13. Don’t Touch Carelessly  

“I’ll keep that warning deep in my heart as well.”

After confirming that Asilly, maintaining her air of composure to the very end, had completely left the room, Judy finally let go of the tension she had been forcing herself to hold. Then a severe wave of anemia rushed in, to the point her vision darkened in an instant, and she collapsed onto the bed with a thud.  

“Judy, are you feeling really bad? I’ll call a doctor.”

“It’s not bad enough to call a doctor. I think I was too tense because of Asilly. Now that I’ve relaxed, it’s hitting me.”

Barely stopping Theo, who said he would call a doctor, Judy drank a glass of water that had been on the table.  

“Why did she come here?”  

Taking the empty glass after she finished, Theo asked with a worried face.  

“That cowardly woman says she won’t even show the tip of her nose to me anymore.”  

“That means she’s never going to expose whatever she’ll do in your body from now on.”  

“Exactly……. It’s already hard enough to meet her, but if she makes up her mind to refuse me and hide…….”  

Then any hope of ever meeting her disappears entirely. Her head began to throb, feeling helpless about how she was supposed to protect the real Judy Grant’s body—the one she would someday return to no matter what. But she could not keep tormenting herself like this forever.  

“This won’t do. I need to find someone who can track that girl’s movements and work with me.”

She needed to try various ways to monitor and control Asilly. For that, she needed someone she could trust to be her eyes.

“Do you have someone you can trust with that?”  

“Gianna.”  

It had already been proven that Gianna cared for and loved Judy more than anyone, and that she would not be easily swayed by money. After Judy’s mother died, during the period when Judy drew a huge map on her bedsheets, Gianna would take the sheets home and wash them in secret, without telling any of the other servants.  

As a child, Judy once went out to the square with other servants and saw Gianna with a strange man. Judy tried to sneak up and surprise her, but overheard their conversation and was shocked.

‘This money is more than your annual salary. So why are you refusing? You said your mother is very ill too. You can’t cover it with that measly maid’s wage, can you?’  

‘Even so, I can’t do something like this.’  

‘It’s not even difficult. Just put it in Marquis Myka’s food or water……. It’s not even that harmful to the body.’  

‘If it’s a medicine that isn’t harmful, why are you secretly ordering it and even paying for it?’  

‘Tsk! Seriously. I was trying to give you a chance to turn your life around! You’re the one who kicked away the luck that rolled right into you!’  

She had not known it that day, but looking back, it seemed someone had been determined to keep watch over her father. She could roughly guess who: her father’s jealous, greedy siblings.  

Returning to the main point, in any case, Judy steeled herself.  

“No matter what, I need to tell Gianna that I’m Judy.”

***

“It’d be nice if I could go with you.”  

There was something Judy had learned after living with Theo. He went to the Imperial Palace quite often. If he was late, he came back in the evening; even if he left early, he wouldn’t come home until after lunch. Today, too, he stood before Judy, ready to go to the palace.

“No. Moving alone draws less attention and is better. By the way, what are you doing at the Imperial Palace every day?”  

“Just, well, keeping His Majesty company.”  

“This often?”  

“I think he’s been calling for me more since I announced the marriage. It wasn’t like this before.”  

“……His Majesty must feel quite lonely, sending off the marriage of his only nephew. He must cherish you a lot.”  

It moved her—foolishly—at the Emperor’s unusually devoted love for his nephew.  

“Why do you look like that? Like you’re about to cry.”  

“H-huh? Do I? I think I’ve been having a hard time emotionally lately. I can’t control my feelings well.”  

“…….”  

“Anyway, have a good trip. And I’ll make sure I succeed in contacting Gianna and come back today, no matter what.”  

“I’ll secretly assign a few knights behind you. We don’t know what Asilly might do to you.”  

Compared to moving entirely alone, knowing someone was protecting her from behind made Judy feel far steadier, like she could act more boldly. Especially when she remembered almost being dragged away by two men before, it made her shudder, so she nodded firmly.  

“Thank you, Theo.”  

“Come back safely, Judy.”  

