Chapter 05
｡･:*:･ﾟ★ Translated by Sienna ｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
I took a step closer to her.
“Thank you so much for your concern, but I’m all better now. I feel really great.”
“…Still, it seems like taking more rest would be better.” Flora, sensing something odd in my smile, hesitated and stepped back.
However, as she took a step back, I exhibited kindness by taking two steps forward.
“Oh, speaking of which, there’s a shop I frequent, and I hear they take special care of you when you come with family.”
“…….”
“Would you like to come with me?” As I asked with a smile, Flora’s face twisted completely.
It couldn’t be helped. Flora and I aren’t family.
To those who don’t know the circumstances, listening to our story might get the impression that we’re like a family. But now, the word ‘grandmother’ has occupied Flora’s mind. So, it’s natural for her to feel uncomfortable with my use of the word ‘family.’
Moreover, Daphne, who rarely shows affection, suggested getting skincare together.
‘She must be extremely bothered by this.’
“I’m not interested!”
As expected, Flora, in an irritated manner, quickly threw away my hand she was holding.
It seemed like an unconscious gesture on her part, as she realized it she quickly added with a look of regret on her face, “…I’ll take care of everything… you just rest for now. Your health is more important, you know?”
With that, Flora stepped away from my side.
“Where are you going?”
“…Now that you’ve woken up, I should report to the temple and the palace. Everyone was worried about the sudden news.”
“Oh my. Miss Flora and others are truly kind elders.”
As I continued to address her as an ‘elder’ until the end, sparks flew in her eyes. Her gasping breath was a bonus.
“Well, it’s already time, so I’ll be going!” With those words, Floria abruptly turned her body. She was obviously angry, but I felt a sense of relief.
Who started it first, anyway?
In any case, thanks to this, a wall was erected between Flora and me, and it was unlikely that she would come looking for me for a while. Turning back to the greenhouse, I immersed myself in thought.
“Now, what should I do?”
Currently, Duke Peregrine had left the townhouse in the capital, entrusting all authority to his eldest son, Lyas, because he didn’t want to see Daphne. The thought of what he would say when he returns…… already gave me a headache.
If I show any signs of remorse, won’t it end with a probationary sentence in a remote area of the territory.
If I live quietly, like a mouse, the people of Peregrine will forget me. Then, I’ll be living alone in a nice and quiet place with good air and water…
That sounds really…
Nice, doesn’t it? I muttered to myself.
Let’s think about it. Even if I’m kicked out, I’m still the Duke’s granddaughter. I’ll probably live better than most commoners. Rather, if I leave the capital, I won’t be entangled with the original story, and I can live my life quietly in a peaceful place.
Besides, Daphne has a reputation for having a bad personality, so no one will mess with her.
As I contemplated, it seemed to have more advantages. Yeah. I was lonely in my previous life anyway. If I’m going to be equally lonely in this life, I might as well do it by hugging a luxury bag while crying.
Alright. In this life, I’m going to live as a wealthy villainess!
━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━
Flora stomped her foot.
Her gaze was piercing, and she gritted her teeth as if confronting a sworn enemy directly before her.
It was all because of Daphne and her audacious behavior.
‘Until the end. Grandma? Grandma!?’
Who is responsible for me being here right now? Just thinking about it made her stomach turn.
“What are you doing? Hurry up and come here!”
Flora, who had been stomping her foot, shouted angrily at the servants following behind.
“I, I’m sorry……!”
The servants flinched at her rant and followed her out the door. Then they were all gone.
The grassy area behind rustled, and soon, two thick gray heads popped up. It was Ermano and Julios, who had been hiding secretly to avoid classes.
The two boys exchanged glances.
“…Did you see, brother?”
“…Yeah, I saw, Julie.”
The twins often played pranks on Daphne, but they didn’t dislike her. If there’s anyone they dislike, it was Flora.
However, the twins’ father, Lyas, had warned them not to trouble Flora. From Lyas’ perspective, he was cautioning his sons not to unnecessarily provoke her, but the young children didn’t understand his intentions.
