CHAPTER 83………………………….
“Then go to the library now and bring me a book on northern etiquette. I’ll write you a letter with my signature—show it to the librarian and he’ll hand it over.”
“Huh?”
Larienne asked back without thinking.
Such a trivial errand could easily be left to a maid. There was no need to make her do it…
“Ah, okay.”
She stopped thinking and simply nodded.
Just a few months ago, Larienne used to treat Etisha like a porter.
She would send her around to various designers’ salons in the capital to fetch custom orders.
Half of them weren’t even finished yet, so Larienne deliberately made her go back and forth multiple times just to mock her.
Thinking about that, fetching a few books from the library was nothing in comparison.
“I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere, Ti sha. Promise?”
Hurriedly getting ready, Larienne took Etisha’s handwritten note and left the room.
Only then did Etisha, left alone, let out a long sigh.
“Haa…”
She hadn’t made Larienne run errands out of spite or for revenge over the past.
What she needed was time alone. Having just woken from another fainting spell, even sitting upright was difficult.
Still, the result was convenient—time to rest alone, and if Larienne thought it was punishment, so much the better.
Etisha slowly walked to the window, sat on the sill, and closed her eyes.
‘…Was it really the right decision to come to Larienne?’
Maybe the illness had clouded her judgment and driven her to make a ridiculous choice.
Of all the people in the world—why Larienne?
‘Why…’
There were only two people who knew about Etisha’s illness.
Cayenne and Larienne.
Two people who carried Etisha’s greatest secret.
One was the person she loved most in the world.
The other, the one she hated most in the world.
Her feelings for the two couldn’t be more opposite, but both were bound by the same shared knowledge.
‘It’s only until the debutante ball. Once that’s over, I’ll have her thrown out of Wintel Castle.’
And if Larienne did even the smallest thing to displease her before then, she would be mercilessly expelled on the spot.
‘Not long now…’
For a moment, Etisha recalled Larienne kneeling at her feet.
But the image vanished quickly, without meaning.
Etisha was terminally ill, facing inevitable pain and death.
Whether Larienne knelt or begged made no difference to her reality.
All she could do was let out another weary sigh.
‘When Larienne comes back with the books, I’ll start the debutante preparations right away.’
She looked out the window.
Larienne’s guest room was more like a storage closet, a dim little corner compared to her own chamber.
The only view was the towering Wintel walls and the cramped space beneath them.
For someone like Larienne, who hated feeling trapped more than anyone, how had she managed to stay there this long?
‘Strange… she’s taking longer than I expected. The library isn’t that far.’
Etisha waited, dragging out the time.
Meanwhile, Larienne was stuck being interrogated by Wintel’s strict head librarian, accused of forging Etisha’s signature.
After going back and forth between the main castle library and her guest room several times, enduring endless hassle, she finally managed to prove the signature was genuine and get the books.
But there were so many volumes, and they were heavy, forcing her to make multiple trips.
Despite the mishaps, Etisha’s debutante preparations progressed smoothly.
Larienne obeyed every order without complaint and endured even humiliating tasks without protest.
Before long, rumors spread through Wintel Castle.
“Click, click. Just how far will Lady Heinz’s reputation fall…?”
“She used to bully her sister, but now that the younger one’s the duchess-to-be, she’s groveling to get on her good side. Probably hoping to be thrown a fortune if she rolls over like a dog.”
“Shameless creature. One day she’s scowling, the next she’s fawning over Lady Etisha as if she’s changed overnight.”
“Honestly… our lady is too kind. If it were me, I’d have beaten that disowned half-sister senseless and tossed her out.”
The better Etisha’s preparations went, the lower Larienne’s reputation sank.
But even when she heard the gossip, Larienne didn’t lash out or seek revenge on the rumor-mongers.
She would rather spend that time by Etisha’s side.
And in the end, she got what she wanted. From then on, Etisha sometimes came to her guest room.
Unlike Etisha’s bedroom, nobody entered Larienne’s cramped quarters. There, Etisha could groan or scream freely during her seizures.
“Aagh…! Hhh…!”
“Ti—Tisha…! Oh god, what do I do? Please, don’t die, don’t die…!”
