episode_0055

Leticia’s words were unbelievable.

I froze in my place. It would be more appropriate to say I was frozen. Anyway, I just stood there. I didn’t sway, turn my head, or even wrap my head. I just stopped.

I heard Leticia calling me, but it had no effect on me, who was shocked.

“Beatrice….”

“……”

It has to be like this, this is… this is unreasonable….

Right?

It’s unbelievable.

Did I… did I…?

Did I sleep with a man?

Don’t lie… that can’t be true. No matter how much I’ve adapted to this body, even if I’ve become quite accustomed to it… this isn’t right.

This can’t be happening. Really. Why are you doing this to me? Ha… hahaha.

Mom…

….

Stay calm. Stay calm. The world hasn’t ended yet.

Not yet. It’s not certain yet. I don’t have… any memories, do I? I don’t have any memories… So… just in case.

I slowly turn my head and look around the room. If something happened last night, there would surely be traces left behind.

First, the bed.

I approach and pull back the covers. I examine the bedsheet. It’s still pure white. There’s no discoloration. I raise my hand and touch it. Are there any stains, is it not damp… I bring my nose close and sniff – I smell it. Just in case there’s no smell, is there any lingering odor….

…But it’s not much different?

The anticipated sharp scent is not there. Above all, I don’t sense the smell of a blade. If the calming scent of the blade, which becomes an intense scent that cannot usually be sensed, remained, I would have surely noticed.

…Up to here-

There doesn’t seem to be a need to contemplate the scent of the blade so deeply.

Again, this time I look at the mirror. My reflection.

Unfocused pupils.

Eyes that have lost their vitality and dulled. Inside them, there’s nothing but despair. The skin is so pale that it looks almost sickly.

Nevertheless… Instead of a face that conveys sadness, I tried to find objective traces. I tried to find even a handful of hope…

I carefully roll my powerless eyes and examine them closely.

First, I touch my long hair with trembling hands.

Except for the part of the hair pressed against the pillow, it’s not terribly tangled or crumpled from being pulled. My face… It’s fine. It looks just as beautiful as usual. It just seems frightened. My jaw doesn’t feel particularly sore either.

If I kiss for too long… or engage in other aggressive acts… my jaw hurts, they say…

….

Gulp.

I barely suppress the shiver-inducing nausea brought on by the vivid imagination.

Again, calmly.

I look in the mirror and stretch my neck. To see my neck, I touch it with my hand, examining for any marks, such as red marks, white skin like jade, or a kiss… I check here and there with my hand.

…This side seems okay too?

Still, the doubt doesn’t go away.

This time, I lower my gaze a little in my reflection in the mirror.

I look at my clothes. Huh? Isn’t it the same outfit I wore when I went out? I didn’t even take off my jacket before sleeping?

….

Just in case. I need to check.

I throw off the jacket and unzip my formal pants.

Rustle-

Leticia entered the room. She couldn’t hide her astonishment on her face.

To anyone who just saw me, I must have seemed insane. But I didn’t care about that. I had to know. Whether Leticia saw or said anything.

Just before pulling down my pants, I came to my senses.

…No matter what, from now on, at least a bit.

“I need to take off my clothes, so could you leave?”

“…B-Beatrice.”

Leticia called my name with a deeply flustered expression. I paid no attention and was unbuttoning my blouse while postponing pulling down my pants. The reflection in the mirror made me look completely possessed and terrified.

“Beatrice!!”

“Why…?”

After letting out a loud, high-pitched voice, I finally looked at Leticia.

“I’m sorry, it was a joke.”

“What?”

She fidgeted with the intertwined fingers, unable to make up her mind.

“…I was just trying to joke, but you seemed so shocked… Ugh, I’m really sorry!!”

“There are other things to joke about, how could you!”

Only then did I feel dizzy and collapsed into a chair in the corner. As the tension eased, my legs went limp.

“Beatrice, are you okay?”

“Haha… yeah, I’m still okay. Haha, nothing happened. Right?”

“Really sorry! But it’s true that Maynard brought you here at night.”

“….”

Instead of answering, I looked at Leticia with wider eyes than usual. Ah, right. It seems like he came near the dormitory with me.

“I thought you did your best.”

“What do you mean?”

“I thought you were pretending to try hard! So when you closed the door, Maynard left shortly after? The gentleman Maynard.”

“….”

I was completely sober now.

It seemed Leticia knew that I deliberately got drunk with Karl and led him here. A classic development. Just as men try hard, women also try hard… It’s something that often happens in the world of insiders.

But it wasn’t me. I’m not crazy about men!!

“Phew. Anyway, nothing happened, right?”

“Right. I listened carefully with my ears perked.”

…A sinister woman.

I cursed with my eyes. Leticia seemed to have noticed it and left the room, saying she would bring some water. It’s her own apology for making me suffer. Insufficient as it is. Leticia’s cheerful footsteps bothered me, but feeling defeated if I got angry, I didn’t say anything.

