Translator: Elisia
Editor/Proofreader: TempWane
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There is a gemstone called aquamarine.
I wasn’t sure if it was because I had been a man in my previous life or simply because I’d never had a reason to learn about such things, but I never really cared much for gemstones.
The only reason I even learned about aquamarine was by pure coincidence.
I think I might have come across it while browsing through a random wiki entry.
It was a gem so clear that the other side could be seen through it—like cutting out a piece of the blue sky and solidifying it. Its vivid clarity made me think it must be something like that.
Even I, who usually wasn’t interested in such things, found my eyes briefly stolen by its beauty.
Now, a pair of such gemstones were right in front of me.
A pair of eyes quietly looking up at me.
Amelia’s clear eyes resembled finely polished jewels, and without realizing it, I found myself staring intently into them.
That’s how beautiful Amelia was.
Falling into another world—something I had wished for so eagerly as a child—didn’t actually evoke much emotion when it finally happened.
I wasn’t the protagonist, nor was I a villain destined to die or a tragic heroine.
I was just a background character, one so minor that they might not even appear in the personal notes the author wrote about this world. That was the existence of Elsie Delkis.
So, even after regaining the memories of my past life, I wasn’t particularly thrilled.
I had a kind father, a wise mother, and siblings and people who treated me well. But in the end, it was just an ordinary life.
Even with unique abilities or great power, it was simply the way of this world, nothing more.
But when Amelia entered my life, many things began to change.
Amelia, the leading role in this story—the one who drove this world forward—showed me so much.
She taught me that there was more beyond Delkis. That there was a life with vast blue grasslands, warm sunlight, and days and nights that cycled regularly.
Each and every one of these new sights, things I was encountering for the first time, she showed me in detail.
—A breath escaped from between Amelia’s lips, reaching me. It was a warm breath.
Dancing required more energy than I’d expected. And the music in this world was longer than the 3- or 4-minute songs from my previous world.
Was I leading Amelia poorly?
Amelia’s arms tightened around my waist, drawing her body closer to mine.
I could feel her hand resting firmly against my back.
Despite our close relationship, we rarely touched each other’s bodies like this.
I… somehow felt that it wasn’t appropriate to act that way just because we were both women.
As for what Amelia thought, I didn’t know.
Honestly, I didn’t want to attend the ball in the first place. Naturally, I hated dancing in front of others even more.
But like this—leaning against Amelia with only the two of us—I didn’t mind.
I liked seeing Amelia in her beautiful dress, all dressed up.
…I liked Amelia.
I liked her so much that I wished this Amelia, who was looking up at me now, would keep gazing at me like this in the future.
*
Even though spring had arrived, the night breeze in the Alwen Kingdom was still chilly.
In fact, this could be considered warm. In Delkis, the snow never melted year-round. The idea of stepping onto a balcony in a shoulder-baring dress was unimaginable.
“……”
“……”
Neither of us spoke.
I didn’t know what to say.
Standing on the balcony together with the curtain drawn was an unspoken declaration that we wanted to talk without interruptions.
But now that we were out here alone, we didn’t really have anything to say.
It was nice not having the Crown Prince bothering us, and no one found it odd that two women had come to the ball together, but…
Hmm.
“The stars are beautiful.”
It was Amelia who spoke first.
Though it was a rather cliché comment, I was happy that Amelia had initiated the conversation.
In truth, I’d been worried since earlier because her cheeks had been flushed, and I wondered if I had made some mistake.
Had I danced too clumsily? As far as I remembered, I had followed Amelia’s instructions exactly…
Though, I suppose I hadn’t managed to maintain the relaxed smile she had told me to wear.
“Yeah, the stars are beautiful.”
With no moon in the sky, the stars felt especially bright. The clear sky, free of the bright lights and pollution characteristic of modern metropolises, sparkled like crushed gemstones scattered over black silk.
I did know a thing or two about constellations.
The forest at night was like an endless sea, and even the most skilled hunter could easily lose their way.
In Delkis, where the snow never melted, losing your way was tantamount to losing your life.
