Chapter 72: 67

——————Believe in your sense of discomfort.

The moment I heard Rio’s message, I felt as if my whole body froze. My mind went back to the time when I had held the knife I had hidden in Rio’s hand against him.

That bizarre feeling of forcibly keeping a lid on reason, of being swept away by a torrent of uncontrollable emotions, of almost losing oneself.

Just remembering it, I felt a large amount of cold sweat pouring out of me.

「Wai–…, hey, are you alright? You don’t look well.」

The voice snapped me out of my reverie and I looked at Countess Bauer. The tears that had been flowing unceasingly had stopped, and she was looking at me with a worried expression on her face. She was in the opposite position from before.

「…I’m sorry. I’m alright…」

I couldn’t let myself get distracted now. I managed to collect myself and answered in a drawling voice.

「I’m not stupid, what part of you is alright?」

Even Countess Bauer’s face is still red and her nose is still stuffy and nasal, although her tears have stopped.

「You were getting water from that strange man earlier. Why don’t you drink that? Wouldn’t that make it a little better?」

「…, I can’t do that.」

I quickly tucked the water bag behind my back.

「I’m throwing away the contents. I don’t want you to drink it.」

「…Why is that?」

“You want to keep it all to yourself?” Countess Bauer glares at me. But I said absolutely not.

「Because there’s no guarantee that this water is safe.」

When I was locked up, the only thing I sipped was what Yance prepared for me. If, that is, my mutation was Yance’s doing, there is a possibility that something was planted in this water.

「You two seemed so close to each other, didn’t you? Well, fine. Then give it to me so I can check it out!」

「Eh, wai– whoa!」

She pushed my body away from her with such strength that I doubted where such power could come from in her slender arms. My resistance was nothing, and in the blink of an eye, the water bag was taken away by Countess Bauer.

「Oh, no. You’re more frail than I thought.」

“Hmph,” Countess Bauer sniffed with pride and took the water she had taken from me into her mouth without hesitation.

「You fool!」

I rushed to get it back, but it was already too late. Countess Bauer’s throat clears.

「Oh, my, that’s unusual. This is Lanka water.」

「Eh?」

I twist my head at the unfamiliar word.

「It is a detoxifying fruit that is not very familiar to the Gran Kingdom, but is found in countries far to the south. It has a cool, refreshing flavor, and people who don’t know Lanka often mistake it for a lemon.」

「E–Eh?」

「Generally, it’s too strong a detoxifying agent to be used as is, so it is squeezed into water like this to dilute it. It’s believed to help the body release impurities along with sweat and water, and in southern countries, it’s treated like a medicine, not a food.」

「H–Heh…」

「The characteristic is that if you mix it with anything other than water, it somehow loses its coolness and tastes very unpalatable.」

Countess Bauer spoke smoothly and without hesitation, as if she were reading from a book to the audience.

「So I think it’s safe to drink this stuff. In fact, I think it’s better to drink it aggressively. You had a little bit of the food earlier, didn’t you?」

「And that goes for you as well, Miss Bauer.」

「Don’t be ridiculous. I’m fine. I just pretended to eat. I didn’t have much of an appetite.」

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I was also surprised that she was aware of the possibility of poison in the food. With this comment, my preconceived notion of her as an insane little girl was completely revoked.

「Haah… You’re very knowledgeable, aren’t you?」

「…Ah!」

When I said that I was impressed, Countess Bauer’s face changed color quickly. It was as if she was regretting what she had done, and I twisted my head again.

「…………Did you think you were pretentious?」

「Eh, pretentious? Why???」

I am what people call a brilliant woman, but I don’t know anything about it. I am impressed, but I don’t think I am pretentious.

「I have to admit, I was surprised. But I admire your savvy. There is no need to be so deflated. On the contrary, you should be more proud.」

「R–Really?」

「Yes. If anyone is foolish enough to call you『pretentious,』stomp them down with all your might.」

Nodding vigorously, I said,『D–Do you want to step on them?』Countess Bauer smiled a little, her cheeks tinted with a hint of a smile, though she tilted her head slightly. Oh, how cute.

「……You say the same thing as Raul-sama.」

「Eh, like Raul?」

I don’t like that one bit. I guess I thought so and it showed on my face. Countess Bauer frowned dubiously and said,

「About Raul-sama, you don’t like it?」

「Yes, that’s right. I don’t like it.」

I answered without a pause. But, you see, I had already said『garbage』to Raul, and there was no need to make up for it now.

「If that’s because of his infidelity with Priscilla-sama. Then you are mistaken. Raul-sama has never been unfaithful. I will prove it!」

「Ehh? Proof, you say… ahaha.」

There was no way I could do it. I thought so and laughed it off. Because whether or not he is actually committing adultery, there is no doubt that Raul’s heart is with the Royal Princess.

「It’s true. The evidence explains the necklace!」

Countess Bauer, however, approached me with a serious look on her face, and I was forced to listen to her explanation with such vigor.

I don’t think listening to her will change my feelings toward Raul, though.

「The necklace that Alia-onee-sama brought you, the secret gift. It was actually a gift from Raul-sama to you. I’m not lying. Because when Raul was wondering what gift to give you, I helped him buy it!」

「Ehh–.」

It’s always a flat response. Besides, what am I supposed to think when I hear that?

「He said he and his fiancée aren’t getting along. He said there’s been a misunderstanding and things have been sulking and he really wants to make things right. He wants the two of you to smile together like you used to.」

Ah, sure, we used to smile at each other and we used to be good friends. I wonder which mouth was saying that. What misunderstanding is a misunderstanding, I thought, but I didn’t say it out loud. Because I felt sorry for Countess Bauer, who was trying so hard to defend Raul.

「And yet, Raul-sama came to me to confirm that the gift that was supposed to have been given to you hadn’t arrived. I was the one who was asked to send it to you directly from the Riesenlotte estate. But the truth is that it was Alia-onee-sama who did the procedure. So when I questioned her about it, she told me that it was just a small mistake and she broke it…」

「…And then?」

「I rushed over to ask her to fix it. But Onee-sama didn’t want Raul-sama to know that she had carelessly broken the necklace… So instead of going to the jewelry store I know so well, she went to a place in the common district and asked them to fix it.」

So that is the day that I and Ryniel-sama saw it.

「I see. So the necklace Miss Bolellan was carrying was repaired.」

「That’s right. I was locked away in the mansion, and Alia-onee-sama came to visit me and took me in, and she brought me straight there.」

Countess Bauer said that is where she heard I was here and learned that she had been deceived.