CJRD CH 14

Chapter 14

At the moment I tripped, I suddenly remembered something Peter had teased me about an hour ago.

He said I used to fall down a lot when I was younger.

Maybe that’s why this thought came to mind as I was falling:

‘I’m going to end up with a huge scar on my face at this age.’

I imagined what I’d look like with another scar on my face, just like when I was a child.

What if it’s a big wound? Scars don’t heal easily anymore. Even if it heals, it might leave a mark!

I was worried about all of that.

So, I braced myself for the cold, hard ground to hit my face with a loud thud.

But… huh?

Instead of pain, I felt something soft and warm surrounding me.

‘What… what is this?’

I slowly opened my eyes.

And when I saw what was right in front of me, my heart nearly stopped from shock.

‘W-What is this?’

It wasn’t the ground I was looking at—it was someone’s chest.

I was so surprised, I completely froze and forgot to even blink.

All I could do was move my eyes around nervously.

But the chest in front of me was so broad that no matter how much I moved my eyes, I kept seeing the same thing:

A strong chest under a perfectly fitted dark blue uniform.

Gulp.

Without realizing, I swallowed dryly and slowly lifted my head.

“……”

As I looked up, more came into view.

Shiny silver buttons tightly fastened, a firm neck with visible veins, a sharp jawline, and tightly closed lips.

“Are you okay?”

“…Huh?”

Just as my eyes reached his lips, they opened and a concerned voice came out.

And in that moment, our eyes met.

Those deep blue eyes that looked just like the vast sky were staring down at me.

“Ahhh! C-Claude!”

Suddenly snapping back to my senses, I realized why I hadn’t hit the ground.

And who had caught me.

“I-I’m so sorry!”

My face turned bright red like it was on fire.

I jumped back like a startled bug and stepped out of Claude’s arms.

“It’s okay. You’re not hurt, are you?”

“No, no. I think I’m fine. It’s all thanks to you, Claude. Thank you so much.”

Still flustered, I hurried to say thank you.

Then I heard a small laugh from just below me.

“That’s a relief.”

I looked down at the sound—and completely froze again.

Claude was still sitting on the ground. And as he said those words, the corners of his mouth curved upward, just a little.

Almost like a smile.

It was such a tiny, brief moment that I wondered if I had imagined it.

But it was beautiful enough to make me forget everything else.

“You said you were heading home, right? If it’s okay with you, I’ll walk you there. This area is quiet and could be dangerous.”

As he spoke, Claude slowly stood up.

“Let’s go.”

He took a few steps forward, then turned back to look at me.

I hadn’t even answered yet, but it seemed like he had already decided to take me home.

“Okay…”

I answered softly and quickly followed to walk by his side.

And the whole way back, I silently hoped…

That the loud sound of my racing heart wouldn’t reach his ears.

***

About a week had passed since Claude walked me home.

Which also meant it had been about a week since Estelle started her part-time job and the guards began patrolling the village.

“Basago’s still not caught by Claude. Amazing.”

Well… I guess it would actually be strange if he was caught.

No matter how hard the guards searched, Basago was a demon.

Of course he wouldn’t be caught so easily.

“Haa… But is now really the time to be worrying about Basago? I have something more urgent to deal with.”

Honestly, I wasn’t even that worried about Basago.

In fact, if he got caught, it might be a good thing for me.

That way, Estelle would be safer.

No, what I really needed to worry about was something else entirely.

And that was…

“I’m home!”

“Welcome back, Estelle!”

***

Estelle’s Current Stats:

• Stamina: 58 (+18)
• Intelligence: 79 (+11)
• Grace: 10 (–15)
• Stress: 20 (+20)
• Farming Skill: 24 (+24)

***

Working part-time on the farm and studying with Basago had helped Estelle a lot.

Her stamina and intelligence were rising fast.

But the problem… was her grace stat.

‘Why is her grace so low? It’s dropped like crazy!’

This wasn’t like Estelle at all.

She wasn’t rough with things. She never acted like a runaway car obsessed with one thing.

She had been graceful and thoughtful—always calm, polite, and tidy.

Even just stepping out after a bath, she looked elegant.

But now…

She was completely different.

Even the way she opened and closed the door was rough.

“Ahh, today was so tiring. I’m going to rest in my room.”

SLAM!

She slammed doors everywhere she went.

“Oops, my shoes are flipped…”

She threw things around carelessly.

That wasn’t all.

Her tone had gotten rougher, and her walking style was kind of swaggering now.

‘I expected this, but still…’

I did think this might happen when she started the job.

Part-time work has its pros and cons.

It helps raise the stats I want—but often lowers others in return.

Especially farm work.

It builds strength and pays well, but it lowers the grace stat, which is needed for noble professions.

But I never thought her grace would drop this much.

‘What did I do? She’s changed completely in just a week of work!’

As far as I remember, farm work increases stamina by +2 per day and lowers grace by –1.

She worked about a week, so stamina should have gone up by +14.

And with bonuses for hard work, +18 is about average.

But grace?

The drop should’ve been –7, not –15.

‘So why…?’

Why did her grace drop by more than double?

Even when I played the game before, I never saw this happen.

‘I guess I was just lucky back then. Other players did say this kind of thing sometimes happened.’

So really, it’s my fault for getting careless and assuming everything would be fine.

But even knowing that, I still couldn’t believe what I was seeing on the stat screen—and in Estelle herself.

‘I can’t send her to the academy like this.’

Even if the Pantora Academy accepts commoners, most of the students are nobles.

If her grace stat is too low, not only will she struggle to make friends, she might even get looked down on.

‘She might get involved with the wrong crowd.’

That’s not impossible.

Just like there are good people everywhere, there are also bad ones.

If she gets unlucky, she could get bullied or isolated by snobby noble kids.

And of course, that would ruin her studies.

“No way! I can’t let her get bullied or have her studies ruined!”

She already has a long road ahead to becoming Emperor.

We can’t afford setbacks like this—especially not ones I could have prevented.