CH 40

“You know, Isabel. I think the weather is so nice today.”

“My lady must be in a very good mood these days. You say the same thing every day.”

After changing my clothes, I went out to the terrace and spun around enjoying the fresh air.

“Let’s go round and round together every day.”

Filled with joy, I couldn’t hear Isabel’s words.

I could enjoy the beautiful weather by going around a hundred times and a thousand times.

However, contrary to my intention, the skirt of the light dress fluttered several times, and then I hurriedly stopped due to the incoming dizziness and grabbed the railing.

Isabel approached in surprise and recoiled when she saw my expression.

“Lady.”

“What?”

“Are you dizzy? Or are you in a good mood?”

“What do you want to say?”

“Your expression is weird. You’re smiling while frowning.”

My vision, which had been spinning around, finally got better.

I pretended not to hear Isabel’s words and couldn’t help laughing as I looked at the beautiful garden across the terrace.

‘It’s all finally solved. Solved!’

How can I not laugh?

‘I didn’t expect to feel so relaxed now that the burden in my heart is gone.’

These days, having prevented betrayal, rebellion, and family annihilation, my body and mind felt so light that I could fly in the sky.

Neither Liliana nor Viola would suffer from betrayal, so there would be no more suffering.

They went to work as usual, and nothing unpleasant happened in the mansion unless I met Grandmother.

After the peaceful days following the knight competition, the worst future didn’t exist anymore.

‘All that’s left is for a much better future to unfold!’

The misfortune that would happen in the future had been kicked far away, so now I could enjoy my daily life with peace of mind.

‘But it’s okay to change the future, right?’

Even though I thought it was okay, my anxiety kept lingering in the back of my mind.

‘No, I did a good job. Everyone is smiling.’

I tried to soothe my heart, but the anxiety that suddenly bloomed in my heart always made my heart tremble just by its presence.

‘Yes, it’ll be fine.’

I remind myself again today as if hypnotizing myself.

The blue sky was beautiful enough to blow away my current anxiety for a while.

“How can the weather be so nice today? It’s perfect for going out.”

A  clear sky without a cloud.

As if announcing the arrival of autumn, the wind grew cooler, and the sun softened the heat and made it warm enough to take a walk.

“Lady, you’re going to be late for your appointment at this rate.”

“Oops!”

At Isabel’s words, I came to my senses and hurriedly went into my room.

I have a very special appointment today.

‘It’s been a while.’

The letter arrived to me only after the knight competition was over and my busy schedule was roughly sorted out.

The sender was Adelio.

He finally contacted me to set a good date, saying he wanted to eat together.

Considering that the appointment had been delayed a long time, the date was set so easily, and the day of meeting Adelio finally came.

When I recalled Adelio’s good smile, my heart began to beat again.

‘No. Calm down, Daisy. This makes you look like you’ve been waiting for today.’

I sat down at the dressing table and placed myself in Isabel’s hands.

Isabel continued to praise me while helping me dress up.

“Oh, my. Today, Lady is even more lovely.”

“Really?”

“Of course. When have I ever talked nonsense?”

Isabel snorted and worked harder on my dress.

I just told her I had an appointment with a friend, but strangely, she seemed motivated.

“But wouldn’t this be too much?”

I thought it would be burdensome to walk around the streets in fancy clothes as if I was going to meet the Imperial family.

“What are you talking about? It’s your first date with that knight, so you have to dress up this much!”

“D-Date? It’s not like that!”

Isabel comforted me with an insidious smile.

“Heh. If you say so, Lady.”

“No! It’s really not…”

Adelio and I dating?

We were really good friends, and there was a lot I felt grateful to him for, so I was just buying a meal in return.

We were no more than friends, but Isabel didn’t even pretend to listen to me.

“Wait a minute.”

“Yes?”

“But did I tell you who I was going to meet?”

I said it was a friend. I never said I was going to see Adelio.

Above all, Isabel didn’t know that Adelio and I were close.

“Uh… Aren’t you going to see Sir Theodore?”

“How do you know Theodore?”

“Oh, my god. You call each other casually?”

“No, that’s not the point! How do you know?”

“Lady Daisy sent Sir Theodore a present.”

Isabel’s words reminded me of something from a while ago.

I was upset that there was no prize for the runner-up Theodore, so I sent him a small gift to congratulate him.

