Chapter 12
The next day.
Something felt off about the sky.
“It looks like rain, Duchess.”
“Hmm, you’re right. Or… no, doesn’t it just look overcast?”
The maids exchanged glances before cautiously voicing their opinions.
“I think so too, but it might rain anyway, right?”
Surprisingly, they had become much chattier than when I’d first opened my eyes in this world.
Thinking back, it must have started when they were shocked by my talk of roughing it outdoors and came rushing over with the mobile carriage.
‘I didn’t actually expect them to bring it like this.’
It was still surprising to recall that moment.
Unbeknownst to me, my reputation among the maids had shifted.
Anyway, the change in their evaluation of me seemed to begin the day after I’d broken up that gathering of scoundrels.
They must have been impressed that I hadn’t blamed the maid who’d given me the hangover remedy—in fact, I’d given her a gift instead.
‘Whether it was my leniency despite her interrupting me, or if they were just interested in the gift itself, who knows.’
Either way, they’d come to help me when I was struggling alone—how could I not be pleased?
On top of that, even at night, they took turns on duty to attend to me.
I’d ordered them to leave several times, but they insisted it was their role, so I’d let it be.
At first, they’d tremble like rabbits before a snake if I so much as stared at them without a word.
Now, they still watched my mood, but they’d reached the point of chattering away.
Thanks to that, I’d memorized the names of the maids who’d brought the carriage.
“You know, my grandmother always said it doesn’t rain on days like this. Don’t worry, Duchess!”
The maid who said this was Susan—the one who’d given me the hangover remedy.
She seemed capable of simple potion-making, so I’d been keeping an eye on her.
And, most regrettably… sorry to Susan’s grandmother, but she was dead wrong.
Whoosh!
Whoooosh—
Rain poured madly outside the window.
But I couldn’t keep staring out the window for long. The ceiling was shaking.
‘Oh, the carriage won’t collapse, will it?’
Today had been fine up until chatting with the maids over tea.
Surprisingly, my maids were quite interested in fashion, and their stories about the capital’s latest trends had been fun. Once the time came, everyone except the one on duty had left.
I’d felt the Remute Family knights and servants staring at me like I was some lunatic today too,
‘Sorry. I’m in a tough spot myself. I won’t cause any more trouble.’
…and I’d brazenly stared right back with that in mind.
The strange thing was, after a few days, eyes that had once been filled with 100% malice and hostility began to show something else.
If I had to interpret it, it was curiosity—like, what the hell does this crazy woman want?
Anyway, I’d gone to bed that night, leaving their hostile gazes behind… only to wake up startled by a loud noise. That brought me to now.
“D-Duchess, what do we do?”
A fierce storm raged outside the window.
If it had been just rain or just wind, it might have been manageable.
I fell into thought.
‘This is my mistake.’
When I saw the cloudy sky, I should have prepared just in case.
I’d been too complacent.
“Duchess…! This won’t do. I’ve contacted Lumi and Carol back at the mansion. They’re fetching the mages right now, so please just wait a little! I’m so sorry…”
The maid fidgeting even more than I was—today’s duty was none other than Susan.
She bowed her head, nearly in tears, blaming herself and pleading.
It’s fine. And strictly speaking, the final decision was mine, so it’s my fault too.
“Susan, can you hear me? I’m okay.”
“D-Duchess, I’m sorry. Even if you punish me…”
“And don’t apologize for things that aren’t your responsibility. That’s not a good habit.”
Watching Susan plead like that reminded me of myself crying at the office.
Back then, I’d taken the blame for my boss’s mistakes—ones that weren’t mine at all.
Even though he’d made all the decisions.
“There are a lot of bad people out there. If someone good like you catches their eye, you’ll end up taking the fall for things that aren’t your fault. So keep your head held high.”
Susan stopped sniffling and stared at me blankly. I gave her a bright smile.
“It’s practice for dealing with villains like me.”
Apologizing reflexively isn’t good.