Fortunately, the forests near Delkis weren’t dense jungles. By tilting your head back, you could catch glimpses of starlight through the gaps in the trees.
By using the stars to determine direction, one could find their way.
Of course, there were other methods, like marking paths or tying strings to trees, but knowing how to use the stars was a skill that never hurt.
I wondered whether I should tell Amelia about the constellations.
But I wasn’t sure if it was the right topic to bring up.
Actually, I wasn’t even sure why I was hesitating in the first place.
Usually, I would have spoken without a second thought. After all, Amelia was my friend, my childhood friend since we were very young. By now, there should have been no barriers between us, yet for some reason, I kept measuring the distance between us.
One reason for that, perhaps, was Amelia’s cheeks, which were still flushed.
She gazed up at the sky as though it was fascinating, but after spending ten years with Amelia, I could read her expressions fairly well.
That expression was the one Amelia made when she was uncomfortable and avoided talking to me.
Usually, after some hesitation, she would eventually tell me what was on her mind…
But it had been a long time since I’d seen that expression.
Was it because I had been particularly clumsy today?
Was she mulling over how to say something she couldn’t bring herself to say directly?
I felt a bit deflated.
My gaze, which had been fixed on the sky alongside hers, gradually dropped downward.
And then—
“…Huh?”
I suddenly noticed something strange.
Someone was running.
They were wearing a maid’s uniform—the same kind of uniform as the maids I saw at the mansion where Amelia and I stayed.
Her skin was slightly dark, and her hair was black.
“…Becky?”
“Huh?”
Amelia reacted to my muttering.
“Where?”
“Over there.”
It was getting further away in an instant, but no matter how I looked at it, it was definitely Becky.
“…Is she running away?”
“…”
We exchanged a brief look of silence before nodding in unison, as if by mutual agreement.
“Should we go after her?”
At my words, Amelia nodded.
Alright.
At least the awkwardness between us was gone now. That was a relief.
*
Becky thought she was lucky.
No matter how fierce the people of Delkis were, they were still nobles. A baron, no less.
And most male nobles tended to act gentlemanly toward women.
Of course, when she was first captured, her legs had almost been bent the wrong way, and her shoulder and arm joints had nearly been dislocated and reset repeatedly… But once she donned a maid’s uniform and began living in the same household, Harvey Delkis treated her like an ordinary woman.
After all, she had been considered a guest. And from that point on, she had served as a maid in that household.
Her luck this time was the result of several such circumstances overlapping.
Harvey Delkis was a bit shy around women. The servants treated her like any other employee.
And the absence of the master of the house and his close aides.
Even with watchful eyes on her, no one stopped her from going to the restroom. Those “gentlemanly” watchers didn’t follow her inside, either.
All she had to do was squeeze through the small restroom window, twist her body this way and that to slip out, and then use aura to silence her movements. That was it.
They underestimated a guild swordmaster, Becky thought.
—At least, until just a moment ago.
“When did you start following me?!”
Now, however, she was shouting with tears streaming down her face.
The one chasing her was the white-haired Lady of the Baron’s household.
Weren’t the people of the Delkis family supposed to be unable to use aura?
And yet, Becky hadn’t even noticed her closing the distance to about fifty steps behind her.
When she glanced back, Lady Delkis wasn’t just running. She was leaping forward with each step, as if bounding through the air.
Moreover, she was carrying the Grand Duke’s daughter in both arms.
…The Grand Duke’s daughter went a step further, wrapping her arms around the Baroness’s neck with a flushed face.
Now that Becky thought about it, even when Harvey Delkis had chased her, she hadn’t realized he was following her until much later.
This was terrifying.
The physical capabilities of the Delkis people, which she had dismissed as exaggerated rumors—
“…Ah.”
When Becky turned her head forward again to focus on running, she couldn’t grasp the situation immediately.
Something was blocking her vision—
Yes, what was covering her sight was exactly like what had happened the moment she was captured before. It wasn’t until later that she recalled the memory.
…Had the lax security been because they were confident they could catch her if she tried to escape?
As she felt a blow to her head and her consciousness faded, that was the last thought Becky had.