“Drop it. You’ve never spoken formally to me before, nor have I to you.”
“Really?”
Laila approached Sion with her eyes wide in surprise.
Sion remained still until Laila was close enough.
Standing before Sion, Laila tilted her head back to look up at him.
“Really, I’ve never spoken formally to you, not even once?”
“……Yes.”
Laila smiled.
“Alright.”
“……”
“Sion.”
“……”
“……I’ll call you that from now on.”
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
The list of maids and servants who received bribes from Olivia was handed over to Butler Garick.
“I’ll leave it to you to deal with them, Garick.”
“Yes, understood.”
The Olivia Roel incident (?) was thus concluded.
…or so it seemed.
“Did he get hurt again? Sir Taylor?”
The young knight who came to inform Laila nodded.
“Dr. Owen says treating Sir Taylor is getting tiresome.”
“Thanks for telling me, sir. You may go now.”
“Yes.”
The young knight bowed to Laila and then left.
Laila paused for a moment in thought before jumping up from the chair.
“Ugh…”
Laila clicked her tongue as soon as she saw Taylor’s condition.
Taylor was in the treatment room adjacent to the examination room.
To be specific, he was lying on a bed in the treatment room with a bandage wrapped tightly around his chest.
“Sir Taylor.”
“Yes?”
“I’m asking because my memory isn’t quite clear—are you normally this careless? Is getting injured a hobby of yours?”
“I didn’t injure myself on purpose. It just happened…”
“You just happened to break your ribs?”
“…I couldn’t focus on my training. And it’s not broken. Just a slight fracture.”
“Either way, you’ve injured a bone.”
Laila’s expression darkened.
She knew that Taylor had been getting injured frequently during training lately, and was in and out of the infirmary and treatment room like it was a routine.
But this time, he was seriously hurt, with a broken bone.
Laila swallowed a sigh and spoke.
“What’s the problem?”
“There isn’t one.”
“No problem?”
“Yes.”
“There’s no problem, but you’re getting hurt like this? So if there’s a problem, we might have to prepare for a funeral.”
“Just…”
“Just?”
“I haven’t been getting much sleep.”
“Sleep?”
“That’s all. I didn’t think much of it because it was my first time experiencing sleep deprivation. I’ll be more careful from now on.”
“How will you be more careful?”
“Huh?”
“You said you’d be more careful. Specifically, what will you do?”
“…I’ll drink tea that helps with sleep, meditate, and keep the training light.”
“Good.”
Laila nodded and then added.
“Make sure you stick to it.”
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
“Why aren’t you sticking to it?”
“…I’m sorry.”
Laila placed her palm on her forehead.
Taylor was lying on a bed with a bandage wrapped around his left ankle.
Sigh…
“The tea and meditation didn’t help much. So, I thought maybe moving my body more would help.”
“Sir Taylor.”
Laila removed her hand from her forehead.
“I’m asking just in case.”
“I really don’t have a hobby of getting injured.”
“No, not that.”
Laila rummaged through her memories and recalled when Taylor had started getting hurt during training.
“What happened with Lady Roel?”
“What?”
“The guest who stayed at the Duke’s residence about a month ago, the one with the pink hair, was incredibly beautiful.”
Laila suddenly thought of one possibility.
Maybe Taylor was the one who had corrected Olivia’s misunderstanding.
“…We had a disagreement once.”
“A disagreement? You fought?”
“…Yes.”
Laila blinked rapidly.
“That’s all?”
“Yes.”
“Really?”
“But…”
Laila narrowed her eyes.
“So, it’s not love sickness, but rather anger sickness?”
“Pardon?”
“No, I think it’s love sickness.”
“Love sickness?”
“Have you ever dreamed of Lady Roel?”
Taylor clamped his mouth shut. Laila let out a sigh.
“It’s definitely love sickness!”
“…It can’t be.”
“Why not?”
“Love sickness is a disease that comes from missing the person you love, right? I don’t really… think of Lady Roel that way. I don’t even know much about her.”
“When will your leg heal?”
“Huh?”
“When will you be able to walk?”
“Well, I can walk now.”
