Episode 46

In front of the open door, a pretty young girl stood holding the hand of a maid.

Her mysterious, snow-white hair and dreamy purple eyes.

Despite her young age, an air of nobility and elegance emanated from her.

Things that I, in my past life, could never have throughout my lifetime.

‘Indeed, the heroine is exceptional from a young age…’

It was when I was immersed in these thoughts, having met Diana again.

“Bel… ze…?”

Diana, who had been scanning with eyes similar to mine, suddenly let go of the maid’s hand and rushed over.

Thump-thump-thump!

“Belze!”

“Eh…!”

I stepped back a few paces, suddenly embraced tightly by Diana.

“I missed you so much!”

Her shout filled my mind with confusion.

‘Were we… ever this close?’

It was a bit strange.

Surely, Diana should only have memories of being tormented by me.

Then, the maid Diana had brought along murmured contentedly,

“How lovely… She has been excited since last night, looking forward to seeing her friend.”

Hearing this, I forced the discomfort away.

‘Right. She’s the heroine.’

In the novel, Diana was kind and gentle to everyone.

Although we hadn’t gotten along well in the past, it might have been nice to see her after such a long time.

‘Good. It’s not too late! Let’s start treating the heroine well now to avoid any dead flags!’

Seeing the young heroine, another desire welled up inside me.

Of course, I was still determined to allow the original story to unfold as it should.

‘But, just standing by and doing nothing to end up dead doesn’t seem right, does it?’

Anyway, the original story was about Diana becoming a saint and choosing one of the male leads to live well.

Of course, it’s heartbreaking to think that Edwin might end up being the ultimate true male lead…

As long as the duke’s family doesn’t fall into ruin and he lives well.

I was fine with that.

‘I decided not to be greedy anymore, Belze.’

A new hope sprang up in my heart.

The hope that maybe I could survive.

“I, I missed you too…!”

Standing awkwardly, I raised my arms high.

Just as I was about to embrace Diana’s back.

“Ah!”

With a short cry, she suddenly pushed me away.

“Ah…!”

“Are you okay, miss?”

Tara caught me as I staggered from the sudden push.

“Belze, this…! Oh! Is it because of me?”

Diana’s eyes widened like a rabbit as she saw my condition.

“Sorry, Belze. I was too excited, I didn’t realize… really sorry…”

It was hard to be mad at her as she immediately apologized.

I smiled awkwardly.

“No, it’s okay. Tara caught me.”

“My lady is still a patient. Please be careful. I ask you kindly.”

However, unlike me, Tara’s voice was a bit stern as she cautioned.

“A patient…?”

Diana scanned me again with surprised eyes.

Then she noticed the gauze on my cheek and bare arms and made a sad face.

“You’re hurt?! Sorry, Belze. I’ll be more careful…”

“Children are like that, you know. It’s not like she did it on purpose.”

Diana’s maid interjected, unable to stand by.

“That’s why we’re asking you to be careful.”

Then Tara clenched her teeth and smiled.

At that moment, I could see sparks flying between Tara and Diana’s maid, as if in a ‘pffft!’ of tension.

‘It feels like a fight might break out!’

Feeling the uneasy atmosphere, I quickly grabbed the hem of Tara’s dress.

“I’m okay, Tara! Diana didn’t do it on purpose.”

“I’ll be careful too, Sister Tara!”

Diana added in a cutesy voice, twisting her body.

Being the heroine, she indeed looked very adorable and lovable.

Tara’s fierce expression finally softened a bit.

But I just couldn’t shake off the annoyance.

‘Sister? Since when did she start calling Tara sister?’

I pouted my lips, and Tara replied kindly.

“Yes, Miss Diana. Welcome to the duke’s estate.”

“Hehe… Ah! Right! Belze, this!”

Diana, who had been smiling sweetly, suddenly handed me something.

It was a paper box with a cute character in the shape of a pie drawn on it.

“What is this…?”

“It’s the most famous pecan pie from the capital these days!”

“Pecan pie?”

“Yes! Dad had bought it for me before, and it was really delicious!”