I nodded as he remembered that I had sent him a small brooch after much consideration.

“It was the first time Lady gave a gift to a man, so I naturally made an assumption.”

“No. Theodore and I are friends.”

“Then who are you going to see today? Didn’t you already meet Count Patrick’s daughter yesterday?”

At Isabel’s words, I closed my mouth and looked straight ahead.

My face reflected in the mirror.

The makeup that I put more effort into than usual, the flashy dress that suited me the most, and the cheeks that turn red just by thinking about the other person.

“You know, Isabel.”

“Yes, Lady. I’m here.”

Isabel bowed her head with a worried expression, as if my voice seemed unusual.

“This is not my story, but someone else’s…”

“Yes!”

“Just thinking about someone makes their heart pound.”

“…”

“They don’t feel good when they think that there is someone else next to that person.”

“Oh, my.”

Isabel covered her mouth and uttered a small exclamation.

“Is this because that someone you know likes that person?”

Before I knew it, my face burned red.

These were the emotions that appeared when I looked at Adelio.

I wasn’t sure how to explain the feelings that went beyond the friendly favor I received from someone for the first time.

Adelio cheered for me, saying that whatever I wanted would come true.

He was a person who believed in me, saying that I could change, and thanks to that, I was able to take a step back from my fear.

Perhaps because this feeling was too great.

I wasn’t sure if this feeling was really meant for a friend or something more.

“Maybe that’s the case.”

“Couldn’t it be just a favorability as a friend?”

“Well, did Lady’s friend say so?”

Isabel smiled softly and began to touch my hair.

“I think they will soon find out about their heart. Now, today I’ll tie your hair up in half beautifully.”

“…Yes. I’ll go with that.”

Despite the ambiguous words, I understood Isabel’s words and moved to the jewelry box.

I heard that my deceased parents were deprived of the opportunity to inherit the duke’s inheritance because they were escaping for love.

There was only one relic that my parents left me.

‘Levy’, a rare mineral found just below the world tree.

It could contain divine power, and since it was rare, it was a mineral that was purchased at a fairly high price.

Usually, it was a transparent jewel that was seen through the inside, but the one my parents passed down to me was unusually rare because it sparkled in many colors under the light.

My parents said they processed this levy into pendant decoration and shared it with each other instead of using rings.

The pendant was decorated in the shape of a half-moon, and when the two pendants contacted each other, it became one like a round moon.

I didn’t wear it unless it was a special day because it was a very precious treasure to me, but today was different.

“I hope my parents in heaven will bring me luck today.”

I waited silently for Isabel, but her reaction was strange.

“Huh? What”

She peeped into the jewel box and began to hurriedly dig inside.

“Oh, Lady.”

Then, when she turned her head, her face was contemplative.

“One side of the pendant is gone.”

“What?”

Surprised by Isabel’s words, I ran to the jewelry box.

But no matter how hard I searched, I couldn’t see the pendant.

Only half of the pendant shimmered, revealing its existence, but the other half was nowhere to be seen.

“…”

My head stiffened with panic.

I couldn’t believe such an unpleasant thing happened before I went out.

‘What should I do?’

I clasped my head and closed my eyes tightly.

I wanted to dig through the jewelry boxes right away, but if I delayed it some more, I would be late for the appointment.

“It’s time for the appointment soon, so please finish the preparations first. Look for it until I return.”

“Y-Yes!”

“…Can you first put the remaining one on my head?”

Isabel hurriedly took the remaining one and began to put it on my head.

‘Where did it go all of a sudden….’

Was it wrong to keep it in the jewelry box?

Or did someone steal it?

‘It’s not Isabel, is it? I don’t think so.’

Putting aside the surging doubts, I managed to get up from my seat.

‘It’s the worst.’

I was in a bad mood the whole time I left the mansion.

Isabel insisted that she would find it, but the anxiety on her face only increased my worry.

‘What if I can’t find it?’

It made me angry because this seemed to be happening because I put my precious object in the corner and didn’t pay attention.

‘Oh, you shouldn’t cry. Please don’t cry.’

I was exhausted from holding back tears the whole time in the carriage.

‘Let’s only think of good things. I’m sure you’ll find it.’

With anticipation, excitement, and anxiety remaining in the corner of my heart, the carriage began to run hard toward its destination.