TNDM 04

Chapter : 04

“Then, instead of forgiving you, would you do me one favor?”

“If it’s a favor…”

“But before that, I have a few questions.”

Coughing lightly, Cecilia finally asked the question that had been bothering her ever since last night.

“Are you unmarried?”

“…Pardon?”

He looked utterly bewildered, as though doubting his own hearing.

When Cecilia urged him on with a look, without correcting herself in the slightest, he hurriedly nodded.

“Yes, yes!”

“Then do you perhaps have a secret lover whom your parents oppose?”

“What? No!”

“Or a fiancée arranged through an agreement between your families?”

“N-No, nothing like that.”

“What about a childhood friend you’ve secretly cherished since you were young?”

“I don’t have one…”

Oh, he passes.

“Um, may I ask why you’re asking me these things…?”

“I was just curious.”

Having finally finished her questions, Cecilia nodded in satisfaction.

No matter how desperate she was, she couldn’t simply covet someone who already belonged to another person.

Feeling much more at ease, Cecilia revealed her desire without hesitation.

“What I’d like to ask of you is that you, Young Master…”

“Rien will do.”

“Yes, Rien. While you’re staying in the territory, I’d like it if you could spend time with me like this from time to time. I couldn’t attend the Academy, so I don’t have a single friend.”

I was a graduate student in my old life, and now I’m not even a high school graduate here.

The thought of her drastically shortened educational background irritated her all over again, but the moment she saw his dumbfounded expression, her anger vanished as if it had never existed.

“C-Could I really… do that?”

“Of course.”

Fortunately, it seemed that he had taken the request—which would serve as the foundation for Plan D—quite positively.

Seeing his hesitation, Cecilia eagerly encouraged him and quickly added,

“Oh, Rien, you can call me by my name, too.”

“…Lady Cecilia.”

She had expected him to be a little uncomfortable with such a premature suggestion.

Instead, he looked even more touched than before.

Almost as though this were the first time he had ever become close to someone or called someone by their first name.

Could it be that this man has no friends?

With such a timid personality, there was a good chance he had been unable to assert himself among the proud nobles of the capital.

Cecilia gave him a sympathetic look.

Whether or not he realized he had inadvertently earned her pity, Rien murmured her name, “Cecilia,” one more time before subtly lifting the corners of his lips.

Just as she had expected, it was a smile as beautiful as Daye.

It was another perfectly clear morning in this otherworldly world.

Unlike the previous days, when Cecilia had forced herself out of bed while brooding over the failure of her plans, she woke up feeling lighthearted.

All thanks to Plan D, which was proceeding smoothly.

We’ve at least become something resembling friends. The weather is nice today, too, so maybe I should suggest going on a picnic together.

If she used treating her injured hand as an excuse to repay him, it would be difficult for him to refuse.

After quickly freshening herself up, Cecilia picked up the ball of fur beneath her bed and held it in her arms.

“Charles, you’re coming with me today too, right?”

For reference, she had named the cat “Charles” after a scientist she admired.

Perhaps Charles possessed intelligence as advanced as that of the original owner of his name, because he seemed to understand her words and answered with a short, “Nyaa~.”

“Then I’ll stop by the kitchen first and…”

“Are you going next door again?”

“Eek! You startled me!”

Cecilia spun around in surprise.

Melanie, who had been standing like a ghost beyond the half-open door, bowed her head before striding toward her.

“My lady, as I told you before, it’s dangerous to get close to a man whose identity you don’t even know!”

“Rien isn’t dangerous.”

“My goodness, you’ve already exchanged names? Really, you never used to behave like this.”

“Well, that’s because of the fever…”

Cecilia trailed off awkwardly.

My lady, you’ve been acting a little strange lately…

It’s just that… I think my memory has been a little hazy since I was sick.

That was the excuse she had given when Melanie, who had been watching Cecilia from closer than anyone else, noticed something strange and questioned her.

What? Then we can’t just leave it like this! We need to call a priest immediately!

No! I don’t want to worry Father any more. My memories will gradually come back. Okay?

Perhaps her earnest plea had worked remarkably well, because Melanie had been unable to refuse her request to keep the secret.

Even so, she seemed completely unable to adjust to her mistress’s behavior, which had changed by 180 degrees.

Unable to hide her concern and confusion, Melanie soon shook her head.

“But you can’t go today.”

