chapter – 46
The memories of my original world that come to mind are all miserable and difficult, so why on earth do I want to go back so badly?
Why do I miss it this much?
A place with no people to miss, no home to long for…
“Is it homing instinct?”
Ashill let out a hot sigh that bubbled up from within and washed her face with cold water.
Why won’t my heart obey me?
But then, it’s always been like this, so maybe it’s nothing new.
Lifting her heavy eyelids with effort, Ashill slowly raised her body, which felt stuck to the bed like gum.
“Sigh… This meddlesome nature of mine.”
She didn’t want to think about anything, but now that she knew the circumstances, lying still felt as uncomfortable as lying on a bed of needles.
It might be premature to conclude, but there likely was no way to identify the cause of the dust explosion in this world.
Even if the cause were to be found, it would be much later.
And in the meantime, the damage to the Lemerres Count family would increase exponentially, not just twofold.
The damage already incurred was indescribable. She could instantly understand why rumors that the Lemerre Count family was staggering had spread outside—it was that serious.
‘Take good care of the garden.’
As Cali’s words came to mind, a faint smile spread across Ashill’s lips before quickly disappearing.
Now, far more people from this world than she could count on both hands had become familiar and carved their names into a corner of her heart.
But that didn’t mean her original world had become particularly fainter.
Only memories, faded and weathered by time, lingered in that place.
Ashill was about to rub her reddened eyes, which were starting to sting again, but instead pressed down firmly on them.
Her skin was soft, bruised easily, and healed slowly.
“Ugh, who did I take after to have such tofu-like skin?”
Even in her original world, her arms would retain bright red marks for a long time after carrying heavy grocery bags.
Ashill forcibly lifted her spirits, which were trying to sink again, along with an exhaled breath.
“Alright. Let’s finish this quickly and rest.”
Ashill left her room and arrived at the reception room, offering a small smile to the wide-eyed Lemerre twins.
“I’ve kept you waiting.”
“Not at all.”
“We’re the ones who came without an appointment…”
While answering verbally, the twins’ eyes, meeting Ashill’s, were shaking like small boats in a storm.
The twins, who had rushed to the Calient Grand Duchy in one breath, had heard the news of Ashill’s absence.
‘She is unwell…’
‘I’ll wait.’
‘I’ll wait. Please just give this to her.’
The servant who received the thick bundle of documents simply bowed without another word, and the twins waited anxiously for Ashill to appear.
And now.
They had heard she was unwell, but they never imagined her condition would be this poor.
When unwanted guests arrived without an appointment, people often used poor health as an excuse, so they had assumed it was just that.
They were greatly disappointed to be considered ‘unwanted’ by her, but not wanting to invite unwarranted dislike by insisting they had to meet her, they had only relayed their urgent matter.
Yet, Lady Bolscheik once again defied the twins’ expectations and appeared before them.
The skin around her eyes was red and swollen, almost raw, her cheeks were as pale as wax, and her lips were tinged purple.
Look at her from any angle, upside down or right-side up, she seemed in a state where she should be lying down and recuperating.
The twins exchanged a look and simultaneously stood up.
“We should be going.”
“We’ll schedule an appointment and visit another time.”
Ashill, who had just sat down on the sofa, blinked rapidly and then tilted her head.
“Did I arrive too late? If you have other schedules piling up…”
“No.”
“Absolutely not.”
“Then why the hurry?”
Cali opened her mouth to speak but closed it immediately at Anri’s signal.
It would be impolite to state bluntly that they were leaving because the Lady looked like she might collapse at any moment.
Those of noble blood should not easily reveal their weaknesses, and even if a weakness is blatantly obvious, unless one is an enemy, it is customary to pretend not to notice it.
But Ashill, who was still unfamiliar with the nuanced etiquette of noble speech, cocked her head in puzzlement.
Of course, she wasn’t so foolish or selfish as to repeatedly ask questions that wouldn’t yield an immediate answer, so she promptly brought up another topic.
“I looked over the documents you sent.”
At her words, Cali couldn’t hide her surprise and blurted out.
“Huh? No, but you didn’t rest…”
“Cali.”
Anri urgently grabbed her hand, but the words were already out, like spilled water.
Finally understanding the twins’ reason for wanting to leave as soon as they saw her face, Ashill let out a small laugh.
“It’s just my complexion, but I’m fine.”
Her complexion was one thing, but her eyes…
Anri and Cali barely managed to tear their gaze away from her red, swollen eye areas and eyelids, which looked painful just to look at, consciously avoiding staring.
