Episode 47

“Uh…?”

Startled, I turned around to see Diana speaking nonchalantly.

“Sorry. I felt a bit suffocated.”

“Ah. I see.”

I’ve been feeling a strange sense of discomfort.

Diana’s behavior seemed somewhat hostile yet not, and I struggled to maintain my composure.

‘Hang in there. She’s the main character. If you don’t want to die, you need to get along. Be kind-hearted!’

I reassured myself, remembering the death flags.

“Then go ahead and sit.”

But I couldn’t help the coldness in my voice.

As I casually gestured forward and sat down first, Diana hesitated then sat opposite me.

She looked around my room, then finally spoke.

“You seem to be doing well in the Duke’s household, Belze.”

“Uh, as you can see.”

Recalling the dynamic days of the past, it was a bit odd to say I was doing well…

I responded casually.

Then Diana immediately asked, pinpointing a contradiction.

“How did you get hurt? Did someone… like at the temple…?”

Her voice trailed off with a worried look.

‘Is she doing this on purpose?’

It felt as if she was digging up unpleasant past events, asking if I was being whipped again.

I deliberately put on an innocent expression and answered.

“I fell while playing.”

“Ah…”

“Are you doing well at the Marquis’ house?”

As I quickly changed the subject, Diana smiled broadly and nodded.

“Yes! The Marquis and the people at the Marquis’ house are really kind. Everyone treats me so well!”

Of course, they would. She was loved wherever she went.

But unlike before, I wasn’t particularly envious.

“Phew, that’s good.”

I replied soullessly, yawning.

At that, Diana’s expression changed.

She looked at me with an observant gaze, then cautiously opened her mouth.

“But… Belze, you seem to have changed a lot since we last met.”

“Me? What?”

“Your way of speaking… and even the dress you’re wearing doesn’t seem to suit you… Eek! Ah, no! Nothing!”

She covered her mouth with a flustered look after blurting out too much.

‘What do you mean, nothing! You’ve already said it all.’

I glared at her annoyingly.

At that moment, I realized again.

The reason why I detested Diana in my past life.

Although she is kind and gentle as a heroine should be, her often excessive honesty and cluelessness frustrated me.

 

“Diana told Josh to stop pretending to be sick.”

“Pretending to be sick?”

“Yeah! She said you are sick because you keep acting like a child…”

 

Suddenly, a conversation I had with Joshua flashed through my mind.

Just like that incident, Diana tends to judge and assess others based on her own standards.

‘Phew, hang in there… She’s just a child.’

As I was reminding myself to be patient, Diana hurriedly added.

“I-I meant that now you really look like a proper noble lady.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

However, perhaps because my feelings were hurt, my mood flipped like the back of a hand.

‘No. But if we’re both around 5 years old, maybe I don’t have to hold back yet?’

As long as I don’t hit or pinch, it should be okay, right?

I smiled as brightly as I could.

“You seem the same, Diana.”

“Huh? The same?”

“Since the last time I saw you at the temple, you don’t seem to have changed much!”

Diana looked puzzled as she responded to my comment.

“What do you mean?”

“Your dress and even your shoes…”

“…”

“Is the Marquis’ house a bit poor…? Eek! Ah, no! Nothing!”

Like Diana did earlier, I quickly covered my mouth with my hand.

Diana’s face twisted as she immediately looked down.

The scuffed brown shoes peeking out from under her luxurious blue dress.

As our eyes met simultaneously, she quickly hid her foot under her skirt.

Her face turned a shade of red as if it was about to burst.

It seemed she had focused on the dress and neglected the shoes.

‘Or perhaps, the Marquis isn’t supporting her that much yet.’

After all, she’s just a child under sponsorship.

She hasn’t been formally adopted, so it’s perfectly reasonable.

‘It’s strange that the Duke’s house is being so generous to me, a mere sponsored child.’

Watching Diana chew on her lip, I smiled apologetically.

“Are you upset? I just noticed… because you’re still wearing the same shoes from the temple…”

“No, I’m not mad.”

Diana answered quickly.

But she didn’t smile anymore.

Instead, she just looked at me with wavering eyes.

It seemed unfamiliar to her that I wasn’t yelling or screaming in response to her remarks.

‘It’s satisfying, but…’

I wasn’t sure if it was okay to behave this way towards the heroine.

