Chapter 27
Celly couldn’t hide her bewildered expression upon suddenly hearing gossip about her lover.
But there was no denying it, This was an undeniable fact.
“When I was working in the capital, Cedric Hillos was famous for being promiscuous and ill-mannered.”
Celly blinked several times.
“Even though he seems to have changed for the better now, who knows when his true colors will show, It’s not just one or two people I’ve heard this from…”
I couldn’t reveal the fact that I was Raphaella Niryemi, so the credibility of this rumor was also questionable.
I couldn’t claim that a mere maid heard rumors circulating in the salon of noble youths. All I could do was dismiss it as baseless gossip.
“Anyway, such rumors don’t arise for no reason, Even the Hillos family finds him difficult to manage…”
So why does it have to be him of all people?
I suppressed the words I couldn’t bring myself to say and pretended to furrow my brow.
“I hope you find someone better.”
I had also seen Delia reflected in Selly’s demeanor, but I saw the past Reprentia, myself, directly.
An innocent figure who believed firmly in nothing but love.
Cedric was like Dettor. A man who not only deceived and used the love he believed in but also trampled it underfoot.
So maybe I was even more concerned.
“Leah…”
Celly’s voice trembled, I had finished speaking. At that time, I thought that even if Selly hated me, it couldn’t be helped.
Thunk!
Celly grabbed my hand without hesitation and smiled warmly.
“You’re worried about me now? I’m so happy.”
Her face, delighted like a child receiving a Christmas present, was overlaid with her memories.
“You said that for my sake, right? I’m really touched.”
“…Celly.”
“Thank you, Leah. I didn’t know you would worry about me this much… What should I do? I’m so happy.”
Celly’s memories flashed before me in an instant, Only then did I understand every moment.
It seemed like the rapid development of the relationship between two people who had hardly any relationship.
“I’ve heard rumors about Cedric like that before, so I was worried too. But… he was really a much better man than I thought. But I understand why you’re worried. That’s why I’m so happy.”
Celly couldn’t hide her joy as she even wiggled her toes. It felt strange to receive such a moved response contrary to what I had thought.
“…Are you not feeling bad?”
“Me? Why?”
“You’re cursing the man you’re currently meeting.”
“What does that matter? Cedric has behaved badly so far! What matters is that you’re worried about me!”
Celly shouted fiercely, clinging tightly to my hand to keep it from slipping away.
“You’re the first one to worry about me, Leah!”
Rejected by her parents, Celly supported two siblings. One of them had a congenital illness, and Celi needed a lot of money.
“But the Cedric I’ve personally experienced was much better than rumors,I have two siblings, you know? My siblings are like painful fingers to me.”
“……Yeah.”
“But when my siblings were hungry, he shared food and always played kindly.”
Celly went into debt to pay for her sick sibling’s medication.
And to repay that debt and feed her siblings, Celly had to work tirelessly from a young age. She worked tirelessly, except for sleeping hours, but nothing changed.
But the unpaid debt grew like a snowball, Celly debts were sold like goods and ended up in the hands of Hillows Jack.
Thinking about Cedric who had hung around like an elite knight from the north, Celly initially doubted why he liked her so much, wondering if there was some ulterior motive, but… he consistently showed kindness.
Growing poverty, rapidly falling from the mountaintop like a snowball, weighed heavily on Celi’s shoulders.
“Maybe I thought he might be different from the rumors, Maybe I thought it would be better to believe only what I saw with my own eyes…”
And as she said, Cedric helped such Celly.
Suddenly, he appeared by her side, took care of her siblings instead of her, and even waived Celly debt on his own.
He was the first person to extend a hand to Celly in a world that always turned its back on her.
“He didn’t seem like that kind of person….”
I furrowed my brow, recalling the Cedric I had heard about in the capital and seen in Ronen’s memories.
Certainly, Cedric Hillows was considered one of the worst of the worst.
But the Cedric that Celly saw in her memories seemed like a completely different, devoted man, almost like a split personality.
“Of course, he has a bad habit of speaking rudely and acting aggressively toward others, but… I want to believe that’s not his true self.”
My voice was much softer than when I spoke about Cedric last time.
It meant that Cellys’ heart had opened wide to Cedric in just a few days.
“…Is that so?”
If Cedric truly loved Celly and repented, that would be a good thing.
The Celly in my memory was smiling, and Cedric was helping her.
If a man who was endlessly bad to someone turns into a loving person to this woman, then living like that in the future would be a good influence.
“…I see, You’re different from me, and from Delia.”
Celly didn’t hate me like Delia did, and she didn’t betray love like I did.
“But Leah, what you say makes sense, so I’ll always be careful. It hasn’t been long since I met Cedric, so I’ll always be cautious.”
Celly laughed, I laughed along with her.
Yes, not everyone is like me. There could be such a good ending.
You walk a different path from me.
I needed to escape from the sadness and pain I experienced. This discomfort must be the trauma I have to endure.
“Yeah, Celly. You’re right. …I hope you’re happy.”
