episode_0196

The next morning, I walked around the banquet hall and served the guests like a machine.

-Ha ha ha ha ha. I don’t know if there will ever be another banquet like this.

-Woohuhu. It’s fun. Thank you to the king for allowing us to have such a great day!

―Hehe, I feel like I’m really lucky to be in this position.

They said that and gave lip service, and I laughed at their compliments and just gave them an unconditional yes.

“Hehe, I see.”

Those who just got older were like idiots who swallowed when it was sweet and spit it out when it was bitter, so instead of feeling strange when they saw me smiling and saying yes to everything they said, they actually liked it.

In the past, I would have laughed at how rotten they were, but now it was a good story.

Whether they are rotten, whether the country is broken from its roots, or whether the country will soon collapse after the current king dies and the next king takes the throne.

I guess everything was good. It was just a matter of turning it over anyway.

Other than Hermel, it was really good, and it had nothing to do with me anyway.

“Then, let’s end the banquet.”

As time passed and the sun set past noon, I announced the end of the banquet.

There were no people who opposed this decision. This is because it was already announced in advance.

As soon as the banquet ended, they started leaving the mansion one by one, and I spent some time seeing them off.

―Thank you for holding a great banquet.

―I hope I can see you again next time, hehe.

―My family is holding a banquet this fall, and if you have time, I would like you to attend.

It wasn’t just one or two people, there were over a hundred people, so it took a long time just to see them all off, and I couldn’t really remember who came and who went.

I don’t remember exactly, but whatever. Oh yeah. I remember when the carriage carrying Count Carmel and his family departed. It was the seventh from the front.

We left quite early, but we probably won’t arrive. The carriage will overturn before it reaches the estate.

“Thank you for your hard work. Duke.”

The driver who was assisting me on Liev’s behalf said so and handed me the chilled tea.

After looking at the teacup for a moment, I looked at the driver and said.

“What happened to the carriage Liev was riding in?”

The driver, who carefully put down the teacup, bowed his head and answered.

“You left before the banquet ended, so you should be heading to the southernmost coastal city by now.”

“Is that so.”

So now all that’s left is… … . Is it just a matter of finishing preparations before Hermel leaves? It’s going to get busy again, so I’ll have to go up soon to get ready.

I nodded and turned around to head straight to the office.

“The Duke.”

I was about to go back to the office when I heard a voice calling me, so I stopped for a moment and looked at the driver who had called me.

“Chief Maid Liev――”

“I.”

As I cut off the horse’s waist, the knight trembled.

“I am the head maid. So?”

“Hmm… … . Is it okay for you to send the former head maid Liev off like this? I heard that the training of the successor is not yet complete… … .”

“No problem. Or, is there any disagreement with my decision?”

As I said that and looked at the knight, the knight bowed his head without saying a word, expressing that he would follow my wishes.

After looking at the article for a while, I headed to the office without saying anything. Because I walked faster than usual, I arrived at the office quickly, and as I entered the office, I told the driver who was following me.

“I’m going into the office, so don’t let anyone in until I come out myself.”

“――I will accept it.”

After the driver bowed his head, I went into the office, locked the door, and immediately lay down on the sofa and closed my eyes.

I wasn’t really trying to sleep. It’s not because I’m tired. It was just that I needed to focus a little.

“… … Let’s see what you’re doing.”

This is my first time using this on a human outside of my immediate vicinity.

* * *

The Rochelle family’s villa located in the royal capital.

Unlike the excited atmosphere in the royal capital as summer vacation began, the atmosphere inside the villa was truly like that of a busy family.

No one opened their mouths, and no one laughed. All I could hear was the same noises of daily life as always.

“… … .”

Mel, who was at the center of the noise of life, had been suffering from the suffocating days that followed.

Mel, who was walking to do laundry, closed her eyes tightly and dropped the laundry basket as the memories of that day passed before her eyes.

‘Si, I hate it!! Sister, please don’t… … !!’

“No… … . no no… … ! That’s not what I wanted… … !”

That day, the day Charlotte gave Mel drugs. From the day I lost my reason and attacked Mia based on instinct, everything was ruined.

Mia, her relationship with Mia, and Mel herself.

‘Ugh… … . Sister, please don’t do this… … .’

“I’m sorry… … . It’s my fault… … .”

