“…Th-thank you……”
Diane bowed like a dry twig swaying in the wind, then hurriedly left the room.
Through the crack in the door, she saw Idel covering her face with a book.
With a face like she had seen a ghost, Diane held her breath and quickly turned away.
‘Calm down, calm down.’
Diane took a deep breath while gripping the doorknob.
Then she decided to calmly and as objectively as possible list the series of events that had just occurred.
‘So, I have misunderstood Miss Idel all this time? Her actions did seem that way.’
To be honest, she was still uncertain.
What should she say? She felt like something she thought was natural had suddenly shattered into pieces.
And why wouldn’t it? Among the servants, there wasn’t a single one who thought highly of Idel.
‘But if it’s really, really a misunderstanding…’
The determination that Diane had barely managed to suppress started to rise again.
With her grip still tight on the doorknob, she blinked and turned as if she had made a resolution.
She was heading to find the head maid and ask if she could accompany Idel on her outing tomorrow.
“Phew……”
As she walked, two thoughts fiercely fought in her mind.
One thought was that she might be able to draw a conclusion if she confirmed it just one more time. The other was the fear that doing this while everyone’s attention was on her was sheer madness. But what else could she do?
‘Such a troublesome habit.’
If she hadn’t seen it, she might have been able to ignore it, but Diane was not one to turn a blind eye to something that had already caught her attention.
Arriving at the head maid’s room, Diane, with trembling hands and a pounding heart, carefully knocked on the door.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
While Diane’s preconceived notions about Idel were shattering, Idel was calmly checking on the things she needed to confirm.
She rubbed the silver ring that Vilred had given her, confirmed that its color changed, and compared the information on the old map and the current map.
‘The old map does show the abandoned orphanage that appeared in the original work. Since it’s not marked on the current map, it seems no new buildings have been constructed.’
It seemed like it would be worth visiting the abandoned orphanage sometime.
It might yield no results, but after all, it was where Melisa had been adopted.
It was also a place her younger sister had mentioned several times in her book review.
Furthermore, it’s fairly close to Count Lopez’s estate, right? I could use Violet’s grave as an excuse to visit.’
Violet was the cat Idel had raised while at the Count’s estate.
Back when she had no memories of her past life, Violet was the only friend she could truly open up to.
As Idel marked the information she had hurriedly recalled, she slowly tapped her fingers on the desk.
‘This is strange.’
Everything seemed to be flowing too smoothly.
While it was possible that she had coincidentally met Sigmund and discovered the clue to the curse, the events that followed seemed too unlikely to be true.
‘For one, Melisa is too quiet.’
Of course, Melisa wasn’t someone who concerned herself with her daughter’s friendships.
To be exact, she wasn’t very interested in her daughter’s overall development.
And to Melissa, children like Sigmund, who spent most of their time on the streets, were no different from her cat, Violet.
‘Since she confirmed the curse was solid up until right before meeting the Duke, Melisa likely only took a cursory glance at the ‘friend’ I would meet during this outing.’
But what about other issues? There must be something she missed. For example……
‘What Melisa did after I collapsed.’
Idel’s eyes narrowed. She couldn’t imagine that the woman did nothing and simply left after she had collapsed.
However, the fact that it was so quiet meant one of two things.
‘Either she has already done something that I didn’t notice, or she is preparing for something else.’
In either case, the only thing Idel could do right now was reduce the curse’s effect on her and thoroughly search the abandoned orphanage to find some clues.
“For now, I’ll have to stay alert and focus on tomorrow’s outing.”
At least the fact that this outing was officially permitted meant she didn’t have to rush back.
Idel went back to bed, having reviewed the setting in her memory one last time.
She needed to conserve her strength for the next day.
☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓 ☪︎ ִ ࣪𖤐 𐦍 ☾𖤓
The next morning.
Idel left the duke’s residence early to wait for Sigmund, who would be waiting endlessly until she arrived.
As she stood in front of the carriage, she rubbed her eyes at the several figures.
“……Is something wrong with my eyes? Why are there four heads?”
She could understand two of the four heads, as the duke had firmly stated that she absolutely couldn’t go alone.
The fact that the meeting place was set at a café designated by the Duke was also largely due to this.
However, the other two were undoubtedly people who shouldn’t be here.
“Idel, over here!”
“Ah, Miss Idel! G-Good morning…!”
“Gianna, Diane.”
Why are they here?
Idel raised an eyebrow, confused by the situation.
With her eyes narrowed, she approached the two and abruptly asked in a cold, hard voice.
“What are you two doing here?”
The two of them looked at each other nervously, and Gianna nodded quickly, as if to say “hurry up and explain.”
From her past experiences of dealing with Gianna and Diane, Idel knew that when they were pressured for an answer, they would usually shrink back and make excuses…
“Hmm? What do you mean? I came out to see off my little sister! You’re going to Café Florent today, right? I wanted to go with you, but I have a class I couldn’t miss. It’s such a shame. Let’s go together next time!”
“I’m going with Miss Idel. I couldn’t let you go out alone, so the head maid gave me permission…”
Excuses…?
‘What’s up with them today? Why are they so energetic?’
Idel’s eyes wavered slightly at the two’s unusually different behavior.
‘Maybe I was too soft?’
That could be it. People are creatures of adaptation; maybe the two had gotten used to her tone.
So, Idel replied with an even colder expression and tone than before.
“Hmph, I’m not the least bit disappointed. I’m going alone, so both of you move aside!”
At this point, she thought they would back down as usual. But her eyes widened at what the two said next.
“Alright, fine. Then I’ll prepare your favorite drink for when you come back. Let’s eat cheesecake together.”
“No, I have to go with you! No matter what Miss Idel says, this is something I cannot, absolutely cannot back down from!”
Why are they acting like this?
Idel looked back and forth at the two with a suspicious expression.
However, despite Idel’s persistent gaze, Gianna and Diane didn’t budge.
It was the confident attitude that only people who had shared opinions on “Idel’s harsh tone and intentions” could have.
“Sigh……”
Seeing that neither of them showed any sign of backing down, Idel let out a short sigh.
‘Sure, even if the original characters were incredibly soft, Duke Clementine isn’t a fool… There’s no way he would trust me just because he assigned a guard.’
The conversations she would have with Sigmund today were likely to reach the duke’s ears.
‘Anyway, I need to be careful with my words today.’
Since she had lied about being too close to Sigmund to separate from him, she had to make it look that way.
Having decided on the attitude she would present to Sigmund, Idel motioned for Diane to come over with a flick of her fingers.
It was an unspoken permission to join her.
Diane, who had been glancing at Idel anxiously, smiled with relief at the simple gesture.
“I don’t need you to fuss over me too much, so don’t ruin the mood by getting too friendly. Got it? Don’t call me ‘Miss Idel.’ Just call me ‘Del.’”
“Ah, yes! I-I’ll keep that in mind!”
“Good.”
Idel gave a curt nod to Diane, who was eagerly agreeing, and stepped into the carriage.
She would have liked to set a few more conditions before departing, but she feared that doing so might make Sigmund throw a punch the moment they met.
‘He’s probably waiting for me with bated breath right now.’
Recalling her first meeting with Sigmund, Idel quickly shook her head. She didn’t want any more bloodshed with the “crazy dog.”
