Chapter: 67
The doctor summoned at the Duchess’s insistence examined me with nothing short of his utmost effort.
It was almost enough to make one think I was a critically ill patient.
From the doctor’s perspective, that was only natural.
With the Duchess glaring at him so fiercely, he would probably try everything he could, even if it was like being forced to eat mustard after all.
And then—
“Lady Ansi is perfectly healthy.”
…Of course, there was absolutely nothing wrong with me.
“Are you really sure she’s healthy?”
The Duchess interrogated the doctor with her eyes wide open.
“She doesn’t have even the slightest sign of a cold? Or a racing heart because she was so startled? Or dizziness?”
“Judging by her current condition, I don’t believe she has any of those symptoms…”
“But you never know! What if Lady Ansi ends up bedridden?”
“Please don’t worry, Your Grace.”
The doctor soothed the Duchess while wiping away cold sweat.
“She is truly perfectly fine.”
“Really? You really mean it?”
“Yes. Surely you don’t think I would lie to Your Grace?”
Only after hearing the doctor’s confirmation several times did the Duchess finally calm down a little.
After that—
“Then I shall take my leave.”
The doctor left the room.
“……”
“……”
An awkward silence settled over the room.
Until just a moment ago, the Duchess had been so agitated that I had been swept up in her excitement as well.
I glanced sideways at the Duchess.
‘Is she feeling a little better now?’
She had seemed strangely upset lately, after all.
At that moment, the Duchess cautiously called out to me.
“Lady Ansi.”
“Yes, Your Grace?”
“Um… you know. About earlier…”
The Duchess furtively watched my expression before squeezing her eyes shut and blurting out,
“I’m sorry for eavesdropping while you were talking with the other ladies.”
Oh, that?
I shrugged and replied,
“It’s all right. I already knew.”
“Y-You did?”
“Of course. The hem of your dress was sticking out from behind the pillar.”
I smiled, narrowing my eyes slightly.
“If you’re going to hide somewhere in the future, you should make sure to keep your dress hidden properly.”
“Ughhh…”
The Duchess’s face turned as red as a ripe apple.
“W-Why didn’t you tell me?!”
“Did you give me a chance to?”
Struck right where it hurt, the Duchess sulkily closed her mouth.
After a moment—
“First of all, thank you so much for what you did today.”
The Duchess murmured with a sigh.
“But please don’t do something like that again.”
“Your Grace?”
“For Lady Ansi to take the water in my place… I don’t know how to put it.”
The Duchess bit her lip.
“It makes me feel as though I’ve become exactly the same kind of person as Lady Lopez.”
For a moment, I was at a loss for words.
“We’re friends. I…”
The Duchess took a deep breath before finishing her sentence.
“I don’t like it when my friend has to suffer something terrible in my place.”
I tried to say something in response, but my lips merely moved without producing any words.
Something felt strange.
There was something the Duchess usually said like a habit.
“We’re friends because we signed a friendship contract. That’s why I care about you!”
…She wasn’t saying that today?
At the same time, the Duchess swallowed nervously.
Then, as though she were about to make the most important confession in the world, she called my name with utmost seriousness.
“Lady Ansi.”
“Yes.”
Her solemn voice made me instinctively straighten my posture.
“I realized that I haven’t been very rational until now.”
The Duchess tightly clasped her hands, which rested on her lap.
“We’re both adults, and I can’t monopolize Lady Ansi.”
“Your Grace?”
“When Lady Ansi was spending time with the other ladies, you looked like you were having a lot of fun. So I…”
The Duchess lowered her head.
“I was jealous.”
Jealous?
My eyes widened.
Avoiding my gaze, the Duchess continued in a voice as quiet as a mosquito’s.
“To be honest, at first, I really did spend time with Lady Ansi because of my reputation.”
“……”
“But things are different now.”
The Duchess suddenly raised her head.
Her lake-blue eyes looked directly into mine.
“I’ve come to truly cherish Lady Ansi. So…”
Her voice, which had been so timid just moments ago, no longer trembled.
The Duchess declared firmly,
“Now, instead of being bound together by a ‘friendship contract,’ I want us to become real friends.”
What?
I couldn’t believe my ears.
The Duchess spoke slowly and clearly, with complete conviction.
“Lady Ansi is such a wonderful person, so you’ll probably make many friends besides me in the future. Even so…”
She trailed off for a moment before cautiously asking me,
“I want to remain Lady Ansi’s best friend from now on. Would that be possible?”
Ah.
At that moment, something hot welled up from the depths of my chest.
For one thing, this was the first time someone had ever thought of me so seriously.
And…
I truly had never imagined that person would be the Duchess.
‘What should I do?’
The tip of my nose tingled.
I felt as though I might shed a few tears, so I gently bit my lip.
‘I’m so happy…’
Perhaps she interpreted my silence in some other way, because the Duchess immediately became worried and began studying my expression.
“L-Lady Ansi?”
“……ood.”
Maybe it was because my throat was tight.
I couldn’t get the words out properly.
The Duchess tilted her head.
“Hm? What did you say?”
She looked like a cat staring up at its owner.
Even though I was overwhelmed with emotion, I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“I said yes.”
“R-Really?”
The Duchess looked at me with wide, startled eyes.
I nodded vigorously.
“Of course. I’ve always…”
I swallowed back the tears that kept threatening to rise and smiled brightly.
“I’ve always wanted to be Your Grace’s best friend, too.”
As soon as she heard my answer, the Duchess let out a long sigh and slumped down.
“Haaaaaaah…”
“Y-Your Grace?”
I looked at the Duchess in confusion.
The Duchess looked almost on the verge of tears as she whined at me.
“I was so nervous.”
“What? Why?”
“Because I was afraid Lady Ansi might reject me.”
“That could never happen.”
I shook my head and continued sincerely,
“I’m actually so happy that you said that to me.”
At my words, the Duchess looked at me with an indescribable expression.
Joy, delight, satisfaction, and overwhelming emotion were all mixed together on her face.
“Then… are we going to get rid of the friendship contract now?”
At the Duchess’s question, I readily nodded.
“Of course. Now that we’re getting rid of the friendship contract…”
I brought up something that had been bothering me for a long time.
“That means the clause about paying me a maintenance allowance for preserving my dignity disappears too, right?”
“Huh?”
The Duchess looked at me in surprise.
“Do we really need to remove that clause? Can’t you just accept that much?”
“I understand very well that you want to take care of me, Your Grace.”
After drawing that line, I carefully chose my next words.
Money was a sensitive matter, after all, and I wanted to avoid being misunderstood as much as possible.
Especially because this person was the Duchess.
I didn’t want to be misunderstood by someone precious to me.
“However, I believe true friends aren’t bound together by money, but by their hearts.”
“B-But…”
“Of course, I know you added that clause because you wanted to treat me well. And I also know how much you’ve looked after me all this time.”
After saying that, I smiled gently.
“But a relationship where I’m only receiving things from you… makes me uncomfortable.”
In fact, ever since we signed the friendship contract,
I hadn’t touched a single penny of the maintenance allowance the Duchess had given me.
Our family wasn’t actually struggling financially to begin with.
And after cutting off the money that had been flowing to Seraphina, we had become quite comfortable financially.
More importantly—
‘How could friends take money from each other?’
When we first signed the friendship contract, I had been too overwhelmed to object, and I had been so pleased simply because we had actually signed the contract that I hadn’t stopped her.
But I had always intended to get rid of that clause someday.
‘It’s actually a good thing things turned out this way.’
I nodded with satisfaction.
