19. Bad Posture  

“Is there no other design in this color?”

At her words, a dress shop employee moved quickly and brought out a different design in a similar color to show her. But she still kept a sulky face, twitching her lips before shrugging her shoulders.  

“How about this?”  

“Just give it to me for now. Who knows when I’ll need something else to wear? And there aren’t enough items here. You really need to pay more attention.”

Gianna was surprised by her decision. Seeing her lady buy something so impulsively felt very unfamiliar. Watching her lately, Gianna often wondered if this was really the Judy she knew.

Her personality had grown very sharp, and her taste for luxury had increased. The Judy Gianna had known for over twelve years was clumsy, easily sulky, but pure, frugal, and soft-hearted—untouched by the world.

The same face, the same voice—yet as if a different soul had entered her.  

“Gianna, my legs hurt and I’m tired, so let’s stop by a café before we go.”

“Yes, My Lady.”

Even just this. When walking in the square, she would always link arms with Gianna and chatter like a sparrow, asking, ‘Gianna, are you hungry? Or is your mouth just bored? Shall we eat? Shall we go to a café?’—unlike that, the Miss Judy now simply informed her. It made her feel, somehow, painfully fake.  

After they sat down and ordered coffee, Judy across from her tilted her head and spoke.  

“I wish something would come to mind, but I can’t remember anything. Who I was close with, what kind of life I had.”

“There are several young ladies you were close with. They wrote letters asking about your condition, too. They said if you recover, they’ll visit anytime.”  

Judy had often met the young ladies she was close with, chatted, taken walks, and attended many social gatherings. Even if they were not as close as Young Duke Crawford—her very best friend—they had still been quite close since childhood, so Gianna held the hope that if they spent time together now, Judy’s lost memories might return.  

“Shall I tell the young ladies they may visit, Miss?”  

“No.”  

But Judy responded coldly.  

“Isn’t there someone else besides those boring girls?”

“……Someone else?”  

“I mean someone who can actually be of practical help to me.”  

“If you mean practical help, what kind are you referring to, Miss?”  

Gianna understood what Judy was implying, but she was shocked by the words “besides those boring girls.” No matter how much Judy had lost her memory, would she really say that about her longtime friends?

Our Miss Judy?

Perhaps frustrated that she was not getting the answer she wanted, Judy leaned back deeply in her chair and crossed her arms. Her twitching lips and sharpened eyes were already openly showing that she disliked how this situation was going.  

“Do I really have to explain even this?”  

“…….”  

“For example, marriage prospects, or people who could help the honor of our house—those kinds of people. I’m the only daughter of the Grant Marquisate, aren’t I? It makes no sense that someone like me wouldn’t have built connections even with people at that level.”  

Judy had never been terribly ambitious. Even Marquis Grant—her father—had never had any intention of using his daughter as a tool for the family’s power and wealth. He was blunt, yes, but he was a man who quietly waited behind the scenes, hoping his daughter would choose happiness.  

Gianna guessed that Judy, betrayed by Wesley whom she’d chosen for love, now thought all that was pointless.

Perhaps she had made a new vow: if not love, then at least wealth and power—so she could help her family.  

It was a question Gianna would have asked readily in the past, but somehow it felt as if a huge wall had been placed in this relationship, so she answered without adding her opinion.  

“……I’m sorry, but…… you were always with Young Duke Crawford, and meeting Earl Wesley is all there was. As for personal relationships, it’s only the young ladies I mentioned earlier.”  

“……How frustrating. Hah. Young Duke Crawford.”  

“…….”  

“It’s already over with him.”  

She let out a deep sigh, her irritated eyes staring into empty air. 

What was she thinking? 

Watching Judy’s gaze grow sharper and sharper, Gianna felt an unpleasant chill run down her spine. 

***  

“Sorry. Sorry. I’m a bit late, right? No, no matter how much I washed my hand, the fishy smell won’t go away.”  

Judy appeared while apologizing repeatedly to Theo and the knights who had been waiting, wearing a cute yellow dress. It was a color she loved so much that she still seemed to wear it often, but it also did not suit her current appearance at all.  

Even the servants who must have helped dress her looked bothered by it, glancing at her dress with faces that said, “Tsk…….”  

“Let’s go! We’ll be back!”  

But she alone did not care. After cheerfully waving goodbye even to the servants seeing them off, she tried to sit on the carriage seat—then sprang back up like a coil.  

“Does it still hurt?”  

“Seriously, it hurts right where I sit.”

Even though she applied the medicine diligently, there was still no sign of it healing. Judy stayed standing and clung to the wall. But once the carriage started moving, her hand slid right off and she wobbled.  

Noticing that, Theo opened the small front window and instructed the knight.  

“Go slowly.”  

“Yes. Understood, Young Duke.”  

Thud.  

After closing the window again, Theo watched Judy with a precarious look. Even moving as slowly as possible, the moment they passed over uneven ground, the carriage would jolt and rattle, and she would often end up bumping her head on the ceiling or stumbling.  

“Ugh.”  

Trying to avoid aggravating her hurting backside, she was about to crack the top of her head instead. Judy rubbed the crown of her head where it hit the ceiling, and reached for the carriage wall again—useless as it was. That was when Theo’s hand gripped her waist tightly.  

“At this rate, there won’t be a single uninjured spot left on your body.”  

The hand at her waist held firmer. Without realizing it, Judy tightened her stomach, pulling in the little belly that had subtly stuck out from not being able to manage herself. With her waist held by that large, hard hand, her posture became much more stable than before, but her heart became even more unstable, racing wildly.  

She could feel his warm body heat slowly spreading through the not-thick fabric of her dress. She grew anxious—would the pounding of her heart, loud enough to make her head hum, carry to Theo too?  

“I-I’ll try to keep my balance, so…… your hand…….”  

It was the moment she tried to move his hand away, thinking she would not be able to keep her composure if this continued. The carriage suddenly stopped sharply, and Judy lost her balance completely and toppled forward as if pitching headfirst.  

“Ah!”  

“I’m sorry. A family of ducks crossed in front of us…….”  

The knight, who had opened the window to apologize, gave an embarrassed “Ahem,” then closed it again.  

Judy, who had pitched forward, was pressed deep in Theo’s arms, and to anyone watching, it looked like the intense affection of lovers burning with passion.  

“N-no!”  

Worried the knight might misunderstand, Judy hurriedly reached to open the window, but Theo stopped her by the wrist.  

“Why are you trying to make excuses too? Even if he thinks that, it’s not a bad thing, is it? And since it’s already like this.”  

Theo lifted Judy—who was awkwardly held and wearing a dazed expression—and sat her down on his thigh. He positioned her so her thigh, not her backside, took the contact, and firmly fixed her by holding her at the back of her waist. It was more comfortable and stable than she expected.  

“How’s this posture?”  

It was fine, but the problem was not the posture. The problem was her heart, now running even harder than when he held her waist earlier. That violent motion soon showed on the outside, dyeing Judy’s cheeks a reddish color.  

“……Bad.”  

“Huh?”  

“The posture…….!”  

To her heart.  

“It’s really bad!”  

Clatter!  

Just then, the carriage shook loudly once again. Judy instinctively wrapped her arms tightly around Theo’s neck. This was nothing more than the self-preservation instinct humans possessed.  

“Ah, I’m sorry. This road hasn’t been cleared, so I think the carriage wheel got caught on a stone. I’ll pull it out right away.”  

Outside, the knight’s embarrassed report continued. But Judy was still in Theo’s arms.  

Because he had not let her go, and he was holding her close.