Chapter 69

The moment I regained consciousness, the familiar ceiling of the townhouse came into view, along with Nine’s worried gaze. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, looking down at me.

‘Was it a dream?’

I blinked my eyes for a long time, then called out to him.

“Nine?”

I hadn’t called him so intimately before, but I was startled by the name that slipped out and covered my mouth.

No, I tried to cover it. But the moment I lifted my arm, an intense pain shot through my entire body, vibrating and resonating.

“Ugh…!”

The severe pain made me feel like I had lost my memory for a moment, and I couldn’t gather my thoughts.

When the pain subsided and I could think again, I was sitting up with pillows propped against the headboard, leaning against it. I had definitely been lying down just a moment ago.

“…”

Nine, who had been sitting on the edge of the bed, had stood up at some point. Judging by his hand positioned behind me, it seemed he had helped me sit up while I was disoriented.

With a dazed mind, I tried to recall why I was here. And then, I remembered the pitch-black smoke that had filled the hut.

Just recalling it made my throat feel rough, and I burst into a cough. Because my entire body ached, even a single cough hurt everywhere.

Nine poured water from the pitcher on the table and handed it to me.

“Th-thank you.”

The end of my voice was slightly cracked, but thankfully, I could speak. I slowly drank the water and then asked Nine, who hadn’t taken his eyes off me.

“What happened?”

Nine pulled the bell-pull, seemingly to summon a servant, and explained softly.

“Fortunately, the low-ranking knights you sent arrived in time to report the situation. We found you in the hut late in the evening. This was two days ago.”

“…”

“You inhaled a lot of smoke and suffered from dehydration due to the heat. Also, you were bound for a long time, so you have bruises and contusions remaining. You will find it difficult to move for a while.”

I awkwardly stared at Nine, who was recounting the situation with his gaze lowered. His subtly changed demeanor felt unfamiliar, yet a deep sense of remorse was evident in his seemingly dry voice.

Was it just my imagination? He slowly raised his head and looked at me, looking like a child who had done something wrong, his gaze lowered.

“I apologize for asking right after you woke up, but did you happen to see the physical description of the culprit?”

I paused, about to nod gently. In this state, where I could barely lift a finger, I wondered if it was right to mention Helena.

‘Helena did order the kidnapping, but the one who truly threatened my life was Alvin.’

Perhaps, if Alvin hadn’t intervened and Helena had been persuaded by me, the situation might not have escalated to this point. That being said, Helena was not without fault. Knowing this, I couldn’t easily bring myself to speak her name, and as I merely moved my lips, Nine urgently spoke to me.

“It’s alright. You don’t need to force yourself to remember.”

I was about to say no, it’s fine, but Nine plopped down onto the simple chair with a face clearly showing regret and guilt. His hand on his knee clenched into a fist so tightly that it trembled. He looked incredibly unstable.

Nine said, “I apologize.”

My heart sank at his low, somber voice. The guilt that wasn’t fully conveyed in his voice seemed to be entirely exposed in his expression.

I finally abandoned my hesitation and opened my mouth. I couldn’t defend Helena when it was causing everyone so much worry.

“It w-was the doing of Duchess Oswald.”

Nine ground his teeth at my words.

Knock. Knock.

“Your Grace, it’s Tully.”

“Come in.”

Tully, who had arrived upon hearing the bell-pull, entered the room with Annie. Nine didn’t even glance at the two entering and said to me, “I will catch the culprit and make them pay for their crime.”

“…Your Grace.”

“For now, rest and recover your body. It would be best not to trust anyone outside of the people of the Eclipse family and the Blueberry Count family.”

He met my gaze with his black eyes and spoke in a firm voice. I could only quietly nod at his continuously awkward demeanor.

Nine confirmed my answer, entrusted me to Tully and Annie, and left the room.

***

Three hours later.

I was slowly taking spoonfuls of pudding that Annie had secretly brought for me, in addition to the thin patient’s meal. I thought I would be able to handle lifting a spoon, but my arm was unexpectedly trembling violently, so I had no choice but to let Annie feed me the porridge and the pudding.

It was during this time that Norman came to see me.

