Chapter 22

8. Men (2)

Translated by alyalia

‘But, why is Cecil suddenly making a fuss about me going to meet Ronwe all of a sudden?! I was flustered and tried to make all sorts of excuses.’

But the reality was a little different.

I squeezed out tears as I recalled my own mother in my memory and finally breathed a sigh of relief after using the sunlight excuse to drive out Cecil.

‘Ronwe’s length of life is too long for nothing. I’m afraid that my plain is going to be caught!’

Shortly after, I arrived at the mansion of Baron Ronwe. I was in such a hurry to get out of the carriage that I forgot about my prepared fruit basket.

“Lady! Aren’t you going to bring the basket?”

“Ah, thank you. Go eat something with this money. I will be right back.”

“Ah no, Lady doesn’t have to give me this. I’m really okay… hoho.”

I wanted the image of a good girl who couldn’t kill a single person, so I showed kindness to my family’s coachman and headed to Ronwe’s mansion.

However…

“Lady Vanora? You’re here again. About Sir Ronwe… Lady will find him in the room you’ve always seen him in.”

“…?”

The attitude of the servant who was supposed to serve Ronwe was strange. Of course, it wasn’t so strange up until now. Ronwe wasn’t noble from the start, but he was a servant of my family. It might be odd that he treated me as an abandoned child of Celcius.  

But it was not the real problem right now.

“Sir Ronwe, it’s me. Today, I bought fresh fruits and a cotton handkerchief that you liked…”

“Cough, cough, cough!”

As soon as his family’s knights opened the door, what I saw with my own eye was a miserable appearance. A man was coughing to death in a neglected environment, with a blanket and dusty furniture in a disorganized and dirty state.

“…”

I saw Ronwe spitting out red blood from his mouth, and I began to behave the same way as usual.

“Oh my God, Sir Ronwe!”

Are you okay?

I approached him with a worried look on my face.

“Cough, cough, cough.”

Ronwe’s cough never stopped, so I patted him on the back. I looked as grave as if my own parents were sick in this situation. It was a face that no one could doubt that it was an act.

‘It’s hard to hold back my laughter.’

That’s right. Ronwe was in serious condition.

“Cough… cough, cough.”

After a while, Ronwe’s cough stopped.

Although he was drenched in a cold sweat, he didn’t say anything. Aside from that, looking at his shaggy beard or his ragged collar, I could guess something.

‘Is there no one who takes care of him?’

When I saw his room which wasn’t even cleaned, my suspicion grew stronger.

“Sir Ronwe, you’re in pain. Why don’t you call a doctor? Besides, you have a fever!”

“L-Lady Vanora, don’t touch my hand… What if you get sick?”

“Sir Ronwe’s disease is not contagious. I’ve been visiting you several times, but I’m still fine.”

Meanwhile, Ronwe, catching his breath, stopped me from wiping his forehead with a handkerchief and barely started his first words.

“That’s right… Even though the doctor said it wasn’t contagious, everyone refused to come closer when they saw such a dirty look. Huu…”

“It can’t-”

“I’m sorry for showing Lady this way. But… due to some circumstances…”

I didn’t care about Ronwe’s dirty appearance and took good care of him from the side. I even wiped the dried blood clump on his bread with a handkerchief.

“It’s all right. When a person is sick, they may not be able to control their own body. Don’t mind it. I brought you some healthy fruit today, so would you like to eat it if you haven’t eaten something yet?”

Who would dare say no to the lady’s angelic behavior?

Even though Ronwe was not feeling very well, he was willing to respond to my words. Then I rose up with joy, pulled a nearby table closer, and carefully peeled off the skin of the popira. Afterward, I urged Ronwe to eat this, then got up from my seat and began to tidy up his room.

“Sir Butler, the weather outside is very nice today, but it would be a pity if you don’t see it. You may feel better when you get some sun and fresh air.”

I gently wiped away the irritating dust with the handkerchief I brought, pulled up the stuffy curtains, and opened the window. Ronwe was shocked because a young lady from a noble family was doing what a maid would do. But somehow after a while, Ronwe couldn’t even eat the popira in his hand and just watched my behavior.

“Sir Ronwe, how are you feeling now? Huh…? You haven’t eaten the popira yet. You don’t have an appetite…?”

After finishing the simple arrangement, I looked at him in surprise for a moment. I soon returned to the table next to the bed. Then, Ronwe’s dry eyes began to get watery.

“!”

Is he crying?

It was Ronwe who broke the silence when I hardened in surprise at the sight. 

“Today… Thank you for coming again, Lady. Lady is the only person who’s been visiting me these days.”

“…”

“There’s something I want to say to Lady… The last time the doctor visited, he said he didn’t even know the cause of my disease… At this rate, I may not be able to get through this summer…”

“Really?!”

“Look, I don’t even have the energy to get up from my seat. Now I have become such a living corpse. They’re right. She is in love with my inheritance! That, that, that my wife!”

BANG.

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Ronwe, angry at something, squeezed the rest of his strength and slammed the table. But it was a weak gesture for a former knight.

