Chapter 23: Before Goodbye

“Lisette-sama, what happened to your face?!”

As it was time for dinner and I headed towards the dining hall, Nadia, who was already seated, stood up and rushed over to me as soon as she saw me.

She must be referring to my heavily swollen eyes.

“Oh, how painful. Did something difficult happen?”

“No, I just cried while reading a touching novel. I’m sorry for worrying you over something trivial.”

“I see. I’m relieved.”

As I conveyed the lie I had prepared in advance, she had a relieved smile on her face. Ralph, who was also seated earlier, had a similar expression of relief. Seeing their kind faces, my heart ached sharply.

After being escorted to my room by Melvin, as soon as I was alone, I burst into tears. From then on, I continued to cry loudly and embarrassingly under the covers.

──Why do I have to go through such hardships, why me alone? I haven’t done anything wrong. 

As I sobbed and wailed, asking a question that would never reach anyone and expecting no answer, I cried relentlessly.

A few hours later, exhausted from crying, I fell asleep and when I woke up, I felt refreshed.

If I am freed from that monster, even if I can’t carry over my memories, I will surely be able to be reborn as a normal human being. Even though I failed in this life, there is a next life. That’s all I could hope for in my current state.

If there is a god, I hope they make me find happiness in the next life, making up for everything that I have been through. I prayed for that and got out of bed.

“What a terrible face. . .”

When I looked into the mirror, I saw my face. I was swollen around the eyes from crying and looked unrecognizable. It was beyond ugly.

Despite constantly applying cold compresses to my eyes, they hadn’t fully recovered by dinner time.

“I look so ugly, I’m sorry for being an eyesore.”

“That’s not true. Lisette-sama looks cute no matter what, I guarantee it.” 

“Oh, come on.”

“It’s true.”

Every time I heard Ralph’s words, my heart throbbed painfully. Just being smiled at by him as usual made my tears flow.

“Thank you. Oh, by the way.”

Even so, I desperately put on a smile and started a trivial conversation in a cheerful tone.

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“. . .Lisette-sama?”

“I-I was startled! Ralph, you make no sound.”

“I’m sorry for surprising you. It’s become a habit.”

Since then, six days had passed in the blink of an eye, and I was scheduled to leave the Marquis household tomorrow afternoon.

Although I managed to go about my days as usual, as the day of departure approached, I couldn’t sleep at all tonight. I got up from bed thinking of having something to drink and headed to the dining hall, when suddenly someone called out to me from behind, causing my heart to almost stop.

He seemed to have been working on paperwork until this late hour.

“What are you doing at this late hour?”

“Well, I couldn’t fall asleep. . .”

“I see. I’ll prepare something warm for you to drink.” 

“Ralph?”

“Yes. Please sit there and wait.”

I took advantage of his offer and sat on a nearby chair. He quickly made a cup of hot milk with honey, and gently handed it to me.

“. . .It’s delicious. Thank you.”

“I’m glad. You look cute even when drinking milk.”

“Hehe, what’s that?”

“I really love it.”

Ralph truly loved me too much. Every time I felt that in the past few days, I felt like crying. It was really the right decision to leave this place early.

“Recently, you seemed a bit down, and I was worried. Did something happen?”

“I felt a bit anxious thinking about the monsters and all.”

“. . .It would be strange if you weren’t anxious. To make you feel at ease, I’ll be more reliable.”

“Ralph, you’ve already been more than enough.” 

It seems that it’s actually true that it’s good to mix some truth when telling a lie. He didn’t seem to have any idea that I would be leaving this place soon.

At the same time, my heart ached persistently. How much would he be hurt after I disappeared without saying anything?

I’ve already written a letter, stating that I insisted on making this request to prevent any conflict between the Saintesss and him, and expressing my gratitude for everything up until now. I intend to have it handed to them after everything is over.

“. . .Ralph, thank you.”

As I felt the urge to express my gratitude once again, Ralph smiled happily, almost like a child. I felt tears welling up in my eyes and hurriedly looked down.

The words “Thank you” should be coming from me. Just being able to spend time with Lisette-sama, I am truly happy.”

“. . .I see.”

“Yes. I hope days like this will continue forever.”

Towards Ralph’s words, I desperately swallowed the words “me too” that were about to come out of my throat. 

The next day, after seeing off the two of them heading to work and school, I slipped out of the house using the magical tool I had borrowed from Melvin and boarded the carriage that had been prepared for me, leaving the capital city.

And two days later, I arrived at the cabin in the forest that the saints had prepared for me. It was a very quiet and beautiful place, with plenty of books and other things to keep me from getting bored. It was the perfect place to spend the rest of my life.

They even cast magic to ward off monsters and provided guards to take turns watching over me, so I could feel at ease. The cabin itself was enchanted to be invisible to ordinary people, so no one would notice it.

Only a little over a month until my birthday. Thinking about Ralph and Nadia still made my heart ache. But I had decided to hide myself here and spend my time quietly.

“. . .Why did you run away from me?”

A week later, Ralph, covered in blood and with a vacant expression, came to greet me, unaware of what had happened.

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