ICTIMP CH 03

Chapter 3. A Death Flag Right from the Start (3)

Eventually, Adel slowly opened his mouth.

“This is difficult, Anastasia.”

I knew it. I moved even closer to Adel.

“You can’t even do something this small for me?”

“This is wrong.”

Adel said that as he stepped backward. Even though he refused very firmly, he never directly blamed me.

He still maintained his refined and polite demeanor. Goodwill and morality practically radiated from his handsome face, like a prince from a fairy tale.

I deliberately looked disappointed.

“Fine. If you can’t do it, then I can’t help it.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

It was too early for him to feel relieved. I glared at Adel.

“What do you mean, ‘understanding’? From now on, I’ll never trust you again. How can I rely on someone who doesn’t even keep his promises? You were stopping me from going outside because you had some other motive, didn’t you?”

I pretended to sound hurt. Worried that I might cry, Adel spoke in a sweet and harmless tone.

“I was simply worried that you might get hurt or collapse in a situation where there was no one around to help you. I had no other intentions. I can swear to it.”

“Your credibility is already at rock bottom.”

“……How could this be?”

Adel genuinely looked shocked. I lowered my head dejectedly.

“I think I should go back now.”

When I turned around, Adel let out a short, troubled groan. I sighed softly, and at last, Adel surrendered.

“……I’ll do it.”

“Huh?”

I turned my gaze back to Adel, desperately trying not to smile. Adel was gripping the candy wrapper so tightly that it looked as though he might crush it. He made a solemn resolution.

“I’ll throw it away.”

Ah, this isn’t right. Why does he look so cute all of a sudden? I want to pat his head! I bet it would feel amazing if that hair got tangled around my fingers.

Suddenly, the hand I had been holding with Adel tingled.

“Can you really do it?”

“Please believe in my innocence.”

Adel slowly extended his hand. Then he unfolded his fingers one by one, which had been curled into a fist.

I patiently waited, and finally, the candy wrapper slipped from Adel’s hand.

When the tiny piece of trash fell to the ground with a soft plop, Adel flinched. His face became filled with guilt.

“I-I threw it away…….”

I patted Adel’s shoulder and encouraged him as he squeezed his eyes shut before opening them again.

“Well done, Adel. I’ll trust you now. But……”

To give him a warning, I rose onto my tiptoes and brought my lips close to Adel’s ear.

Adel tried to maintain proper manners as he had earlier, but with me holding onto his shoulder, he couldn’t create any distance between us.

Even now, Adel showed absolutely no reaction to Anastasia’s face.

For some reason, I felt a little mischievous, so I left him with a stronger threat than I had originally intended.

“If you ever come back here later and pick up that trash, then our relationship is over. Answer me if you understand.”

“……I’ll keep that in mind.”

“You can’t even go to a priest and confess about it.”

“Yes.”

I had successfully made Adel give up. I had no reason to doubt his answer.

After all, he was the male protagonist who didn’t know how to lie, so even if he had yielded to my threat, he probably couldn’t make a completely insincere promise.

All I could hope was that he would quickly realize there was no point in resisting me like he had earlier.

“Good.”

I smiled brightly.

“Let’s continue getting along from now on.”

Adel’s eyes lingered on the two candy wrappers lying on the ground before returning to me.

……Ah. He’s so cute I could go crazy.

I led the unusually quiet Adel out of the alley.

After walking for a short while, we came upon a fairly well-maintained park.

There were people leisurely strolling around, and quite a few children were making things out of wildflowers. One little girl spotted me and opened her eyes wide.

“That lady over there is super, super pretty. Could she be an angel?”

“There’s a prince with her too!”

They seemed to be whispering among themselves, but I could hear them clearly. I happily acknowledged them.

“Hello, children. Isn’t the weather lovely today?”

The children’s faces immediately flushed.

“Eek! The angel talked to me!”

“Her voice sounds like pearls!”

I could feel a couple walking toward us staring at me intently. Their expressions went beyond admiration and bordered on awe.

Anastasia’s beauty was ridiculously unfair, after all. Even I had nearly suffered a heart attack the first time I saw myself in the mirror.

I waved at the children with a smile.

“Thank you for the compliments. Have fun playing.”

“Goodbye, angel! Goodbye, big brother who looks like a prince!”

“See you next time!”

As we left the park with the children’s chatter fading behind us, Adel spoke to me.

“You seem to be in a good mood.”

“It’s all thanks to you, Adel.”

At my response, Adel’s voice became slightly subdued.

“Did you really hate me that much?”

“What are you talking about, Adel? I don’t hate you.”

“Anastasia, your eyes aren’t smiling.”

He only ever noticed things when it was convenient.

I shot Adel a sideways glance before suddenly stopping. Ignoring the puzzled expression on his face, I said sullenly,

“My legs hurt.”

“There’s a café about five minutes from here.”

“I can’t walk.”

“Shall we return to the Count’s estate?”

“We’ve only been out for thirty minutes.”

