CH 37

Chapter 37 – Why are you in my house?

Translator: Yonnee

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After falling ill like that, I was now feeling better than ever.

Dad went out of the house because there’s something he had to do. On the other hand, Mom was originally a busy bee and was very practical about our spendings, so she’s now back to actively participating in the household’s internal affairs.

They must have pushed aside their work while they were nursing me back to health, so they couldn’t stay together with me for any longer.

Still, I wasn’t too dismayed about that. Brother’s staying behind here with me, and he’s been teaching me many things.

Brother gave me new arrows, and I practiced shooting them with him. These arrows were meant for monster hunting, so they were larger and sharper. They’re more difficult to remove from the target boards compared to my previous arrows.

Then, when Brother had to go out for work, I stayed at the drill hall and focused on honing my archery.

I don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve felt so refreshed.

While no one else was here with me, I set down the bow and took out the katar dagger I bought separately.

It had a rough-looking appearance, but the blade itself was elaborately made, and the handle fit my hand just right.

I used a katar as well in the past. They had belonged to a comrade of mine who passed away, but its size didn’t fit me perfectly.

The katar I had now was a lot easier to use because they were just the right size for my hands.

As I was practicing my forms, punching forward with the katar, Mary suddenly came to the drill hall.

“Milady, you must hurry and change your clothes!”

“Why?”

“His Lordship sent a letter—he said that guests are coming to the mansion! That’s why the entire mansion is bustling right now! Please hurry!”

Mary was usually soft-spoken, but seeing as how she had shouted the moment she took a step into the drill hall, I could vaguely guess that the guests were quite high-ranking people.

She pulled me in such a hurry that I barely managed to pick up my katar dagger and my bow before going back up to my room.

But when Dad sent that letter earlier, it seemed like he was already on his way back home together with the guests.

As soon as I came through the back door of the mansion, what met my gaze were icy blue eyes.

This was only a small mansion, so the distance between the back door and the main door was narrow, and so the moment our eyes met, I froze at once.

Why… Why has Ciel come to my house?

No, wait. It’s not really him, right? Just because I reincarnated into the novel, and just because Seo-yoon was here as well, that doesn’t mean that he’s the same man I know, right?

I halted in place, blatantly staring at Ciel. Then, I turned to look at the person by his side—his younger brother, who resembled him very much.

Ciel’s younger brother, as he was described in the novel, was characterized as a mentally sensitive and jittery person.

Everything was so sudden that my body, which had been relaxed up until just now, suddenly tightened with tension.

And, I realized something that I had not been conscious of before.

I had manifested as a Guide, but now, an Esper was inside my house.

Warning signals started blearing inside my mind, all pointing directly towards Ciel.

There was not a single sentence anywhere in the original novel—which had been spread as a prophetic book in this world—that Ciel would come to my family’s estate.

Of course, it might not have appeared in the novel because it was a personal matter, but… it seemed so out of place.

Not only me, but Mom was also shocked still, just standing there in the middle of the staircase. And just as flustered as we were, David ran out of his room, frantic.

We had no choice but to look at the mansion’s main door, our expression stiff. I was at the base of the staircase, Mom was standing in the middle, while David was at the top.

A duke had come to our household as a guest, and yet, we made the mistake of not being able to greet him properly.

In the meantime, Dad was the only one who had a broad smile on his face now. Both Ciel and his younger brother were also seemingly on edge, yet Dad shouted so cheerfully.

“Honey, we have guests!”

At that moment, a fleeting thought passed through my mind. Of all the trouble that Dad had walked straight into before, this was, by far, the biggest one yet.

And I had a hunch.

Tonight, Mom’s going to nag Dad’s ear off without letting him sleep at all.

To the point of tears.

* * *

Despite the abruptness of the situation, Mom led Ciel and his younger brother to the guest rooms.

In the meantime, I quickly bathed and changed my clothes. Mary took out a heavily adorned, fancy dress, but I chose a relatively modest dress in the end.

The reasoning behind this choice was simple—because I didn’t want to look good for him. Even if he wasn’t the same man I had memories with, I refused to try for him any longer.

I had done enough of that already in the past, and I’m entirely comfortable with myself.

But there’s one thing that I was the most curious about.

Why did Ciel come to my family’s estate? And, why did he bring his younger brother with him?