Chapter 5
“There seems to be nothing wrong with your body.”
Dr. Sarah, a doctor who specializes in noble guest residents, delivered my examination results with a somewhat professional, stiff voice as she entered the bedroom.
“It seems like you fainted suddenly due to relaxation from the tension at the reception.”
After hearing Dr. Sarah’s words, I couldn’t help but turn to look at myself.
No.
More precisely, I couldn’t help but turn to look at ‘Bella.’
“Bella, how… bad is your stamina, exactly?”
Come to think of it, there have been several occasions before where it became apparent that Bella’s stamina was subpar.
She faints from a few slaps, or just briefly submerged in water and immediately suffers from a fever.
Well, I won’t consider fainting from hitting her head against the wall as evidence of ‘Bella’s poor stamina.’
If hitting your head against something would make anyone faint unless they had an especially tough head…
Anyway, before possessing Bella, even I was someone who couldn’t stand much with such poor stamina.
“But Bella… really?”
While being shocked by the stamina of a weak antagonist who spent three years in a university hospital ward, Enphi suddenly approached the bed and grabbed my hand.
“Ah, miss!”
I was startled.
“You’re quite surprised, aren’t you?”
I was, indeed. Right now…
“Just relax now. The Duke and Ethan will be here soon.”
“What?”
I blinked at Enphi . What does he mean the Duke and Ethan will come?
At that moment, the bedroom door, which had been quietly closed, suddenly opened, and two men who clearly resembled a family entered the room.
With a slightly open mouth, I stared at Duke Croft and Ethan Croft.
What? Why are these two appearing now?
Could it be…?
“This is the first time I’ve been unconscious for a few days?”
“What?”
As Enphi responded to my muttering, Duke Croft approached the bed.
After confirming my condition by leaning against the head of the bed, he immediately asked Dr. Sarah about my condition.
“Any injuries?”
“None. She’s unharmed.”
“Ellie.”
As the Duke listened to Dr. Sarah’s response, Ethan sat down next to the bed and spoke to me.
“I was really surprised when I heard the news.”
News?
“I came right after receiving the call, but still, I feel like I’m too late, I apologize.”
…Ah!
Now I understand. Fortunately, it seems I haven’t been unconscious for several days.
Phew. Bella’s stamina has been revealed to barely reach human levels.
“I must have been unconscious for a few hours.”
A few hours might be long, but… I thought I had only fainted for about 30 minutes and woke up.
Thinking that, I responded to Ethan’s words first.
“It’s okay. I don’t think you’re late.”
“I’m really thankful that you came early. This is sincere.’’
Thanks to you, I was able to reschedule the embroidery plans that I thought I had to postpone indefinitely. When I realized I didn’t have to spend days worrying, laughter naturally came out.
Edan only gave me a glance and didn’t say anything else. So, when a moment of silence fell between Edan and me, the Duke of Croft spoke up.
“Elli, did Kylid apologize to you by any chance?”
“What?”
Kylid… what? Apologize?
Of course, I heard the Duke’s words correctly. They weren’t difficult words to understand. It’s just that they were difficult to accept.
Kylid, me, apology. Why are these three things in the same sentence?
No matter how you look at it, it’s an unlikely combination…
“It seems he didn’t.”
The Duke of Croft tightened his expression. I only blinked at his reaction before closing my eyelids again.
Thud!
“It might break if it keeps going like this.”
No, hasn’t it already started to break a little? I’ll have to inspect the door carefully after that beast wearing human skin leaves my bedroom.
“Hey.’’
Kylid crossed the empty bedroom all the way to the bed, except for me.
Just for your information, I purposely sent people out of the bedroom a while ago.
Why did I do that? Because I had a feeling something like this would happen.
“Since the Duke told him to wait a moment and left, you see.”
I don’t know why, but it seemed that the Duke of Croft thought Kylid should apologize to me.
No, actually, I’ve had a bit of a guess about the reason in the meantime.
