Chapter 80
“Milady! You’re awake!”
The three maids and Dino entered the room. Mariana’s voice trembled with emotion as she celebrated my awakening, sounding as though she might burst into tears at any moment.
“Mariana, Dino—thank you for protecting me.”
“I’m so relieved that you’ve woken up, Lady Tiana. But I’m ashamed to say that I did nothing. I wasn’t strong enough. The one you should thank is Lady Fenrir here.”
Stella looked rather pleased with herself. She must be proud—it was written all over her face. You want more praise, don’t you?
Dino, on the other hand, was deeply reflecting on how his strength hadn’t been enough against the assassin.
But honestly, I don’t think it was just Stella’s power that saved me. When my breathing grew erratic, Mariana had held me tightly, shielding me with her body. No matter how loyal a servant may be, putting one’s master’s life before one’s own is never easy. Likewise, Dino risked his life to protect us all. I could never thank them enough.
“No, I should be grateful to everyone who was there. Any of us could have died. Everyone worked together to keep our lives connected.”
“Milady… from now on, I’m going to learn martial arts!”
“Huh? That’s sudden. Why?”
“Because in that moment, I realized how powerless I truly was. When you were in danger, I couldn’t do a single thing. It frustrated me so much. I’ll study in between my duties, so please don’t worry!”
That’s something Rose or Lucy might say, but hearing it from Mariana surprised me.
“Mariana, you did more than enough. Besides, your job is to look after me, right?”
I didn’t want her to shoulder anything more.
‘We’ll study too!’
“What, you two as well!?”
Not just Mariana—Lucy and Rose said the same thing. But I could tell from the determination in their eyes that no matter what I said, they wouldn’t stop.
“…All right, I understand. Just take care of yourselves, okay?”
‘Yes, Milady!’
The three of them answered with fiery enthusiasm.
“I’ll work harder too,” Dino added.
Ah—right. I’d almost forgotten how down he’d been, distracted by the girls’ shocking declaration.
“Dino, you know… I couldn’t breathe properly because I was so scared. But even then, I could hear you fighting with everything you had.”
“……”
In truth, I’d barely heard him, and I hadn’t exactly felt reassured—but cheering Dino up was more important right now.
“Thank you for protecting me!”
A heartfelt thank-you would surely lift his spirits.
“Uuuh… There’s an angel here…”
Eh? An angel? Who? …Wait, does he mean me!?
Dino suddenly started crying while saying strange things.
(Ah, I mixed up what I was thinking and what I actually said aloud… How disgraceful.)
He knew it was a slip of the tongue—but since it was true, he didn’t take it back.
Meanwhile, Tiana could only tilt her head in confusion at being called an angel.
