#10. At the End of the Season (2)

“I told you not to let anyone in!”

Her shrill voice rang through the spacious room.

The sharp voice sounded more like a girl’s than the woman who owned the room. Buried beneath the covers on her ornate princess bed, Eleonore had curled up like a pill bug and let out a sudden shriek.

Without even checking who it was.

At Eleonore’s prickly response, the intruder who had entered her room, Eugenie Roelserar, bit down hard on her lower lip to suppress the laugh threatening to escape.

Honestly, our young lady can be such a baby sometimes.

Her red, moist lips parted cautiously, and Eugenie spoke to Eleonore.

“My lady. It’s me, Eugenie.”

“Ugh… I told you… not to come in…”

Upon realizing that the intruder was Eugenie, Eleonore’s voice softened considerably.

To Eleonore, her maid and childhood friend, Eugenie, was an extraordinarily unusual person in this world from the novel.

Eugenie was a close friend, someone Eleonore trusted enough to confide even her innermost thoughts to in this world from the novel.

And though a man’s heart still lingered within her, Eugenie’s feminine beauty made it a little difficult for Eleonore to approach her first.

These two conflicting feelings filled Eleonore’s mind whenever she faced Eugenie, so she treated her with both affection and a little awkwardness.

But to Eugenie, Eleonore’s behavior was nothing but adorable.

Eli had always been so spoiled back home, too. Besides, Eugenie herself had lived nearly thirty years in her previous life before turning back time.

As a result, the Eli she had met again, now without her memories, seemed much younger than before. She looked like nothing more than a little sister with a considerable age gap.

Sunlight streamed through the window, warming Eleonore’s bedroom. With a faint smile, Eugenie crossed the warm room and approached the delicate canopy bed where Eleonore lay.

Then, as if she didn’t feel stifled at all, she settled beside the pill bug still completely buried under the covers.

The soft mattress swayed gently beneath the added weight, making the pill bug curled up on the bed squirm.

“My lady, you’ll wrinkle all your clothes like that.”

“I don’t care! My dressing room is full of new clothes.”

“And your makeup will come off.”

“I don’t need that silly makeup.”

In contrast to Eugenie’s calm, subdued voice, Eleonore answered in a whiny tone. Like a child throwing a full-blown tantrum, every word came out crooked and prickly.

Looking at her young lady, Eugenie gently rested a hand on the blanket covering her and began to stroke it carefully.

“My lady, aren’t you getting stuffy?”

“…”

“If you stay like that, your shoulders will get uncomfortable, too.”

“Mmm…”

Her voice began to waver little by little. The truth was, Eleonore had already been at her limit before Eugenie even came over to the bed.

“My lady, what are you so embarrassed about? His Grace the Grand Duke is quite the handsome gentleman.”

“Th-That’s not it…”

The endearing way Eleonore drew out her words had already replaced the sharpness in her voice from before.

Soon, her body shifted beneath the blanket, and after a small sigh, Eleonore poked just her head out from under the covers.

Whether it was because she felt stifled beneath the blanket or because she was embarrassed, Eleonore faced Eugenie with her cheeks flushed red.

Eugenie. Even if I told you, you wouldn’t understand how I feel right now. I’m not even an ordinary woman to begin with, and you and I are so different…

Holding back words she couldn’t bring herself to say, Eleonore lifted her moist pink lips and spoke in a sulky voice.

“So why are you here? Did my bro—Albris send you?”

“Oh, come on. Do you think I just do whatever Young Master Albris tells me? I came after you because I was worried when you ran off like that, my lady.”

“You took your time, considering that.”

At Eleonore’s dejected voice, Eugenie’s lips curved into a bright smile as she moved even closer to her.

“Don’t tell me you’re upset because I took so long, my lady? Oh, you’re too cute!”

That wasn’t what she’d meant. Faced with Eugenie’s dazzling smile, bright enough to feel overwhelming, Eleonore avoided her violet eyes and buried her face in the pillow again.

Yes, let’s just say that’s why.

This feeling that’s making my head spin right now…

No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t figure out what to call the feeling that kept her heart pounding even after its source had left her sight. No—she didn’t want to know.

