Chapter 38
“How can there be such a kind child...? So the people back then were terribly mistaken.”
“Sob... She really is such a good daughter!”
“That’s why people need to see things with their own eyes before judging, isn’t it? Come here. How much you’ve suffered... You poor thing.”
After speaking with Cecilia, the Duchess was quickly won over and embraced her with tears in her eyes.
As anyone could see, my daughter was kind and adorable.
“Thank you, Duchess Crozet...”
“Cecilia... From now on, call me Godmother. I’ll make sure to clear up the misunderstanding about you. Just trust me!”
“...Godmother.”
“That’s right!”
Good grief. Anyone seeing them would think they were parent and child.
Who could look at them and think they had only met for the first time today?
Seeing the heartwarming sight of the two of them put me in a good mood as well.
To be honest, I had been a little anxious. What did I know about helping her make her debut in high society?
I had neither knowledge nor connections, and the only person who could have helped me was Elaine. But he was divorced, so he probably wouldn’t have been much help either.
Yet I was incredibly lucky to gain the help of someone who could be considered the pinnacle of the capital’s social circles.
“But, Godmother... Are you all right? You came to find Father, so does that mean something is wrong with you?”
Kind-hearted Cecilia’s expression stiffened as she asked the Duchess, apparently worried about her.
The insensitive knight cleared his throat, and the Duchess blushed as though she had remembered what happened that day.
“...Don’t worry. Your father healed me completely.”
“That’s a relief... My father is amazing, isn’t he?”
“Mmh... He was amazing... Very...”
Uh, Duchess, what’s with that expression?
The look she gave me as she glanced over was incredibly suggestive.
Come to think of it, Sexual Stimulation had gained an addictive effect when it reached level 10...
She looked ready to ask me to treat her again without the knight knowing.
“Then I’ll contact you once we head up to the capital.”
“But do you have somewhere to stay? I heard you sold all your property in the capital before leaving.”
“I have some money I earned here, though it isn’t much. We’re thinking of finding a house about this size.”
“Hmm... Instead, come stay at our home. With the misunderstanding about you two not yet cleared up, I’d be too worried to leave you on your own.”
I hadn’t thought of that... but she was absolutely right.
Even if things had calmed down somewhat, it hadn’t been that long since the incident. Once word spread that we had returned to the capital, there might well be people who would try to harm us.
“Would that really be all right? I’m worried we’d be imposing too much.”
“Oh my, of course it would. If I’d known you had such a cute daughter, I would have invited you sooner.”
The Duchess stroked Cecilia’s head and told her not to worry.
Cecilia really was a frightening child... Had she already maxed out her favorability?
Thanks to her, life in the capital seemed like it would be more comfortable than I had expected.
====
“How vulgar. Coveting another man while you’re already committing adultery...”
Late that night, after putting Deokbae to sleep, Cecilia murmured as she stroked his finger.
“But I can’t help it. She can be of use to me and Father.”
She brought his finger to her mouth and sucked on it, then pressed it against her pussy.
“...Only until she’s served her purpose...”
She began masturbating with his finger.
“Hehe... That soiled finger—I’ll clean it for you, Father...”
====
Two weeks later, after receiving word from the Duchess, we headed for the capital.
I had grown rather fond of the village of Opien, but it was time for us to leave.
It was a little disappointing, but there were no more virgins left for me to deflower here... The excitement of going to the capital outweighed my disappointment.
“Father... I’m scared...”
Oh dear. As the capital began to come into view outside the carriage, Cecilia started trembling anxiously.
She had experienced an incident like that when she was young, so it must have left her traumatized... I hugged my poor daughter tightly.
The sight of Cecilia trembling in my arms was truly pitiful.
“Ria, don’t worry. Daddy’s right beside you.”
“Father... Please never leave my side.”
“Of course.”
After I stroked her head, Cecilia finally seemed reassured and stopped trembling.
Even so, Cecilia didn’t leave my arms. Of course, I had no intention of letting her go either.
As we held each other, the carriage soon entered the capital and arrived at the Crozet residence.
***
“Wow... It’s huge. Is this really where we’ll be living from now on?”
“Make yourselves comfortable, as if this were your own home. I’ve already told everyone to expect you.”
“Thank you so much, Duchess.”
“Oh my, that isn’t why I did this, so please don’t say that.”
When we got down from the carriage, the Duchess came out to greet us.
She treated us just like family. Her claim that she thought of Cecilia as her daughter had not been a lie.
Once she acted that way, the servants of the estate treated us like its owners as well.
So this was nobility... Satisfied with the noble life I was experiencing for the first time since entering ‘Heroine Netori,’ I went to sleep comfortably.
Of course, Cecilia was with me.
====
The next day, the Duchess and I discussed a few things.
First, there was Duke Liam, the master of the estate.
