Chapter 56
The siblings’ reunion came to an abrupt end when Eleonore suddenly came to her senses and let out a startled cry.
After that, House Béarn’s physician, whom Albris had dragged over at the crack of dawn and harried the whole way, examined Eleonore.
In any case, she had to show him her wound if she wanted an examination.
Eleonore had lowered Eily’s beige dress to below her waist and was sitting on the bed with nothing on but her bandages.
But she still had a young lady’s dignity to uphold. She held the blanket tight against her chest, covering everything that needed covering.
The injury was on her back, after all.
The physician from House Béarn nodded as he examined the wound where the Shilob’s leg had pierced her, peering through the bandages loosened halfway. Then he stood before the young lady again and held out his hand to her.
Her wrist was just as delicate as the slender silhouette of her body, faintly visible through the light blanket. Her thin, white wrist looked as though it might snap with the slightest pressure.
How had such a young lady survived the Shilob’s attack?
With that thought in mind, the physician placed his fingertips lightly on Eleonore’s wrist, and blue motes of light bloomed at their tips.
As the blue motes flowed into her body, Eleonore forgot her embarrassment, her eyes widening as she watched the scene.
She had experienced this method of checking a patient’s condition by infusing their body with life-filled blue mana several times since waking up in Eleonore’s body. Even so, the sight still seemed wondrous to her.
‘Mm-hmm! Now this is fantasy!’
Repeating that exclamation, so unlike her appearance, Eleonore smiled faintly at the refreshing energy blooming from her wrist.
How much time had passed?
The physician from House Béarn soon gathered up the motes of blue light and spoke.
“Fortunately, there doesn’t seem to be anything particularly concerning. The Shilob poison in your body appears to have been almost entirely neutralized, so you should be able to walk on your own by this afternoon.”
Perhaps because Albris had been harrying him since dawn, the old physician’s voice was heavy with exhaustion rather than its usual deep resonance.
“And her shoulder! How is Eli’s shoulder?”
As soon as the physician finished speaking, Albris’s voice carried over from behind the makeshift curtain fashioned from the bedsheets.
“Once the wound has healed, there shouldn’t be any particular structural or functional problems.”
“I-Is that so? Haa… That’s a relief.”
Behind Albris’s sigh of relief…
“However.”
“However?”
The physician continued, looking at the wound on her shoulder: a round hole in her pale skin, with the area around it stained black and looking rather gruesome.
“Since treatment was delayed, it looks as though a scar will remain. Once you return to the estate, I recommend discussing it with a priest.”
“A scar? What do you mean, a scar?! Eli has only just made her debut, and now she’ll have a scar!”
The old physician’s quiet voice was followed by Albris’s increasingly agitated one.
If he was getting this worked up first thing in the morning, what would he be like later? Eleonore shook her head and gave the old physician a subtle look.
She had known the old physician for a while; ever since she first woke up in Eleonore’s body, her frail health had brought them together often. So he knew exactly what that look meant.
“For now, rest is the most important thing for the young lady. There’s still some poison in her system, so Young Master—and everyone else—please go outside.”
Once he confirmed that Eleonore had wrapped the blanket around herself, the physician took down the bedsheet that had been hanging there.
When the curtain was drawn aside, Eleonore’s heart softened a little at Albris’s crestfallen face. Still, if she let him stay beside her, he was bound to keep pestering her.
“Haa… Eli, get plenty of rest. I’ll let you know when the carriage to take you home arrives.”
“All right. I’ll see you later.”
The knights, Albris, and even the physician…
The little room that had been so noisy since morning finally returned to peace.
The only ones left inside were Eily, rewrapping the bandages she had undone to check the wound, and the wheat-haired woman sitting in the corner with her head bowed as if she were a criminal.
As she let Eily tend to her bandages, Eleonore looked at Eugenie. Ever since entering the room, Eugenie hadn’t even met her eyes; she had done nothing but keep her head bowed.
If she was going to act like that, why not wait outside? What was she doing here?
“Eugenie? What are you doing over there?”
Only then did Eugenie slowly lift her head at her lady’s voice. Worry, guilt, and self-reproach mingled in her trembling violet eyes.
“M-My lady…”
Unlike usual, Eugenie stammered. Then she closed her eyes and took a small, steadying breath before continuing.
“Thank goodness, my lady. I’m so glad you’re safe.”
“Yeah. Thanks for worrying about me.”
