...Fuck... It hurts... My head... My back...
Everything...
I opened my eyes, scanning my surroundings. I was obviously in Raina's room. "Ugh..." Immediately, Kia noticed my movement and attacked me.
"Milady!" She lowered her voice and said, "Milady, how are you? Ah! I should call the physician."
"What happened? I supported my body, head leaning on the headboard.
WHAT THE FUCK?!???
"Who..."
I was going to ask who the blondie by my bedside was, but two loud people came barging in.
"Lady Raina!" The physician exclaimed.
Be quiet. Head buzzing, blurry vision, dry throat.
"Shut up! There are bees in my heads, 240 fps, Sahara desserts."
Oh, I mixed up my dialogue. The physician looked at me in confusion, Kia was unaffected but the blondie screamed 'What?!'.
"Who's he?"
The physician began assessing my pulse, asking questions about how I felt. I answered while listening to Kia's explanation, "this is sir Sorin, milady, he's your new guardian knight. Don't worry, milady! Sir Sorin is not part of the Rielta knight, I don't know how but he still trains with the others despite not being part of them."
He's right beside you.
"Then ask him."
Kia shook her head and stepped away from him.
"No, my breathing is normal."
Then, I looked at the blondie, Sorin, "Why?"
It took him a few seconds to answer, "ah... I'm the duke's personal guard. Ah... That's right, thanks to you, it's ex-personal guard now." He rolled his eyes.
???
He's so bitchy.
"Well, you got your answer. He's the duke's... Personal guard?"
Archen had a personal guard? Seriously? This guy must be strong then....Wait.
"Why would he send his personal guard to be my escort?"
Blondie squinted his eyes, showing a look of 'Are you stupid?'
"What?"
"Obviously because he cares about you."
"Oh."
"Oh?" Sorin glared at me and yapped, "His grace, the duke cared enough for you to send his personal guard to you! That's how much he cares! I– Even the other master hasn't been cared for like this! You're lucky!"
What the fuck?
An Archen fanatic?
Seriously?
"Ugh, where's the duke? I don't want him. I want another one."
"You– Damnit! Do you think I wanna guard you too?! The duke! The duke is who I wanna serve! But I have no choice because he wants me to protect you."
...Fuck, he's making my headache worst.
"Fine, then be quiet. So, where's Archen?"
"The duke left 2 days ago milady."
"Wasn't he supposed to leave on the fifteenth?"
The physician and Kia looked at each other, and she blinked, "Yes milady. You've been asleep for 4 days."
"Ah... No wonder my throat feels so dry."
"Oh!" Kia poured me a cup of herbal tea, "I was not thoughtful enough, I apologize, milady!"
"Hmm." I shook my hand, then sipped a cup of tea. It was lukewarm and my mouth was instantly relieved by the cool feeling of the tea, the sensation similar to peppermint.
"I'll have your medicines procured, Lady Raina. If any more symptoms arise, do not hesitate to call me. I shall take my leave now."
"Very well, take care. Kia, go with him and wait for my medicine."
...Now that they're gone, I'll just sleep.
I lay down, bringing the blanket up to my neck. I was asleep for 4 days. That's good, it saved me 4 days of thinking, wish it could've been longer though.
Feeling uncomfortable, I turned sideways, "Uh? What's that?" The table that was supposed to be filled with stationery and Raina's books instead had piles of papers on it.
"That's the duke's. He didn't want to leave your side and decided to do his work in your room."
Oh right, this guy's still here.
I turned to face the blondie, "Can't you leave?"
"I'm ordered to guard you."
"Do it outside."
"No, what if someone assassinated you through the window?"
Wow, how thorough.
In any case, that's a load of bull. When I was an honorary princess, the palace knights and my personal guards only stayed outside my room, and even then it was just formality.
Nobody would go through the trouble of killing a princess much less a powerless girl.
"Raina... Hmm, was I that hateful?"
"No."
My eyes widened. That was unexpected. I expected him to have a bad impression of Raina just like the others.
"Your mother was... And the people around you. It didn't help that you had a meek personality." Blondie looked at me and smirked, "Anyway, it's a good thing that you seem to be changing. I heard you made the head maid bleed. Serves her right."
Augh, I forgot about her.
My face darkened, "How come the duke hasn't reprimanded me about it?"
We've fought a few times now, but he never brought that up.
The smirk on blondie's face brightened, he crouched down and leaned closer. "Hmm~ Guess?"
This bastard doesn't know personal space, huh?
I shoved his face away, he didn't move for a while, and then he chuckled.
What a lunatic. He held my wrist and put it down.
"Because he doesn't know!" I squinted my eyes, and he added, "I fired her."
???
What the fuck is this?!
I, acting as Raina, the only lady of this duchy can't fire a meager knight that endangered my safety, but his personal guard can?! A head maid at that! The annex's head maid, but the point still stands.
Mocking, I said, "You must be close to the duke."
"I am." He sneered and rolled his eyes, "I'm closer to him than the emperor himself."
...Sure, stay delusional.
***
"How about this milady?"
"Does it feel comfortable?"
"Isn't it better here?"
...They're trying so hard to curry favor.
