Chapter 8
Episode 8
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'How foolish. Always causing trouble.’
What the heck. I was sleeping so well for the first time in ages. Who's picking a fight!
I barely managed to pry open my heavy eyelids, glaring towards the source of the sound.
Ah, it was a dream…
The figure of a woman, who always said only what she wanted to say, came into view.
‘So stupid. I told you not to do that…’
There she goes again. As soon as we meet, she only says things like that!
My whole body felt strangely sore and sluggish, and hearing only such negative words made my head throb.
Fine, then I’ll just ignore her.
I resolved not to give even a single thread of attention to whatever she said, and turned my back.
Time to translate, come out!
The moment I stretched my hand out into the air, Titonos's Diary fell.
As I openly ignored her and opened the diary, I heard a flustered voice from behind.
‘What, what. I’m graciously offering help, and you’re ignoring me!’
“Showing off by only telling me the useless parts!”
‘Th-that’s not something I can say as I please…!’
“Right, right. So let’s conclude that I’m stupid and you’re useless. Let’s not waste each other’s time.”
I gave her a bright smile and opened the diary again.
‘…How do I get you to listen to me?’
“I’m not going to listen? I told you, let’s just be like strangers.”
Though her form was hazy like mist, I felt like she was turning bright red.
‘That….’
“Geez, I’m reading. Don’t disturb me.”
‘Right, that! Isn’t that what you need to translate?’
“……”
‘You can only translate one line at a time, every time. I can help with that.’
Her tone was much more humble than before, as if she had let go of her pride.
“Oh? In exchange for listening to your story? …How much will you translate?”
‘Five lines.’
“One page.”
‘Do you have any conscience? I’m offering to translate five lines when you were only doing one at a time!’
“This is just like insurance, you know? Whether I translate it or not, it makes no difference to me.”
Of course, it did make a difference.
But never before had anything good come from taking her words at face value.
Unless I wasn’t being scolded…
More importantly, the book was over 500 pages long. Even if I translated one page a day, it would take over a year.
It might contain information related to my birth parents…
It would be best to translate it as quickly as possible.
‘…Alright. But listen to my story properly first.’
“Ah, for your information, translation comes first.”
‘Argh, I could just… her.’
“What did you just say?”
‘Nothing. I’ll translate it for you. Hand over the diary.’
She snatched the diary grumpily and read the text without a flicker of hesitation.
Nothing out of the ordinary, just laments and complaints about her own circumstances.
Titonos, the owner of the diary, seemed to be living a life of mere existence.
However, it was difficult to infer the source of that melancholy.
As I listened silently, a line that was completely contradictory reached my ears.
‘Today is a good day. Because he was not in my sight.’
“Are you sure you’re translating properly?”
‘Is there any reason for me to play tricks?’
She slammed the diary shut with an annoyed flick of her wrist.
‘One page is finished. Now, my story….’
Just then.
It felt like all my senses were drawn into the air.
“……Huh?”
The strange feeling was brief. When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was the ceiling with a luxurious chandelier.
I had returned to reality.
Ah, I’m sorry… Still, I was going to listen properly this time.
I felt a little sorry for the woman whose name I didn’t even know.
No, but that’s not what I should be worried about.
Come to think of it, I’ve caused trouble!
How much was all that… Thinking about the money, I felt a cold sweat break out on my back.
I glanced around the empty room and slowly got my heavy body up…
Huh? My body feels strangely light?
Despite crashing loudly against the wall, I felt no pain.
I sat up in bed and moved my body around, but I couldn’t find any apparent injuries.
As I was trying to get up in confusion, the door opened cautiously.
“……Beth?”
“Young Duke?”
His pale skin and the dark circles beneath his eyes, contrasting with it, came into view.
The Young Duke’s haggard face, looking like he had suffered for quite a long time.
Had he been nursing me the whole time?
Moreover, my body was uninjured, contrary to the terrible pain I felt just before passing out.
Something was strange.
How long had I been lying here?
“……Young Duke, how long was I unconscious? A few weeks? A few months…?”
I asked him urgently, but a look of bewilderment flashed across his face.
“……Perhaps a few years?”
I shook his shoulders dramatically.
How much time had passed for him to be so reluctant to say?
