Chapter 2
At that moment, Elissa’s expression darkened.
I looked at her in confusion.
A moment later, she answered in a gloomy voice.
“He’s lucky.”
“Huh?”
“He gets to live with you, Yveline.”
I tilted my head as I watched Elissa suddenly become jealous of Cassis.
Then I remembered that children around this age tended to be especially attached to their friends.
Nodding to myself, I began comforting her.
“It’s okay, Elissa.”
“Hm? What’s okay?”
“Even if a guest comes, you’ll still be my closest friend.”
Of course.
There’s no benefit to me becoming close to the male lead.
What if I accidentally caused a misunderstanding between him and the heroine and ended up getting punished by him?
At my words, Elissa’s eyes widened.
Her green eyes sparkled in the sunlight.
She looked overjoyed.
“Mhm! You’re my favorite too, Yveline!”
The next day, Mother and I rode in a carriage to meet Cassis.
I had heard that he would arrive by train from the capital.
The train ran on mana power, but it looked similar to the old-fashioned trains I had only seen in books in my previous life.
There was still some time before Cassis’s train arrived.
“Yveline, are you happy about making a new friend?”
“Yes!”
I answered energetically.
In reality, I wasn’t happy at all.
Then I sat quietly beside Mother like a well-behaved child and waited for Cassis.
In First Love, Cassis was described as incredibly handsome.
With flowing silver hair and deep blue eyes as clear as the ocean, he looked like an angel.
Unfortunately, his personality was nothing like one.
I tried to recall the novel, which I barely remembered now.
Because he had been very sick as a child, Cassis was lethargic and sensitive.
He often made Elissa cry.
But when he became an adult?
Ahem.
I remembered the scenes where Cassis boldly expressed his feelings toward Elissa and coughed awkwardly.
The sickly male lead had apparently returned as a complete beast.
Ahem.
“Ah, I think he’s here.”
Mother’s voice snapped me back to reality.
I immediately turned my gaze toward the train that had just stopped.
I stared at a head of silver hair that stood out even among the crowd.
Melancholic blue eyes.
Pale skin.
Yet somehow his lips were full of color.
I was completely stunned.
Cassis was far more handsome than I had imagined.
Now I understood why Yveline had fallen for him.
With looks like that, how could she not?
Unlike the other children, Cassis was dressed neatly in a formal suit.
Maybe it was because I was used to seeing only country children, but there was something noble about him.
Honestly, it almost looked like he had a halo behind him.
Then I suddenly remembered the ruined Yveline from the novel and shook my head violently.
So what if he’s handsome?
I’m not going to choke while trying to steal someone else’s food.
I stared at Cassis with the determination of a warrior heading into battle.
Hmph. Did he think I would fall for him?
I’m not the ten-year-old Yveline from the novel.
Cassis looked around, searching for us.
Mother waved her hand.
After spotting us, he walked over.
“So you’re Cassis.”
“Greetings, Countess Monstera.”
Cassis greeted her politely.
His voice sounded weak, proving that he really was sick.
His appearance naturally made people want to protect him…
But so what?
I pressed myself against Mother and watched him cautiously.
A servant who appeared to be carrying his luggage followed behind him.
Looking at him up close made him seem even more handsome.
And wasn’t he a little too tall for a twelve-year-old?
I couldn’t stop staring.
I was considered fairly tall among the local children, but Cassis was still a whole head taller than me.
Wow.
He’d look good standing next to Elissa.
As I imagined tiny Elissa standing beside him, I found myself grinning.
Then our eyes met.
The way he looked down at me strangely bothered me.
Huh?
Why is he making that face?
Wondering if I had imagined it, I continued staring at him.
He didn’t look away either.
Before I knew it, our silent examination had turned into a staring contest.
I widened my eyes, determined not to lose.
A moment later, he suddenly laughed and surrendered first.
Feeling victorious, I proudly puffed out my chest—
Then froze.
Ah.
Not again.
I got dragged into acting like a child.
Why was I even having a staring contest?
For some reason, it felt like I had seriously challenged another kid.
To make things worse, didn’t that brat just laugh at me?
Yet Cassis was standing there with the same weak and sickly expression as before.
Only then did I feel embarrassed for mentally picking a fight with a sick child.
Looking at me, Cassis politely asked Mother,
“Is she your daughter?”
“Yes. She’s my daughter. Yveline, say hello.”
“Ah…! I’m Yveline Monstera. Nice to meet you, Cassis.”
I greeted him cheerfully.
He smiled weakly and replied,
“Please take care of me, Yveline.”
It was a little strange how mature he acted, but I assumed he had grown up quickly because of his illness.
A moment ago, meeting someone my age had made me accidentally act like a child as well.
