Chapter 43

Really?

Iberin's pupils shook like the ground had given way beneath them.

She hadn't noticed until she'd heard the name — but now the pink hair and pink eyes hit her all at once.

The exact description from when the heroine had first appeared.

In the novel she'd been more delicate and ethereal, granted — none of that atmosphere was anywhere to be found here.

The name was unmistakable: Rozelia Cherity.

Because before she ever realized she was the saintess, the child had been adopted by House Cherity for her holy power.

Why is a kid like that here?

"…"

Iberin couldn't get a word out — she just fell backward.

She could feel the horrified looks on every side, but that came second. Iberin wanted to deny reality.

---

After Iberin collapsed, the physician was called in, took her pulse, and announced in a grave voice,

"She seems to have suffered a serious shock."

She'd collapsed out of nowhere, but Lyssel — recalling how shaken Iberin had clearly been at the word "kidnapped" — squeezed his eyes shut like a criminal.

"…Because of me."

The staff, Rotte in particular, were no different.

Ether was sobbing his heart out, and Rozel was tilting her head in pure confusion, like she couldn't understand what she'd done wrong.

All she'd done was want to live here.

She'd seen nobles brazen out their wrongdoings, but the lady of Lecashe had to be made of glass.

What baffled her, though, was this: shaken or not, Iberin had been holding it together — and then the second she heard the name, down she went.

Rozelia stared at the pallid Iberin like she couldn't stand it.

"Hngh, isn't Mommy gonna get up?"

"She is. It's not that bad."

The physician hurried to reassure Ether, whose face was a mess of tears and snot.

"She's just fainted for now — she'll wake up given a little time."

"…What do we do?"

"My lady came back recovered, but that doesn't mean her weakened body has actually become strong. Even a small shock could be enough to put her down, so we'll need to keep her from being upset as much as we possibly can."

"As Iberin wished, I'll take the child back to the capital myself."

"Yes. That would be best…"

At the sudden snap of a decision being made, Rozel reared up and shouted,

"No! I don't want to go back!"

"Rozel…"

Rotte called her name with a pained look.

The girl seemed sharp on the surface, but a few days of living with her was enough to see she was a child starved for affection.

If Rotte were honest, she'd already grown attached, and she'd be lying to say she hadn't entertained the thought — what if she just kept living here — quite apart from Iberin.

But Rotte was head maid of Lecashe. Her every priority began and ended with Lecashe.

Iberin's health was bad enough without keeping a presence around her that put her into shock.

"Head maid…"

Rozelia knew Rotte was particularly fond of her.

She'd thought maybe Rotte would intervene.

"I'm sorry."

But all that came back was an apology.

Rozelia's heart sank.

She turned to look at Iberin, who still hadn't woken.

She was clearly going to say yes — how did it end up like this?!

---

A short while later, Iberin came to.

The physician had said she'd only fainted, and thankfully she woke faster than expected.

The instant her eyes opened, Iberin let out a stream of laughter and said to Lyssel,

"I had this dream where you'd kidnapped someone!"

"…"

"A little kid! You wouldn't believe how shocked I was!"

"…Iberin."

Lyssel hovered, looking utterly lost.

Ether tilted his head and answered for her.

"That was Rozel."

"That's right, the name was Rozel. So absurd I couldn't even — ha…haha…? Wait."

Iberin, in the middle of giggling, locked up where she sat.

"That… wasn't a dream…?"

"Were you looking for me?"

The words had barely landed when Rozelia popped up and announced her presence.

"Hk."

Iberin went white as if she'd seen a ghost, and muttered,

"It was real. It really was…"

"Iberin, I deserve to die for what I've done."

The only person in the room who understood why Iberin had been so badly shaken was Iberin herself.

Everyone else was reading it as a delicate constitution thrown by the word "kidnapped," followed by a delayed physical reaction.

But Iberin had read the original novel. Rozelia was not supposed to be here.

She'd already shifted Ether's life off its tracks, sure — but that had been entirely for Ether's happiness.

The heroine Rozelia would meet the Crown Prince and be happy without ever crossing paths with Ether.

She'd lose the title of the one who saved the world, but life doesn't fall apart over a missing title!

So why was the heroine here?

Of all the people in the world to kidnap, this man had picked Rozelia…

In any case, the deed was done, and damage control was the only road left.

While Iberin was wrestling with all this, Lyssel said,

"I'll do whatever you want, Iberin. If you tell me to get on my knees and beg, I will."

"I don't need your knees, mister! They aren't worth any money!"

