AFYD 08

 Chapter 08

“You…… believe me?”

Even without that, she had thought there was no helping it.

Ines knew from having lived through the future that a scheme using sorcery would occur, but she had no way to prove it to him.

“Did you lie to me?”

“No. I swear on my heart.”

At Killian’s words, Ines quickly shook her head.

At that, Killian smiled lightly.

“The imperial soldiers are surveillance targets regardless. Raising the alert level is not so difficult, and it means I lose nothing by choosing to believe the Princess’s words.”

In other words, it was conditional trust.

Some might feel slighted by that, but not Ines.

“……Thank you for believing me, Grand Duke.”

For the first time since her regression, Ines smiled with an easy heart.

The heavy atonement weighing on her shoulders, the fear, the loneliness—in this moment alone, they felt as light as feathers.

After Ines’s words of gratitude, a brief silence passed. It was Killian who made the first move.

“Then rest comfortably. Marisa will inform you of the schedule hereafter.”

“Oh, wait…….”

It was an unconscious impulse that made her stop him as he opened his mouth to leave.

Meeting Killian’s gaze directed at her, Ines moved her lips and barely managed to bring out something that could pass as a matter to discuss.

“……Could you possibly assign a child who has been working in this castle as my personal maid?”

It was not something she had blurted out simply to hold him back.

It was something she had intended to ask Marisa about anyway.

“That is of course possible if the Princess wishes, but……. Did you not bring maids from the imperial palace?”

“That is true, but…….”

Ines trailed off.

Those maids were all people the Emperor had attached to her. And one of them, Lena Orso, who had spent the past week desperately trying every means to win Ines’s favor, made her teeth chatter just from looking at her.

In the past, it was also Lena Orso who stole the Grand Duchess’s seal that Ines used and stamped it on documents for the distribution of treasonous materials, who leaked Killian’s schedule, and who informed the Emperor of Ines’s pregnancy.

All of it was the doing of the maid the Emperor had attached to her, Lena Orso.

Ines swallowed the nausea rising again and tried to pick out a suitable reason.

But soon there was no need.

“I will inform Marisa. The maids who came with you will be assigned to appropriate places, so you need not worry.”

Judging from the way he said not to worry, Killian seemed to have noticed even what Ines had not said.

That she was uncomfortable with the maids she had brought from the imperial palace—something like that.

Ines considered saying there was no need for that, then stopped. It was obvious that the “appropriate places” he spoke of would be places where they would not often encounter Ines, and Ines wanted that as well.

“……Thank you.”

“Not at all. It is not a difficult request, so there is no reason I cannot grant it.”

Even at her shabby greeting delivered after fumbling with her lips, Killian left a kind reply.

Ines looked into his eyes, then with difficulty tore her gaze away.

“I will take my leave now. Rest comfortably.”

“……I hope you rest comfortably as well, Grand Duke.”

Killian laughed low at Ines’s words and then slipped out of the room.

*Click—*

The sound of the door closing lingered unusually long in her ears.

Ines stared blankly at the closed door for a while, then slowly let out a breath. After taking a few deep breaths like that, reality finally began to sink in properly.

‘……Killian.’

She had just faced him and conversed with him.

The warmth that had touched her hand, the voice that had coiled into her ear, the sapphire-like eyes that had formed on her retina.

It was truly him.

The man Ines had loved…… and still loved unchanged.

Killian Rupert.

“Ah…….”

Ines unconsciously covered her mouth. Otherwise, she felt she might burst into weeping at any moment, calling his name.

‘Killian…….’

Ines, who had staggered a few steps, collapsed to the floor as if crumbling and covered her face.

Soundless tears streamed down the backs of her hands.

Ines pressed down and swallowed the sobs trying to force their way up her throat, pounding her chest. Facing the living Killian brought to mind the him who had died wrapping himself around her.

“Uheuk…….”

In the end, a very faint whimper escaped between her tightly clenched lips.

Ines, who had wept endlessly until the knock came, did not know.

That a few minutes after she burst into tears, the presence that had been lingering on the second floor had disappeared.

*Knock knock—*

At the sudden knock, Ines’s shoulders jerked violently.

“Princess. I am Marisa, the head maid.”

“Ah…….”

It seemed Killian had relayed the message to Marisa. Ines, who had risen immediately, used her sleeve to wipe her tear-stained face.

“Just a moment…… ahem. Wait just a moment.”