He looked at me with a suddenly serious expression for a few seconds, then slowly opened his mouth.
“……Five hours.”
“……”
Is there perhaps a mouse hole in the Duke’s Mansion? Because I’d like to move in there for a while…
I lowered my head, trembling.
I felt like I wanted to be alone, just with myself, out of sheer embarrassment.
After a few minutes like that.
“……Still, I’m glad you don’t seem to be injured.”
The Young Duke said indifferently, as if he knew or didn’t know I was feeling awkward.
“……How much is it?”
“Pardon?”
“Everything in the study that I completely ruined and broke… How much is it all?”
“Pfft.”
Ah, you’re really laughing a lot these days.
His laughter somehow irritated me, so I raised my head.
As expected…
He had a cold expression, as if he had never laughed.
“Bestia, I have no idea what you are talking about.”
“No, I destroyed the study…!”
Argh, my life… Why is it so difficult at this young age!
Even though the Young Duke said it was okay, I’m the type who absolutely cannot stand being indebted.
A poor commoner, yet I feel guilty about such useless things!
But what can I do when I have such a transparent personality that feels guilty even about these things…
It looked really expensive. Will I have to live like a slave in the Duke’s family for the rest of my life…
Or maybe he’ll seize this opportunity, burden me with debt, and marry me…
While all sorts of thoughts raced through my mind, the Young Duke tilted his head as if he truly had no idea what I was talking about.
“……Bestia, the study is perfectly fine?”
“What? But I clearly saw it before I collapsed!”
“Perhaps you saw incorrectly? The impact must have been quite severe when you collided.”
He looked at me slowly with a serious expression.
“If you don’t believe me, you’re welcome to go and check.”
“Yes…? Ah, so right now….”
“For now, let’s have some food. You just woke up, so don’t overexert yourself….”
As the Young Duke finished speaking, the door burst open with a resounding voice.
“Oh my, my new daughter-in-laaaaaaw!!”
I wonder how much stamina the Duke has.
To have such strength even while unwell…
“Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere? Is there anything you want to eat? Anything you want? Do you need money?”
……The last part is a bit strange?
No, it’s the most necessary thing, actually.
Seeing my bewildered expression, the Young Duke blocked the Duke.
“Father, why are you asking such things?”
“Ah, right. Right. I’ve bothered the patient too much.”
The Duke gave an awkward smile, as if apologizing for his boisterous entrance.
But that was brief, and the Young Duke said calmly,
“Of course, you must give me everything.”
“……”
If I ever understand the Young Duke, that day will probably be the day the world turns upside down.
\ \ *
3 hours ago.
There was a commotion.
When I rushed to the place where a loud explosion had occurred, I saw the Master examining the fallen Bestia.
It’s been several years since I’ve served him, but this is the first time I’ve seen him look so shocked.
Has he ever been shocked before, for that matter?
Anyway…
The way his hands and eyes trembled as he stroked her face.
Honestly, it was bewildering.
How long had it been since they met? How could that indifferent human react like that?
He didn’t even think to call for a doctor and remained frozen on the spot.
“Master. I will call for a doctor.”
Only then did he lift his head halfway and glare at me.
I couldn’t understand why he, who was always so careless, was making such an expression in this situation.
I would have understood if he looked surprised.
But he looked angry at the same time as being surprised.
……Why?
The doubt was brief, and the doctor arrived. The doctor examined the unconscious woman and stated there was no problem.
Surprisingly, she had not a single scratch, even in that mess.
Strange.
A sense of unease made me worry about the Master.
I felt like there was something he couldn’t tell me.
“Aristelle, stop lingering and come help a bit.”
“Ah….”
The servants of the Duke’s Mansion were cleaning up the study, which looked like it had been hit by a storm.
A few hours passed.
The Master entered the study.
“Bestia has woken up.”
“Ah, that’s a great relief. Is she not feeling unwell anywhere?”
“Yes. So….”
What is it? Why is he hesitating so uncharacteristically? It’s scary.
“Restore the study to its original state before Bestia returns after dinner.”
“Yes, ……Yes?”
“I trust you.”
I must have been a fool to worry about him even for a moment.
To be continued in the next episode ▶
