on, I’ll call you properly Tei, so you can call me Idel.”
“Excuse me?”
“It feels too formal to be called ‘Lady Idel’ by someone who will soon be a prince.”
“…Is that alright?”
“Of course. We are collaborators, after all.”
“Idel.”
The voice was deep, rich, and incredibly sweet. I was flustered.
Huh? It’s just one honorific removed, why does it feel so embarrassing?
“Perhaps because it’s been so long since someone my age called me by my name?”
Liandro always addressed me as “my wife,” and no one would casually use my given name as the Viscountess of Cassius.
“Please call me that from now on.”
“Understood, Idel.”
“….”
My face felt warm—probably from the wine—so I rubbed it. I hadn’t drunk much.
Terrence looked at me intently.
“Are you alright?”
“Oh, my cheek? It’s fine. It’s healed. I applied ointment and ice.”
“That’s a relief. Even if it was part of your plan, you should take better care of your body.”
“Mm, I’ll remember.”
“…How about the other side?”
“The other side?”
“Your heart. Even if they were bad family, it must have been hard to sever ties completely. Sorry if I’m meddling.”
“Not at all. I’m perfectly fine.”
But the words weren’t very convincing. Terrence’s look was one of admiration for someone persevering in a tough situation.
…No, I’m really fine. After all, they weren’t my real family. Back in that world, I had no one I could truly call family.
Thinking about the real Idel, however, stirred so many thoughts I couldn’t sleep.
“I wonder if she’ll blame me later for abandoning the Wallaces recklessly…”
Just like before, I might one day suddenly be returned to my own body without warning.
Unaware of this, Terrence offered comfort in his own way.
“You made the right choice. I would have parted ways with such a family without a second thought.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I’ve been hated intensely by my father’s wife, and if I could sever ties, I would have done so long ago.”
“Your situation is far more serious than mine.”
Comparing myself to someone constantly threatened with death felt absurd.
“Roughly similar enough,” he said, so smoothly that I couldn’t help laughing. Terrence laughed too.
“The right choice.”
Somehow, I felt a little lighter. Perhaps I’d been hoping someone would say that.
That I made the right choice. That I didn’t make a mistake.
“Thank you.”
“For what? Fellow collaborators.”
We spent some time quietly admiring the villa’s night scenery, sipping our drinks. There was no awkwardness, even in silence.
With Liandro, I would have scrambled to start a conversation or leave the room. But with someone I’d known for less than a month, I could relax. Fascinating.
Then Terrence spoke.
“Idel, do you have any plans after the divorce?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Just curious. We’re comrades, after all.”
“Well… I haven’t thought in detail yet, but…”
“You do have something in mind, then.”
It wasn’t a big deal, but I hesitated to say it.
“I plan to leave the empire.”
“…Excuse me?”
“After the divorce, my name will be everywhere. People will talk, and I don’t want that attention.”
Though preventing Terrence from turning dark could avert a civil conflict, my plan to relocate remained unchanged.
I didn’t want to stay in the Astarot Empire and get entangled with the Cassius family. In the novel, Cassius only thrives, soaring higher and higher.
“I definitely don’t want to see Liandro succeed…!”
Yet, as long as I stayed in the empire, I couldn’t avoid hearing news of Cassius. Eventually, his—and Riena’s—reputation would spread across the empire.
By the end, she marries the crown prince and becomes empress, even surpassing the emperor in popularity.
And I had burned Riena’s portrait, earning Cassius’ hatred. In court, he would only despise me more.
“Well, I’m the protagonist’s family—at least they won’t bother me personally after I leave.”
The Wallace family also wouldn’t let me go quietly.
There was no benefit in staying here. A scenic, quiet foreign land would be better.
I could live leisurely, spending the money from the Andalra mine. The mine was in the empire, but a manager could handle it.
Living comfortably, spending freely… it sounded perfect.
I should ask Laura if she wants to come. I promised to take care of her when we left Cassius.
If she didn’t want to leave the country, I could find her a proper job. If I just gave her money, she would probably refuse.
“Others…”
At Cassius Castle, I had no close bonds aside from Laura, so I thought of people I’d recently met—Sharon, Vineta, and so on.
It was a shame I couldn’t grow closer before leaving, but it wasn’t permanent. I could invite them to my neighborhood someday.
And now, the person in front of me—the closest among the new acquaintances.
Terrence was wearing a peculiar expression.
