~Chapter 36~
“After many hardships, Marquis Maximilian finally accepted you as his granddaughter. But the memories of living in the slums must have kept tormenting you.”
Marianne suffered from the difference between her hard childhood and her rich life as Marquis Maximilian’s granddaughter.
Every time she lived comfortably as a noble lady, guilt squeezed her heart.
“Instead of chasing wealth, you decided to follow poverty. The child whose hand was cut off for stealing bread… The friend who died trying to help you escape by distracting the guards.”
That’s why Marianne risked her life for helping the poor.
She had run away as a child, but as an adult, she didn’t want to run away in shame anymore.
“You didn’t even want to rely on your noble grandfather’s power. You tried to handle everything by yourself, and that’s why you ended up dying.”
Blue light flashed in my unfocused eyes. The man’s eyes were very blue and sharp.
“You died following your beliefs. Everyone betrayed you, Marianne.”
“The royal family will be glad you’re dead. Emperor Purka will be happy, and Empress May will be relieved. Your husband, Duke Benjo, will act like nothing happened…”
“Aaaaah!”
Marianne let out a scream of pain before she died. Her angry cry echoed in the empty slum.
“Even Cheryl, the friend you trusted, abandoned you. She tried to protect you from Empress May, but in the end, she betrayed you.”
Marianne only cried. Her sobbing faded away.
I turned my head and saw the dead maid. The coachman was dead too.
I wished this was just a dream, not a memory from the past.
As I was dying, trapped in Marianne’s body, a man with blue eyes and a white robe grabbed my chin roughly.
His cold voice whispered in my dying ear:
“You might be murdered just like Marianne.”
My breath stopped.
It wasn’t just because Marianne was dying. My own heart felt like it stopped.
“You’re fated to die, chasing only your beliefs without caring about your life.”
Was that true about me? I didn’t even doubt it. His words felt true.
“If you want to live, follow the truth behind Marianne’s death. Why she died, why she had to die, and who ordered the coachman to kill her…”
Instead of asking why, I nodded as if I was hypnotized.
It didn’t even feel strange. It felt like an order I couldn’t refuse.
“Earn Empress May’s trust. It would be good to become a maid. If you’re lucky, you might survive.”
He put his hand on my cheek. I could feel his warmth.
Thankfully, he had a face.
He gently brushed my rain-soaked hair and whispered,
“If you want to live, take away the favor Cheryl receives from Empress May.”
When he let go, my body collapsed, weak.
Favor…
With my head falling into a rain puddle, I closed my heavy eyelids.
The darkness I expected to be cold felt warm and comfortable.
“…Miss!”
Someone woke me up. Light entered my eyes, dazzling me.
“Uh… huh…”
I was alive. I wasn’t dead.
Once I fully woke up, I realized the light was from a small flashlight.
“Miss has woken up!”
The room was in chaos. I turned my head, lying in bed.
“…Are you awake? I’m the doctor. Do you remember what happened early this morning?”
Everyone looked nervous when I rolled my eyes. The doctor I sometimes saw was shouting something, and I saw Edel and Buddy crying.
Even the butler and the head maid, who rarely showed up, looked pale.
While I was still confused by all the questions, I learned that I had been unconscious in the garden for a week.
Today was the eighth day, and apparently, I’d woken up early in the morning and caused a huge fuss.
“…Where’s Father?”
My voice sounded metallic as I spoke. Edel hurriedly brought water and helped me drink slowly.
“He left two days ago. He went to see Duke Benjo…”
Drinking water made me feel better. I let out a sigh without thinking.
“Ha… Did he leave after being beaten up?”
“Ahem! He was beaten by a thug, but it wasn’t too serious. Thankfully, that rude thug didn’t even touch you…”
“A thug… Oh, right. A thug beat up Father and threatened me too. I must have fainted from how scared I was.”
I waved my hand and sighed, pretending it wasn’t a big deal.
Maybe he was embarrassed to be beaten up in front of his daughter.
“Did you call an expensive healer?”
“We tried to call a priest, but his schedule didn’t match, so your father just took painkillers and left.”
Serves him right. I tried not to laugh and asked what I was most curious about.
“Noah, I mean… Count Lenister?”
“Um, well… He stayed by your side for days, but he left last night.”
“Where to?”
Did he return to Lenister estate? But the only answer I got was, “I don’t know.”
“Edel, send someone to ask.”
“What? But…”
“I’m fine now. I want to rest… no, I need to rest.”
The doctor didn’t leave right away. He checked me a few times and told Edel not to leave me alone, then left.
The butler and the head maid also left, so now it was just me, Edel, and Buddy in the room.
I drank more water and ate a few spoons of thin soup, then stopped eating.
“The doctor asked if I remember what happened this morning…”
“Well…”
Edel hesitated. Buddy was still sobbing and looked worse than me.
“What is it? It’s okay, just tell me what happened.”
“You… you jumped out the second-floor window…”
“From the second floor? Are you saying I tried to kill myself?”
No way! That wasn’t a dream? Was it a hallucination?
I tried to sit up, but I had no strength and just slumped back.
It didn’t make sense. I never had sleepwalking before.
‘I didn’t try to kill myself. If I had, I wouldn’t have jumped from the second floor.’
Relieved, I let out a sigh.
But Buddy seemed even more shocked and hiccuped as she spoke. Edel’s eyes were wide too.
“N-no. You just sprained your ankle a little…”
“I’m glad I didn’t get hurt badly.”
No wonder I couldn’t get up properly…
Finally, I checked my right ankle. I wondered why I hadn’t noticed the thick bandage until now.
“By the way, did Noah say anything before leaving? Didn’t he say where he was going?”
Edel bent down and whispered in my ear.
“Count Lenister… went to see Marquis Maximilian, his teacher.”
Whew, thank goodness. At least he wasn’t taken to the royal palace.
Noah’s health had gotten worse, so they had agreed to pause human experiments for a year.
Since Dr. Vincent decided it, I was sure that promise would be kept.
‘He may change his mind often, but when it comes to experiments, he’s strict about following the rules.’
So I could relax for now. Still…
A teacher? Noah never talked much about Marquis Maximilian.
He wasn’t his swordsmanship teacher, was he? I thought I’d ask when Noah came back.
“He went pretty far, huh? When will Noah come back?”
“He said he wouldn’t be late. He’s also getting ready to propose.”
“Propose…”
Noah had finally made up his mind.
I wondered what helped him decide after hesitating so long.
Even though we talked about a proposal, it didn’t feel real to me.
Edel politely explained:
“He said he would tell Marquis Maximilian about getting married and then marry you right after.”
“Will wedding preparations take long?”
“He said he’d keep it simple. He thinks that would be best for you too.”
“That’s true. There won’t be any guests anyway.”
Noah’s Lenister family was bankrupt, and I was just a rich man’s daughter.
The important thing was the marriage, not the wedding ceremony, so I agreed with Noah’s idea.
“He asked us to tell you when you woke up. He thought you’d worry if he disappeared without a word.”
“Now that I know, there’s nothing to worry about.”
I must have looked more relaxed, because Edel gave me a warning:
“Miss, your sprained ankle is wrapped with a bandage. Please be careful until the healer comes.”
Then Buddy muttered sadly,
“If you move to Lenister, things like this won’t happen, right?”
“Yeah. They won’t.”
It’s not that I have any special power… It’s just about where I live.
Still, I should be careful until I leave the baron’s house.
With new determination, I made a fist and said,
“While I sleep, tie me to the bed for a while.”
