91.
Daena shoved me toward the door.
‘You deal with this!’
‘What? How am I supposed to do that?’
I grabbed onto Daena and clung to her. Daena glared at me.
‘You’re the one who caused this!’
‘You’re the one who told me to come!’
‘You’re the one who put on a mask and fooled everyone in the first place!’
‘And who was it that even got me an invitation and pushed me into attending?’
Just as our hushed exchange grew fierce.
Click.
Creeeak…….
The door opened.
Daena and I turned toward the door at the same time.
“Thank you, madam. It seems Miss Daena locked the door from the inside and perhaps fell asleep.”
Romi was greeting someone with utmost politeness.
Before we knew it, Daena and I were holding each other tightly.
Then the last remaining instinct moved my body.
Belatedly, I threw myself.
“Lady Owl?”
……Toward the curtain.
Wrapped from head to toe in the curtain, I flinched my shoulders.
Romi strode into the room and cried out.
“It’s you, isn’t it? Right? I knew if I just waited here, I’d be able to meet you!”
Beyond the half-opaque curtain fabric, I could see Romi’s flushed face.
In the meantime, Daena quickly pushed the door shut, blocking anyone else from entering in advance.
“I’m sorry for being rude, but……. I was so worried you might have been hurt.”
“…….”
“And thank you. You saved everyone, including me.”
Perhaps she hadn’t heard that part of the explanation, because Daena widened her eyes and turned to look at me.
In an instant, her gaze swept over every part of my body.
Romi asked.
“You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?”
“……Well.”
“Yes?”
Romi responded eagerly, her face flushed red, and stepped a little closer to me.
“W-wait…… Let’s talk from there.”
“……Yes, all right.”
Romi looked cowed for a moment, but soon her eyes sparkled again.
“Hearing your voice makes me even more certain. It was you, wasn’t it? You were the one, weren’t you? That person from back then, the one I saw…….”
“My lady, I’m sorry, but the ones who saved you were the knights under His Grace the Duke and the temple’s…….”
“I know that too.”
Despite my desperate explanation, Romi shook her head.
“But not that. Back then……. When there was no one to help us. When I was so scared I thought I really was going to die like that.”
Romi’s voice gradually rose.
Clasping both hands together, Romi looked at me with passionate eyes and uttered her final words.
“You saved us.”
“…….”
It was the first time in my life I had ever received such a gaze from another person.
I was flustered, embarrassed……. and, strangely, my heart was pounding, so I rubbed the nape of my neck.
“I was there under His Grace the Duke’s orders too. It wasn’t as if I was specifically trying to save anyone…….”
“Don’t be afraid.”
Her tone was far too solemn.
For one thing, it wasn’t even a line that suited the current situation.
“I’m ready!”
“Ready for what…….”
Romi trotted right up in front of me and stopped.
Under the sunlight, Romi’s hazel eyes sparkled beautifully.
Her reddened cheeks looked more lively than ever…….
“No matter what you look like, no matter what kind of face you have, I’m prepared to accept it.”
Behind her, Daena’s mouth fell wide open.
Then she began looking at me with contempt-filled eyes, almost as if I were some kind of thief.
‘No, why?!’
Whether she did or not, Romi stood before me and whispered earnestly in a clear voice.
“Please give me just one chance.”
As if all the confident spirit she had shown so far had vanished, there was a faint tremor in her voice.
“A chance to get closer to you.”
Romi’s gaze met mine directly.
“No matter what scars you have on your face, I truly don’t care.”
Romi had truly believed those words I had spoken like an excuse.
She had even pondered them seriously and come before me with an answer of her own.
“To be honest, from the beginning, I thought the claim that you were Daena’s cousin might be a lie.”
Daena pointed out quietly from behind her.
“Um, not cousin, niece…….”
As if she hadn’t heard, Romi continued speaking.
“At first, I liked that mysteriousness of yours, where I couldn’t tell who you really were. In my utterly dull, boring life, it was the only fresh experience.”
Had I perhaps touched something in this sheltered young noble lady without meaning to?
“But now I’m truly serious. I’m not saying this lightly, so, oh my!”
Romi, who had been stealthily approaching me, suddenly caught her foot on the hem of her own dress and pitched forward.
