LVSFN 54

Chapter 54

It felt like someone was rummaging through my mind—utterly confusing.

I was frozen in place, unable to utter a single word.

“Young Lady?”

If it had been a completely different name, I wouldn’t have been so shaken.

But Renata—that was a name I knew.

A name I knew all too well.

“That can’t be right.”

“Young Lady?”

“Ecla… the person you’re talking about—is it really the same person I’m thinking of?”

“You mean the daughter of Count Almaz?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Blonde hair, violet eyes, kind-hearted, and your childhood friend—that lady?”

“Yes, exactly! That’s her! But then why are you calling her Renata?”

“Oh dear, what are we going to do with our poor Young Lady…”

Ecla looked at me with pity in her eyes and grabbed my hand.

“Of course she’s called Lady Renata. What else would I call her? Do you not remember her name?”

“No, Ecla. She’s not Renata. I’m telling you, she’s not.”

I was incredibly confused.

Why had Leoni become Renata?

“Ecla, who… who are you?”

I stepped back a couple of paces and faced her.

“…Excuse me?”

“And me? Am I really Liberata?”

“Young Lady…”

Ecla looked like she was about to cry.

But no matter what she was feeling, it couldn’t be more overwhelming than the confusion I felt.

“Young Lady, why are you saying this…”

“Ecla, please, just tell me. Who are you?”

She let out a long sigh and then replied.

“Ecla Luz.”

“Okay, so you’re still Ecla. Then what about me?”

I touched my face and ran my fingers through my hair as I asked.

“Young Lady.”

“Who am I?”

The date wasn’t what I remembered. My friend’s name had changed.

There was no guarantee that I myself had remained unchanged either.

Was I really still Liberata?

“Of course you’re still you, Young Lady. The daughter of Marquis Bernadette.”

“So I’m still the same, for now.”

Should I be grateful for that?

A chilling thought crept up—but I forced myself to push it away.

No. That’s ridiculous.

Something like that couldn’t possibly happen, not just like that, out of nowhere.

Even as my heart pounded like I’d been running, I tried to calm myself.

Stay calm. First, calm down.

And… let’s hold off on that possibility for now.

It’s not like I can confirm anything right away.

First, I need to find out what happened to Leoni.

“Anyway, the important thing is, I need to meet with Leoni—no, Renata—right now.”

“You want to meet Lady Renata now?”

“I didn’t realize so much time had passed. I told Leoni I’d be out for just a moment and asked her to lie down for a bit in my place. But now it’s gotten so late. What do I do? She—Renata—must be furious.”

I had no idea what was going on.

Why were they calling Leoni “Renata”? What was happening?

So I poured everything out to Ecla—just blurted it all out without filter.

She simply stared at me for a long while in silence.

“Ecla, I think we need to stop by the Count Almaz estate on the way home to apologize.”

Of course she’d be mad.

She must’ve been anxiously trembling in my absence.

She’s such a fragile, sensitive girl—probably hiding in that room alone, worrying every time footsteps approached.

Even though it was late, I had to go and apologize.

“Let’s just stop by for a moment. Actually, on the way, let’s drop by Weiss and pick up something my friend likes—”

“Young Lady, Young Lady. Please wait a moment.”

Ecla carefully took my hand.

“Young Lady.”

Her expression as she looked at me wasn’t normal.

Her brows were knit tightly, her eyes cold—just seeing her face made me gulp.

“You’re not on those kinds of terms with Lady Almaz.”

“What do you mean ‘not on those terms’? What are you saying?”

I understood she might be angry—but what did she mean we weren’t close?

Was she trying to pretend she didn’t know me now? Even changing her name?

If that was the case, just say so!

Fine, maybe I went a bit far. But I never expected it to take this long.

Still, if it’s Leoni—if I explain the situation—wouldn’t she understand?

“Ecla, even if she’s angry, I need to explain. I have to apologize. I can’t just let it go.”

“Young Lady, please. Get a hold of yourself.”

Ecla glanced at the people passing by and lowered her voice drastically.

“Please, let’s just go home for now. Not here.”

“…”

“Come on.”

“…Okay.”

Letting Ecla pull me along, I climbed into the carriage like a crumpled rag.

What on earth is happening?

⚜ ⚜ ⚜

Even after returning home, I still felt out of it.

The atmosphere in the house… the behavior of the servants… everything was subtly strange.

It was definitely my home, yet it didn’t feel like mine.

It is my house—but it also feels like it isn’t. What is going on?

Even when I went up to my room, the feeling of unfamiliarity remained.

As I began to change clothes with Ecla’s help, I suddenly realized—the dress I was wearing was Leoni’s.

“Ecla!”

“Yes, Young Lady?”

“This dress—it’s Leoni’s. It’s hers!”

But once again, Ecla only looked at me with a deeply worried expression.

“Young Lady, not this again. I told you—I don’t know anyone named Leoni.”

“Fine, then Renata. This is Renata’s dress!”

“Oh dear. You need to get changed and have a nice bath. You really need some rest.”

“Ecla, you know this isn’t my dress. I don’t wear this color!”

I shook the skirt hem to emphasize it, but Ecla just looked unsure.

“Take a closer look.”

“I’m sorry, Young Lady. I don’t know.”

“Renata wore my chemise, and I wore her dress. This is it!”

“…”

“There’s the proof right here. I’m not imagining things. I was really at Cygnus Castle, and Leoni and I swapped—”

“Young Lady, please calm down.”

Ecla slumped her shoulders and sighed.

“I’ll call the doctor again tomorrow. I think you really need more rest.”

“Ecla.”

I grabbed her arm just as she was about to leave my room.

“Yes, Young Lady?”

Right. Clearly something had happened to me…

And Ecla seemed to think I’d lost some of my memory from the trauma.

But what I described as being kidnapped didn’t seem to match her idea of events.

So first, I had to figure out exactly what had happened to me.

“I’m really sorry, Ecla.”

“No need to apologize, Young Lady.”

“I am sorry, deeply sorry. But it seems like my memory is hazy after I was abducted. So… I need to ask you a few things.”

“Of course, Young Lady. Ask me anything. I’ll explain everything.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

Let’s start by confirming the date.

“You said today is the 17th?”

“Yes.”

The 17th.

That means I’ve passed the 13th, and I haven’t vanished or been erased.

“And… can you tell me why Renata and I are supposedly not on good terms?”

Ecla walked toward me cautiously.

And then, she gave me another one of those pitying looks.

“Young Lady, before I say anything, please know—no matter what awful thing you might have done, I’ll always be on your side.”

Why was she setting me up for something so terrifying?

Was it because I’d put Leoni in an uncomfortable situation?

Yeah… I wouldn’t be able to defend that, no matter how hard I tried.

“Don’t scare me like that.”

“And even though I care for you deeply, Young Lady… this time… just a little…”

Ecla shrugged and trailed off again.

“A little? What do you mean, ‘just a little’ this time?”

“You… were a little in the wrong.”

That didn’t sound like it was about leaving Leoni at Cygnus Castle.

This felt much more serious.

What did I do to her?

“Just tell me already. I’m dying of frustration.”

“You stole Lady Renata’s fiancé.”

“What? I did?”

I was so shocked I jumped up.

“I did? I stole Leoni—no, Renata’s fiancé?”

“Yes.”

Ecla nodded, her face somber.

At that point, though I had already begun to suspect the truth, I could no longer avoid it.

“Oh… my god. Wait—who’s her fiancé?”

“Who else? His Grace, the Grand Duke of Cygnus.”