Chapter 3

The man spouted words that were entirely impossible to comprehend did not seem the least bit well-intentioned toward me. I wondered if he was simply furious that I had disturbed his rest. Intending to beat a tactical retreat for the time being, I offered a clumsy, hurried excuse.

“I—I am sorry for disturbing you,” I stammered, stepping back. “Please accommodate me next time instead.”

At that, the man’s expression shifted into something decidedly peculiar. I didn’t think I had said anything wrong, but his ongoing negative reaction filled me with a creeping anxiety. If that man truly was the ‘Red-Haired Knight’ from the original novel, then I had managed to earn his intense dislike from our very first encounter. Getting completely captivated by his looks and mindlessly approaching him had been my fatal blunder. For now, a strategic withdrawal was the only logical choice.

“I will see you again later,” I called out. Finishing my greeting, I turned on my heel and fled, the fabric of my skirt fluttering wildly behind me.

Even as I ran, that flawless, breathtakingly beautiful face somehow continued to float vividly in my mind. I had truly never seen anyone who looked like that before. Granted, I hadn’t exactly met many people in my life to begin with. The complicated tangle of thoughts slowly began to dissolve the moment I stepped back inside the manor.

“Haha, so then what happened—?” one voice giggled.

“Seriously, stop talking about that man already—” 

Rounding the corner, the voices of the maids gossiping while sweeping the corridor drifted into my ears. Among the group, it was incredibly easy to spot Ephel laughing and chatting along with the rest. The moment our eyes met, Ephel flinched slightly before naturally turning her head away, completely pretending not to notice my presence.

“Where on earth did she go wandering off to this time?” another maid muttered in a piercing, confrontational tone upon spotting me. It didn’t seem like she genuinely expected an answer, so I simply ignored her and walked right past.

Fortunately, it didn’t look like they had any immediate intentions of hurling a broom or a rag at me today. Had the past few days of paying them back in kind finally reaped some rewards?

“I should go check on the old madame now,” Ephel’s voice echoed from behind. It appeared it was Ephel’s turn to attend to the elderly lady today. The surrounding maids immediately offered her sympathetic, pitying comforts.

“It’s your turn today, Ephel? How miserable.”

“Don’t say such things. If the head maid hears you, we will be in massive trouble,” Ephel warned.

Coincidentally, because we were headed in the exact same direction, it looked as though Ephel was quietly trailing right behind my heels. A heavy, dejected sigh brushed against the back of my neck. Is she really that repulsed by the task? Since my own break time was drawing to a close, I had intended to seek out the head maid, but I abruptly halted mid-step on the staircase and swung around. Ephel let out a sharp gasp of surprise.

“Should I go attend to the old madame instead?” I offered.

Ephel blinked in utter confusion. “…Why would you do that?”

“Because you seem to hate it,” I replied simply.

From my perspective, her intense aversion was entirely incomprehensible. Compared to my own mother, the elderly lady was a remarkably easy, gentle patient to care for. Ephel’s expression, initially guarded and suspicious, melted into utter bewilderment as she realized I was being completely genuine.

“If you would really do that… I would be grateful,” she muttered.

“In exchange, you go to the head maid and tell her that I went to care for the old madame. My break time is officially over.”

“Ah, right. Okay,” Ephel agreed, nodding quickly.

I took the water bucket and the clean towels straight from Ephel’s hands and made my way up the stairs.

* * *

By the time I finished taking care of the elderly lady, the entire afternoon had slipped away. When I finally returned to our quarters, Ephel greeted me with a distinctly awkward demeanor from where she sat on her bed.

“You’re back?” she asked.

Sharing a room with someone other than my mother was still an incredibly foreign experience, and it made me feel strange every single time. It was doubly true now, considering this was the first time Ephel had ever initiated a greeting.

“Thank you for earlier,” she added quietly.

I paused, mulling over what exactly she was thanking me for, before belatedly realizing she was referring to the elderly lady. Driven by sudden curiosity, I voiced my question. “Why do you dislike attending to the old madame so much?”

“Well, that is…” Ephel began, a thoroughly uncomfortable look settling over her features. “The smell… and she never says a single word…”

It was true that I had never once heard the elderly lady speak. It was also true that whenever she had an occasional accident, the odor of waste would linger. So that was why the others detested the chore. Yet, whenever I wiped her down and made her clean, she clearly looked pleased. She even listened quite intently to whatever stories I chose to share.

“Then should I just ask to be permanently assigned to care for the old madame from now on?” I mused.

For some reason, the elderly lady’s plight felt deeply similar to my mother’s past. Of course, the people of this estate would never dare to openly whisper that the Count’s own mother was cursed.

