ICTIMP CH 04

Chapter 4. A Death Flag Right from the Start (4)

Ilina followed my smile with one of her own.

“I’m glad. Seeing you smile makes me happy too, my lady. Now then, it’s time for your medicine.”

“Ugh.”

A gag escaped my mouth. I was only halfway through putting on my nightclothes when I fled into the bedroom connected to the dressing room.

“Running away won’t help!”

I ended up playing a game of tag with Ilina against my will. In the end, Ilina won.

I drank the medicinal tonic packed with all sorts of astringent, tasteless, and bitter ingredients, then collapsed face-first onto my bed. After that, I rolled around while eating an absurd amount of chocolate.

When I looked especially bored, Ilina cautiously suggested that perhaps I could do some embroidery, but I flatly refused. I was the kind of person who couldn’t even thread a needle.

That night, I had a strange dream.

The dream unfolded against a backdrop of a valley with bright yellow rocks and silver currents flowing through it, and a field overflowing with pink hydrangeas. I was there with Adel.

Adel was wearing a slightly fitted white shirt and navy trousers, and the firm, smooth lines of his body made me tense without even realizing it. He must have exercised very regularly.

His hair looked unbelievably soft, as though sunlight had been poured into it, and the refreshing smile on his picture-perfect face struck my heart mercilessly.

Adel seemed to raise his hand, then gently cupped my cheek.

I watched his lips move clearly.

[Anastasia, shall we kiss?]

His voice was incredibly sweet.

It was filled with undisguised affection.

[Actually, I couldn’t stand how adorable you are.]

S-Stop!

I struggled desperately to wake myself from the dream.

I squeezed my eyes shut and bit my tongue, and perhaps that worked, because fortunately, I managed to wake up before Adel’s lips touched mine.

I shot upright and gasped for breath.

“Gasp, huff……. What kind of ridiculous dream was that?”

My face felt hot.

What, am I frustrated or something? The dream was ridiculously vivid?!

I sat on the edge of the bed, biting my nails.

This made it look like I was harboring regrets.

No! I’m ready to hand Adel over to Olga!

……Am I really?

The dim light of dawn softly illuminated the bedroom.

Of course, there was no way I could fall asleep again.

“So annoying……”

Who cared about a relationship that would begin with my death?

I muttered in a dejected voice.

“My lady, are you awake? The young master sent you a letter.”

About an hour after I had started reading some random book to keep myself from thinking useless thoughts, Ilina came to me carrying a letter.

Anastasia’s family was my family too, so I quickly snatched the letter from her.

Had it crossed the sea or something? The envelope was somewhat crumpled.

A smile escaped me.

The time I had spent with my family was short, but they had loved me without reservation.

Count Sinclair was a playful man who loved teasing his children, while my mother, the Countess, seemed strict but was actually quite scatterbrained. My older brother was always teasing me, only to get thoroughly scolded by our parents.

Unlike other noble families that cared deeply about their public image, the Sinclair family was remarkably ordinary.

Perhaps that was why the original Anastasia, who had always maintained such an aloof attitude, seemed all the more pitiful.

I wanted to leave my family with as few regrets as possible. And since this was the first time I had ever experienced such affection, I tried my best to act warmly toward them.

I carefully opened the envelope and unfolded the letter.

The contents were relatively short.

To my prettiest, cutest, and most troublesome little sister in the whole world.

I’ve been hearing about how you’re doing through the butler. I know you must be suffering terribly, so thank you for enduring it so well.

I’m in Martinez in the north right now. Father and Mother have gone west, and we’re planning to meet in fifteen days. I promise I’ll come back with good news.

P.S. I know Young Master Magnus is a flawless person, but aren’t you spending a little too much time with him?

I had been reading the letter fondly, but I flinched when Adel was mentioned in the postscript.

Suddenly, the voice from my dream came back to me.

‘Anastasia, shall we kiss?’

Wait a second.

Why did I suddenly feel so indignant?

That stubborn blockhead was perfectly fine no matter what I did, so why was I the only one affected?

It felt unfair to simply let it go.

This made it look like I had a one-sided crush on Adel, even though I absolutely did not!

I simply thought Adel was handsome!

His rigid, inflexible personality could be frustrating, he drove me crazy, and despite all that, I somehow found him cute……

Which only made me want to tease him even more……

“My lady? Why are you making that expression?”

Ilina looked at me with deep concern.

I decided to take my second revenge on Adel.

For some reason, I felt terribly wronged. I felt like I had become a horrible person who was coveting another woman’s man.

Even though the man in question wasn’t thinking about giving me anything in the first place!

“Ilina, could you do my makeup?”

My maid’s eyes widened.

“You already possess heavenly beauty. Is there really any need?”

You know a thing or two.

“Just a little, please.”

I gave Ilina a gentle smile.

She immediately fell for it and, as usual, started by shaping my eyebrows before dressing me up.

The process of curling my eyelashes and applying color to my lips took longer than I expected.