Every time she witnessed an attack, Larienne wept as if her own life were ending.
But Etisha eventually snapped at her.
“Enough. Haah… stop crying already, sister. You’re too loud. My head hurts.”
“Huh…?”
“I said my head hurts. What if someone hears you? Never cry in front of me again.”
“O-okay… I won’t. I remember, I remember—you said your ears are sensitive. I’ll be quiet.”
Larienne immediately wiped her tears. From then on, whenever Etisha seized, she dug her nails into her thigh to hold back her sobs.
She was never one to cry easily. As a notorious troublemaker, she made others cry—never herself.
Even when she had once slapped herself and slammed her head into a wall trying to force tears, she had remained dry-eyed.
But with Etisha, tears came flooding without end.
“…That face, too. Do something about it.”
“My face? What’s wrong with it?”
“You know perfectly well your looks are your only redeeming trait. Don’t scowl. You’ll look ugly.”
“What… did you just say?”
“…Nothing. Just… leave me alone for a while. I’m tired. I want to be alone.”
“Ah, right. Okay, I’ll go.”
Like an obedient dog, Larienne jumped up and left at once.
Outside, she leaned against the closed door and practiced smiling sweetly.
Etisha had told her not to frown—so she mustn’t frown anymore.
‘Ah… I’m so tired.’
Dragging her exhausted body, Etisha returned to her chamber and collapsed on her bed.
She should have changed clothes, but she hadn’t the strength.
Just now, she had suffered another attack while preparing for the debutante with Larienne and had only just calmed down.
‘The debutante is so close. I’ll be fine until then… right?’
Lying there, she closed her eyes.
If an attack struck during the party, Larienne had promised to cover for her.
<Don’t worry, Tisha. If it comes to it, I’ll just say I poisoned you. Everyone will believe it.>
Absurd as it was, it seemed more convincing than claiming pregnancy nausea. People might actually buy it.
‘Ceremony order, etiquette, entrance, greetings, personal introductions, dance, song after the dance, closing remarks…’
She went over the details of the debutante ball in her mind, until her body slackened with fatigue.
It wasn’t as elaborate as a wedding, but striving for perfection made her obsessively review it all.
At this rate, she would even dream of the party.
‘Dream…?’
Thinking of dreams, one person came to mind.
‘Is the duke busy?’
Her dreams belonged entirely to Cayenne.
She was busy with her side of the preparations, and he with his.
While she practiced ceremonies, he handled planning, staging, invitations, decorations—even trivial things he needn’t do himself.
‘…Even picking out the party cake was unexpected.’
According to Marin, Cayenne had tasted thirteen different candidate cakes, carefully choosing the one for the event.
Cayenne, who didn’t even like sweets, had gone to such lengths for her. That had surprised her deeply.
‘It’s only a debutante. Isn’t he doing too much for me? Why…?’
She shifted restlessly in bed.
Strangely, thinking of Cayenne melted away her fatigue. She felt light, thinking only of him.
‘But really… why is he doing this?’
Her fingers played with strands of her pink hair spread across the bed, tickling her fingertips as she pictured his face.
‘Come to think of it, it is strange.’
At first, she thought it was because of Rayen Wintel.
She assumed Cayenne’s unusual behavior was due to his longing for him.
But now that she thought carefully, something didn’t add up.
Would yearning for Rayen Wintel make him give away angel hearts, or taste thirteen cakes?
Did that make sense?
Her fingers froze midair. A strange suspicion stirred.
‘…No way.’
Impossible.
‘Could it be… the duke… likes me?’
Ridiculous.
Her blue eyes widened. Just then, the door opened silently.
Cayenne stood there.
Etisha leapt up and hastily straightened her clothes.
Had he seen her sprawled across the bed, still in her day dress?
“Ah, Duke—no, Cayenne, you’re here?”
Her flustered face flushed red as she greeted him.
Cayenne gave her a faint smile and answered in a low, gentle voice.
“Yes, my lady. I see you’re awake tonight.”
“Y-yes… I was just about to sleep.”
She couldn’t bring herself to meet his eyes.
Perhaps it was her imagination, but Cayenne seemed kinder, warmer than ever.
