Chapter 10

“Fairies?”

Hearing that fairy blood flowed through my veins was news to me. Since I had lost most of my childhood memories, it was only natural that I didn’t know. Pepe placed his hands on his hips and said boastfully:「That’s right, a fairy. That’s why the great Petuanis is protecting you like this. I have been the guardian of fairies since a very long time ago.」

“Wow, is that so?”

I had wondered why I was riding on the back of this giant dragon as a child while being chased by people, but one of my questions had now been answered. He had been protecting fairies since ancient times, which must be why he fled so desperately to keep me safe.

Then who were the people that attacked Pepe to take me away, and why did they attack me? There were many things I was curious about, but unfortunately, Pepe’s answer was lacking.

「I also went to fetch you after receiving an abrupt summons from Lillian, so I don’t know the exact circumstances either.」

So my mother’s name was Lillian. That alone was enough for me. Pepe clung to my cheek as if hugging me and spoke:「You are the last remaining fairy on this earth. I will not leave your side until the day my life ends. So trust me.」

Hearing that I was the last fairy left made me a bit sad, but at the same time, I felt a little happy knowing that Pepe would protect me to the very end.

I pressed Pepe’s small back with my finger to hug him back and replied, “Yes, I will. Thank you, Lord Pepe.”

「Ahem.」

The little baby dragon showing off was as cute as could be. I gave Pepe a kiss right on his nose, ears, and mane.

“Get off! Stop it already!” Pepe squirmed, then carefully asked:

「…So, have you made up your mind?」

“Yes.”

I let out a bitter smile. After changing my clothes, the clock on the desk pointed to 6:00 AM.

It was early morning. It was the time the diligent Emile would usually be up and in the study—a perfect time for the two of us to talk.

“I’m going to go meet Emile.”

As I stood up, Pepe sat on my shoulder and said in a pouting voice:

「Why don’t you move a bit slower? They said the conversation went late into the night yesterday, so he might still be sleeping out of fatigue.」

I froze at his words. The people of the Countess Cline’s household were all punctual and rarely stayed up late into the night.

Yet they talked late into the night yesterday?

“Why? Did something happen?”

「I don’t know for sure, but it seems the woman who visited yesterday stayed the night. A maid mentioned something like that when she knocked on your door.」

“…Roseanne?”

It wasn’t unusual for Roseanne to sleep over at the Cline estate. But today of all days, it bothered me.

‘On a day I didn’t leave my room because I was sick, she chose to stay the night? Am I being overly sensitive?’

Like a small bug tweaking my nerves, I had a distinct feeling that something was going on. Biting my lip softly, I asked Pepe:

“Which room did Roseanne stay in?”

「Do you think I’m some sort of entity that gives you answers the instant you ask?!」

“Ah, so you don’t know that much, then.”

When I sighed, the tiny dragon flapped his wings, hovered in the air, and answered nonchalantly:「No, I do know. It’s the room at the end of the second floor.」

If he knew, he could have just answered—why get angry?

‘The room at the end of the second floor.’

That was close to Emile’s study.

‘This bothers me, too.’

I could easily picture Emile going into Roseanne’s room under the guise of reading books late into the night in his study. Or Roseanne pretending to sleep, only to visit him in the study.

Either way, I felt my blood run cold.

“……”

Perhaps my fiercely hardened face looked strange, because Pepe glanced at me nervously. Realizing his gaze, I quickly forced a faint smile and spoke: “Since Roseanne was here, the Countess must not have looked for me. That’s a relief, at least.”

「It’s not that. When I opened the door, medicine and a meal were placed outside.」

“I see.”

To think Countess Cline sent medicine…

Even if I had seen such a terrible illusion, it didn’t mean the kindness the Countess had shown me disappeared.

‘I feel so sorry to the Countess.’

Her touch as she embraced me, treating me like her own daughter, was still vivid in my mind. I squeezed my eyes shut.

‘But this is a matter of my life. Not just me, but Emile and Roseanne could be unhappy for the rest of their lives, too.’

There was no way those two could be truly happy while deceiving me. How could a love that couldn’t be shown proudly to others ever be purely happy?

Considering the lives of the three of us, it seemed best to treat my engagement with Emile as if it had never happened.

“I’m going to go settle things with Emile.”

I took a step forward with a resolute expression.

***

Emile’s study was about a five-minute walk from my room. When we were children, Emile and I used to play hide-and-seek in the hallway leading to the study.

‘Come to think of it, there weren’t even any hiding spots.’

The image of two children giggling and running around flickered before my eyes like a phantom.

Even after that, the relationship between Emile and me remained unchanged. Though we grew older and could no longer hold hands or run through the hallways, walking side by side was always the same.

‘And yet now, I have to stand in front of Emile’s study over a woman issue.’

If possible, I only hoped he wouldn’t disappoint me any further.

I hoped he would admit to deceiving me up until now, apologize, and cheer for my new start.

I took a deep breath. Then, I slowly knocked on the study door.

“Emile, are you in here?”

There was no sound from inside.

‘Did he really fall asleep late yesterday and hasn’t woken up yet?’

Since Pepe said so, it was likely true.

After hesitating for a moment, I slowly turned around.

However, God was cruel to me.

The closed door slid open, and a reddish glow filled my vision.

“What brings you here so early in the morning, Yvon?”

“Roseanne.”

The person who opened the door was Roseanne.

Moreover, through the gap in the door, her attire revealed loose nightwear without even a shawl draped over it.

Because it had spaghetti straps, her white, rounded shoulders were completely exposed.

Messy hair, a makeup-free face, and nightwear worn without any undergarments.

The implications were clear. Realizing this, my eyes trembled violently. Forcing strength into my feet—which wanted to turn around and run away immediately—I asked Roseanne: “…Where’s Emile?”

At my question, Roseanne leaned against the doorway and twisted her hair around her finger.

“Emile is asleep. He must have been very tired yesterday.”

“He’s sleeping in the study?”

There was a long sofa in the study meant for reading comfortably. But it was hard to imagine Emile sleeping there.

‘He’s the kind of person who complains if you even drink tea while reading, saying it might stain the books.’

The gentle Emile was firm about very few things, and books were one of them. Yet I couldn’t picture Emile sleeping in the study where he read, let alone with Roseanne.

I pressed down on my pounding heart with my palm and asked: “Why are you here?”

Should I call it a relief? My voice managed to flow out naturally. My heart was pounding wildly. As if mocking me, Roseanne’s lips curved into an arch.

“Do I really have to tell you?”

“Yes. Tell me straight. What is going on right now?”

“I wasn’t going to tell you out of consideration for you, but I guess I have no choice.”

Roseanne threw the study door wide open. The morning sunlight, just rising, brightly illuminated the sofa in the study.

On the sofa was Emile, sleeping peacefully like a child, his brown hair disheveled.

However, only his face was innocent like a child’s. His shirt was crumpled messily and dropped onto the floor, and wrapped in a blanket, he wasn’t wearing any clothes.

Perhaps feeling a bit chilly from the opened door, Emile rolled his body to the other side and mumbled: “Rosie…? What are you doing?”

“Just a moment.”

Roseanne’s voice as she answered Emile was incredibly gentle. Roseanne smiled as if to show off to me, as I stood there pale as a sheet, and answered: “We’re in this kind of relationship.”

Then she chuckled and whispered softly: “Oh right, I heard you’re getting married soon. Congratulations.”

It was a cruel statement that she had been deceiving me, and would continue to deceive me in the future.

I raised my head, my face turned pale blue. Roseanne wore a smile as beautiful as the rose her name implied.

She was my longtime friend, yet it was a stranger’s face I had never seen before.