Of course, even if I said that, Susan’s ingrained apologies were Charlize’s doing anyway.
“Duchess…”
Susan’s face, which had lit up in surprise as she looked at me, clouded over again in an instant.
“Duchess, you’re shivering.”
“Oh.”
It was cold.
For some reason, it had been warm even at night, but according to Susan, the temperature control device was broken.
Unfortunately, Charlize’s clothes were generally thin, and since it was always warm, the blankets were light too.
To top it off, water started dripping slightly from the ceiling.
‘Wow, this is the most pathetic I’ve felt since coming here.’
I shivered but smiled as if it was nothing.
Well, it wasn’t my first time dealing with this in life, and experiencing it once here wouldn’t hurt.
I ignored Susan’s pleas to cover me with more blankets and tossed one to her instead.
Tsk, she was starting to shiver herself. People should take care of themselves first.
‘I wonder if my fiancé will discover me like this and take pity on me.’
That was when it happened.
Knock knock knock.
A knock sounded at this hour, of all times.
Susan and I exchanged glances, and as soon as I nodded, she opened the door.
Maybe a Remute knight? Ideally, one sent by my fiancé…
Even a mage from Altzveit come to fetch me would be fine.
“Ah…”
My eyes met the person outside head-on.
Huh? My eyes widened automatically.
That was only natural…
“A-Are… you… okay?”
The person before me was Aria—my fiancé’s younger sister.
She stood there holding a fragile-looking umbrella in her delicate hand.
In this downpour? Why the hell did she come here?
Seeing her tremble at the sight of me filled me with worry.
What if she collapses again? Collapsing in the rain would be a real disaster.
And this time, my fiancé might actually try to kill me…
“Come in for now.”
“Y-Yes?!”
“It’s raining.”
I had no idea why she’d come here. But leaving this frail girl out in the rain was wrong.
I didn’t want to get murdered by her brother.
At my firm tone, Aria hesitated, then squeezed her eyes shut and stepped into the carriage.
Unfortunately, the temperature control inside was completely broken.
There was plenty of space for her to sit, but as expected, her slender shoulders began to tremble.
If Aria collapsed here, I’d be in even more trouble!
I hurriedly grabbed the blanket Susan had tried to give me and draped it over Aria.
Her eyes went wide as she stared at me. Maybe it was her pure white complexion. She looked just like a little white bunny.
She was cute, but my life depended on her health, sir.
I wrapped the blanket tightly around Aria, pretending not to notice her bewildered hands.
“What brings you all the way out here?”
“W-Word…”
“Just drink it. Think of it as my apology for almost making you collapse.”
She seemed to want to ask why I was using formal speech, but it was getting cold, and responding one by one was a hassle.
“You look like you’ll have a fit just from me talking to you—if it’s too hard, you don’t have to answer.”
To ward off a bit more cold, I crossed my legs and arms.
In the midst of this, Susan kept offering her own blanket, so I snatched it and wrapped it around her too, threatening to reassign her on the spot if she took it off.
“Keep it on.”
“D-Duchess…!”
“I’m already doomed to catch a cold, and I’ve got money, so it’s fine. Worry about yourself.”
“B-But…”
“Hey, if you’ve got more money than me, you can give me that blanket.”
This speech pattern had accidentally become ingrained from Charlize’s style, and whenever I tried to speak more kindly, the maids got even more scared.
So it had solidified like this over the past few days.
Even without that, with Charlize’s memories in me, her manner of speaking came out naturally.
It was like lying in the same bed—her memories and I together.
“Pfft…”
As I tussled with Susan, a small laugh slipped between us.
Turning my head, I saw Aria with her hands clasped, stifling her giggles.
But when our eyes met, she startled and trembled again.
…If she’s so scared, why the hell did she come here? And why laugh if she’s going to get startled?
“I-I’m s-sorry. You two looked so close.”
“What’s wrong with laughing? Is that something to apologize for?”
“Yes?”
Aria stared at me blankly. For some reason, her expression was subtly strange.