When I encountered the villain at the sponsor’s place, ‘Croft’ at the Duke’s mansion was Kylid, the only one.
In other words, Kylid was the person responsible at the time of the incident at the Duke’s mansion.
To summarize, since an accident happened at the Duke’s mansion, the person in charge, Kylid, should rightfully admit his mistake and apologize to me, but…
Will a beast accept human logic?
Kylid looked down at me with a fierce gaze. Whether he bared his teeth or not, the line of his jaw looked sharper than usual.
“I must have advised you clearly. If you want to play the role of Ellis a little more, then behave yourself quietly.”
“Misunderstand.”
“Misunderstand?”
“I don’t know what you heard from my father, but that’s not what I asked for.”
Look, my eyes. If you have eyes, you should be able to see the truth in my eyes.
“Hah.”
…Can’t you see it?
“Fake.”
Kylid suddenly stooped his upper body. His blue eyes narrowed sharply.
“I’ll warn you one last time. Don’t ever try to wield me like my father or Ethan.”
“….”
“It’d be wise not to treat me like a pawn.”
Wait, does that mean he considers the Duke and Ethan as pawns from Kylid’s perspective?
After leaving a disdainful remark, Kylid straightened his upper body. I stared at the retreating back of the disdainful Kylid. Oh, dear, tsk tsk…
Then Kylid, who had opened the bedroom door, stopped in his tracks without stepping outside.
What? Did I just hear a hesitation?
Uh-oh. My ears are sharp. Looks like the second round of trouble is about to start.
However, Kylid, who held onto the door, didn’t immediately spit out harsh words at me as expected.
Kylid just stared at me intently, then suddenly seemed to hesitate on his own. Why’s that?
Perplexed, I watched Kylid.
Then, belatedly, I recalled the impression that Kilid seemed to hesitate about something.
…Hesitate? Him?
He probably never learned ‘wait’.
“Is he hesitating whether to harm me or not?”
Nah, that can’t be.
…Should I ask him to spare me?
At that moment, Kylid, who had been silent, finally spoke.
“…The actions you took during the sponsorship.”
“Huh?”
“Did you think about it?”
Actions during the sponsorship… does he mean when I pretended to be knocked down and kicked the villain to avoid being caught?
I felt a strange sensation and stared at Kylid.
Kylid still had furrowed brows.
From his expression, it seemed like he didn’t like the situation of questioning me, either.
“Why are you curious about that?”
“Just answer.”
Sheesh, what an attitude.
I crossed my arms and began to ponder.
Should I just boldly turn the professional’s idea into my own?
I slowly loosened my arms which were tightly crossed.
“I’ll tell you if you give me 5,000 demars.”
Maybe I shouldn’t just answer. Come to think of it, I don’t really have an obligation to satisfy Kylrid’s curiosity, do I?
Of course, if Kylrid really did give me 5,000 demars, I might have been somewhat inclined to help.
But as soon as Kylrid heard my words, he seemed to think I was mocking him—right, that’s it—and left with a decisive expression.
I shrugged my shoulders at the closed door and comfortably lay down on the bed.
Now then…
Maybe I’ll rest for a bit before seeking enlightenment.
The ‘little rest’ turned out to be much longer than I had thought. I ended up falling asleep lying on the bed.
“Please! Kimbella!”
I really need to do something about this stamina.
After resolving that, I left the bedroom. It’s now 6 a.m.
It’s still quite early, closer to dawn than morning, but I know the Duke and Ethan usually wake up at 5, so it should be okay to visit them now.
“Huh?”
I paused as I briskly walked down the hallway.
“Ethan?”
I blinked lightly and double-checked what I had seen.
Ethan Crowfort standing by the window in the hallway, gazing outside, didn’t disappear even after I blinked my eyes.
…Looks like I won’t have to make the effort to find him. Well, that’s fortunate, I suppose.
I approached Ethan slowly and stood beside him at the window.