The numbness worsened by the day and medicine only relieved it for a few hours. So, the physician proposed to do physical therapy. I expected a quiet session considering the people of this duchy's aversion towards Raina plus I have never bothered to act buddy-buddy with them because of that fact.
Apart from Kia, Mr. Butler, and the physician, I've never spoken to any of the servants in this manor.
Perhaps it's because their master is showing signs of favor towards me that they want to get on my good side as well.
How fake.
I smiled brightly, "Hmmm, yeah you all are doing good! It feels nice... Thanks."
But, so am I.
We had a few exchanges before the topic of our conversation steered off.
"Wandering pink-eyed spirit?" Blondie and I asked in unison.
I asked Mina, the maid massaging my left leg, "What's with this urban legend?"
The two girls halted in their massage, they nodded at each other, with dark shadows looming over them.
"It all started 2 weeks ago..."
Footsteps and creaking interrupted the servant's sleep, and when morning came shattered vases greeted them.
At first, everyone thought it was some stray animals... However...
One night, when the moon was up high and everyone was fast asleep, a stable hand returned to his dorm after accidentally sleeping in the stables, as he opened the door...
"Crack!"
"A vase shattered?"
Rina nodded, "He was determined to catch the animal, rushing to the scene and expecting a cute little animal, then... he froze."
Because what he saw wasn't an animal, it was a human. To be precise, it was a girl with a thin physique, grey skin, white hair and...
"Glowing pink eyes."
The Verena's trademark.
"She was crying out," Mina imitated, saying in a low voice, "Mother... You... Why did you leave me alone... My savior..."
The people of the Aillard Duchy are really talented. If being a maid doesn't work out, one can be a playwright and the other an actor.
Blondie carried me to my bed. I looked at him a bit hesitatingly, "Hey... You're staying, yes?" He tilted his head, and with a sneer, he said, "Don't tell me you believe what they're saying?"
"Of course not!" I hastily clutched onto his wrist, "Countermeasures... It's good to be prepared, yeah?"
"You really believe in ghosts?"
I used to not, but here we are.
Blondie laughed hysterically, clapping his hands while doing so, "Holy shit!" He laughed so hard that the rims of his eyes turned red.
"Fucking bastard, don't laugh."
"Ah... Ha... HAHAHAHHAHAHA!" Blondie wiped his tears and fanned himself, "Ahem... Mhmm. You... Was your brain also paralyzed? Why would a Verena spirit suddenly appear in the Aillard's? Don't you know that Yuin and Rielta are 3 regions away and take approximately a month to travel?"
"If my brain is paralyzed, is yours fried? Why are you using human measurements for a ghost?" My grip on his arms tightened,
"Don't you know... There's that scandal of the duke's great grandfather killing a Verena descendant to appease the late emperor? What if she's taking revenge...? I... I'm the only Aillard here, what if she targets me, huh?"
Sorin, this blond bastard had the nerve to shake his wrist causing Raina's frail hands to fall. He shrugged and turned his back on me, "I shall take my leave now."
"Hey! Sorin! Stay here!"
He turned his head and smiled, "In any case, my lady~ I am a mere servant of this house and only follow your noble words. Since I was ordered to leave as soon as the sun sets, I shall do so... Farewell..."
"Sorin, come bac–Bang!"
"..."
That... That... That bastard!
The sun is still high up in the sky! Why are you running away?!
"Sorin! Fuck you and your whole family! AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
I coughed and coughed, reaching out to the glass of water at my bedside, "Haah..."
I only ordered him not to guard me at night because it was so uncomfortable. I mean, would you be able to sleep when a fucking ogre is standing beside your bed, staring at you? Guarding outside is also unacceptable.
***
Katak.
Katak.
Katak.
My heavy footsteps echoed in the faintly lit hallway. If the others heard this, would they think it was the wandering Verena spirit?
"Pffft- Too bad I'm not a girl." I halted, trying not to laugh loudly.
Seriously, though. I didn't know that Raina Aillard was such a scaredy cat, panicking just because Rina and Mina told her a ghost story. The complete opposite of her courageous brother.
Katak.
Katak.
Katak.
???
Wha... What? What?!
An intruder...?
No... I set up protection magic so no intruder should be able to come in.
Then, huh... No way? It's true?
I held onto my sword and listened carefully.
The sound came from Raina's room.
Due to the cold night, I shivered. "Is it really targeting her...?" Thinking such, I walked stealthily to Raina's room. The closer I got, the louder it was.
The footsteps... The whispers... The sobs...
I held my unsheathed sword in one hand while the other had an activated magic circle.
I slowly opened the door and there she was just as the maids described.
Under the moonlight, the 'wandering pink-eyed spirit' stood still with her head down. Her long 'white hair' stuck to her 'grey skin' due to sweat.
I wanted to get closer, but then, she raised her head and our eyes met one another.
"Please... Back... I want it back..."
Although her voice resounded with yearning and her face stained with tears, her eyes did not show the same sentiment. It was blank.
But it was indeed glowing... Pink.
I see...
The ghost wasn't a restless spirit but rather a broken soul.
To be continued.