~Chapter 73~
When Aisha opened her eyes, noon had already long passed.
“Ugh.”
She blinked dully from where she lay on the sofa, then bolted upright. Not because she had overslept, or because she was embarrassed at waking so late.
But because of Cien, standing right in front of her with arms crossed, staring down at her.
“C-C-Cien…”
Good heavens. Even if she ran into a ghost on the street, she wouldn’t be this startled. Aisha froze and looked up. Cien, as strict as ever, opened her lips.
“I’ve been waiting.”
“H-huh? For what?”
“To see when you would finally wake up.”
“……”
“No matter what, a human—especially a noble—shouldn’t sleep in this late. Isn’t that common sense? I’ve never once seen a young lady like you who—”
Sigh.
Cien broke off with a heavy exhale. Aisha’s eyes widened.
“Then why didn’t you wake me? You’re good at that.”
She couldn’t understand. Since when had Cien ever let her sleep peacefully?
“I wanted to—hundreds of times.”
“Huh?”
“…But His Grace said you’d been through a lot and must be tired. He told me to let you sleep.”
Killian had said that?
“His Grace went out a few hours ago, on business. He woke at his usual time. But because of you, he couldn’t rest properly and only managed a short nap here. So tonight, you must sleep in your own bedroom. His Grace is always lacking sleep!”
He had been here with her?
“Good night, Aisha.”
Now that she thought of it… she did vaguely remember hearing Killian’s low voice in her sleep.
Aisha smiled unconsciously. Her small white hand brushed the spot on the sofa where Killian had been.
…For some reason, it felt good.
She didn’t know why, but it made her smile, and her heart beat just a little faster.
It was a feeling she had never known before.
Of course, she herself didn’t fully realize it yet.
“The bath is ready. Please, go quickly. My word, to show yourself like this in the Winters household…”
Cien was relentless as always. Her scolding never ended, always circling back to the same things—this goes against Winters family rules, this is unacceptable, and so on.
“You’ll regret treating me like this someday,” Aisha muttered with a sly grin.
Cien gave her a baffled look.
“Will you complain about me to His Grace? It won’t matter. This is my job—serving a young lady who doesn’t suit the Winters family at all! His Grace would surely understand—”
And then—
“Cien, tell me… do you enjoy Sunday’s Exposé?”
“I’m just doing my—eh?!”
At the sudden words, Cien’s already large eyes doubled in size.
“You subscribe, don’t you? Right?”
Aisha remembered it clearly: how Cien had once spoken about Leoric after reading Sunday’s Exposé. Things had been too hectic then to press her, but not now.
“So? What do you think is the best part of Sunday’s Exposé? Which issue caught your interest the most?”
Excited, Aisha bombarded her with questions.
“Or is there something you wish was improved? Any suggestions?”
“Th-that… what are you…”
“Oh, don’t worry! Just be honest. I’ll never tell anyone you subscribe.”
Cien blinked in shock, then blurted in an overly loud voice:
“M-me? Reading that strange magazine? Never! Lady Aisha, honestly!”
“Hm?”
“You know well—I’m a servant of House Winters! Do you think I’d ever, in my right mind, read a magazine full of nonsense about my master?”
Yeah. Except you did.
She had subscribed almost from the very start.
The words rose to Aisha’s lips, but seeing Cien fluster so desperately—claiming she’d never read or subscribe to something like that—Aisha chose to stay quiet.
At least, just for today.
“L-Lady Aisha, you say the funniest things sometimes. But truly, I have no interest in that. The only thing I care about is you becoming worthy of the Winters name—graceful, elegant, beautiful, and dignified—”
“Oh, that reminds me.”
“…What?”
Cien frowned as Aisha cut her off.
“Send someone to House Ashton.”
“To Ashton House?”
“Yeah. I need to talk to Leoric. Tell him to come straight to the Winters estate as soon as he gets the message.”
“Yes! Right away!”
Her frown vanished instantly, replaced by a gentle smile. A faint blush spread across her cheeks.
See? You’re so happy. If you’re going to lie, at least do it properly.
Cien, you silly fool.
…And if you really had feelings for Leoric, then you were a fool a hundred times over.
A short while later, left alone in Killian’s study, Aisha started giggling to herself.
She had no idea that just a few hours later, Leoric would arrive at the Winters estate—bringing news she had never imagined.