“…Why?”

At those words, which struck her like a bolt from the blue, Cecilia dropped Charles onto the bed with a little thump.

“Young Master returned this morning. The Marquis told you to attend lunch, so you need to start getting ready now.”

“…Young Master?”

There was only one person Melanie could possibly mean by “Young Master.”

Cecilia’s only sibling and the heir to House Weberdin—

Knox Weberdin.

In other words, her older brother.

Cecilia’s expression crumpled, though for an entirely different reason than before.

My brother…

Fortunately, the basic passive skill of transmigration—the language patch—had worked.

Her memories, however, had not.

Furthermore, Knox had happened to be away in the capital when she transmigrated into Cecilia’s body, so she had never met him even once.

In other words, she had absolutely no idea how she was supposed to behave toward her own brother in a way that would seem “Cecilia-like.”

It doesn’t seem like they had a bad relationship, though.

Cecilia pulled out a letter that had been discarded beneath the desk drawer.

Her only connection to him was a single letter he had sent from the capital.

I heard you’ve been very sick, so I’m sending you some painkillers that have been selling well in the capital lately.

Apparently, Cecilia had suffered from a severe illness shortly before Cecilia herself transmigrated into her body.

Judging by the fact that he had worried about his sister from far away and even sent her a letter and a gift, he clearly cared quite a lot about her.

Why, wasn’t that a common trope in romantic fantasy novels?

A handsome, outstanding older brother who absolutely doted on his younger sister.

The only problem was that the painkillers he had enclosed tasted absolutely horrible, as though every nasty medicinal herb imaginable had been mixed together.

The memory of that horrific taste was still so vivid that Cecilia shuddered.

In any case, this might not be as bad as she had initially thought.

He might even become an ally like Melanie.

Of course, that depended on her not getting caught pretending to be Cecilia.

“We’ll be late at this rate! Let’s get you changed first.”

After checking the time, Melanie promptly rolled up both sleeves.

In the end, Cecilia was changed from her comfortable dress into a proper gown and headed toward the dining room, dragging the long skirt behind her.

She hadn’t even had time to settle her anxious heart, torn between worry and anticipation.

The moment she reached the entrance, she came face-to-face with him.

“Cici!”

A man with a noble appearance, like a divine creation beloved by a god from mythology, smiled warmly and waved at her, his green eyes curving gently.

His golden hair glittered as brightly as spring sunlight. Cecilia felt as though she could recognize him from a hundred miles away.

After quickly looking him over, Cecilia cautiously greeted him.

“Hello. …Brother.”

For someone who had lived her entire previous life as the unquestioned eldest daughter, that form of address was incredibly awkward.

Cecilia rubbed her goosebump-covered arm and gave him a gentle smile.

This should be close enough to how the usual Cecilia would act, right?

Contrary to her expectations, however, the handsome man’s beautiful face hardened with seriousness.

Knox closed the distance between them in a few long strides and firmly grabbed her cheeks, lifting her face.

“Are you still sick?”

He looked so worried that Cecilia instinctively waved both hands.

“No! Thanks to you worrying about me, I’ve completely recovered.”

“But…”

The man trailed off, his furrowed brows showing no sign of relaxing.

He really is a sister-obsessed idiot, isn’t he?

A brother who cherished his younger sister that much?

Wasn’t that a creature more legendary than a unicorn?

Hey! We’ve got a huge problem! Hurry up and come to my room!
Quit bullshitting and get lost. You just want me to turn off the lights again.
I’m serious! Something really happened!
Oh, what?!
Close the window for me.
Please go die somewhere.

She could easily recall conversations with her actual younger sibling.

That’s how reality works.

She was just beginning to feel that this situation lent even more credibility to the “I’ve been possessed by the protagonist of a novel” theory when—

“You really don’t look like you’ve recovered mentally.”

“What?”

Cecilia abruptly raised her head at the low murmur coming from above her.

What? Did I hear that wrong?

It almost sounded as though he had clicked his tongue.

“I’m sorry, Cici. It’s all my fault.”

“…What?”

“I’ve been praying every single day that God would take away that hopeless head of yours. But I didn’t mean for you to become this strange.”

“…”

“Ah, could the medicine I sent back then have gone bad?”

“…The medicine you sent with the letter?”

“Yes. I picked the one with the most disgusting taste, but it wasn’t poisonous.”