CH 2

“Wait!”

As I was about to climb into the carriage, placing my foot on the step, someone grabbed my arm from behind.

It seemed I didn’t have much strength left to hold onto the handrail, and with Nakia’s short scream in the background, my body tilted backwards.

“Ah… The sky is blue.”

At times like this, it really feels like slow motion…

I remember the distant day when I fell off a ball while riding on a leveling roller.

I hit my head and back hard on the concrete and couldn’t breathe for a moment. I went back home crab-walking with a stiff body…

When I was a slightly tomboyish child in my past life, I used to make it into a funny story myself, but I can’t do that in my current position as a young lady.

As I was thinking about such things, I bumped into a boy behind me.

It seemed like he was trying to support me, but unfortunately, his physique was not much different from mine.

Just as we were about to fall and possibly involve the boy, I was wrapped in a pair of especially large arms.

It seemed that Kyle made a quick judgment and held both the boy and me together.

M-My blood ran cold…

When I turned my face towards the boy, my gaze met his reddish-brown eyes.

Oh, it’s that boy who helped me fix my head position.

“Excuse me, let go of my hand.”

“…Ah, sorry.”

It seemed that the boy’s arms were still wrapped around me, as my movements were slow and sluggish due to the shock and confusion.

Even so, Kyle managed to remove his arms in a very smooth manner.

My bodyguard is just too capable…!

He’s about the same age as the student I was in my past life, but what’s with this calmness?

Kyle, he couldn’t possibly be one of the capture targets, right?

I tried to rack my memory, but I don’t think there was ever a story where the bodyguard was one of the capture targets in an event like this.

Could it be that this is a novel I haven’t read before?

I don’t want to experience sudden death in battle without any prior knowledge, or be accused and sent to the gallows.

In my past life, I died by drowning naked, and now in this life, I’m heading straight towards a bad end without any resistance. What kind of sins do I have to commit to end up like this?

The boy blushed slightly as he mumbled to himself, and then he began to speak, looking down.

“I-it’s not like I was trying to pull you towards me just now. And I only tried to support you because I thought it would be easy for me… “

He is probably only a year or two older than me.

Although his physique is not that different from mine, the arm he wrapped around the back of my neck has been trained, though thin.

I may have hurt his pride as a boy… I feel sorry for him.

The boy blushed slightly and muttered while looking down, “I’m sorry for putting you in danger earlier… I didn’t mean to pull you towards me, I just thought I could support you since I had the space…”

He appeared to be a naive young man.

His adorable reaction made me feel warm inside.

“Don’t worry about it. I wasn’t holding onto the handrail firmly enough, so it’s my fault. Are you okay though? Did you get hurt anywhere?”

As I leaned in to follow his diverted gaze, the boy blinked once and then nodded.

“The doctor earlier said that if it weren’t for your treatment, my brother wouldn’t have survived. I want to thank you. Please tell me your name, I’ll send something to your estate as a token of my gratitude.”

I see, so he is her brother.

He seems well-mannered and probably comes from a good family based on his way of speaking.

He appears to be around the same age as me, so I wouldn’t want to run into him in high society or anything like that.

Mainly because of my lack of propriety.

It seems like my marriage prospects are fading.

The response was just doing what was expected.

“I pray for your brother’s quick recovery.” I returned the smile, subtly conveying that I had no intention of introducing myself, and it seemed like they had no intention of pursuing the matter further.

I also thought that they should have introduced themselves first, but I didn’t want to dig my own grave.

To run away is the best plan when there are 36 strategies. With that, I shall take my leave!

◇　◇

Once I returned to the mansion, I changed into a dress and enjoyed a tea time in the sunroom as a substitute for lunch.

After taking a break, I plan to venture back into town again.

I did consider putting it off until tomorrow, but it wouldn’t be fair to cut the time for adjusting the dress any shorter.

Besides, there are more places I want to visit tomorrow.

While I don’t intend to approach the young man again, I can’t help but be curious about the developments that follow as someone who was involved.

There aren’t many hospitals in that area, so we have a pretty good idea of where he was taken.

Well, it was actually Nakia who figured it out.

Even though Nakia is still young and not particularly familiar with this area just because she came with us from the estate, she seems to be well-informed about various things.

She has good taste in clothes, is handy with her hands, and works efficiently.

The tea she makes is also very delicious…

“I apologize for disturbing your relaxation.”

I was savoring a sip of tea when a voice from beside me caused me to tense up.

I gathered all my nerves and elegantly turned to face the person, meeting their kind gaze.

“When I saw you come home covered in blood, I was greatly chilled. I have heard that you were not injured, so I will keep this matter confidential from master and madam… Please be careful and refrain from doing anything too dangerous,” concluded our butler, Berlitz, whose slender physique was clad in a tailcoat.

The wrinkles at the corners of his eyes and his melancholic expression, both of which have been carved with age, suit his slender reading glasses very well.

Above all, his movements are so beautiful…

Once when I visited a butler cafe, I couldn’t believe they didn’t have a Silver Gray tea there, and my knees gave out beneath me.

And now, I’m sorry, but I feel like I’m going to collapse in a different way…!

It would be inappropriate for a young lady to prostrate herself before her family’s butler, so I won’t, but my heart is full of a raging storm.

“I will get to the main point. It seems that the tea party scheduled for the day after tomorrow has been canceled. I heard that the royal family will be hosting a tea party at short notice. We have received an invitation for that as well,” the butler said, handing over a card with the royal family’s crest engraved on it.

“Huh, …suddenly hosted by the royal family?”

Although I have attended tea parties several times in my territory, this will be my social debut in the capital. Even though manners are ingrained in my body, to be honest, I am nothing but anxious with this newly reincarnated body.

“As for Miss Liselotte’s manners, I see no flaws from my perspective. Please rest assured,” said Berlitz.

“Well…”

For a moment, I was stunned, but as I chewed on Berlitz’s words, my cheeks began to flush.

Oh my, oh my, oh my, I received words of praise directly from Berlitz!

“If you pay attention only to your words and actions and behave with elegance, it will be more than sufficient,” Berlitz continued, delivering a pointed remark that was so spot-on it was painful in various ways.

Trying to cover up her stuttering lips with a light cough, the speaker stood up straight with the invitation card held to her chest.

“Understood. I will certainly behave in a manner that does not bring shame upon the Lotus family!”

Nakia applauds quietly and Berlitz smiles with a grin, as if skillfully manipulating the situation. But this is proof of Berlitz’s prowess.

Thanks to the two’s skillful management, the requested dress was arranged to a more glamorous attire, and the entire afternoon was spent adjusting the dress and accessories.