Staring at me with wide, shocked eyes, Ephel asked, “Would you really be okay with that?”

“Yes. I actually prefer it.”

“…You really seem to have changed,” Ephel remarked, examining my face. “Before, you were a bit more… how should I put it? Obnoxious.”

This time, a sharp pang of guilt struck my chest. While I wavered, entirely unsure of how to formulate a proper response, Ephel let out a soft, quiet chuckle. It was the very first genuine smile she had ever directed at me.

“I guess I was just harboring too much prejudice all this time,” she said softly.

I had no idea what specific prejudice she meant, but it wasn’t as if I could step forward and reveal that I was actually an entirely different Maylin. Even if I told her, she wouldn’t believe a word of it anyway. Still, the atmosphere between us had grown remarkably soft and warm. Settling myself onto the edge of my bed, I hesitated for a brief moment before finally breaking the silence.

“I have something to ask you,” I said.

“What is it?” Ephel turned to look at me.

“By any chance, do you know anything about the red-haired knight?”

Ephel, who had been shifting her body as if preparing to lie down and sleep, suddenly whipped around at the unexpected inquiry. “The red-haired knight? Why do you ask about him?”

“Just… I want to become close with him.”

Ephel stared at me for a moment, her eyes reflecting thoughts I couldn’t quite decipher. Before long, she began pouring out every single rumor she had ever encountered regarding the red-haired knight. She wasn’t entirely certain of his exact name, but she mentioned it ended in something like ‘-ron.’ She added that he was a young, exceptionally handsome, and highly capable knight.

I immediately recalled the two red-haired knights I had encountered so far. Granted, both possessed the broad, sturdy builds expected of knights and were remarkably handsome. Yet, the man I had encountered beneath the shade of that oak tree possessed an appearance that defied comparison to ordinary mortals. It was the sort of ethereal beauty that made you wonder if it was only permissible because this was the world inside a novel. His personality, however, left much to be desired.

“Do you happen to know what his personality is like?” I asked.

“Not really,” Ephel replied, shaking her head. “To be perfectly honest, I never paid much attention because I already have a boyfriend.”

I had absolutely no inkling why she was suddenly bringing up the fact that she had a boyfriend. I spent a moment racking my brain over how a normal person would react to such information before lightly clapping my hands together.

“Congratulations,” I said.

Ephel frowned slightly. “…Are you mocking me right now?”

Was that the wrong response? Fortunately, Ephel merely let out a sharp laugh and let it slide. Once the ice was broken, she began to smile quite easily.

“Anyway, my boyfriend happens to be a knight as well,” Ephel continued, her eyes bright. “Should I ask him to set up a meeting? Between you and that Sir Knight, I mean.”

My eyes instantly snapped wide open. “Could you really do that for me?”

“Well, it depends on whether the other party agrees, of course,” she said with a shrug. “But asking him isn’t a difficult task at all.”

“Thank you!”

Ephel truly seemed like a good person. I mustn’t place absolute trust in anyone, I reminded myself, yet my heart couldn’t help but soften significantly. Even after having been so terribly betrayed in my past life, I was still so easily swayed. We shared a bit more conversation before quietly drifting off to sleep.

* * *

“Hello,” I offered tentatively.

“Pardon? Ah—yes. Good day to you, Lady,” the knight stammered.

The man who had previously come to my rescue during that awkward encounter with the merchant was named Seyron. Today, he wore his hair in the exact same ponytail, and his cheeks were flushed a distinct shade of pink, exactly like his crimson hair.

“You mentioned you had something to discuss with me…” Seyron began, looking entirely restless and uncomfortable as he stood inside the suddenly summoned storage barn.

Ephel had mentioned that the red-haired knight of the rumors possessed a name ending in ‘-ron.’ Given that this knight’s name was ‘Seyron,’ he was undeniably the individual in question. As I stared at him, appearing infinitely more harmless and gentle compared to the other red-haired knight, a wave of profound relief washed over me, yet it was accompanied by a strange, lingering sense of disappointment.

Was it because that man beneath the oak tree possessed a level of beauty that was utterly shocking to someone who grew up isolated in a forest? Perhaps, deep down, I simply wanted to feast my eyes on that exquisite visage once more. It wasn’t as if another man’s good looks could do anything to save this body—which had now become my own—from its scripted demise.

“Ah, please have this,” I said, extending a paper bag toward him. Inside was a loaf of bread I had purchased using the meager wages afforded to a maid. Because it was freshly baked, the aroma was incredibly enticing.

I had prepared this entirely due to Ephel’s secret tip. She had told me that if I wanted to grow close to someone, I should start by taking care of them and treating them well. For some inexplicable reason, she had immediately rambled on about her boyfriend right after giving that advice, though.

