Translator: Elisia
Editor/Proofreader: TempWane
━━━━━━♡♥♡━━━━━━
On the way back home, Diane looked noticeably dejected.
To be honest, I felt a little sorry for her.
She had a fundamentally rude personality and was rumored to have clashed with Adele in various ways in the past. But I hadn’t personally experienced much of Diane’s unpleasant side. After all, I wasn’t Adele, and Diane couldn’t act overtly rude in front of me. Amelia was always by my side.
Moreover, even Adele didn’t seem particularly satisfied to see Diane like this.
Sure, Diane had teased Adele today and boasted about herself, but she hadn’t done anything too harmful to Adele.
Or maybe Adele’s personality was just too kind.
"…Did I do something wrong?"
"No, there’s no need to worry about that."
I asked Amelia, who was riding slightly apart but walking alongside me, and she shook her head.
Normally, I would’ve spoken more casually, but since Adele was sitting behind Amelia, I maintained a polite tone.
“We didn’t invite her, after all.”
Well, phrased like that, it really did make Diane seem pitiful.
Diane usually seemed popular among the other girls, surrounded by them. But now, walking alone ahead of us, she gave off the impression of being ostracized.
Seeing her in her dirtied clothes made me feel a bit guilty somehow.
Of course, we were just as dirty. But since we’d anticipated this situation, we had dressed appropriately. Diane, on the other hand, had clearly come in expensive clothes.
Even if we hadn’t invited her and she’d tagged along unbidden, seeing her like this was still… well.
In the end, though, we entered the royal capital without much further conversation.
The sun had long since set, and it was the middle of the night.
"Then… I’ll see you next time."
Still, Diane’s demeanor as she turned to face us seemed a little more composed than before. She wasn’t as confident as when I’d first seen her, though.
"Yes. I’ll be waiting for that."
Adele, having dismounted, responded as such.
Come to think of it, how had Diane ended up at the Carlins estate? It seemed she had unintentionally joined our group and missed the right moment to part ways.
"…"
Diane looked down at Adele as if finding her puzzling.
Meanwhile, Adele was smiling up at Diane.
After a brief moment of hesitation, perhaps interpreting Adele’s smile as mockery of her current state, Diane furrowed her brow deeply.
Then she forced her face into a smile and spoke to us.
"Well then, Lady Grattanmount, Lady Delkis, until we meet again."
With that, Diane bid us farewell.
“Yes, see you next week.”
"See you then."
Diane, having received Amelia’s and my farewells, spun around sharply.
...But still, to walk alone at this hour—was she really that confident in her abilities?
Well, the royal capital did have a reputation for excellent security, but—
"...Lady Hoover."
Unable to suppress myself, I called out to Diane, who had been moving forward. Her horse halted in its tracks.
When Diane turned back with a slightly surprised expression, I said,
"The night roads are dark. Would you like to accompany us? After all, our residences are nearby.”
I made the offer.
While the Count of Hoover’s estate was near the royal capital, he didn’t actually reside within the capital. After all, he had his own territory.
Thus, naturally, Diane stayed near where Amelia and I were currently lodging. Nobles of similar rank tended to cluster together.
"Our paths are nearly identical anyway. If we part ways now, we’ll just awkwardly maintain a distance as we walk."
"...."
Diane wore a briefly contemplative expression.
I glanced at Amelia, wondering if she might disapprove of my suggestion, given that she hadn’t seemed fond of Diane earlier.
However, Amelia merely exhaled softly.
“...Alright. Let’s do that today.”
Diane hesitated but eventually agreed.
*
And then I regretted it.
Just as there are countless kinds of people in the world, nobles come with widely varying temperaments. I had forgotten that.
I was Amelia’s escort but also her friend. It wasn’t just when we were alone; even in the presence of others, we interacted warmly. No one found it odd.
The staff who lived in the mansion with us had no ill will toward Amelia, and without realizing it, I had come to take that for granted.
"…Good evening."
The maid who greeted us carried an extremely sharp impression.
