[Episode 13]
As expected of a scoundrel, he poured all his passion and sincerity into opening Dietrich’s heart, just as he had seduced naive girls in the capital.
When the sun began to set, he would scale the walls like ivy vines and knock on Dietrich’s window, whispering sweet words.
Logan was incompetent in most areas of life and even foolish. However, in love alone, that Logan was not foolish. That is to say, he did not truly give his heart to a rural lord’s daughter while believing in words like “love at first sight” or “soulmate.”
To Logan, Dietrich was merely the only source of amusement in a boring countryside with nothing to offer—nothing more than a toy. Unlike Dietrich, who had nowhere to place his heart, Logan had plenty of things to enjoy in life even without Dietrich.
That precarious relationship continued until right before I possessed this body, right before Logan entered the academy, when an incident occurred.
It was an accident where his leg was broken, an accident that once again shook Dietrich’s life after he had been expelled from the ducal house.
My head spun from the flood of information. The librarian looked at me, still huddled on the ground and unable to come to my senses, with a worried expression.
“I’m sorry. I think I… overdid my studying.”
“I must have read books for too long without even eating,” I said, forcing the corners of my mouth up and squeezing out a voice that would not come out properly. The librarian, whom I had run into a few times while coming and going at the old building’s library, seemed quite worried about a freshman who had sat motionless for hours in a place where no sunlight entered. When the librarian asked if they should call someone, I said I would be fine after a little rest and turned my gaze toward Logan.
Logan had been testing me—testing Dietrich—earlier.
Although Dietrich was from a baronial house, he was unmistakably the child of a noble. If one were involved in breaking a noble young lady’s leg, it would be difficult to avoid responsibility even among fellow nobles, but Logan seemed to have reached his own conclusion regarding the protest letter from Baron Degoff that never arrived no matter how long he waited.
Either Dietrich did not remember the events before his fall, or even if he did, he still loved Logan too much to hold a grudge.
Unfortunately, neither was the case. Anyone could tell just from Dietrich’s bodily reaction. Dietrich was rejecting Logan physiologically. On one hand, I felt a bit sorry for Dietrich. Because even when seeing members of House Ereksion, Dietrich’s body had remained calm, yet it trembled and rejected only Logan.
The shock of being betrayed by someone he loved was greater than being abandoned by the people who had once been his family.
‘A conscienceless bastard.’
I cursed Logan internally, chewing on the words, and forced a smile toward him.
“It’s been a really long time. When did you go back to the capital?”
“Huh? You… don’t remember? Because of the academy entrance… I think it was the winter before last, I went back to the main estate….”
Logan was flustered, yet he had an expression of trying to gauge what intention Dietrich had in asking such a question. I continued with a thoroughly apologetic expression.
“Ah, actually… Um, I had a bit of an accident falling down the stairs, and I think I hit my head when I fell. So I don’t really remember things from around that time very well.”
So it seemed I hadn’t even known he went back—no wonder. I murmured vaguely that I had thought he wouldn’t leave without a word, and Logan’s face visibly brightened. Yet he still looked at me with vigilant eyes that had not lowered their guard. He seemed worried that the helpless Dietrich might cling to him even at the academy.
How could he be so stupid as to show his inner thoughts so plainly? At Logan’s expression, transparent as still water, I had one more thing I wanted to ask Dietrich.
Dietrich… just why did you date such a guy.
With neither brawn, nor brains, nor personality—just why such a guy without a single redeeming quality….
Whether he knew of my silent screams or not, Logan—the very cause of those screams—shouted, “Anyway, I’m glad you’re okay, well then!” and disappeared like the wind. Watching Logan vanish in a flash without an ounce of refinement or dignity, I could not help but cry out Dietrich’s name once more.
Dietrich…! Just why.
Even after Logan left, the dizziness remained. So did the nausea. In the end, I had no choice but to lean against the cold wall for a long while to clear my head. But soon, I had to move my body even by force.
The regional studies class of insane difficulty was about to begin soon. I wailed, resenting my body that would not move.
‘No, this is only the second class!’
It was impossible to keep up without attending a class I could not understand even when I listened. I wanted to go to the dormitory and rest, but… I feared the repercussions of missing a class that progressed like a runaway train.