Eleonore looked at Eugenie with a bitter smile at her behavior, so unlike her usual self.
To be honest, this much distance was just right for Eleonore—or rather, Seo Juha, who had entered Eleonore’s body.
Was there some sort of pheromone coming off her body that made women fall for her, or were all the women around her just strange?
She’d found herself in a difficult spot more than once because of the women’s advances.
Of course, an ordinary woman might have brushed it off as the usual casual touching between close friends, but for someone who had lived as a man for twenty-one years, it was quite stimulating.
Still, now that Eugenie had suddenly changed her attitude after treating her without the slightest hesitation, Eleonore couldn’t help feeling a little hurt. Of course, she knew exactly why Eugenie was acting this way.
Still… still, something about it just felt… off.
Worried Eugenie might hear her and start digging herself into a hole again, Eleonore let out a small sigh. Then she patted the spot beside her on the bed.
“Eugenie.”
Though she called the name elegantly, as if summoning a pet, her maid Eugenie remained rooted to the spot despite her mistress’s call.
“Eugenie!”
Her voice grew a little firmer. Only then did Eugenie lift her heavy feet and move toward Eleonore.
When she reached her, Eugenie hesitated and glanced at Eleonore before cautiously lowering herself onto the spot she had patted.
Both her manner and her appearance were so unlike her usual self.
Her wheat-colored hair, usually gleaming with a healthy sheen, was a windblown mess, and dust coated her pale skin.
“I’m sorry, Eugenie. You must have been so worried.”
As Eugenie finally came over, Eleonore wrapped an arm around her waist. Her shoulder throbbed, but she drew Eugenie into her arms despite the pain.
There was none of Eugenie’s usual softness. All Eleonore could feel was the stiffness of her riding jacket and the smell of dirt.
“M-My lady, I’m dirty.”
Eugenie tried to pull away from Eleonore’s touch. But when Eleonore grimaced as though in pain, Eugenie had no choice but to stay quietly in her arms.
“What happened yesterday wasn’t your fault, Eugenie.”
“It was. As your maid, I should have looked after you properly… Even if it took a little while, I should have sent a knight to you and dealt with things on my own…”
At Eugenie’s wavering voice, Eleonore rested her face on her shoulder.
“If you put it that way, the whole thing could have been avoided if I’d just stayed put in the first place.”
Thinking about it, that was true.
Like some troublesome character in a novel, she’d gone off on her own and caused this. Of course, she was partly to blame, but it wasn’t something to beat herself up over this much.
Still, Eugenie… were you so upset because we were childhood friends? Or because you were such a responsible maid?
Or was there some kind of relationship between us before I lost my memories?
It was a mystery the Eleonore of today couldn’t solve.
“Eily, would you soak a towel in some warm water for me?”
“Yes, my lady.”
As she released Eugenie from her embrace, Eleonore spoke. Eugenie’s shoulders trembled, but she still kept her head bowed.
A moment later, Eleonore took the warm, damp towel Eily had brought in a large basin and gently lifted Eugenie’s chin.
“M-My lady.”
“Right now, I’m not your lady. I’m Eli, your childhood friend.”
As she brought the towel to Eugenie’s face—messy with dust and tears—and her soft cheek, Eleonore spoke.
“I-I’ll do it, my lady.”
“Tsk! I told you, I’m not your lady!”
At the young lady’s—or rather, Eli’s—sharp glare as she drew in a breath, Eugenie’s eyes grew teary, but a small smile appeared on her lips.
“P-Pfft. W-What was that, Eli?”
“Huh? Eugenie! Didn’t you know that if you laugh while crying, hair grows on your butt? This is serious! How are you ever going to get married?”
Soon, the room was filled with the two women’s soft, tearful laughter.
Perhaps Eleonore’s touch had been warm enough, or perhaps her accumulated exhaustion had finally caught up with her. Lying in Eleonore’s arms, Eugenie let her face rest in Eleonore’s hand and gently closed her eyes.
Looking at Eugenie, whose beauty had returned somewhat, if not completely, Eleonore thought to herself.
The person she ought to thank was Dmitri, not Eugenie. He was the one who had held her in his arms and ridden for half a day to bring her to the physician—her lifesaver.
And yet she’d sent him away earlier, using embarrassment as an excuse…
“This time, I’ll face him properly.”
As she dipped the lukewarm towel in her hand into the basin, Eleonore murmured to herself.