Side Story Chapter 10
A little later, Sabina, who was suffering from muscle aches just like Liliane, came upstairs carrying water for washing.
“Miss… please help me…”
“Ah, Sabina, wait a moment!”
Liliane quickly grabbed the water bucket together with her, and the two groaned as they carried it.
After washing her face and changing clothes, Liliane slowly made her way down to the dining hall.
I really don’t want to see him.
The image of Is from yesterday came to mind.
His expression when she told him to give up on trying to exploit her power… that blank look.
He seemed both surprised and frustrated that she had seen through his intentions so easily.
One thing is certain—he didn’t feel good about it.
She had tried to act friendly to get some information, apparently.
He seemed pretty serious about picking the berries, though.
Despite sneaking in with his secret motives, he seemed genuinely committed to gathering the fruit.
No wonder even the villagers, seeing him moving around so diligently, gave him some of the bread and fruit they brought along, telling him to eat.
But still, he wasn’t here with good intentions.
Anyway, I hope he leaves soon.
Before she realized it, she was already in front of the dining hall.
Liliane swallowed hard and forced herself to enter with an unusually cheerful voice.
“Good morning!”
As expected, her father was sitting at the usual spot in the dining hall. And next to him was that man…
“Huh?”
Liliane’s eyes widened as she glanced at the seat beside her father.
She had expected Is to be sitting there, frowning, but the seat was empty.
It wasn’t just Is. The other men who had come with him were gone too.
“…What about the guests? Did they sleep in because they overexerted themselves yesterday?”
“Oh, the guests? They left in a hurry at dawn today. Didn’t they make jam together yesterday?”
“Yes.”
Hopefully, they didn’t leave complaining about being overworked.
“They looked quite tired, so I told them to rest, but they said they had something urgent to check and left.”
“I see…”
Seeing the empty seats, Liliane felt oddly hollow inside.
She had come prepared to be glared at during breakfast, yet they had fled at dawn.
As she sat down, the maids brought breakfast.
Among the dishes was the berry jam they had made yesterday. Seeing it reminded her that Is had picked the most berries.
He had the right to ask for one of his choosing, yet he had vanished.
Should I tell the second-place person instead?
Grumbling to herself about the nuisance, Liliane spread the jam over her bread.
She knew they wouldn’t stay long, but she hadn’t expected them to run off immediately.
He must have felt really guilty about it.
“Still, it’s lucky they left early.”
“The guy made it obvious he didn’t like it from the start.”
Her father gave a bitter smile.
Liliane had been wary of outsiders since she was a child.
But he couldn’t scold her for it. She had inherited her mother’s peculiar traits, so she had been pointed at by many.
At the time, people either feared her power or assumed it was a lie and called her a witch.
Even now, apart from the villagers, other residents of the territory still whispered.
So it was natural for Liliane to be cautious of visitors.
Her father felt a pang of melancholy.
Liliane could live happily and freely in the territory forever.
Though he always pushed her to marry and bear an heir, if she truly wished otherwise, she could adopt a relative to inherit the lordship.
He would leave her a separate fortune, so she would live without want.
But…
Stagnant water inevitably spoils.
He wanted his daughter to become someone who could accept others without fear.
That was why he had hoped when he saw Liliane with the visitor this time.
It was the first time someone had openly shown dislike for her at first glance.
Even though her expression and tone showed her displeasure, her father could tell: Liliane didn’t genuinely dislike him.
Perhaps because of the power her mother had passed on, Liliane instinctively recognized people who tried to cheat or were of poor character.
She wouldn’t sit with them, talk to them, or even look at them.
But she didn’t act like that toward this young man.
Unknowingly, Liliane had been interacting with him, bickering yet conversing subtly.
Her father liked this man.
A handsome young man who shook the daughter who wanted to remain stagnant in one place forever.
He chuckled and spoke to Liliane.
“Don’t be too upset that the guest left without saying goodbye.”
“What? Who said I’m upset? Honestly, I’m almost grateful they left early…”
“He said he’ll be back soon.”
“Whaaaat?”
Liliane dropped her fork in surprise at her father’s words.
“He said he needs to bring someone, so he’s going to the capital for a short while.”
“Maybe he just wanted an excuse to leave quickly?”
“Liliane, our territory may be rural, but it’s not exactly a place to run away from… well, maybe he decided to run because we overworked him yesterday.”
Unable to respond, Liliane bit into her bread.
He’ll come back?
Normally, she should have been annoyed, but strangely, she wasn’t that upset.
After finishing breakfast, Liliane met the maids who were tidying the guest rooms.
“Hi. Cleaning from the morning?”
“Yes! Everyone was so curious about the guests’ rooms that they all wanted to clean!”
The maids laughed, and one of them held a jar of jam.
“What’s that jam?”
“Oh, that? It was left in the guests’ room. We gave two jars each, Ed and Tis took theirs, but Is just left his behind. So we’re bringing it back to the kitchen.”
“Hmm, that person… didn’t like the countryside jam, huh?”
Liliane snorted and took the jam jar.
“I’ll take this to the kitchen.”
Handing the jar to the maids, she went down to the kitchen.
The head chef smiled at her.
“Why does our lady look so grumpy this morning?”
“They didn’t want to take it with them, so they left it.”
Liliane set the jar down with a thud, folding her arms and complaining.
“Our territory’s jam sells so well in the capital, yet they left it behind. Hmph, they have no taste.”
After airing her complaints, Liliane left the castle, her shoulders stiff with tension.
Entering the forest, she felt the cool morning air and heard birds singing.
Walking alone, her troubled mind slowly cleared.
He’ll come back?
Her father’s words kept echoing. Would he really return here?
No way.
She was sure he had made up a convenient excuse to leave.
Looking up at the dense forest, she felt both relief and a twinge of boredom at the unchanging scenery.
It was the first time she had felt such a thing.
Weeks passed after the guests had left. Even the maids, who had been talking constantly about them, barely mentioned their names anymore.
“Lord! The guests have arrived!”
A servant burst into the castle, shouting.
Liliane, who was inside, jumped up and ran outside.
She saw them dismounting from their sweat-drenched horses. They were surely the guests from before.
And at the front, naturally, was Is.
“You….”
As Liliane stared at him in shock, Clois strode forward and stood before her.
Looking at her face, he said:
“I’ll speak frankly. I’m curious about you. I want to know the source of your power. So I brought someone from the Academy who is most knowledgeable about this.”
“What…?”
Before Liliane could comprehend, a young woman still on horseback weakly raised her hand.
“Uh, h-hi… I’m Seraphina Lydum, a mage from the Capital Academy… ugh.”
“Seraphina!”
“Don’t die!”
As Seraphina clamped her mouth shut, looking like she might vomit at any moment, Edgar and Curtis patted her back.
One person was nauseous, two were tending to her, and amidst this chaotic scene of someone suddenly claiming curiosity, Liliane realized:
Crazy… they even brought their staff along?
Her frustrated voice echoed through the castle.