Seyron’s cheeks, already flushed, burned a brilliant scarlet. “Are you giving this to me?”

“Yes. My name is Maylin,” I said, seizing the opportune moment to hurriedly introduce myself.

“Ah, I—I am aware,” Seyron murmured, his eyes darting away. “You are quite famous, Lady…”

“I am famous?” I blinked.

“Yes. Because you are… so incredibly beautiful…”

This particular red-haired knight certainly spoke in a lovely manner. Had this body not shared the exact same face as my past life, I probably wouldn’t have felt much of anything. Coincidentally, because they were identical, a sudden wave of embarrassment washed over me.

“That is why I, too, at first sight…” Seyron’s stammering words were abruptly cut short as his breathing turned violently ragged.

Startled, I watched as he rapidly whirled his back toward me, taking deep, desperate gulps of air in a frantic bid to steady himself. Observing him quietly, it became clear that he had suddenly fallen into a state of hyperventilation.

“Are you alright?” I asked, stepping closer.

“I—I am fine… Wheeze. This normally happens from time to time—gasp, wheeze!”

Without a moment’s hesitation, I yanked the bread out and thrust the empty paper bag straight into Seyron’s hands.

“Wheeze… What is… this for… gasp?” he managed to ask.

“Press it against your mouth and breathe into it,” I instructed.

Seyron looked entirely clueless as to what I was trying to make him do, but he complied nonetheless, pressing the paper bag flush against his face and inhaling deeply. As the bag repeatedly deflated and expanded, his frantic breathing gradually began to stabilize. A look of profound amazement spread across his face.

“How… how did you know to do this?” he breathed, his voice finally steadying.

“My mother suffered from similar symptoms,” I explained with a gentle smile.

When a person is plagued by illness and confined to a bed for a long time, various secondary health complications naturally arise. As I recalled the knowledge I had accumulated while nursing my mother, Seyron suddenly let out another sharp, bizarre gasp.

“Gasp, wheeze, gasp! I—I am so sorry, it is far too severe, I must take my leave—wheeze!”

It certainly was severe. I stared blankly at Seyron’s retreating back as he practically bolted out of the storage barn in sheer panic, leaving me standing entirely alone with a baguette clutched firmly in one hand.

* * *

Growing close to Seyron was proving to be a monumental challenge. Furthermore, it wasn’t even the specific brand of difficulty I had initially anticipated. I had been fully prepared for my own stunted social skills to act as the primary obstacle.

“I am also ga—glad to see you again… Gasp! Wheeze!” Seyron had stammered during our next attempt.

In the beginning, it had seemed like his hyperventilation was triggered exclusively whenever I smiled. As time marched on, however, his symptoms grew progressively worse. Eventually, the mere act of crossing paths with me was enough to set him off.

“L—Lady Maylin! Wheeze!” he would yell before practically gasping his lungs out right on the spot.

How on earth was I supposed to build a friendship with someone like that? Having arranged a meeting near the training grounds… or rather, having attempted to, I found myself once again staring blankly at Seyron’s rapidly disappearing back as he fled the scene.

“Did you say your name was Maylin?” a boisterous voice called out.

The knight Hwylosen—Ephel’s boyfriend, who had kindly summoned Seyron on my behalf—stepped forward to address me. He shook his head with a grin. “That fellow is a lost cause. He simply lacks the capacity to withstand your face.”

What was wrong with my face? I frowned in silence.

“Why don’t you try meeting Karon instead?” Hwylosen suggested, letting out a loud laugh. “He possesses a thoroughly foul temperament, but he is certainly not the type of fellow to go weak in the knees over a woman’s beauty. Krahaha!”

He burst into a boisterous, cheerful laugh, as though he had just delivered a magnificent joke. I tilted my head, echoing the unfamiliar name in utter confusion. “Karon…?”

“Ah. There is another red-haired fellow in the order,” Hwylosen clarified.

Another red-haired fellow. Unless there happened to be yet another red-haired knight hidden away on the estate, he was undeniably referring to the man I had discovered lounging beneath the oak tree. Karon… So his name had also ended in that distinct ‘-ron’ sound.

Noticing the deadly serious expression settling over my face, Hwylosen’s loud laughter gradually died down. “Hey… you didn’t take that seriously, did you? Make sure you don’t go anywhere near Karon. My warning about his foul temperament wasn’t a joke.”

As someone who had already ventured near him once before, I was already acutely aware of that fact.

“Well, pass along my greetings to Ephel,” Hwylosen added before vanishing from sight.

Once again, I was left entirely alone in the quiet surroundings, the lingering echo of the name weighing heavily on my mind. Karon, was it?