CHAPTER 35……………………………………
“Where did you hear that?”
A sudden thought struck me—that this dreadful name would seem to follow me forever.
No matter how Laseil lived her life, someone—surely at least one person—would remember the Orra estate when they saw her.
They might recall the man who had been expelled from the duke’s house and fallen into ruin.
“When on earth will I ever escape that estate?!”
Her hand tightened on the doorknob until it turned white.
She had gripped it so hard that her hand began to tremble.
“Lord Jaen?”
Irenes’ voice penetrated her ears, which had gone blank, snapping her back to reality.
“You might hurt your hand.”
“…You’re right.”
Her fingers were digging into her palm as she held on tightly.
Even looking at her hand, she felt no pain. Perhaps it was true that when one sense is heightened, others fade.
“You might start bleeding.”
Irenes slowly pried Laseil’s hand away.
Warmth returned to her suddenly cold hand.
“Lord Jaen?”
Only after hearing that voice again did she regain her senses.
It seemed that everyone’s way of addressing her reminded her that her surname was “Jaen.”
“It’s okay now. Thank you.”
After a few deep breaths, the real Laseil turned her head toward the door.
“Lord Orra.”
The voice came again.
But this time, she could answer with certainty.
“There’s no one like that here.”
“Lord Orra.”
“And there never will be.”
“Lord Orra.”
“Now go. You came to the wrong place.”
The hand that had lingered vanished.
Laseil only exhaled once she glanced through the door gap. She hadn’t even realized how tense she had been.
“Um… Lord Jaen.”
Laseil flinched at the voice and turned.
Irenes was still standing nearby, calling her.
‘I don’t really want to talk about surnames.’
But the situation naturally raised curiosity.
While pondering how to divert the conversation smoothly, Irenes continued speaking—but the topic was entirely different from what Laseil expected.
“…The card game isn’t finished yet. Shall we continue?”
“A card game?”
“Or, uh… we could take a walk? I found a nice teahouse nearby. Actually, any teahouse would do if I went with Lord Jaen, but I mean it has really good tea…”
Rambling like that, she had no intention of mentioning the surname.
If anything, it seemed like she was desperately avoiding the topic.
Perhaps this was Irenes’ own way of comforting herself.
‘Still a peculiar person.’
Oddly, just watching Irenes talk about something else lightened Laseil’s mood.
It might have been because Irenes seemed so ordinary, unchanged from usual.
It reminded Laseil that no matter which surname was attached, the attitude of those around her wouldn’t change significantly.
“Alright then. Shall we take a walk?”
“…Of course, you can refuse… right?”
At some point, Irenes was moving her mouth without knowing what she was saying, and she answered absentmindedly.
“I need to visit someone. Well, it’s a bit awkward to call it a walk.”
“That’s fine! Walking outside counts as a walk, doesn’t it?”
Irenes answered still a little dazed.
Seeing this seemed to ease Laseil’s tension somewhat.
“But where are we going?”
“I need to see Lisena.”
The only doctor in this territory, and a spirit practitioner whose spirit had left her.
At least regarding contaminated spirits, Lisena would know better than Yujire.
“Is the timing okay?”
“I’m always free.”
Irenes answered without a second thought. Only after speaking did she worry it might sound too lazy.
Fortunately, Laseil didn’t seem to care.
‘Well, the royal knights rarely intervene in this territory.’
Laseil accepted this and started walking ahead.
If Irenes had been busy, that would have been a problem too. It would mean the royal family had a reason to interfere with the duke’s house.
‘If she had work, she wouldn’t have come.’
Irenes Cieren was extremely meticulous about separating personal and professional matters.
Even with Laseil, whom she considered a close friend, she shared nothing about her work as a royal knight.
‘Work is work… that makes sense.’
Laseil paused mid-walk, lost in thought.
‘Why do I remember this? Was I upset?’
The next thought was embarrassing.
‘Upset?’
“Lord Jaen?”
Irenes’ voice called out, perhaps because Laseil had stopped for too long.
“Are you okay? Shall we rest a bit if you’re tired?”
“…We’ve only walked about ten steps.”
“Uh….”
Laseil stared at the flustered Irenes, who was tongue-tied.
This was the expression Irenes usually showed when speaking with her.
‘Is it really that hard to talk to me?’
They were at least friends. Not that she disliked her, but if asked whether she liked her, Laseil wasn’t sure she’d get an answer.
“Lord Jaen?”
“It’s nothing. Let’s go.”
Her wandering thoughts quickly cleared, and Laseil overtook Irenes to start walking.
“So, where does Lisena live? Is she noble?”
“Next to Elrut’s house. She used to be a spirit practitioner, so she was quasi-noble.”
After the spirit left, her status vanished too, but the remnants remained.
Even Laseil’s way of addressing Lisena reflected this.
Because she had known Lisena since childhood, polite forms slipped out naturally.
Her lifestyle hadn’t changed much since she was a noble.
“…Your name is similar to Lord Jaen’s.”
“Of course. Elrut was inspired by Lisena’s name when naming you ‘Laseil.’”
“Excuse me?”
“I didn’t tell you? She’s Lisena’s older sister.”
“Uh….”
From behind, Irenes grumbled, pondering why someone other than her parents had named her.
She seemed hesitant to bring up her father.
“Originally, they almost used a tombstone inscription, but Elrut stopped them.”
At that time, Elrut and her father weren’t particularly at odds.
Laseil learned this long after staying at the duke’s house.
“A tombstone inscription?”
“The prettiest name among the people around was Lisena. They thought it would be better if it sounded similar to ‘Rusean.’ Hence, Laseil.”
Surprisingly, Laseil’s father accepted it easily. He had been too lazy to name her himself.
“…Was it similar to the Rusean dukes’ name because…?”
Irenes paused before asking.
She was the first to guess why Laseil hadn’t mentioned it herself.
“That’s right. They wanted people to think of the duke’s house first.”
Once the name ‘Rusean’ came to mind, nothing else could interfere.
The prestige of the duke’s house was that strong.
Perhaps Elrut expected Laseil to go to the duke’s house from the start.
Thanks to this, very few people thought of “Orra” when seeing Laseil.
“That’s a good name…”
“Isn’t it?”
Irenes accepted it calmly, without overreacting or shedding tears.
Her answer was simple, but sincere.
“So… ah, we’ve arrived.”
In the midst of their conversation, Lisena’s house appeared.
It was also used as a clinic.
‘She should be home.’
Since she was weak, she likely hadn’t gone outside.
Laseil lightly knocked and called Lisena’s name.
“Lisena! Do you have a moment?”
“Get out!”
Sounds of rustling and something breaking came from inside.
Soon, Lisena appeared, looking as tired as always.