He still hadn’t returned to the capital. Therefore, our stay here had been entirely the Duchess’s decision.
She had informed the Duke about us without consulting him, but apparently he accepted it without complaint, perhaps because he was henpecked.
Next, there was the matter of Cecilia sleeping in the same room as me.
The Duchess said Cecilia now needed to move on from relying on me, but I refused under the pretext of her trauma.
I agreed that Cecilia should eventually move on, but because of the anxiety she had developed upon returning to the capital, I couldn’t make her sleep alone.
But then the Duchess offered to sleep with Cecilia in my place.
What a sly woman. That had been her goal all along.
Cecilia seemed to like the Duchess, since she didn’t refuse. We agreed to take turns putting Cecilia to bed.
Lastly, there was the matter of my work as a doctor.
The Duchess asked whether I could also treat patients outside my work at the academy.
It seemed she intended to use my healing ability as one of her assets.
Since the Duchess and I had become mutually beneficial partners, I naturally agreed.
Of course, we arranged for me to receive separate compensation. I wasn’t a fool, and I wouldn’t work for free.
“Then we’ve covered everything urgent. Leave Cecilia’s social debut to me. I’ll give her the most magnificent debut in the capital.”
“I’ll place my trust in you, Duchess.”
====
A few days later, after receiving my letter of recommendation, I picked up Cecilia’s recommendation letter as well and headed to the academy with her early in the morning.
Cecilia clung to me the entire way and showed no intention of letting go.
That must have been how anxious she was... I was happy, but it left a bitter taste in my mouth.
When we arrived at the academy, the memories of ‘Deokbae Asil’ flashed through my mind like a series of fleeting images. The academy had not changed at all from my memories.
So this really was a building made with magic...
The academy was quiet, perhaps because it was vacation, and despite how vast the grounds were, there wasn’t a single student in sight.
Thanks to that, Cecilia seemed reassured and wore a bright expression.
Since we had arrived early, we spent the time before our appointment touring various parts of the academy as though we were on a date.
“This is the infirmary. It’s where I’ll be working.”
“Hehe... I’ll come visit every day. This bed is mine now.”
“No. If you come when you aren’t sick, I’ll punish you.”
“That’s mean... I’ll tell Godmother everything!”
While Cecilia and I were fooling around in the empty infirmary, the door opened with a rattle.
What was that? Was someone coming even though it was vacation? I heard the previous school nurse had quit. Had the previous nurse left some belongings behind?
Curious, I walked toward the entrance and found a woman standing there.
Pink, curly hair like something out of a comic fell all the way to her waist,
and two beautiful eyes were set in an incredibly small face.
Her waist was so slender it looked breakable, and her exposed shoulders were as white as the first snow.
Struck speechless by her beauty, I stared at her,
and she looked at me in surprise.
“...How are you alive...”
She muttered something, but her voice was too quiet for me to hear.
But still, I had never imagined we would meet like this...
When I stood there in confusion without saying a word, Cecilia stepped forward and greeted her.
“Hehe, hello. My name is Cecilia Asil, and I’ll be attending the academy starting next year. It’s nice to meet you.”
For some reason, the woman looked at Cecilia with a pale face, then fled from the spot.
I couldn’t understand why she had acted that way, but I had no room to think about anything else at the moment.
“What a strange person. She didn’t even return my greeting.”
“...I suppose.”
Because she was Luina Aubert.
The protagonist of this ‘Heroine Netori.’
====
As usual, Luina entered the infirmary to get medicine and met a man she had never seen before.
No—in reality, she had never seen him, but she remembered him.
‘No way... Deokbae Asil was dead! Why is someone who committed suicide here?!’
She already had a headache, and seeing someone who should have been dead made her head feel as though it were splitting apart.
‘The original story is completely different. Is all this because of me? Wait... If Deokbae Asil is alive, then that ‘witch’...?’
A girl who looked incredibly cute and innocent appeared before the shocked Luina.
‘...The witch!’
But she was anything but innocent. Luina knew that better than anyone.
Fear came rushing over her. Cold sweat ran down her back, and her legs trembled violently. Her breathing grew ragged and her pupils widened. She needed to move, to run, but her feet refused to budge.
Seeing her like that, the girl in front of her smiled.
Luina was horrified.
‘I-I’m going to die! No! Why is the witch here... I-I don’t want to die!’
The girl slowly approached her and whispered,
“Nice to meet you, Miss Luina Aubert.”
Goosebumps covered Luina’s entire body. She could no longer breathe.
Her thoughts stopped. Her mind filled with fear and terror.
She wanted to give up on life just like this.
“Hehe.”
At that moment, the girl smiled as she looked at her.
Perhaps because of that, Luina’s body began moving again.
Without even looking back, she fled from the spot.
The girl watched her until the very end.