Chapter 23
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Chapter 23
"Why are you putting spit on Auntie's hand? That's gross! It's covered in germs!"
"...."
"Auntie, wash your hands! Scrub them squeaky clean with soap!"
Of course. I should have known better.
Lucian would never take my side so easily—especially when I'd been using words he couldn't possibly understand.
"Hurry, hurry and wash!"
...I never expected such an odd fixation to actually work on him.
"Alright, alright. Auntie's going to wash her hands now."
"Hurry back!"
Lucian dragged me along by my hand.
As I headed toward the Bathroom, I spoke to Claude, who remained on his knees.
"My head hurts, so let's discuss this another time."
"...Understood."
Fortunately, Claude rose without complaint. Amelia did the same.
"But don't think this changes anything."
I muttered it quietly just before leaving.
"Alas, such is my fate."
I washed my hands behind the closed door. This wasn't a trivial matter—it was an oath staking the honor of an entire house. Wasn't this far too much pressure?
"Auntie! You have to scrub with soap until it squeaks!"
"I used soap. Look."
"Still not enough! Wash more!"
Unable to fathom his dissatisfaction, Lucian climbed onto a child's step stool and supervised my hand-washing with unwavering vigilance.
"This won't do."
Unable to bear it any longer, Lucian rolled up his sleeves and began scrubbing soap directly onto my hands.
"When Auntie nags you to wash your hands, you pretend not to listen."
"But Auntie's hands have dirt on them. So I have to make them clean!"
"Fine. I'll do whatever you want."
I surrendered my hands to Lucian and stared at the mirror before me.
The reflection showed me looking absolutely wretched. After lying ill for three days, my skin had grown dull and flaky, and dark circles shadowed my eyes. My hair, unwashed during my collapse, gleamed with oil.
"I think I need a shower before washing my hands...."
The moment those words left my lips, a chill crept down my spine.
'Surely I didn't... meet the Marquess looking like this?'
In this pathetic state?
"I'm an idiot...."
"Auntie, why are you using bad words!"
"I really am an idiot."
"Using bad words means the germs on your hands have already infected your brain."
I have to save Auntie! With grim determination, Lucian began scrubbing my hands as if the skin might peel away.
'Do my hands... smell bad?'
When he suddenly knelt before me, I'll admit—I harbored a small hope.
Perhaps he had fallen for me, and that's why he was doing this.
'Fallen for me? Fat chance.'
Looking like this, there was no way he could have developed feelings for me. He might very well turn away and retch at the stench clinging to my hands.
'That's right. This isn't affection. It's simply... genuine gratitude toward me.'
I swallowed my tears and hoisted Lucian up into my arms. Then I ushered him out of the Bathroom.
"I'll just shower. I'll wash away every trace of the smell, spotless."
"Wonderful!"
I closed the Bathroom door behind me, leaving Lucian with his thumbs-up gesture.
With the rush of water, my tears washed away down the drain.
* * *
Claude and Amelia emerged from Lucella's room and walked side by side down the Corridor. The servants marveled at how alike the two looked, though neither of them heard the remarks.
"Uncle, will that be enough?"
....
"Was the oath of honor truly the best you could do?"
"...I know. It fell short."
Three days had been sufficient for their tearful reunion. Now that Lucella had awakened, he needed to devise a way to repay his debt to her.
She was, after all, the savior who had transformed two lives.
"Sister Lucella is surprisingly timid in some ways. How could you just thrust an oath of honor upon someone like that?"
"...Then what should I have done instead?"
"Why are you asking me? You're the adult, Uncle. You should be the one thinking."
Amelia's joy at reuniting with her uncle was fleeting; the reality that she would soon have to part with Lucella weighed heavily on her heart. The Agris Marquessate was quite far from here, after all.
Yet she couldn't simply drag Sister Lucella away to the Marquessate by force.
After much deliberation, Amelia arrived at a brilliant solution.
'Marry her.'
'What...?'
'Marry Sister Lucella.'
If Lucella became the Marquess's wife, there would be a legitimate reason to bring her to the Marquessate.
