“As for the artificial summon spirit, has it been handled?”
Riley finally observed Nainiae’s face, which was now without scars. He asked as he remembered the real reason for this winter trip.
“Ah, yes.”
Ever since she woke up, she still had not had the chance to take a look at her face. She felt the face around her right eyes where the scar was gone and responded in shy voice.
“Weren’t you supposed to find the summon spirit that could help you? Did you get it all done in a flash while I was asleep?”
“… Yes.”
Nainiae actually met someone who was a greater existence than a summon spirit. She omitted the part about it and nodded. She simply said all process was now complete.
“Excuse me, Young Master.”
Riley thought the conversation was pretty much wrapped up, so he was going to go back to where Sera was waiting. However, Nainiae called him.
“Um?”
Riley casually turned just his face and looked at Nainiae. He tilted his head lightly to the side, trying to ask what was up.
“Have I changed a lot?”
Riley was looking at Nainiae. Feeling conscious, she fiddled her face around the right eye and her fingers as she asked in mosquito sized voice.
“What did you say?”
Because of the small voice, he could not hear her. He asked again, trying to tell her to say it again but louder this time. Nainiae mumbled.
“I didn’t change a lot, right?”
“…”
“The guards and Ms. Sera did not recognize me. I’m asking because… I am worried. What if it is because my face look even worse now?”
Even Heliona, the summon spirit who was with her for so long, didn’t recognize her and just opened her mouth vacantly.
First, Nainiae thought Riley, the one she served, recognizing her was enough. However, thinking back at what happened, she really did not feel at ease about this.
“Mr. Ian, Ms. Willa, Ms. Iris… Do you think they will recognize me? Have I changed that much?”
Nainiae let out her concern. She tightly grasped her right hand, which was made whole now, and asked Riley.
“Um…”
He held his chin and carefully observed Nainiae’s face again. He smirked and shook his head left and right.
“I am not sure?”
“…”
It was a wishy washy response. Nainiae seemed disappointed. Her shoulders sunk. Riley was about to go back to where Sera was, but he added,
“Even if you changed a little, isn’t that still fine? You are still you.”
Nainiae was suppressing the look of disappointment. Having heard what Riley said, she regained the glow.
“Even if you changed, there probably isn’t anyone who would hate it.”
* * *
Two days later, a guard came to visit the infirmary at the Duke Philisneon’s Manor. With a violent look on his face, he started to ask all sorts of questions.
“Young Master, during that night, where were you?”
“I was lying on the bed in the infirmary?”
“Are you certain?”
“I was boiling with fever? I couldn’t even regain consciousness, so where could I have possibly have gone?”
“People said your maid was lurking around the entrance of the mansion while drenched in glass pieces… What was that about?”
“People of the Iphalleta Family tend to take the swordsmanship training to the extreme. It is the same for the servants. Unless they are seriously ill, they do this much training everyday.”
“So, that was just training?”
“That’s right, training.”
“Hmmmmmmmmmmm.”
It seemed the news about Reutrina situation reached the people in the mansion. The guard asked many questions and got answers. He turned around without finding any problem in particular.
“Anyway, what do you think happened to Princess Reutrina?”
With the guard now gone, Sera, who was still at the infirmary, looked at the window that Nainiae restored and muttered.
“I really think it was odd, no matter how I think about it. Young Master, you said it would be best for us to keep quiet, but the Princess was a little odd that day. When she swung her arm and struck me on the stomach… It felt like an ogre punched me, you know?”
Sera cringed. It seemed she was still hurting on the ribs. She continued to chatter away.
“I held on to the ribs in pain and got over the mansion to get to where the scream was coming from, and… Young Master, you were awake, and the Princess was screaming away to flood the entire world. As for Nainiae, she came back as a different person.”
Sera thought about all of the things that happened during the day Riley woke up. Finding it suspicious, she asked Riley with a serious face.
“Young Master, could it be that, the Princess…”
“…”