As if reading their thoughts, Ashill added somewhat awkwardly, rubbing her eyelids gently.
“My skin has always been quite soft. It’s nothing, please don’t worry. More importantly, let’s sit down first.”
Naturally pressing down on the twins’ shoulders to make them sit on the sofa, Ashill continued.
“You came because of the explosion, right?”
The unique blue pupils of the Bolscheiks darkened so much they momentarily appeared purple.
In response, the twins’ faces visibly stiffened.
“You came to find the cause. Because of what I let slip.”
“We heard a passing laborer overheard it.”
“You said it was something that could happen.”
Ashill nodded towards Anri, who was consciously avoiding the word ‘fire’.
“Yes. Because I’ve experienced it before.”
“Experienced?”
“The incident?”
Hope and expectation flickered in the twins’ wide eyes.
“But I need to confirm it accurately. So, how about we go take a look together now?”
“Now?”
Their eyes grew even wider than before at the completely unexpected suggestion.
“Strike while the iron is hot… No, since it’s come up, let’s do it quickly.”
Ashill brushed her swollen eyelids and then tapped the back of each twin’s hand once.
“You’ve been suffering because of this accident, haven’t you? It must have been very hard.”
The words themselves were nothing special. The kind of polite remark one might make.
But that single phrase, devoid of any pretense or falsehood, instantly shattered the twins’ defenses.
They hadn’t been able to tell anyone.
How could they possibly tell anyone?
To whom could they say their house was struggling?
Not only that, but whenever someone carelessly mentioned such things, the twins had quietly seethed with anger, and those who spoke loosely had paid the price.
But Ashill was different.
They didn’t know what was so special, what was so different about her.
The small hand patting the backs of their hands, the puffy eyes shown without concealment, and the faintly smiling face…
She was different from others.
They didn’t care if others said they were blinded by affection.
The tiny comfort, which might mean nothing to Ashill, was more than enough for the twins.
Although it was never intentional, she had unhesitatingly shown her vulnerable side to the twins.
Perhaps because of that, the twins’ psychological walls were significantly lowered at that moment.
They didn’t even need to bring up the cost of the ‘thank you’ they had received.
Ashill had willingly offered to help, even though the twins hadn’t requested it first.
Their hearts, tossed by expectation, anxiety, impatience, and worry, relaxed in an instant.
“Sn… sniff.”
“Hic.”
The twins simultaneously burst into tears that had welled up.
Faced with such a sudden turn of events, Ashill’s mouth sealed shut as if glued.
No… Why on earth…?
Did I say something wrong?
Her mind creaked as she turned it over, pondering deeply, but no particular problematic remark came to mind.
Blinking her eyes slowly, Ashill instinctively spread her arms towards the twins.
Pulling the twins into a hug, Ashill whispered with a warm breath.
“There, there, it’s alright now. Everything will be alright.”
Those weren’t just empty words of comfort.
Because the words ‘it will be alright’ carried a firm conviction within them.
The hand patting their backs didn’t stop until the twins’ tears subsided.
Around the time Ashill was meeting with the twins.
Heidel was in the imperial palace, facing the Emperor alongside Ludwig in a three-way confrontation.
Someone who had been asleep as if dead for years without warning had woken up just as unexpectedly years later.
The Emperor looked at Heidel and spoke hollowly.
“You haven’t changed one bit, Duke.”
“Your Majesty has acquired some wrinkles.”
“You still insist on saying things that need not be said.”
“Shall I then oil my tongue a little?”
“Enough. The thought of hearing oiled words from the Duke’s mouth makes me feel even worse.”
The Emperor waved his hand dismissively as if disgusted.
“More importantly, Duke.”
“Yes.”
“I hear you have a younger sister.”
The words were tossed out casually, but Heidel couldn’t possibly miss the suspicion underlying them.
The Emperor continued in a tone as if commenting on today’s lunch being quite good.
“Didn’t you say you were the only one carrying the Bolscheik bloodline?”
To that, Heidel replied with equal nonchalance.
“The former Bolscheik Duke was rather like an onion—no matter how many layers you peeled, there was always something new. It’s not really strange that I don’t know everything, is it?”
He hadn’t expected a grand answer, but it was far too predictable.
The suddenly sleeping family head and the young lady who appeared out of nowhere one day.
Considering the time difference, it was ambiguous to connect them, but this was the Bolscheiks we were talking about.
As the Emperor was about to speak again, thinking there might be more to uncover, the words he intended to say crawled back down his throat at Heidel’s next words…