Her eyes sparkled like jewels as she spoke enthusiastically.

“I got it early this morning from sister Lily because I wanted to eat it with you! Belze, you haven’t tried this yet, have you?”

“Um, I haven’t tried it yet. Thanks.”

As I said this, I suddenly felt embarrassed about my pronunciation.

‘Diana speaks so long without slipping in pronunciation…’

Diana was always a prodigy.

Unlike me, she learned to read quickly and could easily recite difficult scriptures, earning much love from the priests.

Moreover, she was better developed than I was.

Regrettably, even now, Diana was about a head taller than me.

‘…Darn! Is this what it means to be the heroine?’

Looking down at my own smaller, frailer body, I brushed off the gloom and turned to Tara.

“Tara! I’ll have this while drinking tea with Diana. Please prepare it.”

I quickly handed her the box containing the pie.

I put as much strength into my tongue as I could, and my pronunciation was a bit clearer!

“Yes! I’ll prepare it right away!”

“Miss Diana, then I’ll be busy with the tasks you’ve assigned, so please have a comfortable chat.”

The maid of Diana bowed slightly, indicating she wasn’t planning to enter my room.

‘Assigned tasks? What did she assign?’

I looked at Diana with curious eyes, but she just waved at her maid with a smile.

“See you in a bit, sister Lily!”

That’s when it happened.

Tara, who was just leaving the room with Diana’s maid, paused and turned back.

“But, miss.”

“Hmm?”

“It’s not this store, but our miss also had a walnut tart for a snack yesterday, right? The chef might feel neglected.”

“Oh… right! That happened?”

“Our ducal family is sensitive about bringing in outside food… But our chef has over 20 years of experience making desserts in the royal palace! Everything you eat here is as if it’s from the royal palace!”

“Ugh. Our chef is the best! Haha…”

I laughed awkwardly, catching Diana’s eye.

It seemed Tara took Diana’s mention as slighting.

Meaning, ‘Haven’t you even tried pecan pie?’

‘It’s not like that, Tara. Besides, she’s just 5 years old.’

It’s a reasonable age for the Marquis to have spoiled her.

And I feel sorry for Diana, but thinking about the gifts I received this morning…

‘Just a pie?’

Honestly, just by looking at our outfits, you could feel the difference between the duke’s family and the count’s family.

Of course, Diana also seemed to have dressed carefully in a costly, elegant blue dress for today’s visit.

But the only accessory she wore was a ribbon hairpin the same color as her dress.

In comparison, I was dressed well enough to walk in the royal palace immediately.

‘This… It’s almost like I’m overshadowing the heroine.’

Though it seemed the maids, including Tara, intended this…

“Heh, heh! I mean, we don’t buy everything, you know?!”

Diana’s maid, who had understood Tara’s words, retorted with a flushed face as she left the room.

But the gentle heroine just smiled beautifully.

“That’s so nice! I’m so jealous, Belze.”

“Miss Diana, would you like me to ask the chef to bake something fresh for you?”

“No, thank you! I brought this because I wanted to share the pecan pie with Belze today.”

“As I mentioned earlier, it’s normally difficult to bring outside food into the ducal estate, but since it’s for our lady’s friend, we’ll make an exception.”

“Thank you!”

Diana bowed politely.

Her maid frowned slightly, clicking her tongue in disapproval.

“Are you not going out? Didn’t your mistress assign you tasks?”

“Eh…! Going, going!”

However, under Tara’s pointed remark, Diana’s maid eventually left the room without another word.

Click.

The door closed, and I secretly sighed in relief.

‘Phew… Tara has always been protective.’

Even in my previous life, she took good care of me, but it seemed particularly intense this time.

Shaking my head at the tense moments that had just passed, I soon noticed Diana still standing there, looking lost.

Since I had decided to make changes in this life, I resolved to be the one to take initiative.

I confidently took her hand and led her.

“Come this way, Diana.”

“Okay.”

She followed obediently, and I led her to a table in front of the large window.

“Here, sit…”

And as I was guiding her to her seat.

Thwack―!

Suddenly, the hand I was holding was coldly shaken off.