She appeared middle-aged. If she worked in the Count’s household, she might also come from a noble background like I did.
"It’s an honor to meet you, Lady Grattanmount and Lady Delkis."
She bowed respectfully, her sharp gaze landing on Diane.
For a moment, I saw her eyes flicker to Diane’s disheveled clothes.
Whether it was a reproachful or concerned look, I couldn’t be sure.
Judging by Diane’s flinch, it seemed closer to reproachful.
"Would you like to come inside for some tea—"
"No."
Amelia interrupted the maid before she could finish.
"We trained quite hard today, so our clothes are soaked in sweat. Thank you for the offer, but we should head home and rest."
"I see."
The maid responded politely, bowing deeply.
Leaving the maid as she was, Amelia turned her gaze toward Diane.
"Well then, let’s meet again next time."
"…Yes. Thank you for everything today, Lady Delkis as well."
Hmm…
It felt like she had come along for nothing.
I hadn’t done anything wrong, but the atmosphere was oppressively heavy.
It was an odd mood—both fitting and not fitting Diane’s image as I knew it.
Even as we turned back and began heading home, Diane and the maid remained standing outside the door.
*
"Sorry."
"Huh?"
As soon as we got home, washed up, and gathered in Amelia’s room in our usual pajamas, I apologized right away.
Amelia looked at me with wide eyes, tilting her head in confusion.
"Did you do something wrong?"
“Well... It’s about not letting Diane leave on her own?”
“Oh.”
At my words, Amelia closed her eyes and smiled faintly.
"You weren’t in the wrong. While the path has soldiers patrolling regularly and is generally safe, it’s also quite dark for someone to walk alone.”
"R-Really?"
Then what about the sharp atmosphere earlier?
…Was it just because we were with the villainess of the original story?
“I was worried I might have disrupted the plot…"
"The plot?"
"Yeah, you know, the story from the original work."
Amelia tilted her head again at my response.
"How did you interfere with the story?"
“Uh… well... I brought in another villainess who wasn’t even in the original? I thought it might have bothered you...”
"…"
Amelia stared at me silently for a while after hearing my words.
It wasn’t just her usual gaze; she looked blank, her lips slightly parted in surprise.
Did I really do something seriously wrong?
"No."
But Amelia answered shortly after.
"If we’re nitpicking about things that weren’t in the original story, we’d have to start with you following me here in the first place."
At Amelia’s words, I felt like my heart had dropped.
"Do you think it made a big impact?"
“It did, a significant effect in fact. But...”
Amelia seemed to ponder her words as she walked over to the bed.
Sitting lightly on the edge, she patted the spot beside her.
When I cautiously went over and sat down, Amelia continued speaking.
"If I were worried about that, I wouldn’t have brought you along in the first place. From the moment I decided to bring you here, I resolved to take responsibility for everything that happens because of it. So you don’t have to worry so much."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
Amelia tapped her chest lightly with her clenched fist as she spoke.
"I brought you here, so you’re my responsibility."
"But it’s something I’m involved in, though."
Even so, hearing Amelia say that directly was reassuring.
I had been fretting about whether this might damage our relationship.
"There’s no need to overthink it. You’re my escort, after all. I’ll take responsibility."
Amelia’s bright expression as she said this instantly blew away the concerns I had been harboring.
*
So... does this mean Elsie has never read the second part of the story, where Amelia used her?
That means Elsie wouldn’t suspect me for those reasons.
The unguarded kindness she had shown me since childhood seemed to be genuine.
Since she doesn’t know about the wrongs Amelia did to Elsie in the original work.
I had begun to suspect this before, but it was the first time I’d heard it confirmed from Elsie herself.
Which means—
If, hypothetically—
If I borrowed just a little inspiration from Amelia’s thoughts in the second part of the original story—
Elsie wouldn’t know about it either, right?
I had no intention of ever abandoning Elsie, so even if I did—
Looking at Elsie, who smiled innocently at me, I found myself entertaining a slightly wicked thought.