'I heard she's been living off Uncle's family and eating humble pie. Let's bring her to our house and treat her well.'
After all, Lucella wasn't in a position to be living off the Duke's Mansion. If she came to the Marquessate as Claude's wife, she could hold her head high and live with dignity.
'If he wants to refuse, he'll need a good reason. In my opinion, there's no better adult than Sister Lucella.'
She's practically too good for Uncle, wouldn't you say?
Fearing rejection, Amelia eagerly listed Lucella's virtues.
Everything from dismissing the Orphanage Director and all the staff to visiting the Orphanage every three days to play with the children.
'Amelia, marriage isn't something so simple.'
Despite the somewhat gruff tone of his voice, Uncle's expression was nothing but gentle.
No—it was more than gentle.
'Why does his expression look like that?'
'What's wrong with my expression?'
'Something feels off. Like the way Father looks at Mother.'
My uncle's expression was as bloated as someone who had devoured an entire tub of butter. His sparkling eyes resembled a puppy reunited with its master.
...A greasy puppy, how revolting.
Amelia, who barely managed to suppress her nausea, pointed an accusing finger at her uncle.
'In any case, Uncle, the only way you can repay Sister is through marriage.'
'You're not wrong. I'd have to stay by her side all day long to repay such a debt.'
'Right? So what should we do now?'
'....'
It was the moment Claude's eyes gleamed as if he had just realized something.
A maid informed him that Lucella had awakened, and Claude moved with such speed that one would never believe he was using crutches, heading straight for her room. He was carrying Amelia in one arm, the arm not holding the crutches.
'Uncle, handle this well. Let's not become ungrateful people.'
'Don't worry.'
I had even extracted a promise before he left, yet this was the result he brought back!
"Someone like Sister Lucella needs to be conquered gradually. You shouldn't rush into making honor oaths right from the start."
"Conquering gradually.... How exactly does one do that?"
"Wow, Uncle really...."
I knew he viewed women like stones, but I never expected it to be this bad.
"Try coaxing her to go eat something delicious together. Or perhaps share a cup of tea."
"A meal...."
"If all else fails, feign illness. People tend to soften around someone who's suffering."
"Hmm, that's not a bad idea."
Claude nodded absently before belatedly freezing. He had only just realized this was not a conversation he should be having with a child.
"I hear the Orphanage Director and his staff were vile people. It seems you've learned nothing but their wickedness."
"So you won't feign illness?"
"Feign illness? I'm a real patient. Not pretending."
The bickering between Amelia and Claude faded into the distance down the corridor as they walked.
* * *
Perhaps it was thanks to thorough rest and recuperation. My ailing body recovered rapidly.
Ordinarily, I would have felt self-conscious lying about while living off others' kindness, moving about briskly, but now there was no need for such restraint.
After all, I had the justification of having saved the Marquess of House of Agris.
The servants of the Duke's Mansion were endlessly generous to me while I was bedridden. It was because I was the benefactor of a great noble.
'Once this justification is gone, I won't even be able to be sick anymore.'
I turned the page of the calendar sitting on the table.
It had already been a week since Claude arrived at the Duke's Mansion. Winter's end was slowly approaching.
'It's been over a week since I last visited the Orphanage.'
Though the children were said to be doing fine without me, not seeing them for over a week made me worry about how they were managing.
I was especially concerned about Edwin, left alone without Amelia.
Edwin, who was particularly shy, had few friends besides Amelia.
With Amelia having suddenly left the Orphanage and not returning for a week, he must surely be growing anxious.
'I should probably visit soon.'
Though I was told to maintain absolute rest for the time being, my fever had subsided and the muscle soreness was gone.
It would be best to bring Amelia and Lucian along as well.
Amelia needed to say goodbye to her friends after all.
I should bring Claude Agris too.
He would surely be curious about what environment Amelia had lived in and what friends she had made.
Claude Agris—the handsome man with golden hair and blue eyes. As I recalled him, memories of our time together naturally surfaced.
The image of him solemnly swearing the Oath of Honor came to mind.
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