‘When we first met…….’
Suddenly, she remembered the way Sion fiercely glared at her. The moment he disregarded her kindness and treated her like dirt.
…suddenly, her mood sank.
Laila stood up from the bench she was sitting on. Without looking at Sion on purpose, she gazed at Taylor and said,
“You need to train more, right? I’ll go in first today.”
“Ah, yes. Get some rest, young miss.”
Ignoring Taylor’s worried voice, Laila turned around and walked away.
But maybe because she had just woken up from sleep, her legs didn’t have enough strength, and she stumbled after taking one step.
“……!”
A firm, calloused hand grabbed Laila’s arm. As soon as she realized whose hand it was, Laila shook off the hand that grabbed her arm.
Thud!
Perhaps she shook it off too forcefully; she fell backward.
“Miss, are you okay?”
Surprised, Taylor approached and shouted. Laila didn’t avoid Taylor’s hand helping her up.
Sion stared at Laila with a stern face.
Laila pursed her lips and started to say something but stopped. As she averted her gaze, she heard Taylor’s voice.
“If you’re tired, shall I escort you to your room?”
“…No, it’s okay. I’ll go alone.”
“Or should I call a maid…?”
“I’m fine.”
Laila walked briskly away from Taylor, intent on showing him that she was indeed okay.
Fortunately, her legs didn’t give out again.
ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚
Laila lay back in bed and blinked, bleary-eyed.
Her mind flashed back to what had happened at the training grounds just a few hours ago.
The first thing that came to mind was Sion’s reaction.
When Laila shook off his hand, Sion froze momentarily like a statue. His face, stiffened as if struck by a great shock, wasn’t easily forgotten.
Even though she briefly felt sorry, the feeling quickly vanished.
‘No, why should I feel sorry? What’s wrong with shaking his hand off? Did I ask him to grab me?’
Laila dredged up past events as if making excuses.
‘He had done much worse to me. He glared at me all the time, ignored the water and food I brought for him, spit out the herbs I put in his mouth, and…….’
As Laila sobbed inwardly, she suddenly realized.
What she was feeling right now.
Oh my goodness, it was resentment!
Laila’s eyes widened. She reevaluated the incident of shaking Sion’s hand at the training ground.
At that time, she thought she did it because she was dreaming and feeling scared of the present Sion due to dreaming of dying at the hands of future Sion.
But maybe…… that wasn’t the case.
Maybe it wasn’t fear of Sion, but anger toward Sion… Why was she angry? Because memories of how he had treated her badly in the past came to mind…
Laila stiffened and blinked at the ceiling.
Then, she closed her eyes tightly.
‘Sleep, sleep. Since you’re not sleeping, you’re having useless thoughts. Sleep!’
Disappointment? Anger? It must be a misunderstanding. She and Sion were not close enough for her to feel such emotions.
Apart from expecting Sion not to kill her ten years from now, she didn’t expect anything from him. Really, that was all.
Though her heart felt unsettled, fortunately, sleep soon found her.
ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚
Laila treated the incident of her pushing Sion’s hand away as if it never happened. Sion, too, did not mention that particular incident.
However, Taylor occasionally gave them subtle glances…
Laila worried Taylor might say something noble like, “How dare a slave touch his master’s body!” but it never happened.
‘Well, that’s not the kind of person Sir Taylor is.’
Though she hadn’t observed him long, Laila felt she understood Taylor quite well by now.
Taylor was, simply put, “not suited” for Hildegarde.
How did someone like him end up in Hildegarde anyway… Is it okay for him to stay here…
Since environment is important, Laila felt that if Taylor gradually became the type of person who fits in with Hildegarde, it would be terribly sad.
For a moment, she couldn’t help but imagine a sad future she didn’t want to pass.
Laila soon remembered.
‘Oh, right!’
Taylor would leave Hildegarde Manor in a few years.
In her first life, when she still hasn’t swallowed the Stone of Regression. She couldn’t remember exactly when, but there had been a ‘going away party’ within the knight order.
Laila recalled the exact name of the farewell party. It was the Farewell Party for the Youngest Genius.
Her heart instantly felt at ease. Of course, a person should be in a place that suits them.
‘Judging by the fact that they even held a party for him, he must have joined the Royal Guard. That’s a relief.’
She didn’t expect to feel this relieved! She realized she was closer to Taylor than she thought.
Laila stopped in the middle of the hall with light steps.
‘….Marie.’
After remembering Taylor’s departure from Hildegarde, another person naturally came to mind.
‘Come to think of it, Marie will also leave Hildegarde Manor next year.’
But there was a clear difference.
While Taylor would confidently leave Hildegarde and receive congratulations from fellow knights, Marie would be…….
Running away at night.
And she even stole valuables from Laila’s room.
Laila stood quietly in the corridor, lost in thought.
The first thing that came to her mind was this.
Would Marie be caught later?
And if she was caught… what would happen?
Would the villain really let a maid who stole her master’s valuables escape…
Laila looked out the hallway window.
The weather was getting colder. It will be even colder once it starts snowing. When the snow piled up high and melted, Marie would run away.
After hesitating for a moment, Laila finally moved her feet.
ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚
Marie had a sick younger sibling.
A sibling who lived in another village, not in the Marquis’s territory.
Marie didn’t immediately reveal this fact. Laila asked her gently several times before she finally opened her mouth, tears streaming down her face.
“The person who takes care of him wants money for living expenses and medical treatment, and it’s getting bigger and bigger…….”
Laila realized something like a bolt of lightning. She finally understood why Marie had to resort to theft and running away.
At that moment, Laila felt sorry for Marie.
It was not uncommon for a greedy employee to steal from her employer and get away with it, but it did happen occasionally.
So, she treated Marie’s case the same way.
Even when Laila felt grateful for Marie’s kindness, she only thought she should turn a blind eye to Marie’s theft.
‘But I could have been curious about why Marie did that in the first place.’
Marie still brought tea to Laila’s room when she looked tired these days.
Even on the day when Laila fell at the training ground, she drank tea and let her rest in bed. Maybe Taylor had informed Marie of what happened at the training ground.
Laila compared Marie’s continued thoughtfulness in bringing her tea to her mindset of simply overlooking Marie’s theft.
She felt ashamed and sorry.
So Laila suggested to Marie.
“How about having your sibling live on the estate? He can receive treatment from Elvin…”
“Yes?”
“I’ll ask Father about it.”
“B, but…….”
“Father has been listening to my requests lately. He’ll probably listen this time, too.”
It was true. The villain had definitely backed down to Laila recently.
Though she couldn’t fathom his true intentions, Laila didn’t want to make an effort to find out since she wouldn’t know anyway.
“Oh, Miss.”
Marie burst into tears and vowed to serve and protect young Laila for life.
Laila smiled and silently said, ‘That’s not necessary.’
‘Elvin is an excellent doctor, so he’ll be able to heal Marie’s sibling in a few years.’
Then, she’ll send both Marie’s healthy sibling and Marie away from the manor.
That was all Laila could think of to repay Marie.
A few days later, Marie’s sibling arrived at the manor.