Different from me.
The future has already changed. I am here, and Celly, who has never met me before, is holding my hand right now.
So even if Cedric behaved that way in my previous life, it might change this time.
“Yeah!”
Celly waved my hand vigorously and smiled. She thanked me for worrying about her and said she would buy me a gift if we go out later.
And that afternoon.
Celly fell from the second floor.
As soon as I heard about Celly, I was surprised and rushed to her room.
Fortunately, she fell from the relatively low south annex second floor, and fortunately, she fell onto a stack of hay that happened to be there for delivery, so she wasn’t seriously injured, they said.
I couldn’t tell why she fell unconscious. But since she wasn’t seriously injured, she would probably regain consciousness soon.
“Why all of a sudden…?”
Just this morning, we were having a pleasant conversation.
My heart beat irregularly as I looked at Celly lying on the bed with a pale complexion.
“Could it be that she fell while cleaning the windows?”
“That might be it. No one would try to die by falling from the second floor, and there would be no reason for anyone in this castle to want to kill Celly.”
“But still, it’s really lucky she didn’t get seriously hurt.”
The servants exchanged small whispers, but all of their conversations didn’t register in my ears.
The butler, who had been conversing with the doctor for a while, left the room.
“Who was the first person to discover Celly?”
“Me, it was me.”
In response to the butler’s question, a maid hesitantly raised her hand and stepped forward.
“I found her lying in the haystack while passing by and immediately called for help.”
“Were there any other people around?”
“What? Um… I was startled and looked up to see that the second-floor window was open, but there was no one around.”
“Notify me of anyone who has seen or met Celly today, when and where.”
“Yes.”
“First, report to the Duke, and then everyone return to your posts.”
After exchanging a few more words with the doctor, the butler hurriedly left. As soon as the butler left, the doctor also closed Celly’s door, completely concealing her face.
Everything seemed hazy. Strangely, I had been feeling increasingly anxious as if my heart would burst since earlier.
The anxiety and discomfort I had barely suppressed surged back. I turned around to look at the maids.
“Has Celly ever fallen or nearly fallen while cleaning windows before?”
The maids, who had been chatting among themselves, stopped speaking and seemed to ponder my question, their lips pursed in thought. My vision blurred as I stared at their lips.
“No?”
“It seems like Celly… hasn’t done that before.”
“Celly is usually very good at her job…”
Their answers were all the same.
As soon as I heard their responses, I turned around. My stomach churned as if I had swallowed hot lava.
I didn’t know where I was going, but I walked quickly. My breath caught at the tip of my throat. Even the cold wind slapping against my face couldn’t dispel my intense agitation.
There was no hesitation in my steps, A white breath spread thinly.
Following the clues from Ronan’s memories, I headed towards the warehouse where Cedric’s entourage often gathered.
The warehouse closest to the south annex.
The warehouse door wasn’t locked. When I opened it, sure enough, Cedric’s companions were gathered inside.
“Surprise.”
“What’s up?”
The stagnant air and the strong smell of alcohol made it seem like even those who were supposed to be on guard duty had gathered here to sneakily drink.
“Oh? Isn’t that the maid from earlier? The one who came to collect laundry and then…”
“Oh yeah, I remember now.”
“But why are you here?”
I glanced around the warehouse before stepping inside without hesitation.
“What’s going on?”
“What?”
“They don’t even care, I stood in front of Cedric with determined steps.
“Oh, Someone told you, was it that friend from last time?”
Cedric chuckled, A dreadful smell emanated from his parted lips.
A face entirely different from what I saw in Celly’s memories, That despicable smirk I saw in Ronan’s memories.
This is his true face.
“You know Celly dropped out?”
“Yeah.”
Cedric replied unenthusiastically with a careless nod.
“Heard about it.”
“…That’s it? That’s all you have to say?”
“She dropped out, what am I supposed to do about it? Plus, we broke up.”
Cedric looked around at the surrounding company, laughing. The knights around also laughed along, though it wasn’t clear what was so funny, they followed Cedric’s lead.
“So, you don’t have to talk to me about your friends anymore. Go take care of your friends. Even if it’s just the second floor, they might still be hurt even if they didn’t die.”
“… … .”
“Or maybe they’re not really your friends, just here to hang out with me?”
Even though someone was hurt, everyone was still laughing.
“…Should have been like this from the beginning.”
“What?”
With a disdainful look in my eyes, I reached out my hand. And,
Snap!
I grabbed Cedric’s exposed neck firmly.
“Haha, what’s this?”
Cedric lightly joked as he twisted his neck, which I had grasped lightly, in various directions.
“Are you trying to kill me now? But you don’t have any strength in your grip at all, do you? Hahaha!”
Cedric laughed loudly, The companions laughed at me to their heart’s content.
I just looked at him with a cold expression. No, precisely, I looked at Cedric’s disgusting memories.
“He was much more trashy than I thought.”
Memories don’t lie.
“So, you were the one who took Celly off the second floor, huh?”
