Episode 33

I opened my eyes wide at Joshua’s words.

‘Diana said that?!’

It was hard to believe that the angelic and kind Diana would say such a thing.

“If I cry, Dad will have to deal with that troublesome thing and it’ll make things hard for him.”

“…”

“Josh is really sick though…”

Joshua asked with a sullen face.

“Do I look like I’m pretending to be sick to you too, sister?”

“No!”

“Right?”

“Yes!”

“Hehe!”

Only then did Joshua’s face brighten up.

I looked at the poor child sympathetically.

‘How can he not be in pain when that orange aura fills his small chest like that?’

The pain Joshua feels is definitely not a pretense.

But I thought I understood why Diana said that.

‘Because Diana doesn’t have the healing solution.’

Separate from the fact that the bleeding wouldn’t stop, Joshua, who cried over a small wound, might seem like he was faking.

It wasn’t meant in a bad way, but because she had always been so mature and precocious since she was young.

‘That’s why she often gave me annoying advice too…’

To someone like me, who was immature and had a bad personality, it often felt really irritating.

I unconsciously shook my head as if lamenting.

‘You said you’d think well of the heroine, you idiot! Do you want to die again?!’

Just as I was about to whip my twisted mind into shape.

“Sister, what is that troublesome thing?”

Joshua asked innocently.

“That is…”

I hesitated for a moment, wondering how to respond, then answered.

“…It means that Dad loves you so much that he gets upset when you’re in pain.”

“Hmph… So does that mean I shouldn’t cry like she said?”

“No! If you don’t cry and lie about not being in pain, Dad will be even more upset.”

“Really?”

“Yes. So promise me! If you’re hurting anywhere, you have to tell me.”

This was something only I, who had the healing solution, could say.

“If you don’t want to tell Dad, at least tell me, okay? Understand?”

“Yes!”

“Promise.”

“Promise! Hehe.”

We hooked our pinkies and promised several times.

Then, as Joshua suggested, we played hero games together.

After counting to ten, the hero had to find the villain who was hiding and punish them with a pillow.

‘…But why am I always the villain?!’

* * *

It was only when it was time for lunch that I could finally get away from Joshua.

“Phew…”

I already felt completely worn out.

‘Playing with a child is no easy task.’

I was trudging towards the second floor to return to my room when I suddenly heard a commotion from the lobby.

“How many times do I have to tell you that the young master can’t eat beans and vegetables?”

“But the chef considered the nutritional value…”

“What if the young master has a shock from eating food he dislikes? Will you take responsibility? Huh?!”

Emma, who had been nowhere to be seen, was now scolding a maid who was pushing a trolley.

‘Is it Joshua’s lunch?’

Even after being demoted, she was still causing trouble.

She was indeed a remarkable woman.

I felt sorry for the unfortunate maid, but there was nothing I could do.

Fearing that I might get caught up in it, I tried to sneak past them, hugging the wall.

“Forget it! I’ll serve the young master’s meal myself, so you can go now.”

“But Mrs. Caston! B-but…”

Of all times, Emma turned around after taking the trolley from the maid and met my eyes directly.

“You…!”

Before I could escape, the woman rushed at me.

“You, how did you manage to get the young master to act like this towards me?!”

“Ugh.”

Her piercing scream made me cover my ears instinctively.

Emma, however, ignored this and continued to shout, pointing her finger at me.

“Tell me! What did you say to the young master?!”

“I didn’t say anything…”

“Then why is the young master treating me like this?! How could he say he doesn’t want to see me, Emma, his nurse?!”

‘Does she really not know?’

It was a pitiful sight.

The loud commotion drew more and more servants around us.

I wanted to aggravate her more, but unfortunately, too many eyes were watching.

Taking a deep breath, I replied kindly.

“Well… I think it might be because you were mean to Edwin yesterday, and Josh got angry?”

“What? What nonsense are you…”

Emma flinched at my words and looked around.

Then she lowered her voice slightly and growled at me.

“T-that was all for the young master’s sake!”

“Josh didn’t seem to think so…”

“What do you know?! You’re the one who turned him against me, right?!”

Clinging to her belief, Emma continued to accuse me vehemently.

It seemed she was deliberately raising her voice to draw attention from others.

She wanted to paint me as a cunning child and herself as the victim.

In the past, I would have screamed and shouted back at her.

But doing that wouldn’t make people understand my side of the story.

