Chapter 59
"Tomorrow, my fiancé will be visiting."
After finishing dinner and returning to my room, I inford the nursemaids, and imdiately their expressions changed.
The nursemaid promptly gave instructions to the maids, who nodded deeply and dashed off to follow her orders.
Watching this scene in astonishnt, I was dragged by the nursemaid to the dressing room, standing quietly so as not to interfere as she ticulously compared dozens of dresses against my body from one end of the room to the other.
The criteria for choosing a dress involve not only hair color and skin tone but also body shape and height.
Whether warm or cool tones, high-neck or off-shoulder, I would usually select the dress that suits best and have it tailored for the season, but unfortunately, the dresses in this wardrobe seem to have been made based on my past image with only the size adjusted, so none of them quite fit .
My height is too tall for a woman, my facial features and body are sharp with no feminine softness. The only saving grace is that my chest has grown decently.
"I never thought dresses would suit so poorly..."
"No, it's not your fault, young lady; it's the dresses here that are to bla."
"I-I see..."
Terrified by the nursemaid's intense deanor as she shouted, "This one and that one are no good, discard them!" while tossing dresses aside one after another, I glanced at the remaining dresses, enduring silently while thinking there was likely nothing among them that would satisfy her.
——Because of that, I had a dream of drowning in dresses and woke up in the morning with a nightmare.
After quickly finishing a breakfast of just tea and fruit, I imdiately began getting ready.
Predicting that Lord Floyd would arrive at the mansion no earlier than the afternoon, I mobilized the maids, attendants, and kitchen staff accordingly.
After carefully tending to my damaged hair and skin, I changed into the prepared clothes and sat in front of the dresser, where one maid applied light makeup to my face while another arranged my hair.
Since it wasn't a public occasion, the makeup and hair styling didn't take much ti, finishing within the span of drinking a single cup of tea.
"So, it cos down to this outfit after all..."
"The military school uniform is considered equivalent to formal attire, so even if I wear it to an official event, no one should object."
Since there was no dress that felt right, there was no other choice.
While the nursemaid sighed and held her forehead in dismay, the maids, on the other hand, blushed and complinted .
"However, this is not an outfit to wear in front of your fiancé."
"But... doesn't this suit the best? I think wearing a uniform is better than showing myself in an unflattering state."
"Young lady, please mind your manner of speech as well."
"...I understand, I do."
Dodging the nursemaid's suspicious gaze, I arranged for not just tea but also light snacks and sweets to be prepared for the eting with my fiancé, and as we discussed what to do about lunch, there was a knock on the room's door.
The maid who went to answer returned in a fluster with Bram in tow, and even Bram, who is usually unshaken by anything, looked perplexed as he said, "Lord Floyd Armle has arrived..."
Unlike traveling between territories which takes weeks, moving within the Royal Capital only takes a few hours to go between residences.
And so, the current ti is still before lunch.
He probably got ready imdiately after waking up and hurried out of his mansion.
"...Is there so urgent matter?"
"He didn't ntion anything, but shall I ask for you?"
"No, if it's an urgent matter, it's better to head there right away. Have the tea preparations hastened; I'll go to the great garden first."
"Then I'll accompany you, young lady, while the nursemaid gives instructions."
"Understood."
Whenever I et my fiancé, Lord Floyd, it's always at the gazebo in the great garden made for my mother.
Considering the maids who serve and the guards, the gazebo was made much larger than usual, and it's also one of my favorite places, so I felt a little excited to have tea there after so long.
I enthusiastically headed toward the gazebo where my fiancé awaited, walking through vibrant flowers blooming under the strong sunlight and breathing in the air. As I walked through my beloved garden after a long ti and caught sight of the gazebo filled with mories of my mother, my excitent vanished, and I froze on the spot.
"...Bram."
As I called out to Bram standing behind , he moved instantly, rushing past my side.
Around the gazebo were several guards from the Armle family, and inside the gazebo was one of our maids.
"Why is Mirabel here...?"
Though I couldn't hear their voices yet, it looked like Lord Floyd was stopping Bram, who was trying to politely escort Mirabel out of the gazebo.