Gathering my last remaining willpower, I leaned against the wall and slowly moved forward, when someone walking behind stopped their footsteps. Thinking it was because I was blocking the way, I stood still in that spot with my head bowed. But perhaps it was strange that I was gasping and exhaling ragged breaths; the person walking behind passed by me, then stopped and turned back to me.
“Lady?”
They say that after being startled by a soft-shelled turtle, one is startled by a pot lid. The first thing that entered my eyes was golden hair reminiscent of Logan’s locks—patchy and mottled blonde though it was, it was still blonde. Though if we were being exact, Logan was the pot lid, and the Second Prince was the soft-shelled turtle—no, a golden turtle.
In the end, my nausea surged to its limit once more, and I dry-heaved, collapsing to the floor.
“What the….”
The Second Prince flusteredly sat down beside me in an uncharacteristic manner, examining my complexion. The fact that I had dry-heaved at the sight of him seemed not to concern him in the slightest. I forced myself to stand up again.
“Your complexion is pale. Are you unwell?”
“…I’m fine.”
Barely suppressing my nausea, I answered the Second Prince’s question. With a heart hoping he would disappear now. But the Second Prince kept circling around me like a fruit fly.
“It seems you cannot even walk properly. If you need support….”
“The classroom is close, so I can go alone.”
Normally I would have refused modestly, but my nerves were not intact enough to observe the courtesy of waiting for the prince to finish his words. The prince furrowed his eyes at my reaction.
“Lady, I understand your feelings, but do not be stubborn.”
Ah, why does he keep calling Dietrich “Lady”? It seemed not only my nerves had collapsed; my patience to endure the prince’s nonsense had crumbled as well. Before I knew it, words burst out in a surge of emotion.
“You must know well that I am no lady. If you are mocking me, please postpone it until next time. Today, my condition is too poor to feel the amount of shame Your Highness desires.”
Swallowing back the words “So please just disappear,” I looked straight at the prince. Though of course I soon hung my head again.
Surely these words would not sever the bloodline of House Degoff. No, strictly speaking, it wasn’t my real bloodline anyway…. Would I be arrested on emergency charges for insulting royalty? Since we were inside the academy, this much should not be considered disrespectful.
Repeating to myself the academy’s principles that I had even mocked, I tried to calm my anxious heart. At my words, the prince withdrew the hand he had extended to me. He stood still for quite a while.
When I raised my head to check the silent prince’s expression, his face was stiff. The moment our eyes met, he opened his mouth in a voice that was lower still. Force had entered his rigidly clenched jaw.
“I am not mocking you. I am worried.”
“……!”
“But if you say so, very well. I shall stop bothering you.”
Saying so, the prince turned his back with a cold expression and walked toward the classroom. I barely found my seat and sat down, not even knowing how I had made it into the classroom.
The lesson did not enter my ears, as expected. The professor’s words seemed to buzz and echo by my ears. I clenched my constantly slipping hand tightly and gripped the pen like a lifeline. Since I could not understand, I had to write everything down.
‘I have to write something down to endure the next class too.’
Forcing myself, I took notes on the lesson content and strained to keep my heavy eyes open. I desperately needed painkillers. Enduring with a feeling of being half-unconscious, the moment class ended I collapsed, pressing my forehead against the cold desk.
‘Nausea, dizziness… and a headache, so my body is not extremely ill. If I rest a bit, I should be able to get up and walk.’
If I had rested a bit after meeting Logan, I might have recovered by now, but forcing myself to attend class seemed to have negatively affected my recovery.
Listening to the sounds of students trickling out of the classroom, I lay still and felt the pleasantly rising chill. I could have gone to the infirmary, but it was quite far from my dormitory.
If I tried to go in my current state, I might end up camping in the hallway and only arrive tomorrow morning. Next time, I should carry medicine with me. Since I did not know when this might happen again…. As I held onto my fading consciousness with these thoughts.
With a clack, I felt the vibration of something being placed down.
‘…Who is it? The security guard?’
Putting strength into my slipping arm and pushing myself up, I saw a transparent bottle containing liquid placed before me. When I raised my head to see who it was, an unexpected person was standing there. The Second Prince. He was looking at me with a crooked expression.
“This is….”
When I reached for the bottle with a bewildered expression, the Second Prince took the bottle back again.
‘What, did he give it just to take it back?’