Chapter 13: CH 13

“Did you see His Grace eating the cake?”

“Yes. It’s the first time I’ve seen anything like that since I was born.”

After the shocking meal.

The quiet Vallois Castle became unusually noisy.

I couldn’t finish the cake because I was full, so Cassis quietly ate the rest of the cake, perhaps feeling a sense of responsibility.

Responsibility.

What this meant was clear.

Cassis, who had been ignoring me, started taking care of me.

Through this meal, he took care of me ‘to the extent of not caring’, and I also responded to the letter to the extent of expecting a reply.

Although there was still a transparent wall between Cassis and me.

Should I say that we recognized each other’s existence through that transparent wall?

‘Still, this much has gotten a lot better.’

It’s not like we’re close, but we eat occasionally.

It seems unlikely that Cassis will become a daughter’s fool, but at least I can expect a reply to the letter brought by the Guide.

And if only this level of relationship is maintained.

‘I might be able to receive a gift on my birthday.’

Fufufu.

I thought everything was going well.

However, what really bothered me about the letter began before I fell asleep.

“It’s time to go to sleep.”

“Good night, Lisa.”

After reading the storybook, I bid Lisa a good night and turned off the lamp.

“Hmmm, it was a good dessert today, too.”

Higgs’s dessert today is always thrilling.

I laid my face on the pillow and closed my eyes, anticipating what to eat tomorrow, butㅡ

“…Huft… Gasp…”

“?”

I woke up to the sound of heavy breathing coming through the walls.

The intermittent cries seemed to be struggling as if one had buried their face in the pillow.

‘Lisa? Knights? Is there an internal disturbance in this castle?’

It was too pathetic to ignore.

I automatically stood up and walked slowly down the hallway toward the source of the sound, holding a lamp.

“Miss Baby?”

The place where I stopped was in front of Cassis’ bedroom.

Agasa, who was picking up the shattered glass, raised up in bewilderment to check on me.

“Aga.”

“…You may step on shards of glass, so please stand still.”

I nodded.

Even during the conversation, the cries of Cassis continued to burst through the door.

The sadness I had only heard but had never dared to experience hit me like a wave.

‘Did he break everything in the bedroom?’

I pretended nothing was wrong and flitted around the hallway.

The surroundings were so messed up that it was unimaginable that it was in the Vallois Castle.

A piece of broken mirror.

Frames and bottles of wine that are occasionally broken between them.

Come to think of it, he was crying even when we first met.

The second time he appeared covered in blood, I could see the traces of his tears.

‘I knew he missed Mom terribly, but I didn’t expect it to be this much.’

I suddenly thought it was amazing that he had a meal to this point.

“Is it Dad?”

Agasa smiled awkwardly instead of answering.

I saw that he secretly hid the bottle he was putting away behind my back.

He seemed worried that I might be scared.

“What about Dad?”

Now is not the time to worry about me.

Cassis is the problem.

I pointed at Cassis’s bedroom door with a firm hand, and Agasa’s face as he watched me darkened even more.

He hesitated for a moment before he said.

“…It’s late, so let’s go in. May I hug you?”

Are you saying that I’m being nosy?

‘Well, it could be uncomfortable if I suddenly came in while he was crying.’

I nodded, allowing him, and the man whom I handed over the lamp to carefully picked me up.

On the way to the bedroom, we just walked quietly.

However, Cassis’ cries increased the anxiety rather than silence.

‘Are you saying that no one has ever talked to Cassis before?’

It’s that serious, though?

And no one took action?

I, who lived in a separate building in my previous life, didn’t know about it.

But if he lives like that, he will definitely get sick.

‘Hmm. Do villains even have super powers?’

“I’m worried about Dad.”

“So do I. But he was so resolute that fears outweighed my worries.”

It was dark ahead.

Apart from my escape, this was the first time I was worried about Cassis’ condition.

“My worries outweigh my fears, though.”

Stepㅡ

It was then.

At my words, Agasa stopped walking.

Not knowing why, I raised my head, and I saw blue eyes looking down at me as if he was slightly surprised.

“…You say that your worries outweigh fear.”

“Huh?”

“…I think Miss Baby will become a very precious existence to His Grace.”

Pfft.

For the first time, he gave me a real laugh, not a mechanical one, and gently put me on the bed.

“Then go to sleep.”

He glanced at me even before the bedroom door closed.

It was an expression as if he was really glad I was there.

***

Next day.

The bedroom of Duke Cassis.

“It’s a body ache. It’s because you moved your body vigorously, that’s why it’s important to take absolute rest.”

“So it’s just a simple body ache.”

Despite the prudent doctor’s treatment, Cassis’ tone was light.

He still had a grave face, but his condition was serious even at first glance.

A flush of red spread across his face.

And cold sweat ran down his neck.

The symptoms were serious enough to pass off as a mild cold.

The villain was also a role played by humans.