While Ilina was doing my makeup, Marin gathered my thick hair to one side and secured it with a large hair ornament resembling a seashell.

My hair had very distinct waves, so Marin finished styling it in no time.

I put on a flowing indoor dress and waited for Adel.

It was the perfect outfit for enjoying tea time.

The orange chiffon dress had no patterns or decorations at all, but whenever I moved, its abundant folds formed shapes like flower petals.

Adel visited around the same time as yesterday.

I called him out to the terrace.

“Welcome, Adel.”

He stood still in front of the terrace for a moment, then greeted me with a smile like a patch of shade beneath the clouds of a sweltering July day.

“Good afternoon, Anastasia.”

I liked the way Adel looked at me.

His gaze wasn’t the least bit suggestive, but he was definitely looking at me for longer than usual.

I chatted away to Adel in an excited voice.

“I asked the chef to make your favorite ginger cookies. I’d be happy if you enjoyed them.”

Adel replied politely.

“You really didn’t have to. Seeing Anastasia’s lively face is more than enough for me. But I will gratefully accept your kindness today.”

Adel sat across from me.

The tea table wasn’t very large, so we were able to maintain a comfortable distance.

I waited until Adel was about to pick up a cookie, then naturally reached out while looking elsewhere.

My fingers lightly brushed against Adel’s fingertips.

“Ah.”

I pretended to be surprised, and Adel hurriedly withdrew his hand.

“I apologize for my rudeness. Please, you go first.”

“No. You eat first.”

I smiled sweetly.

Anyone else might have noticed what I was trying to do, but Adel wouldn’t.

Feeling confident, I became even more proactive.

“Adel, your hands are really pretty. Can I see your palm?”

“My hands are quite rough and plain, but if that is what you want.”

Adel innocently opened his hand.

I placed my palm against his.

I had done it with a clear ulterior motive, but somehow, it made me feel strangely ticklish.

I had intended to make Adel flustered and embarrassed.

Yet instead, I was becoming far more absorbed in this than he was.

“Your fingers are really long……. They’re straight and smooth.”

I spoke honestly without thinking.

Adel gave me a cautious, thoughtful smile.

“That’s embarrassing. Calluses form whenever I train, but they disappear again rather quickly because I haven’t trained enough.”

He was called a genius swordsman, yet he was humble too.

I rolled my eyes.

“What do you think of my hand?”

Adel seemed to think for a moment before answering.

“It’s very soft. It feels small and delicate. It also makes me nervous because it seems as though it could break if I applied even a little force.”

I burst out laughing.

“But I held your hand and walked with you yesterday, and it was perfectly fine.”

“That was an impulsive action. I regret it. Even though Anastasia is my friend, I shouldn’t have touched you carelessly when there was even the slightest possibility that it might make you uncomfortable. You were probably only being considerate because I was the one who reached out my hand first.”

I tilted my head.

Did holding hands wear them down or something?

“Do you regret it? I liked it.”

A puzzled light appeared in Adel’s jewel-like red eyes.

“Do you mean that?”

“Of course.”

Adel hesitated for a moment before confessing.

“I…… I liked it too. When Anastasia got angry with me.”

“Huh?”

“Other people tend to be lenient even when I make mistakes. Perhaps that has made me too arrogant. But you tried to correct my mistake. I’m deeply grateful for that.”

Those words completely drained all the excitement out of me.

Adel wasn’t conscious of me in the slightest.

No matter whether I wore makeup, dressed up in a bright dress, or initiated light physical contact, none of it made any difference.

He wasn’t treating me as a woman.

He was treating me as one human being to another.

Suddenly feeling as though someone had poured cold water over me, I withdrew my hand.

Then I glared at Adel.

“Adel.”

“Yes, Anastasia.”

I bluntly snapped at Adel, who still had no idea what was going on.

“You’re annoying.”

Adel apologized without even knowing what he had done wrong.

“I’m sorry. Did I say something wrong again?”

“Hmph!”

Bad man.

At times like this, wasn’t he supposed to say that he liked holding hands with me too?!

I had secretly been looking forward to it!

Adel Magnus was thinking about the Anastasia Sinclair of the past.

‘Adel, you’re a really good person. But that’s what makes things difficult for me.’

A month ago, she had said that to him with an exhausted expression.

Anastasia often burst into tears.

She was pessimistic and had admitted that she could sense death approaching.

Adel had tried to instill hope in her, just as he had been taught.

But the response he received was cold.

Anastasia had instead taken Adel’s words of comfort as mockery.

Only then did Adel begin deeply examining her feelings and analyzing every word he had spoken, searching for the reason he had failed to understand her.

But it was already too late.

‘I wish you would just become mute! I don’t want you to say another word in front of me! You have everything, so you’ll never understand how I feel! You can’t understand how miserable and hopeless I am right now! Not even a little!’

Anastasia had thrown a vase at Adel.

The vase shattered against the wall, as though it represented Anastasia’s own broken heart.

‘I’m sorry, Anastasia.’

That was all Adel could say.

He apologized until Anastasia grew tired of hearing it.