Chapter 48

Chapter 48

The touch stroking my arm belonged to the maid serving the bath. As I turned around, the maid, whose eyes met mine, folded her eyes nicely.

Ah, yes… Seeing me naked and giving a smiling face, I felt a little strange.

I’ve been bathing by myself—except for attending Brother’s engagement party and the week after the incident, when I was ill and couldn’t wash by myself. Most nobles tend to receive bathing services, and some nobles also receive bathing services from employees of the opposite sex…

Oh my God, this was too racy.

In any case, sharing my naked body with others was not something easy to do for me.

While I was considering the bathing culture of the nobles, the bath was over.

They dried my hair by pressing it down with a towel before applying things I didn’t know about on my face and body. With powder and color makeup on my face, my pale face looked radiant. In addition, they also braided my hair and put on jewelry.

And, finally…

“Lady, I’ll put on a dress for you.”

Jane smiled as she held a fluttering dress with pink, white ribbon and lace. Even though it was a dress with a design that didn’t really fit my taste, I still have to wear it.

It was because that dress was sent by Vivian.

A month and a half ago, I sent a letter of refusal to Vivian, who said she would come to visit me, and at the same time sent an invitation. It was an invitation to a greenhouse party I was hosting. (Of course, it’s actually a greenhouse party hosted by Lucas.)

Socializing myself was the fastest and best way to quell the rumors.

Nevertheless, it was unreasonable to go to other people’s parties or gatherings because of my physical condition and concerns from the family, and in that sense, we decided to hold a small greenhouse party at the Duchy.

Since I couldn’t go to them, let’s invite them home.

First of all, I sent an invitation to Vivian and some noble ladies and lords on the list that Lucas had picked.

There were about fifteen people, and all of them replied that they would attend. Vivian even sent a dress with a reply to wear it that day. Honestly, she was truly a hardworking and passionate young person.

“Lady, it’s ready.”

While I was just moving my body in the hands of the maids, it looked like the preparation was over. Standing in the large mirror was me in a pink dress.

It reminded me of the day of the engagement.

Still pretty.

Although it felt a little shameless to give such compliments to Serena because she was me, still pretty is pretty. This loose-fitting dress was also surprisingly good.

Soon, it would be time for the guests to arrive.

Slowly, I had to go to the greenhouse to do a general inspection and prepare to welcome the guests. When I gazed down at my left arm, there was a scar small enough to be invisible unless I looked closely. It was a scar that had not been deliberately asked for treatment from Priest Ian.

A faint mark left alone on a smooth arm.

As I fumbled over that shallow scar, I could hear Eunji’s voice.

‘Live happily. Will you grant my wish?’

It had been about two months since I jumped off the tower. For two months, there were moments when I was suddenly afraid of a future without a plan, an uncertain future, and a future where I had to make a decision all by myself.

Every time I looked at this scar, Eunji’s face came to mind and I regained my resolve. It was because it was the trace of that day when Eunji, who wants me to live, pushed my back.

While I was alone in my thoughts, Lucas came to pick me up.

Again today, my escort was Lucas. As we headed to the glass greenhouse where the party was held, he spoke in a friendly voice. Of course, only his voice was sweet, but the content was not. Perhaps, he was conscious of the people who wandered around him.

“Did you memorize all fifteen names?”

“…Maybe?”

Frankly, I wasn’t sure.

Some people may be upset that I couldn’t memorize that for a month and a half though I had no talent for memorizing names. Even the homeroom teacher I saw for a year, I would forget his name by the next year.

…To ask me to memorize names with only the characteristics.

When I answered with a subtle silence, Lucas, who was standing next to me, still had a friendly expression and nodded his head.

“As expected, you have a great memory.”

“It’s because the teacher is so good.”

By the way, it was him who taught me this and that for the past two months, so the teacher I’m talking about now was also Lucas.

“No matter how good a teacher is, isn’t the learning up to the student? So, don’t worry. I’ll help you with the parts you can’t remember.”

He didn’t miss a single word.

Contrary to my intentions, I nodded my head without hesitation.

In fact, this party was my first step into the social world. At the last engagement ceremony, I was fortunate enough to get to talk only to Vivian and Mia, so there was no big problem, yet this time it wasn’t.

I would be in the same space with fifteen characters. Inevitably, we would have to talk a lot… If he could help, I’d be happy to take it.

As I told Lucas to be the teacher, he became my teacher and assistant for two months.

For me, who didn’t even know what a party was, he decorated the party venue, arranged food, and made a list of people. Not only that, but he also taught me the characteristics of the characters and light social etiquette.

I was about to think that his job wasn’t the vice commander anymore but my nanny… No, maybe my tutor…

Of course, this teacher was so strict that it almost felt like I was being beaten by his tongue.

“Serena.”

“Brother.”

Brother visited me while me and Lucas were checking the glass greenhouse for the last time.

While he also wanted to join the party and help me, I turned it down because I thought he would help me too much. I think he would run the errands right in front of other people’s eyes. Otherwise, he would feed me the cake.