“Can’t you see where my wife is? As I was nearing death, she threw away her old husband as a nuisance. How, how can this be? How long have I been trying to feed her all this time… Uuurgh!”

“Calm down. You’re going to fall down right now!”

If everything he said was true, his situation was quite pitiful.

‘No matter what he said, he lived in a high-class society as the head of the Baron’s family, so he can’t easily reveal his family’s matters… He must have been quite frustrated with his illness.’

However, for me, his whole situation was out of my concern.

‘This is what the last days of your life are like.’

Rather, it felt cool. It was to the extent that his pitiful appearance didn’t leave my head.

I comforted Ronwe with a pitiful smile while ridiculing him inside.

* * *

“…”

The butler corrected the disorganized monocle with the help of such a kind lady’s attitude and made eye contact with her.

He thought it would be no exaggeration to say that he had dedicated his life to the Celcius family.  From a very young age, he worked in the mansion of Celcius to become a knight of the Lord, and when he gained his strength, and he was able to wield a sword, he fought for Celcius. Even after retiring, he worked diligently in the Celcius family.

What was the result of devoting his life to serving that family?

Bael Celcius didn’t regard Ronwe’s service as a butler as loyal but rather acted as if he should be grateful for giving a job to a retired knight. In addition, Hanar Celcius, the new mistress of the mansion, cared for him with sincerity. Still, when she heard that he was ill, she didn’t tell him to rest but rather urged him to retire. The nobles took his service for granted, as did other high-class nobles.

“Lady Vanora…”

But when he’s on the brink of his life, it is only that girl who gives him a warm favor.

Ronwe’s tears flowed down his cheeks again. Surprised at sight, Vanora told him to stop crying, but he couldn’t hear it at all.

‘If I had known this would happen, I would have taken care of this child who was being treated so badly in the mansion. What on earth was I afraid of and tolerated isolating her? If I had reached out to her… If only I had…’

It’s been 54 years.

Ronwe felt like he had wasted 54 years now, engulfed in indescribable disappointment and sadness.

“I have done nothing for Lady. Nothing…”

“…”

“But how can you still treat me warmly? My actions in the past were deplorable. This moment is really touching my heart…”

Ronwe knows that exposing their emotions in front of others is ugly behavior from the point of view of nobles. Still, maybe it’s because of his weak body. Or perhaps it’s because of the gratitude and sorry for the Vanora that comes from inside. Ronwe didn’t stop and wept quietly.

“Don’t say that you haven’t done anything for me. You have always worked so hard to keep the Celcius family at peace.”

If the saintess that was being told from the church was reincarnated, would she look like this lady?

Vanora denied Ronwe’s words and spoke more kind words. But for some reason, she had no smile on her face. It seemed that his suffering was heartbreaking.

Crunch.

Popira is delicious because it has a unique texture in its flesh. It was also popular because it was chewy and had a sticky sweetness between the grains.

“Cough, cough. I have wasted my life.”

Vanora answered Ronwe’s words half a beat late while he was eating a piece of popira.

“There is no need to be so pessimistic, Sir Ronwe.”

It was warm advice. At the same time, it was also a kind of hint.

The hint that the end of his wasted life is just around the corner.

“Aah. I’ve been able to survive these days thanks to Lady Vanora. My wife is completely in control of the house, so the servants don’t listen to me…”

“Is that so?”

“So even if I wanted to eat popira, they never gave it to me because it was expensive. I couldn’t eat it at all. My head feels better after eating these fresh fruits.”

* * *

Now Ronwe has calmed down after shouting about his wife.

I kept a docile expression on my face as I had many thoughts in my head. It was an essential skill for a noble. It was something I had never been able to do before my regression. Still, once I embraced the evil, it was easy to deceive others.

“Sir Butler, before I came here, the merchant taught me how to choose popira…”

Anyway, when Ronwe stopped talking, I decided to fulfill my purpose for coming here. As usual, I talked about the outside and caught the sight of Ronwe chewing the fruit I had brought with me. It was the purpose of my visit.

‘He didn’t even know that every bite of that was shortening his lifespan.’

I had a realization that only the moment I avenged him was when he was still alive.

Before I decided to take my revenge, I used to fall into depression without knowing how the day went by. But it was only with this act that I finally regained my joy and vitality.  

“And if I sleep 14 more times, it would be the day of my birthday banquet. I’m nervous because it’s my first time having a banquet for me. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to celebrate someone’s birthday?”

However, when I stayed on this topic during the conversation, Ronwe, who was eating his second popira, paused for a moment.

“If it’s Lady Vanora’s birthday banquet… It must be soon before Lady enters the social world.”

“Yes. Next year, like everyone else, I will make my debut.”

Debutante.

It was a problem that I always had in mind, but for now, I put it off because I was busy meeting with Ronwe.

The old man, who had been leaning helplessly at the head of the bed, seemed to have something to think about and remained silent for a long time.

“Sir Ronwe?”

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I raised one eyebrow and wondered at the sudden silence of the man, then his answer came back belatedly.

“Lady Vanora, with all due respect, do you have a godmother?”