episode_0175

It was last week that we noticed this change.

“Diane is… … It looks like it won’t come out today?”

When Diane, who always proudly took the seat next to Adele, was nowhere to be seen, Adele muttered as if she was worried.

“Am I feeling sick?”

After hearing that and thinking about it, I think I’ve almost never seen Diane in pain.

In fact, I’ve never seen Adele or Amelia sick. I’ve never been sick. Maybe it’s because I’m from Delquish and have excellent durability, but it was a bit surprising that people didn’t get sick in this medieval fantasy world.

In the end, Diane didn’t show up until class started.

“… … Did you worry about Diane Doul like this?”

Adele said with a slightly relieved expression.

Actually, Amelia and I thought there wouldn’t be a big problem until then.

You could really get sick. Just because it’s in this world doesn’t mean there aren’t colds. On the contrary, during the time we were taking classes, quite a few young ladies skipped class for long periods of time due to personal reasons or health issues.

We thought that was why Diane rested.

So, to be honest, Adele’s reaction was even a little funny.

How can I say that I could clearly feel the emotions I had for my loved one. When I watched it from the side, the atmosphere was tickling.

but-

“Diane is not at the mansion?”

“That’s right. The lady has vacated the mansion.”

The stern-looking maid said that without even changing her expression. She was someone we could sometimes see when we came to the front of the mansion. Diane’s exclusive maid, Mom Yu.

“Can you tell me why?”

Adele asked that question with her hands folded in front of her chest.

“… … I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you.”

The answer that came back was such a cold one.

furthermore,

“In addition, she will no longer be able to take that class and will not be able to participate in that ‘schedule’ with you.”

“… … .”

And it was around that time that I realized that something very serious had happened to Diane.

In the novel, he was a character who naturally left partway through and was never mentioned again. In the original work, he was a character who viciously harassed Adele and was eventually abandoned by Rona and her father when the process was discovered.

So it was a bit of a shock to see Diane disappear so suddenly.

Is this supposed to be a deterrent? For a moment, I thought that was ridiculous.

Of course, if there was such a thing as deterrence, Adele and Diane would never have ended up like this, so the reasoning itself was wrong.

“Really?Is this really the end?Did Diane not leave any words for us?”

“… … .”

The maid bowed her back and made no reply.

Adele’s hand lost strength and fell down. The sight of Adele with her shoulders slumped was very pitiful.

“… … One.”

Was it because of Adele’s reaction? Or was the maid a person who cared for Diane differently than she seemed?

The maid spoke to Adele.

“Dear Lady Carlins, I have a message for you.”

“What did you leave?”

Adele’s head, which had been lying down, suddenly rose.

Of course, he didn’t make a happy expression. Rather, he looked like he was grasping at a straw. It was a more miserable expression than before.

Without saying a word, the maid reached into her apron pocket and took out a piece.

A piece of ember cloth.

The cloth itself wasn’t all that good; it had needle holes here and there, and the color had turned yellow. The end of the piece of cloth, about the size of two fingers, had black traces of direct burns.

“Here it is.”

“… … .”

Adele, who had a blank expression as soon as she saw the piece of cloth, accepted it with trembling hands.

And I saw it.

“Adele… … .”

Seeing Adele like that, Amelia cautiously tried to speak to her, but Adele remained frozen.

As we were contemplating how to comfort her, Adele’s hand was clenched. Before we could see what was happening, Adele, who was holding the piece of cloth tightly, raised her head again.

On that face, a will different from before was firmly etched.

“Thank you.”

Adele bowed her head to the maid and expressed her gratitude.

“I received Diane’s greeting properly.”

“… … .”

The maid simply bowed politely towards Adele.

Adele never told us that day what the piece of cloth meant.

And, it wasn’t long before we heard that Diane and the Crown Prince were planning to hold an engagement ceremony.

*

i like you.

*

Adele’s family’s circumstances were not that good.

With Amelia’s support, he took magic classes at the Magic Tower, and his father was able to find a great job, but there was still no change enough to definitely raise his status.

Pay off the debts you owed, manage the mansion again, remove the broken and chipped furniture, and fill it with furniture worthy of the name of a nobleman.

The house looked fine at first glance, but inside it was rotten in many places, so there were more than one or two places that needed repair.

But fortunately, I still had some money left over, so I was able to save it properly, unlike before.

Of course, it was impossible to get good paper like the one Diane used. I saved up my pocket money to buy a few sheets, but it was a bit of a waste to use it all the time.

Adele cut the paper with scissors into small pieces, intending to use them in the letters she would later deliver in the carriage.

The letter to Alexander was written on scraps of cloth that were still left behind. In fact, I was able to write more comfortably this way. It wasn’t paper, which was scarce and expensive, but it was still spare, but it was made of a material that wasn’t good for clothes, so it was less prone to mistakes. It was a waste.

I wrote various things in the letter.

There were many cases where it was just daily stories. Sometimes it was almost like a diary. What you like, what you don’t like, stories about Elsina Amelia, etc.

… … The letter I sent was burned.

You can tell by looking at how small the remaining pieces are. There were obvious burn marks left on the pieces of cloth.

Was it because the family was against it? Because they weren’t suited to be friends?

Because a high-ranking countess had an honest conversation with a common noble like Adele?

At least, it was fortunate that burning the letter was not Diane’s intention.

Adele looked at the piece of letter she brought.

Most of it was burned, but in the remaining part, a small part of Adele’s letter remained.

When did she write these words? She probably couldn’t have used these words alone. To do that, the feelings that had begun to sprout in Adele’s heart were too secret.

Did Diane want to convey this feeling? Or was that just what happened to be left in this piece?

“… … If you want to know, you have no choice but to go and ask in person.”

Adele muttered that and read the piece of cloth again.

That’s what it said there.

I like it, he said.

Adele thought she could interpret the letter in her own way until she heard it directly from Diane.

First of all, the first interpretation was, ‘Find me.’

*

“Adele?”

Amelia asked the maid who opened the door slightly and came in.

I was kneeling on the floor just a moment ago. Amelia never asked me to, but for some reason I felt like I had to.

But I quickly woke up when I heard the maid knocking on the door. Amelia also stopped nagging.

There is no need to tell you that I broke into the castle last night.

“… … Please guide me to my room.”

Normally, I would have gone to the guest room first, but given the situation, I would have called Adele straight to the living room.

“Sorry.”

When I saw the maid leaving, I quickly apologized again, but Amelia let out a small sigh and wiped her face.

“It’s okay. It’s okay. It happened like this anyway, so I’ll have to look at the situation and make things up from now on. But since the word hasn’t spread openly to those around me, if I deny it with all my might—”

smart.

“Yes, please come in.”

At the sound of the knock, Amelia stopped talking and answered.

The door opened, and there stood the maid who had revealed her face a moment ago and Adele, who had been guided up by the maid.

“Thank you.”

When Amelia smiled and answered the maid, the maid bowed slightly and carefully stepped back and closed the door.

“Adele, how are you these days? Are you okay?”

“Yes, of course.”

After hearing the news that Diane and the Crown Prince were planning to get engaged, Adele seemed shocked and did not show up for class.

But still, just by looking at it from the outside, it doesn’t seem like there’s a big problem, so I’m glad. Of course, I’m not telling the truth.

Well, I couldn’t stand it in the end either.

“Sit down first—”

“Elsie. Is it possible that what happened yesterday was Elsie’s fault?”

“… … .”

Before Amelia could offer tea, Adele said that first.

Amelia looked at me intently.

For some reason, I felt like I heard something like, ‘Look, what did I say!’