“My Lady, I’ll prepare warm water and new clothes right away.”
Seizing the opportunity, I quickly replied.
“Mother, I’m so tired. I’ll go upstairs and rest.”
“Yes, yes, make sure to rest well, and if anything comes to mind, do let me know, okay?”
I nodded roughly and went up to the second floor with Ecla.
“Oh dear.”
As I was about to collapse onto the bed, I noticed Ecla standing by the door, shoulders hunched.
Ah, right. I used to be a notorious villainess.
It’s no wonder Ecla is so intimidated.
“Ecla, don’t just stand there. Come here.”
“Yes? Do you need something, my Lady?”
“No. I just want you to come and sit here.”
But Ecla hesitated, mumbling uncertainly.
Indeed, Liberata wasn’t an easy lady to serve.
She often troubled the servants on a whim, depending on her mood.
“Then, could you bring me a glass of water?”
I used a familiar trick from my past life to bring her closer.
Ecla moved reflexively to my words and poured water into a glass.
“Thank you.”
When I said thank you, Ecla’s thin hands trembled like dry kindling.
“A-are you alright, my Lady?”
Perhaps the word ‘thank you’ was unfamiliar to her.
Ecla glanced at my face cautiously and continued to speak carefully.
“Are you really alright?”
“Yes, indeed. I’m perfectly fine.”
I exaggerated my expressions and gestures to ease her anxiety.
Though she wouldn’t let her guard down overnight, in a few days, she would soon be like a friend to me.
As it has always been.
“I, I’m really worried about you, my Lady.”
“Worried?”
I thought little of it as I drank the water.
“How on earth did you end up spending a night with Grand Duke Cygnus…”
“Cough, cough!”
Ah, really, how can rumors spread so fast in a world without cell phones?
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, my Lady!”
As Ecla fell to her knees and started apologizing, I had to help her up even while I was still coughing.
“No, it’s okay. Get up quickly.”
“My lady.”
“Cough, cough. Oh, my throat.”
“My lady, are you alright?”
“Who on earth did you hear such a thing from?”
“But is it true, my Lady?”
Ecla didn’t answer my question but widened her large, innocent eyes.
“No, I mean, who did you hear that from?”
At my words, Ecla hunched her shoulders and mumbled.
“No, I just heard the lady say it. That the Grand Duke picked up the drunken young lady and disappeared with her.”
“Drunken?”
“Sorry, sorry. I was just repeating what I heard.”
Ecla immediately pressed her lips together and watched my reaction.
But it was too accurate to argue against.
Suddenly, my temples began to throb. As I held my head and bowed deeply, Ecla rushed over in surprise.
“My lady, are you alright? Should I get you some headache medicine?”
“No, it’s fine. I just need to soak in some hot water.”
“I’ll prepare it quickly.”
“No, I’ll just go in and do it myself.”
“No, my Lady. What are you saying?”
“Then take your time preparing it.”
When I said that, Ecla nodded with a somewhat touched expression.
“Yes, of course. I’ll prepare it right away.”
*** *** *** *** ***
“Ah, I feel alive.”
As I soaked in the hot water, my body, tense from last night’s stress, began to relax.
“Who is that old woman? She definitely knows something.”
“Miss, you want to get out of here alive, don’t
you?”
She said this was the last chance. Everything had to be put in place within twenty attempts.
Wait, the last time I died was the nineteenth, so if I die this time, it would be the twentieth.
That means this life is the last chance.
I pondered over her words, ‘Go back to where you belong.’
It seemed to mean that the people from the original story had to meet as they were supposed to.
Gerlach Cygnus and Leonie Almaz.
Me and Nathan Palamedes.
Of course, Nathan ends up going to Leonie in the middle.
“No, shouldn’t you have told me that sooner? If I had known from the start, I wouldn’t have done such a foolish thing yesterday!”
I inadvertently shouted.
Then Ecla’s voice came through the door.
“My lady, is everything alright? Are you okay?”
“Sorry! It’s nothing!”
I slowly lowered myself into the water as if I were going to be completely submerged, and then I went all the way under.
Then I came back up and rubbed my wet face and hair with my hands.
“So what should I really do now?”
Even though the start was a bit off, should I just let things flow according to the original story now?
But at that moment, the memory of Gerlach’s bedroom from last night came to mind.