“Are you feeling any better, my Lady?”

“Yes, I’m much better now.”

The moment I spoke, Annie held out a spoonful of pudding to my side. Norman narrowed his eyes and looked at Annie and me. I subtly averted my gaze at his expression, which looked like he was about to start nagging.

“Haa…” However, Norman sighed softly and then spoke to me in a serious voice.

“Duchess Oswald has been detained.”

“What?”

Annie and I both looked at Norman in surprise at the sudden news.

“I-It’s only been three hours since I named Helena, hasn’t it?”

“Yes. His Grace already figured out the culprit before you even woke up.” Norman continued, seeing my surprised expression.

“The Silver Wolf Knights arrested the townhouse servant who leaked your schedule and called for the pre-arranged public carriage.”

“…”

“And they got a full confession.”

The servant who was spying was a mere subordinate and didn’t know the precise culprit. However, once they began investigating the people the servant had recently met, starting with the deceased coachman, testimonies began to pour in from neighbors.

“His Grace took measures to prevent the hut from burning down completely. And inside, a single earring was discovered.”

I didn’t need to ask what kind of earring it was.

“Was that the evidence used to arrest Helena?”

“No. It was certain the Duchess was the culprit, but as a member of one of the Four Great Duchies, the evidence from the investigation was insufficient to warrant detention.” Norman’s voice carried clear annoyance as he added, “She had too many escape routes planned.”

I, who had been listening blankly to his explanation, suddenly realized the reason why Helena was detained only three hours after I woke up.

“My testimony as the victim acted as clear evidence.”

“That is correct.”

Nine, who had quietly stood in the doorway, answered for Norman. As he entered, Annie and Norman left the room, leaving only Nine and me inside.

“…”

“…”

A brief silence settled between us.

To be honest, Nine had felt awkward ever since I woke up. Perhaps the word unfamiliar would also fit. The person he was now was different from his cold demeanor and also different from when he was merely kind. Confused by his unprecedented attitude, I agonized over what to say for a long time.

In the meantime, Nine sat on the small chair next to me and picked up the pudding dish that had just been in Annie’s hand. He scooped up the pudding with a small spoon and offered it to me.

‘W-What is this?’

I was startled, and my face instantly flushed with heat. The action he was performing clearly suggested one thing. It felt so unreal that I wondered if I was seeing things correctly.

“Y-Your Grace. You don’t have to go that far…”

I stopped speaking when I saw Nine’s expression. My face must have been bright red, but Nine’s face was also slightly flushed for some reason. Seeing his face, I couldn’t bring myself to refuse.

I inwardly lamented, having been caught by his unintended charm, and reluctantly accepted the pudding he offered.

Gulp.

‘Why is the sound of swallowing so loud only at times like this?’

Unable to endure the embarrassment, I finally buried my face in my hands.

“…”

I heard Nine’s low chuckle. Feeling even more mortified, I quickly changed the subject.

“T-The matter you were talking about earlier…”

“Ah, I apologize for cutting off the explanation.” Nine said, scooping up a new spoonful of pudding.

“The Imperial Palace announced this incident early.”

“The Imperial Palace?”

“Yes. All the nobles who had expressed anxiety about the military action immediately flocked to the scandalous incident and the gossip about the true culprit.”

Nine continued in a low voice. “Thanks to that, the matter of the Eclipse family’s military action was quickly covered up. Since the fact that the culprit is Duchess Oswald will be announced soon, all interest in our family will quickly turn entirely to her.”

From the moment I couldn’t resist Nine’s presence and spoke Helena’s name, the situation became irreversible. But facing her imminent downfall didn’t make me feel good. Was it pity for the villainess who had lived according to her original character setting, instead of being the heroine of this world? Or a sense of trivial solidarity?

Or was it because of the affection built up over five years of being together?

‘…I don’t want to leave her alone, either way.’

Others might call me foolish and idiotic, but I didn’t want to let this moment pass by ignoring this feeling.

‘It will definitely remain as a regret.’

I was silent for a moment, then mustered up the courage to speak.

“Could I possibly meet the Duchess before a punishment is decided?”