He lightly set his hand on Judy’s shoulder.  

“And don’t get hurt.”  

“Okay. Don’t worry.”  

“How can I not worry?”  

“I’m tougher than you think. Don’t see me as too weak.”

Judy raised her arm and tapped Theo’s nose tip-tap, tap—as a warning. At once, his ears began to redden.  

“Are you hot? Your ears are red…”

Since her hands and feet were naturally cold, she reached out to cool his reddened ears, but her arm was immediately caught.  

“Don’t touch carelessly.”  

“Tch…… did it bother you?”  

“It’d be better if it bothered me. I think that feeling would hurt less.”  

He said something she could not understand, and before she could ask what he meant, he tugged the arm he was holding and pulled her into a tight embrace. It happened so suddenly that Judy startled and, without thinking, ended up nestled deep in his arms.  

“I’m telling you to come back safe. Because I hate it when you get hurt.”  

***

Judy did not know Gianna’s schedule and route perfectly, but she understood it to a certain extent. Gianna was Judy’s personal maid, but as an employee who had worked at the Grant Marquisate longer than most—second only to the head maid—she handled the majority of duties.  

In particular, she had a sense of duty that the ingredients for Judy’s and her father’s meals had to be chosen by her own hands. About four times a week she went out to buy them herself, and sometimes Judy, bored, would tag along. In other words, Judy was now lying in wait right next to the vegetable shop Gianna regularly visited.  

Judy glanced at the clock, then looked over the bustling street.  

“Gianna will come soon.”  

She watched carefully through the gaps between the crowded people. No matter how many there were, she could always recognize someone she knew well. When the time came, Gianna appeared right on schedule. Judy straightened the body she had been bent over in concentration and smiled brightly.  

She also saw a few other familiar servants. As if they had already decided what they would buy, they split up in the middle and headed toward the shops on both sides.  

Now was the chance.  

There were so many things that had happened between only Gianna and her. Judy was certain that if she just mentioned the map on the bedsheet, Gianna would recognize her at once, and she quickly moved her feet.  

“Gianna!”  

Pushing through the crowd all the way to her, Judy ran up, breathing hard.  

“Gianna, I—”  

In that instant, Judy froze when she met Gianna’s eyes—cold, packed with disgust. It was the first time Gianna had ever looked at her like that. Of course, Judy knew that what Gianna was facing now was not her, “Judy” but “Asilly,” and yet it was so icy and sharp it hurt and upset her.  

“Gianna, please talk to me for a moment.”

“What could I possibly have to talk about with you, Miss Asilly? What did our young lady ever do to you, that you could do something so shameless behind her back?”  

Seeing Gianna challenge her, eyes welling with tears of anger and veins standing out in her neck, Judy exhaled an anxious breath, heart aching. Not all relationships were equal just because both were nobles. Gianna was a very low-ranking noble, while Asilly was still a baron’s daughter with a decent reputation. So for her to come at Judy with blazing eyes, looking ready to pounce at any moment, meant she was doing it even if it earned her a beating.  

But Gianna did not look afraid at all. She only displayed loyalty, demanding punishment for the crime of humiliating her sole master, “Judy.”  

“There was a reason. I’ll explain everything. Just talk to me for a moment—”  

“No!”  

She shoved Judy so hard with brutal strength that Judy stumbled and fell.  

“Ah!”  

With a short scream, Judy clutched her backside. She had landed squarely on a stone protrusion, and she expected at least a serious bruise.  

“Gianna, it hurts so…… so much…….”  

“That’s what you get for grabbing someone who said no. Don’t ever come looking for me again. I don’t even want to look at you, Miss Asilly!”  

Gianna, still fierce, turned away. With so many people around, Judy couldn’t even hold her sore backside in embarrassment, and was too weak to get up.

“Miss, are you all right?”  

Thanks to the knights watching from behind, Judy managed to stand and looked around. Gianna was already gone.

Gianna’s strength was impressive… 

Judy thought she’d have to try again to talk. The throbbing pain in her backside seemed to sap her courage.