You Think I Won't Talk?-Chapter 42

Opening my eyes, the expressionless face was left unchanged.

Only the path our tears left made a difference on it.

I lifted my right hand and slowly wiped the trace with a caress.

Nothing is certain, so, even if right now we can’t become one and only soul...

’Let’s keep trying, okay? Just... don’t go anywhere I can’t reach you, Marianne.’

Our cold body began to warm up, welcoming my request. Looking into the eyes reflected in the mirror, I could recognize that the gaze was not mine, but hers.

This made me the happiest I’ve ever been.

A gaze full of love and hope, assuring and comforting to see, one that expressed her desire to stay with me, was looking directly at the me inside her. I couldn’t help but smile from ear to ear at such a marvellous view.

I kept on staring at the original Marianne for as long as I could.

Driven by the thought that this could never happen again, I avoided blinking, frightened that after I did... she would not be there. Recording the picture forcefully in my memories, my eyes looked at all the details, even the little glints on her grey eyes were registered in my head.

Suddenly, a knock on the door interrupted us.

My head turned a bit, out of habit, I would always watch the maid enter the room. But this time, the instant I looked away, I came right back to look at the mirror containing her.

Marianne’s manifestation had disappeared, and only the me inside of her could be seen in our reflection.

I could still feel her presence within me. Unlike before, the odd sensation that revealed her existence could be clearly felt in our body.

I am so happy she is still with me... but I wished I could have watched her original self for longer.

My mind that was thinking of this, failed to hear the words the maid tried to tell me. Probably because she saw me looking intensely at the mirror, without showing any sign of attention to her sayings, she began to call for me at some moment.

"Miss?... Mi... anne?..... My Lady!!"

Snapping me out of my dazed state, I turned towards her, unfazed, with my usual graceful movements. Catching sight of her, my eyes opened slightly further in surprise.

"My Lady...! Are... are you still not feeling well...? Please, my Lady... don’t get sick...hic..."

The maid’s eyes that were drowning in suppressed tears, now we’re bawling without restraint.

Confused by her sudden outburst, I kept on watching her wail her eyes out, without knowing how to react to the unexpected scene. I had never seen such a big amount of water coming out of a crying person.

’... Did I look... that sickly...?’

This maid was the first person I met when I got here. I could tell by how well she treated me, that she had Marianne in great esteem. However, this is more than that. The maid must really like Marianne, for her to cry so much at the thought of her being sick.

Seeing how childish she looked while crying, I remembered that she must be only a few years older than Anne. Around twenty years old...

’I’m this immature at twenty-eight... She’s practically still a child, yet she always looks so mature...’

Her crying face made me feel bad about however I looked like just now in her eyes. How bad did I look for her to worry so much?

She was crying while clenching her skirt, trying to hold back the tears from falling. I brought my hand to the side of her arm, and, patting her softly, she looked at me in confusion, surprised by my action.

Nodding my head slightly with my dull countenance, I tried to calm her down.

I felt awkward while doing so. I’m not good at dealing with these kinds of situations if I don’t know much about the person.

And honestly... I don’t even know the name of this maid.

This fact only made me feel worse. For her to worry so much about me, her master... Isn’t it truly pitiful that, said master, doesn’t know who she is?

’... I should ask someone else later...’

If I were to ask her directly... would be too cruel. Even for me.

The young maid clenched her lips in a thin line, and breathed in a long amount of air, gathering the snot that had started to fall a moment ago. I took my hand away and stayed in front of her, seeing how she composed herself while inwardly holding back my laugh at her childlike appearance. Even though I had no way of showing my laugh on the outside, I’m not shameless enough to laugh without restraint on the inside. The least I could do was hold it back to show the respect she deserves.

’... The hanging snot tho... Pfff...!’

She gulped down once she finished, regaining her usual demeanour.

With a curious face, she stared at me for a moment, and then, said what she had in mind.

"...My Lady... You look fascinatingly beautiful."

Acting as if nothing had happened, the warm smile she showed as she said those words was so adorable that, an urge to pinch her flushed cheeks tickled my fingertips.

Also, I couldn’t agree more with her statement.

Marianne... We looked stunning. Our skin, hair, eyes, and body shape... paired up with the spring dress... made our existence a daydream.

Showing my appreciation for the compliment, I closed my eyelids slowly and bowed my head. It was nice to know that people still could see Marianne’s beauty over her condition.

’I mean, please... We’re d*mn hot~’

She continued to look at me, so at some point, I tilted my head since something was telling me she actually had something else to inform me.

The maid showed a curious face at my gesture and an "uh?", slipped out of her in confusion. As I kept staring at her, she suddenly said a loud "ah!", and then, revealed her true purpose for coming here.

"Ahem... M-Miss, it is now time to make our way back to the Duchy. Please, let me take you to the carriage. His Grace is waiting for you."

’His Grace... the Duke...’

Hearing her mentioning the Duke, I suddenly felt happy. For some reason, I really wanted to meet him.

’Let’s... let’s have breakfast with him tomorrow... hehe.’

Feeling a little shy of my eagerness, I nodded in agreement, and the girl proceeded to guide me to the entrance of the Guest Palace.

While we made our way there, an important question emerged in my head.

’Huh?... Wait...How did I get back yesterday?’

It was a mystery. I could not recall anything. The only thing I remember is that we were...

Gulp.

Well... sometimes ignorance is a blessing.

’L–Let’s just stay ignorant this time and forget about it.’

As soon as I got to the entrance, my eyes quickly found the whereabouts of the Duke.

He was standing straight, with a prominent stance. The Duke was wearing a blue vest over a dressing shirt of medieval times, and over it, a thin cape, that fitted the new season.

He looked truly admirable.

Smirking on the inside I blurted an incredible thought in my head, driven by the pride I suddenly felt when I saw him.

’That is my father in this life.’

Just as I was saying it, I felt embarrassed by my childish thoughts. However, I shoved the embarrassment aside and decided to not pay attention to it. Because... I am not wrong. So I have no reason to feel embarrassed.

’... it will still take some time to completely accept it though...’

Shaking off the foolish anxiety, I walked toward him. He had not spotted me yet.

So I wanted to go and greet him first.

I wanted him to see how beautiful we looked and thank him for the tea... and for the note he sent yesterday.

Arriving at his side, I gave a step further to make my presence known. Looking straight at him, our eyes met.

The Duke’s eyes widened at my silent arrival.

"..."

He stared at me in silence for a moment and immediately after, a warm smile invaded his serious face. His eyes softened their gaze, staring at me lovingly.

"... Oh Dear... Good Morning, Sweetie."

’Ah... gosh... the Duke is so sweet...’

I felt silly by my joy and shyly bowed to him as a greeting. I could feel my cheeks blushing because of this.

The Duke kept silent for a moment again. But then, the back of his hand grazed against my cheek.

When I looked up at him, a worried expression was displayed on him.

"Are you feeling well? I’m... worried since you weren’t feeling well the other day..."

His eyes were emitting the huge concern he had inside... mixed with emotions I could not put my finger on.

To assure him of my good health I brought both of my hands up to my chest and, in the shape of fists, clenched them to make a gesture that transmitted the "I’m fine!" message.

Unsure if I had succeeded in my attempt, I kept my eyes on him so that at least he could see in them that nothing was wrong.

"I see... that’s... such a relief..."

Softening his expression, the Duke said in a murmur.