He lived on alcohol and tears for almost three months, so it was natural that he got sick.

“It’s not a fatal disease.”

“Your Grace! Please lie down. If this goes on, it’ll get really serious.”

Agasa was horrified to see him struggling to lift his lead-heavy body.

In fact, Cassis’ physical condition had been at a loss for a month.

[Your Grace. You seem to be in a very bad condition, let’s go back now.]

But whenever he asked, he leaned loosely on the carriage back.

[Continue.]

So was it like that, he wondered.

Agasa had somehow secretly expected that he would fall ill.

‘But I didn’t know even in the midst of this, he complained he would go out.’

It’s different this time.

Because His Grace is really sick.

Agasa, who had always calmed down, was determined.

His dull eyes, which closed and opened, shone with a rare resoluteness.

Up to this point, while serving His Grace, he had never said anything against his opinion.

It was also for that reason that he was able to become Cassis’ close aide.

But.

“I will cancel your schedule for today.”

A true loyalist can sometimes disobey their master’s orders.

Even though his teeth were chattering, he spat out the words to the end, and courage surged in his heart.

“What?”

Of course, his whole body froze at the cool purple eyes he met.

“I will defy Your Grace’s order this time. Do you not know how serious this condition is, Your Grace?”

“So what.”

“Pardon?”

“Vivian was also sick. Who was there when she was sick? Billishia?”

Cassis, who had been letting out a dry laugh as if it was unreasonable, lowered the corner of his lips.

“It’s only natural that I’m sick.”

Vivian.

Agasa’s mouth shut tight when the name that made his bones hurt just by hearing it was mentioned.

If Cassis stumbled upon the name, there was no way he would stop it.

“Wouldn’t I be able to experience the pain that Vivian went through? I can go. Don’t cancel the schedule.”

“Your Gr…”

Bang!

His words were interrupted by the sound of Cassis’ closed door.

‘Even in this situation, I’m still scared without being able to stop His Grace. It’s a mess as His Grace’s close aide.’

It was then.

[My worries outweigh my fears, though.]

It could have hurt the young princess, yet he had no choice.

After a moment of panic, Agasa immediately opened the bedroom door and ran out.

The destination was the garden where Miss Baby was.

***

“Miss Baby! Miss Baby!”

Breeze blowing.

Pretty and delicious desserts.

“Sir Agasa is here.”

“It’s Aga.”

While sipping and enjoying tea time, I nodded my head at the not-so-welcomed title.

“Miss Billishia. If you don’t mind, Miss Baby, too..”

“No.”

“To think you call a pretty name, ‘Miss Baby’! Sir Agasa is really slow-witted.”

Lisa, who showed a quick change of attitude toward my rejection, spilled Agasa, who was running from afar.

‘This time, I need to educate him for not listening to baby.’

Thud.

I made up my mind and tried to raise the eyes of the villainess, but I got up from my seat in a hurry.

Agasa’s complexion was unusual.

Noticing that, Lisa also put down the teacup she was lifting.

“His Grace is sick, but he’s making a fuss about leaving. If you stop him…”

“Princess Billishia!”

The doctor who followed Agasa belatedly shouted urgently.

He breathed heavily, as if he had been overpowered by running, which he didn’t normally do.

“If he leaves with that body now, it will definitely get worse.”

“Dad does?”

“His Grace has completely gone crazy.”

The maids gasped at Agasa’s words.

“S-Such a word…”

“To think that you use that word about His Grace.”

Even in private, no one dared to refer to Cassis as crazy.

It was a consideration for him who lost Vivian.

But what about Dad now?

Seeing Agasa’s determined gaze, the maids couldn’t help but close their mouths wide open in astonishment.

Worries and concerns towards the Duke.

In those determined eyes, there was only the worry of a faithful subordinate.

“However, the Princess is still young…”

The maids, who were sympathetic to the aide’s attitude for a moment, glanced at me and hurriedly shut their mouths.

I had been listening to their conversation all this time without saying anything.

I also want Cassis to live happily.

‘If I don’t let my dad go, will it affect the original story?’

I’m in trouble.

First of all, he starts to be called a ‘crazy guy’ from this point on.

Worried aide.

Concerned maids.

Even the anxious vassals.

And at this time, the female lead’s narrative was revealed, and news of Cassis, who was treated as a ‘crazy’, is heard from afar.

Although it was still a long way from their encounter, it was also essential for the villain to run out like that to confirm Cassis’ existence to the female lead.

‘But isn’t it natural for me to be worried as a daughter?’

“Hicc!”

I was startled and hiccups came out.

A strange question popped out of nowhere.

‘Even if he’s a villain, he’s my dad. So it’s okay to worry, right?’

Before I was an extra, I was Dad’s daughter.

Dad was in a weak condition now.

It means that it won’t be strange even if his body collapses at any time.

“…L-Let’s go first.”

As if my body was bewitched by that strange question, I abruptly stood up from my seat.