CH 16

During the carriage ride, I received a barrage of poisonous remarks, and at the dressmaker’s, I was laughed at and made to realize that it was useless to dress up. However, I was completely taken in instead of being made to realize it, and on the way back in the carriage, I was thoroughly teased to the point where my heart was in critical condition, and by the time I returned to the mansion, I was exhausted.

Where in the Bible does it Say to C...

Furthermore, even after that conversation, Jeremiah continued his mysterious “cute, though” attack, so I had to keep reminding myself not to misunderstand and say “Eeeh?!” in a deep voice, which made it even worse.

Finally, I managed to make it to my room in a tired state, and thanks to the efforts of the maid Dora, I managed to change my clothes and prepare myself to go to dinner, albeit a little unsteadily.

I was tired, but I was also hungry.

I thought that the exhaustion of today would surely be healed by the wonderful cooking of the chef. With that in mind, I felt a little bit of my tiredness disappear and my energy return.

I also spoke to my roommate Dorothea, but she said she had no appetite.

I didn’t have the luxury of worrying about her, so I said, “Okay, see you later,” and left the room.

Just then, I ran into my aunt, who seemed to have come to pick me up. She lined up next to me with a meaningful look and began to report on today’s achievements in a low voice, ignoring my plea to spare me as if it had never been heard. And so, Aunt talked like a waterfall on a vertical board.

“Hey, listen, I finally got to meet Lord Castalde today, and I hinted that his son and my niece seem to get along very well.

Then, he said it was a joyous thing!

If my niece is from a good family and has a good reputation, there should be no problem if his son is interested. However, let’s not rush things and wait for the social season to see how things go. Really, they don’t understand, young people can’t wait that long, can they?”

I listened carefully, even though the development was too fast to keep up with. Anyway, I must thank Lord Castalde for telling her not to rush.

I don’t know much about him, but I’m sure he’s a decent person.

“Well, I’m glad he approved. Thank you, Auntie, it must have been tough.”

“Hohoho, it’s nothing when it comes to my niece’s marriage.

Anyway, what about Dorothea? It’s dinner time, but she’s still changing?”

“Well, uh… I called out to her, but she said she had no appetite…”

“How unusual. Let me go see her. Dorothea, Dorothea, what’s wrong?”

When Aunt opened the door and entered the room, she went straight to the bedroom.

I followed her, curious. Then, I saw Dorothea lying on the bed. Her face looked pale and she seemed to be in pain.

“Well, what’s wrong? Should I call a doctor if you’re in pain? Does something hurt?”

“No, it’s okay. I just have a headache… You two go have dinner.”

She spoke weakly.

Compared to Dorothea’s usual lively voice, it was unbelievably thin. I became worried and approached her, saying:

“Hey, your complexion looks really bad. If you’re feeling unwell, we should call a doctor after all.”

“Don’t call a doctor… But, I want Lorraine to stay by my side after dinner. I think I’ll feel better if we talk.”

Dorothea looked at me, pleadingly. From her appearance, it was clear that she was holding something she didn’t want to tell Aunt.

“Of course, no, I won’t go to dinner. So let’s eat together here tonight.”

“No, you two should go properly. I’m fine, so please, Okaa-sama.”

“But…”

“Please, I’m begging you.”

Dorothea’s voice, which repeated itself strongly, made me meet my aunt’s eyes. My aunt shook her head. I also knew that it was difficult to persuade Dorothea in this situation.

Reluctantly, my aunt and I decided to head to dinner.

“I’ll come back as soon as possible.”

I left the room after saying that.

When I stepped into the hallway, my aunt muttered, “She seems to have something troubling her.” She had also noticed it. It was not the flu or a temporary illness, but a mental illness.

“Lorraine, I’m sorry to ask, but please tell me about that child’s story later. There may be things that are difficult to talk to her parents about.”

“Yes, I promise.”

I sincerely promised and hurried to the dining room.

❂❂❂

The dinner was still wonderful, but it was difficult to enjoy it as casually as usual. The more I thought about needing to return and hear Dorothea’s story, the slower time seemed to pass.

Perhaps because of that, I didn’t care at all about the cold, piercing gazes from the young ladies and their mothers. Once the last dessert was finished, it was over. Waiting for everyone to finish and start standing up to spend their time as they pleased, I stood up from my seat and exchanged a glance with my aunt. She responded with a nod that seemed to say “please,” so I nodded back.

She would return to the room after a while. She shouldn’t be in the mood to enjoy anything leisurely tonight. I had to tell her the results early, so I hurriedly left the dining room.

Just before that, Paula, Tatiana, and Lord Grimani invited me to play a game, but I politely declined, saying I was tired. Hearing their disappointed sighs, my heart hurt a little, but for now, I was worried about Dorothea.

Then, I felt someone following me from behind.

I didn’t pay attention to the fact that there might be others who wanted to return to their rooms early, but as I approached a deserted hallway, my arm was suddenly pulled. I lost my balance and was about to fall backward, but I was caught before I hit the ground.

When I lifted my head, the faces I had seen enough of today were illuminated by the faint moonlight coming in from outside.

I felt like I had fallen for a prank.

My heart was pounding.

I couldn’t help but get angry.

“What are you doing? It’s dangerous!”

“I caught you properly, didn’t I? I just wanted to talk, but you were about to leave, so I stopped you.”

“There must have been another way… Are you trying to kill me?”

“That would be a bad thing to do.”

Jeremiah said in a tone that definitely didn’t suggest that he thought that. Since I was being held from behind, my neck was bent as I looked up. I tried to change my posture because it was difficult to talk, but I couldn’t move because I was being held tightly.

Moreover, I couldn’t understand why I was being treated like this. Is this some kind of game?

Or maybe he’s just really enjoying teasing me.

If that’s the case, it’s annoying. It’s extremely annoying.

“Please let me go, I’m in a hurry.”

“Do you have something to do?”

“Yes, my cousin is sick, and I want to be by their side. So please let me go.”

When I said that, he reluctantly let me go.

“Well, I guess that can’t be helped. Let’s talk tomorrow… But before that, I wanted to tell you something properly.”

This time, Jeremiah had a gentle smile on his face as we met properly for the first time. It was another expression I had never seen before. My breathing momentarily stopped, going against the will of the Lord.