Chapter 53
Mmm.
When I opened my eyes, I felt as if I were sitting in the middle of a misty lake—everything was hazy and dreamlike.
My arms and legs felt a little heavy.
I wanted to move, yet I didn’t want to leave the comfort of this serene atmosphere either.
The air around me was dark and damp, filled with a smell that was both unfamiliar and oddly familiar.
What is that smell? I thought as I began to regain consciousness.
“…Wait, did I fall asleep here?”
I suddenly bolted upright and looked around.
It was Mr. Clem’s bookstore.
I remembered sneaking out of the castle and coming here to look for The Tumultuous Life of Renata.
“What time is it?”
It was too dark inside to tell where I was or what time it was.
Oh no. I had told Leoni I’d be right back and barely managed to sneak out—and then I fell asleep here?
Wow. Seriously. Am I out of my mind?
I sprang up and slapped my face a couple of times.
Then, I walked quickly down the long corridor toward the door.
Ding-ling.
But the moment I opened the door, a new crisis hit me.
No way… What is Ecla doing here?
Peeking out through the crack, I saw the Bernadette family’s carriage and Ecla standing right in front of the bookstore.
No one knows I came here.
I hadn’t even told Adrian, let alone Leoni. So how did she find me?
I quietly closed the door again and began pacing nervously when suddenly, the door opened on its own.
“Young Lady, why are you going back inside?”
Ack! That scared me!
“E-Ecla.”
“Come on, let’s go. The sun’s going to set soon.”
“What? It’s that late already?”
I could feel the coolness in the air.
No way. I slept in the bookstore that long?
Libe, seriously, what’s wrong with you?
By now, Leoni must’ve been found out lying in for me.
“Yes, it’s already dinnertime. Are you hungry, Young Lady?”
Ecla’s words suddenly filled me with a sense of futility.
I’d gone through so much just to sneak out of the castle, and all I did was waste time sleeping?
I might only have today left…
“…Did His Grace… get very angry?”
“Pardon? His Grace?”
“Yeah. I left without a word, so I thought he’d be really worried.”
Barely a day after regaining consciousness, I’d pulled off this escape(?), so of course he would’ve had something to say.
More than that—he must be disappointed in me. I’d lied and dragged Leoni into it, after all.
But Ecla tilted her head, her eyes full of confusion.
“Why would His Grace be angry?”
“He’s not mad?”
“I… I’m not sure about that.”
Then she scratched her right cheek, looking unsure.
“Really?”
Thank goodness.
Maybe he understood.
Something about it made me think Leoni had covered for me well.
I was relieved that nothing too serious seemed to have happened while I was unconscious.
At least, until Ecla said this:
“He left for Hornhagen, so I’m not sure if he’s angry or not, Young Lady.”
Ecla looked at me with a curious expression.
“…What? He went to Hornhagen?”
He had been so busy with the festival—when did he find time to go to Hornhagen?
Maybe something urgent came up?
As I stared at her in confusion, she tilted her head again.
“Yes, he left quite a while ago.”
“Really?”
Had I really been here that long?
I was starting to feel like my conversation with Ecla was oddly out of sync.
“It’s been some time since he left. Don’t you remember?”
This was the first I was hearing of it—how could she ask if I remembered?
If I met him now, he’d definitely interrogate me about sneaking out. Since I was in the wrong, maybe it was better to wait a bit before seeing him.
Yeah, that might be better.
I nodded slowly at the thought.
“So are we heading to Cygnus Castle now?”
“Pardon? To the castle?”
“Shouldn’t we go back? That’s where I got treated. And my parents are there too.”
“Treatment?”
“Yeah, the medicine should still be there.”
Ecla blinked like she didn’t understand a word I was saying.
“Medicine? Young Lady, you received treatment at the castle?”
But I was just as confused with her reaction.
“Yeah, the doctor came in with you, remember? Don’t you remember?”
“I’m not sure… Could it have been a dream, Young Lady?”
“…What? A dream?”
At her words, my memories suddenly felt foggy, like mist creeping in.
Did I… dream all that?
Then what part of it was real, and what part was the dream?
As I stood frozen in a daze, Ecla called out to me in a worried voice.
“Young Lady?”
“…Yeah.”
“And your parents aren’t at the castle right now. They’re staying at the Bernadette mansion.”
“….”
“Young Lady, are you alright?”
“Ecla, I need to go to the castle. I have to see His Grace—”
Again, Ecla gave me that what’s wrong with her now look.
“But Young Lady… His Grace isn’t there, so why go to the castle?”
Oh. Right.
Where did she say he went again?
The conversation felt like we were talking about completely different things, and my head was spinning.
Meanwhile, it was growing darker around us.
Wait a minute. That means today is almost over.
Is the thirteenth already coming to an end?
“Ecla, today’s the 13th, right?”
My voice was tinged with anxiety as I asked.
“…Huh?”
This time, Ecla stared at me like I was completely off my rocker.
“Young Lady, you’re acting really strange today. It’s the 17th.”
“…What?”
No way. The 17th?
Are you telling me I slept in the bookstore for four days?
How is that even possible?
“E-Ecla. I’m really confused right now. How long exactly was I in this bookstore? D-Did everyone come looking for me again? I really stayed here for four days?”
I couldn’t believe it.
I barely remembered falling asleep—but staying locked inside this bookstore for four whole days? That made no sense.
No matter how much I liked sleep…
Who sleeps for three days straight? I’m not a bear in hibernation!
At my words, Ecla pursed her lips and slumped her shoulders.
“Young Lady… You must still be very unwell.”
“…What? Unwell how?”
“You remember being kidnapped, don’t you?”
“Yeah. Right. I was kidnapped. That’s true.”
Finally, I felt like we were on the same page. I nodded enthusiastically.
“So you must still be in shock. Oh dear, what should we do? Let’s go home and let you rest, alright?”
“W-Wait. When exactly was I kidnapped?”
“Let’s see… You went missing on the 13th, and then reappeared a couple of days ago. But you didn’t remember anything.”
“…What? Me?”
“Yes.”
Something was off.
I was kidnapped by Failey, and His Grace definitely knew all about it.
But now she was saying I disappeared and reappeared with no memory?
“After that, you’ve been saying odd things… acting a little unlike yourself.”
Wait a second. What about Leoni? What happened to her—she was lying in for me at the castle!
She didn’t stay there for three whole days, did she?
“Ecla, then what about Leoni? She went back home, right?”
Ecla, who had been looking at me pitifully, suddenly changed expression.
She swallowed nervously and spoke awkwardly.
“…Leoni? Who’s that?”
“…What?”
“I don’t know who you’re talking about.”
“What do you mean you don’t know Leoni?”
“…?”
Ecla blinked at me, bewildered.
“Young Lady, who is that?”
“Oh come on. How could you not know Leoni? Leoni Almaz! You know, the pretty, kind, sweet girl with blond hair and violet eyes—my dear friend who has it all!”
“…Do you mean Lady Renata Almaz?”
“…What? Who?”
At the sound of that unexpected name, my head began to pound as if I’d been struck from behind.