Mel shuddered from the terrible guilt that was weighing on her, but the heat of that day came up with every memory of that day, and she felt like she was going to go out of her mind with extreme self-loathing.

-I believed it… … . I believed it… … .

No, maybe I’ve already lost my mind. Maybe he’s struggling and denying that he’s normal even though he’s already gone out of his mind.

“Ha… … . ha… … .”

Mel was barely able to open her eyes as the memory disappeared like a phantom at some point, just as it came to mind.

Mel, whose hands were shaking at the vague reverberations of that day’s memories that remained even after she opened her eyes, tried to calm her trembling heart and slowly stood up.

This was because I knew that it was much more convenient to do something and divert my mind elsewhere than to do nothing on the spot.

“… … .”

Although she was still sweating and her hands and feet were cold, Mel gritted her teeth, picked up the laundry basket, and walked toward the well to do the laundry.

at that time. Mel, who was walking down a single hallway heading outside, encountered Mia walking toward her from the other side. No, Mel knew. It means that Mia is not walking towards him.

Because since that day, Mia has been treating Mel as if she didn’t exist.

“Mi, Mia.”

“… … .”

Mel tried to muster up the courage to talk to Mia to apologize, but Mia passed by Mel without even listening.

Yeah, it’s always like this. From that day on, it was always like this. Yes, I understand. If it were me, I would have reacted that way if I had been betrayed and attacked in that way by someone I trusted.

――Is that enough? Can you understand? Are you really going to live your whole life being ignored like this? What did you do wrong? It was force majeure back then.

At that moment, Mel was startled by a voice in her head, trembled, and stopped walking.

It was a faint, young voice, but it was clearly a voice he knew very well.

“… … .”

It was Mel’s own voice, the one she used when she was very young.

Mel, who was standing blankly and moving her gaze along the path where Mia walked, slowly blinked and thought.

‘okay… … . I didn’t do anything wrong. It was all because of the drug-laced wine I drank at that time. I resisted hard. ‘But why should I be treated like this?’

Mel lowered her head again and looked down at the laundry basket. When she saw the red stain on the laundry, she remembered what she had just thought and trembled.

Just thought about that. That feeling. Mel knew them. It was the same as the thoughts I had when I was still a child and erased my child.

“… … no. This is not it.”

It’s something I’ve already done once and regret deeply. Isn’t this something I promised myself over and over again that I would never do it again?

‘Let’s come to our senses. It is true that what happened that day was force majeure, but in the end, it happened because of my fault. It happened because I made a wrong choice, and now I’m paying for it. Let’s wait. I’m waiting for Mia to open her heart first… … .’

I guess it’s because I’ve been paying too much attention these days. Mel thought like that, gathered her shaking mind, and started walking again.

Of course, it didn’t take long for me to realize that that thought was an illusion.

-How long are you going to live without being ignored? Forget what happened that day. If you’re so distressed, it’ll be harder for Mia to talk to you.

That voice was heard all the time. Even when I did laundry and cooked food for Mia, when I tended to the garden, and even when I went to the bathroom to run errands.

-It’s different from the old days. At that time, you did it to erase the child, and this time, it was an accident that occurred while you were planning to make Mia run away. There’s no need for you to feel guilty.

He literally talked to me non-stop from the time I woke up until I fell asleep.

And as time passed, it became a more blatant and primal whisper, stimulating our instincts.

―Recall the memories of that day. You definitely liked Mia back then. You heard me panting like that. The reason I’m not talking to you right now is because I’m embarrassed.

Mel shook her head, pulling out her hair each time.

“No… … . No, I don’t like it… … .”

-You did the same when you first hugged a man. Isn’t it the same for Mia? It’s hard at first, but it grows quickly. You know best.

“I don’t want to hurt that child again… … !! Regretting that kind of thing once is enough… … !”

-Just hug me. When your body becomes distant, your mind also becomes distant. commit it

“Shut up, shut up!!”

Mel spent each day desperately resisting the whispering voices, and such resistance naturally brought about great changes in her lifestyle.

She, who used to wake up earlier than everyone else, ended up waking up later than everyone else. She always spoke positive and kind words, but negative and harsh words always leaked out of her mouth.

Unable to come to her senses by the constant whispering, she burned every single meal she cooked and often tore off each piece of clothing she washed.

“… … Why are you doing that?”

And the change was noticeable enough that even Mia, who lived in the same mansion, noticed it.

It would have been better not to know.