Oh, Lord.

“No matter how much I think about it, Brother wants to help you…”

Brother looked around the greenhouse worriedly and uttered as his hand stroking my hair seemed quite natural.

“Thank you, but I will decline.”

After I woke up from the incident, he acted cautiously again. He kept staring at me, even hesitating to call my name. While I was wondering why this happened, I thought it might be because he had been harassed by Serena in the past.

Well, with the thought that it would gradually get better again.

However, one day, he started taking care of me more actively than before. This time, I felt a little embarrassed by the sudden 180-degree change, although this was better than the days when he used to say I was sorry no matter what.

Brother removed the hand that was stroking my hair and smiled brightly.

“If Lucas says something nonsense, call Brother.”

“Do you think I’m saying something nonsense right now?”

Lucas intervened in his words, who was talking sweetly while facing me. As he stood behind me while Brother stood in front of me, it left me sandwiched in the middle. Meanwhile, a conversation between the two went over my head.

What is this? I’m not some discussion table…

Feeling the hum on my head, not my ears, because of the conversation that went over my head, I strode out between the two of them with crab steps.

The two paused for a moment and gazed at me.

They glanced at me silently until I sat down on a nearby chair, raising my hands lightly to allow them to continue. Then, they started talking again as if they understood my actions well. The difference from before was that they stood closer to each other and chatted in a whisper.

It was funny in a way.

In the original story, even though they were in a complicated and subtle relationship between the current girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend and the ex-girlfriend’s current boyfriend, they talked well with each other… But, why did they growl at each other when they meet these days?

It seemed like their belated puberty was coming.

Brother’s eyes, who had been whispering for a while and glanced at this side, met my eyes.

“By the way, Brother, what are you doing here?”

“Ah, I was wondering if the party preparations are going well.”

Brother, who took a step away from Lucas, answered with a shy smile. The dimples that fit snugly were still there. It was a really attractive feature.

Suddenly, Princess Ariel, who looked just like him, came to mind. While I was still recuperating in bed, she visited me. Princess Ariel, who knew the truth, held me and shed tears. With tears in her eyes, she kept repeating the words that she was sorry to me.

Ah, yes, I thought that these parts were very similar to my brother.

What the hell was she so sorry for? The person who should be sorry was me—whether in the past or in the present.

Several such visits followed.

However, gradually the tears stopped, and we had private conversations instead. In particular, Princess Ariel liked to talk about Brother.

‘Isn’t Aaron’s dimples so cute? It’s so cute when it dips in when he smiles!’

The thing that actually looked cute in my eyes was the Princess, who blushed her cheeks as she talked about it, but I gave her a matching response.

Brother tried to answer, recalling a memory that will give Lucas a twist of shame though Lucas’s mouth opened first.

“Of course, it’s going well.”

Contrary to the rising corners of Lucas’s lips, Brother’s eyebrows rose instead.

“I didn’t ask you.”

It was the second round of the debate that started abruptly.

“Princess Serena! Thank you for inviting me.”

Vivian was the first to arrive. Seeing the blue dress with a design similar to mine, I applauded her enthusiasm and preparation once again.

“Oh! You wore the dress I gave you!”

Unlike me, who only applauded inside, Vivian applauded loudly and gazed up at me.

“You sent it, so I have to wear it. Thank you for the great gift.”

“Oh! No thank you between us!”

What is the relationship between us?

Vivian seemed to know the relationship between us that I didn’t know.

Starting with her, who was fussing loudly, young men and women arrived one by one. Although fifteen people seemed small, it was quite a number. While it was a fairly large greenhouse, together with the people, some of their employees, and even our employees, it got much more crowded than expected when they all entered.

Besides, it was very burdensome because everyone seemed to have double candle wicks* on their eyes to somehow add a word to each other.

[ T/N: Meaning: to glare with anger, raise eyebrows angrily ]

Time passed, and when my head was overloaded with the complicated atmosphere, Lucas naturally intervened in the conversation of the young ladies and steered the people.

Thanks to him, I got some time to rest.

I took a seat farthest from the tea table where Lucas was and took a breather, and someone placed a teacup in front of me.

What… For me to drink?

As I raised my head along the hand to check the person, a man was standing there. He was a man with light brown long, curly hair. I definitely remembered his name.

Brown hair and blue eyes… His name was… Ja—

“…Sir Jacob?”

With a bit of hesitation, I stuttered, but the man widened his eyes as if surprised and then smiled.

“You know my name.”

Wow, that was correct…?

I was a little surprised, too. Nonetheless, I did not show any expression and naturally nodded my head as though I knew it from the beginning.

The man, who had a friendly smile, raised his hand to his chest and lowered his head lightly.

“I will greet you formally. My name is Jacob Cooper.”

Saying so, he reached out to me. I held back the sigh that was about to escape and placed my hand lightly on top of it. The lips of the handsome man with a smile touched the back of my hand and went away.

It was when I felt strongly that it would be good for the noble to change their greetings.

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