“Okay! Please take care of me too, Cassis.”
I held out my hand for a handshake.
After hesitating briefly, Cassis took it.
Mother watched us with a sentimental expression.
“The last time I saw you was when you were a baby. You’ve grown so much. You must be tired from the journey.”
“Thank you for letting me stay here for a while, Countess.”
Cassis was given a guest room far away from mine.
Exactly as I had planned.
I had deliberately chosen a room far from the guest quarters long ago because I knew this day would come.
Remembering all the preparations I had made to avoid interacting with Cassis, I strengthened my resolve.
To defeat an enemy, you first have to know your enemy.
So I hid behind a pillar far from his room and secretly observed him.
Then a shadow suddenly fell over me.
“Young Lady?”
“Mom! You scared me!”
I jumped and shouted.
Turning around, I saw Paul, the servant who had come with Cassis.
Paul immediately bowed repeatedly.
“I-I’m sorry! You looked like you needed help.”
“O-Oh, no. It’s not that. Um…”
My eyes darted around desperately.
Then an excuse suddenly came to mind.
“Ah! I-I wanted to play hide-and-seek. So… I was playing by myself.”
Paul lowered himself to my eye level.
“Oh, then would you like me to play with you?”
“Um… Yes! Then you can be the seeker, Paul! I’ll hide!”
“Understood, Young Lady.”
Paul smiled brightly, turned toward a pillar, covered his face, and started counting.
Even though the game had started by accident, I had no intention of playing half-heartedly.
If I was going to do it, I was going to do it properly.
Looking around, I searched for the perfect hiding place.
Ah, that’s right.
The library.
It had the most hiding spots.
I immediately ran there.
Once inside, I put on my most serious expression and hid behind a cart in a corner.
The metal cart was perfect for hiding.
In the distance, I could faintly hear Paul shouting,
“I’m coming to find you now!”
For some reason, I became nervous and held my breath.
But I couldn’t hear Paul approaching at all.
Did I hide too far away?
I peeked out to see where he was.
Then I heard someone approaching.
I quickly hid again, covered my mouth, and squeezed my eyes shut.
Why was I so nervous over a game?
The footsteps grew closer and closer.
My heart pounded loudly.
Rustle.
Then I heard the sound of pages turning.
Huh?
I cautiously peeked out—
And immediately ducked back in.
It was Cassis.
Why was he here?
I curled up even smaller, afraid he would spot me.
Unfortunately, my hiding place was beside a chair.
Holding a book under his arm, Cassis walked straight toward it.
Panicking, I searched for another place to hide.
There wasn’t one.
And eventually—
“What are you doing there?”
The seeker never found me.
Cassis found me first.
He looked at me curiously.
“Why are you—”
“Young Lady! Where are you? You’re hiding so well that I can’t find you!”
At that exact moment, Paul’s voice echoed from the hallway.
Startled, I grabbed Cassis and pulled him behind the cart.
“What are you—?!”
“Shh! Be quiet! Paul will hear us.”
I glared at him as threateningly as I could.
Cassis stared at me in disbelief and let out a laugh.
Ignoring him, I pressed myself tightly behind the cart.
Thump. Thump.
Then I heard a heartbeat pounding loudly in my ears.
Afraid Paul would hear it and find us, I squeezed my eyes shut and pressed myself against the wall.
“Young Laaady! Hiding won’t help!”
Fortunately, Paul’s voice gradually moved farther away.
Only after his voice completely disappeared did I finally let out a sigh of relief.
What an idiot.
Did he really think I’d come out just because he called for me?
I was already completely immersed in the game.
Then I suddenly realized something.
The wall against my body was strangely soft.
And it smelled nice.
Thump. Thump.
Why was there a heartbeat coming from the wall?
And why was it so loud?
Without thinking, I touched the wall I was leaning against.
I had thought it was my own heartbeat.
But it was actually coming from the wall.
And when I touched it, the wall moved too.
Like a fish flopping around.
Confused, I placed a hand on my own chest.
My heartbeat was calm.
Wait.
That wasn’t my heartbeat?
After a moment, a sense of dread crept over me.
Slowly, I opened my eyes.
Instead of a wall, I saw a white shirt.
Gasp!
Only then did I realize that I had been pressed tightly against Cassis’s chest the whole time.
Thump. Thump.
The sound of Cassis’s heartbeat echoed through my fingertips.
Everything seemed to move in slow motion.
Blinking, I looked up at him.
His face was strangely red.
No, even his neck was bright red.
Something was clearly wrong with him.
Cassis, who had been tilting his head back, seemed to notice my gaze and looked down.
The distance between us was much closer than I expected.
My entire view was suddenly filled with his face.