The twins thought that their father had succumbed to that demon, and there was no hope left. However, Daphne easily subdued that demon.
The dumbfounded twins murmured. “The witch defeated the demon. Like a hero…”
“Hero…….”
Impressive…
As if it was a promise, they uttered the last word simultaneously.
━━━━⊱⋆⊰━━━━
For the next few days, I stayed holed up in the greenhouse. My uncle Lyas had put me on probation, and there wasn’t much to do outside anyway.
During this time, I decided to find out specifically what kind of plants Daphne had been cultivating. If there was anything that might catch Flora’s attention, I planned to get rid of it quickly.
On the third day of poring over Daphne’s notes.
Thud!
I neatly folded the notebook and came to a clear conclusion.
Yeah, I give up.
It would be easier to interpret ancient languages than to read this.
“This is not just bad handwriting. This is an alien language.”
Still, I couldn’t completely give up, so I decided to leave the greenhouse for now. I thought there might be some books in the Duke’s study that could be useful for reference.
As I walked forward…
Crunch!
“…….”
Today, too, the sound followed right on cue. Phew. I sighed and abruptly turned around.
“……!”
“……!”
Ermano and Julios, who had been secretly following me, stared at me with wide open eyes and froze in surprise. As if they hadn’t expected me to notice.
Their footsteps were too loud for them to go unnoticed.
“What do you want from me? I stared at the twins with a playful look, as if challenging them.
Then Julios flinched and exclaimed.
“Oh, we weren’t following you! We were just passing by! Right, brother?”
“…….”
“Hey, brother!”
“Yeah, right!”
Ermano, who had been staring at me blankly, belatedly joined in, prompted by Julios.
“Ah, I see.” I smiled mischievously and tilted my head. “But I asked if you had something to tell me, not why you’re following me.”
“……!”
“……!”
Only then did it seem to dawn on the twins, as their mouths opened slightly.
Do they really have something to tell me? Hmm. I narrowed my eyes. Why were the kids, who normally would rush straight to Daphne, cautiously observing me?
As I pondered for a moment, a good idea suddenly came to mind.
In the original story, the twins were described as having excellent scholarly abilities despite their young age. They probably visited the Duke’s study more times than Daphne.
They probably know better than me where each book is.
“Well, if you say you’re not then you’re not.” I grinned and added, “So, are you guys heading to the library too?”
“To the library…….” Julios, who was mumbling reflexively, quickly nodded. “Yeah! We were on our way to the library too, right, brother?”
“Uh, yeah!” Ermano nodded in agreement with Julios’s urging.
So innocent. I smiled weakly and turned toward the library again. As I walked, Julios’s voice followed behind me.
“We’re going to the library too. So, we didn’t follow you!”
“Yeah, we’re not following you for real.”
“I-I’m telling you, it’s true!”
“Yeah, really, really not following you.”
I chuckled at their passionate explanation and led the twins into the library.
Julios made an exasperated sound, and Ermano tried to calm him down.
Don’t underestimate a trained kid’s cafe worker.
With a bit of a ruckus, we arrived at the library…
Was this a university library? It was larger than I imagined.
Rather than just a section of the mansion, it’s like the entire mansion was used as a library. And the interior? It felt like a movie set brought to life.
Among all this, what surprised me the most was the state of the library. In a world without computer systems, I expected books to be haphazardly placed, but they were neatly arranged on shelves categorized by topic, and within those, they were sorted in order of the alphabet.
Is it because my uncle, Lyas, is a professor?
After a brief moment of admiration, I grabbed a few reference books and sat down on the couch.
I always wanted to read a book by the fireplace. Doing it like this feels nice too.
As I eagerly opened a book, my cheek stung for some reason. I looked up, facing the source of the discomfort. The twins were watching me not far away.
“……!”
“……!”
Although they quickly averted their gaze as our eyes met, it was clear that they had been staring at me.
And…
I lowered my gaze. Behind the kids, I could see a book that they were deliberately trying to hide.
