“I’ve only done what’s expected.”

“Still, thank you. You too, right, Yurik?”

Her gaze shifted to Yurik. Then, Yurik hesitated for a moment before moving his lips cautiously.

“……Very much. Thank you, Roger.”

Yurik, who I thought would not speak until the end, expressed his gratitude to Roger. His voice filled my thoughts, which were already occupied by Isabelle, and I looked at Yurik. Even I was surprised, let alone Roger.

“Hey, say it again.”

“I won’t say it twice.”

Yurik swiftly avoided Roger’s gaze.

“The medicine will help you feel better.”

The doctor who came to the villa diagnosed both the coachman’s leg and Yune’s illness. It was an abscess, just as Roger had said.

“Thank you for coming all this way.”

“I’d like to keep an eye on the condition, but a storm is predicted to come again. Still, you should be fine with the medicine. My lady.”

“Thank you. You should head back before the wind picks up.”

Before leaving, the doctor advised frequent handwashing and nose cleansing. If there was no improvement, a chronic condition could be suspected, and he recommended going to the hospital.

“It’s already lunchtime.”

After settling things, we had a quick lunch.

Then, with nothing else to do, I sat blankly by the window. Normally, I would be heading to Hosha village by now, but there was no carriage to ride. Plus, who knows when the next storm will hit?

My lady suggested that if the weather clears up by tomorrow morning, we should depart.

The lie about going to the camp is as good as exposed now.

“……Hey, Lize.”

“What?”

Roger, who was behind me, called out.

“Want to go see it now?”

“What?”

“The sea.”

At those words, I immediately stood up.

“Alright.”

Just before my lady went upstairs, she spoke.

“The weather is good now. Go take a look at the sea. Yurik, you’re going too, right?”

Yurik, who was hanging wet towels on the railing, quickly grabbed his coat instead of answering.

Now was the only time to see the sea. Both Roger and I pulled out coats and gloves from our bags, preparing to face the cold. Yurik carefully wrapped a scarf around my neck.

And just as we were about to leave…

“Here.”

“Here.”

Yurik and Roger both extended their hands to me.

“I’m fine, I can go by myself.”

Before the two could argue, I stepped out of the villa and dashed onto the sandy beach.

The wet, damp sand was incredibly cold. The chill seeped through my shoes and reached the tops of my feet. Still, my legs, which were stepping onto the sand and moving forward, didn’t stop.

“Lize, it’s dangerous to get too close. Absolutely do not enter the rising water.”

Yurik, who had rushed to my side, warned me cautiously.

“Even if you say that, won’t she want to dip her feet into the sea?”
I had never said I wanted to go into the sea, but it seemed Yurik and Roger sensed it from my expression and stopped me. Disappointed, I took a step back and looked at the sea.

“Wow, it’s beautiful.”

I had thought the waves would be rough due to the storm, but they weren’t.

It seemed as if impurities had been filtered out; the color of the sea was clear and deep. The sound of the waves breaking was pleasant and calming.

I knelt down to take a closer look at the color of the sea and even took off my gloves to dip my hand into the water. An invigorating coldness shot through me.

“So what are we going to do? Mom will definitely be disappointed in me.”

Roger broke my tranquility.

“What can we do?”

Yurik gave a dry reply, and Roger frowned.

“What can we do? Lise and I will get into big trouble, too. Are you okay with not seeing Lise anymore?”

“…Not seeing her?”

Yurik’s face darkened.

“What if we lie again?”

At my suggestion, Roger’s face stiffened.

“Again? Lise, are you out of your mind?”

There’s no law saying we can’t lie again, is there?

“Roger, it’s always said that if once is hard, twice is easy. So you can do it.”

“What’s the lie?”

“We got lost on the way to the camp. And as we wandered, we just happened to meet Mrs. Fenton going towards the sea.”

“And then?”

“The camp meeting time had already passed, and we were quite far from the village. We had no choice but to accompany her. Just say honestly that we couldn’t return because of the storm.”

Upon finishing my explanation, Yurik, who had been listening intently, cocked his head.

“Do you think they’ll believe it?”

“It depends on luck.”

It’s fiftyfifty. It’s better than being caught lying stupidly. The problem is…

“Even if it works once, I can’t lie a second time.”

That was Roger.

“Roger, you have to.”

“Lise is right. This time, you have to make a small sacrifice.”

“And Mom will believe you more than me, Roger.”

“One sacrifice from you can make everyone happy.”

As Yurik and I took turns urging him, Roger’s eyes moved nervously.

“Well, as I just said, I can’t lie…”

“Let’s practice. Start practicing now. Come on, tell a lie now.”

“Tell a lie?”

Roger seemed flustered and turned red as he searched for a lie he could tell. Several seconds passed, but his lips remained tightly closed.

“You really can’t lie, can you?”

I couldn’t contain my frustration. Was this good or bad? It was ambiguous.

“Okay, then say, ‘I hate my mother.'”

I found myself naturally teaching vice. The difficulty seemed too high from the start, and Roger’s face twisted.

“Lise, I think I can’t say that either.”

Even Yurik acknowledged the high level of difficulty. Yeah, it was too hard.

“…Well, how about the opposite?”

“If it’s strange, I can’t do it.”

“It’s not strange. Say, ‘I like Lise,’ in a sly manner.”

It was a slightly embarrassing phrase, but I couldn’t think of another lie. I thought it might be difficult, but Roger’s expression suddenly relaxed, and he parted his lips as if it were natural.

“I like Lise.”

“…”

“…”

“…What?”

I couldn’t help but ask.

The tone of Roger’s voice was so natural that it felt like a real confession.