Rozelia shouted right back.

"Hah."

Iberin's head felt like it might split.

Seriously — how did it end up like this?

Rozelia seemed desperate, desperate to stay here — but was that okay?

"…Iberin…"

Lyssel looked ready to drop to his knees that very second.

Until she'd realized this child was the heroine Rozelia, Iberin had been ready to let her stay — the girl wanted it so badly.

"You're going to send me away?"

"…"

Iberin looked down at Rozel, whose face was pleading up at her.

"Your Highness."

"Yes!"

"First… apologize…. To the child."

Even when she'd been thinking of letting Rozelia stay, she'd considered handing the cleanup to Lyssel — and she had no intention of letting this slide.

Lyssel apologized to Rozelia on the spot.

"I'm sorry. Truly. I don't know if you can feel that I mean it, but if there's anything you want me to do, I'll do it."

In that moment, Rozelia's eyes lit up like a hyena spotting prey.

"Then let me live here! I don't want to go to the capital!"

Come to think of it, before fainting Iberin had heard the girl say the same thing — she didn't want to go to the capital.

Had something bad happened to her at the orphanage?

In the original story, Rozelia was a duke's daughter.

The only daughter of House Cherity.

The temple had thrown her away as useless, but Cherity hadn't.

Rozelia got adopted partway through, because of her holy power.

If she hadn't run into Lyssel along the way, that would've been her fate.

Which was exactly why going back to the orphanage was the better path for Rozelia.

Better to become the adopted daughter of House Cherity than to mix with the staff of a house notorious for being cursed.

"If you go back to the capital, I'll find you good parents."

Iberin said it like a promise, but Rozelia was firm.

"I want to stay here."

"Why, though?"

She'd opened her eyes in the Lecashe estate after being kidnapped.

However well others had treated her, there had to be ulterior motives underneath.

The girl herself admitted she'd lied about a few things, but even so — this wasn't a good start.

And yet she wanted to stay.

Iberin couldn't make sense of it.

"Because everyone's been so good to me. I like it here."

"…You'll regret it later, you know?"

"That's fine! Even if I regret it, it'll be regret over something I chose, and that's better than regretting not having tried."

She had nerve.

In the original she'd been a quieter, more timid kind of girl.

That was probably why Iberin hadn't even considered the heroine angle when she first saw her.

"You really want to stay?"

Iberin asked it again, like she was confirming.

"Yes. If you'll… let me…"

She hadn't been planning to follow the original story to begin with — and now that things had landed here, wouldn't Ether be even happier if she helped his love story along?

Sorry about that, Yel…

"Even if I told you that going back now might mean being adopted into a ducal house later?"

"Yes! I like it here better!"

Even after the final ace got laid on the table, Rozelia was still picking Lecashe. Iberin was a little surprised.

She was young, and probably dazzled by what was right in front of her.

Iberin had no idea what was so dazzling, exactly.

In any case, Rozelia didn't want to go — and that meant until she did decide to leave, they needed to give her the best of everything.

"…All right, then."

That was the path where everyone got to be happy.

There was the worry that, later, becoming the actual saintess after having lived at Lecashe might bring her shame — but surely Lecashe could shake its bad name by then.

She wanted everything resolved before this body crumbled, and she was going to make sure it was.

"So I can stay here?"

Knowing nothing of her original future, Rozelia smiled bright and clear.

"Yes. Stay as long as you like."

"Yay!"

Rozelia threw her hands in the air, delighted.

Iberin watched her with a soft smile, then sobered and turned to Lyssel.

He flinched and read her face.

"Hah."

"Iberin."

"Your Highness."

"…Yes."

The Lyssel of right now didn't just care about her — he treated her like something precious.

He'd been a man who didn't know what affection was, and once he'd recognized it, the feeling seemed to be more than he could contain.

Iberin had a past like that herself, so she didn't not understand him.

"Do you actually know what you did wrong?"

"Yes. I got so single-minded about your recovery that I did something I shouldn't have."

It was a relief that at least he understood.

"You're really sorry?"

"Yes."

"…Don't do it again. That kind of thing doesn't make me happy at all."

"…Yes. I won't do it again."

Lyssel seemed to have been genuinely shaken by his own behavior knocking Iberin out.

"Come here."

Sitting half-propped on the bed, Iberin held out her arms.

When he stepped carefully closer, she pulled him into a tight hug and patted his back.

"I believe you."

"…Yes."

Lyssel had no idea why, but he felt like he might cry. He buried his face deep into Iberin's shoulder.