Even though he is the son of a marquis family, Lord Floyd's position here is rely my fiancé.
Even if we're not yet family, interfering in another household's affairs is rude, and reprimanding Bram, who manages the mansion on behalf of the head of the house, is equivalent to criticizing the head himself.
——To lack even basic common sense...
Step by step, I approached and entered the gazebo.
"It's been a while."
I coldly stared at my fiancé sitting cozily with Mirabel on a two-seater sofa, then took a seat on the single-seater sofa opposite them.
On the table were light snacks and sweets I had prepared since last night, neatly arranged on stands, along with a mild, easy-to-drink herbal tea chosen for my fiancé, who dislikes sweets.
I had planned to bring up events from three years ago in a peaceful atmosphere, apologize to each other, and discuss the future.
——And yet, here we are again, like this.
On the plate in front of Mirabel were a savory she had bitten into and a scone broken in half. In her hand was a cup that wasn't hers...
"...Celestia, is that you?"
"Who else would it be?"
My fiancé, wide-eyed with surprise, was still with Mirabel as always... I let out a bitter laugh, wondering if he wanted to reenact what happened three years ago, and shifted my gaze to Mirabel.
"Why is Mirabel here?"
"I'm sorry, elder sister. I, um, ended up here by chance, and then..."
"By chance...? I think it's quite a distance from the detached building to here, don't you?"
"I was exploring through a small path I was told about and ended up here... Um, I'm sorry. I'll excuse myself...!"
"Wait, Mirabel. ...Celestia, she's your sister, so why are you so cold to her?"
I was surprised... Three years ago, this man couldn't even et my eyes without shrinking back, and now he glares at for Mirabel's sake. He's changed quite a bit.
"Lord Floyd... it's fine about . Please don't fight with my elder sister."
"It's not fine, is it? Why should you have to apologize?"
Watching my fiancé gently hold Mirabel's trembling hand and speak to her softly to comfort her, I raised a hand to the maid, whose frown deepened by the second, to request tea.
"Elder sister finds a nuisance if I'm here."
"A nuisance...?"
"Because, I'm not family, that's what elder sister told ..."
"...Celestia said that?"
I nodded to my fiancé, who looked at suspiciously.
There's no lie in the words of a delicate girl holding back tears as she pleads, and by affirming it with a "What's wrong with that?" attitude, I appear as the villain to any uninford third party.
"Is that true...?"
"Yes."
"Even if Mirabel is an adopted daughter, don't you think those are terribly harsh words...?"
"It's the truth, so."
"Is it also true that you dismissed Mirabel's maid...?"
"That's right."
"What reason do you have to treat her so harshly? It was the count who accepted a stepmother and an adopted daughter, so it's not their fault, is it?"
I swallowed the word "ridiculous" that nearly escaped my throat along with the tea, then set down the empty cup.
"It seems there are various misunderstandings, so may I say sothing?"
"..."
"Whether I'm cold or speak harsh words, it's all a matter within our household. I have no obligation to explain anything to an unrelated person like you, and don't you realize that interfering is, in fact, rude?"
"I am your fiancé and..."
"If you weren't my fiancé, I would have already had both of you thrown out of my mother's garden."
"Thrown out...?"
"Mirabel, leave."
"...Elder sister."
"Didn't you hear ? Or are you hoping Lord Floyd will help you again? Unfortunately, there's nothing he can do."
"Celestia, you should calm down and talk this over. You two are sisters, after all..."
"Lord Floyd, thank you. But it's all my fault. Elder sister, I'm sorry... I'll take my leave."
"Mirabel..."
Letting out a sigh as my fiancé watched Mirabel leave the gazebo with his eyes, I took a sip of the warm tea the maid had freshly poured.
"You don't hesitate to hurt others, do you...?"
My chest ached at the words my fiancé muttered, and I barely suppressed the urge to scream, forcing a smile onto my face.
"No matter how many years pass, you never learn anything, do you...?"
In the end, it seems we'll remain like this forever...
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