Chapter 32

Translator: effefille

Proofreader: xoxomonami

Artizea opened her eyes faintly.

She was buried in a cozy duvet in an unfamiliar room. There was a white one-piece pajamas on her body.

There was a fire in the fireplace. She heard the sound of firewood burning.

Heating in this weather was unusual, but it was good enough for Artizea’s body who was in the middle of a cold.

Artizea wriggled her hands and feet while lying still. Her knees and shins hurt, and her arms and shoulders stung.

So did her face. Artizea tried to graze the wound on her mouth that she got from having been slapped in the face.

What was different from other times she was beaten, was that her eyes were not sore. It looked like someone had wiped her face.

She slowly sat up.

It wasn’t just certain parts of her body, but the muscles and joints of her shoulders and limbs also hurt. It seemed that her body was under even more pressure because of how nervous she was feeling.

And she thinks she fainted. Her last memory was of Cedric grabbing Miraila’s arm.

She doesn’t think she passed out right after that though.

Even so, she never lost her memory in this way.

It wasn’t really that big of a deal, but could the situation really have been so nerve wracking that it caused her to faint?

She had broken up an embankment, spread a plague, dealt with the Pirate King of the South Sea over the southern city of the Empire.

Even at that time, there had never been a situation where she fainted.

Artizea carefully got out of bed.

Then she stroked her face once with her palm. Her cheekbones hurt.

“Phew….”

She sighed. She wanted to see the mirror, but she didn’t actually want to see it. She was certain it must be terrible.

To think that such a face was seen by Cedric. She felt an unfamiliar melancholy.

She had no memory, so there was no way to know for certain.

Artizea sighed.

The memory that seemed to be overloaded is probably because of the complexity in her head.

But that was the end for today.

It was then, the sound of a knock on the door was heard.

She didn’t answer, but the other person opened the door silently as if it was just a formality.

It was Ansgar.

When he saw Artizea standing up, he put the wash basin and towel he brought in on the table near the door, and politely bowed.

“I am Ansgar, the butler of the Grand Duke Evron.”

“Yes.”

Artizea replied, suppressing the soaring feelings into her throat.

But she couldn’t stand it all, so she said it again in a tone full of emotions.

“Yes, I know.”

“It’s an honor to meet you. Ced has told us of how nice it would be for the Lady Heiress to stay here until the situation is settled.”

“Yes, I am grateful.”

“Thank you for your understanding. The mansion is still a little cluttered. Normally, it’s a space where only soldiers come and go. We started cleaning it only last month.”

“Yes……”

“I’ll serve you during your stay here. If you have any needs, you can tell me anything.”

As Ansgar said so, he approached Artizea with a towel soaked in warm water.

Instead of leaving her face to Ansgar, Artizea accepted the towel.

“The doctor said that you were too traumatized and lost consciousness. Most of the wounds on the body are partial traumas, so you’ll be able to recover in no time. I will bring a hand mirror.”

“No. It’s okay……. I don’t want to see it.”

“Yes. It is said that it will leave no scar. So you don’t have to worry about it.”

“Yes. “

Artizea replied vaguely.

It’s not that easy to be beaten to death by one’s bare hand. More so with a woman’s hands.

Miraila was stronger than Artizea, but she was still just a lady.

The heaviest of the things that hand could have held would be, at best, the emperor’s coat.

It was not common to get hit like yesterday. But it certainly wasn’t her first time.

Artizea carefully wiped her face with the warm, wet towel. The front and corners of her eyes, and the stinging areas on her forehead and cheeks were also gently wiped.

“The Lady’s maids are also in this mansion. They might be unpacking now. Would you like me to call for them?” Ansgar asked, gently.

The reason Ansgar dared to ask was because Artisea’s condition seemed very bad.

Many decent nobles hated to show such vulnerability.

And this young lady must have been more noble than her mother or brother.

Ansgar noticed that she swallowed her emotions down her throat on several occasions, but he hid his sorry feelings.

The person in front of him is Cedric’s fiancèe, who will soon become the Duchess. So, as the butler, he was not qualified to show sympathy.

“What about Alice?”

“You’re talking about the maid who is close to the Lady. I heard that her injury was just a sprained wrist. She said she wanted to stand by you, but she looked very tired so I told her to go and rest.”

“Okay, thank you for the consideration.”

Artizea now replied with a completely calm and contemplative face.

“What is Marcus doing? I know that he was entrusted with the mansion by the Grand Duke Evron.”

“Sir Marcus Hanson is now working to sort out some affairs for the Lady. Ced left the Knights behind.”

“The Knights are too much… “

Artizea muttered. But now, she was very exhausted, that her thoughts flowed out of her head like it was someone else’s work.

Even if it is something you know and are familiar with, she never adapted to the physical abuse and the pain. Neither did her mind.

Playing an instrument or learning a sword would result in calluses to your hand, but Artizea thought that it would never happen to her mind as well.

Anyway, the work at the Marquis’s mansion wasn’t an important issue right now.

“I’ll bring you a simple meal. Eat a little something and think about what you’re going to do today.”

“I don’t think I want to eat that much now. More than a meal… can you make a cup of tea?”

“Okay, I’ll be right back.”

Ansgar quietly stepped back.

Artizea realized she has a dazed face.

Ansgar quietly doused her towel with water again.

Artizea took it and buried her face in it. She felt much better because of it.

“Thank you, Ansgar.”

She returned the towel from her face to Ansgar.

Then she acknowledged Cedric, who was standing at the door.

“It’s okay for Your Grace to come in. Unless you’re afraid of my face for being too ugly.”

“I’ve never thought about that.” Cedric said, stuttering.

“I already know that you don’t care about other people’s looks.” Artizea smiled.

It wasn’t that he didn’t care about it at all. Originally, her face wasn’t very pretty, but she got bruised and even scabs.

On top of it, it was filled with tears, so she will surely not be able to see him with eyes wide open.

But strangely, her heart was cool. After returning to the past, it seemed that a large boulder that had been placed on the edge of her chest had rolled and disappeared.

But this wasn’t wrong. She was going in the right direction. Be with the right people.

Ansgar’s tea flavour informed her of it.

“Are you feeling okay?”

“Yes I’m fine. “

“Thank God.”

Cedric was restless. Still, he could not settle his gaze on her, and the tips of his ears were red.

“Don’t be like that. Sit down.”

Artizea offered him a seat.

Cedric hesitated, then turned the chair next to the table and sat away from Artizea.

Ansgar stepped back and walked out of the room.

“I’m sorry for opening the door so recklessly. I was worried, so I stopped by before I left.”

“Thank you. Yesterday…..”

Artizea said calmly.

“Thank you for coming to help. I never thought you would come in person.”

“When Rize came to call for someone, I happened to be in front of the mansion and ran into her.”

As he answered so, Cedric realized.

She never thought he’d come in person. Conversely, it means that she was thinking that anyone would come.

And this means that Artizea’s ‘thinking’ was completely different from the way other people think.

“Tia, as expected…”

“Yes?”

“This situation, did you plan this?”

The young man who was shy and couldn’t make eye contact with the girl disappeared, and Grand Duke Evron became present.

Although it was intense, as if looking into the abyss, his black eyes stared at Artizea.