‘Ah, I don’t know! What’s done is done! Besides, I didn’t start it.’

I just thought to let it go.

There was still plenty of time to be nice in the future, so I decided to let today slide.

After a moment of silence.

Seemingly having composed herself, Diana suddenly spoke up.

“…But, what’s that?”

Following the direction she pointed, I turned to see boxes still piled up like a mountain on one side of the room.

There were so many that I hadn’t managed to organize them all yet.

I shrugged nonchalantly.

“Dresses and shoes?”

“All of that is yours?”

“Yeah!”

I paused for a moment, then added with a smug smile.

“Duke and Edwin bought them for me!”

Even I thought it was a bit childish, but what does it matter.

‘She bragged about her pecan pie, so this should be fine, right?’

Just as I thought this.

Diana suddenly turned to look at me with a blank expression.

“Ed…win?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re already that close with the young duke?”

“Yeah. We live together, after all.”

“How could someone like you…”

Diana looked back and forth between me and the boxes behind me with a shocked expression.

‘She’s not even pretending to cover her mouth now?’

Honestly, I knew even in my past life that she looked down on me.

Diana pitied me while also dismissing me.

Since she wasn’t the only one who treated me this way, it wasn’t particularly hurtful now.

However, it was somewhat upsetting to realize she had been looking down on me from such a young age.

‘Is that really so shocking?’

She seemed to have a hard time believing that I was treated well at the duke’s estate and had already become close with Edwin.

My feelings twisted inside me.

But I decided to be mature and understand her perspective.

‘Yeah. It might be strange seeing the troublemaker from the temple suddenly change.’

Perhaps this was an opportunity.

An opportunity to shed the inferiority and jealousy that plagued me in my past life and escape the death flags.

With a solemn resolve, I spoke.

“…You know, Diana.”

“Hmm?”

“I really like being with the duke’s family. So, I’ve decided to live kindly from now on.”

“Live kindly…?”

“Yeah. I want to apologize for all the bad things I’ve done to you. Getting angry, pinching, bothering you… I’m really sorry!”

“…”

“From now on, I absolutely won’t do those things! So, let’s get along well from now!”

I extended my hand to her, offering a handshake as a sign of building a new relationship.

It was uncomfortable and strange to act like a little child again, but it was a relief to have regressed just before the story officially began.

‘If it had been after the Goddess’s Birthday, it would have been too late.’

That would have been my role as the villain.

That day is precisely when it becomes clear to all the nobility that Diana is the heroine.

If I had returned to that time, I would have been overwhelmed by inferiority and acted out my worst traits.

But now, not being a saint didn’t bother me anymore.

‘…I’m just grateful to heal Joshua and live this life.’

I’ll earn lots of money, so even if the duke stops sponsoring me because I’m not a saint, I can stand on my own!

‘So let’s try to get along now.’

I looked at Diana earnestly, not even considering that she might refuse.

Even though she sometimes ignored me and could be painfully oblivious, the heroine I knew from the novel was always kind and gentle.

But.

“…I see.”

Diana simply responded without taking my hand.

“When is Tara coming?”

She then casually looked around, changing the subject.

I stared at her dumbfounded, then slowly lowered my hand.

‘…Was that a rejection?’

I hadn’t expected Diana to reject me, so the shock was even greater.

‘Has she harbored so much resentment towards me all this time?’

It had only been a year, after all.

Yes, I had tormented Diana during that time.

But I was a victim too.

How often had I been compared to her, and how much scolding had I endured because of it?

‘You know it. You saw how much I suffered in the orphanage and temple, being compared to you.’

So why could you so easily dismiss my earnest offer for reconciliation with such an indifferent face?

‘You’re supposed to be the heroine.’

Kind to everyone, even feeling pity for villains who tried to harm her.

I called her with a more subdued voice.

“…Diana. Are you really not willing to reconcile with me…”

“Ah, right!”

At that moment, she suddenly interrupted me and clapped her hands.

Then, completely unrelated to my offer of reconciliation, she said,

“Are you… not struggling too much because of me, Belze?”

“Huh? What do you mean…”

“The marquis told me. You took over healing Joshua for me, right? What will we do…”

Diana looked at me with a pitying gaze.

“Belze, you’re not good at healing, are you?”