Chapter 53
#9. Echoes of Hesitation
Eleonore didn’t know it yet, but her older brother, Albris Raul de Béarn, was not a man who showed his emotions easily.
Aside from his family—especially the younger sister he cherished—one could count on one hand the people in the capital who had seen him smile. Rumors had even circulated through the capital’s social circles that the woman who could make his lips curl upward was none other than the future lady of the West.
And it wasn’t just smiles.
He rarely got angry or let his emotions run high, either. No matter what happened, Albris would quietly handle the situation without so much as changing his expression.
His temperament was so different from his father’s, who was famous for his fiery disposition, that it only made him more of a topic of conversation. Countess Etie, after all, had been called the Mad Dog of Rutes in her maiden days.
People who loved gossip in the capital would often wonder how a man like him could have come from those two.
Some speculated that Albris was the way he was because he’d been tossed into the capital’s political arena from a young age.
Having been dropped into the heart of the capital’s political machinations as soon as he came of age, perhaps he had given up on showing his emotions altogether rather than simply hiding them. Such rumors had made the rounds.
That theory seemed all the more plausible because his father, Obert Encinas de Béarn, had inherited the family at adulthood, spared from life as a hostage thanks to the untimely death of the previous head of the house.
And so, now…
The sight of Albris—the man known as House Béarn’s clockwork doll—bellowing with rage was one that no one present was accustomed to.
“Captain! What did you just say? E-Eli collapsed from Shilob poison?”
Everyone from House Béarn who had accompanied Eleonore had their heads bowed before him. The knights in white robes were no exception, nor was Eugenie Roelcelar, standing in a line beside them.
Even Princess Dominique, despite saying she would persuade Albris herself, was hesitating and anxiously watching his face.
The captain, who was taking the brunt of Albris’s furious scolding on behalf of the others with their heads bowed, answered cautiously.
“The Shilob had made its nest in the mine your ladyship went to.”
“Why was there a Shilob there?! No, never mind that! While Eli was being attacked by the Shilob, what in the world were you all doing?”
Albris’s angry voice rang out beneath the still, quiet dawn sky. The sound woke the silent estate, and one by one, lights began to appear in the windows behind him.
Dominique took a step toward the enraged Albris.
“Ahem. A-Albris, do try to calm down a little.”
“Your Highness, I mean no disrespect, but this is a matter concerning House Béarn.”
Even though the words came from the princess, Albris answered Dominique in the same scolding tone he had used with the others.
As one would expect of the heir to House Béarn, infamous for its lack of deference, Albris knew he was being rude, yet still fixed his blue eyes on Dominique.
After all, the princess had been there, too.
“She wasn’t struck by the stinger, just grazed by one of its legs. Dmitri gave her a neutralizing agent before taking her away, so she should be out of danger.”
Despite that insolent gaze, Dominique spoke as if gently soothing a child.
That was what she said, but in truth, even Dominique couldn’t be sure.
On the way back to the capital, she had asked the knights about the village. They’d told her it was fairly large, but even so, it was only a country village.
Still, fortunately, Dominique’s words seemed to have some effect. Or perhaps Albris had only just realized that she was the princess. At any rate, some of the anger in his expression eased.
“Prepare the horses. I’ll go see for myself. Your Highness, wouldn’t it be best for you to return to the palace now?”
“A-All right. Try not to worry too much. Dmitri is with her.”
A woman’s voice slipped between the two of them.
“Young Lord, I… I’ll come along, too.”
At Eugenie’s voice, Albris stopped where he was and turned around. He was furious with her, too, for failing to properly look after her young lady despite being her maid.
But when he saw her face, the anger that had risen to his throat quietly ebbed away.
Her face, as pale as Eleonore’s, was smeared with dust. Dry tear tracks ran down it, leaving her a mess.
Seeing Eugenie’s forlorn appearance, Albris shook his head.
“I’ll send a carriage behind us. You can follow in that.”
“Young Lord. I want to go with you.”
Looking into the violet eyes gazing at him so piteously, Albris stepped closer to her.
The voice that came from him then was no longer that of House Béarn’s stern young lord. It was the voice of Eleonore’s older brother.
“Eugenie. I know how much you care about our Eli. I know you’re worried sick about her right now, too. But you understand that I can’t slow down and keep an eye on you while riding, don’t you?”
Despite Albris’s soothing words, her gaze remained fixed on his blue eyes.
“Haa… Are you really sure you can keep up?”
At Albris’s sigh, Eugenie nodded in reply.
“I’m prepared to die if I have to. I’ll go with you.”
“Prepare a horse for Eugenie as well. Captain, do we have any antidotes in reserve?”
“We have a few vials set aside in case of an unforeseen incident.”
“Bring every one of them. And send a carriage behind us with Manuela and Sophie.”
As Albris walked away, talking with the captain, Eugenie bowed deeply to his back. Dominique went over to her and gently took her icy-cold hand.
“Lady Eugenie Roelcelar, I entrust my precious friend—my Eli—to your care.”
Unlike before, there wasn’t a trace of mischief in the princess’s golden eyes. They were utterly serious.
“I’ll be sure to convey Your Highness’s concern to my lady.”
#.
In a quiet country village on the outskirts of the capital, a little way from House Béarn’s townhouse…
Eleonore sat on the bed, looking troubled as she gazed at Eily, the red-haired girl who owned it.
“Um, Eily. Do you have anything else I could wear?”
Eleonore gently shook her head as she looked at the beige dress with frills in Eily’s hands.
At the moment, Eleonore had nothing on except the bandages wrapped around her upper body.
Of course, given where she was injured…
She had bandages wrapped around her chest as well. They only outlined her breasts, so not even the tips of those soft, ripe fruits were visible.
But even so, she couldn’t exactly greet a group of men in this state.
Eily, who was about the same size as her, had brought out a few of her cleanest clothes, but Eleonore kept shaking her head.
“I’m sorry, my lady. They’re my clothes, so I suppose they’re a little shabby?”
“N-No, that’s not it. Haa…”
A deep sigh slipped past her pink lips. Eleonore shook her head and looked at Eily and the dress in her hands.
The problem wasn’t that the clothes were shabby.
The clothes in Eily’s hands were just far too feminine.
It wasn’t that the clothes Eleonore had worn until now weren’t feminine. If anything, her usual clothes were even more feminine than this dress.
But while the clothes in Eleonore’s wardrobe had focused on a woman’s elegance, the dresses Eily had offered her were all about girlish charm.
They were two very different kinds of femininity. And Eleonore had lived as a man for twenty-one years, no less.
And yet she’d worn those elegant dresses without a second thought.
“All right, give me that dress.”
“Then let me help you, my lady. You won’t be able to manage on your own.”
Eleonore wanted to refuse the unfamiliar touch, but when she thought about it, this girl must have wrapped her bandages, too. So she’d already seen and touched my breasts, hadn’t she?
Whether or not she knew what Eleonore was thinking…
Eily simply approached her with a bright smile, delighted to feel as if she’d become a maid.
After Eleonore changed into the cute beige dress, its sleeves and hem covered in frills…
Eily brought her grandfather, Dorio—the same man who had treated Eleonore the night before—into the room.
“How are you feeling?”
“My head’s a little dizzy, but… I can bear it.”
“That must be because some of the Shilob’s poison is still in your system. Are you having any trouble moving?”
“Hmm… I haven’t actually tried getting out of bed.”
At Eleonore’s reply, Dorio smiled gently.
“From the way you’re speaking, it seems you’ve improved quite a bit. In that case, I’ll have your beloved come in.”
“All right. My belov—W-Wait! What did you say? Beloved?”