“Ahh….”

I sighed, a mix of relief and frustration.

It’s really fortunate.

I thought I had crossed a river that couldn’t be crossed back.

But.

What’s this uncomfortable feeling in the corner of my heart?

Anxiety.

Insanely anxious.

It’s a million times better that I drank with a man… rather than being alone with Karl, but it’s too unsettling.

He brought his thumb to his mouth.

He placed the tip of his finger between his lips and fell into thought. He didn’t gnaw on his hand, but he scratched his thumb with his upper and lower teeth, revealing his anxiety.

Sitting in place, he trembled his right leg, resting on his left knee, so lightly that it seemed as if he had clenched it. Every nerve was sharply tense, and because an indescribable uneasiness dominated him, he had to do this.

Ah…

What is it? What did I miss? Regret…?

No.

Absolutely not.

Am I crazy?

Then what is it?

What is it…

What…?

Huh?

He stopped trembling his leg. His thumb, which he had been tightly biting, moved away from his mouth. His eyes, having regained some vitality, flickered. Even without a mirror, one could feel that much.

Why is the shopping bag… why…

Instead of his trembling leg, he opened the shopping bag with his shaking hand.

A box that felt warm to the touch, a box he had never opened before.

Impulsively bought, yet never tried on… the box containing the problematic item.

…Why is it open?

Why, why is the ribbon…

…

Ugh.

Thud-

He dropped the shopping bag from his hand.

The sound of it hitting the ground and my scream almost came at the same time.

“B-Beatrice, what’s wrong?!”

“Ah, Aah!!!”

Leticia, who came running with a cup in her hand, approached.

What she found was me, screaming and tearing my hair like a madman. Yet, I couldn’t stop tearing my hair out.

Caught.

I’ve been caught.

I’ve been caught by him.

It’s embarrassing to the point of going crazy. How would he look at me now?

Haah…

*

“Aesong.”

Louis called out to Karl. But there was no answer.

“Karl.”

“….”

Still no answer.

“Hey, Karl!”

“…Ah, yes.”

Only then did Karl, who had been holding his chin, look at Louis. It looked unusually sullen, as if he had been drinking even though it was night.

“What did you do at night that you’re out of your mind?”

“Just… somehow, I ended up losing sleep…”

Louis squinted his eyes and chuckled.

“Did you read the book I gave you?”

“What?”

“Well, it’s quite understandable! You’re a man too.”

…

Carl recalled the illicit books Louis usually recommended. He should have immediately denied his assumption, but he thought it might be better to be known that way. Because of Beatrice, because of the heroine, he couldn’t admit that he couldn’t sleep due to gloomy and powerless thoughts.

When he closed his eyes, Beatrice being embraced by another man came to mind. It was impossible to calm down when imagining Beatrice happily beside another man in his mind. As a result, he had to participate in a very important morning meeting with his mind elsewhere.

“Managing your condition is also an important virtue, Carl.”

“…I’m sorry.”

The Marquis Meinher, sitting across from him, spoke in a gentle voice. Carl quietly admitted his mistake.

“I hope you don’t resemble your superior and mentor.”

“…”

“What? What’s wrong with me?!”

“You’re only good for your swordsmanship.”

While Louis fumed, he also felt proud of his sword skills being acknowledged. Watching the two of them, Carl also tried to pull himself together somehow. Being gloomy was enough for the early morning.

“So… how did Duke Deminuus react?”

“I personally informed him. I’ll bring him from the Papal State within three days.”

Upon hearing the news that his only daughter had been taken to the church, Duke Deminuus seemed ready to summon the army immediately. However, due to the earnest persuasion of Marquis Meinher, who had gone as far as the Balkan Kingdom, he gave a little leeway.

Despite the urgent situation, the teleportation station was operated several times a day, but it didn’t matter. What Marquis Meinher needed was time, not money.

“What’s the plan?”

“We need to make one.”

“…What?!”

Even Louis was surprised and questioned when Marquis Meinher, who always seemed meticulous, made a planless statement. The church’s decision was sudden and their actions were unexpectedly radical.

“I do have a rising plan, but I need Karl’s help.”

“Aesongi is still a student.”

“No, he’s a capable agent. It’s time for him to join the adults’ conversation, Karl.”

Louis felt uneasy, but Viscount Maynard seemed to think that Karl was ready. Karl looked at them with determined eyes.

“I’ll do anything to save Chloe.”

“….”

“I’m ready, Father.”

“Ugh-”

Louis spat out his tea.

Karl decided to join the adults’ conversation.

He was determined to do his best, so much so that he would call the viscount “Father.” If it meant saving Chloe, the heroine, he would do anything.

Since Beatrice was already lost, he had to protect the remaining heroine at all costs, even if it meant taking away Chloe, who was supposed to be taken in the original work…

In this twisted development, he vowed not to lose Chloe as he had lost Beatrice.