13. Concern

I opened my eyes as the sunlight touching my closed eyelids became too bright.

A pleasant breeze blew in from what seemed to be an open window. And within that breeze, I could smell a subtle floral fragrance.

Wait, floral fragrance?

I stopped enjoying the warm breeze blowing in. When I raised my head, I saw familiar flowers abundantly arranged in an unfamiliar vase. Those flowers were definitely what I had received as a gift from the young master last night.

Behind the vase, the whiskey bottle, also gifted by him, was placed naturally as if it had always been a decoration there.

Why was all this here? And when did I return here?

And I couldn’t remember at all when I had returned to my room last night. Clearly, I had been standing in the corridor talking with the young master. That was my last memory.

While pondering this, I saw Annie walking from across the room.

“Annie!”

I was glad to see her again, but I couldn’t shake the curiosity that had instantly bloomed. So right after greeting her good morning, I immediately asked about the flowers.

“Good morning. Anniem did you bring these flowers and alcohol here?”

It seemed the most plausible guess.

Annie must have found the items fallen on the floor and arranged them. She seemed to have deliberately tidied up these precious gifts that even I hadn’t paid attention to.

And I must have somehow returned here by homing instinct. And perhaps the young master had returned safely? Is that right?

Should I try to contact him?

How was he when I met him last night?

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t remember what happened last night.

But Annie’s reaction was a bit strange.

“Flowers? And alcohol?”

She looked like someone who knew nothing. Tilting her head, she asked me back instead.

“What flowers are you talking about?”

I looked back and forth between Annie and the vase at my bedside. Annie, who naturally looked in the same direction as me, seemed to truly know nothing. Her expression became confused.

“Um…… if it wasn’t you, never mind.”

Though the situation seemed a bit strange, it didn’t seem that important.

Since both the items and I were in place, it wasn’t a big issue. Someone passing by must have moved them casually. There was no rule against that.

The deep blue flowers in the vase were still as fresh as when I had seen them last night. I too was in good condition except for some lingering drowsiness.

I examined the flowers in the vase closely. Their pure and elegant color resembled the scenery of the castle where the young master lived.

Had that person arrived safely at his residence last night?

If so, was he alright? Probably not. He might be severely ill from moving more than usual. But that wasn’t an issue I had the right to be concerned about.

I had no such qualification.

“I’ll prepare water for washing.”

Annie excused herself and left the room. When she reappeared not long after, her face was strangely downcast.

“What’s wrong, Annie? Did something bad happen?”

“No, it’s nothing like that.”

People who claim nothing is wrong often have the most stories. The atmosphere had definitely darkened somehow.

“Miss, you should just rest today. Since you’re officially sick anyway, you don’t have any schedule today either. Please be comfortable. I’ll bring you whatever you need.”

“Oh, yes……”

Did someone scold her? Something was definitely wrong. I decided to stay quiet as she requested for now.

But being confined to a room while not actually sick made me restless. Annie busily came in and out of my room with clean new towels at thirty-minute intervals, as if being chased by something.

This wasn’t right.

It was a moment when my resolution to never use the excuse of feigning illness again became firm.

Growing increasingly tired from boredom, I felt like I was becoming a withered handful of straw.

I sat at the desk, fiddling with reply letters to my family that I had already completed, or I lay on the bed changing positions at various angles, counting the patterns on the ceiling. But even that had great limitations in alleviating my bored mood.

Playing the role of a fake patient was indeed painful. Beyond restlessness, my whole body felt like it was melting.

“Annie. Let’s just say I’m all better now.”

“Yes, let’s do that.”

Annie merely played along with a somewhat subdued attitude. What could have made her so dejected?

It seemed best to just ask her directly.

“Annie, is something wrong? Is there anything I can help with? Has someone mistreated you?”

Though I was merely a contract fiancée with no rights in this ducal family, I couldn’t just stand by and watch someone suffer unfair disadvantages.

Annie wasn’t the type of person to make major mistakes, and in any situation, the other party had clearly picked on her and troubled her without cause.

“N-no! Nothing like that happened at all!”

But Annie startled at my question and denied it vehemently.

“Annie?”

There’s a saying that strong denial is strong affirmation. This was extremely suspicious.

“It’s nothing, really.”

“Then why are you so low on energy? Your face looks quite drawn.”

I could see Annie hesitating to answer, sighing deeply. She just fidgeted with the innocent ribbon neatly tied on her clothing hem.

“……”

It was a bit frustrating, but this confirmed that something was definitely wrong with her. Annie’s expressionless face began to crumble bit by bit.

As Annie’s eyes began to redden, I was a bit surprised and quickly grabbed a nearby handkerchief to hand to her.

“Miss…… I, actually……”

“Yes, tell me.”

Annie reluctantly took the handkerchief and began to cry with sniffles.

“My sister, Marie…… since yesterday, her fever won’t break…… I keep thinking about Marie. I shouldn’t be like this, but I feel like I’m being negligent to you, Miss……”

I jumped up from my seat in surprise. This was no time to be idle. There was no leisure for fooling around.

I finally understood.

Last night, Annie’s constantly anxious face and sudden request to go home must have been due to her worry about her sister.

I felt so sorry for not understanding her concerns earlier. She dedicated so much time and effort to me, yet why hadn’t I noticed her emotional struggle earlier? I felt like cursing myself for being so insensitive.

“What are you doing, Annie?”

I was already taking out my outdoor clothes while speaking to her. These clothes, brought from my family home, were convenient for quick changing. Thanks to this, I changed clothes in an instant without her help.

“Go to your sister. If it’s alright, I’d like to come along.”

“Miss……”

Annie looked at me with a surprised expression, her eyes still reddened. Her eyes were still moist with tears.

I spoke with the most uncertain voice in the world, dropping my head.

“What I can do isn’t much. But with my healing power, I should be able to at least make your younger sister breathe more comfortably.”

When I was young, when Theo or Elaine caught colds, I held their hands and prayed for the disease to leave. Of course, not being the owner of tremendous healing power, I couldn’t make their colds disappear instantly. But Elaine told me this:

‘Thanks so much for last night, sis. I thought I wouldn’t be able to sleep because I was in so much pain, but I slept well because you were beside me.’

Though she still seemed to have cold symptoms, Elaine often smiled and told me it was amazing. Father said that this very insignificant act was due to my healing power.

My ability, which was merely a family practice akin to a joke or small comfort, seemed to have found a small use only now.

“Thank you, truly.”

That voice full of emotion made me feel a bit choked up too.

I took Annie’s hand. Her wrist was so thin, suggesting she had been through considerable emotional distress.

“Let’s hurry and take a public carriage. Without anyone here knowing.”

“Yes……”

❀❀❀

The unlit streets were completely quiet.

It was hard to believe this was the same place I had set out from just two days ago to go out.

After paying the fare for the public carriage, Annie and I boarded in turn. The carriage began to cross the deserted streets with a rattling sound.

We didn’t speak to each other at all. Annie’s face, which I glimpsed in the reflection of the window, had now completely drained of color.

I grabbed Annie’s hand.

“Miss.”

Her voice at the end of her trembling breath was choked with moisture. That appearance wasn’t someone else’s business at all.

While I was very worried about Annie, I also missed my family. It wasn’t just because I was separated from them.

Though it would have to wait until after visiting Annie’s sister, I felt the need to investigate more about what was happening with our family soon.

How was Mother doing, what had happened to Father, had Elaine found a proper teacher, and had Theo safely enrolled in school—I was curious about everything.

“Everything will be alright, Annie.”

I whispered like a spell. I sincerely wished that everything would truly be alright.