Chapter 25 – After the Evening Party
It’s painful. I can’t breathe. Somebody save me…My body sinks further the more I struggle. I don’t want to die…
A scream of terror escaped her.
“Bianca! Are you all right?”
A warm hand grasped Bianca’s palm. When she awakened, she was lying on the bed. Satias was peering at her with a concerned look on his face.
“Brother.”
“Thank goodness you’ve regained consciousness. Let me bring you something to drink.”
Squeezing her brother’s hand, she began to shiver.
“Brother, wait, don’t go!”
“What is it, Bianca?”
“I-I have recalled something!”
“Have you recalled something from your…past?”
Bianca shook her head.
“No. From the balcony…”
At that point, her words trailed off.
“What happened at the balcony?”
Satias peered into Bianca’s eyes. He had astonishingly vivid blue, transparent eyes with a piercing quality that appeared to see right through anything. Bianca loved the look in her brother’s eyes.
“It’s nothing. It was simply that the water was dark, cold, and tormenting, reminding me of that.”
Terror gripped her voice. Her brother enveloped her in a tight embrace.
“Bianca, you don’t have to push yourself to remember.”
At Satias’ words, tears began to well up in her eyes.
All of her family members kept telling her she didn’t need to force herself to remember. Back then, at the moment she was falling into the sea, she had the sensation that her body was floating gently. Did someone use magic, or was it her dread for the future that drove her…
Without magical power, a high-ranking aristocratic family’s head would not last for more than two generations. Had it not been for Bianca, the eldest brother would have been the heir to the Kesler family.
The moment she reached out to keep hold of the memories she mananged to recall, they vanished in a bubble.
Bianca articulated one of the thoughts that occurred to her.
“Brother, how did you find me? Are you glad you found me?”
Ultimately, that was where her thoughts landed. Satias blinked lightly.
“What’s the matter, Bianca? Of course I’m glad I found you.”
Having the servant lower his head, he refilled a glass of water from the jug and handed it to Bianca.
“Is there something you want to discuss?”
That being said, she was unsure of where to start. Slowly, Bianca allowed her thoughts to wander.
“Father told me before that you had been searching for me. I was in a small seaside town in a neighbouring country. No matter how rare my vermilion eyes are, I figured that it wouldn’t have been easy to find someone in a neighbouring country so quickly.”
“At first, I contemplated all kinds of possibilities. Because you seemed to be lost in contemplation at the time, I thought that you may have fled the house and feigned to have fallen into the sea or something similar. At the same time, I examined the tidal currents, and I estimated that if you were to be swept away at that time of the day, you would end up near that beach in the neighboring country. By sea route, it is not far from here. After that, all that was left was to find a girl with vermilion eyes, so I used this villa as a base from which to gather information.”
As she expected, her brother had sought her out and found her.
“Um, this might sound strange, but couldn’t you have reported to Father that you couldn’t find me after all since I had lost my memory?”
Momentarily, Satias’ eyes appeared to fade like the nighttime sea.
“What are you talking about? I’m really glad you’re safe. Earlier, His Highness and Flora were there. Did they tell you something? Tell me when you’re struggling.”
Her elder brother’s voice was soothing and considerably softer than usual, which caused Bianca to burst into tears like a child. Even if she said she didn’t want to be engaged to that prince, it would only trouble Satias, so she had no choice but to remain silent.
In the end, though, she ended up relying on him like this…
The ball had ended, but school vacations were still ongoing, and so was the social season… Since Regina and Ellen came to the ball, she asked them to stay for three days. She couldn’t keep them for that long because they likewise had arrangements for other tea parties and soirees.
The day before they departed, she sipped a cup of ruby hibiscus tea while absorbing the afternoon sun and a gentle breeze in the garden with a view of the ocean. On the table were fresh peaches in a glass bowl.
“I envy you two for being on such good terms with your fiancés.”
“Mine is still unofficial,” said Regina.
“Bianca, um…yours hasn’t been decided yet, has it?” asked Ellen concernedly.
“Yes, it’s too complicated. What would I do if it was His Highness Stuart? I would have preferred a childhood friend like you guys.”
She heaved a sigh.
“Bianca, you may not remember this, but you and His Highness Stuart are like childhood friends, too,” remarked Regina.
“Huh, is that so?”
That was news to her. Both Regina and Ellen nodded.
“The dukes used to invite guests to informal tea parties. I suppose you have known each other since childhood.”
“That reminds me, did I like His Highness? I’m not certain since I can’t recall.”
Regina and Ellen exchanged glances.
“I wasn’t close to you back then, so it was just a rumour… I’m sure you’ve heard it, haven’t you, Bianca?” asked Ellen.
“You’re referring to me being jealous of Lady Flora, I suppose?”
“From what I have seen, I wouldn’t say that you were jealous, but rather that you were distressed by His Highness’ treatment of you or that you admonished him.”
Unexpected words flowed out of Regina’s lips.
“Did I admonish him?”
“Yeah, I’ve heard you say things like it’s not a good idea to openly flirt with other female students when you have a fiancée and that it’s common sense,” said Ellen as well.
The past her seemed to be a fairly firm person, though she was obese. She was much more intelligent than now. At that time, she probably didn’t need her oldest brother’s help.
Had the third prince and Flora been left alone…, she would have been stressed out and become overweight.
Thanks for the translation!