“Then let’s sit on that bench and rest for a while.”

“How am I supposed to sit on such a dirty bench?”

I had to admit it. Teasing Adel was fun.

Adel continued suggesting things to me while I was clearly being deliberately difficult.

“I’ll put my handkerchief down for you.”

“Hmmm.”

“I’ll also take off my outer coat for you, so please bear with it for a little while.”

Pretending to have no choice, I followed Adel to the bench.

Adel spread a handkerchief embroidered with the Duke’s family crest over the wooden bench and took off his outer coat to drape it over my shoulders.

I wasn’t particularly cold, but I liked the faint citrus scent lingering around the tip of my nose, so I obediently stayed there.

Adel repeatedly checked my complexion. There wasn’t even the slightest hint of ulterior motive.

Was this guy some kind of saint? He was going to blush properly in front of the female protagonist!

I looked away from Adel.

“I’m thirsty……”

Surprisingly, Adel immediately held out some water.

“Here.”

I instinctively took the bottle, and its coolness seeped into my palm. I was startled.

“It’s really refreshing.”

“I also brought the ganache chocolate Anastasia likes. I packed an antiemetic, shoes with no heels, and a fan as well. I consulted Miss Ilina about the shoe size and the fan’s design.”

What the hell was with this insane level of preparation?

Trying not to look flustered, I took a sip of water. It tasted much better than I expected and left me feeling refreshed.

I must have used quite a bit of energy preparing for today’s outing since early morning.

While I drank more water, Adel sat beside me, leaving a proper amount of distance between us.

It annoyed me that Adel could casually enter my bedroom, yet in situations like this, he was so thoroughly respectful of boundaries.

Did no one look beautiful in Adel’s eyes except the future female protagonist?

I had secretly been hoping for some innocent reaction from him, so I grumbled inwardly. Adel had never once blushed because of me.

If I asked him directly about my appearance, he would obviously say I was beautiful. That somehow made me even more frustrated.

He was so determined to keep his distance that it was starting to irritate me. Honestly, there were more than a few things about him that drove me crazy.

Anastasia had been Adel’s longtime friend, but they weren’t close enough to be completely comfortable around each other.

According to the original story, Adel thought about Anastasia from time to time. He kept her as a fond memory, but that was all.

In other words, he hadn’t been this conscious of Anastasia.

“I don’t understand why you’re so concerned about me.”

“We’re friends.”

I tapped the water bottle with my fingernail as I pointed out the problem.

“Adel, you’re spending way too much time taking care of me. Wouldn’t it be better to spend this time reading another book or practicing swordsmanship?”

“You can do those things anytime. I want to stay by your side until you recover. If you’ll allow me.”

I cautiously eyed Adel.

“That’s suspicious. You’re being far too devoted.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

His straightforward answer left me speechless instead.

Adel had started coming and going from the Count’s estate as though it were his own home about a month ago.

That coincided with the time I became Anastasia.

Hmm, I couldn’t remember ever being particularly nice to Adel.

I thought carefully about what Adel had told me.

Shortly before I possessed Anastasia, Anastasia had hurled harsh words at Adel.

She had apparently screamed that she would rather he become mute and never say another word to her. But I hadn’t known about that and had welcomed Adel warmly instead.

Could that be the reason?

But wouldn’t an ordinary person find such a sudden change in attitude strange? Well, Adel wasn’t exactly an ordinary person……

Aaaah, I don’t know! How am I supposed to figure out what’s going on inside this guy’s head?!

I settled on a reasonable conclusion.

It was probably guilt.

I had repeatedly told him that I was going to die anyway and that he should just leave me alone, so perhaps his resolve had weakened. Maybe he was treating me well now because he didn’t want to feel guilty later.

“……You’ll go straight to Olga once I die anyway.”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

Tch. I puffed out my cheeks sullenly.

After resting for a while and replenishing my energy, Adel took me back to the Count’s estate. Being with Adel made me feel like a princess.

Honestly, there was no way I couldn’t feel excited. Having a man more handsome than a prince politely escorting me around was enough to make anyone’s heart flutter.

Although Adel was only sixteen, he was clearly over 180 cm tall and had an impressive presence. A sweet citrus after-scent lingered around him.

Adel said goodbye, promising to visit again tomorrow, and left.

As soon as I entered the dressing room to change clothes, Ilina followed me.

“Did you enjoy your outing?”

“Yeah! All my stress is completely gone!”

I deliberately answered even more energetically.

Honestly, I didn’t understand my own feelings either. I had decided to enjoy the two years I had left without holding onto regrets, yet sometimes my thoughts became complicated.

The current Adel hadn’t met the female protagonist, Olga, yet. So it wasn’t strange that he was kind to me.

But I was worried that I might start developing unnecessary feelings because of that kindness.

I shouldn’t be doing this, right?

After all, Adel didn’t belong to me, so it was strange for me to feel as though something had been taken away from me.

I was just a woman, a person, a friend.

I mustn’t forget that.