At the sight of her young lady hiding in the pillow again, Eugenie let out a small sigh. Then she lay down beside her and, from her tilted vantage, looked at Eleonore’s profile as she spoke.

“You gave him the handkerchief… didn’t you?”

There was no answer.

Eleonore’s hair, gleaming white in the sunlight, stirred gently. She turned onto her side again and met the violet eyes before her with her own sky-blue ones.

“My lady, are you embarrassed?”

“No… It’s not that…”

“Or are you uncomfortable with the way people around you are looking at you?”

“I don’t know, either.”

“Then, my lady… could this be because of Young Master Julian?”

At the unexpected name, Eleonore shot upright.

“Th-That name! Why are you suddenly bringing up Julian?”

“You just seemed to have a lot on your mind. That night at the ball, when you and Young Master Julian walked together… You were like this afterward, too.”

“No, it’s not like that.”

Eleonore answered, drawing out the end of her words again.

But seeing Eleonore sit up with such conviction only to droop her head and trail off, Eugenie could only nod, convinced that her young lady really was torn between those two men.

After all, when a woman said no, she meant yes.

#.

Eleonore finally emerged again an hour after Eugenie had gone into her bedroom to find her.

Walking side by side down the long corridor, Eugenie returned from being a friend to being a maid and addressed Eleonore politely.

“Young Master Albris is looking for you. We need to decide what to do next.”

“What! So you did come because my brother called for you after all.”

“Oh, come on. Even if Young Master Albris hadn’t called, I would’ve rushed straight to you.”

As the two women chatted about nothing in particular, they briskly made their way to Albris’s study on the first floor.

At the two women’s arrival, the aide standing before the firmly shut study door knocked and announced their presence. A moment later, after hearing the invitation to enter, he opened the door for them.

“Eli, have you had a chance to collect yourself?”

“Yes, a little.”

Albris rose from behind the desk piled high with documents to face Eleonore. Despite the concern in his voice, she answered in a matter-of-fact tone and looked around the study.

Eleonore and Eugenie weren’t the only ones already in the room.

The middle-aged man wearing gold epaulettes over his white uniform was Everett, the captain of the knights. Beside him, a female knight with reddish-gold hair hung her head. She was Viola, Eleonore’s personal guard.

Eleonore and Eugenie went over to the sofa opposite the knights and took their seats. The aide closed the study door and settled beside Albris.

“You all know why I called you here, don’t you?”

Albris’s voice was now completely different from the one he’d used just moments ago when speaking with Eleonore. It was stiff and devoid of emotion—a voice Eleonore had never heard from him before.

“First, let’s discuss what happened at the mine. Why was Eli there alone?”

His keen blue gaze turned to the reddish-gold-haired female knight. Viola, Eleonore’s personal guard, whose expression had been troubled from the beginning, rose from the sofa and slammed her knees onto the floor with an audible thud.

“I’m sorry, Young Lord. It was entirely my fault.”

“I know that. Explain how it happened.”

“Brother, that was because I—”

“Eleonore, I wasn’t asking you.”

At Albris’s cold voice, Eleonore’s slender shoulders jolted. He had always treated her warmly, so the shock struck harder than she’d expected.

In Eleonore’s place, Eugenie, seated beside her, spoke up.

“By the time we reached the mine, it was already quite late. The sun sets early in the mountains, so I asked the knight to help me find a place for my lady to stay.”

At Eugenie’s answer, Everett, seated beside Viola, shot a sharp look at the kneeling knight.

“Viola. Your duty was to protect the young lady. Why did you put finding a place to stay ahead of guarding her?”

“The area seemed quite safe, and Her Imperial Highness the Princess was there as well. I thought finding a place for us to stay should come first.”

Bang!

At the loud crash of a fist striking the desk, Eleonore jumped and looked at Albris. His face was red as he glared furiously, breathing hard. Somehow, he reminded her of their father back in the West.

“What does that princess matter? Eli could have died right there!”

“Um, Brother—”

“Are you a knight of the Imperial Family, or a knight of House Béarn?”

“Albris—”

“Why was it the Grand Duke of Dmitri who rescued Eli instead of one of House Béarn’s knights?”

Albris shouted and sprang to his feet. At the same time, Eleonore, who had been repeatedly cut off by him, finally snapped.

“Oh, seriously! Albris!”