“Really? Then I’ll give you some time off. Go to the capital.”
“Yes?”
“Go see Lady Roel and come back.”
Laila stood with her arms crossed, looking down at Taylor.
“Meet Lady Roel and then report back to me whether you have lovesickness or not. It’s an order.”
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
“Does Big Sis have a hobby of having lovesickness?”
“Shut up…”
“It’s a relief; it’s not anything serious, but it’s been a month already, hasn’t it?”
“…”
Olivia, lying in bed, kept silent. She turned her head sharply away from her younger sibling.
Suddenly, she felt annoyed.
She turned back to her sibling, visibly angry.
“Hey! Do you have a hobby of spreading rumors as if they’re true? Do you know how much trouble you’ve caused me?”
“Sis, I already apologized for that. I really didn’t know.”
Her younger sibling, who was sitting beside the bed, immediately furrowed her brows.
“Is that all you have to say?”
“I’ve been really busy lately, going to all sorts of gatherings and correcting the rumors.”
“…”
“Instead of you, who’s lying in bed.”
“Ha…”
“So, is Duke Axid really that good-looking? Of course, I’ve seen his portrait, but… is he much better in person than in the painting?”
“He’s better in person.”
“So, that’s why you’re like this?”
“What?”
“Forget about the married man, sis. You never give your heart to someone who’s already taken. Just think of him as a statue. Last time, I really messed up. I shouldn’t have put those ideas in your head…”
“That’s not it.”
“Huh?”
“It’s not that…”
If it weren’t for that damn dimple.
Muttering, Olivia pulled the blanket over her head, covering herself completely.
It must be suffocating. While her younger sibling thought this as she looked at her sister, hidden under the blanket, a knock was heard.
Knock, knock.
The door opened after the knock, and one of Olivia’s favorite maids appeared.
“Someone has come to visit Olivia, but…”
“Tell them…?”
“Tell them she’s too sick to see anyone.”
The younger sibling, with her ear against the blanket, relayed the message. However, the maid didn’t leave immediately.
“The visitor is a handsome young man…”
“……Hey. ……go away.”
“What does it matter? She’s sick. What? Oh my! My sister has gone crazy.”
“Oh, Miss, what should I do…? Should I turn away the knight from the Duke of Axid’s residence?”
The blanket was suddenly thrown aside. Olivia, sitting up in bed with disheveled hair, stared at the maid.
“What?”
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
Laila opened the letter that had just arrived.
[To the Wise Madam,
I, the unworthy knight Taylor, am writing to inform you that I will be rejoining the palace guard.
I will achieve merit and obtain a title before returning.
The king will welcome the fact that the Duke of Axid has gained a vassal, so it won’t take long.
I will see you later.
Please convey my regards to Sion.
And it turns out it was indeed love sickness.
From Taylor.]
“What a bold move…”
And to think he’s acting so quickly.
Laila folded the letter and placed it on the desk.
The situation felt oddly fresh.
Taylor, who had only had one argument with Olivia Roel, was now determined to earn a title—though the letter didn’t mention this explicitly, it was clear from the context—that was certainly for Olivia.
Love.
What is love…?
As Laila pondered, Marie knocked and entered the bedroom.
“Madam, please have some tea. It’s honey tea. The weather has been dry lately, so… I prepared it because you were coughing a bit during the day.”
“Ah, thank you.”
Laila picked up the warm teacup and looked at Marie intently.
“What’s wrong?”
“Well, actually, I was just wondering if you ever liked Sir Taylor…”
…Wait a minute.
I’m supposed to have lost my memory, right?
Oh, no.
“Hmm?”
“Just now, I was thinking whether you might have once liked Sir Taylor.”
“Me? Why do you ask?”
“You two seem close…”
“Haha, it’s not like that. Madam, you saw my younger brother, Mason.”
“Right, I have.”
“To be honest, Sir Taylor resembles him, doesn’t he?”
“Yes, he does.”
“To me, Sir Taylor feels like a younger brother. Though I’m not sure if he sees me as an older sister.”
Я думала Тейлор будет с Мари🥲