I naturally caught Romi’s body as it fell toward me.
The two of us, tangled in the curtain, collapsed onto the carpet.
For an instant, the place where I was injured was pressed down and pain surged up, but just as I was familiarly suppressing it.
“I-I’m sorry! I got so, so excited that I…….”
A gust of wind swept through, flipping away the curtain that had been covering my face.
“…….”
“…….”
It was only natural that Romi, still sprawled on top of me, lifted her head and came face-to-face with me.
A sudden silence.
My mind went blank, and for several seconds after that, I couldn’t open my mouth.
When Romi narrowed her brow, my heart sank.
“……Huh?”
But.
In that position, Romi murmured.
“You’re pretty?”
“…….”
“And if my eyes aren’t strange, quite……. Huh?”
Romi opened and closed her mouth like a broken toy.
I let out a shallow sigh and sat up.
Then I gently lowered the hand that had been holding Romi’s arm and smiled as if there was no helping it.
“Nice to meet you, Miss Romi.”
Romi Ebishu’s hazel eyes, as she naturally ended up sitting on my lap, were still sparkling.
I willingly met those eyes and greeted her.
“I’ll introduce myself properly. I’m not Daena’s niece, and in truth, I don’t have dark brown hair either.”
“Uh…….”
“I am Baroness Roxan.”
“…….”
“Anastasia Roxan.”
It was our first formal greeting.
To Romi, who still looked dazed and couldn’t take her eyes off my face, I asked lightly, half in jest.
“You said you were prepared to accept whatever identity was behind the mask, didn’t you?”
Romi’s mouth opened wider and wider.
“What do you think? Was your preparation perfect?”
Then, suddenly, Romi stretched out her arms and hugged me.
I toppled backward again, powerless.
“It was you!”
“…….”
Romi cried out.
“It was you……. Why didn’t I realize it sooner?”
Fortunately, there was no sign that she disliked me or was disconcerted after realizing who I was.
I felt warmth slowly welling up in my fingertips, which had gone cold for an instant.
Patting Romi on the back, I murmured.
“You can’t back out now.”
Romi burst into laughter, her shoulders trembling lightly.
“I wasn’t planning to!”
Just then, a shadow fell over the two of us.
Daena was glaring down at us, one hand planted on her waist.
“Right, then. Is it my turn to get an explanation now?”
* * *
“How can you cry so, hm? Is it proper for the ducal house’s one and only precious jewel to show her tears so easily?”
The Imperial Consort looked down with pity at her niece, whose head was buried in her lap.
Who on earth had caused such heartbreak to a child who should always hold her head high and enjoy everything the world had to offer?
She could also guess why the child had come to her, of all people, and burst into tears.
She must have wanted a way to save face while not dirtying her own hands.
And the Imperial Consort was more than willing to indulge that much childishness from her young niece.
The Imperial Consort’s face settled into a chill expression.
“Now, lift your face for me, Meriana.”
Her enchanting violet eyes rose, and tears as clear as beads rolled down her cheeks.
That color, which made it so plainly clear they shared the same blood, was beautiful enough to satisfy her no matter how many times she saw it.
“Who was it? Who on earth hurt you like this?”
“……Count Kanesion did nothing wrong.”
“Oh, Meriana.”
The Imperial Consort gently stroked Meriana’s cheek.
“How could I not understand a heart that, even when wounded, still ends up taking the side of the man it loves?”
“…….”
“But do you truly think so? Will that be enough for you?”
“……Yes.”
Meriana’s gaze met hers directly.
So please just take care of ‘that woman.’
The Imperial Consort understood perfectly the request her niece would never utter aloud.
‘Was her name Roksan?’
From what she had heard, the woman’s reputation was already at its worst, and she had so little standing that she did not even have any respectable nobles close to her.
It was obvious that damaging such a person’s dignity all over again would yield little gain or satisfaction.
If she was the sort who did not feel shame on her own…….
There was one method that worked even on that kind of breed.
The lonelier a person was, the more meaning they attached to the few people around them.
Let’s see…….
After sending Meriana away, before lying languidly down to enjoy her afternoon nap, the Imperial Consort summoned someone.
“Look into those around her. Find something suitable to use against her.”