Ines cleared her throat and checked her face in the mirror that happened to be on the side table.

‘……Is it noticeable?’

It was not a face that anyone would immediately think she had been crying, but up close, the reddened eyes and flushed cheeks were enough to seem strange.

But there was no time to wash her face or cover it. In the end, Ines let out a sigh and opened the door.

Marisa looked slightly surprised that Ines had come to the door herself, then skillfully lowered her gaze.

“I apologize if I disturbed your rest.”

“It’s fine.”

Marisa did not prattle on and went straight to the point.

“I have come because I heard you wished for a child to serve as your personal maid, so I have brought a suitable one. Cecil, come here.”

When Marisa beckoned to the side, someone appeared from where the view had been blocked by the wall.

In an instant, Ines’s eyes widened.

Marisa, who had not seen him, introduced the child standing beside her.

“This child is called Cecil. She has only just come of age, but she is clever and capable, so she should be more than sufficient to attend the Princess.”

Cecil, who had politely clasped her hands, bowed deeply.

“I greet the Princess. My name is Cecil.”

Cecil. A commoner child with no surname.

Just as Ines knew Marisa and Ivan, she knew this child as well.

<Um, P-Princess. May I do your hair today?>

<I thought you said you liked this before…….>

A maid child with crimson hair and adorable freckles who had followed her especially well.

In the past, Ines—starved for affection—had been taken in by the fawning attitude and relied on Lena Orso more than any other maid. So, like a fool, she had kept Cecil at a distance because Lena disliked her. Without even knowing that the one she should have been wary of was Lena Orso, the one the Emperor had attached to her.

Even so, Cecil had followed Ines especially well, and like Marisa and Ivan, she gave her life to protect Ines until the very end.

<That Lena, cough, damn bitch……. Ah, I’m sorry, Madam……. My mouth is a bit rough, isn’t it…….>

<Ce-Cecil, wait……. The blood, you’re bleeding too much…….>

<Haha, I’m fine. Huh, I too, once upon a time, dreamed of being a knight…….>

<……Why did you do that. Why did you get hurt instead, protecting someone like me……!>

<Mmm……. The truth is……. From the first time I saw you, Madam, huh, I wanted to serve you. ……I finally achieved that dream…….>

Ines pressed down and swallowed the lump rising past her throat once more and slowly opened her mouth.

“I am Ines Delcarion. I look forward to working with you, Cecil.”

At the kind voice that flowed out, Cecil blinked a couple of times.

“……Yes!”

The smile caught on the child’s cheeks as she answered brightly, seemingly shy, was especially round.

At her attitude of seeming pleased with Cecil, Marisa looked relieved.

“Then I will take my leave now. If you need anything, please feel free to call.”

“Thank you, Marisa.”

“……Not at all.”

Marisa paused almost imperceptibly, then turned around.

After she left, Ines brought Cecil into the room.

“Come in.”

Cecil, who followed Ines in with quick but not cluttered movements, rolled her eyes. Seeing her lips move, it seemed she had something she wanted to say, but she seemed unable to bring herself to speak easily.

Ines did not ask if she had something to say, to avoid pressuring her.

“Cecil.”

“Yes, yes!”

Cecil’s shoulders, which had been tense, jumped with a start.

“I’m sorry…….”

Whether she was embarrassed by her loud reaction or by suddenly making a loud noise, Cecil’s cheeks turned red like a tomato.

At that, Ines smiled faintly.

“There is no need to apologize for such a thing.”

“……Thank you, Princess.”

“Right. Before you help me change, I would like to bathe—could I ask you to prepare that?”

Cecil, who had been stiff with embarrassment and tension, quickly calmed once she had something to do.

“Of course! Could you wait just a moment? I will prepare it right away!”

The room assigned to Ines had a reception room, a bedroom, and a bathroom all fully equipped.

While Cecil busily drew the bathwater, Ines sat on the sofa and waited.

After some time, Cecil poked her head out from the bathroom, sleeves rolled up.

“Princess. Is there any scent you particularly like or dislike?”

“Scent…….”

Suddenly, a rich, sweet fragrance seemed to stimulate her sense of smell. Ines consciously managed her expression and smiled composedly.

“Anything but lavender is fine.”

Originally, Ines did not have strong preferences. That was why the things Ines disliked were all wrapped in terrible memories she wanted to erase.

Lavender was no exception.

Because it was the scent that the loathsome, horrifying Emperor especially favored.