The door slammed shut. The room became quiet again, and I tightly closed my eyes. I wished I would fall asleep just like that.

When I woke up, unlike the morning, a strong light had crept into the room. The slightly blurry weather was gone, and the sun was completely up, making all the colors vivid.

It was already eleven o’clock.

As I began to feel hungry, the quiet and calm hallway greeted me. It was a contrast to the noisy running around of Swell and Silke.

‘I should have played hideandseek earlier…’

I remembered the last time I vented my anger at Swell. Recalling his surprised face as he shut the door, I felt a bit remorseful.

“Oh my, Miss. You’re awake now?”

After finishing the laundry and wiping the frame, Betty spotted me and asked.

“Has everyone gone?”

“Around eight o’clock. The madam said to take good care of Miss’s meal.”

Take good care? More like keep an eye on me so I don’t cause trouble.

It’s just as well. Being alone in the mansion wasn’t new to me, and now it was familiar. And if I was alone, I could enjoy activities that I normally couldn’t do without watching others, such as reading books, playing chess…

Practicing the violin, as emphasized by Roger, wasn’t a bad idea either. After planning my schedule in my head, I changed into casual clothes.

And after enjoying the meal prepared by Bicky, I lay on the sofa and read a book.

The maids left in the mansion were busily moving around, while also carefully acting so as not to disturb my reading.

“Lise! You can’t lie down like that!”

If Isabel were here, she would have pointed out my actions, my posture.

Swell and Silke would be playing with swords behind the sofa, and Bernard and Felicia, who had just returned from school, would be complaining about who annoyed them today.

“Hmm.”

The book was uninteresting today.

Maybe it was because it was a book I read a month ago. I put the book down and brought out the chessboard, setting up the pieces. The pieces were placed in their proper positions, but the problem was that there was no opponent to play with.
Could there be a maid who could play chess? I looked around, and everyone was busy working.

“……Boring.”

I laid back down on the sofa. Reading a book was a failure. Playing chess was a failure, so the only thing left was to practice the violin.

……Let’s do that later.

‘Great! Shall I go to Roskopf village to see Roger?’

Not a bad idea. I quickly got up, ready to grab my coat. I was bounding up the stairs, remembering what Roger said yesterday while learning the violin.

‘I’m going to my grandmother’s mansion tomorrow. The relatives will probably be there too.’

He said he was going to his grandfather’s mansion. Likewise, Yurik was also pouting about going to his grandfather’s mansion.

My steps halted on the stairs. I lost my destination.

“Miss?”

As I stood dumbfounded on the stairs, Betty, who was about to pass by, asked. She put down her basket and came closer, concerned about my poor complexion. Her hand gently touched my forehead.

“Do you feel sick? But it doesn’t seem like you have a fever……”

“Betty, how can a month pass quickly? I wish a month would pass when I open my eyes.”

Then I can go to the seaside.

Not understanding my words, Betty cocked her head and lightly clapped her hands.

“Miss, would you like to go see the flowers? The weather is good today. It’s not cold either.”

“See the flowers?”

“Yes. I’ll get your coat!”

Betty suggested to relieve my boredom. She entrusted her basket to another maid and brought down my coat.

Meanwhile, I hurriedly tied my shoelaces, pretending to leave, and changed into winter shoes for going out.

I put on my tightlylaced shoes and went outside. The once chilly wind had turned mild, and even the bare trees were beginning to sprout leaves.

“Miss, let’s go together!”

Betty chased after me. To go to the flower garden, we had to cross a small forest.

“Do you want to grow up quickly, Miss?”

“Huh?”

Betty, who had come beside me, asked out of the blue.

“No, you said earlier that you wish a month would pass quickly. Do you want to grow up quickly and start socializing?”

“Not particularly. I used to, but not now.”

“Why? I thought you would surely want to grow up quickly.”

“Because responsibilities follow when you become an adult. If I’m unlucky, I’ll have to take responsibility for things I don’t want to. I find that difficult.”

“……Sometimes, Miss, you seem like an adult. You feel like someone who has lived a full life.”

Sharp.

“Really?”

“Yes. Like someone who’s played the role of the eldest in a play. A protagonist who has suffered from a young age because of a poor family. An individual who’s matured early after doing all sorts of work.”

“What’s the conclusion then?”

“……Usually, it splits into two. Either meeting a prince and living happily or dying miserably. I’m not saying you’re like that, Miss! Ah, why would you……You have your mother, your master, and many siblings! Plus, the Marsen family is such a prestigious family!”

“Betty. How about quitting being a maid and becoming a fortune teller right now?”

“What? Oh, Miss?”

Ignoring Betty’s question, I smiled. She followed me nervously, thinking I was angry.

“Ah, Miss!”

I wasn’t angry. I just realized that the miserable death mentioned didn’t differ much from reality.

‘There’s no such thing as a prince.’

Meanwhile, we passed the forest and arrived at the flower garden. The garden that was filled only with winter flowers was now tinged with different colors, and grass had grown on the hard ground.

“……”

“Lise?”

A soft voice caught my ear.
I raised my head and found Yurik smiling faintly. His white hair, swaying in the cold winter wind, suited him well. Perhaps because of the color of the flowers, Yurik’s face looked brighter.

But why is he here?

“Yurik?”

“We meet again.”

Then he smiles broadly.

Come to think of it, even if the prince does not exist, the hero does exist.

In my first life, my hero was Yurik Fenton from the treasured novel “Hero of the Fenton House,” and in my second life, that Yurik Fenton actually exists in front of me.

“I missed you, Lise.”

Just like now.