“Oh, I’m really out of my mind. I should have just said, ‘I’m leaving now!’ and left!”
But with such a handsome face right in front of me.
With such a fatal voice right in front of me.
I’m really weak to voices, if nothing else!
It’s all because of that damned alcohol.
If I hadn’t been drunk, if my mind had been clear, I wouldn’t have ended up in the arms of the man who killed me nineteen times.
The memory of last night started with intense pleasure but ultimately left me closer to fear.
“It’s not too late yet, right? It’s just one puzzle piece that’s wrong, isn’t it?”
I stomped my feet and shouted softly, and Ecla’s voice came through again from outside.
“My lady, are you really okay?”
Does Ecla have some kind of ‘Are you okay?’ patch?
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“Are you sure I shouldn’t come in?”
“Yes, please don’t come in!”
After barely managing to send Ecla away, who insisted on helping me wash, I was lazily soaking in the water when there was a knock.
“My lady.”
“I’m fine, really fine. From now on, I’ll wash my face, bathe, and brush my teeth all by myself…”
“That’s not it, a guest has come to see you.”
“A guest?”
A guest? At this hour?
I asked Ecla, who was beyond the door, while only peeking my head out of the bathtub.
“Shall I ask them to wait?”
“Wait, Ecla. Who is it?”
Why does my heart race when I ask who it is?
Over the terrible memories of the past, the warm smile he showed last night overlaps.
Oh, get a grip.
This is supposed to be the last time.
Wait, if it’s the last time and I can’t set things right, what happens to me?
Am I stuck in the story forever?
No, that can’t happen.
I slapped my face a couple of times.
As I cooled my flushed face with my soaking wet hands, Ecla very cautiously mentioned a name.
“Lady Leonie Almaz has come to see you.”
*** *** *** *** ***
“Libe, are you really okay?”
Leonie said she rushed over as soon as it was light because she was worried about me.
She got up early to buy my favorite cookies, waiting for the bakery to open, and bought a bunch of freshly baked, delicious cookies.
“Yes, I’m fine.”
For some reason, I couldn’t look Leonie in the eye.
I couldn’t even pick up the cookies she bought for me.
“Why does someone who says they’re fine look like that? Not even eating the cookies you love. You said cookies are the best the day after drinking.”
At Leonie’s concerned voice, I forced a smile and picked up a cookie.
I should eat it, considering the effort she put into buying them. But why did Liberata use cookies as a hangover cure?
I need something spicy to clear my head.
Finding ramen in this world is out of the question, but at least some orange juice!
With that thought, I stuffed my mouth with a chocolate cookie and chewed.
“By the way, there’s going to be a ball in a few days to welcome Grand Duke Cygnus to Mouton. Madame Ohane is putting a lot of effort into preparing it. The whole town is buzzing with the news.”
I couldn’t tell if what I had just put in my mouth was a cookie or a rock.
“Yes.”
“I wonder how grand and splendid it will be.”
“Indeed.”
“Many people say it’s because it’s the wedding season that they’re holding the ball more grandly. What do you think?”
“Yes, that could be it.”
At that moment, a rather good idea came to mind.
“Leonie, let’s go get new dresses.”
Leonie, being the heroine of the novel, was very beautiful and elegant. Her only flaw was that Liberata was her friend.
If she appeared in a lovely dress, wouldn’t she catch Gerlach’s eye?
“Dresses?”
“Yes, right now!”
“Libe, I’m sorry. I think we have to go tomorrow instead of today.”
Leonie said, touching her face with a somewhat gloomy voice.
“Is something wrong?”
“Actually, I’ve been experiencing something strange since last night.”
“Something strange?”
Leonie hesitated for a moment before speaking cautiously.
“I woke up a little early in the morning. So I was sitting quietly reading a book when suddenly the vase on the shelf above my head fell.”
“Really? You weren’t hurt, were you?”
“No, fortunately, it narrowly missed me.”
“That was really close.”
“It fell right at my feet, and I was so startled.”
Leonie placed her hands on her chest and sighed deeply, recalling the incident.
“I’m really glad you weren’t hurt.”
If a heavy porcelain vase had fallen on her head, it would have been a disaster.
Leonie is so thin and fragile that she looks like she could break with a gust of wind.
I shuddered at the thought and comforted her as she still trembled with anxiety.
But that wasn’t all.
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