Moreover, no matter how fiercely I glared, in my current state, I looked like a powerless little runt…

‘This won’t do!’

Activating Joshua’s skill!

I tilted my head innocently, making my face as harmless as possible.

“Turning against?”

“Yes!”

“What’s ‘turning against’? Turning against… is it something ticklish?”

“W-what?!”

“But Emma, I’m so hungry… Can I go eat now? Wah!”

I clutched my stomach and put on a pitiful expression, and I heard soft murmurs from around.

“Oh dear, how pitiful!”

“Tsk tsk, what does a child that young know to deserve this treatment?”

“She’s acting like she’s something special just because she took care of young master Joshua for a while…”

At the murmurs from the crowd, Emma’s face turned bright red.

“S-shut your mouths! What do you all know…?!”

She shouted furiously as she looked around.

“Well, enjoy your lunch, Emma!”

Not missing the opportunity, I tried to dash away.

However.

“Where do you think you’re going?!”

Emma grabbed me again.

“Ah!”

Her rough hand on my shoulder spun me around, making me stagger.

Emma glared at me fiercely and quickly whispered.

“You stole the sapphire ring from the young master’s treasure chest, didn’t you?”

“…”

“Huh?!”

I couldn’t help but smile at the sudden question.

‘Ah. So this was her true intention?’

It seemed she had checked the chest already.

“After you visited, that ring was the only thing that disappeared! Where did you put it?”

“I didn’t take it.”

“Don’t lie! Do you want to be accused of being a ring thief in front of everyone?!”

“What if I didn’t take it? Do you want to apologize to me again, Emma?”

“You, you…!”

Her cheeks flushed red, likely remembering yesterday’s humiliating apology.

She raised a hand threateningly, as if to intimidate me.

“Tell me quickly where you put it, or else!”

But that was all.

Unlike in my previous life, she couldn’t actively accuse me of being the ‘ring thief’.

It was natural since she didn’t know where the ring was.

“…”

I stared at her without answering.

My bright red eyes reflected in her murky brown ones.

Emma’s expression twisted under my piercing gaze.

“Get those red eyes out of my sight! They’re bad luck…!”

“…”

“Speaking of which, that tiara!”

The topic shifted from the ring to something else.

Whack!

Emma suddenly snatched the tiara from my head.

“Ugh! My tiara!”

“You! You stole this from the chest too, didn’t you?! Huh?!”

“What…”

She hadn’t heard about the tiara yet?

I stared at Emma in disbelief and reached out my hand.

“That’s mine! Give it back!”

“Yours? No way!”

“Ack!”

Emma roughly pushed me away.

Thud!

I fell backward with a thud.

“Ouch…”

‘Damn, my tailbone!’

Tears welled up from the sharp pain.

I couldn’t get up right away, probably from the continuous torment.

“Ugh…”

As I lay there groaning, Emma spoke triumphantly.

“A common orphan like you, where would you get such an expensive item?!”

“N-no! Edwin gave it to me!”

“Lies until the end…! You stole it from the young master’s jewelry box, didn’t you? Tell the truth or…!”

“What is going on here?!”

A thunderous voice echoed through the lobby.

Pushing through the crowd that had gathered, the butler appeared.

“Young lady!”

Then, someone dashed over and hugged me tightly.

“Oh dear, my young lady! I wondered why you hadn’t come for lunch yet, and it turns out this wretched woman was…!”

“T-Tara…”

Hearing the familiar voice, my tension melted away.

Seeing the only person in this house who was on my side brought tears to my eyes.

“Mrs. Caston.”

Then, the butler called Emma in a stern voice.

“What is this commotion? Didn’t you hear the order to treat Lady Belze with utmost respect? And yet, what is this…!”

“That’s not it, Butler! Please listen to me!”

Emma shouted boldly, not at all intimidated.

“Look, this impudent girl stole jewels from the young master’s treasure chest!”

“Stole jewels?”

“Yes! The sapphire ring that the Duke gave to the Duchess, and this tiara!”

“…”

“See? I’m only catching a thief!”

Emma held up the tiara she had taken from me.

Everyone in the lobby turned their eyes to it.

Sparkle.

The tiara gleamed brightly, reflecting the midday sunlight.

TL/N: Hi guys, under few circumstances this novel will be continued here. Thank you, my loyal readers, for waiting for this novel to update.